Decoration day

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/12/2017 (3146 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Down, set… huh?

On Grey Cup Sunday, while thousands of football fans across the city were making last-minute runs to their neighbourhood beer vendor or adding a touch more onion soup mix to their bowls of chip dip, 12 women and one (male) Free Press scribe were holed up at Tavern United’s McPhillips Street location, getting in touch with their inner Martha Stewart.

Tracy Smith is the brains behind Wreaths by Tracy. Since March, the St. Andrews resident has been selling custom-crafted wreaths to online shoppers, through her Etsy store. Not one to rest on her festively decorated laurels, she expanded her operation in September, when she began hosting two-hour workshops in Winnipeg pubs. There, over a beverage and appetizer or two, eager participants are taught the ins and outs of wreath-making.

“The classes just kind of… happened,” Smith says, pausing to instruct a pair of sisters to take a seat “anywhere you like” at one of five tables that have been pulled together in U-formation, in the British-style pub’s dining area. “I was like, OK, I’m selling these wreaths, and that’s going great, but what about those people who want to make their own, but need some direction? I looked around at a few other events that were going on in the city and decided to create a similar environment, only with wreaths.”

A typical session begins with Smith explaining how her company, which has shipped wreaths to people from Transcona to Tallahassee, Fla., got its start. In November 2015, she was wandering the aisles of a big-box, home-improvement store, when she came across a display of deco mesh ribbon. Despite being unfamiliar with the lacy material, which, at first glance looks like something one might use for a ballerina tutu, she tossed a couple rolls into her shopping basket, telling herself she would find a purpose for it, eventually.

“It’s not like I was crafty, or anything,” she says, speaking loud enough to be heard over a bank of big-screen TVs broadcasting early afternoon NFL highlights. “But I’m also not afraid to try new things, so I thought, it’s not that expensive, what the heck.”

While searching online to see what sort of items others had fashioned out of deco mesh, she began spotting photo after photo of wintry, holiday wreaths. Because she’s always adored “absolutely everything to do with Christmas,” she decided to make a pair of matching wreaths, figuring they would be perfect gifts for her mother and mother-in-law, come Dec. 25. She enjoyed the process so much, she tells the class, she “kept right on going.” And just like that, a ho-ho-home-based biz was born.

In mid-November, Donna, who didn’t provide her last name, came across Smith’s booth at a makers’ craft show at the Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain. Smith was away from her station at the time, filming a Christmas segment for the lifestyle series The Marc and Mandy Show, but her assistant filled Donna in when she began peppering her with questions about the workshops.

“I’m a bit crafty, and I have done wreaths before, but I was very interested in an interchangeable wreath, which is the type we’re making today,” Donna says, as she loops a three-metre-long stretch of burlap through a round, wire frame approximately 30 centimetres in diameter. “What’s nice about an interchangeable wreath is that you can keep it up, all year long, and simply change the accessories, according to the season.” (Smith provides all of the necessary material and supplies, but if a person wants to add accents such as pine cones, poinsettia leaves or, in Donna’s case, faux reindeer antlers, to their creation, that costs extra, Smith says, motioning towards a table laden with add-ons and decorations available for purchase.)

Donna laughs and says, “Hey, what’s the matter with that?,” pretending to slur her words, when asked if building wreaths in such a public setting seems like an odd fit. (“Hey, you’re welcome to join us,” Smith informs a pair of fellows sporting Calgary Stampeders jerseys, when they stop and inquire what’s going on, exactly, on their way to meet friends already seated at the bar.)

“I’ve been to those paint-night thingies a couple times, where a bunch of us paint a picture over drinks and dinner, and this is very similar to that, in my opinion,” Donna goes on. “Sure, I probably could have done something like this at home, but then I’d be totally on my own. Here, if I screw up, I know I have Tracy around to fix it.”

Later, while her charges are affixing swaths of red ribbon to their wreaths with the aid of green and white pipe cleaners, Smith notes she may be leading the class, but she’s never failed to pick up a few tips from her students, too.

“It’s funny because I do bring a bunch of my finished wreaths, which everybody can look at and use as inspiration for what they’re doing. But there have definitely been times when I’ve said, ‘I never would thought of that’ or ‘isn’t that clever?’ when I’m walking around the room, providing tips,” says Smith, who, since founding her business, has fielded custom orders for wedding wreaths, Canada Day wreaths, Halloween wreaths — even a Winnipeg Jets wreath, which she adorned with miniature hockey sticks and the team’s blue, white and red colours.

“The thought has crossed my mind, but for the time being, the workshops are my primary focus” she replies, when asked if she’s considering approaching retailers about carrying her products on their shelves. “In a relatively short amount of time, this has become both my hobby and my passion, and I guess we’ll see where it takes me, down the road.”

Smith’s next wreath-making workshop is scheduled for Dec. 12, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Tavern United Polo Park, 1405 St. Matthews Ave. Smith will coach participants how to construct a snowman wreath — or snowwoman wreath, if they prefer — out of felt, ribbon and white deco mesh. For more information, go to www.facebook.com/wreathsbytracy0001.

david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca