Hello! As much as the pandemic around the world is unfortunately still present, there have been some glimmers of normality every now and then. I was able to go to the media preview of the One of a Kind show, one of the biggest craft and maker shows in the GTA. I also went this past weekend to really shop the show with my friend Maria. I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve gone to this show. They had to pause last year like the rest of the world, but they are back for the Christmas show. I have some tips and tricks along with what I picked up!
So as exciting as I was to go to the show this year, there are definitely some changes. You need to purchase your ticket for the specific day and time that you want to go. The media preview was from 9am-10am the first day, November 25th. The show officially opened at 10am. I didn’t look too long because I knew I was going to go back. At literally 10:30, there was a massive line to get in. This weekend though, there was literally no line. I think after the first day, they had a lot of people at the doors to help move things along quickly and efficiently!
To get in this year you need to be fully vaccinated (yes, yes and yes) along with passing a COVID screener on the Ontario website:
https://covid-19.ontario.ca/screening/customer/
What I really liked to see was that the Rising Stars area (makers with this being their first time at the show and less than 5 years in their art and craft) was much more spaced out this year. There was plenty of room to walk around. The one thing I’ve always noticed about past shows is that the Rising Stars are quite cramped together!
Another thing to note this year is that the Winter show is a lot smaller than usual which is to be expected. The Winter show is usually massive. It goes to I think row Z usually. This size was more so the size of the Spring show which is about half the size.
The only place you can remove your mask is in the food hall. It has three food trucks along with some places to get a coffee or an alcoholic beverage. It had a pretty good amount of seating and it did seem like the tables were spaced, but there just seemed like a lot of people could be crammed into one area.
All in all I enjoyed both the times I went to the One of a Kind this year, but I would suggest if you’re going to make the trip, that you are able to keep your expectations in check. I still was able to find a lot of nice things and of course supporting local Canadian artisans. But be ready for some lines and busy-ness. Unfortunately unavoidable in this day and age, but I could really tell that the show did their best to make it as smooth as possible.
Haul + Media Preview
First up I wanted to show was what I got from the media preview! I was able to make three cute projects with Cricut! First is the penguin ornament (happily now perched on my Christmas tree) made with a little vinyl sticker. The next is the canvas tote bag with the M heat transferred on! Super cute! I actually made another bag when I went on the weekend with a little happy heart. 🙂 You can see that in the further pictures with the things I bought from the show! Finally from the Cricut station, I made this super adorable Happy Holidays card. Seriously, I’ve been raving about this machines since I was introduced at One of a Kind and definitely have something new to add to my Christmas wishlist!
They also gave us three food samples of booths at the show! I think everyone got a different array of things, but this is what I got!
Dark Chocolate Advent Calendar from Soul Chocolate
Amaretto Snack Size Brownie from Carolina’s Artisan Brownies
Mini Lemon Square from The Lemon Square
I ate everything pretty quickly other than the Advent Calendar. :p The brownie was so so good. Super moist and flavourful! The lemon square was also really good. Super punch of lemon flavour!
Next up are the things that I bought from the show! I surprisingly bought a lot of food items which I tend not to do just because I find that area so so busy and just sort of want to get it over with. This year they do not have samplings which I know is a lot of people’s favourite part. This worked in my favour though because I found the area less busy than normal so I could browse with Maria more fully. 🙂 Here’s what I got!
Coal and Canary
First up is two candles that I got from Coal and Canary! I was so happy to see Coal and Canary at the show. I bought their Advent Candle last year and was so pleased with it. I decided to buy two candles this year from their holiday collection, All I Want Fir Xmas ($30) and Have a Very Berry Xmas ($30).
I’m actually burning the Have a Very Berry Xmas now. What I really like about Coal and Canary candles is that their scent isn’t overwhelming. I find sometimes candles can give me headaches if the scent is too strong. Can’t wait to burn these throughout the holiday season and just the winter in general!
La Glasserie
So this is actually a gift for my father in law, but he has no use of social media, so I think I’m safe to post this! He specifically made a comment about wanting a hand blown icicle. So specific, but there were a ton of glass blowers at the show! I found this really nice one from a booth called La Glasserie for $20! I hope he likes it!
Tealish
I tend not to buy tea at the One of a Kind show, but I noticed I’m getting a bit low! So when we passed by Tealish, I decided to get one of their holiday blends. Peace & Joy ($17) tin is a sweet and nutty herbal Rooibos blend. I also got some of their Tea Filters ($8). I find these so easy to use and I was running out of my Davids Tea ones! I brewed myself a cup of this and it’s very nice! Sweet for sure, but I’ll definitely be drinking this through the holiday season!
Allo Simonne
Allo Simonne is a chocolate spread company based out of Montreal. They have no oils added and all the oils come from the amount of hazelnuts they use (double that of the traditional spread). I got the Hazelnut and Milk Chocolate spread ($14). A lot of their other spreads focus on dark chocolate and I’m not a huge fan of dark chocolate. I used this on my toast this morning. Surprisingly with no oils, it was quite oily! It actually seemed a bit oilier than Nutella, but it could have separated slightly. Taste-wise, obviously very close to Nutella, but actually not as sweet. It was definitely comparable in a good way though and the fact that it’s more sustainable without the use of palm oil and a Canadian company, I’ll definitely be using this up!
The County Bounty
Finally, the last thing I got was some pops from The County Bounty. I saw on Insta that my friend Liz of The Chow Style bought some too and I was super curious about them. The County Bounty is out of Napanee, ON where they focus on hand crafted farm to glass sodas! They really pulled me in with their fun flavours! I got:
- Seltzer Raspberry and Lime
- Sour Cherry and Mint
- Rhubarb and Citrus Peel
- Gooseberry and Peach
I had the Gooseberry and Peach last night. It took me a few sips to decide if I liked it or not, but after a few definitely decided I liked it! Super unique flavours and I sort of wish I had purchased more! For the 4, it was $12!
And there was have my full recap and haul of the One of a Kind Winter 2021 show! Even with all the circumstances this year, I really liked the show, the Cricut area being one of the highlights (best ad ever! Haha!). Hope this helps if you want to make your way down this year! Thanks for reading, have a great day!
*Compensated Media Preview, but I did purchase my own ticket for the weekend along with everything in the haul section of this post!