Inspired!

It was inspiring! CreativFestival was a great mixture of inquisitive people, great ideas and gorgeous materials.  After weeks of burning the candle at both ends, the stress of moving in through rush hour traffic, the nail-biting set-up and the certain knowledge that not one of those thousands of people could ever be interested in our products, Pearl*s made it through CreativFestival. Elegantly, I might add, thanks to the generous efforts of Mumsie, Carl and the lovely Mrs. Robinson.

On Thursday evening, as we attempted to untangle the labyrinth that is the Metro Toronto Convention Center, I swore I’d never do it again. By Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t wait to do another. The support we received from customers, fellow vendors and Festival staff was unbelievable. And I learned something wonderful; Canadian women want to learn to make handbags! That’s very good news. As a result, I think we’ll make some changes ’round here. Watch for a tutorial page in the next day or so and a shop link by the first of the week.

When not manning the booth, I managed to get out and do a little shopping and enjoy some of the show’s highlights. I picked up some gorgeous Misti Alpaca from the fabulous ladies at Stix & Stones Yarn Boutique from North Bay, Ontario. (I figure I owe hubby a pair of cozy socks after all I put him through.) Check out the charming little chapeaux they were sporting! Amazing, aren’t they? I’ll be mail-ordering from these gals, you can be sure of it!

My neighbors to the right were the clever girls from Farthingale’s, a corset supply company. Miss Linda Sparks (author of The Basics of Corset Building) may well be the finest cutter on the planet, evidenced by this incredible tartan corset which she wore with its matching skirt. Unbelievable.

On the left, I was flanked by the infinitely talented illustrator Kelli Wood of Little Big Words whose whimsical cards are utterly enchanting. They’ll be our Christmas cards this year. And what ingenious branding! Kelli also authors a blog about female entrepreneurship. Clever people, all.

I had the good fortune to meet the charming Heather (and Mom) from Stitching Lotus, avid crafters, both. I was so impressed by their thirst to learn new skills and to sharpen their already considerable ones. They were indefatigable, taking class after class, and with incredible results.

I’m looking forward to the spring show, but in the meantime, I’ll be dragging all the knitting WIP’s I stashed away in the spring. There are four at last count!