Toronto, the final stop on our #EtsyRoadTrip was an explosion of people and sounds after the quiet streets of Kingston (catch up on our previous events in Ottawa/Kingston & Montreal)! Darice and I hit the town once we were settled into our cozy Kensington Market Airbnb that screamed all things Canada from the Hudson’s Bay blankets on the bed to the snowshoe mounted on the wall. Instead being removed from the community in a stuffy hotel we were right in the centre of a multicultural market full of fun shops where it seemed like every language in the world was being spoken at the same time, a perfect way to end our road trip of awesome!
For our first event in Toronto we walked a few blocks to King & Brant where the Etsy Airstream was set up in a parking lot with yummy food trucks and a new batch of brilliant sellers plus music from Emmy Rouge and Michael Rault. The next day we descended on the historic Distillery, a warren of old brick building full of gorgeous shops selling handmade and fine Canadian craft.
Go on a photo tour of our Toronto events & meet the makers
Jordan De Ruiter won our hearts with her business tag line “play dress up every day” and her adorably crafted floral headbands and clothing for those of us who like to feel like fairies all the time.
Camp inspired handmade nail polish? Yes please! Kate of Nail Kandy is proof that you can build a handmade business of any size by doing exactly what you love.
Meeting Alison of Grace Design and learning about her line of hand crafted bags using carefully sourced textiles from all over the world was a treat. She’s fused her love for travel with her creativity to produce her one of a kind creations.
We truly enjoyed the stylish Handsome & Lace products all hand stitched by Keira (I even captured a pic of her working onsite) from reclaimed materials, they are a genius mix of dapper and darling, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bow ties hanging out alongside ties embroidered with tiny revolvers = awesomeness.
I was especially excited to have a chance to chat with Michelle of Kiriki Press and pick up some of her embroidery kits that I’ve seen at Inkwell Boutique, her booth was full of so much cuteness it was almost painful (I had to have the sloth)!
Without question one of the best parts of our Etsy Road Trip experience was getting to know the team of talented ladies behind Etsy Canada, they have so many exciting ideas for the Canadian creative community and OMHG is thrilled to be able to help support them on a few upcoming projects. Both Darice & I were inspired by how responsive the team was to our ideas, concerns and my honest feedback (like wanting to see some more cultural diversity next time)-it definitely felt like Etsy is remembering its handmade roots and wanting to work together to grow the maker movement. I was especially impressed with how well they showcased their sellers and helped raise awareness of their work locally. Thanks Etsy Canada for an amazing summer adventure, let’s do it again sometime!
This is the last of our Etsy Road Trip dispatches, get caught up on Part 1 & Part 2 and keep your eyes on this page for a video and few last thoughts in late August. This whole summer of adventures has made me a little restless since getting home, it’s hard to settle back into our routines! Thankfully we have a couple more weeks of road trip season left, if you could hit the road and go anywhere where would you head for?
