Upcoming Holiday Shows + Holiday Mailing Cut Off Dates!

Kits Beach, Vancouver, BC

And here we are again! The holiday season is in full swing and I have been making jewelry like CRAZY as well as getting the new photo printed clothing ready for selling at markets and local retail stores. It's been a new and exciting experience having a completely new product line. I still love all the other things I do, but it's always invigorating to do something different that you've never done before - a learning experience indeed!  This is going to be one of my big goals for 2017 - variety! I find that so many of my days end up being so similar and I need to change that. So, I am throwing around indoor rock climbing and maybe some salsa dancing?! You know what they say, variety is the spice of life! I am announcing this here so that I will be held accountable to whomever reads this. This will greatly increase my chances of actually doing it and not getting lost in my old routines of always putting work first. I love my work but...I also need to LIVE!

I'll make this pretty short and sweet as I am full on right now getting ready to leave for Make It in Edmonton tomorrow. Here are the deets: This will be our biggest show yet with over 275 awesome artists, crafters and makers from across Canada at Northlands Coliseum. Thursday, Nov 24 - 11am to 9pm Friday, Nov 25 - 11am to 9pm Saturday, Nov 26 - 10am to 6pm Sunday, Nov 27 - 11am to 5pm To see the lineup of rockstar Makies check out www.makeitshow.ca $7 at the door, kids 12 and under are free. Buy your tickets early to save $2: https://www.picatic.com/makeitedmonton Parking for Make It shoppers is $10 ($6 off regular rate), but street parking, carpooling and LRT are great options too.

Etsy Vancouver Ring in the festive season with the Etsy Vancouver Market, your one-stop shopping event for one of a kind gift-giving! Browse our carefully curated design and handcrafted goods made by over 80 local makers and artisans, including jewelry and accessories, home decor, body care, and art! WHEN? Saturday, December 3: 10am - 8pm Sunday, December 4: 10am - 5pm WHERE? 115 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver, V7L 0B1 WHAT DOES IT COST TO ENTER? At the door: $5 / children under 12: FREE! 50% of the ticket proceeds will be going to our charitable partner, KidSafe Project: http://bit.ly/kidsafevan VENDORS: Discover these amazing local designers and more in our Etsy Vendor Directory: http://bit.ly/evm2016-vendor

Make It Vancouver Make It is back at the PNE Forum for all your holiday shopping needs! You will find over 265 super awesome makers, crafters and artists from all over Canada.  Find our list of Makies: www.makeitshow.ca $7 at the door, kids 12 and under are free. Buy your tickets early and save $2: https://www.picatic.com/makeitvancouver Thursday, December 8 11am to 9pm Friday, December 9 11am to 9pm Saturday, December 10 10am to 6pm Sunday, December 11 11am to 5pm

And last but not least, The Women's Winter Faire! For the past 22 years, the Women's Winter Faire has been a highly anticipated event: over 50 booths of creative, funky, beautiful, ecologically-sound and diverse items just waiting for you to give them a new home. Over the past two decades, the door donation has raised over $107,800 for local and worldwide grassroots organizations who oftentimes have less than adequate funding resources. December 17 and 18th from 11AM to 5 PM at Heritage Hall in Vancouver BC!

Need Your Jewelry Order by Christmas? Canada Regular parcel - order by Dec 13th (up to 8 business days) Expresspost - order by Dec 20th (1-2 business days guaranteed) USA  Regular - order by Dec 12th (5-8 business days) Expedited - order by Dec 12th (4-5 business days) ExpressPost - order by Dec 18th (4 businesss days guaranteed) INTL Order by Dec 2nd (min. 6 business days - normally takes around 2 weeks) Contact me for Int'l shipping upgrades.

Need your Photo Printed Clothing Order by Christmas?  Canada and USA Order by December 11th so your order can ship by the 15th. INTL Order by November 25th, so your order can ship by December 2nd. Please contact me if you would like to upgrade your photo clothing order for quicker delivery:)

If you are in the Vancouver area, you can find my photo printed clothing at Giving Gifts on Main and 30th and Favourite Gifts on the 2nd Floor of the Lonsdale Quay Market in North Vancouver!  Thank you so much for shopping local and supporting the handmade revolution!  May you have the warmest, coziest, sparkliest holiday season yet, and I hope to see you out there sometime soon.  Lotsa love, TT www.traceytomtene.com tracey@traceytomtene.com

I Need Your Feedback:) Coupon Code + Upcoming Shows!

Spanish Banks, Vancouver, BC

Greetings from Rain City! We really lived up to our nick name the last few days with the remnants of Typhoon Songda visiting. What a great time to be inside writing a blog:)  I will cut right to the chase! It is time for me to get ready for upcoming Christmas Shows, so will be ordering new photo leggings and skirts to have printed and sewn. But first, I would love your feedback on which are your favourites before I do!

1 - Foxglove (Lopez Island), 2 - Beach (Hawaii), 3 - Bali Cat (Indonesia), 4 - Fireworks (Naples), 5 - Sea Ripples (Vancouver), 6 - Ocean Spray (Vancouver), 7 - Shiny Waves (Hawaii), 8 - Sakura (Vancouver), 9 - Wildflowers (Lopez Island), 10 - Ocean Sunset (Vancouver), 11 - Sunset Sea Foam (Vancouver), 12 - Dusk (Naples)

.  1- Ocean Mist (Rockaway Beach), 2 - Sunset Sea Foam (Vancouver), 3 - Shiny Waves (Hawaii), 4 - Sea Ripples (Vancouver), 5 - Sakura (Vancouver), 6 - Beach (Hawaii), 7 - Ocean Birds (Vancouver), 8 - Fireworks (Naples), 9 - Ocean Sunset (Vancouver)

Simply reply to tracey@traceytomtene.com with the numbers corresponding to your favourite leggings (eg. leggings 3, 8, 11) and photo skirts (eg. skirts 4, 6, 7)! Each one is printed with a photo I have taken locally in Vancouver or around the world. All garments are hand sewn and printed in Canada! Even the fabric is weaved here:) The production process uses significantly less water than others (EcoPoly) and the sublimation inks are solvent free. To see more images of each design, click here. In appreciation of your time, please use this coupon code for 15% off anything in my Etsy shop! THANKU15 Mucho thanks! Now onto what's been happenin'!

I ended up doing another market after Khatsahlano Festival called the Art of Photography Show at the Harmony Arts Festival. All of my fellow artisans who do the market circuit will be able to relate to this experience. This is a sneak peek of just how much goes into setting up a temporary retail stall and what can go wrong!

I arrived to my two tents the morning of the show under an overcast sky. I was happy about this as set-up can be quite labour intensive and so some cloud cover meant I could keep cool. Unfortunately, this cloud cover turned into what seemed like a monsoon! I was fighting with the mesh wall panels that Cagey Bee was kind enough to let me borrow (she warned me that hanging them on my own might be a bit of a shit show – she was correct!) when I finally realized that rain water was rising in my tent at a very rapid rate aka my boxes were getting soaked that were sitting on the ground.

So I jumped down from the chair and set up a table to put as much as I could on top of it to avoid further water damage. Some of my prints got a little wet but most of all it was just a big pain having to navigate a huge puddle in my tent - especially trying to keep the white wall panels from dipping into the muddy waters! I soldiered on while trying to keep everything dry and off the ground until one of my sandals finally succumbed to the constant onslaught of moisture.

There was no way to fix them so I went to a nearby coffee shop and asked if there was a store nearby to get some flip flops. They directed me to a Sally Ann a few blocks away where I proceeded to walk barefoot to. On top of this, my knuckles were bleeding from fighting with the wall panels and I was slightly drenched from the rain (first world problems I know!). I could almost read people's minds as they walked by me..."Who's the hippy?! Oh she's probably from that art festival.";P I managed to find a pair of hot pink running shoes in my size! SCORE! The only shoes that were comfy and a size 8 and $3 - SOLD! By the time I got back, they figured out that a storm drain had been plugged which had caused the flooding. I had arrived at 10AM and finally stopped setting up at 8PM...THE longest set up EVER! This was mainly due to bringing most of my wall art including canvas wood blocks, metal prints and canvas gallery wraps along with the set up of all the fixtures needed to display them (after all it was a photography show!). Sometimes I think I should just make pillows...not breakable, light and easily washable!

No caption needed.

I honestly came home questioning WHY I do this for a living and why I don't just get a REAL job. I was thoroughly exhausted and did not make one sale all day. Prior to this, I spent weeks prepping for it and invested so much in ordering my new line of photo clothing as well as purchasing prints, canvas gallery wraps and metal prints. Of course one cannot control the weather or the traffic flow but it can be very deflating when you put literally your blood, sweat and tears into something which is an intimate extension of yourself and at the end of the day, zero profit is turned. All I could do was just go to sleep and trust that the next day would be brighter. And if it wasn't, there would still be hope for the next.

Luckily for me, it did get brighter both weather and profit-wise! Despite the low traffic, I ended up selling quite a few photo skirts and leggings. Yay! Many women came along who were getting too hot in the sun and tried on a skirt or a pair of capris and never took them off:) On top of this, I met a tonne of really great people and fellow artists which always brightens my soul!

The last day was much the same and I even sold a 20x30 canvas gallery wrap of 'Into the Mystic' taken at Sunset Beach in Vancouver! Despite being so upset the first evening, surrendering and going with the flow was all I could do. I can't control the rain or how many people come to a show but I can control how I look at the situation and choose to flow with life instead of fight it.

A summer highlight was my friend Kristi of Encircled coming into town from Toronto to do Wanderlust. We drove up to Whistler and got her set up for the show and then ended up doing a photo shoot for her sustainable line of clothing at Green Lake. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and we had so much fun (mainly trying to avoid the HUGE slugs on the pathways!) in addition to getting to spend more time together.

Check out Encircled...on a mission to help you pack lighter and do more with less! To wrap the summer up, I went to my friend Rachel's wedding in Malahat. I had taken her and Sushant's engagement photos earlier this spring (see more here) and I was so looking forward to going to the island again – I hadn't been in 5 years!

BUT, Mercury was in Retrograde. For those of you who aren't familiar with what that means...basically travel, communication and technology are really messed up during this time. If I didn't believe in it before, I do now!! I won't go into the whole story but let's just say it was amazing I even made it as there were many moments (didn't have the right payment method for the ferry ticket, bank machines went down, missed the first ferry due to said payment issues, my car wouldn't start trying to get OFF the ferry, felt very unwell the whole time, almost ran out of gas, sent voice messages to the wrong recipients, the list goes on)! The light at the end of the tunnel was that I actually made it (in the nick of time) to see her get married and it was a beautiful wedding attended by lovely people. On top of that, I got to stay with my friend Stacey in Victoria from high school (we go back 24 years!) and her hubby Aron who I had an awesome catch up with and have been meaning to visit FOREVER. Live your life as if everything is rigged in your favour.  - Osho  The more I have trusted that the universe has my back, the more it is proven to me, over and over again:) Life is happening FOR me, not TO me and every day is an opportunity to grow and evolve.

So that is all for now! Here is a list of where I will be so far for this season of holiday shows. I hope to see some of you out there. More details to come soon:)  Make It Edmonton - Nov. 24th - 27th Etsy North Vancouver - Dec. 3rd & 4th Make It Vancouver - Dec. 8th - 11th Also, if you are in Vancouver, I will be exhibiting in As The Crow Flies. To celebrate its 20th Anniversary, the Eastside Culture Crawl Society is mounting this multi-venue salon-style exhibition! This exciting event features work from 70 artists who have participated in the Culture Crawl over the last 20 years. Juried by Paul de Guzman, Eri Ishii, and Katsumi Kimoto. Opening reception will be held: Fri, October 21 at the Arts Factory Society (6-9pm) Best Wishes All, TT

Spanish Banks, Vancouver, BC  I have a plan. Do you trust me? - Universe

This is Rockaway!

Bradach Walsh, co-owner of Rockaway Beach Surf Club Hola! Hope things are well wherever you are in the world. I'm happy to report that it feels like summer here in Vangroovy finally! The weather has been rather spring-like so am very happy to feel the warmth of the sun today (and might just go for a skim)!  After my return from the wild ride to Edmonton, it wasn't long before I was on a plane to NYC! I hadn't been there since 2010 and it is one of my most FAVOURITE places to go in the whooooole world.  NYC on a rainy eve. As soon as I landed and got onto the NJ Transit, it all started coming back to me. The history, the diversity, the character, the grit, the passion, the stories...there's just so much to love! But then, any place that isn't home is a refreshing experience for me. Energy gets stagnant if you're in the same place too much, i.e: my jewelry bench.  I checked into my hotel in Brooklyn and the next day, Cole Louison, a writer for Red Bulletin, fetched me and we headed out to Rockaway Beach in Queens. I had done a photo essay on the surf culture there back in 2009 when I participated in David Alan Harvey's 'At Home' Workshop in Brooklyn. Then the following year I returned to shoot there again to add to the essay. This time would be a follow up to a story that Cole had written in 2013 about the community after Hurricane Sandy hit.  Beach 91st, Rockaway Beach It was so good to be back out there again. I had forgotten the small town feel it has, the friendly diverse people and beautiful beachfront. There is a warm atmosphere that always welcomes me...a feeling of community with a NY twist. Cartwright, a Rockaway Beach regular.  Maybe the only thing each of us can see is our own shadow.  - Carl Jung Skate Park at Beach 91st, Rockaway Beach.  After Cole and I spent a couple days there together - he interviewed, I photographed - I moved over to my friend Cait's to a different area of Brooklyn - Flatbush - and continued to shoot out at Rockaway for a few more days. To add to the amazingness of NY, staying with Cait and her beau Brandon (also a photog), was THE highlight! We got to catch up on so much and make many more memories and Brandon and I got to geek out together talking photog much of the time! I met Cait in '08 in Chiang Mai on a jungle trek in Thailand. We became travel buddies and went on to Pai and Cambodia after that then met up in NZ several months later. Since then, we've only been able to see each other a few times but the bond created while traveling remains strong!  I got to catch up with Sean  on the beach - a local surfer and artist and the subject of many of my photos from both '09 and '10. Paul Schmidt, local surfer and board shaper in Rockaway Beach.  Matt and I at Rockaway Beach Surf Club. He is fully analog - no Internet. He uses maps when he needs directions - real paper ones - and likes the mystery of life without the Internet. Not only did I get to meet up with the old friends I had made there but met many new ones. It always astounds me what a powerful tool my camera can be. Of course it has the ability to capture moments but just carrying it around has connected me to so many amazing people. Taking pictures is always enjoyable but I think the reason I love it so much (and miss when I am not doing it) IS because of the bonds that are created. There is a special connection that is made that wouldn't otherwise be there if it weren't for my camera.  Brandon and I! We met in '10 at a street party. He is an artist and surfer who also co-owns Rockaway Beach Surf Club, an open air chill vibin' place where Rockaway locals, surfers and NYers come for Tacoway Beach Tacos, fresh juices, cocktails, art, culture and friends. Surfer, skater, teacher, competitive swimmer and globetrotter, Mike Reinhardt is another true Rockaway original who started a surf school 5 years ago with co-founder Mike Kololyan. If you want to learn to surf in a particular place, the best people to learn from are always the locals for they know how to navigate the patterns of the waves respective to their native surf break.  In between shooting in Rockaway, I wandered around Manhattan popping into photo galleries for inspiration (Mary Ellen Mark, Doug Dubois, Kenneth Josephson) and took pics on the street. Strolling around by myself with a camera in a place like NY is complete and utter bliss for me. I am pretty sure I had a grin on my face the entire time.  Life imitates nature.  Williamsburg, Brooklyn  The High Line, Chelsea, NY Shadow Selfie, Williamsburg, Brooklyn  Williamsburg, Brooklyn Chinatown, NY I left NY after 2 beautiful weeks with a heavy but GRATEFUL heart. I did not want to leave. Every minute I spent there was not taken for granted. Maybe someday I will get to live there, maybe not. Either way, I am amped I got to go back again and know that it's something my soul needs a dose of regularly:) If you'd like to check out the resulting article about Rockaway Beach, you can see it here: “This is Rockaway”  And if you're in the NY area, there is an event to celebrate the article release tonight!  Red Bull invites you to celebrate the release of the recent “This is Rockaway” editorial piece featured on RedBulletin.com. Please join us for cocktails and tunes at Playland Motel this Thursday, July 21st from 6 – 9pm.  Playland Motel 97-20 Rockaway Beach Blvd Rockaway Beach, NY 11693 About the piece: Earlier this year, writer Cole Louison (contributing writer for Red Bulletin, GQ, New York Times, New Yorker) spent several days immersing himself in Far Rockaway, Queens. Through a series of conversations with local residents about what makes their community so unique, “This is Rockaway” was brought to life. Featuring a selection of the resulting quotes and photos by Tracey Tomtene, the piece displays just a small snapshot of the personalities and passion which thrive in The Rockaways. Images from the piece, as well as a selection of private alternates will be displayed throughout the space during the event.  Please feel free to share “This is Rockaway” on Facebook and Twitter to help spread the word! In other news, I did the Khatsahlano Street Party a couple weeks ago and introduced my photo leggings and skirts! I was really nervous that they might not sell well but luckily they were my biggest seller. Phewwwwww:))) So, I will be also be bringing them to the 'Art of Photography Show' at Harmony Arts Festival August 2nd-4th in West Vancouver where l will be displaying wall art and selling photo jewelry too! More info and designs on my Etsy site.  All of the above images were taken locally in Vancouver, BC, Hawaii, NZ and SE Asia. The photo in the leggings below was taken at English Bay in Vancouver - my biggest seller so far!  More photos from Rockaway here. That's all for now:) Thank you so much for reading and hope you're having a sa-weet summer or a cozy winter!  :)  TT Fancies are like shadows...you can't cage them, they're such wayward dancing things. - L.M. Montgomery