"Gather" recap

Because of how unusually rainy the Spring and early Summer were in Vancouver (and by our standards here, things are rainy in general - but the stats for 2012 surpassed the wet weather averages by three times! - so that is no joke), we decided to opt out of the outdoor events we were so immersed in the previous year, and take our Summer event indoors. Luclily, Gather Pop Up, came to Gastown in late July...

Taking place, literally, a block away from our studio, in a beautiful space, previously occupied by a restaurant, and organized by the founders of Cargoh and OOAK Vancouver, gather Pop Up was an easy pick. It was the first event of it's kind so far, and we were so lucky to be part of it. It was about time the bags 'got out to socialize', especially since there were some new designs appearing for the Summer...

Gather was not like many other handmade shopping weekends in the city. In fact, it defined just what we were looking for in a great event - it featured Media night on the opening evening, workshops, an art show and fantastic decor, ambiance and music - and received some serious press coverage in Canada.

... it also had a very unique way of spreading the word throughout the city - with beautiful 2-wheeled messengers equipped with fliers and lots of smiles.

On the set-up day, we loaded our bins on a dolly and carted them down the street, without needing to worry about loading the car, finding parking... making Gather the easiest and most pleasant set-up to date.

The set-up - thanks to Claire for the pic...

I brought some new designs, made especially for Gather Pop Up - and, Summer season in general. These will later on turn up in all leather as well...

Burlap and leather prototype... all new!

Because Gastown is so popular with visitors, the bags ended up traveling to their homes in otherwise unusual places further away - like Australia, Spain; some went to Ohio; and some stayed in town. It was very inspiring to see how aware tourists are about Indie fashion and art movement, and how willing they are to support small makers, like us.

Goodies...

Gather Pop Up was a great experience, time well spent amongst shoppers and fellow artists; and we would love to return for more.

I even treated myself to this cutie by VisaMexicana...

image sources: myself, Cariann, Planet Claire


And also - do not forget our SALE (60% off + prototypes 35% off - and more) August 11th at 
Favourite Gifts...

Posted by Jolanta http://jolavdesigns.com