VANCOUVER SUN

No drugs, no public breastfeeding, no big dogs - those rules curbed hippie exuberance when Circle Craft Christmas Market began, and when small dogs would pee on things, owners would think it was groovy

Exactly 30 years later, the rules haven't changed too much. There's a mothers' room for breastfeeding; Tylenol 3 is about the limit for drugs; and dogs, with the exception of seeingeye dogs, are prohibited. "It really gets too crowded for dogs," says Paul Yard, Circle Craft Co-op's general manager says.

What's astonishing is that we're no longer talking about a crowded little church in which it all began (that church turned into the Vancouver East Cultural Centre). And although its name hasn't changed, we're talking about an annual collection of art and artifacts that goes way beyond crafts.

While 500 attended that first Circle Craft Christmas Market in 1973, today about 40,000 flock to it in its new incarnation at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre; and the small clutch of artisans has grown to 235, which is about all the 100,000 square feet venue can accommodate.

When Circle Craft moved to the Convention Centre in 1987, it filled one exhibition hall. Now it takes three halls and two ballrooms to showcase the work of incredibly creative craftspeople in our midst, and organizers can't wait until the new convention centre is built so they can expand.

Circle Craft launches its 30th annual Christmas Market today.

A jury process weeds out vendors who aren't up to snuff. The crafts are polished and individual and oftentimes come with stories. Some are cute and even twee, but many are sophisticated pieces to cherish and pass on from generation to generation.

For example: Look for one-of-a-kind wood pieces by Ross MacMillan, of Industrial Artifacts. They're made of recycled industrial wood castings, moulds that were used for forging everything from construction cranes for the Lions Gate bridge to Liberty ships during Second World War, mining equipment at Brittania Mines, fire hydrants, sewer grates and gear works.

The wood is cut, cleaned, sanded and crafted into candleholders, chandeliers, cabinets, boxes, coffee tables, dining-room tables, sculptures and doors - or whatever a client wants. McMillan has sold pieces to William Randolph Hearst II ("grandson of," says MacMillan) and to author Douglas Coupland.

"I've always liked to tinker," MacMillan says. "My parents gave me Lego and Meccano sets when I was a kid." The pieces of wood, he feels, are themselves, like works of art. "It's so sad, some have been thrown out or burned. They're very precisely made and represent hundreds of hours of work. These were the patterns that built and maintained our infra-structure for so long. Today, machines cut patterns out of polyurethane and computerized machines cut wood and steel moulds." His smaller pieces, like candle holders, cost about $20 but more elaborate dining room tables might go for $1,500 to $5,000 (like the one with the built-in wine rack).

If you've ever walked into the lobby of Cathedral Place on Georgia Street, you might have noticed the gorgeous glass and steel sculpture on one of the walls (titled Navigation Device Origin Unknown). It's by artist is Robert Studer, one of the vendors at this year's Circle Craft Christmas Market - it shows what kind of talent Circle Craft is dealing with.

Studer and his wife Beth Hawthorn create contemporary home accessories, lines that are carried by five Barney's stores across the U.S., including New York, and some Holt Renfrew stores. Among their best sellers are wood and stainless steel serving trays, which sell for $70 to $360, depending on the labour involved. They'll be selling vases, glassware, Christmas ornaments and dinnerware under their company name, This Is It.

Pamela McGarry's works glorify the bedroom. Her quilts, duvet sets, throws and cushions have exclamations of supersaturated colour and sumptuous textures (velvets, brocades, silk). Her Cary Grant line is aimed at the elegant male or "the yang woman." she says.

"It's like something a man would wear, made of silky cravat material and suit material."

Her reading pillows, $45, are stuffed with buckwheat husk and designed to help you read in bed. Her most expensive item is a sumptuous $600 duvet set with cover and shams.

Silvia Dotto's pottery is distinguished by three medallion shapes, motifs on most of her work. The medallions have personal significance: One is an impression from an antique copper belt buckle a friend gave her; another is the metal floral lace from a jewelry box her grandparents gave her; and another is a leaf design rescued from an old Italian lamp base. Her prices range from $15 for a salt box to $235 for a large platter, big enough to hold a turkey. (Dotto's first commission was to make ceramic buttons for local designer Yumi Eto's highly-acclaimed couture wear.) "Detail takes time," she says, "something that is ever precious today."

And that's the thing about crafts - they're made on human time, by human hands, with feeling. Whereas once they were utilitarian and practical, now they're satisfying to the senses.

"Crafts are evolving to the point where they're not crafty any longer," says Studer. "They're more arty and design-oriented. The boundaries between craft and design are starting to blur.

"The objects we create are designed. The way I think of it, I ask myself `Is this going to be an object grandchildren will fight over? Will they want to keep it in their lives?' That's the way we guage our work."

Touch and feel the objects at Circle Craft, he says. "In many respects, crafts are visually beautiful but when you touch it, that's when you feel the craftsmanship, what the artisan has put into the work. We make the objects with our eyes and hands; we're constantly running our hands across a piece and finishing it by the sense of feel. It's a sensual thing, with the hands constantly going across it and feeling the slightest imperfection. You adjust, you fix it until it's beautifully handcrafted object. Let your hands do the walking as you shop," he says.