Shows & Events!

I'm pretty excited to announce Leikey Designs will be at two shows coming up in the fall.

First stop...

ETSY: Made In Canada
Sat Sept 26th
The hugely popular show returns this year @ the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto.
Check out the Leikey table for new exclusive pieces and of course all your favourites too.
Admission is free to this show. And The Etsy Made in Canada is happening all over Canada this day so check out your local market!

Next stop...



OOAK Christmas Show
Dec 1 - 6th
That's right! I'm back at the OOAK show for my 4th round! This year, I've graduated from Rising Stars to my very own big booth! Don't forget, there are two cycles to this show. First cycle is Nov 26 - 30th. I'll be at the show for the second half from Dec 1 - 6th.
Come by and say hi!

Looking forward to seeing you at the show!

Getting Ready for the show

Just a little under three weeks away until the One Of A Kind Christmas show. 
Busy prepping and making for the show. I'll have a variety of stuffed toys, brooches and needle-felted goodies available at the show, including many of your favourites from my Etsy shop. 
This will be my second OOAK show vendor experience and my first Christmas show experience, as a vendor. 
Very excited and nervous at the same time. 
Hope to see you at the show.

Stay tuned for a giveaway coming up next week where you could win two tickets to the show!!!

For now, back to work.

 Here's a sneak peek of what's in store for the OOAK Christmas show...

*

*cat not for sale

Giveaway Time!

Productions is in full swing here, getting ready for the One Of A Kind Spring Show.

I'm so excited for the show I want you to be there too! 

I'm giving away 2 tickets to the show 

so you and a friend can check out all the springtime talent and visit me of course! 

To enter to win these tickets...

1. Click here and follow the link to my instagram

2. Follow the instructions and you're entered. 

3. A winner will be chosen at random and announced Monday March 17th. 

Bonus:

Follow me on...

Twitter:

@LeikeyDesigns

Facebook:

facebook.com/leikeydesigns

Instagram:

@LeikeyDesigns

Etsy:

leikey.etsy.com

Pinterest:

pinterest.com/leikey

to find out about more giveaways and news of upcoming shows. 

Good Luck!

Kid Culture Creates - Workshops

We're now in our second month of our Kid Culture Creates workshop series
and I'm happy to share our August schedule as well as some photos of from our workshops so far!

To sign your kid up for classes, please contact Kid Culture @ 416 859 9006
or email kidcultureboutique@gmail.com

         

  

photos from kidculture.facebook

Photos from Kid Culture Facebook + Leikey Instagram

Kid Culture Creates Workshops!

If you haven't heard already, Kid Culture has moved!

 to a beautiful new, spacious location at 

3124 Dundas St. W. 

Toronto, ON

Not just a store, Kid Culture now offers daily song and storytime. 

As well as weekly craft workshops for ages 3yrs old + 

I've stocked up on materials and prepared a fantastic list of simple projects for young ones who want to make and create. 

Each workshop is about 45mins - 1hr (about enough time to peruse the goodies in the shop) 

In every workshop, kids will create and complete their very own personalized project they can take home, use and be proud of. 

It's amazing what kids can make with a few materials and instruction - about the same amount of time to sit down and relax with a cup of coffee at the local shops in The Junction!

What workshops are coming up next?

For the Grand Opening of Kid Culture's new location 

on June 1st, 

we're having a 

Tote Bag making workshop. 

In this workshop, each student is provided with a handmade natural cotton tote bag to personalize and decorate using a heat transfer technique, transferring student’s colourful images from paper to the tote.

Space is limited for this workshop so don't forget to register.

To register for this or other workshops at Kid Culture 

call: 416-859-9006 

email: kidcultureboutique@gmail.com 

or pop into the shop 3124 Dundas St. W

email kidcultureboutique@gmail.com 

or call 416 859 9006 for questions and details

Read all about this Junction gem in this article from Karen Kirk of Canadian Living Magazine! 

Melissa Christie, textile designer extraordinaire!

Never Sleep Alone! 

Chances are you'll recognize these sheets from textile designer Melissa Christie because they're blowing up on the internet right now. Spreading like wildfire since opening up her Etsy shop on Tuesday, Melissa is reaching zombie lovers from all over the globe through social media sites like her
tumblr, 
facebook and
twitter.
Selling out of all items her first day open, Melissa's Etsy shop titled 'It's Alive' sells OOAK handmade bedding featuring hand painted zombie hands! How creepy/brilliant are these sheets!

Melissa's zombie bedding is all handmade by her and made to order. Her shop currently offers standard size bedding twin - king for a flat rate in white cotton fabric. What a deal!
She is currently looking into different colour bedding options and sheets for specialty sizes like California King size. But a good option for those who can't wait is the pillowcase set which are made to fit 20" x 30" (standard size) pillow.

Melissa is working on a portfolio site that will feature some of her other works. Works like her killer Femme Fatal dresses. Over-dyed dupioni silk dresses with screen printed poisonous flowers and hand painted/sewn elements. Photographer/Developer Owen Deveney of Capture Scratch and model Alexandria Goldman of Fresh Poultry.  These dresses are not yet available in her shop, but are destined to be another successful series! Great job Melissa! Keep up the good work!

401 Artisans Marketplace

If you're thinking of giving one-of-a-kind gifts this year

but that's about as far as you got, 

come support local artisans at the 401 Artisans Marketplace 

Thursday Dec. 8th to Sunday Dec. 11th.

Preview of good things to come! - click image to enlarge

You'll find a bevy of gifts for everyone, even those hard-to-please people - you know who you are.... Edibles and jewelry, housewares and apparel, accessories and artwork. There are literally hundreds or gift ideas to fit your budget.

As the OOAK Toronto Show comes to a close this weekend, 401 Richmond West opens it's doors, to the craft-hunrgy public, for their 19th annual Holiday Marketplace.

Free admission for everyone! We want you to spend those dolla dollas on the artisans!

About/Vendors/ Times - click image to enlarge

We're open for business Dec 8th through to Sunday Dec. 11th. Join us on Saturday especially because we're holding a raffle hosted by 100 Mile Finds to win an amazing gift basket filled with handmade goodies from artisans participating in the show! The lucky winner will receive one of my Fox Stuffies along with many many other fancy treats!

Also happening on Dec. 10th & 11th is City of Craft at the Theatre Centre on Queen West.
So if you're in the city for either show, make sure you hit up both to find that special gift or unique piece for yourself.

Hurry up and get your indie-holiday shopping on!

Bonne nuit, Montreal

First: a lame french lesson with keiley...

When we actually crossed the 'boarder' to Quebec, only then (reading the traffic signs) did we realize our neglect in preparing translations and learning common phrases like, 'Pleased to meet you', 'No, just looking thanks', and 'Can I turn right on a red?'. Having only taken french for our province's standard of 4yrs, I was at a loss in most cases. And I can honestly say, in those 4 yrs I barely absorbed anything. But as it turned out, the area of Montreal we stayed in was super anglicized and could switch between french and english without hesitation. 

The only conversational french I'd picked up, prior to Quebec, came from movies and television - which is ultra sad. Nerd Alert! I picked up 'bonne nuit', good night, from an episode of Futurama. As it turns out this is actually a sort of endearment and not something you should just say to a random person. Bonne soiree, means about the same - good evening - but is more appropriate for acquaintances and requires little to no introduction. 

For anyone reading this, you're probably laughing at my incredible ignorance. But I have to say, 99% of the time it was great not know what was going on. It was a little more adventurous that way. The other 1% of the time was only annoying because it can cause traffic jams. Things like menus, signs and non tourist areas were tricky and not predominantly bilingual, but it's fun when you don't know which part of the subway line you'll end up at, or exactly what you're eating. But enough about my incompetence...

Here for your viewing pleasure - the third installment of our Montreal minimalist photo album.

We biked all over the city and visit many of the regular touristy things and their lovely museums. 

These are some pictures from our adventures. 

'soft light, no chin'

Imagine, walking into the foyer of the 4th level of the Museum of Fine Arts and in front of you is a grand marble staircase with a royal blue runner leading your eyes up to the plateau. And at the top of those stairs in bright neon blue, a florescent sign floating above a chorus - line of spotlit mannequins, dolled up for the main event.  

Simply amazing, the custom mannequins are cast from the very models that wore the garments on the runway. Not only that, but a video recording of each model was then projected on the mannequins face and accompanied audio recording of their engaging chatter, singing and dialog. Superb!

Jean Paul Gaultier Exhibition - Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Crazy amazing detail, fantastic collection and innovative exhibition. 

He is a master of simulation and manipulation of any material, not just fabric. 

In the above collage are some of my favourite highlights from the exhibit - the Eiffel Tower slingback heel, simulated alligator stockings, the laced-up lace bodysuit and a hand-beaded leopard pelt gown that took 1060 hours to construct..

Off to the island...

A weird place to want to trek to in the offseason, but it was a sight I couldn't wait to see - the geodesic dome from the '57 World Expo in Montreal. 

We were fully Buckminster'd. I can die happy now. 

Actually much larger than I had thought it would be, and relatively easy to get to via public transit. The Biosphere museum actual gives a discount on admission to patrons with proof of their "green transportation" to the museum. Because it was the offseason, there was hardly anyone around and we were able to savoy a bike ride and observe the dome from around the island; checking out the surrounding parks and gardens.

We were honestly, not the best tourist - as you can see, we didn't actually take many photos. 

The Rialto Theatre

For those of you that follow on twitter, I mentioned this theatre, the Railto. 

Well, we were invited to take pictures of the place. And this is where we took most of the photos from our trip. So tune in later this week for another post and photos of the remarkable Rialto.   

But for now, good night. 

Fashion Jam in Toronto

Attention Fashion-savvy people in and around the GTA this Friday, August 12th. 

Get your fashion on at

Fashion Jam presents Fashion Throwdown 

this Friday 7:30pm - 2am

at 2ninety2 club on College in Toronto

Get your tickets here
Check out the FB event here

One of the crazy talented designers participating in the show is the wonderful Kerri Andreas who will be showing off her amazing hard work in her latest collection entitled "Origins".

 A collection of natural and cozy wears made from delicious natural fibers like cotton, linen and wool, the garments feature hand stitched and silkscreened illustrations and handwritten history and folklore on the origins of the fabric. 

It's not just about the gorgeous apparel, its about appreciating how it came to be!

Check out Kerri's portfolio to see the entire fashion portion of the Origins collection

and her blog to see what she's up to next.

Have fun this weekend and good luck Kerri!

* Photos of Kerri's work by Kerri from her blog