The Vancouver Island Counselling Centre for Immigrants and Refugees hosted the inaugural Stitching Bonds Baazar, which was deemed a great success, said Soraya Centeno, staff counsellor.
Stitching Bonds Baazar ran from Dec. 9 to 10 and had handmade sewing, works of art and bath bombs.
The baazar was created by refugees and immigrants who had made a group to help overcome loneliness and it quickly turned into a business idea, said Centeno.
Ericka Hidori, Rima Syed Jaafar and Andre Diaz had created the group but had help from Centeno and Latifa Elaloui, one of the interpreters.
Hidori and Jaafar created the sewing and much of the stitching, and Diaz helped produce some graphic designs on the items for sale.
“The market was an outstanding success,” said Centeno.
The space at VICCIR was packed for both days they ran the market.
Hidori had created different pencils, glass cases and bath bombs for the market and had spent time creating everything.
“It takes me about an hour and a half to stitch the cases,” she said.
To make bath bombs, she said, the ingredients are baking soda, critic acid, cornflour, Epsom salt, oil (coconut, olive, sunflower) and a few drops of food colouring.
She said you mix it all and leave it for a few days to harden.
The market’s success had surprised her, but she could not say if there would be another one.
Syed Jaafar, a refugee from Syria, had spent almost half a year trying to get ready for the bazaar and also had a silent auction for one of the pieces she had sewn for the market.
Jaafar said she was pleased about how everything had gone and was excited about doing more sewing for people in the future.
Over the two days, more than 100 people visited the market, which was a “delightful” surprise for everyone involved.
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