vendor profile: Hardpressed

Hardpressed has offered custom screen printed posters to customers for over ten years. And more recently have started to design and sell their own line of City/ Province inspired clothing, posters, and merchandise keeping design and quality as the focus for all items they sell. 

For more info, visit their website at hardpressed.ca or find them on Instagram.  Or if you're in Saskatoon, stop by the shop located at 226 20th Street West.  

vendor profile: Walden Sweet Design

Walden Sweet Design was borne from a love of home and a passion for handmade goods. Our screen printed textiles are lovingly hand sewn and screen printed in our small studio in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. We make pillowcases, hankies, tea towels, and other assorted functional textiles with designs inspired by our love for pattern and nature. We use the finest quality fabrics and water based inks to ensure you will enjoy your purchase for a long time to come. We strive to make cozy relaxed products that we hope will find a comfortable spot in your home.


instagram.com/waldensweet
waldensweet@shaw.ca

vendor profile: Natalie Gerber

STATEMENT

As an artist, designer and maker I am inspired to create functional design for everyday living. While craftsmanship is important to my creative process, so too is function. I combine my love for illustration, surface design, clean lines and hand-printed fabrics with conscious material choices and in-studio practices. 



My South African background influences my aesthetic, while inspiration is drawn from styles that include Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern design. From detailed sketches to mark making and loose line drawings, I explore the above within my work and transfer the imagery onto textiles through silkscreen printing. 



While my studio focus is on boutique textile printing I am further motivated by interdisciplinary and cross-cultural collaborations. Creative alliances provide opportunities for knowledge sharing that I believe contribute to rounding out my experience as an artist and designer. 



This ethos has extended into my studio practice through special projects with a social responsibility - most recently collaborating with a group of artists to develop imagery for print in the township of KwaDabeka. Located outside of my hometown of Durban, KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. This fair trade opportunity has inspired me to further explore community initiatives that support sustainable futures.

BIO
NATALIE GERBER began her studies in 1995 at The Natal Technikon, in the Fashion Design program, Durban (South Africa). After immigrating to Canada her interests in textiles and design developed while studying classical tailoring and couture design under Calgary designer Mithè de Fontenay. Enrolling at the Alberta College of Art & Design, Natalie earned a BFA Degree (with Distinction) in Fibre/Textiles in 2003, and later in 2007, a post-graduate Certificate in Creative Pattern Cutting for the Fashion Industry, from the London College of Fashion in London (England).

Natalie currently maintains a full time studio practice in Calgary and is represented in boutiques and galleries across Canada.

WEB: www.nataliegerber.ca
INSTAGRAM: natalie_gerber
TWITTER: natalie_gerber
FACEBOOK: Natalie Gerber

winter wonders artisan profile: Walden Sweet

We are Dana Mastel and Wayne Jorgenson and we are the Walden Sweet! All of our items are hand printed and sewn in our small studio. Inspired by the simple comforts of home we hope that our designs will find a cozy nook somewhere in your home. This holiday season give someone handmade comfort and joy!

www.waldensweet.blogspot.com

An inspiring video to share: Libretas Merypinta

Libretas Merypinta from Joaquin Ruiz Quintanal on Vimeo.

Winter Wonders Artisan Profile - Dear Pony

Here at flock & gather we like to showcase the best of the best of the local community (because really there is some amazing stuff going on here in Saskatoon and on the prairies!). But we do like to spice it up with a few traveling wonders. And so winning the prize for the longest distance traveled to be a part of Winter Wonders Handmade Market is the lovely Tracey of Dear Pony - coming to you all the way from Nelson BC!


In her words:
"I live on top of a hill surrounded by the forest.
Being surrounded by nature on a daily basis I have to admit I find my inspiration in design blogs and trips to cities. I need that balance. My favourite things in life are snowboarding, hiking with my dogs, reading a book on a tropical beach with the love of my life and flying somewhere far away where millions of people live amongst concrete.
I love to sew, garden and recently discovered I also love to work with clay.
I also love delicious dinners and wine.
I make everything my self using natural and organic as much as possible."


www.etsy.com/shop/dearpony

Behind the scenes with Walden Sweet printing posters for next weekend's sale.

The calm before the storm. Everything is prepared and ready to begin printing.


Printing the first colour.


This is the first print of the first colour. Only 159 more to go! The "squeegee gods" were on our side with this colour everything went very smooth.


The screen prepared for the second colour.


I don't think we realized what we were getting into before we started. The stack of 160 sheets sure did look intimidating waiting for the second of three colours. This was the largest single run we had done to date.


After some intense deliberations and a number of failed attempts at getting the perfect teal, we switched colours and went with a denim type blue. We thought it was soft and sweet and complimented the image well. An action shot printing the second colour. The"squeegee gods" weren't so kind with this run.



The second colour drying. We don't have a proper drying rack, and this many sheets of paper drying at once stretched our space limitations to the limit. Every available flat surface in the studio was covered in paper.




The poster with the first two colours done. Only one more to go!

The third and final colour being printed, and the final poster finished! Time to go home to bed (after we finish cleaning the screens.....)




The final piece. Look for these all over town this week, and we hope to see you at the market on Saturday.