It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

With Christmas less than a month away, you are going to want to check out all of the potential gifts at the Springs Christian Academy Christmas Craft Show on Saturday, December 3, 2016!

Among the 80+ local crafters, you will find 5 of our WESTies onsite, selling handmade wool socks, mosaic artisanal jewelry, recycled and vintage jewelry, buttons, handmade bags, wallets, accessories and adorable sock monkey toys.

Monkey Business Card Company

Blueberry Lane Craft

Sox n Such

Periwinkle Dzyns

Mosaic Pendants Plus

Don't miss out on getting some handmade, original gifts for those you love!

Saturday, December 3, 2016

10 to 4

595 Lagimodiere Ave, Winnipeg

Admission is $4, children under 12 are free

Free parking, coat and parcel check

Childcare provided

Christmas Cafe

WESTie Wednesday - featuring MonkeyBusinessCardCo

Welcome to WESTie Wednesday, where each week we better get to know a proud WEST member and their Etsy shop! Let's meet up with Sharon and her Etsy shop MonkeyBusinessCardCo!

(source)

"I work part time doing some bookkeeping, but spend the rest of my time creating sock monkeys. I get inspired by a lot of different things. Could be a cartoon character (the minions from Despicable me are my latest inspiration). Could be a cute funky pair of socks I see at the store. I also get inspired by one of my regular customers. Every few months, I'll see her at a craft sale, and she will challenge me to make a new monster type monkey (no smiling face, must be scary looking). I source my materials all over. I'm always on the lookout for socks, large and small, the more colorful the better. Unfortunately, I have to source my "original" socks from the US, as we don't have them in Canada. But everything else is bought from Canadian suppliers. I have a dedicated craft room in the lower level of our house. It is always brimming with boxes of socks, bags of fiber fill, buttons and thread."

(source)

"What is it that I sell? Well, I hand make and sell sock monkey creations. Everything from the "Original" good old sock monkey, to colorful and fun patterned monkeys. I also have a line of monster monkeys, zombies, vampires, mummies, demons, etc. I make little monkeys for very little people. No button, just hand stitching, so no choking hazard. I also have a couple of other products: I make wine/water bottle covers, made from socks, and sewn to look like monkeys. Lastly, I use monkey patterned fabric and polar fleece to make coffee cup cozies. My demographic is mostly kids, but my products are great for anyone who is young at heart!"

(source)

"I started selling my monkeys at local craft shows. A friend of mine recommended Etsy (she had a shop) as a way of reaching a bigger audience. My monkeys have now been sent all over the world!

I just want to add how much I enjoy being a part of WEST. I have met so many great people in the group, and have been able to exchange so much information over the years. I always know that I can bounce ideas off of fellow WESTie's, and get honest feedback! WEST absolutely ROCKS!"

Want to see more? Be sure to check out MonkeyBusinessCardCo on Facebook!

Who will be at the WEST Sale III? pt.3

Who will be at the WEST Sale III? Look forward to meeting the following WESTies with their fantastic handmade & vintage items, come May 4th!

From top left, you may find..

VintageBettyClothing - Skirt
Smash Knits - Headband
Monkeybusinesscardco - Mega Monkey
PeriwinkleDzyns - Necklace
EmmsGems - Recycled Glass Bracelet
Oneplusonedesign - Art Print
Secret Jewelry - Ear Cuff Earrings
SogaSoap - Laundry Stain Stick
HeidiandseekBoutique - Lace Infinity Scarf
ladylikeness - Vintage Boots
weareboundtogether - Duct Tape Journal
marathon1981 - Mini Sloth
Real Swanky - Polka Dot Skirt



Stay tuned for Part 4 of our vendor features in upcoming posts!

RSVP to the WEST Handmade & Vintage Sale III here!

Who's New Tuesday: Monkey Business Card Company

It's time for another WESTie introduction! Today's intro comes fom Sharon Forzley 

Where are you from? 
I was born and raised right here in Winnipeg 

What is your Etsy shop name? 
Monkey Business Card Co. 

When did you start your Etsy shop?
I started my Etsy shop on December 15, 2009

Why did you decide to start an Etsy shop?
I decided to start my Etsy shop to get into the online selling phenomenon. I also thought it would be a great outlet for supplementing my income from the craft sale circuit.

What do you sell? 
I sell unique, mostly one of a kind sock monkeys made from not very run of the mill socks.

What is your favorite item to make? 
My favorite item to make has to be my Evil Vampire Demon Bride monkey. I can really let my creativity go to town on this one!

What are your long-term Etsy goals? 
My long term Etsy goals. That's a hard one to answer. I'd like to continue to use Etsy to get my creations out to places other than Winnipeg. I'd like to expand into more of the made to order, very unique projects (like the evil monkeys). Who knows, zombies, vampires, super heroes, ballerinas, the sky is the limit!!

Squidee: A Love Story at the Holiday Market

Most of you don't know this about Squidee, but he's a very romantic soul.  And he's lonely.

:(

Being a good representative for WEST though, he put his feelings of solitude aside and went to the Holiday Market today at the UU church on Wellington Crescent.

He was going to do his best to cheer on all the WESTies at this show.  But he had other things on his mind.

He first went to visit the Sew Dandee table.  Here he sought dating advice from a Manitoba legend.

Keep calm and ride on? Kinky, but it just might work!

Next Squidee decided that his new love (whoever she may be) might need a beautiful present.   A scarf - hand dyed even!

So he headed on over to visit Leslie and her grandmother at the Blue Star Studios table.

Squidee then returned to the Tawny Bee table to regroup.  And that's when it happened.  He spied the most enchanting creature across the way.  He got tingles all the way through his tentacles.  Could it be?  Could Squidee have found love?

 

He gathered up all his Squidee courage and ventured over the Magination's table.  And that's where he found Pinky!  Oh look at this temptress with her wide eyes and gaping mouth so much like Squidee's own.  How could he not fall head over tentacles in love with her?

 

Things were moving fast at this craft show.  Squidee had to make a bold move to make sure that Pinky would be his forever.

He made his way over to Periwinkle Designs to buy a geeky ring for each of Pinky's tentacles.  

 

But alas... in Squidee's absence, Pinky found a new home this afternoon.  It was not meant to be.  Poor Squidee was crushed.

Monkey Business Card Co. to the rescue.  Can you spot Squidee drowning his sorrows with his new monkey friends?  They entertained him and kept his mind on all sorts of monkey business.

Squidee's heart went through a lot this fateful afternoon at the Holiday Market.  Stay tuned for further adventures of Squidee at future WEST events!