So Yeah, Toronto.....

First off- to those still waiting for their Easter Cards, (you know who you are)....... they are coming, they are not lost in the mail, they are late because of human error, sickness and an international trip. I promise they will be special and worth the wait.



So this is the view from my sisters apartment. Its pretty spectacular really. Now, despite being in my sister's company for an entire week, I neglected to get even one picture of the two of us. I did however get lots of pictures of the dogs she works with. Hey, I got priorities...

This fellow was such a handsome and well behaved dog, and could pass for a horse in a pinch...nd of course like all good aunties, I took a ton of pictures of my beautiful canine neice Miss Cracker

Such a pretty little hound. Cracker and I had a great visit. Maggi and I did too. It was a fantastic visit all round.

The main  purpose of my visit to Toronto was to attend the Toronto One of a Kind Show, and do some market research, in preperation to attend as a vendor in the fall. I spent a few days wandering the halls of this show There were more than 400 vendors, all of whom were juried in . The quality of the work was fabulous. The show was so well organized, and the staff was amazingly helpful. It was a joy to attend, and yes I bought stuff- how could I not??? I was however very good at practising restraint. I bought two small pieces of pottery for myself, a funky monster fabric bracelet for the girl child, and a really cool robot /city scape print for the boy child. all in all it was a lot to take in, but I came away from the show with a pretty good idea of what to expect, and the knowledge that I should definitely leave my credit card at home when I go back as a vendor, or the proceeds of my sales will just be gone.

I am really glad that I took this time to go and observe the show before jumping in as a vendor. I was very nervous about preparing for the show. I had no clue how much stock I would need, or how to possibly make all my pots arrive there safely, or how to display it when I got it there. There sure is a lot to think about when attempting to do  a show that far away. I was very glad that I had the opportunity to meat with Valerie Roy, at the show, she was amazing, and took the time to answer my questions, and show me a bit of the ins and outs of the show. Suffice it to say, that after talking with Valerie and many of the fabulous vendors from across the continent, my worries have been allayed. The show does not feel like a scary place anymore... and the preparation has begun.