ShowWiz

30/11/2022

Just wanted to give folks a little update.
Our site is currently down due to an issue with our server. We hope to be back online later this night.

25/11/2022

It's Black Friday!

For today only you can use the site and check out Vendor+ perks!
Everyone with Vendor Basic can browse the site as if they were a Vendor+ member, meaning no ads and all info fields unlocked.

And, if you like the experience, you can get 10% off your yearly membership! (Normally $50+HST for the year, now $45!)
Use code BLACKFRIDAY2022 for the discount!

Already a member? Memberships run consecutively so you can lock in this special sale price and add 12 months to your existing membership.

26/03/2022

SHOWWIZ: March Update
Check out our newsletter! The weather isn't the only thing defrosting!
https://mailchi.mp/4c1d6672c62b/showwiz-announcing-showup-11448357

25/03/2022

The next round of applications closes soon!
With the calendar once again filling with shows, now is the perfect time to give your business a boost!

For more information and to apply:
https://showup.showwiz.ca/

03/06/2021

The third round of applications for ShowUp closes at the end of this month - especially fitting as we celebrate Pride month!

We're happy to be part of this initiative that aims to support BIPOC, q***r, and trans creators in our community!

More information and the application can be found below!
https://showup.showwiz.ca/

06/02/2021

We've been quietly working behind the scenes, but wanted to ensure that this was out there.

The second round of ShowUp: A Fund for BIPOC & QT Creators is accepting applications until March 31st.

These grants, valued at up to $250 are for creators in Eastern Ontario or the NCR regions of Quebec who are BIPOC and/or identify as Q***r and/or Trans.

All the information and application form can be found at:
https://showup.showwiz.ca/

28/01/2021

Makers!

This virtual event is tonight, is free, and has a few, limited spots left!

You may recognize our very own K-Rae as one of the six members of the moderator panel! She'll be discussing things from her perspective of Ifs, Ands, or Buttons and the Pride, Not Prejudice Fair.

The night is focused on discussing virtual markets and how to us them effectively for your business. Interested? Follow the link in the original post to sign up!

14/10/2020

ShowUp: A Fund for QT & BIPOC Creators has finished it's first round of application evaluations!

Our selection committee has made their decisions and emails have been sent out to all applicants.

Can't wait to share them with you here soon!

08/10/2020

That face when you mess up...

The newsletter you all just received titled "September Newsletter" is in fact your October newsletter. The content inside is new, I just forgot to change the headers.

Whoops.
Blame COVID-19?

17/09/2020

The first round of applications is coming to a close soon on Sept 30th!

If you are a Q***r, Trans, and/or BIPOC Creator looking to participate in shows (including virtual markets) this fall/winter, check us out!

Grants are between $50-250 - let us give you a boost to !

https://showup.showwiz.ca/

04/09/2020

And the scams, they keep on coming..

Don't be a phishy, don't get hooked. :)

04/09/2020

We think we speak for everyone when we say we miss craft and vendor shows!

While it can be so tempting to leap back into things as soon as possible, it is important to leap back in carefully - and we don't just mean because of COVID-19.

Folks have noticed our love for shows and are trying to take advantage. Scammers are popping up like whack-a-moles, trying to separate you from your money with nothing but disappointment in return.

Jess of Fragile Findings has written an excellent blog that outlines some of the ways you can spot these scammers and protect yourself - definitely worth a read!

Falling For It Booked, Line, and Scammer Fragile Findings · September 2, 2020 With many of 2020s events, conferences, and shows being postponed or outright cancelled, many artisans are out of regularly relied upon summer revenue. A lot of vendors have moved their sales to personal websites or onlin...

03/09/2020

You've got mail!

This month's newsletter has been sent out! We've got some awesome new blogs, written by two vendors. Both are super informative and worth checking out.

Not getting the newsletter?
You can now sign up to receive it on the showwiz.ca homepage!

13/08/2020

We'd like to take a moment to introduce the Selection Committee for ShowUp!

You can find out all about Kole, Aneesa, and Tanya (and what they create) at the page below!

https://showup.showwiz.ca/about-us/

01/08/2020

And it's time for launch! ⏰
Help us spread the word!

We are proud to announce ShowUp: A Fund for BIPOC & QT Creators!

This initiative has the goal of helping to remove financial barriers for marginalized creators who are looking to become involved in the craft and vendor show community.

Read all about it at the link below!
https://showup.showwiz.ca/

28/07/2020

Launch day is coming up so quickly!

After months of work with our founding partners and Selection Committee, we're so excited to unveil this new...thing...Saturday at 10am!

Visit https://showup.showwiz.ca to sign up for our newsletter to get an email with all the details right at launch!

15/07/2020

*drumroll*
And the winner of the ShowWiz Local: Handmade (Eastern Ontario) is Selena Alice!

Thank you to everyone who has joined and shared this online community - we have loved watching it grow!

And if you haven't already, make sure you come join us - there's so much local, handmade goodness!

13/07/2020

Just over 24 hours remain to enter this give away!

Have you joined ShowWiz Local: Handmade (Eastern Ontario) and commented on the contest post?

We have a give away happening in ShowWiz Local: Handmade (Eastern Ontario)!

ShowWiz Local: Handmade is a group that works to connect shoppers and local makers: building community, enabling sales, and empowering both shoppers and makers. Join the group today to connect with our bustling community!

You can win all these awesome goodies just by joining the group and commenting on the post - invite your friends for added chances to win (and to spread the joy - as they can win too!).

30/06/2020

We have a give away happening in ShowWiz Local: Handmade (Eastern Ontario)!

ShowWiz Local: Handmade is a group that works to connect shoppers and local makers: building community, enabling sales, and empowering both shoppers and makers. Join the group today to connect with our bustling community!

You can win all these awesome goodies just by joining the group and commenting on the post - invite your friends for added chances to win (and to spread the joy - as they can win too!).

11/06/2020

Are you spending a lot of time thinking about how to move forward with your business, marketing, and more while not feeling like you're leaving the anti-racism work that you started while posting last week behind?

We were and are.

We watched this live (but now recorded) townhall tonight and found it incredibly insightful. It is targetted towards small business owners and talks a lot about the different ways we can move forward and build our businesses with anti-racism in mind.

One of the messages that resonated the most was
"Be humble and ready to fumble." -Erika Hines

The idea is that we will make mistakes going forward, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

Definitely worth a listen, it's worth making the time.

We are hosting a Small Business Town Hall on June 10th, 2020 from 6 - 8 pm EST. This town hall is about coming together in solidarity to publicly commit to u...

10/06/2020

Sharing to get the word out for those who this might help!

WOW WOW WOW!

We have great news to share - because of your generosity we have matched donations from our anonymous donor PLUS more!!

We will now offer 2 Black and 2 Indigenous Artists our Community Fund.

Example art can be:
• Beadwork
• Poetry/Writing
• Music
• Photography
• Film
• Sculpture
• Design
• Illustration

LEARN MORE AND APPLY FOR OUR RELIEF FUND
at www.inourtongues.ca

Applications end June 16 at 11:59PM.

06/06/2020

We've been trying to decide what to write here.

There is a lot of privilege within our community. To be frank, there's a lot of whiteness.

Think back to your last couple shows/events (we appreciate this is harder due to COVID). What percentage of the vendors were Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour (BIPOC)?

Think of the organizers you work with throughout the year. How many of those organizers were not white?

Heck, think of the attendees at these events. What sort of diversity do we see attending events?

Why is that? What can we do to change that? How do we make our community of makers more diverse, more supportive, more welcoming? How do we tackle the systemic forces and structures that have allowed this relatively homogenous group we're in to be so solidified?

I like to think the overwhelming majority, if not all, of people in our community, are nice. That doesn't mean we're not racist. Racism is the whole system we live, and work, and make, and sell, and profit from within. How do we stop being just nice, and instead be anti-racist?

We've been thinking about this a lot, and we'd love for you to all think about it too. Let us know if you have any suggestions for us - both in terms of ShowWiz, and as members of the community as a whole.

Good night 🌙 Just something to sleep on.
•
Claiming that you’re nice in this country and thinking that’s enough is like walking past a burning house and calling the flames pretty.
•
In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be antiracist.” — Angela Davis.
•
Because the truth is, lives are on the line.

•
p.s. thank you so much to those who are part of my community who were engaged in last months topic of unlearning America Birth Story. The recording of our live Office Hours with our expert Valerie Wade of is available now on our learning platform and the new syllabus for the month (which is simply the accompanying document to my public address) titled Revolution Now has been posted in case you missed it.
•
If you’re interested in being part of my self priced and self paced online community of (un)learners you can head to the link in my bio or take a peek at the FAQ in my highlights titled

26/05/2020

Just in case you missed it last week, the city has released this news.

This means that large markets and festivals will be cancelled or postponed. There is still some uncertainty if this extends to smaller markets.

We're still working on getting through all the events and updating their status on the calendar.

May 20, 2020 Announcements and Events As restrictions on some closures gradually ease, gatherings of more than five people continue to be legally prohibited and the City and the Province both remain in states of emergency. The City is extending its suspension of City-permitted special events, festiv...

16/05/2020

We've updated our FAQ with the criteria that we will be using to decide whether online shows are featured on our website or not. We'd love to hear your opinion!

FAQ Please note that How To’s (Step-By-Step Instructions) have been moved to their own page. Does ShowWiz organize events? At this time we do not organize our own events. ShowWiz is a calendar-based aggregation service that brings events together into one convenient place. Why haven’t I heard ba...

27/04/2020

Were you set to be a vendor at a show that was cancelled due to COVID-19?

We've been fielding some requests to work on compiling information on how organizers handled these cancellations.

This is not something we can do ourselves, so we're asking for you help!

If you're willing, please fill out this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdFx-rcgeDlexxNRkp1R9bSgRXkLG9PAhKG-ta0QntraUpQfw/viewform?usp=sf_link

27/04/2020

Did you tune in for the announcement today?

As suspected, concerts, sporting events and large gatherings (which I believe I successful craft/vendor show would count as) are slated to be restricted for the foreseeable future (even past step 3 of the 3 step recovery plan).

There's light at the end of the tunnel for certain aspects of life eventually returning to normal - but it does seem we may need to hold our horses on shows for a fair bit longer.

What are your thoughts?

Learn how we’re planning to reopen businesses, services and public spaces. Read our framework for reopening the province

06/04/2020

Welp.

Today, in consultation with Ottawa Public Health extended the closure of City facilities, services and large public gatherings until June 30, 2020, as part of a dedicated effort to slow the spread of . For more details: https://bit.ly/3dZ2D05

05/04/2020

Today is Day Fourteen of our 14 Day Support Small Business Challenge! We've done it!

Thank you so much for following along with us on this challenge! We've had a lot of fun featuring small businesses that resound with us. We also hope you've learned how your seemingly small interactions can have a huge impact on the almighty algorithm. (We all have a love/hate relationship with that beast, trust me.)

Today's challenge:
If you are capable, purchase something from a local small business.

Maybe it's something on your wish list, maybe it's something you know would be a perfect pick me up for a friend, maybe its a (super) early gift for the holidays. Maybe it's a gift card for future use. Every purchase makes an incredible difference to the owners who are white-knuckling it through this incredibly hard time.

That being said, if you're not in a position to, that's more than okay! This virus, and the related economic consequences, are affecting everyone. Please do not feel pressure to overextend yourself. You cannot pour from an empty cup.

If you're a completionist and *need* a challenge to complete the day, choose a small business, go to their page, click the "Following" button and select "See First". Never miss out on an update from that business again!

Thanks again for taking part in this challenge! Like freely, react often, and interact with posts with abandon. ;)


Read more about the challenge or to catch up:
https://showwiz.ca/15408/support-small-business-challenge/

04/04/2020

Something a little lighter for a smile.
Hope everyone is holding in there.

04/04/2020

Today is Day Thirteen of our 14 Day Support Small Business Challenge!

Over the last almost two weeks, you've been exploring, commenting, leaving reviews for, and loving a whole lot of small business awesomeness.

Today's challenge is to make a wish list of products and services you'd love and appreciate from these businesses!

Pinterest is great (especially if you link them!) but pen and paper work just fine. Starting with your list of 5 big box to local swaps from yesterday is a great place to start.


Read more about the challenge:
https://showwiz.ca/15408/support-small-business-challenge/