Evanement

First of all, this is the only picture that came out right, the few that were taken at the fair were too dark and blurry.
Just because I'm such a good photographer... *sigh*
So nothing much to show you of the fair itself I'm afraid. It was a small fair only with about 20 stands and lots of them gave information about their organisation so there were only a few stands that sold stuff.
It was inside and there were lots of activities happening in the whole building so people came to the fair on and off. This combination is great if people come for both events: the workshops and the fair. I had the feeling that lots of people came for the workshops and strolled around at the fair to pass the time for the next workshop. So it was definately not a craft fair that focussed only on handmade goods but it was great to show what I am made off and with 99 feelings to show, that was quite a lot. I loved seeing the expression of people's faces when I start to name the feelings while I explain what the project is about.
I was so happy to meet some customers, fellow Etsians and blogreaders and only that made it already worthwile for me being there.Annemiek from TwoTreesBelgium sells lovely ceramics and jewellery and it was lovely chatting to another ceramist and share some knowledge.Also Julia from TheSpottedSparrow showed up at the fair. She's such a sunshine and sells eco friendly, vintage inspired paper goods.
Make sure to check out their shops as they both do great work!

One of my blogreaders, Nynke of TheLifeOfAPurpleRabbit, surprised me with a visit and she made me this beautiful scarf. She made it in my favorite color: green. That gave me goosebumps and I think that unexpected gifts like these are the best! I'll wear it with pride, Nynke! Thank you so much!And Cecilie, originally from Denmark but now living in Bonn was my first customer on the fair. She's a fan of my work obviously and I suspect that she knows all the mini-art-feelings by name too. How cute is that? After the contact I've had with her (and her husband who purchased some of my work as gifts) via Etsy, it was supernice to meet both of them in real life. Thank you too for stopping by.

I did take my ripple blanket along and I did hope to chat a bit more with Mariana from Florcita and with Kim from Viltalakim, but it was too busy for that, which is a good thing I suppose... :)

Tutorial on Poppytalk Handmade

Today, one of my tutorials is published on Poppytalk Handmade. It's all on how to make bowls of unspun thread. They are easy to make, you just need patience for them to dry. They make also great baskets for easter eggs. Hop over to the tutorial here.

I'll be giving these 2 bowls away to the first visitor of my next fair. The only thing you need to say is 'I read your blog' when you come to my table! My next fair is this Sunday the 7th of March in the Cultural Center in Hasselt, Belgium. It's a celebration of International Woman's day then and the initiative is called Evanement.
I also made 15 'I read your blog' goody bags so that I don't have to dissapoint anyone else who says that! :) Hope to see you on sunday!

Evanement - international women's day

In 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.
A woman named Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) tabled the idea of an International Women's Day. She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day - a Women's Day - to press for their demands. It wasn't until International Women's Year in 1975, that the 'International Women's Day' was given official recognition by the United Nations and was taken up by many governments.
So, 8th of March, women will come together to celebrate solidarity, equal rights and freedom.
The city I live in organises an event the day before called 'Evanement' with a market where women's organisations are presented, workshops are being held and where lots of female artists get a chance to present their work.
I'm one of those artists and it's in exactly 2 weeks on the 7th of March. Eeeks, I still have lots to do in preparation so I might be a bit absent on the blog in the coming 2 weeks.

Apart from the market, a few of the activities that you can do there are:

• Tango for starters: fun to try out if you never have before.
• vestiare populaire gives you the opportunity to dive into a dressing room with more then 600 outfits which you can fit on and then be photographed in a studio
• 'de koekjesfee' or the cupcake-fairy is there to make and bake fabulous cookies and cakes
  (kids older then 4 and accompagnied by an adult)
  
• Chocolate, bittersweet a workshop from Fair Trade about the production process of chocolate and in insight in the cacao market.
• A 'how to raise my child' game to get an insight on how other parents look upon issues with their children. Fun and humor garantueed.
  
• An exhibition about breast cancer and how to prevent it
• A workshop with Michaël Verheyden about handbags & fashion accesoiries
• Iris Mondelaers who is a jewellery designer will show how an item is born from start to finish.

For some of these activities, you can sign up before hand but only on the day itself at the info desk of the event from 12u. The info desk is located in the hallway of the Cultural center.

In the fashion museum there is a workshop organised by Knitting guru Stephane Martello.
If you want to take part in the workshop, you will have to sign up. The cost is 10 euro's which includes a visit to the Fashion museum. You can get more info here: modemuseum@hasselt.be



And last but not least, in the evening, Axelle Red will give a show in the cultural center.
She's a Belgian artist that is well know internationally too. She's actually from this city but now lives in Paris. If you want to hear what kind of music she brings, go here.
Tickets for this (15euro) also have to be bought upfront. You can do that via e-mail: plaatsbespreking@ccha.be




If you plan to visit and need more info, feel free to contact me: mitsy@artmind.eu