From News & Events

June 15, 2014

Maker Faire Take 2

I returned for a second time to the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire a few days ago. As always it was an absolute blast to see all the other makers from all around the province. I was also happy to see some familiar faces. One person even brought her purchase from last year because it had been damaged in a move. I happily repaired it over the weekend and returned it to her.

This year they changed the set up and created two distinct spaces for makers that were showing and telling, and makers that were selling. Parrotphernalia was perfectly situated near one of the main entrances on a corner with beautiful natural daylight coming through, and even a nice breeze now and again. With such a great space and so close to the outside I had no problem being indoors on a beautiful weekend.

Once again Parrotphernalia made a donation to the Maker Faire silent auction. Up for grabs was a set of beach themed feather earrings and necklace. The earrings were sterling silver with small anchors and bright blue macaw feathers, and the necklace was sterling silver with section of a sliced sea shell and two tones of blue macaw feathers. I was pleased to hear the bidding got pretty high before the end of the weekend.

The highlight of the weekend was getting interviewed for a show about the Maker Faire. I’m not sure when it will be aired, but I’ll be sure to let you know.

We hope to see all you amazing makers and maker enthusiast again next year!

April 15, 2014

We’re going back to Maker Faire!

I’m so happy to announce that Parrotphernalia will once again be showcasing our feathered products at Vancouver Mini Maker Faire. Last years faire was outstanding and I know this year it can only get better. I can’t wait to meet all the new attendees and makers. I’ll probably end up buying as much as I sell. But really who can help it when you have the opportunity to buy from some of the best artists and makers in the province.

For more information on Maker Faire, or to purchase your tickets check out their website.

August 6, 2013

Parrotphernalia at the Vancouver Mini-Maker Faire

This June we had the pleasure of being part of the Mini-Maker fair being held at the PNE Forum on Saturday June 1st and Sunday June 2nd. It is the biggest DIY event in Vancouver, and there are many more Maker Faires held in cities and countries all over the world. It brings together people and creators from all walks of life. Techies, engineers, crafters, builders and tinkerers join together as “the aim of Maker Faire is to entertain, inform, connect and grow this community.”

It was amazing to meet so many local makers and creators including Living Lotus Food & Nutrition, Self Design, Heike Kapp Glass, and Window Arcades Terrarium Design among many others. We recommend checking out all of their pages and seeing the great products they have to offer. I wish I had had the time to visit every stall and browse over everything each maker had to offer.You can see the full list of 2013 Makers here.

In preparation for Maker Faire we worked hard creating new inventory, many of which sold at the Faire. We were also making custom pieces throughout the weekend. We made both pendants and earrings as well as a custom hair piece. Over the weekend we spoke to many attendees and other makers about our products and parrots. For the children there that we knew would want to touch all the pretty feathered pieces (which we didn’t stop, but encouraged the gentleness you would apply to a live bird) we put out a few of Larry’s wing and tail feathers to be flapped, rubbed, pulled and twisted. We showed how each strand on the feather or barb rather, had tiny hooks on them which allowed them to be preened back into place. We also surprised many visitors at our booth with the long life cycle of parrots.

One of the highlights of the weekend was meeting so many attendees that had feathered companions or had met local rescues and sanctuaries such as O.W.L. Orphaned Wildlife and Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary.

We were also part of a Silent Auction and held a draw for people to enter to win a pair of earrings or a pendant. We had over 150 entries! Larry picked the winners and we mailed their prizes off right away! Watch the video here.

We are cannot wait to go back next year and are looking forward to meeting all the new makers and returning ones.

Custom hair piece made at Maker Fair, to be braided into hair.

Setting up.

Talking to a customer.

First bid on silent auction.

August 6, 2013

Everything Birds Photo Story Contest

In April Larry and I had the pleasure of being part of Everything Birds “Photo Story Contest” on their Facebook Page. We entered in one of my favorite pictures of Larry and myself. The contest was part of their Parrot Appreciate Day they were holding in May, however Everything Birds shared the true idea behind the contest. “This contest’s FIRST goal is to share the JOY of owning our birds, the knowledge we’ve gained through that flocking, and finally to become a stronger flock because of these shared experiences. None of us have all the answers, but ALL of us have some pretty good ones! Let’s SHARE, so ALL our birds benefit!”

We feel the same at Parrotphernalia, and want to use our products to create more conversation around our feathered friends, whether they are companion birds or in the wild. We were one of 94 entrants sharing a photo and story from around the world. The Top Ten photos with the most Likes would be printed and put on display to be voted on at Everything Birds store in Oldsmar, Florida on their Parrot Appreciate Day. Our photo had 40 shares and 138 likes putting us in the Top Ten.

Here is our story:

“Larry, a Blue Fronted Amazon I am a companion to, has led an interesting life. His first owners took him to bars and showed him off. From this bad environment he unfortunately picked up some swearwords, which have turned to mumbles in recent years. After this he was given to a pet store where he stayed for quite sometime, a bird just looking for somebody to love him. He was adopted from the store by someone who had thought he would make a great first mate aboard his boat. Unfortunately (and fortunately) for Larry he never made it out to sea and was often left alone at home to forage for himself on sunflower seeds and french fries while his owner went away for days or weeks at a time.

Then comes my partner. One day Mr. Wanna-be-fisherman, a client of my partners, asked if he wouldn’t mind watching him while he was out of town for a few weeks. My partner agreed and in no time the two of them had bonded. It was months before Larry’s owner called, and when he did he asked if my partner wanted to keep him. He said yes, of course and for the last 10 years Larry has lived a happy and healthy life with him. Two years ago I was introduced to Larry and he allowed me to become his friend. It has been a slow process since I am the only other person he has ever allowed to hold him or touch him in 10 years (or more). We enjoy singing loudly off key and dancing around the kitchen together. Larry has changed my life and inspired me to create a business based on the friendship you have with your animal. I am so happy to have met and become the companion to such a wonderful animal.”

Although we did not make it to the Top Three, we were so grateful to have been able to share our story and bring more awareness to our products. The responses we received to our story were wonderful.

Thank you to everyone that voted for us and to all of the other contestants who shared their stories.

May 5, 2013

We will be at the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire!

We are so excited to announce that we are going to be part of the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire being held at the Pacific National Exhibition on June 1st-2nd.

“Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth – a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement. It’s a place when people show what they are making, and share what they are learning.

“Makers range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers. They are of all ages and backgrounds. The aim of Maker Faire is to entertain, inform, connect and grow this community.”

We are so happy to be a part of an event that promotes the creation of handmade items and using old for new. This will be a great place to not only showcase Parrotphernalia, but educate on why what we’re doing is important.

We hope to see you all there!

April 18, 2013

Tis the season to be MOLTING!

It’s that time of year again, when all of your lovely feathered friends start to molt. Larry started slowly losing feathers a month or so ago, but just this past week has been dropping feathers like crazy. He looks like a little punk rocker as his new feathers come in.

Since it is molting season this is the best time for us to get donations. And as we have a busy summer season planned we are looking for new donors for Parrotphernalia.

All of our accessories are made from donations of feathers by happy, healthy birds. So we wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for you and your fine feathered friends. For every donation we receive we make a unique Parrotphernalia piece out of the feathers donated as a thank you.

So please! If you have nothing better to do with your feathers, donate them to us! You will get a something unique and you promote the creation of animal cruelty free products.

If you would like to make a donation of feathers please get in contact with us through our Contact page. We are looking for absolutely every shape and size from itty bitty to gigantic and every colour!

Thank you for your support!

Show us your feathers!

March 31, 2013

Happy Easter!

To all our fans, customers, supporters, and feather friends, we would like to say Happy Easter!

What ever you may do for this long weekend, we hope that you have a wonderful time and are enjoying some well deserved rest and sunshine where ever you are.

March 7, 2013

Reduce, Reuse, RECYCLE! Donate your feathers!

We accept donations!

Parrotphernalia is completely run by donations of feathers (or plumes) by Larry bird and other fine feathered friends.

We think it’s terrible to let such beautiful things as feathers go to waste. Especially if it might help save some other birds life by not using store bought feathers. It was not that long ago that we saw the escalating trend of feather hair extensions which ravaged the fishing lure market of saddle feathers from roosters. The thing that seemed to be even worse, while looking into bird feathers used in lures, is that the special saddle feathers used for feather hair extensions and lures “come from roosters that are genetically bred and raised for their plumage. In most cases, the birds do not survive the plucking.“ More than just these birds are being killed to not only support the tackle industry, but the store bought feathered hair accessory industry as well.

SO! What can you do to help? Reduce, Reuse, RECYCLE!

Give your bird’s feathers a second chance at life. In return we will make you a lovely accessory with the feathers as a thank-you for your donation! We will also showcase you and your feathered friend on Parrotphernalia as one of our donors!

If you would like to send us some feathers, send us a message through the contact page. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

Show us your feathers!

March 4, 2013

VancouFur Convention

This weekend Parrotphernalia showcased our goods at the VancouFur Convention. It was a three day convention running from Friday March 1st to Sunday March 3rd for furry lovers and like minded friends.

I must admit when I first registered for the VancouFur Convention, I had not realized that it was in fact a furry convention. I assumed from the name that it was a fur trade show that would be selling and showcasing local fur and leather importers and products. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out otherwise.

Parrotphernalia had a table on Saturday, showing off our feathered accessories in Artist Alley. Although we were not in the main Dealers Den, we still had a lot of foot traffic coming through. We were happy to meet many new furry friends and customers, many of which had avian pets themselves. There was a lot of interest in our products and we spoke to a few furries about making custom designs for their characters.

All in all it was a great experience. We hope to return again next year and continue our partnership between the avian and furry community.

Here are a few snap shots from the convention.