Amherstburg the Second

The second for me, the forty-fifth for the event, ART by the River.  Once again the Gibson Gallery in historic Amherstburg called up hot and sunny weather for their huge craft sale fundraiser which turns Fort Malden into a tent city for a weekend.

The fort is situated on the banks of the Detroit River, hence a major player in the War of 1812.  Like St. Lawrence Market for the war's 200th anniversary, costumed people roamed the grounds, sweltering in their woolen uniforms or layers of dress, petticoats and corsets.  ("You get used to it", they lie stoically.  "Your body acclimates," they dissemble bravely.)

Last year I toured the main building.  This year I visited the pensioner's cottage, a two-room house the size of a thumbnail, where a pensioned soldier (age mid-forties or so), his wife and seven children lived, sharing at night with several pigs and a cow or two before the barn got built.  I kid you not.

Pensioner's cottage

Bravely sweltering

The best part was the smokehouse, made from a hollowed tree:

How I want one.

Anyhoo, that was my historical foray for the occasion, conveniently situated right beside the concession stand with the veggie burgers.  Too bad they weren't smoked in the smokehouse.

Once again I lucked into sharing the tent of the awesome Ms. Jacqui Uza, who makes astonishingly beautiful vintage-style beaded bags she and her growing coterie of skilled helpers knit.  Jacqui's enterprise, called BOKO (Bead One, Knit One), is sort of a well-kept secret.  The purses are not sold in stores, and their web presence is negligible.  She and her husband, George, travel everywhere, selling these awe-inspiring creations at shows the world over.  (You can see them next at Toronto's Cabbagetown Festival, inside the park, the weekend after Labour Day.)  The Amherstburg show is the only one they do that's local to them.  All weekend long they catch up with friends who pop by.  It's a very jolly scene.  

George and Jacqui are also really marvelous friends and mentors for artists and crafters they meet in their travels.  They are generous with praise, advice and information.  I am lucky to count myself one of their many beneficiaries.

A new one is Courtney Sendzik, a talented young artist in photography and painting, and our next-tent neighbour.

Courtney in her tent

George helped Courtney grapple with her tent's sides and I helped, too, for the free lesson in tentness.  (I don't have one, and if and when I finally get one I don't want to be a complete stranger to the thing.)  Courtney does gorgeous work and has an infectious laugh, and, almost most importantly, has a sweetie who makes wine at Colio Winery.  What's not to love?  

Lawrence and Courtney

Lawrence very kindly gave a bottle to the Uzas (George is an oenophile) and me as we were packing up after the show was over -- Colio Lake and River 2010 Vineyard Select Cabernet Ontario VQA.  I endorse it wholeheartedly.  

Dee.  Lish.  Us.

I also met Elizabeth and James of Harvest Pillows, whose product is filled with buckwheat.  They also  sell them at shows all over the place.  Elizabeth came by my hat display wearing some very wonderful glasses with vintage frames, for which I am a sucker.  Their booth was an oasis of simplicity and calm, which seems apposite when your product is pillows.  I wanted to curl up with one of them right away.  (A pillow, not Elizabeth and James.  Although I'm sure they're personally very cuddly, also.) 

Probably very cuddly Elizabeth and James amid their pillows

It was very nice to be in the sun, yet close to the river and its delicious breezes, on the last weekend of August, seeing some familiar faces and meeting new people.  Some souvenir snaps:

  Emily and Lauren

Our tent of beaded bags and occasionally beady millinery.

A steamship going through, which they do.  The river there is a deep channel for ships, which is why the fort was so crucial during the War of 1812.

Debbie, a.k.a. Pinkie.  Not Pinky, Pinkie.  Somehow this hat spoke to her and she gave it a loving home.

Lorraine, in one of the hats she rocked so well for a bit of dress-up fun.  Behind her is George Uza, Jaqui's charming husband.

Lovely Ms. Kelly and her long locks liked this cap.

This is a photo of Rex, Courtney's cat.  That face!  It cracks me up, and reminds me quite a bit of my cat, Olivia.  She's also a clown.

Olivia, my clown princess.

Continuing this theme, a pooch named Princess.

Judy, whom I met at this show last year when she bought my showpiece "Eliza."   She collects hats, with the input of her husband's discerning eye.  Judy made a beeline to my table first thing this year, which was so flattering it made my weekend.  This is one of the two pieces she chose this time, and an excellent choice, too.  Thanks, Judy!

Chartreuse-loving Shirley.

Jeannine kindly allowed me to borrow her to model this chapeau precis because of her apposite ensemble.  Elle est ravissante.  Merci!

Lovely Ashley in her new gold silk disc band... 

...and Rose, aglow in her new grey one.

  Avery, whose mother said a photo would be okay.

The shady bits of the riverbank were oases in the hot park.

Amanda, radiant bride-to-be, in my latest showpiece.  I'm very proud of this hat because it has a level of sophisticated construction and clever engineering that I haven't achieved before.  Amanda totally "got" it and named it the "OMG Hat."   Thanks, Amanda!  I want to dress your head for your wedding!


And with that we bid another fond farewell to Amherstberg and ART by the River.  Big thank-yous to Jacqui and George Uza, the hard-working volunteers of the Gibson House Museum, and everyone who took the time to come by my display, play dress-up, and make a purchase.

Look for me back at my own spot at St. Lawrence Market this Saturday, as we bid a fond farewell to summer (school year edition).

             

Ironic Iterations

That's what Ken, Salome's husband, termed my taking photographs of photographers last Saturday.  He manages the bookstore at OCAD, so I figure he must know what to call such things.  St. Lawrence Market has lots of visitors any given weekend, and they're snapping away, as I do, only more so.  So I took pictures of some of them.

It was just gorgeous on Saturday, August 18, and Salome (and Ken) were back from their visit to Vancouver for Salome's sister's wedding.  So the atmosphere was more festive than it is without her.  Plus, she shares slices of luscious fresh veggies from the farmers' market, which is absolutely lovely.

On with the show...

This is Molly, in her natural environment.  Pink.

This busker is very charming.  Musically, I mean.  His playing evokes in me a similar feeling as Iz Kamakawiwo'ole's ukulele version of "Over the Rainbow" does.  Melt!  Sniff!

Ironic iteration the first.

Heather, who modeled this head band that looked so good with her dress.

Ironic iteration #2.

The voodoo strawberry (by Salome, who else?) is back.  Well, how do you keep your hat pins?

 Elephants.  All day long I was seeing elephant images, on garments, as art, all kinds of ways.  What is the universe trying to tell me?

Ironic iteration #3.

Shirley Granick in her new cap, which she loves because of the blingy chain trim. We hit it off famously, did Shirley and I.  A delightful episode of the day.  Thanks, Shirley!

Nicole, whose lace cardigan looked so perfect with the vintage lace trimmed straw bucket that she kindly modeled it for me.

  Ironic iteration the last.

Maria never wears long dresses to work at the Market, nor black ones.  Until this time.  She looked so dishy I just had to capture the moment.

And finally, the taupe straw with the vintage lace has found a forever home with Nancy, who wanted something special.  Thanks, Nancy!

Absence Alert

I won't be at my usual perch this Saturday.  I will be at ART by the River, in Amherstburg, Ontario, a big annual craft sale in a War of 1812 fort on the Detroit River.

Buskerfest will just have to do without me.  But, if you're in Toronto, you should go!  It's a real blast, oodles of free fun for the whole family.  If you're in Amherstburg, or Detroit, or Windsor, or environs, your should go to ART by the River.

There.  I've sorted your weekend for you.  You're welcome.    

Simcoe Daze

The August long weekend has passed and it was the hottest day yet at St. Lawrence Market.  Thank goodness for the Market Street breeze, wafting up the hill from the lake and doing its best to keep us cool.

Being Simcoe Day weekend, the costumed people were out in force, in their long dresses and woolen uniforms, poor things.  They are very stoically sweltering as they performed amusing songs of the period on the wee stage in the park.  I saw "Laura Secord" later, in her street clothes.  She must have felt much better after shedding that hot costume.

The divine Ms. Salome is out west for her sister's wedding.  The lovely Tracy Crandall and her excellent crocheted bags of hemp and recycled fabrics were my neighbour for the day.  She was good company, especially since she had brought a spray bottle to spritz us with as needed, which was often.  Very cooling and much appreciated.

My tent neighbour, Mark, also provided cooling in the form of folding fans he distributed to the ladies.  What a lovely thing to do!  Also much appreciated was Roberto and his son, Severus, distributing cold bottles of water to all.  Seriously, I love my Market neighbours.  You should all come and buy things from them because they have wonderful merchandise and are wonderful people.

Despite the long weekend, the heat, and the thin crowd, it was a pretty good day.  Herewith the photos:

Okay, this is from Tuesday of last week.  The indispensable Scott and I happened by when we caught a what looks like a commercial for Buskerfest in the works.

A shot of a shot.  And then my batteries died.

The fan from Mark.  Pretty, and very helpful.

Mick, a seven-week-old Golden Retriever puppy. All the cute there is.

I was in the right place at the right time, as Marina needed a fascinator for a wedding.  For that afternoon.  Glad to help!

I couldn't resist borrowing Lesley to pose in this cap.

I had a lovely chat with this adorable pooch's "mum", but do you think I can remember the name?  Nope.  Sorry, pooch and pooch's mum!  Email me and I'll rectify this tout de suite!

This one I never met, so I don't have to fell guilty about forgetting the name.  Charm for days.

The singing, sweltering costumed people reminding us about the War of 1812, especially on Simcoe Day weekend.

Other entertainers last Saturday were these guys across the street.  Very good, they were, and not repetitious!  Extra marks!

After some hemming and hawing, Catherine decided to buy this one.  Thanks, Catherine!

Linda chose this raffia braid circle band with silvery tints, and I'm very glad she did.  Merci!

And finally, an Instagram photo from Ms. Salome wearing the fascinator I made for her to wear to her sister Joao's wedding.  O quão bela!  Obrigado, Senhora!  (Obrigado, Google Translate!)

Hot Lips and Monkey Millinery

Another gorgeous day last Saturday at the market of St. Lawrence.  Not too hot, just beautiful.  The week before was nice, too, but pretty quiet.  I'm including photos from July 21 in this post.

An early sale set an optimistic tone for the day to come.  Salome's hot pink lipstick kept it going.  Like a teenager, I insisted on trying it on.  She's right -- bright lipstick makes you smile more.

Salome borrowed my camera and snapped pictures all over the park, making her the guest photographer of this post.  Most of the shots below are by her.

She had also dyed her hair at least two outrageous colours, but not nearly as lurid as her Facebook photos showed them.  Quite lurid enough, though.  She is taking a couple of weeks off, first to watch her sister get married in Vancouver.  Whatever shall we do without the kween?  Bear up as best as we can, I suppose.  But who's going to feed me snacks of fresh fruits and veggies??  That's the real question.

Roberto forgot his lucky sign.  We did what we could to mitigate things.  Scott bought a photo from him, at long last.  Subject:  the Market, what else?  Roberto has many shots of iconic locations about town that speak to us in varying degrees, but the one we chose is relevant to our lives right now.  Besides, it's where we met Roberto, so it's doubly significant.  It's a cool shot, as are they all;  he's made the background buildings out of focus so the south Market building looks like a model.  Scott makes exquisite model cars, so he liked that a lot.

Since there are a lot, let's just cut right to the photos, shall we?

Here's Joyce, who got my day off to a good start with her purchase of this felt flower band.  That's Roberto's sign-less table of framed photos behind her.













Two friends by the fountain

Jessie, who bought this band on July 21.  Thanks, Jessie!

Jennifer, who had me make this fascinator to wear to a wedding.  Thank you, Jenn!

Heather, my best friend since high school, came by July 21 to drop something off and stayed awhile, which was the high point of the day.  Thanks, Heather!

One of Aunt Lizzie's sock monkeys in a charming woolly cap.

And another one.

And another one, feeling much cooller than the previous two in his seasonally appropriate straw.

Jay, who played dress-up for a minute, remains unconvinced he's a hat guy.  But he looks so good in this one!

Maria looking somewhat dubious.

Roberto's table again.

Julia, in her new wide brimmed linen hat with the silver paint circle stamps, which she handles with great authority.  Thanks, Julia!

Charlie, a charmer, with the indispensable Scott enjoying the view.  He's not too bad, either.

A view down the park.

Gorgeous fresh field tomatoes, from the farmers of the north market.  Su.  Perb,

Visitors to my table.

Trying on a fascinator.

Me in front of my table.  I'm dead chuffed with my new bronze wide brimmed straw on the right, atop the hat boxes.  Come see it and buy it!

I had two shots to choose from of this particular moment.  I chose the family rated one.  Salome, my hat, her display form and necklace.

The lovely Marina, who loved this creased sinamay beret with the roses from England enough to make it her own.  I couldn't imagine a more perfect new owner for it.  Thanks, Marina!

Marina and her fella, Kris.  Such a handsome couple.

And finally, two goofy ladies bid you adieu.  Matching lipstick and neocortex.