How did you spend your Saturday?
I spent mine in the Oakleigh RSL, at a wonderful indoor boutique art and craft market called The Handmade Show. Of all the markets in the world this one means the most to me.
Why, I hear you ask?
It means a lot because it is coordinated by stallholders for stallholders - in particular Creations by Bobbie Mac (Bobbie), EP Designs (Elena), Vintage Sew & So (Kerri), Red Letter Studio (Samone) and moi. Our aim is to create a small, sustainable market that stallholders enjoy being a part of and that brings the collective talents of the art/craft world to the suburban public.
It is a great market to dip your toe in the craft market waters - give it a go, as they say - and have an opportunity to talk to other stallholders and increase your confidence. It's also a lovely market for more experienced stallholders to share their talents. We try to keep our stall fees very low to make it as worthwhile as possible for everyone involved. We also want our stallholders to make sales and increase their exposure - of course ;0)
But we can't do it without your help. Whether you be a stallholder or a shopper WE NEED YOU!
In order to keep the interest up, we need you to help support our show and ultimately support the handmade community. That means visiting us on market days, letting friends know that we are on, maybe even buying an item or two. It is hard work bringing handmade to the community and many markets find it hard to sustain the momentum needed to do it - we are all mums, workers, crafters, artists, domestic goddesses, girlfriends, etc - so we do what we do because we love it.
But, we do need your help. The next time you see an ad for a craft market, take a couple of hours out of your day and go and visit it. Whether it be at a school, a church hall or a large town hall, someone has put the effort in to share this with you, so support Handmade and help us all.
For more information on The Handmade Show click here.
