Puces Pop - lifting the mystery

Hi everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful week! I made wonderful discoveries this Friday and I wanted to share it with you, handmade lovers! :)

Friday night after work, I visited for the first time the Puces Pop exhibit, despite the subway being shut down exactly where I wanted to go. I had heard of Puces Pop before but I wasn't sure what to think about it, I don't know why, maybe because the posters had so much information on them I didn't know if it was a music fest, an art show or both. In any case, I jumped in and visited the expo and all that in very good company. As soon as we walked passed the door, we were welcomed by Mathieu amazing pieces, sending waves of bright colors and a hint of vintage. Need I say more? I was charmed by his original pieces and surprising color palettes. We talked about his technique and I was amazed to see the perfection behind his transfer technique on wood. I mean... Wow! He has recently opened an Etsy shop nammed Gredin, which you can visit here. He will be at the Etsy Made in Canada craft show this upcoming weekend! Here's Mathieu at his booth with his wonderful creations and here's are my purchases...! :)

When we got to the show, I have to say it was packed! We got there at about 6h and the show had opened his doors at 2h. I'm sorry I don't have any good pictures of the entire fair as I couldn't find a spot elevated enough to stand on but you can see for yourself on the Puces Pop Facebook page. If I may make a suggestion to the organization for the next show, and I know space is limited, but would it be possible to make the alley a bit wider? If people stopped at a crafter's table on each side, I caused a traffic jam and we had to squeeze between them and I'm sure this was not super fun for the customers and disturbed them while the crafter's were trying to make their pitch. But that's just my humble opinion

But wait, don't stop here! :) I have two more extraordinary crafter's to introduce you to. I've also met Wai-Yant from Creations Li. When I saw her cute creations on her kiosque, I just had to get one! I would have bought more than my adorable smiley bowl but my budget didn't allow it. I just loved the whimsical and simple shapes of her design. Her adorable pieces even go to the dishwashers, that was a great selling point and made my purchase an awesome gift. Love her cuties? Wai-Yant will be at le Salon des Métiers d'Arts de Montréal. You can also visit her website here.

Last but not least, I met again with the wonderful Norma from CaraCarmina. I browsed through her adorable cards and cute kiosque. I wanted to buy one or two cards but couldn't decide which one was the cutest, so I ended up getting 5. One of which I'm putting to good use today - Happy bday 'Ma! :) I just love how senorita Norma conquered the handmade business with her own willpower and dreams. Speaking of which, stay tuned, Norma said yes for an exclusive interview for my blog! :) (Gracias señorita!! ) Meanwhile if you want one of her creation you can visit her Etsy shop here or simply meet her in person - which is way better! - at the Etsy made in Canada craft show next weekend.

On this everyone I have to run, I have a birthday to attend to. I hope you enjoyed my discoveries and that you will support you local handmade artist for this upcoming Holiday season.

See you soon everyone! :)
*M*

Yes Conference and Cara Carmina

Hola everyone : )

As promised, I'm back to tell you a bit more about the YES Conference I add ended this week, on ''How to be your Best on Etsy''.

Just so you know a bit about YES before we start : YES (Youth Employment Services) is a non-profit organization based in Montreal that helps young entrepreneurs and Quebecers find jobs. The people at YES are always super smiling and friendly. I love their conferences and ateliers, it's always full of insights and great tips to help you out. And you have something for every budgets.

I noticed a few days ago that they now had conferences on Etsy - how cool is that?! So I attended the event and loved it. The conference focused a bit more on how to start your Etsy shop since there was a lot of people considering that option. I wish they had shared more advanced insight ( you know, I've been for 5 years on Etsy ) but to get to meet the lovely Norma from Cara Carmina, it was totally out braving the snowstorm outside. Her passion and love for her work instantly filled up the room and 2 hours flew by almost without us noticing…! She's super sweet and colourful. She unfortunately didn't had the chance to tell us all about her passion for social media as we ran out of time, but you know she's just one of those people you would sit down and listen for days. She was natural, super friendly, and if I may surprisingly tall. (When she got up at the end of the conference I was like, wow, that woman is tall…!  And beautiful ;) ) I definitely hope she will consider doing a panel on social media, it was so interesting to hear her talk about it.

Just to show you how sweet she is, look at what she gave to everyone attending the conference:

Her work is whimsical and has lovely references to traditional mexican art.

She gave us a tip that I totally want to try out. She said something like ''Do you know how exotic it can be to your readers to see Montreal?'' And I totally agree with her! It never occurred to me and it's a great idea! I will try to keep you guys posted on Montreal and add more pictures ;)

If you want to discover more about this lovely funky señorita, you can read her article about her conference here or visit her Etsy shop, or check out her great website.

On this, thanks again Norma! :D 

I hope you will continue giving conferences dear! :D

* Maxime *