Regardless of the size of your booth, when you sign your contract for your booth, your participation will include the following:

• Contracted booth space to show and sell your work and 6 exhibitor badges for you and your staff.
• 10 complimentary tickets, plus discount codes and incentives, to help you bring fans and followers to the show.
• A dedicated One Of A Kind Online Artisan Profile with links to your website and social channels.
• Access to show specific and year-round marketing and PR opportunities.
• Pre-show resources include Facebook Groups, newsletters, workshops, videos, show experts, and a digital Exhibitor Kit.
• Onsite services, including a lounge with free tea and coffee and other onsite perks throughout the show.
• Exposure to loyal shoppers and craft enthusiasts—including wholesalers, bloggers, media and galleries--and insight from face-to-face feedback and large-scale market research.
• The opportunity to show your work among top-quality makers who share your belief in creativity and small-batch production.
• Expansion of your community—learn from show mentors and small business pros, connect with fellow makers to swap tips and create opportunities for collaborations, and more!

Your booth space is a blank space for you to set the stage for your audience and showcase your brand and work.

The booth spaces includes 8' high pipe and white drape, and booth number signage.

Exhibitors must provide lighting, signage, and POS equipment. Electrical, hard walls and other services are available for purchase or rental. You are encouraged to add hard walls, a floor, great lighting, and so much more.

We highly recommend you do NOT use the white drape as your background. You may bring fabric to add to the drape (using Velcro, "s" hooks, or pins, or additional pipe ordered from our suppliers) or you may install (or rent) a hard wall system as a backdrop. Note: There is no pipe and drape in the Rising Stars section or the Original Art Gallery. Artists in these areas must bring or rent their own structures. Hard Walls are required in the Original Art Gallery.

You can see examples of past booths on our Pinterest page.
Your display must stay within your rented space, and your booth must not be configured in such a way that you must stand in the aisle in front of the booth to conduct business.

Due to the pipe-and-drape construction (1.5” diameter) of the booth, internal dimensions are slightly reduced (as noted below). Consider your actual booth size when making your booth display plans.

Contracted Size Actual Size

5 x 10 - 4'-8" deep x 9'-8" wide

5 x 15 - 4'-8" deep x 14'-8" wide

5 x 20 - 4'-8" deep x 19'-8" wide

10 x 10 - 9'-8" deep x 9'-8" wide

10 x 15 - 9'-8" deep x 14'-8" wide

10 x 20 - 9'-8" deep x 19'-8" wide

NOTE: If you exceed your booth size, you will be asked to change it. Also, chairs must be placed INSIDE your booth, or you will be asked to move them (stools in the Risings Stars Section excluded from the above note).

Click here for 2024 Winter Show booth pricing.

Applications received by the early bird deadline of April 30, 2024 deadline can expect to hear back about the status of their application by June 11, 2024.

Applications will remain open until the show has sold out. Typically applicants who submit an application after the deadline will hear about the status of their application within 4-6 weeks. We strongly encourage you to submit your application as early as possible to have the best chance of being offered a place in the Winter Show.

We are so grateful to our loyal maker community, who partner with us each year to tell the story of Canadian craft. Your creative voices make us the flagship destination to shop Canadian-made, and we'd love to have you join our chorus again!

If you've done the in-person One Of A Kind Show before, we're making it easier to apply! Just fill out your contact info, booth choices and any changes to your company since we saw you last. We'll pull your on-file application materials, follow up if we need any additional info, and submit everything for jurying. If your application is accepted, we will try and match you with available booth space.

Unsure if you should fill out the VIP or New application? Use this guide linked below:

Should I Submit a New or VIP Application?

FOR REBOOK and VIP APPLICANTS ONLY: In order to sign up using our Winter Re-Sign or VIP Application Form, you agree to participate with the same business and product as you did when you last exhibited at our show. This means that your Winter contract will include only those items which you have already been approved to sell.

If you would like to add new products to your contract for the next Show, you can do so through our New Products Form, which will be sent out to registered exhibitors this Spring.

Please be advised that new product submissions are reviewed based on a number of criteria and are not guaranteed to be accepted. Before you fill out your Re-Sign or VIP Application form, please ensure you are prepared to participate with your currently contracted products.

If you would rather wait and reapply with your new business or new product line(s), you may submit a complete application.

One Of A Kind was born of the need for a place for Canadian makers to show and sell their work. Before e-commerce, and even before retail was open on Sundays, One Of A Kind established itself as the flagship place to buy Canadian handmade. Now, over 40 years later, we are still the best place for modern makers to build their business. And our loyal customer base comes out each year for an exclusive shopping experience highlighting the best in the creative community. Your One Of A Kind participation would include an exclusivity clause that asks that you be judicious about your participation in other shows around the time of our event. That means for 14 days before, during, and 14 days after our event, you will not participate in any shows within 30 km of our location. This allows us to create a can't-miss shopping experience that draws out shoppers in large numbers.

The Exclusivity Clause is active for the upcoming One Of A Kind Winter Show.

What is this?

This clause was present in all contracts for participation at One Of A Kind Events until 2020. The enforcement of this clause was paused, but was reinstated for contracts as of 2023.

• PREVIOUSLY:
  • 6. EXCLUSIVITY CLAUSE: g) “Exhibitor” (including agents) or their craft (including non-contracted items) are not found or sold at any other consumer show (including but not limited to craft shows, garden shows, home shows, decorating shows, women's shows, clothing shows, etc.) within a 30km radius of the Enercare Centre 14 days before, during or 14 days after the One Of A Kind Show (November 21, 2024 - December 1, 2024).“Exhibitor” can participate in any consumer show with 40 or fewer exhibitors or a duration of 1 calendar day or less, provided it does not occur 7 days before, during or 7 days after the One Of A Kind Show (
  • November 21, 2024 - December 1, 2024). This clause does not apply to participation in any Informa events. Consequence: In the event where this clause (6g) is violated, the exhibitor will not be able to participate at The One Of A Kind Shows for one calendar year and will forfeit any deposit and/or booth fees paid towards the events
• UPDATED:
  • 6. EXCLUSIVITY CLAUSE: g) “Exhibiting Company” or their craft are not found or sold at any other consumer show (including but not limited to craft shows, garden shows, home shows, decorating shows, women's shows, clothing shows, etc.) within a 30km radius of the Enercare Centre 14 days before, during or 14 days after the One Of A Kind Show (November 21, 2024 - December 1, 2024). “Exhibiting Company” can participate in any consumer show with 40 or fewer exhibitors or a duration of 1 calendar day or less, provided it does not occur 7 days before, during or 7 days after the One Of A Kind Show (November 21, 2024 - December 1, 2024). Additionally, products sold by “Exhibiting Company” at One Of A Kind will not be sold under any other brand or company name at the previously mentioned shows during this time. This clause does not apply to participation in any Informa events. Consequence: In the event where this clause (6g) is violated, the exhibitor will not be able to participate at the One Of A Kind Shows for one calendar year and will forfeit any deposit and/or booth fees paid towards the events.

As always, if at any time an exhibitor finds themselves violating any conditions of exhibiting (selling products other than contracted items, selling products not made in Canada, violating the Code of Conduct etc), the One Of A Kind Show reserves the right to revoke participation with or without a refund.

A NOTE ON CULTURAL APPROPRIATION

In our ongoing attempt to make One Of A Kind a more diverse and inclusive event for everyone, we want to make sure everyone can contribute, be heard and succeed at the Show. We want our community to be aware of the harmful impacts of cultural appropriation.

DEFINITIONS

Before we delve further into this, let’s take some time to define what we mean when it comes to the following terminologies:

• Diverse/Diversity: When we talk about diverse or diversity, we mean what makes everyone involved at OOAK (staff, exhibitors, visitors, sponsors, partners and vendors) different in terms of characteristics, including age, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, education and national origin.
• Inclusive/Inclusivity: When we talk about inclusive or inclusivity, we mean the behaviours and efforts we all take to make everyone involved at the OOAK Show feel welcome.
• Cultural Appreciation: When someone seeks to understand and learn about another culture in an effort to broaden their perspective and connect with others cross-culturally.
• Cultural Appropriation: “It can be described as the act by a member of a relatively dominant culture of taking a traditional cultural expression and repurposing it in a different context without authorization, acknowledgement and/or compensation in a way that causes harm to the traditional cultural expression holder(s).” (Source)

OBJECTIVES

The intention of this document is NOT to shame or call out anyone.

Instead, One Of A Kind acknowledges that all of us are not perfect, but we are all working on making diversity and inclusivity a norm in our multifaceted world. We all have the capacity to learn, grow and change.

Through our own research so far, one of the best strategies to understand and avoid cultural appropriation is to put awareness and education at the forefront. For this reason, we have prepared this document so that you can become informed about the topic and reflect critically on your own creative practices. We also included some additional resources below if you wish to learn more.

As an event celebrating craft, we understand that inspiration can take many guises and be derived from many different sources. Our community's creative spirit makes One Of A Kind so exciting! That said, we want to make sure what we create is empowering and not further marginalizing other cultures and groups.

If you create work that uses something from a culture or group other than your own, please consider the following:

• What is the source of the material? It is important to pay homage to artistry and to acknowledge its origin.
• What does this mean to that culture or group?
• Does it hold religious or cultural significance to that culture or group?
• When you are using an artefact from another culture or naming products using words and expressions from another culture, are you aware of their meaning and significance?
  This is by no means an exhaustive list; however, many of the following carry symbolic meanings in their own culture: Inukshuks, teepees, dream catchers, totem poles, igloos, bison skulls, smudges, head wraps, kimonos.
• How may someone from that culture or group feel about your use?
• Are you using this because you have genuine interest in that culture or group, or do you simply like the way it looks? Are you following a trend?
• Do you benefit from doing this? How?
• Have you considered collaborating and sharing credits and profits with people in this culture or group?

Here are 5 things you can also do to avoid cultural appropriation (From How to Avoid Cultural Appropriation & Promote Cultural Awareness Instead, see link in Resources)

1. Research the Culture
2. Avoid the Sacred
3. Don’t Stereotype
4. Promote Diversity
5. Engage, Promote & Share Benefits

YOUR HERITAGE & YOUR CRAFT

Building upon this discussion, if your heritage and culture inspire your work, we would love for you to share this loudly and proudly with other exhibitors and visitors at One Of A Kind. Please make sure you also let us know so that we can better share your story!

WHAT’S NEXT

We hope we can all work together to build best practices and encourage authentic creative expressions so our community can continue to thrive and flourish. We want to support one another, share valuable feedback, engage in meaningful discussions, and refine their work--all without resorting to shaming and hostility.

We also want to make clear that cultural appropriation is a complex and evolving subject. As One of A Kind, we are committed to doing continuous work on this topic. We do not have all the answers, but internally we have done a lot of research and have involved experts in the field so that we can start the conversation. Since the summer of 2020, our parent company has also established various employee resource groups and a divisional Diversity & Inclusion committee so that we can share and gain insights and work on building events where everyone can feel a sense of belonging. Lastly, we are also working on getting external resources and expertise to provide guidance.

As we look forward to our return to face-to-face events, we expect everyone to take time to educate themselves about cultural appropriation and review and understand this information. As always, we value your feedback, so if you have any questions or other suggestions, please feel free to let us know at apply@oneofakindshow.com.

EXTRA READING

• Think Before You Appropriate: A Guide for Creators and Designers
• Considering Cultural Appropriation: Canadian Crafts Federation
  

SOURCES

• How to Avoid Cultural Appropriation and Promote Cultural Awareness Instead
• In the Heart of the Beast Theatre Cultural Appropriation Policy
• Curbing Cultural Appropriation in the Fashion Industry with Intellectual Property

Since the start of the pandemic, One Of A Kind has been closely following the advice of public health authorities. As an event, we will continue to abide by the latest guidance from local authorities while making every effort to ensure your time at One Of A Kind is enjoyable, fun, and, above all, safe.

At the time of writing, there are no COVID restrictions at this year’s event. One Of A Kind will operate at 100% capacity. There is no proof of vaccination requirements. Exhibitors, visitors and staff members are welcome to wear masks but are not required to do so in accordance with the local public health mandate. If you feel sick or unwell or have symptoms of COVID-19, please do not attend the One Of A Kind Show.

Please note all health and safety restrictions and requirements are subject to change at any time in accordance with government guidelines and legal allowances. For the latest information, please check the Health and Safety page on our website.