Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
February 5, 2007

Newfoundland and Labrador Craft Producers Win Awards

Two Newfoundland and Labrador companies and a College of the North Atlantic student won awards at the Atlantic Craft Trade Show, held February 3 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Scraps of Beachside near, Springdale, won the Award in Excellence in Product Design, and Abbyshot Clothiers Limited of Mount Pearl won the Award in Excellence for Outstanding Exporter. Gillian Slaney of St. John's won the Heather Stone Emerging Artist Award, given in memory of a former employee of the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. The Honourable Trevor Taylor, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, was in Halifax on Saturday to attend the show and present the awards.

Scraps is owned and operated by Melanie and Lynette Butt, a mother-and-daughter team who design and produce handbags, totes, accessories and purses. Abbyshot Clothiers is owned and operated by Bonnie Cook and Adam Bragg. It designs and manufactures high-end movie replica clothing as worn by characters in popular films such as The Matrix, Equilibrium, and Kill Bill. Gillian Slaney is enrolled in the College of the North Atlantic's Textile Studies Program.

�I congratulate Scraps and Abbyshot on winning these awards,� said Minister Taylor. �Abbyshot has built a company almost entirely through Internet sales, and Scraps demonstrates how it is possible to design, manufacture, and sell fashion accessories from rural Newfoundland and Labrador. I also congratulate Gillian Slaney on winning the Heather Stone Emerging Artist Award. It is encouraging to see our artists being recognized for their talent and promise. They are all to be commended on their achievements. �

Adam Bragg, who accepted the Outstanding Exporter Award for Abbyshot Clothiers, said he was pleased the company had earned the recognition of craft organizations and industry people. �It tells us that we are being noticed in a positive way and makes us feel proud that our efforts are being recognized,� he said.

�I was flattered the craft council nominated us for this award. I am surprised and grateful that we have received it," said Melanie Butt of Scraps which received the Excellence in Product Design award. She added that the Newfoundland and Labrador Craft Council and the Department of Innovation, Trade and Development have been a useful resource for information and assistance to craft producers. "They have always been very supportive," she said.

The Atlantic Craft Trade Show is Atlantic Canada�s largest wholesale craft trade show and attracts 1,200 international buyers annually. There are approximately 2,000 craft producers in Newfoundland and Labrador who contribute over $38 million annually to the provincial economy.

Photo #1: Heather Stone Emerging Artist Award - Presented by Dan and Joan Stone to winner, Gillian Slaney of St. John's. Gillian is a second year student of the College of the North Atlantic's textile studies program. She received a $250 bursary.

Photo #2: Melanie Butt of Scraps of Beachside accepting the Excellence for Product Design Award from The Honourable Trevor Taylor, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.

Photo #3: Adam Bragg of Abbyshot Clothiers of St. John's accepting the Outstanding Exporter Award from The Honourable Trevor Taylor, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.

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Media contact:
Lynn Evans
Director of Communications
Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
709-729-4570, 690-6290
LynnEvans@gov.nl.ca

2007 02 05                              11:15 a.m.
 


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