24 October, 2010
In case you’re looking for a unique gift for that “special someone” during the holiday season this year, please consider coming out to the Manitoba Crafts Council’s Handmade Holiday Craft Sale at the West End Cultural Centre on Ellice, Friday 26 November from 17:00-22:00, and Saturday 27 November from 10:00-16:00. The event promises to be “bigger & better” than last year…
Among the handmade gift offerings I’ll have for sale will be a selection of fine jewelery and of course the little ceramic Readers that have become very popular over the past year. Shown above is a selection of another favorite among women: Piercings (black fired stoneware orbs with metal beads or Swarovski crystals on reclaimed sterling silver chains, ($35 to $65).
7 October 2010
I’ve just returned from a whirlwind 10-day trip to Asia, accompanying my boyfriend Rob (who was serving on an international design jury and giving a lecture in Taipei). After landing at the new Hong Kong International Airport we took a jetfoil across a stretch of the South China Sea to Macau for a quick 24-hour visit before continuing on to a few days in Hong Kong… and then on to Taiwan.
Of the cultural attractions I had the pleasure of experiencing, the amazing National Palace Museum in Taipei (which houses an enormous treasure trove of cultural artifacts from the Sung, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties) and the half-day I was able to spend in Yingge, a township south of Taipei famous for its ceramic production (and home to the renowned Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum) were the highlights. (Thanks to Enrica, Alice, Joanna, and William for your helpful guidance and translation support).
Photos: the speedy jetfoil heading off to Macau; the view from our Macau hotel room (statistically, Macau is the most densely populated country on the planet); me in Hong Kong, waiting for the ferry to Kowloon; enjoying the incredible Yingge museum; the rain-soaked work of a local ceramic sculptor in Yingge. (You can read more about our trip and see more photos here).
