Makers Award

 

Luna Collective is proud to announce the winners of the fourth year of our store funded Makers Awards! Supporting the creative community has been the foundational pillar of Luna Collective since we first opened our doors. This award was created in the hopes to support makers to further reach their goals. 

BIPOC and 2SLGTBQIA+ owned businesses may face disproportionate barriers to access reliable funding, which impacts their ability to reach their business goals. With this award Luna Collective hopes to provide opportunity for advancement to those who may face challenges in starting/growing a makers based business. 

The intention of this grant is to offer British Columbia based BIPOC and *2SLGTBQIA+ makers, who are driven to make a living through the making of wares/art, a funding opportunity to help their creative business goals flourish. 

This award is for makers at any stage in their professional development. We are offering 2 grants in the amount of $1,000 CAD awarded through an open call application intake (now closed). We are excited to share that this year we have partnered with Shannon from Bespoke Market in Squamish and each winner will also receive a vendor spot in one of the 2024 Bespoke Markets plus a 1 hour vision planning consultation session. Please read the Application Guide to learn more about eligible expenses within this grant.

Applications are now closed - We are pleased to present our 2024 Winners:

Persia Khan - Persia's Pot Shop

Persia Khan (She/Her) is an aspiring potter based in Lekwungen Territory. Persia fell in love with pottery a year ago after taking a weeknight class with friends, and it has since become one of her most cherished ways to spend time. As a self-proclaimed non-artistic, pottery has provided a creative expression for Persia in a way she could never have imagined, re-shaping her identity and sense of self.

Persia’s Pot Shop focuses on small-batch, functional pottery, or what Persia calls “apartment grown ceramics”, crafted in her sunroom with love. She is grateful for her small home studio and the ability to see the process of making pottery unfold from start to finish. Her emerging business was born out of the desire to keep creating and is influenced by her background in ecology, bright colours, and symmetry. Persia’s favorite pieces to make are hand-painted mugs and bud vases as they provide the best outlets for creativity. Starting Persia’s Pot Shop has provided Persia with an amazing community, and she is excited to learn more about business and to watch this space grow. Persia hopes to share her work at local makers markets this year and to create a website to showcase her pieces. 

You can find Persia on Instagram @persias_potshop

 

 

Bertie - Hi Bertie

Bertie (They/Them) is a white settler Québécois non-binary emerging artist and photographer that thinks too much, feels loudly and strongly, and is addicted to vulnerability. All these things are the fuel for their creative process and they hope that their work will make you feel and think things too.

Bertie quit their management job in tech in late 2022 to pursue their dream of becoming a full time artist and photographer. They created their first collection of works, surrealist photographs and symbolic digital illustrations, and hosted their first art show in November 2022 to showcase this new collection: Vicissitudes. Since then, Bertie has had artwork shown in Vancouver at Atop Remembering, at
the Vault Gallery during their REPOS exhibition and on the walls at Habit Coffee and the Victoria Tool Library. Bertie has also completed an art residency with Sweetpea Gallery, where they completed their third body of work called Nothing Serious.

In January 2024 Bertie signed a lease for their first studio and jumped into photography and art full time. They are currently in a period of filling their creative cup by gathering knowledge, experiences and ideas. Later this year they would like to create a new collection of works that is thoughtful, intentional and different from what they have done in the past. They also plan on increasing their presence at markets and events, because they love the community connections that these foster. They would also like to sell their prints in a few more value-aligned stores. Long term, Bertie is working toward curating a sensational art show that breaks boundaries and barriers in the local art scene.

You can find Bertie on Instagram @hi.bertie,  on TikTok @hi.bertie,  on Facebook @hibertie,  and on their website hibertie.com

 

 

Our 2023 Winners:

Sydney Wiebe - Cedar Womxn

Our 2022 Winners:

Brent Haddow 

Our 2021 Winners:

Ditch Metals - Cam Van Der Sloot

@ditch.metals / www.ditchmetals.ca

Always L8t3 - Laveen Gammie

@alwaysl8t3 / www.laveengammie.com