Erotic Arts and Crafts Fairs in Canada

Shopping with a conscience can be difficult when large chains dominate retail and mass-produced goods come from far-off factories with low wages. Small makers have pushed back in part through the internet, where a basic web shop and an online payment account cost far less than rent on a storefront. Erotic arts and crafts fairs add an in-person option for the same independent sellers.

One Toronto fair, run by a worker-owned sex shop, was covered as an example of how the format works and why makers value it.

Why an in-person fair

Online shopping offers wide choice, but it can be hard to know what exists beyond a few large marketplaces. A fair lets buyers handle items, question the person who made them and get answers on the spot. Gift-giving seasons, such as Valentine's Day, are a natural moment for this kind of event, and shoppers often welcome an alternative to greeting-card giants.

What is on the tables

The range of goods at the fair covered many media. Vendors offered knitted pieces, zines, cards, pasties, light switch covers, underwear, fetish gear, jewellery and illustrated art. The common thread was that everything was handmade or independently designed rather than factory-produced.

What makers get from it

Participants described several benefits. An illustrator who produces pin-up style images said the event let her display work to the public and to the press, mingle with fellow vendors and follow up with fans through social media to build a following. Designers behind a clothing and jewellery line praised the relaxed, festive atmosphere and the music, and noted that drinks began to flow later in the afternoon.

The same designers treated the fair as a form of market research. They tried out new prints on underwear to see which styles, colours and designs visitors found appealing, a direct way of learning what people consider sexy.

A market and a party

Because of the music, drinks and social mood, the fair worked as much like a party as a trade show. Shoppers could buy for a partner, a friend or themselves, while keeping spending local and handmade. For those unable to attend in person, many of the vendors also sold through their own online shops, which kept their work reachable beyond the venue.

The event was described as wheelchair accessible, a detail that reflects how community-run fairs often pay attention to who can get through the door.