Got Craft?

by Lauren W

We do!  Not everyone is aware of this, but we have some pretty crafty ladies working here at Barefoot Contessa – there are seamstresses, knitters,  jewelry designers, artists and all kinds of creative in between. We’re all led by Eva, the owner of Barefoot Contessa, who is the craftiest of us all – seriously, she knows how to do pretty much every kind of crafty thing known to man… you should see her studio!  This is why we’re all so excited to be participating in the Got Craft? Show this Sunday!

Participating in craft shows was something Eva used to do quite often, but fell by the wayside as the store got bigger and busier and a 2nd location was opened, so we’re definitely looking forward to getting back to our roots so to speak and doing something a bit different from the pretty dresses and fabulous clothes we are best known for.

This year the spring Got Craft? show will be held on Sunday May 8th at the Royal Canadian Legion on Commercial Drive. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Got Craft, it is Vancouver’s largest indie craft fair and features over 55 handmade designers, fresh food, a DJ and a DIY table (so you can get your craft on too). Each individual fair is curated and features a specially selected group vendors to create a show that best represents the indie nature of Got Craft. The goal is to have a good number of vendors in each category – jewelry, clothing, bath and body, paper goods, ceramics, housewares, accessories, wall art, plush, food, etc. So there really is something for everyone. To find out more you can check out their website www.gotcraft.com.

Our lovely table will be comprised of delightful wares from Pontouf (made by Piper), Betty Hearts Veronika (made by Candice), Potato Stamp Cards (made by Julia) and La Reine Jewelry (made by Lauren) along with various creations and whatnot’s  handmade by the Barefoot Contessa herself.

Pontouf

A little line of handmade trinkets created in Vancouver, BC – inspired by ballet costumes, Edwardian school girls and  bouquets of dahlias, Pontouf pieces are girlish, whimsical and always with a sense of humor about them. Each piece is cut, stitched, wrapped and fluffed by hand and with love.

pompom pin

satin bow hair clip

double pompom hair clip

Potato Stamp Cards

Potato Stamp Cards have a mission to make “Happy Birthday,” “I Miss You,” “Congratulations” and every sentiment in between that much more fun with cute and quirky smile generating images. Each card is individually stamped by, as the name suggests, stamps carved out of potatoes. We have had several customers comment on their uniqueness and how they find the cards to be a refreshing change from the ones you might find at a big chain store.

Betty Hearts Veronika

Fusing a love of hip hop style and vintage treasures, designer Candice Klein (aka Roxanne Chante) travels the globe in hunt of components for her line of phresh creations. Created as wearable art, each piece is a mix of new and re-purposed vintage materials to add a bit of bling to any outfit.

La Reine Designs

French for “The Queen,”  La Reine features fresh water pearls, semi-precious stones, sterling silver, hand-knotted silk cord with vintage elements to create feminine and elegant pieces that are fit for a queen.

fresh water pearls hand knotted on silk, with a vintage brooch

faceted amethyst hand knotted on silk with vintage brooch

little silver squirrel charm on silver chain with fresh water pearl

so fresh and so clean

by Lauren W

Now, let it be known that we are not the kind of girls who are afraid to get their hands dirty or who sit idly by while there is work to be done. This fact was demonstrated all last week when we gave our Commercial Drive store a bit of a facelift – a little R&R (refresh and renewal) for the new year if you will…

The whole process involved a lot of painting – A LOT of painting. We painted pretty much the entire store  – the walls, the fitting rooms, the clothing racks, the front desk and even the floor.  Nothing too drastic was done though, we still stuck to our usual pallette of cream and white, though spiced things up with a touch of dark grey (for the floor). 

Candice gets her paint on

As you may have guessed it’s not nearly as exciting to redecorate a retail space as it would be to redecorate your home. Since the clothes, jewelry, accessories and other what-nots need to be the focus (as one might guess), the purpose for the rest of the store is to serve as a neutral backdrop to showcase all the loveliness – hence the cream and white colour scheme. Fortunately for us, this suits our shabby chic, romantic, vintage-inspired esthetic perfectly. Unfortunately for us, it means that our biggest choice is which shade of cream to use.  Actually, no – this time we did decide to add a bit of sparkle to the stores… literally. 

Next time you come visit us, you must take note of our fabulous sparkly floor! It took 5 days, what felt like 100 coats of paint, some glitter and then a whole lot of varnish to seal the deal… but we have to admit, it was well worth it – it looks beeeautiful!

We still have a few more finishing touches to do, and of course the Main Street store needs a bit of attention as well… but that is for another day, and another blog post.

Katrina hard at work

Julia demonstrates her brush stoke