Our Process

We often receive inquiries about how to become part of our annual show + sale. Our process is not typical of many art + craft fairs in that we generally invite other artists/makers to join us, rather than to apply to the show. The exception was last year when we finally landed a reserved date at the Heritage Hall which doubled the number of folks we were able to accommodate in the event. At that time we put a call out for applications. While this was a good process to go through we found that it was just too much work for us!

There are five core members of our collective and we all share the responsibilities and duties of organizing the show and curating the collection of super talented people and work that makes our show so great each year! To find out more about our collective's history look to the right on your screen and find the 'about us' blurb.

We always love seeing new work, so if we don't know yours and you are interested in introducing yours to us please, send us an email at shinyfuzzymuddy@gmail.com!

UPDATE!

After a hiatus over the spring and summer we are back at work organizing and planning for this year's show! We have a great roster of artists lined up - some familiar work and lovely faces and some new! So, mark your calendars for Dec 11 & 12 for SFM Show 11! Come back to visit for upcoming posts on this year's event and great Canadian talent coming your way!

Ulla Clark

LUprints main designer, Ulla Clark, was introduced to Scandinavian textiles at a young age through growing up with a Swedish mother. On frequent family visits to Sweden and seeing her relatives’ homes adorned with collections of hand-embroidered and screen printed linens, her fondness for table runners and napkins blossomed. She has always been drawn to the pleasing simplicity that nature provides, she spent a decade working outside in the forest, often finding time for collecting and cataloguing plants and flowers. Her strong affection for nature as well as her memories of the beautiful, yet functional linens, are a constant inspiration for new products and prints.

Ulla has been trained in industrial screen printing by both fine art printers as well as textile printers in Canada and the USA. She has been printing full-time since 2005 in her screenprinting studio Limelight Screenprinting. Her love of printing combined with her knowledge and training in sewing and designing led her to start LUprints in 2006.

Naomi Yamamoto

Naomi Joy Yamamoto attended the Fibre Program at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with Distinction in 2006. During her schooling, Naomi had the opportunity to spend a month as a work study intern at the Haystack School of Crafts on Deer Isle, Maine. She has also recieved several travel scholarships which enabled her to visit Tibet, China and Spain. Upon graduating in 2006, Naomi attended the acclaimed Banff Centre for the arts as a fully funded artist in residence. Inspired by her love of textiles, design and traveling, Naomi created Flight Path Designs in 2007 as a way to merge these three passions. Her work utilizes a combination of found imagery from her travels, vintage textiles and leather to create a line of belts, handbags and other accessories.

Naomi’s leatherwork can be found at stores throughout Alberta, including; ShisoMiso(Calgary), The Art Gallery of Calgary Shop,Saffron (Cochrane) and Sabrina Butterfly Designs (Edmonton). In Vancouver, her work is available at Dream Designs, Favourite and Motherland. She also sells her work through the monthly sales of the Portobello West Market in Vancouver and has exhibited at the One of a Kind Show in Toronto. The Flight Path line has been featured in several publications, including The Globe and Mail, Orb Magazine, Swerve and Fashion Magazine.

Naomi currently resides in Vancouver where she maintains her studio practice at the historic 1000 Parker Street studios.She can be found there most late nights, lovingly creating and designing her line.

Mark Pilon

Mark "Atomos" Pilon was born under the Northern Lights, in Canada's mysterious north. Perhaps it's a childhood dwarfed by the aurora borealis that made him seek out his alias. After graduating from art school, Mark was researching an art project when he stumbled across a Walt Disney book called "Our Friend the ATOM". The Greek name Atomos leapt out at him. "It means indivisible, or the smallest possible object," Mark explains. "Mystery and science are a good working combination."

Mark earned his Advertising Arts diploma at Winnipeg’s Red River College in 1989, and then attended Emily Carr College of Art & Design, to pursue his dream as a painter and illustrator. He left Emily Carr in 1992 to work for Discorder Magazine, honed his skills as an artist and graphic designer, and spent three of his six years there as Art Director. He departed Discorder in 1996 to join the Georgia Straight as a designer and illustrator, and today he the renowned publication’s Senior Designer. Meanwhile, he continues to illustrate for magazines worldwide and shows in galleries across North America.

Every aspect of his art is carefully computer drawn and then meticulously painted in acrylic layers, to give them a sharp, print-like synthetic quality. His paintings are a natural transition from his editorial illustrations. Mark’s paintings grew out of his love of underground comics, space-age record jackets, scooter culture, and moog music. His latest works reflect a post-pop conviction with an inking of surrealism and cast aside logic to reveal slices of modern images that are projected from dark holes into a dreamy multi-color world.

“I enjoy building my own worlds. I pull most of my imagery from my own personal sleeping dreams so you can say each dream is expertly captured and placed under glass for the viewer’s inspection.”

Some of Mark’s recent clients include:

The Georgia Straight, The Globe & Mail, Circle Productions, The Sierra Club, Wired, Scoot Quarterly, IKEA, Virgin Records, Home Maker Magazine, Vancouver Magazine, BC Business, Random House, Intrawest, Motor Trend Classic, AQ Magazine, OC Weekly, Mint Records, DDB Chicago, Walgreens.

Mark exhibits at:

La Luz de Jesus - Los Angles, MModern Gallery - Palm Springs, Roq la Rue - Seattle, DC Gallery - Denver, Dva - Chicago, Swizzle - Toronto, Shooting Gallery - San Francisco, Moon Base - Vancouver, Lunar Boy Gallery - Astoria, Harold Golen Gallery - Miami, Rotofugi - Chicago, Orbit Gallery - New York.

In 2006, Mark received the “Best Illustration Feature” award for “Running On Empty” at the WMA’s 24^{th Annual Awards Ceremony.}

Marcy Ross

Victoria fashion designer and artist Marcy Ross illustrates her sensibilities by playfully pairing forgotten furs, vintage pieces and fine knit laces with eco-friendly fabrics creating a flirty collection of one-of-a-kinds.


Her label, Morena Clothing emerged as an independent, sustainable, design studio in 2004. Since her debut on the local runway, her steady rise in popularity and loyal clientele has resulted in her valuable all season collections being sold in contemporary boutiques and galleries across Canada.

Tick Tock!

Well, the countdown is on! Our 10th Shiny Fuzzy Muddy show starts tomorrow and it is a stellar line up of artists and designers from Western Canada. Come and visit us to witness some of the most thoughtfully conceived products and art works around. This show is a must do for artists, arts advocates, connoisseurs and those new to the world of art! Meet your local creative community and feel good about the dollars you spend supporting your local arts community!

Read through our previous posts to learn more about the 25 artists that will be presenting their work at Heritage Hall this weekend. If you want to see more of their work online scroll down the page and find a list of all participating artists to your right and click on your favorite one!

See you this weekend! Bring all your friends and stay warm!!!

Lincoln Heller

I began working with leather in an Alaskan logging camp, making tool pouches from discarded boots. When I came back to Vancouver I began filling leather bag orders for men. Now I have developed my own line of accessories for men and women that emphasize the sculptural properties of vegetable tanned leather.

I use vegetable tanned leather for my products because it is cured with vegetable tannins, unlike the chromium baths of conventional leather. I buy undyed hides so I can create custom surfaces without the chemical saturation that industrially finished products endure.

The surfaces of my leather goods are fashioned by hand. I make impressions with recycled objects and blend coloured dyes to create unique mottled finishes.

My minimalist approach to construction is very important, there are no tricks, no glue, no linings, no synthetic replacements. I use very basic materials; leather, wood, hardware, and thread. Before refinement these materials occur on this planet, and my hope is they will, over time, decay naturally.

Functionality and longevity are most important. I aspire to create things that do a job well and for a long time. I resent disposability and planned obsolescence, and think today’s climate of self-serving convenience is breeding the waste that is stuffing our landfills.