Perhaps the term crafting conjures up memories of your grandmother patching a quilt or working on her needlepoint. Or maybe it makes you think of the construction paper and pipe cleaners you glued together in kindergarten, or the scrapbooks you made in middle school.
聽But here in Squamish, there鈥檚 a growing group of artists and entrepreneurs who are taking crafting in a whole new direction, building their businesses by creating unique, handcrafted pieces 鈥� with no pipe cleaners to be found.
聽This sizable community鈥檚 support is something that Meghan McCrone, the local maker behind Muddy Marvels Pottery, credits with keeping her going.
聽鈥淸Working with other local businesses] is what I love,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople don鈥檛 think about 麻豆社国产as being an arts centre鈥� but that鈥檚 something we need to focus on more.鈥�
In addition to hosting monthly pottery workshops suitable for all levels of experience, McCrone, who holds a fine art degree in ceramics from Emily Carr University, focuses on creating functional pottery, like mugs, bowls, teapots and pour-overs.
鈥淚 really wanted to be able to use my work, and I wanted people to buy it and have it become an integral part in their daily rituals,鈥� she said.聽
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 not just the function that鈥檚 important to me. I want it to be something that heightens your daily rituals, like that favourite mug that becomes your friend because you always reach for it in the morning when you鈥檙e groggy鈥� You want things to be celebrated but also practical.鈥�
聽 McCrone started Muddy Marvels after moving to Brackendale with her husband and two young children about six years ago, convincing her husband to build her a backyard pottery studio.聽
鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I really turned on the focus to my own creative endeavours,鈥� she said.
聽But with only so many hours in a day, McCrone 鈥撀� who, in addition to being a mother and artist, works full-time as an art and handwork teacher at Cedar Valley Waldorf School 鈥撀� said it can be difficult to focus on building her business when her family, work and pottery demand so much of her time. Leading up to Christmas craft fair season, McCrone said she鈥檚 been typically working on her pottery between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. after putting her kids to bed.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 exhausting but it鈥檚 also rejuvenating,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how to explain it, but I find if you鈥檙e a creative person and you don鈥檛 have that creative outlet I find it more exhausting.鈥澛�
Moving forward, McCrone is hoping to figure out how to most effectively sell her work online, a process that鈥檚 proved difficult in the past.聽
鈥淧ottery is so time consuming. It takes at least a month to get something started to finish... (and) the process of the online selling is almost as time consuming as it is to make it,鈥� she explained.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 sorting out the balance between being a small business owner, having a family and having a career.鈥�
For now, McCrone鈥檚 pottery can be found at a few stores in Squamish, including Nootka Naturals and the Adventure Centre.聽
聽She also sells her pottery at regional craft fairs, such as the upcoming Refresh Market, set to take place at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park from November 18 to 19. The indie fair will feature about 100 vendors from across the region.
聽Another artist set to man a vendor booth at the Refresh Market is Justine Brooks, a Squamish-based jewelry designer known for creating a wide variety of raw, nature-inspired pieces typically cast in metal.
鈥淚 like to make timeless pieces that have a sentimental element to the wearer,鈥� she explained.
聽While Brooks鈥� first foray into jewelry design occurred early on, making beaded jewelry as a child, as an adult she ventured into making pieces for family and friends out of mussel shells collected from the beach. But this passion took a turn when, in 2005, Brooks took her first-ever jewelry lesson in the Indian Himalayas, working with raw silver straight from the ground.
This has been her main source of income since graduating from Vancouver Community College鈥檚 jewelry design program about seven years ago, after running her jewelry line part-time while completing a bachelor of fine arts from Emily Carr University. While Brooks began selling her pieces at consignment boutiques throughout Vancouver, her business has since grown into a wholesaling operation that sells through stores in Canada, the USA, Japan and Russia. And though she still attends pre-holiday season shopping venues like Refresh, Brooks鈥� business has taken a shift from craft fairs and wholesale towards online in recent years, due in part to her two young children.聽
鈥淚 found an online store was the perfect outlet to still make my jewelry available to clients and allow me to stay at home with my children,鈥� she said. 鈥淏eing a jewelry designer is really all I could ask for from a career. It allows me to be creative, passionate and independent and make my own schedule.鈥�
聽 The flexible schedule that accompanies being your own boss is also a perk for Mandy Michals, another 麻豆社国产resident who鈥檚 paving her way in the crafting world with her eco-friendly, handmade baby and nursery accessories line Bushel + Peck.
聽 Inspired by music and the outdoors, her products typically begin with stock images.聽
She then alters them, changing colours and adding hand-drawn details to create one-of-a-kind prints. She designs patterns on the computer before sending them to a manufacturer in the U.S. to print the fabrics she uses to craft each product.聽
A college fashion design grad, Michals came up with the venture in January of this year, partly as a way to spend more time with her now 18-month-old daughter, as well as a way to get her hands on quality, handmade baby products she was having trouble finding from major manufacturers.聽
鈥淲hen you get pregnant everything starts to revolve around the baby,鈥� she said. 鈥淸Bushel + Peck] kind of evolved out of what I need myself, as a mom.鈥�
As it turns out, a lot of other parents must have the same needs as Michals. Her business has grown rapidly over the past 10 months, surpassing all of Michals鈥� expectations.聽
Like McCrone, Michals鈥� credits this success to Squamish鈥檚 highly supportive community of artisans and entrepreneurs. She鈥檚 gotten involved with a group called the 麻豆社国产Makers Collective, a group of five 鈥渕ompreneurs鈥� including Michals who make kids and baby products.聽
鈥淭he support I鈥檝e received from those women has just been amazing in terms of inspiration,鈥� she said, adding that local shops like children鈥檚 boutique One Small Room 鈥撀� and their customers 鈥撀� have played an important role in her success, as well.聽
鈥淭hey were the first shop that started carrying me, and the owner, Christine [Becker], has been so supportive,鈥� Michals said.聽
鈥淭here seems to be such love and support [in Squamish] for local, handmade products.鈥�
Looking to browse through McCrone鈥檚, Brooks鈥� and Michals鈥� products? All three vendors will be selling their products at Refresh Market on Nov. 18 and 19.聽
