Welcome, relatively, New Freedom Designer >> Foundlings

Foundlings is a treasure trove of unique vintage inspired designs specially 
handcrafted with the trend-setting green shopper in mind.

"I began my fashion journey 10 years ago after completing my studies in Creative Fashion Design at George Brown College in Toronto.  I got my start in the costume design world as a sewer for Mirvish Production's “Mamma Mia” and went on to work as a pattern cutter for a local designer. In 2000, my papier mache Archie comics dress and stole made from gutted teddy bears was selected as a finalist in the Wearable Art category at the REVAMP fashion show, hosted by the Recycling Council of Ontario.  It was here that my interest in re-purposing materials began.  In February 2010, I officially launched my own line of vintage inspired women's clothing, Foundlings.  Many pieces in the collection are crafted  from vintage and upcycled fabrics and supplies." writes Hannah Richardson.

The Foundlings collection is available at Freedom Clothing Collective
and Mari Cla Ro in Toronto, as well as RareFunk in Kitchener.

www.foundlingsvintage.com

Please Welcome New Freedom Designer >> Parce Que...

‘Dress up your words’

 Fabric Cards, Made in Québec

Parce que... dresses up your words by marrying textiles and papers to give your thoughts durability and texturising them to last long in the hearts of those you offer them to. Each greeting card is unique, being made from different vintage fabrics, ribbons and recycled buttons. Parce que... (because) your words are so unique, they deserve to be inked, shared and treasured.

In the era of e-mails, virtual friends and digitized words, where so many things can be so easily deleted, or publicly forwarded, nothing can compete with beholding in our hands familiar
handwriting on a delicate card thoughtfully chosen and sweet words to be kept as a reminder of true
human warmth we all need.

KONNYAKU ~ a craft tool worth eating

Konnyaku is a traditional Japanese jelly-like health food made from a kind of potato (Devil's Tongue root) and calcium hydroxide extracted from eggshells. The 'Konnyaku potato' is native to Indonesia and is a kind of herbaceous perennial plant. Konnyaku is 97% water and 3% fibre (with some useful minerals mixed in) and acts like a "broom for the stomach" when eaten, as in, it sweeps your insides clean! It's proven to lower blood pressure, cholesterol and help you loose weight.

Aside from it's many health benefits, Konnyaku also mixes wonderfully with paper to make it more resilient and malleable. It's very simple to use: mix into a milky paste, brush on and that's that! The paper becomes resilient so that you can crinkle it, weave it, sew it ... you name it!

These earrings (above) will survive rain or being crumpled or squished.

*please remember that these are pieces of jewelry and are not indestructible*

Freedom CC Gallery has a wonderful 'all things paper' exhibition running through mid June to Mid July make sure to come visit all the wonderful creations made from paper! >> freedomccgallery.wordpress.com

for exact instructions on preperation or to buy some Konnyaku, go to or email >> www.japanesepaperplace.com

another great blog post about Konnyaku >> riverlark.blogspot.com

Two of FreedomCC's fantastical paper artists >> www.lizzaston.com  and www.tanialove.com

Freedom hearts our customers

When we hear our friends who work retail tell us stories of the downside of this industry, more often than not they involve the difficulties of customer service. Lucky for us, our customers always seem so friendly and we keep meeting such interesting characters!

At the end of a good day, we usually end up with a stack of contact info of customers who would like to hear back from us - whether it be about a Freedom garment that they love but would like in other colours (oh yes we often do custom orders! Why wouldn't we take advantage of the fact that most of our designers live just a subway ride away?) or just to keep up with the happenings at our space. This makes us feel loved and supported, and we just want to make sure that our customers feel loved too!

Here are a couple girls that came by over the past few days that for sure deserve a good spotlight.

Yulia (pictured above, right) is a contemporary art enthusiast who stopped by to pick up tickets to WORN Fashion Journal's issue release party, Fancy Pants Vintage Dance, that happened last Saturday night. Those cute shorts are obviously her fancy pants and I did so witness the enthusiasm of her vintage dancing that night -- all to support independent publication, of course.

Natalie lives in Miami but is currently back in the summer to utilize her advertising background for the benefit of her brothers new business on Bathurst & Bloor. She appreciates the power of strong accessories (see awesome shoes, please) and settled on our harmonica necklace.

What did I tell you - don't we just get such awesome customers?!

Mother's Day

We are open until 8.30 pm on Saturday, May 7th so you can grab some one-of-a-kind presents for Mother's Day!

Call for Submission

We have three upcoming group exhibitions and are currently seeking submissions.

1. June exhibition: Living with Washi
WHAT: Freedom is teaming up with The Japanese Paper Place in an exhibition
featuring both artwork and wearable objects made from the Japanese paper, washi.
WHO: open to artists, designers, crafters, and makers of things in general!
WHEN: deadline to apply is May 15, 2011

2. August exhibition: Prints
WHAT: It’s the highly anticipated annual print show!
WHO: All printmakers are welcome to submit!
WHEN: deadline to apply is June 15, 2011

3. September exhibition: Fibre-based art
WHAT: An extensive multi-venue exhibition that blurs the line between design, art, craft and other such labels by exploring the possible collaborations using the versatile medium of textile.
WHO: We invite artists, designers, and craftpeoples that have in their own way master textile-based materials.
WHEN: deadline to apply is May 15, 2011

How to submit?
Send us an e-mail to arts[dot]freedomcc[at]gmail[dot]com with “SUBMISSION” and the name of the exhibition on the subject line. Include jpgs of the works that you would like to submit, a list of titles, dimensions and prices for these works and a short bio and/or CV.

May Newsletter

If you click on the image and then click again to magnify it - you can read it quite easily! :)

May Exhibition: Summer Solstice

Two different forms of art are coming together in Freedom CC’s May exhibition, sharing a connection through a longing for the clouds, daisies, and lilypads of the bright summer landscapes! Join us at the opening reception where we hopefully will be able to celebrate in our warm and open backyard.
Kathryn Rebecca is a jewelry artist whose pieces are inspired by nature and personal experience with a vintage undertone. Rachael Speirs is a visual artist whose multi-media works depict scenes inspired by her experiences but further illustrated in a world without rules, boundaries, or limitations.

SUMMER SOLSTICE
Kathryn Rebecca & Rachael Speirs
May 6th – June 5th
Opening reception: Friday, May 6th at 8 pm