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Marketing Mondays: Best Apps for Instagram

Create the best possible version of your photos with the right camera apps and filters! Below are some of my favourite apps for iPhone for taking and editing photos for Instagram. All available in the Apple Store. 

Best App for Taking Photos:

VSCO Cam

This app from Visual Supply Company allows you to take exceptional photos using your iPhone or Android phone. Taking photos within the app lets you shoot manually, meaning you can control features like ISO speed (light control) and manual focus to create the best photos possible from your mobile phone.

This app also lets you edit photos, either the one you just took or you can import from your library. Edit everything from tint, saturation, shadows, and exposure, as well as cropping and adding filters. Additional filters are available for in-app purchase, some for free. Below is an example of a before, then after picture of the same shot cropped and filtered. 

Instagram

Taking photos directly within the Instagram app is always a good option if you don’t need to manually adjust the camera settings. The only good feature of taking a photo within the app is the manual focus which you can achieve by tapping your screen where you’d like the camera to focus on. From there you can automatically add the standard Instagram filters along with some photo-editing tools.

Taking video within the Instagram app is always great because of the auto-stabilizing feature. This keeps your videos from appearing shaky if taken by hand.

Hyperlapse

This app is created by Instagram and allows you to take timelapse videos easily from your phone. I personally prefer this over the Time-Lapse option already on the iPhone camera as Hyperlapse has a built-in video stabilizer just like the Instagram app. You can also choose the rate at which the video is sped up!

Hipstamatic

Looking to take highly-stylized analog photos with your iPhone? Hipstamatic is for you! With dozens of lenses and film-styles to choose from, you can have a lot of fun mixing and matching to find your perfect style.

Best Apps for Filtering and Editing Photos

Camera+

One of my favourites, this app has easy-to-use filters to make your photos look their best. Filters such as Backlit, Auto, and Food make editing your photos simple. Clarity is my favourite filter and is great for outdoor, scenic shots. See below for two comparisons using this filter.

Afterlight

Afterlight also has many great photo filters, as well as features such as Instant Film filters and frames, and frames to add a white border to a rectangular picture to make it square.

Vintique

Exactly what it sounds like! Add vintage and antique-style filters to your photos for a classic throwback look.

Layout

Also created by Instagram, Layout allows you to collage your photos as well as flip or mirror them. 

Best Apps for Managing Instagram:

Repost App

Repost app allows you to easily repost someone else’s Instagram photo or video to your own feed. It will add the original poster’s handle and caption with room to add your own comments. This is great for giving credit to the original uploader!

Latergramme

Created by a Vancouver team, Latergramme is currently the best option for scheduling posts. You will still have to manually upload the images from your phone, but you can use their website to add the photos and captions, and schedule the posts. You will then get a notification from the app on your phone letting you know it’s time to post. This is a great tool for those busy entrepreneurs and makers who have images to post but need a reminder! You can use it for free with a maximum of 30 posts per month or 250 per month with a Premium plan ($16/month). Sign up for free at www.latergram.me. 

Have a question about photo-editing apps or a topic suggestion for a Marketing Monday? Email Marketing & Community Manager for the One of a Kind Shows & Online Shop, Devlin Kenny, at [email protected]! 

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Marketing Mondays: Photography

Now that we’ve covered the basics for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest, let’s talk about photography.

When selling or marketing online, photography is extremely important. Having great photography will entice your online audience, and in the case of the One of a Kind Online Shop, increase your chances of being featured in e-blasts or on the homepage! Remember, the photos you use online represent your product, your company and are the main reference point for shoppers before they make their purchase. When taking your photos remember that your customer cannot touch or feel your items, so be sure to give as much information as possible through your pictures. 

OOAK’s Top 5 Product Photography Tips:

Lots of Natural Light: Take your photos in a space that has lots of natural light (a room with a large window is great) to avoid using flash. When setting up your station remember that indirect light creates the best result. Once you have chosen your perfect location and your product is set up, play around with the placement of your item to see how the natural light hits at different angles.      

Choose Your Backdrop Wisely: Think about the surface your product is sitting on and what is acting as the backdrop for your photo. It is important to keep your background tidy, do not include anything that will distract attention away from your product. We advise keeping your backdrop simple and consistent to create a professional look..  Special Tip: Products with crisp white backdrops are best for Print & PR opportunities      

Stage Your Product: Include multiple photographs of your product to eliminate any possible questions customers might ask. Have relevant props on hand to use as reference points for your products during your photo shoot. Props can also be a great way to outline the different ways your product can be used and can help define product size. Experiment by taking product photos from a top view, side angle, close-up and with props. Ex. With clothing, take one photo of your item lying flat on a white background and a second photo of your product on a model      

Stabilize Your Camera: To create sharp, crisp images use a tripod or camera clamp to stabilize your camera and hold it perfectly steady.      

Perfect Your Images by Editing: Even after following all the tips above and taking beautiful product photos there are always little things to fix up and retouch before uploading the photos to social media. You don’t need to be a Photoshop Pro to touch up your digital images, often it is just a matter of resizing your image or altering the exposure.  Below are a few of our favourite, easy to use, free online editing websites.     PicMonkey     Pixlr     Gimp

Taking great product photography requires lots of practice. The tips above are a great start point for your next shoot!

Below are two great Online Shop photo examples from OOAK Artisan Objective

.  These two very different photographs showcase great staging, lighting and a simple backdrop, they also showcase the variety of ways a single product can be photographed and seen by your customers. 

Have a question about photography not answered here or a suggestion for a Marketing Monday? Email Marketing & Community Manager, Devlin Kenny, at [email protected]! 

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Marketing Mondays: Pinterest

What is it?

According to Pinterest, it “is a place to discover ideas for all your projects and interests, hand-picked by people like you” and “helps people discover the things they want to play, buy and do.” In other words, Pinterest is an online collection of images that can be curated into lists – everything from recipes, to themed gift guides, to inspirational images.

Getting Started

The best place to start is with Pinterest’s own Getting Started guide for businesses: https://business.pinterest.com/en/getting-started

There are two main concepts you need to know: boards and pins. A pin can be any image, either uploaded directly by you or “pinned” from the internet. A board is a curated collection of your pins. You can source pins yourself from your favourite websites, including your own, or you can “repin” pins that others have posted on Pinterest that you find interesting, inspirational, and that fit your board theme.

Pinterest for Business

A great thing about pins is that they live forever! Even if you posted a pin two years ago, if someone is searching and repins your pin, it will appear in all their followers’ feeds.  So the best option is to pin directly from your website or online shop because, unlike Instagram, all pins link back to a clickable source. As you can see below, this image is sourced from the One of a Kind Online Shop, so if a user clicks on the link, it will take them directly to the product page where they can instantly shop.

Like with all social media platforms, if you stay true and authentic to your brand and what inspires you, you will gain like-minded followers, who in turn have more like-minded followers. Every time they repin your pins, your products and brand reach those potential customers.

Make things easy by downloading the Pinterest button for your browser (you can see the icon in the upper right corner of the screenshot above). This means a “Pin It” tab will appear over any image when you’re browsing a webpage and makes it easy to quickly pin something of interest to you to your Pinterest page. 

Don’t feel that you need to limit yourself to pinning only your products. If you make food products, try creating some recipe boards. Or if you make printed sunny tote bags, why not create a summer travel board?

Get Social

With Pinterest, you can see who is pinning from your website! In the image below, this is everyone who has pinned from oneofakindonlineshop.com, so I frequently check this and like their pins. The pinner will get a notification that OOAK_Toronto has liked their pin, which also lets them know that we have a Pinterest account and will hopefully gain a new follower.

Pinterest Analytics

Pinterest for business also includes analytics, which can be accessed by clicking on the settings wheel in your profile and clicking “Analytics.” While I personally think you should stay true to yourself and your brand and continue using Pinterest however you wish, it can be interesting to see what users find most popular and how many people you have reached. You can adjust the range settings so you can see if there are certain times of the year that people are viewing your profile more often. It can also be interesting to see who your most active followers are and what they are most interested in (ex. Interior Design, Home Décor, etc). You can also see what country they are from. For example, this may be of interest if you find most of your pinners are from the US, but you currently only ship to Canada. This could indicate a whole new geographic market for you!

So what are you waiting for? Get pinning!

Have a question about launching your Pinterest account that wasn’t covered here? Email One of a Kind Marketing & Community Manager Devlin Kenny at [email protected]. Visit us every other Monday for Marketing Mondays where we’ll share tips on growing your business!

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Marketing Mondays: Twitter

Let’s get tweeting!

What is it?

Twitter is a constant stream of 140 character status updates. Like Instagram, Twitter uses hashtags which creates “Trending Topics” – hashtags or phrases that are being tweeted about most on this platform. This makes Twitter a great place to see what’s going on in your area and the world and to have short and fun conversations with your followers.

Sometimes it’s easy to only use Twitter as another platform to share Facebook statuses or Instagram pictures, but to make the best of Twitter, I recommend posting directly using Twitter or TweetDeck. When you share a Facebook post, the status will inevitably get cut off requiring the user to click a link to take them to your Facebook page to see the rest of it. With Instagram, sharing to Twitter won’t share the image, just a link to the post. With social media marketing, you want your followers to instantly see and know what you’re sharing, because most of the time they simply won’t click to see more.

When setting up your Twitter profile, add your company name (not personal one) so users can search for you. Also be sure to add your website, location, and a brief description so new followers know what you do! When choosing a top background image, check that it works well on both the web and on the mobile app as the dimensions are a bit different.

Some Basic Definitions

Tweet: announcement of 140 characters or less, and can include mentions, links, videos, photos, hashtags.

Hashtag: any word or phrase beginning with “#” sign, such as #OOAKOnline. The benefit of a hashtag is that anyone can click on it and a feed of all tweets containing that hashtag will appear.

Mention: like on Facebook or Instagram, you can “mention” or “tag” other people in your tweets so they will receive a notification that you’ve mentioned them. For example: “Today we’re visiting @artisan in their studio!” User @artisan will receive a notification that you mentioned them and might reply to your tweet (ex. “Can’t wait to see you @OOAK_Toronto!”) or retweet your tweet.

Retweet: exactly what it sounds like! Retweeting someone’s tweet will then post it to your timeline and all your followers. You can either retweet the tweet as it is, or quote the tweet and add your own comments (see the difference below).

 Above is a retweet, below is an example of quoting someone else’s tweet

@ reply: an @ reply is when you start a tweet with a mention, ex. “@OOAK_toronto when is your next Show?” Twitter considers this type of tweet a direct reply or conversation with the @user you’ve just mentioned, so this tweet will only show up in the news feeds of your followers who also follow that user. It is designed this way so that if you’re having a back-and-forth conversation with a follower, it won’t clog up the news feed of your other followers. If you want ALL your users to see your tweet that starts with a mention, a trick is to add a period first, ex. “.@OOAK_Toronto Spring Show opens today at the Direct Energy Centre!” By adding the “.”, now all your followers will see your tweet!

Making the Most of Twitter

Have fun with it! Because of the 140 character limitation, get creative with your tweets to capture attention.  Images are a great way to keep things visually appealing. When you post with Twitter or TweetDeck, followers will see a preview of your image. This preview will be cropped with a ratio of 2:1 centred in your tweet, so horizontal images always work best.

TweetDeck is a feature of Twitter that allows you to create a dashboard so you can easily see all your Twitter activity. Go to www.tweetdeck.twitter.com and log in with your twitter account and password. This is how I’ve set the dashboard for One of a Kind: 

Home: this is the stream of tweets from everyone you follow on Twitter.

Notifications: a list of all the activity related to your account including new followers, other users’ tweets mentioning you, tweets of yours that others have favourited, etc.

Search: the next three columns are examples of searches where you can follow the use of a specific hashtag or phrase. Here I have set up three columns to follow #OOAKX15 (the Christmas Show hashtag), #OOAKDiaries (hashtag for artisans documenting the process of making their products), and #OOAKOnline (hashtag of the One of a Kind Online Shop). This way I can easily see who is using the hashtags and retweet them!

Scheduled: my favourite feature of TweetDeck. You can schedule tweets! The best part of scheduling tweets with TweetDeck instead of another similar product (such as a free HootSuite account) is that it will post a photo to Twitter whereas others will only post a link.

Setting this up allows you to easily see all your Twitter activity in one page and easily manage and communicate with your followers.

Keeping Up With Twitter

Twitter is about being the expert in your field, and nobody knows your product like you do! If you’re just getting started, follow accounts that inspire you, are similar to you, and that you can learn from. If Instagram is the visual representation of your brand, Twitter is the voice. Use Twitter as a way for you to speak to your customers and for them to get to know you. Building brand loyalty will keep those customers coming back!

Have a question about launching your Twitter account that wasn’t covered here? Email One of a Kind Marketing & Community Manager Devlin Kenny at [email protected]. Visit us every other Monday for Marketing Mondays where we’ll share tips on growing your business!

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Marketing Mondays: Instagram

Instagram is a photo and video-sharing social media platform and is an excellent way to connect to new customers and showcase your brand in a visual way. While you can view your profile on the web, the platform is only accessible on a mobile platform, either iOS or Android with a recently launched version for BlackBerry.

How to Get Started

Instagram has an easy-to-follow guide on how set up your company profile here:  https://help.instagram.com/454502981253053/

Your Brand on Instagram

Instagram lists the following words under their “Language Guidelines” and is a great place to start brainstorming what you want to share:

Photos

Community

Capture and share

Moments

Inspire / inspiration

Explore/ exploration

Storytelling

What’s happening now

Authenticity

Meaningful

Simple

Fun

Fast

How to Grow Followers

Like Geotagged Photos

Instagram has a feature that allows photos to be added to your “Photo Map,” meaning they are given a location based on your phone’s GPS

Are you exhibiting at One of a Kind? Post a photo, click “Add to your Photo Map”, use the FourSquare search function to find “One of a Kind Show” and post your photo

Your photo is now “Geotagged” and you can click on the location listed above your photo to show you all photos posted under the same geotag

Go through the photos and like any you choose! This will notify the Instagrammer of the photo of your like – they will then usually click on your username and check out your feed. If they like what they see, that’s a new follow!

Hashtags

Hashtags are a great way for Instagrammers to find your photos, and can be created by adding a “#” sign in front of a word, phrase, or even emojis

The five most commonly used hashtags are:

#love, #instagood, #me, #tbt, #cute

Use hashtags that are most appropriate for your post

For instance, if you post a Throwback Thursday picture every Thursday, be sure to use #tbt

If you make clothing and have an styling image, use #OOTD (outfit of the day)

Collaborations

Cross promote your account by collaborating with a friend to reach their follower base – be sure to partner with someone who has a similar style to your account to reach the most relevant potential new followers

Example: One of a Kind does an Instagram Takeover every Tuesday to feature the artisan of the week, helping artisans reach the One of a Kind followers

Sharing

You can link your Facebook page and Twitter profile with Instagram so you can share photos directly to those platforms, letting your current followers know they can now follow you on Instagram as well

Tips

Do not post multiple photos one after the other, this is not a Facebook album! Instagram is about sharing the best of the best of your photos. If you have a lot to share, be sure to spread the posts out throughout the day, you don’t want to dominate your followers’ feeds. 

Be sure to include your website or online shop link in your Instagram profile so followers know where to shop for the beautiful products your post.

Stay consistent – create a style for your photos, whether it’s using a similar colour palette, shot angle, or the same three filters, you want your followers to be able to spot one of your photos as they’re quickly swiping through their feed.

Don’t be afraid to share more than just product pictures – people also love to see images of what inspires you, what you like to explore on Saturdays, your studio, etc. Instagram is perfect for visually sharing your process as an artisan.

Did a customer or fan tag you in a photo or caption? Share the love and like their photo!

Have a question about launching your Instagram account that wasn’t covered here? Email One of a Kind Marketing & Community Manager Devlin Kenny at [email protected]. Visit us every other Monday for Marketing Mondays where we’ll share tips on growing your business!

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Marketing Mondays: Facebook

Are you an entrepreneur looking to grow your new business? Well Spring is finally here and it’s time to get working on those resolutions you made a few months ago! 

Social media is without a doubt the easiest way to promote your company at no cost. With so many platforms out there it can be a bit overwhelming, but these are the four we couldn’t live without here at One of a Kind: 1. Facebook 2. Instagram 3. Twitter 4. Pinterest

Today we’ll focus on #1 – Facebook. 

About Facebook Having an official Facebook page gives you credibility to your customers. It’s a great way for customers to recommend you (through ratings) and for potential customers to reach out to you with questions. Fans can “like” your page to follow you, as well as comment and share your posts, extending your brand’s reach. 

Setting Goals

1. Decide what you want Facebook to be for your brand

Some suggestions:

 A way to share new products or promotions

To direct customers to your online shop

To get new e-newsletter sign ups

To stay in touch with customers between shows

2. Set some hard numbers

Do you want more post likes, comments or shares? Do you want more page likes? Set some short and long term goals, for example:

Short: gain 50 new followers at every summer 2015 show

Long: gain 750 new followers by December 2015

Achieving Your Goals The following are just a few suggestions on how you can use Facebook to reach your goals:

1. Use the Call-to-action button

This is a super easy way to link directly to your online shop or e-newsletter. Just follow the instructions from Facebook to create a call-to-action for your page visitors.

2. Use the schedule tab to maintain a consistent stream of content

Schedule a week of posts on Sundays so you can focus on your business during the week, knowing that your brand will still be reaching people on Facebook.

3. Use insights to see what people really like about your page

Some questions to ask:

Are your posts more popular when you post twice a week or five times a week?

What content do people share most, a picture of a new product or a picture of you at work in your studio?

What days and at what time do you get the most reach? Mondays? Fridays? Mornings? Evenings?

Which medium gets the most reach? Facebook videos? YouTube videos? Photos? Links?

Don’t be afraid to test out a variety of posts to see which work best for your Facebook page!

4. Tell people about your page!

Include a link on your website & OOAKOnline Shop

Encourage visitors who visit your booth or shop to like your page for exclusive offers and deals

Host a contest by asking fans to comment on a photo to be entered to win (when someone comments on a post, it can show up in their friends’ News Feed which lets them know about your page!)

Advanced Tips 1. Recently, Facebook changed its algorithms so video is given the highest preference in reach. Uploading a video directly to Facebook (not reposting through YouTube) will mean more video views. Facebook videos are automatically played on both the web and on the phone app, and will also appear more often on friends' of fans News Feeds. Try posting a timelapse video of you creating one of your products and watch how many views it gets!

2. Contesting can be highly controlled on Facebook. Be sure to review Facebook’s contesting policy here: https://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php#promotionsguidelines.

3. Use Google Analytics to source your traffic to calculate your return on investment (ROI). Are you posting daily but receiving no visits to your website from Facebook or no email sign ups? Before you give up on Facebook, ask the following: • Does every post link back to your website/online shop/newsletter? • When you post a link, do you change the default image and upload a more eye-catching one? Do you change the description text?

Changes into:

Some marketing experts say Facebook doesn’t have the same reach because it is encouraging page users to pay for Facebook advertising. If you think Facebook isn’t giving you the best ROI, feel free to focus your social media marketing elsewhere. I highly recommend not deleting your page, but maybe switching to just a weekly or monthly posting schedule is best for your page.

Have a question about managing your Facebook page? Contact Marketing & Community Manager Devlin Kenny at [email protected].

Visit the blog every other Monday for tips on growing your small business!

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You Light Up My Life

Here is a super easy DIY project to light up your Valentine's Day present!

What you need:

A paper gift box

Poster lights

How to:

1) Using a template, trace a heart shape on to the lid of your gift box.

2) Using the paper punch included in your poster lights kit, punch holes along the parameter of the heart shape you have etched on to the lid. You will need to use a little force to do this. We recommend using a paper box that has a medium weight.

3) String the lights along the punched holes, and viola, a glowing heart on your gift box.

Shop our Valentine's Day Gift Picks here.

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Celebrate National Pie Day with this blueberry pie tea towel by Kat Frick Miller! Get it here.

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Out in the Cold: Stay warm and cozy with our One of a Kind Picks. Shop our picks.

Scarf by Westlake Designs; Hat by Headmistress; Mittens by Jennifer Fukushima

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Make Your Debut with a Complimentary Booth at the One of a Kind Spring Show We know that starting out as an artisan can be tough! So, each spring, the One of a Kind Show partners with leading arts and culture institutions to debut new talent in our Craft Community of Canada section. Here, artisans who have graduated from an arts institution can show their work to a qualified audience of 60,000 customers with an appreciation for handmade. And we can celebrate the educational organizations that teach, foster talent, grant opportunities, and increase exposure for the uniquely talented artists working today.

You Provide:

A completed application package, including product photos and a biography, but you can leave the payment information blank—it’s on us!

Contact information for a reference from your institution

And, if you are selected, we’ll Provide:

   A complimentary 5’ x 10’ booth

   Signage and hardwalls

   A $250-$500 grant for artisans coming from outside of Ontario

   Complimentary tickets to the show

   Marketing and PR exposure from this media-friendly section

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Guest post by Holly LaRochelle of The Inspired Home

Get Together with One of a Kind Handmade Finds

In my family, we have many homemade items made by different family members which have been cherished.

One of the mainstays of our holidays is also the food. In building my own families' healthy holiday traditions, we embraced our rustic mountain side and were delighted by the craftsmanship of the Stinson Studios. 

More about Holly:

Name: Holly LaRochelle

Blog: www.theinspiredhome.org

Hometown/Now living in: Hinton, AB

Top 3 tips on holiday entertaining:

Keep it simple

Use natural items you find in your backyard for decorating

Provide healthy appetizers and snacks in your spread

Shop her One of a Kind picks

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Guest post by Lisa Wong of Solo Lisa

Cozying Up with One Of A Kind Finds Cold weather always makes me crave all things cozy, especially the creature comforts that make staying indoors delightful. Think mugs of hot tea, warm socks, lit candles and movie marathons. And while hibernation can quickly slide into slobs-ville, it doesn’t have to thanks to online shops like One Of A Kind.

A quick browse turned up all sorts of handmade finds that would instantly up the coziness factor of our condo: Little Bee Art beeswax candles; Nicole Tarasick Studio’s Canadiana-inspired pillows; whimsical mugs  by Creations Li. Ultimately, I decided to buy the treehouse blanket by Jenna Rose. Its one-of-a-kind print and heavyweight flannel make it perfect for curling up under when I’m on the couch. When it’s not in use, I can drape it over a nearby chair to add instant visual interest to our living room. Baby it may be cold outside, but I’ve got my blanket, books and cocoa to keep me warm.

More about Lisa

Name: Lisa Wong Blog: Solo Lisa Hometown: Vancouver

3 tips for keeping it cozy:

Pillows and throws are an easy way to update the look of your living room for the season! Plus they keep you cozy and warm during winter movie marathons.

Have interesting mugs on hand for hot beverages like tea, cocoa and mulled cider and serving dishes for snacks and popcorn.

Candlelight! Tea lights and candles are a must for setting the mood.

Shop her One of a Kind picks

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Gifts Inspired by Holiday Classics

Have you checked out our Holiday 2014 collection in collaboration with TIFF Shop? We've prepared a curated selection of gifts for the film lovers in your life, and this special collection will be available for a limited of time only! Be sure to check it out exclusively online at One of a Kind Online and instore at the TIFF Shop (350 King Street West, Toronto).

Inspired by this project, we curated the following gift guides based on some our favourite holiday movies.

Gifts inspired by Love Actually

Airport code pillow by Nicole Tarasick BUY IT HERE

Phone booth art by Norman Piluke Gallery BUY IT HERE

London print dog bowtie by Rover BUY IT HERE

Ear Grey Cream tea by Tealish BUY IT HERE

Octopus baby onesie by Poison Pear BUY IT HERE

Gifts inspired by Elf

Glass candy cane ornament BUY IT HERE

Maple syrup bottle by A+J BUY IT HERE

Felted Santa Ornament by Lynn's Lids BUY IT HERE

Inspirational quote embroidery hoop by Embroiderwee BUY IT HERE

Cranberry maple syrup by Nutra-Fruit Canneberge BUY IT HERE

Gifts inspired by Home Alone

Widow necklace by Missy Industry BUY IT HERE

Feather earrings by ALYSHAALEX BUY IT HERE

Toque by Headmistress BUY IT HERE

Passport holder by Mally Designs BUY IT HERE

Coaster by VersaTile BUY IT HERE

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Handmade Halloween

Halloween is all about indulging your inner kid--wearing crazy costumes, playing pranks, consuming absurd amounts of candy! But it’s also a great time to get crafty by cobbling together a costume from your closet, thrift shopping, art supplies, and maybe a few purchased pieces to top it all off. Because much like prom night, there is nothing worse than showing up to your Halloween festivities in the exact same outfit as someone else...

This year, we browsed the One of a Kind Online Shop and found some amazing accessories to top off costumes inspired by our favourite TV shows. If you're looking for that perfect piece to make your costume One of a Kind, why not head over and see what you find!

Downton Abbey

Long Filifree Faceted Black Onyx Earrings by Nocturne BUY IT NOW |  Baltic Amber Vintage Style Necklace by Nocturne BUY IT NOW |  Fascinator by Love Charlie BUY IT NOW |  Perch Fur Felt Hat by Love Charlie BUY IT NOW |  Black and Gold Tapestry Damask Patterned Small Clutch by Owlswakeup BUY IT NOW | Evening at Downton by Nocturne BUY IT NOW |  Peacock Large by Love Charlie BUY IT NOW |

Sons of Anarchy

Human Skull Ring by Mava Style BUY IT NOW |  Chain Warrior Earrings by Hen Jewelry BUY IT NOW |  Gun Chain Pendant Necklace by Dalo Jewels BUY IT NOW |  The Ginette by Karen Gunna Leather Goods BUY IT NOW |  Orchidea Cuff by Rimanchik BUY IT NOW |  Skull on Oval Leather Bracelet by Dalo Jewels BUY IT NOW |  Gigi Belt by Rimanchik BUY IT NOW |  Motorcycle Hookshot by Pewterglass BUY IT NOW |

Game of Thrones

Wolf T-Shirt by Hand + Shadow BUY IT NOW |  Cape by Coats by Mary Ellen BUY IT NOW |  Iron Fist Earrings by Toddlebunny BUY IT NOW |  Skull & Sword Pendant by Mava Style Jewelry BUY IT NOW |  Genuine Leather Duster Vest by Designed by Linda Lundstrom BUY IT NOW |  Bronze Claw Studs by Missy Industry BUY IT NOW |  Pirate Coin by Sailorgirl Jewelry BUY IT NOW |  Stained Glass Goblet by Bredesign BUY IT NOW |  Necklace by Anne-Marie Chagnon Inc BUY IT NOW |  Big Rose Ring by Disengo Fine Jewellery BUY IT NOW |  Little Bird Necklace by Overman BUY IT NOW

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We are super excited to be working with the TIFF Shop for a special collection of holiday gifts for the film lover in your life! The collection is exclusively sold online at One of a Kind Online and instore at the TIFF Shop, 350 King Street West.

Check out the collection here.

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#40YearsofCanadianHandmade

Follow us down the memory lane as we count down to the 40th annual One of a Kind Christmas Show!

We are reviewing our archives and showcasing some of our favourite One of a Kind moment! Be sure to find us on Instagram.

Here is a press kit from the 5th annual One of a Kind Christmas Show from 1979! #flashbackfriday #40YearsofCanadianHandmade #ooakx14 #handmade

A photo posted by ONE OF A KIND (@ooak_toronto) on Oct 10, 2014 at 5:57am PDT

[oneofakindshow]

We are delighted to bring you 3 hands-on workshops at the 40th edition of the One of a Kind Christmas Show. Each 2-hour session will include instructions from One of a Kind exhibitors, admission to the show, a light breakfast and all studio materials to complete the specified project.

For more details, please click here to visit our website.

Last but not least, meet Lise-Marie and Stéphane of Voyou who will be leading the customized t-shirt workshop on Saturday, December 6.

Customized T-shirt Workshop with Lise-Marie Cayer & Stéphane de Sampaio of Voyou Saturday, December 6, 9am to 11am

Click here to register

Who are you?

We are a couple who have worked together for the past 4 years. I am (Lise-Marie) a fashion designer who founded Voyou and Stephane is a graphic designer who joined the team when VOYOU merged with the brand, Blank. We love working together.

Where are you from? What city do you current live/work in?

I am from Rosemère, Quebec and Stephane is originally from Beloeil, Quebec. We have both lived in Montreal for 10 years.

What is your workshop about? In this workshop, students will be repurposing fabric remnants and use them to embellish the basic t-shirt. My workshop is perfect for those who…:

Appreciate the beauty in a handmade project.

Since the One of a Kind Christmas Show will be celebrating its 40th edition this year, what is a milestone celebration in your career so far! 

The opening of our first store in Montreal, on Mont-Royal Avenue in the summer of 2012.