Got Craft celebrates its 15th year in Vancouver as one of BC’s largest curated markets featuring makers, designers and small shops. They will be hosting their next event Saturday May 7th and Sunday May 8th at the Croatian Cultural Centre from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. The event is just in time for Mother’s Day and features 80 independent makers and small business.
What can you expect to find at Got Craft? Some of the goods you can find include ceramics, clothing, bath + body goods, jewelry, food + beverage, homewares, greeting cards, art along with a mini maker area with kidpreneurs aged 5-13 years old. You can also expect food carts to be on site if get hungry while shopping. Advance tickets are available online for $5 which also gets you an opportunity to win a handmade prize pack. Kids 12 and under are free. To learn more about all the vendors on hand, or to grab your advance ticket(s), visit Got Craft.
First Saturday Open Studios happens this Saturday, April 2nd from Noon to 5:00 pm. What is it? It is an opportunity to visit artists in their studios and get a chance to ask questions, learn techniques, see work in progress and if the urge strikes, buy artwork directly from the artist.
This is a once monthly event as the name eludes, the first Saturday of the month, in Vancouver and North Vancouver with different artists participating in each month.
This weekend, we know Jesse Toso, of Toso Wood Works, is hosting an Open Studio with a number of other artists at The Annex, 1001 Parker Street. Expect beautiful handmade furniture in this space along with beautiful art. If you are looking for things to do this weekend, this is definitely something worth checking out. What studios are open this weekend? Visit Next Open Studios here for more info.
The Neigbourhood Small Grant program is back for 2022. The foundation of this program is connecting people within their own communities. The premise of the program is fairly simple. It is the belief that the best people to affect change in a community, are those that live within it. When money is less of an issue, it allows more ideas to flow. This is where the grants come in. The Neighbourhood Small Grants program allows you to apply for up to $500 for your idea to connect your community.
What have other people done? A few ideas include book exchanges, benches and community gardens. Some other ideas include creating small care packages for seniors with a few spring flowers and crossword puzzles and/or word search games. For young children, creating a scavenger hunt in a park with prizes. People have also created art cards for seniors in long term care. Connection is the key and the ideas are only limited by your imagination and, of course, the $500 budget. Want more ideas or thinking about applying? We invite you to visit Neighbourhood Small Grants for more information.
The basic principles of the Neighbourhood Small Grants Program:
Small is beautiful. Small ideas are beautiful and manageable.
Everyone has something to offer. Whether you can teach a skill or give some tips, or provide a service. We all have something valuable to share.
It’s your project. You create how you want it to look and feel.
Create your chosen family. A platform to help build networks within your community.
Applications are now open until April 30, 2022. Applications may be accepted for a second cycle in the Fall depending on whether funds are still available. This is a great opportunity to create something memorable for your community.
First Pick Handmade is returning to the Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street, on Sunday, March 27, 2022 for a Spring Pop Up Market. They will be featuring a wide range of high quality Canadian made fashion and accessories. Some of the makers that will be on hand include Bronsino, Silver & Gold Clothing, Mimi and Moo, Mata Home, Dougherty Glass Works, Callipyge Collection and Heather Johnston Art which will have some beautiful cushions with iconic Vancouver imagery. So whether you are looking for something for your home, for yourself, or a gift, lots to choose from with all this talent under one roof. We encourage you to stop by and check it out between 11:00 am and 6:00 pm. Admission is free.
February 28 to March 4, 2022 is National Invasive Species Awareness Week. What are invasive species and why should you care?
By happenstance, we’ve been learning a bit more about invasive plants over the last couple of years. It started with working with the City of Vancouver to create Green Street Gardens on City owned landed. It has been an ongoing learning process throughout that time. It also meant removing some invasive shrubs like Himalayan Blackberries and grasses. There are many groups doing this kind of work all over the Province of BC. One local group Free The Fern launched during the pandemic works with volunteers to remove invasive plants in Champlain Heights and replacing them with native plants, but invasive species are not limited to plants.
So what are invasive species? “An invasive species is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage“. Wikipedia
Why should you care? Native plants, animals and habitats provide us with ecosystem services such as removal of pollution, recreational opportunities, food and medicine, protection of water, soil, climate and nutrients. Some invasive plants are toxic and could cause medical problems for wildlife, domestic animals and people.
On walks, we often see English Ivy crawling up the trunks of trees which looks beautiful, but in effect is killing the tree by suffocating it. Urban wildlife and people will be relying on those trees more as we deal with climate change going forward. To learn how you can play your part in protecting our environment from invasive species, we encourage you to check all the information provided by the Invasive Species Council of British Columbia. ISCBC is an action-oriented organization working to stop the spread of invasive species in BC. They spearhead behaviour change in communities, organizations, governments and industry to help protect our province’s healthy habitats from invasive species. What can you do? We’ve set out some of the Invasive Species Council of BC’s programs below to help you become aware of things you can do to help stop the spread of invasives species in BC.
Don’t Let It Loose
Do not let unwanted pets like goldfish, rabbits, turtles and frogs loose in the wild. If you no longer want a pet, return it to the pet store you purchased it from, rehome it or deliver it to an appropriate animal rescue organization. For instance, Rabbitats in Richmond focuses on rescuing and rehoming rabbits. Do the right thing.
Plant Wise
Are you a new gardener? Learn to be Plant Wise and become aware of what plants are considered invasive before planting anything in the ground. Most reputable garden centres have stopped selling invasive plants, but some still do. There are many alternatives.
Buy Local Burn Local
If you are planning to go camping soon and plan to have a camp fire, ensure you buy and burn local wood. Why? Moving firewood, to or from a campground or cabin, can spread invasive species and diseases that can destroy forests and harm our air and water.
Clean Drain Dry
If you are planning on participating in any water sports such as boating, kayaking or taking the canoe out, you can easily spread invasives from one body of water to another. These aquatic invaders are entering BC’s beautiful lakes, streams, and wetlands. Boaters, anglers and paddlers can all take action now to help stop the spread by practicing Clean Drain Dry.
Play Clean Go
You can stop invasive species in its tracks with cleaning your shoes when travelling to and from different areas. Seeds are easily transferred by shoes.
Report A Weed
To help curtail the spread of invasives, knowing where they are located is key. To that end, YOU can be a steward of your own neighbourhood by reporting invasives to the Invasive Species Council of BC. It’s easy to do on your walks, hikes and travels around Vancouver, or within the Province. There are several ways to report invasives, but we found the easiest is the Report A Weed app. We’ve given this one a test run. It’s easy to use, take a photo, provide some contact info and submit. If you are unsure if something is in fact an invasive, iNaturalist is an excellent app and resource. If you aren’t already familiar with this app, upload a photo and the app with determine through AI what the plant is and at the same other citizen scientists will provide feedback as to their observations and can help confirm the identity of the plant.
What’s a really bad invasive? There are a number and that answer may vary depending on where you live in the Province. There are some invasives that are toxic to grazing animals, but for those of us located in Vancouver, our guess would be Japanese Knotweed. Japanese Knotweed has bamboo like stems and roots so strong, they can penetrate thick asphalt. This invasive can damage building foundations, pipes and if on your property, devalue your home. If you’d like to learn more about invasive species and how you can do your part to stop the spread of invasives, we invite you to visit Invasive Species Council of BC.
We have never been one for making resolutions going into the New Year. Self-improvement is a year round activity in our minds. The phrase New Year New You has been touted around, but after a turbulent 2 years instead of focusing on you, how about doing something to help others this year?
Heading into the New Year, we thought we’d highlight a few places where, if you have some time on your hand, you can help out. It could be volunteering on an ongoing basis, or as your time permits. We are going to start with an easy one, Vancouver Food Runners. This is a Vancouver non-profit that was launched in March of 2020. Since its inception they have redistributed over 800,000 pounds of food which would otherwise have gone to waste. To make things really easy to volunteer, Vancouver Food Runners has a simple app. All you need to do is download the app, sign up and you will receive alerts in your area about food that needs to be delivered to a community partner, usually only a short distance from your location. You can sign up by the time of day that’s best for you ie. days, afternoons, evenings, weekdays or evenings. It’s that easy. Their app allows you to sign up for regular weekly pick ups or, as you have time.
Vancouver Food Runners is currently operating in the Vancouver only at this time, but they hope to expand to other areas soon. In order to do that, they need more community partners to donate food and available volunteers to rescue/pick up food and deliver it. Want to learn more? Visit Vancouver Food Runners, download the app, or give them a follow on Facebook.
In case you missed the memo, a ban on plastic and compostable plastic shopping bags went into effect January 1, 2022. With this also comes fees on paper and new reusable shopping bags, a minimum of $0.15 for paper bags and $1.00 for reusable bags. These fees are scheduled to increase in 2023 to $0.25 for paper bags and $2.00 per reusable shopping bag.
Why the ban? In case you hadn’t heard waste from plastic bags pose a serious environmental danger to human and animal health. Did you know in 2018, 89 million plastic shopping bags and 4 million paper shopping bags were thrown away in the garbage in Vancouver. According to the Great Canadian Shore Cleanup, plastics bags with the 6th most common type of litter found on the shorelines in 2019.
For more information on the City’s new by-laws and some exemptions that apply to facilities such as hospitals, pharmacies and community care facilities, visit the City of Vancouver.
If you need to stock up on some styling reusable sturdy totes, visit ILiveInEastVan online for a selection of canvas and nylon totes.
2021 has certainly been a year for the history books. Although there were many positives, it was a challenging year for so many. We truly hope 2022 is a brighter year that brings peace, joy and a little love.
If you missed the recent artisan markets and craft fairs, there’s still lots of opportunities to support local makers. We are setting out some of our favourite shops that carry a wide range of items that are perfect for gift giving this holiday season. If you haven’t already visited them, check them out in person, or visit them online.
Second Nature Home is a home décor boutique located at 3565 Commercial Street in Cedar Cottage. The store has a wide range of items outside of home décor including jewellery, gifts for the foodie in your life, something cute for the new baby or new mom and much more. They usually have extended hours running up to Christmas. Be sure to pay them a visit.
Plenty + Spare is located at 2168 East Hastings Street. It’s easy to miss by the smells of the bakery next door like will like you draw you to them, but do stop into Plenty + Spare. The have an array of beautiful handmade bath and beauty products along with other gift items brought in for the holiday season.
Giving Gifts is a very cool space located at 4570 Main Street. The store tucked between 30th & 29th Avenue is made of up 5 rooms packed with items from 100 local as well as fair trade artists from around the world. It is a gift giving boutique so you will easily be able to pick up a few gifts for just about any age.
Jackson’s General Store located at 1490 Kingsway (at Dumfries) near Knight Street. This space is the epitome of cool with a distinct retro vibe. Store owner, Mike Jackson, has created an eclectic mix of unique items in store which features clothing, gourmet food, books and if you are looking for a candy fix that is a blast from the past, this is your spot.
The Coast Goods is a sweet shop nestled away in the heart of the residential area at 1302 Victoria Drive. This is great neighbourhood shop that focuses on ethically sourced home decor and giftware again supporting our local independent artisans. Be sure to check them out and give them a follow on Instagram.
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention this beautiful shop located at 4391 Main Street. They have an amazing array of home decor items and lots of great things on hand for gift giving. They feature local as well as international artists.
Why it’s important to shop local: For every $100 you spend with a local business, $46 is re-circulated back into the BC economy (vs $18 for multi nationals). Small business re-circulates 2.6 times more revenue in the local economy as do chains.
A recent social media post alerted us to an amazing 12 year old young man living in Riley Park, Jeremy Lynch. Jeremy and his family moved to Vancouver from the UK about 1 ½ years ago. When Jeremy was 4 years old, he decided he loved business and wanted to make money, but Jeremy also realized he doesn’t really need money. At 6 years old, Jeremy learnt that one of his favourite animals the cheetah was on its way to becoming extinct. Jeremy then started making and selling cards to help raise money for the Cheetah Conservation Fund.
Jeremy makes all his own cards and sells them for $3.00 a piece with 100% of the proceeds going to the Cheetah Conservation Fund and now also OceanWise and the International Justice Mission. On good weather days, you will find Jeremy out in front of various businesses on Main or Cambie for an hour at a time selling his cards. If you wish to support Jeremy and purchase his cards, you can also find his cards for sale at a few businesses that host a box in their reception area. We’ve set out below where you can purchase his art cards in person:
The Sellution, 3604 Main Street Pittie Coffee, 3702 Main Street (at 21st) West King Edward Animal Clinic, 3386 Cambie Street Animal Cambie Village Animal Hospital. 510 West 24th Avenue Clearview Orthodontics, #1807 – 805 West Broadway
Jeremy is an impressive young man and has raised a whopping $25,000! As one that has raised funds for various charities over the years, this is no small feat. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for Jeremy who his father says “cares deeply about taking care of the planet”. With this much passion and drive at such a young age, we expect he’ll be making positive impacts wherever life leads him.
In the event you missed the recent feature on Global BC’s This Is BC with Jay Durant, we invite you to give it a listen, it’s rather inspiring.
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