Artisans turning to flood relief
Nenshi T-shirt, jewelry and accessories will help raise funds
Calgary jewelry-maker Lindsay Saunders counts herself among the lucky ones in the devastating floods that hit southern Alberta. Although she was evacuated from her Mission neighbourhood, the water stopped a block away from her condo building.
While Saunders waits at her parents’ house to return home (her neighbourhood is still without power), she was moved to do something to help her friends and neighbours.
So she did what she does best — make jewelry.
She already had planned to make a couple of special, Stampede-themed necklaces under her Cinder & Sage label. “I just took them apart and reworked them.”
The result is two necklaces — each a pendant with the word “love” — one with a charm of cowboy boots and a hat; the other with a steer head, horseshoe and heart.
By Tuesday, Saunders had sold 260 necklaces in 24 hours, with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to the Red Cross Alberta Flood Relief Fund.
She’s asking for a minimum donation of $40 per necklace. “I think the average is probably about $50, but a lot of people are paying $100 for one,” she says.
Saunders rush-ordered more supplies and has got friends helping her fill the huge influx of orders. She expects she’ll have about 525 necklaces to sell in total, which could raise more than $30,000 she says.
“Everyone around here just wants to do something,” says Saunders. “I just figured this would be a way to raise more money than I would be able to donate myself.”
To order a necklace, go to cinderandsage.com.
Meanwhile, another Calgary artist, Mandy Stobo, has designed T-shirts to help Calgarians — and other Albertans affected by recent flooding — get through tough times. Stobo, who creates neo-expressionist watercolour art under the moniker Bad Portraits, has painted what she calls “Scuba Nenshi” — a rainbow-coloured portrait of Calgary’s popular Mayor Naheed Nenshi rocking scuba gear — and is printing the image onto T-shirts.
The shirts are selling for $20 each, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross Alberta Floods Relief. To purchase, visit badportraitproject.com/ floodrelief.
Here in Edmonton, two popular local market craft vendors are donating a portion of their proceeds to flood relief efforts. Julie Morrison of Majesty Industries, who makes bags, wallets and other fun accessories, along with Cheryl Currie of Cloud and Lolly jewelry, will donate the proceeds of every fifth sale at the City Market downtown to the Red Cross, Morrison says.
Maggie Walt to Close up shop
After more than 20 years on the local fashion scene and 10 years in her retail store on Jasper Avenue, Maggie Walt is closing up shop.
She’s clearing out much of the stock in her shop at 11217 Jasper Ave., both in the lower-level clearance space with items at between 50 and 90 per cent off, and on the main floor, with savings of between 30 and 50 per cent.
“It’s been a struggle the last couple of years,” Walt says. “I love having a retail store, but the winter is long, and staffing (then) is a real problem.” She also expects the rent in her building will increase when her lease comes up for renewal in August.
Her South Asian-inspired designs, many of them sourced and produced in Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Nepal, will instead be available online, at maggiewalt.com, and through future pop-up shops, she says.
After her retail store shuts down in August, Walt will set up a pop-up shop in Victoria for the month of September. She’ll likely return to Edmonton for another sale some time before Christmas, she says.
“My plans are to continue on and just not be tied down to a retail store.”
She’ll likely spend the winter in Asia overseeing production of her designs, then return to Edmonton in the spring.
To celebrate Walt’s long career in Edmonton, the store will host a fashion show with live music, singing, dancing and refreshments on July 20. Tickets are $20, available at the store or online at maggiewalt.com. All proceeds will be donated to Just-One, a charity that helps to educated disadvantaged children in Nepal.
Auditions on for new TV show
Four Rooms, a new show from the producers of the popular Dragon’s Den series, is looking for participants who have interesting collectibles to share.
Auditions will be held in Calgary on Saturday, June 29 for the show, in which sellers tell the story of their unique item — antique, art, fashion, collectible — and negotiate with top buyers, who wait in four rooms. “Four rooms. Four buyers. Four chances to make the deal of a lifetime,” reads the show’s tag line.
The auditions will take place at the Coast Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre at 1316 33rd St. NE in Calgary, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information and to download an application form, go to cbc.ca/fourrooms.
Teen beauty and fashion at WEM
Fashionable teens won’t want to miss the BeaUtiful Event at West Edmonton Mall on July 5, featuring two fashion shows and updates on seasonal trends, beauty, fitness and nutrition. The event runs from 12 to 4 p.m. at centre stage, on level one, Phase I.