krystal speck

It seems we’re being evicted from our studio. Sad face. Especially sad since the studio which I share with five other artists is beyond beautiful. It felt like a real creative space…bright and spacious. And somehow I have built it up in my mind that moving a ceramics studio is at least several times worse than regular household moving so the stress has set in early. Luckily, my ‘mates seem to feel more optimistic, and we’ll begin boxing up our clay, glaze materials, shelves, old art projects and kilns sometime in April and find new digs for May 1. We’re not alone. Half of the creative people on our floor are being turfed to make way for a big video game design company. Damn you corporate nerds.

While all that looms, I’m planning for spring & summer shows. I had hoped to have another studio open house in April, but this would be in the midst of moving, so I may dedicate that time to replenishing my etsy shop. It’s been on my to do list for months. I feel intense etsy shame. Who knew there was such a thing? Stocking brick & mortar stores and doing retail shows always takes precedence, but I miss having the international exposure that can come via online storefronts like etsy or big cartel. It was exciting to see people in England, New Zealand & Japan peeking at my wares and emailing. I really admire Heather for always keeping such a lovely, well-stocked shop with great photographs. And the inspiring Sara Paloma…her shop will make your jaw drop.

Anyway, please excuse me if I don’t update the blog quite as often over the coming month or so. I can’t wait to be properly set up in a new, fresh space! Gotta get that kiln firing.

Capacity was a huge success! Thank you to our visitors and a special thanks to the other designers in the show. It was such a pleasure to work with you all. We had our public opening last Saturday night and the gallery was packed! This weekend I took in several design shows. I finally went to IDS. I have never been, believe it or not. Then we visited Radiant Dark, Not Forkchops and Come Up to My Room. Here are a few shots from our show, three views of my teapots (coffeepots may be a better descriptor), porcelain houses by Fiona & Kristen Lim-Tung, and two views of the space as a whole (including work by Maiwenn Castellan, WomanKing, Katherine Morley, Heidi Earnshaw & Heather McGaw).

I’m very excited about this amazing show — opening Thursday!  Capacity 2012 will highlight seventeen of Toronto’s female designers, and is one of several great events you can take in during Design Week. I spent the afternoon today watching the work being set up and can say that this show is not to be missed! For Capacity, I have designed a teapot prototype that explores the relationship between form, function and surface decoration. Six different versions will be on display. Please see below for more details. See you there!

About The Show

CAPACITY | JANUARY 25-29, 2012 | 1066 DUNDAS ST. WEST, TORONTO, M6J 1W8 | MAP HERE

Hours:  9am-6pm Daily

Admission: Free
Press/VIP Reception: Wednesday January 25, 2012, 4-8pm
Public Reception: Saturday January 29, 2012, 4-8pm

The History of Capacity:

Now in its second year, “CAPACITY” is an annual exhibit of new work by female, Canadian designers, curated by Katherine Morley, Erin McCutcheon and Ange-line Tetrault. It will be presented in January 2012, at the Bev Hisey Studio (1066 Dundas St. W., at Shaw). The exhibition will feature a wide range of media (ceramic, textile, furniture, product design, illustration and more) that will examine and express the word “capacity” as it relates to the role of women in the field of design.

“CAPACITY” was conceived of in 2010, while Katherine Morley and Erin McCutcheon were discussing an upcoming local design event, and looking at the names of the designers who’d been invited to participate. Not only were there no women designers on the roster, the organizers were not even aware of their omission, when it was brought to their attention. Not long afterward, they launched an informal poll asking people to name any women designers they could. To their shock and dismay, many couldn’t list any at all, and only a few managed to repeat one or two names. At that moment, Morley and McCutcheon knew it was imperative to do something to raise the profile of Canadian women designers, and that they were the ones to do it.

The inaugural “CAPACITY” exhibit garnered much critical praise and press coverage, and attracted a large number of attendees both within and outside of the design community. The curatorial team was extremely honoured to be invited to re-exhibit “CAPACITY” at the Design Exchange in August 2011; as well, McCutcheon was invited to exhibit her individual “CAPACITY” project at the RH Gallery in New York, alongside other contemporary ceramic artists, including Jeff Koons.

The success of “CAPACITY” 2011 reinforced the importance of giving a voice to Canadian women in design, and the Curators have vowed to make it an annual event. In its second year, Morley and McCutcheon are excited to announce the addition of Ange-line Tetrault as Assistant Curator.

http://capacitytoronto.com/

Happy new year friends! I’m blogging from sunny Arizona, where I’ve been hiding for the past ten days, enjoying a break from the wet snow & sleet we saw over Christmas in Toronto. Hope you all rang in the new year in style! What did you get up to?

We wanted to do something special to kick off our year, so J & I hopped in our rental car and drove six hours from Phoenix, AZ, to Solana Beach, California, for three days of beach bliss. There is nothing like being beside the ocean, buried in the sand, listening to the crashing waves. We thought we’d visit the city of San Diego but we couldn’t tear ourselves away from the beach unless it was to find food, drink (margaritas!) or to sleep.

To top it off, we found the cutest little guest house a stones throw away from the beach & a fabulous brunch spot. It was by far the best extended new year’s celebration I have ever had. For a night that is notorious for over-planning, over-spending and let down hopes, New Year’s Eve 2011 came in on a high note! Other trip highlights so far: bottles of wine for $4, Torrey Pines State Reserve (see pic above), nude beach…yip!, and self serve frozen yogurt shops. I was supposed to make resolutions this week, but the intention seems to have dissolved into all the vacation-y goodness. Maybe later.

Stay tuned — I’ll be posting info about CAPACITY 2012, a fabulous group show that’s happening later this month in Toronto. I’m so excited to be part of this year’s crew.

And welcome to 2012!

After eleven long days at the One of a Kind show, I’m happily settling back into my usual making/working schedule. Thanks to all of you who came out to support handmade at the OOAK this year! It was great to chat with so many return customers and old friends. Really, it’s so good to reconnect with people who appreciate what you do…especially after months alone making pots in the studio til the wee hours of the morn. But there’s no rest for the wicked!

I have two exciting events to tell you about:

1. Elevator Art Lab

SHOP@ELEVATOR NOVEMBER 17th – DECEMBER 23rd 2011

Looking for beautifully handcrafted gifts this holiday? Visit the Elevator Art Lab Shop! Here you’ll find a curated selection of artisanal objects from many local talents. I’m pleased to be particpating  as well! This Saturday Dec. 10th from 11am-10pm we’ll be having a special shopping event. Please come down and say hello. I’ll be there in the evening to celebrate this great shop (and pick up gifts, too!).

Elevator Art Lab // 97 Niagara St. Toronto

2. Movies & Makers

For one last chance to pick up a piece or two of my pottery before Christmas, you can find me on Saturday December 17th at the Movies & Makers craft show at the historic Fox Theatre in The Beaches. Looking forward to vending in the East end again! Come visit:

Saturday, December 17, 2011  //  11:00am until 5:30pm

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Okay, that’s a wrap for now. Hope you’re all having a great December so far. I’m looking forward to the holidays, hopefully some snow soon (?) in Toronto and going on vacation at the end of December to Arizona. Happy holidays!

Greetings from the One of a Kind Christmas show in Toronto! What a busy weekend we had here! The show has been great so far, with many familiar faces and new customers stopping by. Thank you to all the great folks that have helped make the first half of the OOAK show a success! And thank you to the OOAK staff who selected our booth as an honorable mention for “Best Use of Space!” Getting ready for this show is always a trial but I’m so pleased were here and selling!
The show continues til Sunday December 4th with special late night shopping til 11pm on Thursday December 1st! See you there! I’m at booth H31

With all this talk of the upcoming One of a Kind Show, I would be remiss if I didn’t let you know about this great coupon OOAK artisans can pass along to their friends! Use the unique code on the coupon to the right when you buy your tickets online, and get $3 off the ticket price!

You can take that $3 saved and put it towards something special for yourself. Say macarons, chocolates, or hey…pottery!

Take a look at my exhibitor profile, and preview the other artisans at the show. We’re all busy busy busy making beautiful handcrafted objects for those special folks on your holiday shopping list.

See you in three weeks! Eep!

{Save the Land that Feeds Us}

I’ll be taking a brief art break here to hop up on my sturdy soapbox and spread the word about this very important event: Foodstock! If you live in Toronto, or Ontario for that matter, you’ve likely been getting wind of this nasty Mega Quarry that is set to destroy 8,000 acres of some of the best agricultural land in our province. Land that is used to help feed us, dear Torontonians. So you can’t afford to look the other way. Land that is home to many species of wildlife (109 of which are now threatened or endangerdered). Land that sits only yards from the Niagara Escarpment and it’s many rivers & watersheds. Have we not been listening to Sarah Harmer, people?

Not to mention the amount of water waste this quarry will cause, nor the impact of the many trucks that will be constantly carrying quarried limestone out of the area, adding even more super fun CO2 to the atmosphere. Oh my! Toss this baby in with Tar Sands, and Canada should be so proud of its environmental contributions!

Ahem. Please attend if you can. If not, please consider spreading the word to everyone you know. For more info please visit:

http://www.stopthemegaquarry.ca/

http://canadianchefscongress.com/

Hello! Just want to send out a big thank you to all the folks who stopped in to say hello at this past weekend’s Queen West Art Crawl! I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of seeing so many familiar faces in such a small time frame… ever. It was a bit daunting gearing up for this show & seeing you all made it worth the effort to make it there. So, thank you.

What’s next on the agenda? I’m going to be updating this site to include a list of shops that stock my work. I’m preparing for a road trip in the next 2-3 weeks to Waterloo, to drop off new work to the gorgeous Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery shop (an amazing place to buy for the holidays, ps). And, I’m really in the mix of prepping for the show of the year — the Christmas One of a Kind Marathon. Grant writing season is also upon us. Oh, and we may have a one-day holiday sale at the studio again, as the Spring sale was a great success! Phew!

Are you noticing any turning leaves on your street yet? I am, here in Toronto & I’m happy for fall. J & I will be entertaining family this weekend and will be venturing out the Garlic Festival at the Brickworks this Sunday. We’re already looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend back home with the ‘rents and hiking around the cranberry marsh. Can’t wait!

This Saturday & Sunday I will be selling my pottery at the Queen West Art Crawl. If you’re in the mood to stroll through the park and see some great art, come on by. Hours are 11-6 both days & I will be at Booth C50.

For directions to Trinity Bellwoods Park, click here.

Thanks to all the friends who helped me to prepare for this show by assisting me in the studio, offering kiln advice/borrowing privileges, or by lending me four very fabulous pyrometric cones. I don’t know what I’d do without you!

Okay folks, see you at the show! The weather for this weekend looks gorgeous!