Screen Printing Process Video

How To Video

Blim Monthly Market

Blim Market...Finally!

Looks like tomorrow will be a beautiful day for the last outdoor market of the year! I am going out to participate, mingle with fellow crafters and see what all the fuss is about. I am pretty darn excited, as this is my first official market.

LOCATION:

Autumn Shift Festival:  Main and 11th (in front of Rumpus Room, Planet Bingo).  see link to map  

Map - Autumn Shift Festival

Blim will be presenting a monthly Market this month to take place on Main Street during the Main Street Autumn Shift Festival!

This Months market will include 40+ vendors (including me, You & Mia), music, hot food, beverages, and entertainment. Vendors will include food, fashion, accessories, supplies, fine art, vintage items and records, and not be limited to crafts, and there will be a focus on nurturing and promoting creative production in our community. We want to appeal to young, old, hip, plain, babies, animals, men, women, everyone!

We are very excited about this event and what it can contribute to Mount Pleasant’s artistic vitality, and how it can help support and encourage the local creative and community.


Call 604 872 8180 or info@blim.ca for more information.

 

Hope to see you all there!

Mia

Sewing!

 I'm lovin' my new tote bag. It has a pocket, for your mobile, or wallet or to hang your glasses. Way cool!

Kids' Stuff

For these prints, I went back to cutting the designs from plastic sheets and printing from a template. It meant my screen was available for multiple prints and I could work faster.
I'm getting better at using the photo emulsion tactic, but it's rather time consuming! 

I will be using these prints for a variety of kids' related objects such as aprons, decorative pillows, and stuffies.

Summer Market Announcement!

This summer I'm bringing You & Mia to the streets of Vancouver!  So exciting.

In July and September I'll be selling my latest and greatest items at the Blim Monthly Markets (more info to come). There will be t-shirts with bikes, new children's aprons, pencil cases with Vespas, pillow cases with hippos, and hopefully some great tote bags for your groceries and other items that need to be carried around.

The Blim  Market is a great opportunity to see all the creative talents of local crafts people and enjoy a day of outdoors shopping. Hopefully the sun is shining.

Tribal Textiles in Zambia

I recently returned from Zambia. While there, I took the opportunity to visit Tribal Textiles, near Mfuwe.
Driving along a bumpy country road lined with trees, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, there is a signpost for Tribal Textiles. Turning off the main road, you are greeted by white-washed buildings, lush greenery overhanging wooden benches and stone courtyards. The air is cool and fresh under the shade. We stretched our legs, cramped from the long road-trip and walked through the shop and workshops.

Colors pop off of pillow cases and aprons. Bold geometric shapes and traditional patterns cover everything from bedsheets and curtains, to table runners and other home accessories. Everything is made with 100% cotton, designed and painted individually. I first thought the designs were created using Batik, like in Indonesia. But the designs are made using a starch paste that is sun-dried and then hand-painted. Baking the fabric makes it durable in countless washes. We arrived during the mid-day meal break so we missed out seeing the process, but there's a great little video (by Will Benson) that explains the How To part.

Enjoy!

Check out this Welsh sculptor, Sue Hiley Harris. It's fascinating how she uses fabric as installation materials. I've always loved installation art and want to wrap most buildings in bright colored material! Ms. Harris is coming to Vancouver in late February and will exhibit her work at Urbanity on Granville Street (north of Broadway).

Now you see it, now you don't

I was recently made aware of the oh so cool site, www.teefury.com/ You're probably thinking, "what's the big deal? Yet another t-shirt site" But no, it's not just another t-shirt site. It's brilliant in every way from creativity to the business/marketing side. 

Each t-shirt costs a mere $10. 

Each t-shirt has an image you know and love but somehow altered to be even cooler. 

Each t-shirt is for sale for only 24 hours. 

Get it now, or lose it forever!

Check out Valentine's Day t-shirt. Gustav Klimt meets George Lucas. What is there not to love?

The t-shirts are limited edition and their availability expires after 24 hours. Only a single t-shirt design is for sale at a time. It's brilliant! It keeps things unique, one of a kind, and TeeFury knows how many t-shirts to print.

It's one of those simple, yet great ideas that make me think, "Doh! Why didn't I think of that?"