Man of Craft

Guitar Pick Holder Keyring

2015-04-19T18:00:00.000-04:00

Guitar pick keyring pouches. Keep a guitar pick (or a bunch!) on you at all times with this stylish pick holder! Available at the Arts Market at 846 College Street.

Best,

Adam Grant
Man of Craft

Custom Canoe Paddles!

2015-04-19T16:33:00.000-04:00

Here are three canoe paddles that were burned as Christmas gifts: a treeline, a turtle inspired by Native artwork, and a Brook Trout! All three have the initials of the recipient burned with a design of crossing arrows. Those who commissioned me for the artwork had each paddle made to size based on the person's height. I was glad I could do my part for these thoughtful gifts!

Best,

Adam Grant
Man of Craft

Chamber of Secrets

2015-04-15T22:26:00.001-04:00

I work at the University of Toronto Bookstore as a Direct to Garment (DTG) Printer. Here's the nameplate I fashioned for our new DTG storage room.

Muggles beware.

Best,

Adam Grant
Man of Craft

Starfleet!

2013-04-28T23:44:00.001-04:00

Hey Everyone!

I'm working on some magnetic buttons, and the first to be made is very special: a Starfleet com-badge! Now with a quick tap, I can communicate with the bridge, engineering, or maybe the pizza delivery guy down in the lobby!

Best,

Adam Grant
Man of Craft

The Carl Wagan Bookmobile!

2013-02-13T10:39:00.001-05:00

Hello All!

This Man of Craft was captured in a promotional video for The Carl Wagan Bookmobile!

To be honest I'm not represented as a crafter here, but they do make it look like I know what I'm doing with a ukelele! Check out the link: Carl Wagan Promo Video

They are doing great things engaging the community and getting people thinking and doing creative things - now that sounds pretty awesome to me!

Best,

Adam Grant
Man of Craft

Gifts of My Hands - Gift Show! Pt. 2

2013-02-05T08:51:00.000-05:00

Hello, hello!

Back in December, Man of Craft participated in the Gifts Of My Hands gift show. Myself and the First Lady of Craft* had a super time interacting with all of the attendees and vendors.

This was Man of Craft's very first gift show in Toronto, and I was very fortunate to have been invited by organizer and fellow vendor Nici Shipway. Nici found me on Etsy and asked if I would like to participate. Of course!

There were a lot of family and friends that showed up to support me, and I thank you all very much! I was able to showcase my wares to a much larger audience, and I had a great time doing it.

I was able to sell some product, take some orders and get the ol' name out there. Yes!

Here are a few images of myself and the setup from the event. I totally forgot to take pictures, so I've also included some product pics taken from before the show.

*Without whom much of what I do wouldn't be possible. Thank you!

Best,

Adam Grant
Man of Craft

New Diggs - Getting Set Up

2012-11-16T16:00:00.000-05:00

Hiya!

So I've recently moved from Parkdale to the Glen Park area (still Toronto, yeah!), and with that move came a lot of disturbance to the craft 'Force'. The new work area is almost set up and ready to go. I'm looking forward to getting back into it, and the Gifts Of My Hands gift show coming up on December 15th will give me a lot of reason to burn my butt off. :O (not literally!)

Best,

Adam Grant

Man of Craft

Gifts Of My Hands - Gift Show! Pt. 1

2012-11-16T10:18:00.001-05:00

Hello MOC followers!!

I will be a vendor at an upcoming gifts show in December, called Gifts Of My Hands. It will be my very first gift show, and will be held on Saturday, December 15th, at the Sorauren Park Fieldhouse!

Although I know that December can be one of the busiest months of the year, I would like to invite you to come to the show, and hope you are able to attend. With all the other talented artists and crafters also present, it would be amazing to have some support by way of seeing your happy faces. :D

If you are intending on attending, please print out THIS FLYER and bring to the event. Not only does it give you all the information you need on when/how to get there, but each one of you that brings one of these flyers to the show will let the organizers know that I've invited you (it has my name in the bottom right hand box). If I bring in the most support the cost of my table at the show will be paid for!

Here is a link to the event page online, so you can take a look through and see who else will be there besides Man of Craft: Gifts of My Hands Vendors

There should be a lot to choose from, and you'll be able to pick up some amazing and unique gifts for the holidays!

WHEN: December 15th 2012 from 11:00 am until 6:00pm
WHERE: Sorauren Park Fieldhouse (50 Wabash Ave) Both floors
CITY: Toronto, ON

I would LOVE to see you there!

Best,

Adam Grant
Man of Craft

It's Been a Hiatus

2012-08-12T00:08:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone!

I have been focusing my energy on other very important life tasks over the last few months. Please check back on this here blog when you get a chance, as I'm likely to start updating it, and ramping up my crafting juices/vibes/etc in the near future.

Thank you, and we'll hang out soon!

Best,

Adam Grant
Man of Craft

Guitar anyone?

2012-02-22T08:00:00.002-05:00

Hey Everybody!

Over the past couple of months, in amongst work and life, I've been trying out a different application for my burning. I was asked by a friend of mine, Jon, who plays guitar in a band called Jo Jo Gun & The Bullets (Myspace) (FB Page) (one of his musical incarnations), to burn a design onto the wooden pick-guard he has for his guitar. I was quite happy to oblige!

The design was drawn from scratch and it went through a few different incarnations before everything seemed right, and the green light was given to burn away! The burning was a little slow-going, as the pre-existing finish had seeped into the grain of the wood. This meant that my pyrography tools had to kind of 'plow' through the finish to get to the burning point.

Here are a few images showing the progression from beginning to end:

After sanding off the existing finish, there's a
nice clean canvas to work with.

Here was the beginning of the first concept.
The latin wording is VERA - Truth,
SPES - Hope, AMOR - Love, ARS - Art.
The text was a little crammed together, so
another version was needed.

This next positioning had the beginnings of
the text taking over the piece, so this one was
scrapped as well.

And here is the rough draft of the final version,
complete with more focus on the floral design.

Then I used my natural light box (the sun, plus an
open window) to help in inking the final draft.

After the design has been transferred to the
pick-guard.

And now a series of details from the more or less
final burned piece. (before finishing)

Rough approximate lines were added to show
where the volume and tuning knobs were going
to be.

Pre-finished, after burning. The text was added
after this pic was taken.

And the final product! Lovely!

I hope to have some images of the guard on Jon's guitar in the near future. When I get them, make no doubt they'll be posted that very night!

Buoyed from the success of the first one, I did another pick-guard for my very own guitar. This one was a little easier to burn, as the basswood was unfinished to start with. It was also a little smaller, as the guitar is a Les-Paul style. One of the challenges for this project was that the guard I have is plastic, and so a new one needed to be cut and shaped out of some 3/8" basswood. No problem though, using some hand tools and a little patience in cutting and sanding.

I chose a honey bee and honeycomb design 'bee'cause of how awesome honey bees are. I mean, come on... all kinds of amazing.

On the left is the original guard made from plastic. The other
two to its right are made from the same piece of basswood,
although they do look slightly different in colouring.

Bee design transferred onto the wood.

All finished burning. The design always looks
a little darker before it is finished with polyurethane.

And the final piece on the guitar. Whenever I play
now, I feel the mighty power of the honey bee, guiding
me towards unrivalled fret-board mastery! :O

There we go! A couple new projects completed in my pyrographic journey. I keep having a blast doing this, so there will be plenty more to come.

Later, folks!

Best,

Adam Grant

Man of Craft

Ultra-Mini Update

2012-01-25T23:35:00.001-05:00

Salut!

It's been a while since I've posted, but I'm on my way back into the swing of things. There have been a couple projects that I've been working on, and completed over the holidays. And one that's not quite finished that I can't wait to show off a little.

There will be pics up soon-ish, and a proper blog post to go along with it!

Best,

Adam Grant
Man of Craft

Pop With Brains!

2011-09-28T01:48:00.002-04:00

Hello All!

It's been a nutty past few weeks culminating in a really fun night at the Rivoli last Friday! The event was called Pop With Brains, and is an ongoing music and arts showcase that raises funds for CAMH.

Look at me, I'm on the event poster!

Since the beginning of September, I've been working longer than usual hour days at my day job. This meant that my MOC worktime was limited to the evening hours... and sometimes wee hours of the night. I'd rather not work at night, as routers and chisels and such can get kind of loud and disruptive - but sometimes you just gotta do it. Sorry, neighbours!

Anywho, I've never shown any artwork at a bar/tavern venue before, so I had no idea what to expect. I was told to bring a lamp, my art, and table set-up materials.

My wonderful GF was of course there to help me set up, and we got there at about 8:15pm. There were already a couple of art vendors there in the back room, so we nestled into line along the west wall. During set-up, we had a chance to get our eardrums mashed in by a couple of the bands' soundchecks, and before long we were ready. There were a couple more artists who arrived after us, and all in all there were (unless my memory fails me) five of us there packed in all cozily along the side of the venue.

Me with my MOC set up! I'm glad we had the lamp, as it sure did get dark in there! The lamp, by the way, was made out of a couple of books... by THIS guy!

This being my very first show in Toronto, I was very fortunate to have a few of my close friends come out and support me. Thank you so very much! It means a lot to me that you were able to make it!

Here are some of the items that I made for the evening: some original art, as well as some locally themed items.

A buckle done for Adymm Ender, of the band Secrettes, who was awesome as co-organizer for the event.

Some (at the time) unfinished pieces that eventually were completed for the event. Both the Leaside Pin and Robot Love bottle opener sold at the show! All done on a wood called Yellowheart.

Gotta rep the home TO neighbourhood with a Parkdale Pin.

The Regent Park Pin. Burned on to Yellowheart.

Heart Buckle. This one was made from a wood called Bocote, and I used the natural grain of the wood, which had a heart shape in it it for inspiration. The red colour was stained, and the white border was done in acrylic paint.

Same buckle as above. I really love the grain on this wood!

Another buckle using the grain as a starting point for the design, and finished using acrylic paints to provide the colour.

This Ski or Die Buckle was burned on Bubinga. I did this one because I have an affinity for skulls for some reason, and and I used to play the game Skate or Die for the Nintendo when I was younger.

A Compass Buckle on Purpleheart. Compasses are so hot right now.

This last one was a Bottle Opener of Jack Layton. It didn't sell that night, but at least half of all proceeds from any Jack Layton item will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. I'd initially thought to have all proceeds go to the charity, but in respect to the time and materials involved, I just need to cover costs.

I was really happy with how this TTC Streetcar Buckle came out, and was not surprised that it garnered a lot of interest before it eventually sold. I will make more of these! This picture shows the buckle just after burning, and not yet in its final buckle form.

It was fun meeting the other artists, and I got to chat up a couple of them that were sitting close to me. Jool and I, were both first timers at the Rivoli, but she's been doing her thing for a little longer than me, and has her stuff in stores (which I was a little jealous of, but I'll get there :P), but her up-cycled accessories and clothes were really cool! She even went as far as to recommend some shops and shows for me to try my luck at, which was very very nice of her!

On the other side of me sat Aparna Yadav, who was showing art on canvas, and very stylish mixed media tote bags. Her and her assistant were very friendly, and we chatted here and there during the evening.

The two other artists that were there were Yuli Scheidt, and Angie Fey. I really liked both Yuli's artistic style, as well as Angie's talent for tattooing and art!

In terms of the music portion of the night, I had a really great time listening to all the acts, as I hadn't been out to see live music in a long time. The first band that went on was a newly formed one called MeanWood (linked is the first song they played that night!) They had a lot of energy, and I loved their sound. Two other standouts for me were the Secrettes, who had some high-energy/very catchy songs, and Most People, a duo who managed to incorporate guitar/bass/computers/drumming (sometimes both at the same time) into what seemed like one sweeping epic ride of a song. I met Brandon, from Most People, who was super cool and also interested in me doing a custom buckle for him!

All in all, the night was successful, and I felt like there was a lot of positive feedback from those who saw my work. Thanks again to all those who helped and have supported me on this exciting journey!

Best,

Adam Grant
Man of Craft

Workspace

2011-09-17T22:13:00.001-04:00

I've been getting ready for the Pop With Brains (facebook) (myspace) show on Sept 23rd. Here's a pic of my workspace!

I'm also trying out my new Blogger app for my phone. It's pretty good, but I've had to modify the layout of the images on my desktop, as it just blopped the image at the end instead of where I wanted it in the middle.

Over the next week I'll be working like crazy (after my regular work day) to make everything for the show on the 23rd.

Best,

Adam Grant

Man of Craft

Brock's Big BIte!

2011-08-29T09:02:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, August 14th, I was back in my home town of Beaverton, for Brock's Big Bite. This was my very first arts festival of any kind, and I was really really excited to be there! My beautiful assistant also accompanied me (Lady of Craft?) to the festival and provided some much needed support and assistance.

Brock's Big Bite is a long lunch style event that also celebrates local arts, entertainment, delicious food, a farmers’ market, and a historical walk through town. This was Brock's first annual 'Bite', and on most (if not all) accounts, was quite the success! My contact on the planning committee was Jay, and she was very friendly and helpful throughout the day. I got to meet some interesting people, and had a fun day all around!

Here's me and the M.O.C. setup! I'm sure it will evolve, but
it was big enough for what I had with me.

A closer view of the products.

My favourite person, modelling her specs pin and hearts earrings!
(complete with product placement! take note Coke, and pay us. :D )

Here's the real life model of the bottle opener shown here. Awesome!

The Strand Theatre bottle opener. The Strand is a movie theatre in Beaverton,
with a lot of history. Made of Padauk; with a satin finish.

The 'working' side of The Strand bottle opener. Made by cutting
the steel down to size and routing out the wood for a nice inlaid fit.

Sunderland bottle opener. Sunderland was named in 1871, and
used to be called Jones' Corners, by way of the Jones Bros.
Made of Padauk; with a satin finish.

The new inlaid steel plates now used in all M.O.C. bottle openers.

My old elementary school, Thorah Central, just outside of Beaverton,
on Hwy 12. Made of Purpleheart; with a satin finish.

Opening bottles with a fictional bottling company in Cannington!
Made of Padauk; with a satin finish.

A bottle opener inspired by the Cannington Dog Sled Races.
Made of Purpleheart; with a satin finish.

Now you can open your bottles with Sir Isaac Brock, whom
Brock Township was named after. Made of Purpleheart; with a satin finish.

This one's a belt buckle based on 'The Old Mill', in Beaverton.
Made of Purpleheart; with a satin finish. Note the richness of the
Purpleheart wood compared to a different batch cut for the bottle
openers. There are a lot of variances between the same wood
depending on what part of the tree it's cut from, and even by
whether it's exposed to light during storage.

This buckle is basically 'Sunderland' laid of a brick wall look.
Made from Bubinga; with a satin finish.

This buckle is based on the 1973 Ivan Reitman film 'Cannibal Girls',
that was partially filmed in Beaverton. A Canadian horror classic!
Made from Zebrawood; with a satin finish.

Here are the three villages of Brock Township, in pin/button form!
Cannington = Bubinga
Sunderland = Yellowheart
Beaverton = Yellowheart
All have a satin finish.

The backs of the buttons above!

And here were some new pendants also made for the festival.
From left to right, 'The Beav', 'Sunderland', 'Cannington', 'The Old Mill',
and a jaunty moustached fellow in a bowler cap!

Thanks to my family, and to Uncle Bill Brotherston (a wonderful photographer) for lending his table! Hopefully I'll be back again next year in Cannington!

Best,

Adam Grant
Man of Craft

The Etsy

2011-08-29T07:36:00.000-04:00

I was really excited about Etsy, and I still am! While sales do have room to pick up once word gets out there, I have had some success already and it's encouraging. I've gotten a few nibbles on custom sales too, with one being completed and sent to the USA just last month. :D (you can check out the proof of that one on my Etsy site, under sales!)

Below are some of the items I've got up there right now. If you're interested in any of them, you can only purchase them on the Etsy site.

Parkdale buckle on Bubinga wood, finished with a satin clear coat.

Anchor buckle on Bubinga wood, finished with a satin clear coat.

Buckle Up buckle on Bubinga wood, finished with a satin clear coat.

Skeleton key buckle on Bubinga wood, finished with a satin clear coat.

Leaside's Finest buckle on Bubinga wood, finished with a satin clear coat.

I also sold some cufflinks to a favourite buyer of mine, and I hope the intended recipient loves them!

These 'links weren't burned, but rather left blank to show their
beautiful Bubingan grain. They were finished with a satin clear coat.

I also add some blanks of the three woods that I currently use for buckles. The Zebrawood is hardest to burn on because the grain has many soft spots that are easy to scorch. Careful, careful!

From top to bottom: Zebrawood, Purpleheart, Bubinga.
All are finished in a satin clear coat.

More items will be up soon, from my recent participation in Brock's Big Bite, in Beaverton. (Aug 14, 2011)

Best,

Adam Grant

Man of Craft

Early Pyro

2011-08-29T07:30:00.002-04:00

A showcase of early burning.

Buckles

These two buckles were the second and third ones ever made.
The 'hand burned' is pretty straightforward to understand, but
the VSS is in homage to the Varsity Sports Store where I work.
As you can see, the first two images were taken just after the
burning was done, and the last is after stain and finish were applied.

Next, I decided to experiment with acrylic paints, buckles for people I knew, and more complex designs.

Shown here are unfinished versions of four soon-to-be buckles.
Three of these will be discussed in the next photo, but the JoJo
Gun buckle is for a friend's band, called... JoJo Gun and the Bullets.

As you can see, I'm a fan of Toronto sports teams! Good or bad,
I cheer for them every year! While the 'LEAFS' was fairly easy,
the Jays design was more challenging and detailed. I was happy
with how it turned out! (and people often ask me where I got it
from :P) My friend Alex and I are in a band called ALPHABAND!

River City is taken from a sweet video game called River City
Ransom, and was done on Basswood, and acrylic paint was used
as the colour. The 'BOOKSTARS' buckle was done on an African
wood called Bubinga, and is one of the first buckles done on a
wood that I didn't need to stain, as the natural colour is quite nice.
Also, if you don't know the Bookstars, you don't know softball!

My confidence was growing, and I took this opportunity to give to a charity golf tournament that I wasn't able to attend this year. My old friend Dave Waller, passed away in 2008, and each year that passes is a year that is without an amazing person. In lieu of attending, I donated a belt buckle and cufflinks set for their annual fundraising raffle. I was happy to give and I can only hope that the set raised some funds for their causes!

These were my first cufflinks! Miss you, Dave! These were
burned on Bubinga, and finished with a semi-gloss clear coat.

Around this time I attended TCAF here in the City. It was amazing just walking around seeing all the talented comics artists! I was tasked to meet a few of my GF's favourite webcomics while I was there, which was pretty fun, but a little nerve racking for this guy being as shy as I am sometimes.

One of the artists was the talented Erika Moen (of Dar, and Bucko fame to name just two). After a signing mix-up, in which the wrong name was written in one of her books (totally my fault), I came back on day two of the festival and brought her her very own Bucko! belt buckle! (a crowning achievement on my part, I thought). She was wonderfully appreciative, and told me that she'd link my Etsy shop in her blog, which she did! Amazing! Now here's my chance to repay the favour, although she may have a few more blog readers than I do at this point... just a few. :P

Bucko, was burned on Bubinga, has some red acrylic paint
and was finished with a clear matte spray.

Pins

I didn't make too many during this time period, but I'll show you them anyways!

Unstained versions of a Leafs pin and some specs pins. The
writing on the specs pin is 'They're real, and they're SPEC-tacular!'
The 'DAVE' buckle was made for my Bro.

This dude was made before a friend and I went to a Leafs game
this past season... it didn't help them make the playoffs unfortunately.
An azure coloured stain was applied, and a white acrylic was used inside
the leaf.

Okay! That's enough of the early pyro section. :) Next up, my foray into Etsy!

Best,

Adam Grant

Man of Craft

Beginnings of M.O.C.

2011-08-29T07:20:00.000-04:00

I've always loved to make things.

Whether it be a sewn door stopper for my Grandmother, or a knit afghan for my nephew, chocolate truffles for a party, or photoshopped Christmas cards featuring myself and my favourite feline... I've always been all over that business! I was able to express myself artistically, not to mention there was less of a strain on my wallet when giving gifts. :P

For the past couple years, I've been working through the beginnings of Man of Craft. It started with t-shirt screen printing, and progressed through making a fabric flower brooch for my girlfriend when we couldn't find what she was looking for in stores. I made Christmas presents from cutting out hidden compartment books for my family (inspired from one of my favourite movies - The Shawshank Redemption, although nobody needed to break out of prison). Then I came across pyrography. I combined this artform with an affinity for belt buckles and wood. A lot of research, online tutorials, butt-loads of support from some special people, and I'm now up and running in my own craft/art business!

I feel like this is the beginning of a life long adventure with crafting, where I can push my artistic limits, and create a body of work that I can be proud of!

Like I said, I started out doing some screen printing a couple of years ago. I even built my own 4-colour press! I've made a few shirts, but some modifications to the press need to be made before I can continue with anything other than one colour. Registration issues, you know :|

Anywho, I had lots of fun making shirts and learning the process of creating one's own artwork, screens, and applying ink. It's a lot of work, and pretty tricky getting the hang of everything but totally worth it when you see the final result!! It's on hold for now, but the plan is to get the press up and running again within the year.

My Brother, Dad, and myself, wearing our matching t-shirts (one of my first screen
printing projects) up at the cabin, back in 2009. I was pretty pleased at how they came out!

My girlfriend and I were invited to a friend's wedding in April of 2010. It was springtime, and we obviously needed a flower as the perfect accessory for her dress! Simple enough, but all the flowers out there just weren't cutting it. Too huge, too floppy, bad colours... nothing was right. Until a trip to Fabricland gave me all that was needed.

Poly ribbon, felt, thread, hot glue, and a brooch style pin was all that was needed!
(plus a couple hours of searching through online video tutorials and instructables)
Only needed one for the dress, but a couple were made.

Last year's holiday season took a lot of time, love, and effort to put together some presents. I couldn't have been happier with how they turned out! I didn't get any pics from those books, but I've got a few from my personal collection!

My first hollow book made for putting my various TV/DVD/CD
player remotes in, but shown above with my pal Voltron.

A slimmer book with a nice orange felt instead of black.
I currently use this to hold some of my M.O.C. pins and pendants

This one is great! It is two very handsome books combined to make
one fairly deep secret compartment. No felt inside, but I kinda like it that way.

This medium sized fella currently holds some of my various crafting
tools for leather stamping and stamp carving.

I've been focusing on pyrography ever since I came across it when looking to make my own belt buckles. For the most part, I really only see metal belt buckles in stores. I wanted something different. When I saw that you could burn images into them, I needed to try it! I was so excited that I tracked down a burning tool and some basswood from Lee Valley Tools and rushed home to get to work.

After the wood was cut and sanded, I didn't even bother with making a polished design and ended up drawing my simple yet rough design right on the wood. I was a little hesitant to burn at first, but once I got going on a piece of practice wood to get the feel I didn't stop until I was finished. After applying the metal backing some stain was applied, as I wanted it darker than the (very) light coloured basswood. I finished it with some matte Krylon matte finish (spray on), and voila, my first buckle!

At about 4" x 2 1/2", it's a little bit of a monster, but as you can
imagine, it holds a special place in my collection.

At this point, I didn't have a clear idea as to where I was headed with what was to become Man of Craft, but I was inspired to just keep making and burning! As I go, I'll keep updating these pages with my progress. Any news that pertains to new products, art, shows, or M.O.C.-esque goodness will definitely rear its head here. I've already progressed from these beginnings, and so I've got some rapid-fire posts coming up in the near future. Stay tuned!

I've had a lot of encouragement from my family and friends, and so much support from my girlfriend, that it's hard to put into words how appreciative and lucky I am to have them around me as I go forth into the world as... the Man of Craft!

Best,

Adam Grant

Man of Craft