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Past Events & Community Engagement
It’s a huge part of our ethos to be involved in community events that promote sustainability and accessibility. Our community is what keeps us in East Vancouver, repairing goods.
If you have an event you think we would be a great fit for (as a participant, sponsor, etc), please don’t hesitate to reach out! In the past, we have been speakers, workshop facilitators, taught 1×1 workshops, and participated in many markets.
Tess and Ariss had the most fantastic time at the SSIA (Shoe Service Insititute of America) 117th Annual Conference in New Jersey, NY! Attending seminars on glue bonding, machine maintenance and selecting the right pair of lasts, we came back recharged and ready to dive back into repairing.
Brooklyn Shoe Space invited Tess and Ariss (Awl Together Leather) and Lo (Sole Survivor) to do a Shoe Talk in their NYC Studio! On Friday, July 12th, while in NYC for the SSIA Convention, we had a fantastic time talking about shoe repair and shoemaking. You can find more images on the BKSS Instagram or via the Livestream that was offered.
Awl Together Leather participated in the Great Grandview Garage Sale, on June 15th, 2024! We decided to do a big studio clean-out sale that coincided with the already existing event (the GGGS), offering fur jackets, leather offcuts, tools and more. Expect to see this us at this event again next year – we had a great time.
See more photos on our instagram, here.
On April 20th and 27th (2024), Awl Together Leather partnered with Icebreaker for their “Dare to Repair” Event! This sold out event offered Icebreaker clients the chance to have their favourite garments repaired in store. We worked out of both the Kitsilano and the Park Royal location.
Additionally, a one-hour visible mending talk and demonstration happened on both days!
On September 13th, 2023, we popped up at the Britannia Plaza Market! We absolutely loved doing this market, as it is our closest local recreation center and the one we personally use the most. We had a mix of leather care and handmade goods available for sale.
There’s more photos on our instagram post, here.
From May 21-29th, 2023, Awl Together Leather operated out of the Raven’s Reuseful Store, at Raven Recycling! We were brought up north in a collaboration between Raven Recycling and Zero Waste Yukon. You can read more about it on our website here, or in one of our interviews with CBC Yukon here. We hosted four days of free repairs for drop-ins, a workshop, and popped into Yukonstruct for their free Repair Cafe too!
Ariss set up shop at the Killarney Recreation Centre (Vancouver) for the City of Vancouver Spring 2023 Zero Waste Fair. This was a one-day event on May 20th, 2023, and included many different types of local repairers (electronics, mechanics, textiles, etc).
Awl Together Leather participated in the annual Weirdo’s Holiday Market this year. It ran for three days, from December 16th-18th 2023, and was hosted by the Russian Hall. We offered a mix of of items, including some kinkier and new designs.
In recognition of Small Business Month, Vancity Credit Union featured us on their instagram page! On October 13th, 2022, we took over their instagram stories and posted “A Day in the Life” style content, with time-lapses and behind-the-scenes of us working. Those can be found in their saved stories, on their profile. Additionally, Vancity interviewed us for our “Top Five Tips for Opening a Small Business”, which was released on the same day.
Ariss and Tess brought the Awl Together Leather Shoeshine Stand down to the Stanley Theatre on June 15th, 2022. We were invited to shine footwear before and after the Arts Club Theatre’s production of Kinky Boots, collecting donations for the DEWC.
Ariss spoke on behalf of Awl Together Leather as a keynote speaker at the OUT Conference on March 31st, 2022. The event was hosted by UBC CUS Pride (Commerce Undergraduate Society) and was a great opportunity to connect with our LGBTQ2S+ community.
On December 11-12th, 2021, we participated in the Gift & Gather Market. This holiday market was hosted at our neighbour’s studio, OneSpace. The market was focused on female & underrepresented entrepreneurs making sustainable and eco-friendly products!
It was great to brush off our tabling skills and we’re excited to appear at more pop-up shows, markets, and vintage fleas repping leather & repair!
To learn more about our neighbours OneSpace, check out their shared workspace and childminding services here.
Awl Together Leather participated in the Eastside Culture Crawl for its 25th Anniversary Year (2021). During the Crawl, Artists open their studios to the public for two weekends in November (12-14th and 18-21st).
With over 500+ artists participating, and over 45k attendees, we were super excited to participate during our Studio’s first year.
You can learn more about the Eastside Culture Crawl on their website here.
For the month of November, 2021, we hosted a Pop-Up Shop at The Learnary in Vancouver, BC. While the Learnary supports people of all ages, we opted to do a specialty run of our regularly stocked products – but in ice-dyed vegetable tanned leather!
The Learnary is an educational hub in Vancouver, supporting intergenerational learning and curiosity. You can visit their website here to find out more.
We hosted a huge Leather & Tool Blowout Sale at our studio space on October 17th, from 10am – 6pm. We offered all sorts of machinery and tools at affordable prices. In addition, we had a Leather Fill-A-Bag Sale! Customers could purchase a bag from us for $20 (tax included) and put inside as many leather offcuts as they could. We had an absolute blast meeting all types of Leatherworkers from all areas of the Lower Mainland.
Here is the link to the Facebook Event, which should still be viewable without an account.
We joined the Virtual Repair Workshop on July 28th, 2021! This event was co-hosted with our local fantastic repair organizations: the Metro Vancouver Repair Cafe, Repair Matters, Frameworq, and Free Geek. From hand-sewing repairs to leather care, from dyeing to gluing, we helped provide DIY fixes for all sorts of shoes, garments, and leather goods! In addition, we offered assistance on darning, patching, and mending textile goods.
Ariss was invited as a guest speaker at the Vancouver Men in Leather’s Hump Day Social on June 23rd, 2021. They presented on leather care, tips and tricks, and a general chat about Awl Together and Leather.
The Vancouver Men in Leather organization provides a safe space for men to meet up and share their mutual interests in leather. You can visit their website to learn more here (head’s up – it’s NSFW).
We collaborated with The Learnary to host a Stitchery Event on June 20th, 2021! We had a blast, giving a tour of the shop, talking about our hopes for Awl Together, and then joining in on the collective handstitching circle – as makers ourselves.
The Learnary is an educational hub in Vancouver, supporting intergenerational learning and curiosity. You can visit their website here.
And of course, our Kickstarter! This ran from April 4th to May 4th, 2021. We set a $10 000 goal, which we reached in 36 hours. After adding stretch goals, we were able to reach a total of $22 544. We are so so grateful to our community, who truly came out to support us on this fundraising journey.