This Christmas, you could knit your own sweaters, bake cookies and make tree ornaments to impress your friends. Or you could take a break, visit a trade show, and buy someone else’s handmade items instead (just don’t pass them off as your own).
One of those shows is returning to St. Albert this month. Make It!, a craft show celebrating everything handmade in Canada, runs twice a year in Vancouver and St. Albert. The show is now returning to the Enjoy Centre from Nov. 21 to 24.
“Especially in the holiday season people want something that is unique, that is one of a kind, and also that has a story behind it because nowadays so much stuff is mass-produced,” said organizer Jenna Herbut.
The first Make It! event started five years ago at the Edmonton Aviation Centre. Herbut said she wanted to create a show that was reserved for Canadian artists. This not only gave them a comfortable space to show off their work but also an opportunity to sell outside of their regular market area, she said.
Make It! draws vendors from across Western Canada, with a few sellers coming from as far as Ontario and Quebec. Herbut said this month’s show will be the biggest one she organized, with a total of 199 exhibitors.
Vendors will sell everything from accessories to clothing, paintings and photography, body care products, food, décor and baby items. Many of the items were refurbished from other products, such as Archie Comics turned into jewelry, or handbags made from old jackets, she said.
“There are things that aren’t available anywhere else in the city,” she said. “Someone who wants to get all their Christmas shopping done could do that at Make It! and not go somewhere else and there is a huge variety that appeals to men and women.”
Among local artists represented at the event are painters Laraine Weaver and her son Rob Weaver.
Laraine will sell some of her original oil work and canvas prints of landscapes and still life, she said, including sceneries she painted while traveling the world. Rob will sell a collection of his original artwork of movies such as Star Wars, Avatar or The Hobbit.
She said the family will participate in the show for the first time and share a booth. Potential buyers are also able to arrange for commission paintings with her at the show, she said.
“I thought oh, I am just going to try (to attend) and low and behold. I love selling my paintings and I love it when people choose to take them to their home because it obviously has inspired them,” she said.
Also returning home to St. Albert this year is Kalibri Maureen Wetsch with Ambrosia Artisan Chocolates. Wetsch grew up in St. Albert and moved to British Columbia in 2005.
There she literally dreamt of making truffles, and has since started a home-based chocolaterie. At Make It!, she’ll be selling artisan chocolate bars, truffles, hot chocolate and ambrosia beans, which are made of cocoa mixed with little sweets or fruits.
Wetsch said she mostly sells from home but bringing her chocolate back to her hometown is exciting, she said.
“Ambrosia is the food of the gods and making the chocolate has been a hit for me and now I am sharing it with people and it turned into a product,” she said.
Make It! will run Thursday, Nov. 21 and Friday, Nov. 22 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 23 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 24 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Enjoy Centre is located at 101 Riel Dr. in St. Albert. Children 12 and under are admitted free. General admission costs $6 at the door. A coupon for $1 off admission and program information is available at makeitproductions.com/edmonton/.
