Adult colouring book nights sell out fast in Toronto
The colouring book craze is inspiring artists and entrepreneurs all over Toronto
Adult colouring books are suddenly all the rage, but not just in bookstores. Charities, businesses and local artists are getting in on the trend.
Adult colouring and wine nights
Red wine and a colouring book: It seems like such a good combo, you wonder why you didn't think of it yourself. Well, Toronto charity Story Planet, which promotes children's literacy, came up with that exact idea.
The concept is simple: Story Planet provides the space, and everyone pays $10 to get in, plus extra for food and drinks. People bring the colouring book they got for Christmas, or they pick out a drawing sheet at the event. And then they colour, chat, and mingle.
These colouring nights are selling out fast. Event organizer Naomi Belcamino says she "had an inkling that they would be popular," but didn't expect to draw such large, exuberant crowds.
She says these events have allowed Story Planet to raise money much faster than with previous events, like their board-games night.
A colouring book and travel guide
Local artists are also taking advantage of the opportunity.
Toronto's Rafi Ghanaghounian co-created his own colouring book, in which each drawing represents a building or house in his Kensington Market neighbourhood.
"The idea is to bring people to the market," says Ghanaghounian. "They have this [book] as their guide."
And it works. Ghanaghounian has sold close to 600 copies, wildly exceeding his expectations.
Artists in the making
Colouring books have also brought great business to art supplies stores.
Jacklyn Gwartzman, owner of Gwartzman's Art Supplies on Spadina, says some customers are ready to pay up to $168 for a box of colouring pencils.
The big question that's on everyone's mind: How long will this trend last?