Jennifer Claveau
This colourful market tote design (Weekends at Grandma’s) is inspired by the wallpaper projects of Fallen Fruit. (https://fallenfruit.org/) This is a tribute to my grandmother and all the things she loved and made or cooked and grew for her family.
She was a kind, playful, musical and generous person who lit a creative fire in me and others. Her spirit continues to inspire me to grow and create organically, paying forward her spirit of kindness and giving. This market tote creation is the result of the seeds she planted.
Roses, wildflowers, birds, beans, tourtiere, knitting, bingo and more. Moving her family from the farms of Northern Ontario to the big city of Toronto in the 1970’s could not have been easy. I understand the sacrifices she made in her life. She passed away on November 11, 2011.
I created this design in loving memory of a selfless mother figure who never stopped caring, shopping and cooking for her family on a tiny single salary, all while taking care of her grandchildren too. She would have loved this tote bag design. I created everything you see in this wallpaper, including the photographic imagery, the flowers which were all grown in my gardens and the paintings I made in acrylic and watercolour. That is even a picture of a tourtiere pie I baked last Christmas, using her recipe!
She would have called this her bingo bag since lucky number games were her favourite pastime. The prototype of this high-quality poly-canvas tote bag, lined with pockets and magnetic snap is currently in production in Montreal and will retail for $85. The smaller zipper bags will retail for $38. Money raised from the sale of these limited-edition items will be donated to the local food bank this 2023 holiday season.
If you are interested in pre-ordering, please email jen@boxofpaints.ca.