MMV Giveaway: Modern Mix Vancouver is giving away 10 pairs of tickets to Make It- The Handmade Revolution!  Leave a comment below telling us what is your favourite thing about handmade fairs like “Make It” is.  Ten random winners will be chosen from the comments below. Be sure to leave your email address so we can contact you if you’re a winner. Contest ends Tuesday, April 17th (11:59pm PST).  Winners will have their name + 1 at event will-call.

Double your chances and RT this on Twitter: “I want to win a pair of tickets to @MakeItShow from @ModernMixVan. Click http://bit.ly/HnWO7E to enter!”  

Giveaway ends on Tuesday April 17th

Christmas is creeping up quickly and it’s time to begin thinking of gift ideas. It can be difficult to think of unique ideas these days but luckily Vancouver is full of talented artists and designers who are here to help. The Festive Collective brings together some of our city’s most talented designers all under one roof to make things a little easier for the rest of us.

With handmade clothing and accessories from Piknic Designs, gorgeous bags and hair accessories from Button & Bauble, as well as hand-stitched wallets and purses from Astrosatchel, you can find gifts that won’t end up in the back of a closet.

The Festive Collective is located at The Rize, 196 Kingsway (just off Broadway and Main) and is open for business until November 27. Hours are 11-5pm Tuesday to Saturday and on Sundays 12-5pm.  For more information and a complete list of designers check out festivecollective.wordpress.com.

This year is Make It! The Handmade Revolution will be at the Croatian Cultural Centre (3250 Commercial Drive)and will be their biggest show EVER.  Come by November 24th to 27th for awesome handmade goodness ranging from clothing, accessories, art, jewellery, gourmet treats, and tons of other great stuff. There are over a 120 designers from all over Canada.  These same designers have also donated items for a Make It! silent auction in support of Union Gospel Mission.  In addition to handmade goods, there will be local bands performing live all weekend long as well as a licensed bar.  Think of it as a craft show party.   Make It is the largest indie fashion and art event of its kind on Canada with biannual shows in Edmonton and Vancouver.  Admission is $5 – pay once, and shop for four days.  Hope you can “make it”!

MMV Contest:  In support of Make It!, Modern Mix Vancouver will be giving away five pairs of free admission tickets for this event.  All you have to do is comment below and let us know why you think handmade goods are awesome.  Be sure to include your email address so we can contact you if you’re a winner.  Five random winners will be drawn on November 18th – your tickets will be at will-call under your name. 

For more information about Make It!, check this video out:

I’m happy to hear that the Vancouver Christmas Market (West Georgia x Hamilton Street) will be back again for its second year in downtown Vancouver at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre plaza from November 24 to December 24th.

Open daily from 11am to 9pm, the Vancouver Christmas Market is an authentic outdoor German-style Christmas market village, featuring unique holiday shopping, seasonal music, live entertainment and traditional food and drink.  True to its Barvarian roots, the Christmas Market features rows of little wooden huts decorated with pine branches, strung with while lights, and is perfect for getting you into a festive mood.  Vendors include a mix of traditional cultural items (ie. beer steins, European glass ornaments, etc.), items by local designers, and edible products (artisan chocolates, honey products, olive oil, etc.)

Because of its month-long appearance, and its convenient, central, downtown venue, the Vancouver Christmas Market tends to attracts the working-in-downtown type during the weekdays.  This is definitely a seasonal hotspot you could check out with your coworkers if you work in downtown!

Admission:
$2 – Monday to Friday 11am to 4pm
$5 – from Monday to Friday (4pm to 9pm) and Weekends

Admission (save $2 online!) – your initial ticket purchase entitles you to unlimited re-entry on any day of the 2011 show. Please pick up and validate your re-entry pass as you exit. Offer is non-transferable, and applies to ticket purchaser only.

• Adults $12 @ door or $10 online
• Students $10 @ door or $8 online
• Seniors $10 @ door or $8 online
• 2 for 1 adults after 5pm on Wed & Thurs ONLY – $12

Spend on Trend was one of the more memorable articles I wrote in my first year of running Modern Mix Vancouver.  It was one of my first times actually working with a PR company (Nicole Stewart PR) to get relevant, local information about an event to my readers.  Because of this, I always try to make an effort to write a few lines promoting this great local arts/fashion/design market and support the Vancouver artists who will be participating in this fair.

This September, Spend on Trend is back for its 8th edition show at Main Street’s Heritage Hall (3102 Main Street).  “Our designers really wanted the show to return to Heritage Hall,” says Fiona Louie,  one half of Spend on Trend’s two-person production team and also the owner of Filou Designs. “Main Street is the stomping ground for many designers and we love the Main Street crowd. We are very happy to be back!”

This fall event is a great way to preview the collections of over 25 local artists, before upcoming collections hit the retail stores.  This shopping event will include fan favourites like Elroy, Filou, Toodlebunny, and Clutch Jewels, along with noteworthy newcomers like Bueno Style, Brooklyn Designs, L’arbre Love, and Piknic Designs. For a full list of designers at Spend on Trend this September, click here.

So get ready to shop the latest collections at Spend on Trend on September 16 (5-9pm), September 17 (11am-6pm), and September 18 (11am-5pm). Admission is $5 and tickets can be pre-purchased at spendontrend.com or at the door. Be sure to get there early! The first 25 people in line each day will receive a stylish swag bag. A portion of proceeds benefit the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Modern Mix Vancouver’s first holiday post of the season!…as we enter into November, holiday craft fairs start to pop up all over Vancouver. The annual Circle Craft Christmas Fair attracts some 40,000 people eager to discover the creations of hundreds of Canadian artisans all of whom are jury-selected based on talent and diversity. This November, more artisans than ever, 270, will present their wares.

November 17-21, 2010 | Wednesday-Friday 10am to 9pm
Saturday 10am to 7pm | Sunday 10am to 5pm.
Admission: Adults $12 | Students & Seniors $8 | Children Under 12 FREE

If purchase your tickets online HERE, you’ll be able to skip the ticket line-up at the show and automatically save $2 off regular admission. 2-for-1 evenings admission is also available online.  Your initial ticket purchase entitles you to unlimited re-entry on any day of the 2010 show. Please pick up and validate your re-entry pass as you exit. Offer is non-transferable, and applies to ticket purchaser only.

Spend on Trend was one of the first events I ever wrote about on Modern Mix Vancouver, and it was the friendly guidance and support from Nicole Stewart (the PR representative behind this event) which taught me a lot more about the local fashion and media industry.

Now, Spend on Trend is back again and Modern Mix Vancouver readers can get first dibs on this trendy exhibition event, featuring Canadian designers and their arts, crafts, clothing, jewelry, accessories and more!  From August 21-23, shoppers can head down to the Scotia Bank Dance Centre (677 Davie Street) to, quite literally, “spend on trend”.  Tickets to this event are regularly $5 at the door, but one lucky MMV reader will have a chance to get postal-mailed a pair of tickets, directly to their door.

All you have to do is email info@modernmixvancouver.com and tell me what your favorite reason for shopping local is! Submissions will be drawn at random and the winner will be notified in the first week of August!!

For MMV’s media coverage of Spend on Trend 2008, click here.