Craft Revival has been around for over 6 years in Thunder Bay and has been growing in leaps and bounds every year. It literally started in a living room with a bunch of friends and crafters getting together and last year took over 25 venues in downtown Port Arthur, hosting over 200 crafters/artisans/vendors. I’ve been going as often as I can, yearly for the last 4 at least and sometimes hitting up both the winter version and the spring (pre-Mother’s Day) version as well! I do a LOT of my holiday shopping there and I’ve never been disappointed. I love shopping local and keeping my money in Thunder Bay, not to mention the fact that in many cases I’m directly helping out family/friends by purchasing the products they are making. A lot of these people have been hit hard with the pandemic, many of them having little or no outlet for their products when the majority of craft shows and markets have been called off this year. Well, the amazing folks behind The Craft Revival took matters into their own hands and have created an online marketplace for over 140 vendors this year! They are handling the ‘back-end’ ordering and dealing with curbside pickups so that not only will products get sold and crafters get paid, but we can also safely get the local products many of us are clamoring for this year. Showing support locally gives me a really great feeling, I’m proud to wear my hat from Knits By Nat and when I look at the prints on my wall from High Tide, I feel at home.
Sure, perusing the web for local products doesn’t have the same ‘homey’ feeling that I get when I can actually stop and chat with my friends at Lovely Body or Ryan Mackett Creations, but I am still getting the same love and amazing products. The folks at The Craft Revival are also amazing with their customer service, doing their best to make everything smooth for all people involved. It’s a learning curve to be sure, but that’s the reality we’re living in right now. Week 2 of The Craft Revival kicked off today and it runs until December 3rd so you’ve got just a little while left to check it out.
Whether you are looking for special soaps, jewellry, prints, clothes or even housewares, The Craft Revival has something for everyone and everyone on your list. I HIGHLY recommend you check them out and maybe get your holiday shopping all done in one fell swoop!
Check out The Craft Revival and the amazing products here.
