The Maker Shaker is coming to Winnipeg in just over a week! It will be a place of diversity and inclusion and I can’t wait to see everyone coming together in the making community to spend some time thinking about storytelling in creativity!

We’ll have an amazing panel of speakers including Naila from RoxTextileArt, Janelle Desrosiers from Bloom & Brilliance and Natalie from PegCityLovely. They’ll be discussing how their own stories & lived experiences have affected their creativity. The discussion will be moderated by Laura from Laura’s Underthere.

When I had the idea to bring Frocktails to Winnipeg, I thought I would be seeing all sorts of sewists from around the area coming together to talk about our shared passion. When everyone showed up I was just blown away that so many people were interested in making time to meet more people that sew. I had a wonderful night and enjoyed taking the time to talk to pretty much everyone. I thought it was a great success and had every intention of doing the same thing this year.

I like to explore Instagram’s sewing community. That’s where I spend time talking about Winnipeg Sews and my own sewing, and I follow a bunch of diverse people that work in the fibre arts. In January of this year, there was an increased amplification of the voices of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) in the fibre community, specifically knitting. These voices filled my feed and called for action by white people to do better. I am part of the problem, but I am able to spend my time and energy doing my part to fix the problem as well. Including planning events that centre around BIPOC and queer folx that starts with listening to what kind of event they’d like to attend.

As much as I loved Frocktails last year, it was not diverse and I KNOW that there are so many makers and sewists of colour and LGTBQ+ makers who are doing amazing things. I have worked hard to make this an event that will feel safe and welcoming, starting with changing the name and focus of the event. Frocktails was too narrow of a concept, sew a frock, have a cocktail. Since every person is a maker and I really wanted to have some good tunes going, the Maker Shaker seemed like a good fit!

Makers are people who make for joy or use. For profit or no. They are the person who always has the new recipe you can’t wait to try, the neat way of storing their things. Makers are not just people who sell at markets, though clearly, they are that too. But the making community in Winnipeg is MORE than that: let’s celebrate the work and creativity behind each maker. Let’s shake our bodies and make connections.

Welcome to the Maker Shaker. I hope you have a great time!

Grab your tickets below!