A Lesson in Patience… & Doing it Right

9 February 2011 • Featured • by
0 Comments

So I mentionned a few entries ago that after years of being a home crafter and participating in small sales, etc. that I am finally getting organized and taking things to the next level. Overall it has been an awesome experience, but for someone who is used to just sitting down at the sewing machine and making something it has been a little unnerving. The past month as I’ve been working on my doll prototype I’ve faced three challenges – figuring out how to make an item that could be easily taught and reproduced, sourcing materials that are both good quality and affordable and getting the securing the proper registration certificate so that I can sell stuffed articles.

Sourcing materials and the subsequent importing issues is an ongoing concern, but I have finally put the finishing touches on my prototype and I’ve had silkscreens made so that I can reproduce the four optional doll faces easily and between yesterday / today I secured my Ontario Registration for Upholstered and Stuffed Articles and ordered the corresponding tyvek labels. By the weekend I’ll be able to sit down and make a complete doll body that can be sold in a retail environment! I am so relieved.

Here’s a little sneak preview of the silkscreens that I made for the dolls. The image at the top of this entry shows the four optional doll faces in various states of completion. The black lines on the face are done with one silkscreen and the colour is applied by hand – both processes are done using Colour Vie pigments. The blush on the cheeks is a MAC cosmetics Mineralize Blush. An uncoloured face will be included in each doll kit that I make and additional faces will be sold seperately. I’ve yet to determine what the cost of these items will be stay tuned.

The image on the right is the artwork for another screen that I had made, but haven’t had a chance to print with yet. This image is going on a muslin over-the-shoulder carry bag for the doll. I’m still in the process of sourcing fabric for this project. I eventually plan on selling the carry bag both as a finished item and as a project kit.

I’m really stoked to get started on building my inventory because I’m itching to get out there to start selling, but before I finish I should elaborate on one thing that I mentioned earlier. I mentioned that I had recieved my Ontario Registration for Upholstered and Stuffed Articles. For the small crafter who might be doing a small sale with their guild at Christmas this may not be a big deal, but if you are a home toy maker or do things like decorator pillows, etc. this is a must have. It certifies for the public’s safety what the stuffing content of your article is. My registration number certifies that my dolls are stuffed with all new materials and states that the filling is polyester fiber. There are different types of labels depending on what you’re doing or how you’re using them – if you’re using recycled fibres or reclaimed fibers it all has to be declared.

At first I was intimidated by this idea, but really securing a registration number was easy. The Technical Standards & Safety Act (2000) isn’t light reading by any means, but through the Markham Small Business Enterprise Centre I found a great little handout called “Guide to the Testile Labelling and Advertising Regulations” which is put out by the Governemnt of Canada Competition Bureau. From this handout I found out that what I needed was a “Form 3” label from the Technical Standards & Safety Authority (TSSA).

If you are a member of a craft guild, your guild might already be registered with the TSSA. Years ago I know this was the case with my guild (Markham Guild of Village Crafts) and for a small fee a guild member could buy Form 3 tags for their dolls and teddy bears direct from the Guild.

If you aren’t part of a craft guild that has a TSSA registration number you’ll have to get your own. The price of the registration for these labels varies according to how many items you plan on producing in one year. Since I’m not planning on making over 999 stuffed items this year I qualified as a “Home Hobbyist” and the registration for that was only $20. Once you’ve registered with TSSA you have to have your own labels printed. On the TSSA website there is a list of qualified and specially equipped printers who can make those labels for you. I ended up having my labels made by Orchid Label and Printing Co. in Toronto. My first batch of 1,000 labels has cost me $84 ($45 is a one time setup fee which includes a proof to inspect / adjust prior to printing, $39 for printing trimming). So long as your registration number is current (renewed annually), there is no expiry date on the labels, so at under $0.09 per label its not that costly.

I should mention that once registered, your business might be subject to inspection, but its really no big deal. It might involve a visit from an inspector to see the stuffing that you are using complies with the label type that you’ve applied for. This all may sound like a bunch of red-tape, but to get entry into some larger craft sales or to put your product into retail stores legal compliance is important and worth the effort.

Happy Crafting!

Jewels & Jeans for Sick Kids

6 February 2011 • Featured • by
0 Comments

In October of 2006 as part of my work with CreativeFestival I was invited to participate in the Jewels and Jeans Auction in support of the Sick Kids Foundation. For the purpose of the auction a group of Canadian celebs graciously gave up some of their treasured denim to an equally impressive group of textiles artists who embellished the jeans to be auctionned. Amongst the celebrities were Avril Lavigne, Darcy Tucker, Silken Laumann, Steven Sabados, Chris Hyndman, Marci Ien & Seamus O’Regan. Amongst the artists were Christine Alexiou, Debbie Bates, Lily Chin, Gunnel Hag, William Hodge, Kenneth Kin, Bob Pennycook, John Willard, Robert Wylie and little ol’ me! I count myself lucky that the jeans I worked on had somehow been overlooked until the last minute – otherwise it was unlikely that I would have come up with this gig.

Having just recently completed two Colour Vie silkscreening workshops with Gunnel Hag I decided that I would put her products to use in my own way. Over 3 days I silk screened, free-hand painted and otherwise embellished Seamus O’Regan’s jeans with a Newfoundland theme.

There are 3 logos which I silkscreened using a waste paper technique – O’Reilly’s Pub, Ches’s Fish & Chips and the Rooms Corporation (the provincial museum and archive for which Seamus O’Regan serves as a board member).

The other emblems on Seamus’ jeans were hand painted and tinted using Colour Vie pigments.These emblems include a fish, a jigger, the provincial and republican flags of Newfoundland, a shamrock, an English rose, a Beothuck figural sculpture and the Matthew (John Cabot’s ship).

Using a deep blue Sharpie I first traced the images onto the denim from paper cartoons that I had hand drawn on newsprint. Then using black pigment and a fine paint brush I built up the lines around each of the emblems. Once the black lines were dry I applied translucent pigments using a dry brushing technique to colour the emblems. Once the painting was finished and dried I heatset the pigments using a hot dry iron.

After the initial painting was complete I used Swarovski crystals, sequins and Kreinik press on threads to finish embellishing Seamus’ jeans. The crystals bonded well to the denim, but the press on thread required some stitching to keep them down. The iron on adhesive of the press on threads held just well enough to keep the treads from shifting under the presserfoot of my sewing machine.

Prior to the auction, they appeared on Canada AM (on October 18th, 2006) and were exhibited during the CreativFestival Fall show at the Metro Convention Centre. Shortly thereafter the jeans were featured on the cover of the November edition of “Arts in Motion” (the Markham Arts Council newsletter).

Since the auction I have been told that Seamus’ jeans went home with a high school home economics teacher who not only loves them dearly, but uses them as a teaching aid in her classroom.

Process photos COMING SOON!