Monday, November 19, 2012



Changes this season…
For the past six years I’ve done the same circuit of Christmas shows… it was time for a change.   I decided to eliminate two Christmas shows and as luck would have it I was able to add two completely different shows…
Last Sunday I did the Best Western Artisan Christmas Show…there were two things I noticed immediately, the show is in one room only, so rather small and there were a number of vendors, at least three that come to mind who were not local.  The “not local” thing isn’t really a big deal to me as I’ve done three huge shows, for the last six years, with vendors from all over Ontario, but I’d always been under the impression the Best Western Show was local artisans…I learned something new.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with the day being a Sunday…these are usually the slow days at multiple day shows…as it turned out; while not super busy, the show wasn’t as slow as Sundays have a tendency to be.  I had a good day and would give it another try next season if accepted.
My second new show of the season is the “City Streets Christmas Artisan House Tour”…which is one of North Bay’s much loved artisan tours.  It is a greatly anticipated, and immensely successful, house tour celebrating its 14th season this year…
Be sure to set aside Saturday, November 24th, from 9:30am to 4:00pm, as you won’t want to miss this once a year magical shopping experience!  

The tour began 14 years ago, when Dianne Lafrance and Susan James felt the need for a juried venue which showcased local up and coming quality artisans.   That year there was a total of four artisans at Dianne’s home.  The idea of the tour was to some extent modeled after the well known Country Roads Tour…but… a house tour with in the city of North Bay.   While it has always been a co-operative Dianne Lafrance is the driving force behind the event.
This season there will be eight open houses, each one, showcasing the collections of some of the finest, most unique gift giving items available in our area…interspersed among these homes, you will find 34 first class, juried, local artisans, designers, gourmet cooks, and  artists…we even have an author. 
Take a look at the website for up to date information regarding the tour   www.citystreetstour.com.   You will find a list of the homes, along with detailed information regarding each person in the individual homes.  You will also find printable, easy to read, maps for each house.   

The addresses are as follows: 
 871 Bourke St., 10 Beverly Rd., 5 Mapleview Place, 1016 MCleod St., 635 Scollard St., 317 Percy St., 36 Little Down Lane, 443 Bell St.

For further information, contact: 
Dianne Lafrance at 495-0488 or Susan James at 474-7026 

Maybe I’ll see you at 10 Beverly Road...as always leave a comment on my blog or send me an email, hjcote11@gmail.com, for questions or comments.

Have a great week…
Cheers

5 comments:

  1. Best of luck with the City Streets show Heather, I'm sure you will do really well. Take pix on the day and let us know how you went.

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  2. Sounds like your change this year was successful. Have fun and good luck at the next show!

    Marissa Foss, Artbeads.com

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  3. sounds like you will have a busy season, I hope it's also a huge success!

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  4. Just stopped in to say hello and I hope u have a great show!

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Cheers