The living room of Yuki Nickolichuk’s Lonsdale area home could be mistaken for an off-site extension of Santa’s workshop.
A whirlwind of felt and hemp cord fills her home as she prepares her one of a kind ornaments and decorations for the final wave of holiday shoppers.
Honey Canada is the company that her love of crafting has evolved into and for the last five years she has been participating in Christmas craft markets.
Nickolichuk will be selling her felt creations, inspired by the “zakka” craze, at the popular indie craft fair Got Craft? at The Pipe Shop at the Shipyards Dec. 10 and 11.
“Zakka means lots of cute stuff, not anything specific but like cute items created in Japan,” Nickolichuk says of the fashion and design phenomenon that has spread from Japan throughout Asia.
Zakka items are usually little stuffed animals, stationery or small home decor pieces.
Her little felt ornaments and toys fit right into the Zakka culture and bring the cutesy Japanese style to her Canadian market.
“Most of my material is from Japan, too,” she says. “Every year I go back to Japan and buy lots of new materials and then I bring it back and create something new every year.”
Nickolichuk started needle felting after she saw the craft on a TV program about 10 years ago in Japan. She was home with her young twins and thought it would be a fun project.
“Then the next day I went to a craft store to get all the supplies,” she says. “I started making them myself and teaching myself… I looked at photos and read lots of books, so nobody taught me anything before, I just had to figure out how to make it myself.”
Now she teaches others how to make toys and decorations with natural materials so parents don’t have to worry when children put the items in their mouths. Her classes are held twice a month at Bird on a Wire Creations on Main and Broadway in Vancouver.
“I’m trying to make eco-friendly and really safe toys and ornaments,” says Nickolichuk. “I try not to use metal or plastic and try to use natural materials like natural wool … and hemp cord and people really like it.”
She says the fuzzy little snowmen, topped with acorn caps found in her neighbourhood, are the first things she starts in on when replenishing her stock for next year.
Nickolichuk doesn’t waste any time and starts working on the new toys in January. She says it takes her until about October to have most of the stock she will need for the holiday season sales.
“I have to make everything by myself so it takes a really long time to prepare for the show and the website. I can’t have a show during January to October, then I have shows October, November, December and that’s it. It takes all year just to prepare for Christmas,” she explains.
Nickolichuk has gained a measure of fame with her felt ball Christmas tree decoration. Most recently, the tree was a featured holiday item on Etsy, and last year the same item was pictured on the front page of the Georgia Straight.
Requests for the ornament came pouring in after that exposure, and this year she’ll be offering a white version of the original multicoloured holiday decoration along with more little animals and felt ball Christmas ornaments.
More than 80 vendors, mostly from the Lower Mainland, will be selling a range of handmade jewelry, fashion accessories, home décor items and edibles at Got Craft? More info: gotcraft.com.
