Local Buys: Spring 2024

Bohemian blue scarves, beaded bracelets and fabulous fibre art are some of the local finds this spring.

March 16, 2024 | Janice Quirt | Made in the Hills

Scarf Sung Blue

In summer 2018, artist and designer Patricia Vega started using plants from her garden in Mansfield as the star of her Bohemian in Blue silk scarf collection. She applies the botanical materials to silk scarves coated with a cyanotype emulsion and exposes them to sunlight, resulting in rich Prussian blue patterns that reflect the tranquility of her surroundings.

From Patricia Vega’s ‘Bohemian in Blue’ scarf collection.

“There’s something magical about this monochromatic effect that makes your eye wander, and find beauty and peace through the powerful colour,” she says. (Medium scarves, $80. Large scarves, $96, Patricia Vega Art + Design)

Getting More Fibre

A chance encounter on a Zoom rug-hooking course during the pandemic led Leslie Knight of Caledon and Yvonne Iten-Scott of Erin to realize they were practically neighbours – and they soon started meeting to hook rugs together. The pair opened The Mill Fibre Art in June 2023 at the Alton Mill Arts Centre, teaching rug-hooking, punch needle, wet felting and wool appliqué, as well as offering fibre art tours.

A wet felted tree kit, available at the Alton Mill Arts Centre.

Leslie and Yvonne also sell wool-based products, from pillows to hangings, in bright colours and textures. This November the duo takes on a one-month artist residency at The Textile Museum in Iceland. They hope to hold an exhibition at the Alton Mill after they return. (Wet felted tree kit, $25, The Mill Fibre Art)

The Bead Goes On

Caledon’s Becca Weston, a local journalist who has written for In The Hills, and Terra Cotta’s Nyah Lawryshyn met at Carleton University. After graduating in 2023, they started crafting delicate bracelets, naming their beaded jewelry business, Loretta Avenue, after the street where they roomed together. Nyah is of Métis heritage and enjoys beadworking as a way to explore her cultural roots. Both share Italian ancestry, which influenced the incorporation of Malocchio Evil Eye bracelets into the collection.

Intricately beaded bracelets are perfect for your spring wardrobe.

Crystals, freshwater pearls and metal details are other hallmarks of their rings, bracelets and anklets. The pair recently added a men’s line of bracelets. (Glass-beaded bracelets and anklets, $10 to $15. Crystal or pearl bracelets, $15 to $25, Loretta Avenue)

SOURCES

Loretta Avenue, Caledon and Terra Cotta. IG @lorettaavenue
The Mill Fibre Art, Alton Mill Arts Centre, 1402 Queen St W, Alton. IG @themillfibreart
Patricia Vega Fine Art + Design, Mansfield. patriciavega.ca