Owen’s Art Gallery and Struts Gallery team up for The Heart & Pocket Revue
With the holiday season fast approaching and students swamped with essays and finals, the question of how and when to buy gifts arises. Mt. A’s Owens Art Gallery and the Struts Gallery teamed up to organize an event that proved to be just the thing the student shopper ordered.
The Heart & Pocket Revue Independent Craft Market took place on November 19 from 10-4 in the top floor room of the Sackville branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. The sale has the same name as the one that took place during the A Handmade Assembly event from 2019.In that event, the two galleries, the Fine Arts Department at Mt. A, and the town of Sackville worked together to provide opportunities for members of the community to explore and understand the ways things are made by hand. This 2022 sale was a part of the Bordertown Festival.
Entering into the sale, the room was alive. Packed wall to wall with tables piled with goods, shoppers wandered to and fro in a cheerful throng. Some of the handcrafted goods on offer included hooked rugs and pillows, plushies, hats, scrunchies, jewelry, yarn, shirts and fabric, all created by regional or national creators. There was even a table that demonstrated the printing process by allowing visitors to print “Merry Christmas” onto cards.
The sale had a warm atmosphere with visitors and vendors talking and chatting about the wares and crafting techniques. One memorable shopper was a very small and polite chihuahua who was carried around in a sling, happily petted by those who passed by. Despite the large groups and tight quarters, making squeezing around people a necessity, the market lacked the tensions typical of such crowded spaces. It was a pleasant place to spend an afternoon.
One particularly interesting table was that of Libbie Farrell (she/they), who spent the day demonstrating rug hooking to curious visitors and answering questions. Getting to see how this craft worked in person was a very interesting experience.
Although things can be hectic around this time of year, with both exams and the inevitable scramble for holiday gifts, it is important to take the time to take care of yourself. Taking a break from the studying, stress, and online shopping to see what the world of locally made handicrafts can offer you is a good way to both decompress and get some of that shopping done.
If you did not have the time to stop by, I’ve included the list of vendors who attended the event so you can investigate them on your own: Alana Morouney, Anointment Natural Skin Care, Atelier Imago, Bailey Cameron, Baytown Creative, Cricket Sound Studios, Fairy Ware, Gobsmacked Yarn, Izzy Francolini, Jerry Ropson, Jeska Grue, Jon Claytor & Ashley Legere, Kaeli Cook Pottery, Katelynne Cagliostro, Laura Katherine Watson, Lichen & Lace, Melissa Gauthier, Nothing Else Press, Patrick Allaby, Rebecca Blankert, Shoshi Designs, Susie Vokey, The Hardscrabble Press, VeeBee Shoppee, Wild Bramble Nursery and Willow Farm.
