CIRCLE CRAFT CHRISTMAS MARKET
A premier showcase for the excellence of Canadian craftsmanship and design, featuring traditional, contemporary, unique, and mass-produced works. The market was initially held in what is now the East Vancouver Cultural Centre.
Yetta Lees, creator of block-printed clothing with her own designs, had already organized a successful fabric festival in Victoria when she was contacted by Chris Wooten, a friend of a friend, to organize a Christmas craft exhibition in Vancouver.
She explained that hippie artists' sales should be "places where the general public would feel comfortable" and stipulated "no drugs, no big dogs and no breastfeeding in public," wrote Thelma Ruck Keene in a 1990 essay about her story.
Lees and Wooten sent out handwritten invitations, fearing no one would come. They were amazed to receive 500, and Lees realized she had "found a need," according to Keene's account published on the Circle Craft website.
"Canada's most successful and sustainable artisan cooperative"
THE CIRCLE CRAFT CHRISTMAS MARKET
Is a premier showcase of excellence in Canadian craft and design, encompassing traditional, contemporary, one-of-kind, and production works.
The market was first held at what is now the East Vancouver Cultural Centre.
Yetta Lees, who created clothing block-printed with her own designs, had previously held a successful fabric festival in Victoria when she was approached by a friend of a friend, Chris Wooten, to do a Christmas craft show in Vancouver.
She said the hippie artists' sales had to be “made places where mainstream people would feel comfortable” and stipulated “no dope of any kind, no big dogs and no breastfeeding in public,” Thelma Ruck Keene wrote in a 1990 essay on its history.
Lees and Wooten sent out hand-written invitations and worried that no one would come. They were shocked when 500 came, and Lees realized she had “stumbled across a need,” according to Keene's account posted to the Circle Craft website.