EVENT SHOWCASES ECLECTIC CREATIONS

Carrie Ross is an ardent traveller who often hits craft festivals on her trips to Europe and elsewhere. And those celebrations of fine artisanship, like London Craft Week, have always made her aware that there’s something missing from the Vancouver cultural scene. We have big open-studio happenings and we have a lot of craft fairs. But— until now—we haven’t had an event that illuminates forms like pottery, weaving, and furnituremaking on a deeper, more intimate level.

“I started thinking about how wonderful these events are—and these are not huge events,” Ross tells the Straight over the phone, adding Vancouver is a hotbed of craft and a natural fit for that kind of fest. “I wanted to sort of introduce that thrill of seeing fine craft to others. I’ve always had a deep appreciation for the craftspeople who devote their lives to making things with their hands.”

The result is the launch of Crafted Vancouver, from next Friday (May 4) to May 28, a celebration of local, national, and international craft with a variety of disciplines and smaller-scale events.

“We’ve tried to just create a sampling for our first year of what we want to expand on—workshops, demonstrations, international craftspeople, getting galleries involved, artist talks and presentations, and collaborations,” explains Ross, who’s gathered an organizing team of like-minded crafters and craft enthusiasts. “There are events we’ve put together especially for the festival that you wouldn’t be able to do the rest of the year, like guided studio tours in a small group. We feel we have this fresh format. What we’re really trying to do is create these new avenues for people to connect.”

In many ways, the programming is as eclectic as the creations themselves. Larger events include the five-day Crafted Interiors event at the Pipe Shop Venue at the Shipyards on North Van’s waterfront. In an exhibition space styled by interior designer Suzanne Ward, visitors can peruse everything from handcrafted wallpaper to metal art and woodworking, with daily demonstrations and evening talks. Elsewhere, look for everything from a behind-the-scenes tour of the sets and stagecraft departments at Vancouver Opera to an inside look at the outside art at UBC and a studio tour of Granville Island.

One of the unique offerings is the Balvenie After Hours Series, in which tastings led by the makers of the finely crafted single-malt Scotch whisky pair with immersive studio and design events. Amid the offerings, for the May 17 edition at Hycroft Manor, glass artist Brad Turner has created special whisky glasses for the tastings, while heritage expert John Atkin will speak about the artisanship of the historic building.

And two groups of visitors put the spotlight on craft from opposite corners of the globe. Several masters from Korea’s Icheon Potters Association will show the subtleties of their craft in demonstrations, workshops, an exhibition, and other events at Performance Works from May 19 to 21.

Elsewhere, a diverse and colourful trio of U.K. artisans will be hosting workshops and other events at Crafted Vancouver. They include Edinburgh-based metalsmith Bryony Knox, whose demonstrations include a family-friendly class on how to create a literary-themed brooch out of recycled soda-can tin and wire at the Vancouver Public Library on May 19. Sinead Black of Northern Ireland’s Bricolage Quilts will lead a session at Vandusen Botanical Garden on the same day, while U.K. textile artist and milliner Bridget Bailey heads an exclusive workshop at the same location May 19 and 20.

Whether drawing internationally or locally, Ross has big long-term plans to build Crafted, with hopes to expand the galleries collaborating on its programming and breakout events that focus on the about 40 craft disciplines her team has identified.

If the first Crafted Vancouver has any immediate effect, its executive and artistic director hopes it’s to get Vancouverites to discover the fine craft being made all around them— and how it might give an artful new touch to their own décor. “We’re trying to start off slow and get people to think about how they’re curating their lives,” says Ross, “and what they are bringing into their homes and what they’re spending their money on.”