July: Plant Terrariums, oh my!

This Thursday July 20th from 6pm-8pm join us for a night of learning about plants, and DIY terrarium-building-fun with our guest-star botanist Velta Tomsons of Terra Velta! The local pro herself will take you through basic plant care tips, answer your plant questions, and then guide you through terrarium making. But get ready to get your hands dirty! This is an all-inclusive workshop where materials are supplied, but it will go fast so be sure to reserve your spot on Eventbrite.

Our #CraftChange program raises money for community partners by donating 2% of all sales at Maker House. We were honoured to work with Tungasuvvingat Inuit (TI) from April to June and will announce a big donation to them this month! Our new #CraftChange partner for July to September is the amazing Somerset West Community Health Centre. SWCHC has multiple locations for primary health care and social services, promoting access to housing, food security, employment and civic engagement. They remove barriers to services for people who are vulnerable because of their age, income, abilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, language or culture. Check them out and #CraftChange at Maker House by supporting SWCHC.

With our new website just a few months old, we are ready to tell some awesome stories on Our Journal blog. There are so many incredible makers that we would like you to get to know on a first-name basis. You can already read about lots of makers in our Meet the Makersection, but we’ll dive even deeper in Our Journal. You can also look forward to hearing from our employees and a behind the scenes look at the inner-workings of Maker House.

For example, did you know:

- Maker House now makes some of our furniture in a brand new woodshop just 500m away from our store? We built the new shop in partnership with social enterprise GROW Studios.

- Bearface Designs is Jon Johnson from Kitchener, who makes music gig posters for big Canadian bands? But we know him more for his screen printed cork coasters and retro tees.

- Terra Velta is Velta Tomsons from Ottawa, who is so good at bringing plants into the world that she likely has a negative carbon footprint. She is the highly interesting subject of our first "Get to Know" post on Our Journal. Enjoy!

We did some big things in June for Canada 150, the biggest being CRAFTFEST on Albert Island: a 15-day Popup Shop and Weekend Markets, in partnership with Freewheeling Craft. Thousands of people came out to see us on the Ottawa River, to do workshops or watch free outdoor movies. Thank you to over 150 Canadian makers who made it a special event, and all those who came out to support our local artists -- we had a blast!