Atelier Woodenapples is a venue supporting arts and crafts in Montreal. A boutique, a gallery and a crafty workshop space run by Amy Johnson. Worn asks her some crafty questions.

Why did you open Woodenapples?
The idea for the space came to me as a way to host a permanent craft fair. There are so many independent designers, artists and crafty folks who just need somewhere to showcase their goods and their art. I’m also a big fan of skill sharing, which is why finding a space where we had enough room to host workshops was really important to me.

Is there a big difference between the way people dress in Victoria (where Amy and a lot of Wooden Apples’ stock is from) and Montreal?
Not really other than the weather being totally different. In Montreal there’s a big part of the winter that’s too cold to care about what you look like, everyone turns into these little bundles of all the clothes they can fit on at once. Victoria doesn’t have that, it just rains all winter.

What is the enviromental impact of this new wave of makers, and is it positve or negative?
I hope that it’s positive but everything has a negative side. I guess the positive is that everything is being made by hand in someone’s studio or home so there’s no exploitation of poorer countries or fuel being used to send things to and from or operate factories. However the fabric industry is still a huge environmental offender but I guess we’re headed in the right direction with more and more people looking to use recycled or repurposed supplies. There’s still a long way to go.

What advice would you give to people looking to open their own store?
Start working towards building credit right now. Other than that make sure you really want it, don’t let other people give you too much advice and just go for it. Maybe that’s bad advice but it’s my advice. Also making sure you have enough money is pretty crucial.

What are your top ten favorite (wearable) crafty makers?
Shhhh! by Vanessa Kay
Little Blue Sparrow Jewelry
Smoking Lily
Jenny Wren
Horn of Plenty
BoyGirlParty
Caila Thompson-Hannant
Oui!
SuperMaggie
Regional Assembly of Text

interview by Serah-Marie McMahon, also read our store profile on Atelier Woodenapples.

previous WORN ASKS:
Jen Anisef of Toronto Craft Alert
Lola Lamb, Montreal Burlesque preformer

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