True to their roots
Going strong into its second year, the True Knit Art Show hasn’t forgotten where it came from
Robyn Tocker
Contributor
As another university year begins, students can look forward to another constant, the True Knit Art Show. On Saturday, September 22, the show will begin its fifth instalment since it began a year and a half ago, and directors Cassie Ozog and Kaeli “Cookie” Decelles are looking forward to another year of bizarre crafting.
True Knit began when Ozog and Decelles realized their style of crafting just didn’t fit in with the more traditional outlets seen in and around the Regina area. The fee for a table wasn’t appealing either.
“We wanted to create a place where all kinds of crafters and artists who weren’t really in the circuit before had a[n] … environment to start their crafts in,” said Ozog.
With these thoughts in mind, a half an hour later the ladies had a post-it note idea that started it all.
Since then, the craft show has maintained a consistent base of supports and artists. Their venue size has grown though, and this year one can find True Knit stationed in the multipurpose room in the Riddell Centre on campus. Being a part of the university has spread the arts and crafts opportunities to students as well as given them a finance friendly way to purchase said commodities. This year, a discount will be given to current U of R students, hopefully enticing more visitors.
Demand certainly is growing though, especially in the Regina community. As Ozog and her crafty crew meet more crafters, she’s becoming a more recognizable face in the crafting community, and word of mouth has helped grow their business substantially which both ladies are excited and grateful for.
“Now I can go into stores and hang up posters and people go ‘oh yeah, True Knit, yeah we know you guys’,” said Ozog.
Besides the notoriety True Knit has gained, the project has found its niche within the community. While most shows, such as the Cathedral Arts Festival, are held annually, True Knit shows are held on a more regular basis.
“There are not a lot of smaller shows throughout the community the rest of the year … we fill up the gap,” said Ozog.
Despite the recent nuptials in the True Knit family, a wedding theme is not coming around just yet. Ideas such as Christmas themes, a once-a-month show, taking the show on tour, and even a creative space where people can do art anytime they wish, have been tossed around, but nothing is set in stone.
“Now I can go into stores and hang up posters and people go ‘oh yeah, True Knit, yeah we know you guys.’ " – Cassie Ozog
“What’s so great about true knit is that . . . we’re very, very open,” said Ozog.
With the post-it note idea keeping the ladies grounded, the focus remains on letting new artists in and mixing them with the more seasoned participants to create a wide range of artistic talents being showcased.
Like last year, when the doors open at 10 AM, snazzy tunes will greet the viewers as well as free admission for all guests. Donations for the Regina Humane Society are much-appreciated, as always. Because of the large amounts of donations last year, True Knit was able to give back to their community yet again and sponsor the adoption of four animals. This year they hope to accomplish the same. The group maintains their standing that they “want to continue to be a positive, crafty, wild space in our community that gives back to our community and gives people the opportunity to continue to connect with everybody.” If it wasn’t obvious before, community is the focal point of these ladies, besides crafts of course.
New crafters should know that, while it’s fun to craft anywhere, Regina is a good place to start.
“It’s a big enough community where there’s space for everybody but it’s small enough that you can develop a great client base and fan base,” said Ozog.
This year,True Knit fans can look forward to two more shows booked for the year, one on December 15 and another coming up in April.
