These events are perfect for shopping local and supporting local artists and businesses. But with so many of them going full-throttle from now until Christmas it can be hard to figure out which ones to go to. Makeology last weekend, and Stuffed this Saturday. Make sure that you put Handmade Hamilton on your list of places to check out!

Handmade Hamilton is this weekend Saturday and Sunday from 11am-5pm at the Staircase theatre. Lisa Pijuan-Nomura artist and event organizer has curated a super fine selection of 32 amazing local Hamilton artists.

Here’s a round-up of some of my favs.

Hand & Shadow, screen printed shirts & scarves

 Claygirl Ceramics cups, mini-bowls

Heidi van Veen Designs, screen printed totes, pouches, pillows & tea towels

Jelly Brothers, neighbourhood maps and Hamilton graphics

HITOKOO, seriously some of the most beautifully handcrafted clothes & accessories

We will be there too (on Sunday only) selling our limited edition Hamilton Gems prints at a special reduced priced for this weekend only!

Hamilton Gems map by Jacqui Oakley (made in collaboration with This Must be the Place & The Academy of All Things Awesome)

Stop by and say “Hi” and if you’re one of the first 50 shoppers (on either Saturday or Sunday) you will get a Swag Bag!

*Handmade Hamilton, S&S Nov 26-27, 11-5, 27 Dundurn Street North, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

I love how this church actively partakes in the monthly art crawls. Every month, for the crawls, they open their doors to the public by playing host to the outdoor Maker’s Market as well as some super cool and often experimental musical acts that take advantage of the amazing space and acoustics of the Cathedral.

The Maker’s Market on this particular Saturday was definitely abuzz. Lots of people were making their way around to check out the goods and pick up some potential Christmas and holiday prezies.

Among the many local artisans and vendors Matt Jelly was there selling his Hamilton cards, maps, buttons and t-shirts. We picked up a set of downtown Hamilton cards in 3 different silkscreen printed colours. Matt’s table was hopping as people snatched up their neighbourhood maps. We finally bought our Corktown neighbourhood map too.

We also stopped by Lisa Pijuan-Nomura‘s (aka @girlcancreate) table. She had an assortment of goods and artwork ranging from calendars, notebooks and buttons to vintage paperpacks.

Lisa is a mover and a shaker and a definite do-er. She organizes a variety of arts based events in the city from a story telling series at The Staircase to The Quarterly: A Night of Live Performance at The Pearl Company.  Lisa is also organizing an upcoming event called Handmade: a holiday art and craft sale. So if you’re still looking for a unique Christmas gift or a little art head to James North Art Collective at 328 James North on Sunday, December 16th from 11am-4pm. There’ll be fine art and crafts from over 30 different artists.