Sunday 15 November 2020

Holiday Sew-ins!

We will be hosting sew-ins on Zoom! Join us to socialize with fellow sewists from your home sewing space. These will be free for members to participate in! We are capping participation at 10 for each sew-in.

  • Sunday, November 22, 2-4 pm
  • Sunday November 29, 2-4 pm
  • Sunday December 6, 2-4 pm
  • Sunday December 13, 2-4 pm
You can register for a sew-in using the Google Form linked here: https://forms.gle/XdEFUR9bRVSMhJCm9

Sunday 23 August 2020

A Virtual 2020-2021 Season

 

Emails were sent out earlier this week to our members, highlighting some changes ahead for our 2020-2021 season. Notably the membership fee discounts and optional donations and our decision to keep it virtual for our meetings. Check out the membership tab for more details and registering! 

We are looking forward to putting together some socially distanced sew-ins and events for some safe in-person gatherings, but overall have decided that is safer and more accessible to keep our general meetings online.

For 2020-2021, the Ottawa Garment Guild regular meetings will be held on Zoom. Meetings are virtual and will continue to be held on the second Thursday of each month , starting at 7:30pm.  Dates as follows:

  • September 10th
  • October 8th
  • November 12th
  • December 10th
  • January 14th
  • February 11th
  • March 11th
  • April 8th
  • May 13th
  • June 10th




Tuesday 19 May 2020

Elections for 2020-2021 Season: Meet Your Candidates!

With elections being held for two weeks from Wednesday May 20th to Wednesday June 3rd, we want to make sure you know who the candidates are!  Candidates for each position were asked to provide a photo and a brief write-up on why they would be the best for the position.  Details below!

Candidate for President:

Kate Hardie:

Hi! I’m Kate, and you may also know me as @ilovecupkates on Instagram. I’m running for President of the Ottawa Garment Guild for the 2020-2021 Season!

I’ve been on the executive of the guild since its inception, when we formed the very first executive committee. I want to continue helping to build our local garment sewing community in Ottawa!  I think we are so lucky in Ottawa to have such a diversity of sewists and makers, excellent fabric shops, and people who have knowledge and expertise to share. In addition, I think there’s a bigger picture to building a guild for garment makers – in addition to building community, we are promoting body positivity, learning new skills, and feeling accomplished when we finish new makes.

Candidate for Vice President:

Johanna Persohn:

Hi everyone! I’m Johanna, (Instagram knows me as @yellowdoormakes)  I’ve been sewing since I was a kid, taught by my mom mainly (she sewed a lot of our clothes!).  I remember when the guild started I was so excited! While I did have some in real life sewing friends I know it’s hard for many to meet others, and I love how it has grown to share our joy of garment sewing with so many!  

Why am I running?  Well, the thought of running for a position has been running through my head since the beginning, but I didn’t think I could commit the time.  I volunteered with the committee to run the two Frocktails events OGG hosted and it was a lot of fun!  So I thought now’s the time to get more involved!  

While I admit I do have a pretty busy life with two kids (two boys, 7 and 10) and a day job, I also have a supportive spouse who values volunteering and I’m pretty used to making time for volunteer activities.  For the last almost 9 years I’ve been the Chair, and more recently co-chair of the a committee for my local community association. I like to think I have some pretty in depth experience in working in a committee and in a leadership role like the VP position may require from time to time.  I have been slowly stepping back from that role though, with my co-chair handling the vast majority of the work which will allow time for a role with the guild!  

I also love research (I’m a historian by education) so I think lots of the tasks of the VP role, like OGGPOM are well suited to what I normally like to do!  I also love working with others and coming up with unique solutions and ideas!  Hopefully you will think I’m a good fit for the role and I look forward to another awesome year for the guild!

Candidate for Treasurer:

Laura Gibson:

Hi there! My name is Laura Gibson and I’m running for Treasurer. I’m drawn to the Treasurer position because I like being able to support a variety of different projects and look forward to being involved with all the workings of the OGG. I think I’m a good candidate for the Treasurer position because I’m comfortable with numbers and love a good spreadsheet. Being able to summarize data in an easy-to-understand package is also a big part of my day job as an analyst. One idea I would bring forth if elected as Treasurer would be to establish pay-it-forward fund for membership and workshop registration fees. Through the collection of small donations, the fund would support sewists in our community who want to participate in OGG activities, but may not be able to pay the full fees.


Candidate for Secretary:

Kimberley Low:

I've been sewing off and on since I was a kid with anyone willing to teach me, home ec, etc., but I've been consistently garment sewing for the past 5 years. I'm running for Secretary because I'd like to be involved and help with this organization which I've gotten so much out of. I have previous experience in the Secretary role and with the board of a non-profit in general with my Masters Swim Club.


Candidate for Social Media Manager:

Renee Michienzi:

Hello! I’m Renee (aka oh.sew.renee on Instagram) and I’d love for the opportunity to be the Social Media Manager for the OGG. I’ve been a member for the past year and part of the online sewing community for longer. I’m a full time working mom (Admin in the Federal Government) of two little kids and have found a wonderful escape in sewing garments for myself in my sacred spare time. I love the steady presence of the Guild for bringing sewists  together out of the sewing room, and walk away with from each meeting with inspiration and energy. I find that social media fosters and builds those connections between meetings and can really engage people beyond the sewing room. I’d love to be part of the process with the OGG in helping inspire, encourage and promote on social media platforms.

Candidate for Special Events Coordinator:

Leah Stolarski:

Hi, I’m Leah. I am currently the guild's Social Media Manager and for the upcoming year I am running to be the Special Events Coordinator. Professionally, I am a freelance graphic designer and an event florist. If you attended Frocktails last year you may have had your picture taken in front of the backdrop I created. I have very much enjoyed contributing to the guild and having a hand in continuing our mission of fostering a community of garment makers. After one year on the board I feel ready to move into a more involved position and take a more hands on roll in planning engaging events, including Frocktails. My goal for the guild has and continues to be to grow our community and include as diverse a group of local sewists as possible. I plan to work with the incoming board to keep the standards for events as high as they've been in the past and develop ways to engage more community members.  

Friday 24 April 2020

2020-2021 OGG Executive Committee Elections


As you're already aware, we're looking for some fresh faces to join our Executive Committee! Do you have ideas about how the Ottawa Garment Guild should be run? Want to get involved in planning guest speakers, special events (Frocktails!!), or make sure we stay on budget for the 2020/2021 Season? If you've been looking for a way to get involved with the Ottawa sewing community, we think this is a great opportunity to do so! We need volunteers like YOU to keep the OGG running!

No experience is necessary, and you don't need to be an expert sewist! Nominations are open to all OGG Members. Nominations will close on Thursday May 7th at 11:59pm. Nominees will be asked to briefly introduce themselves at our Online Meeting on Thursday May 14th.

 
Open Positions as follows:
  • President
  • Vice President
  • Treasurer
  • Special Events Coordinator
  • Secretary
You can find full position descriptions Here or in our Constitution.  Email us with your questions, or to nominate yourself. We look forward to hearing from you, and seeing some fresh faces on the Exec Committee next year!!

Thursday 16 April 2020

We're Going Digital!

With physical distancing measures still in place, we'll be holding the remainder of our meetings this season ONLINE! Looking at the various options out there, Zoom seems to be the easiest option. 

To join the Zoom meeting, you can download the app on your computer, phone, or tablet. No webcam required to listen in, and you don't need to create an account. Download the "Zoom Client for Meetings" onto your device at the following link: 
We understand there have been some security concerns with Zoom, so we'll be sending out an email to members with a link to register for the meeting. Once registered you'll receive a confirmation email that contains a secure link to join the meeting. Keep an eye on your inbox for those ahead of each meeting.  

To build community during this time, our remaining meetings on Zoom will be offered to non-members for $5 drop-ins. A drop-in attendance can be purchased in our square store and you'll be added to that month's email list with the registration access. 

Thursday 16 January 2020

March Sew-In

We have a sew-in coming up on Saturday March 14th from 10am-4pm!!

The fee for the sew-in is $15 for OGG Members, or $20 for the general public, with a pizza lunch included! The sew-ins will take place in our usual meeting space at St. Mark's Anglican Church (1606 Fisher Ave) in Bishop Reed Hall.

Space is limited to 15 people, and we need at least 8 signed up to make each sew-in a go! To secure your spot, please pay through our Square Store, here. If you don't have or use a credit card, please send us a message and we can work with you to find an alternate arrangement.