Wednesday, 15 July 2009

Little Marketeers

At our last little market we asked each of the talented stallholders to fill out a short questionnare about what they make and what inspires them. We'll endevour to update this with each new (or old) stallholder so stay tuned.
Penny Bristol-Jones - Noonoo and Friends
What's the first thing you remember making? (How old were you?)
Mud pies - 3
What do you make now?
Knitted toys, drawings, paintings
What's the favourite item you've made?
A long legged doll
Who'what inspires you?
Any women who have 'made it'
Angela Keele
What’s the first thing you remember making? (How old were you?)
Crotchet squares, 6 yrs old
What do you make now?
Felted hats, bags and more, beaded jewellery
What’s the favourite item you’ve made?
Al capone Hat
What’s your day job?
Credit Control Officer
andyappleknickerkeele@yahoo.com.au

Alexandra Westaway - Luna Bloom
What’s the first thing you remember making? (How old were you?)
Wonder woman outfit for my barbie! Age 7
What do you make now?
Natural body products, crystal window charms, astology charts
What’s the favourite item you’ve made?
Crystal dreamcatcher with malachite, lapis lazuli and silver feathers
Who/what inspires you?
My five year old daughter inspires me to see the beauty in the world and create with passion.
http://www.lunabloom.com/

Karen Molloy - Kidden Thiele
What’s the first thing you remember making? (How old were you?)
From about five years old I was making clothes for my Barbie with scraps of fabric from Mum’s sewing room.
What do you make now?
Anything that pops into my head, tote bags, adult clothes, children’s clothes, jewellery and homewares.
What’s the favourite item you’ve made?
Anchor bag, denim with red and white applique
Who/what inspires you?
I’m about to become an Aunty, so I am inspired to make children’s clothes. I have been pulling out the old Enid Bilchrist pattern books in preparation.
k_swifte@yahoo.com

Lynne Eisentrager - Twisted
What’s the first thing you remember making? (How old were you?)
Wrote a song using my toy piano - 8
What do you make now?
Jewellery using silver wire and beads.
What’s the favourite item you’ve made?
Choker with handmade silver wire beads, glass beads and jade ships
Favourite quote or song lyric: “If only they used their powers for niceness, instead of evil” Maxwell Smart
fishpaw@optusnet.com.au

Mandy Heritage
What’s the first thing you remember making? (How old were you?)
Bead necklace - 21
What do you make now?
Necklaces, bracelets etc
What’s the favourite item you’ve made?
A goldstone and azurite necklace
Who/what inspires you? Dalai Lama
mandyheritage@yahoo.com.au

Loni Mills - Lonstar
What’s the first thing you remember making? (How old were you?)
Around 6-7 I drew my teacher for a school paper. I included all her wrinkles (sorry Mrs Vaughn) What do you make now?
I paint, draw from life. I make books and cards.
What’s the favourite item you’ve made?
A wierd card
Favourite quote or song lyric:
Touch me with your naked hand
Touch me with your glove
And dance me to the end of Love – Leonard Cohen
lonimills@yahoo.com.au

Amanda Makepeace - MANDY-MOO
What’s the first thing you remember making? (How old were you?)
Mud-paint from dirt in the garden
What do you make now?
Pun-cards
What’s the favourite item you’ve made?
“You mooove me” sexy cow
Favourite quote or song lyric: Cows with guns
samandamail@optusnet.com

Rebecca Lewis - Little Brown Dog
What’s the first thing you remember making? (How old were you?)
A flamingo marionette from a pink sock, a tennis ball and I think the beak was from one of those plastic puppets you used to get at Pizza Hut with the kids meal deals. I must have been about 7 or 8 and I remember taking it to school for show and tell.
What do you make now?
All sorts, it really depends on what I feel like making when I wake up be it clothes, toys, cushion covers, slippers, whatever I find fits the fabric.
What’s the favourite item you’ve made?
It’s usually the last thing I made so my current favourite is a wrap skirt made from old woolen blankets with pockets in the shape of owls.
Favourite quote or song lyric: ‘it was as if the moon rising had said a single silver word: Peace’ Ray Bradbury
www.littlebrowndoggie.blogspot.com/

Rowena Shakes - Lillipilli
What’s the first thing you remember making? (How old were you?)
It was definitely cooking for me when I was younger - I didn't really get into other crafting til I was older and started making gifts for close friends...
What do you make now?
I make an odd assortment of things, mostly from fabric: organic wheat heat packs, kids pants and aprons, Steiner style felt toys, a bit of knitting if the urge takes me, recycled notebooks, quilts and some clothes from time to time, brooches and other oddments too...
What’s the favourite item you’ve made?
Most definitely the two quilts I've made for my daughter - one completely from recycled, vintage and found fabrics and the other from a blend of new and recycled. I tend to give away the things I make and love the most - sending them out into the world...
Who/what inspires you?
Well, not so surprisingly I’m incredibly inspired by crafting. Within our current society I see it very much as an act of social rebellion to reclaim our ability and interest in making what we need and use, a most important ingredient in the re-creating of the ecologically and socially sustainable world I want to be part of and part of bringing into being.

Thursday, 18 June 2009

Brrrr! The Little midwinter Markets. Yay!


A little market held on the cosy back deck of Avid Reader book shop in Brisbane's West End on the last Friday of each month. The market is put on by a loose collective of locals known as the Lovely Thing Makers.
Our stallholders have been really productive lately and we've had a lot of interest from prospective stallholders. So this months market will have plenty of fresh new creations. Possibly including hand made knickers!

Saturday, 16 May 2009

The Little Market for May 09

We are up to our third market for the year. This months market is looking really exciting. Some new makers are coming along so come and check us out on May 29.

This month the poster art is a resin and vintage kimono fabric pendant by Diana Maloney. I'm really enjoying being able to feature the creations of our excellent makers on our monthly posters.

My lovely sister Karen is coming along this month and I can't wait to see what she has made. I'm also looking forward to the creations inspired by visits to the Stitches and Craft show.

Michael

Thursday, 16 April 2009

Second Little Market is nearly here.


Hello Folks,

It's nearly time again. The second Little Market will soon be upon us.
There's been a few new ideas bouncing around about things we could do with the market (nothing too drastic). One idea I have is that we all get along to the Stitches and Craft Show and network like crazy!
We have a steady stream of new makers who are interested in coming down and checking out the market (my mum is one of them). It was good to see lots of fruity snacks on offer last time (thanks Rowena). I say keep the creative snacks coming!


Cheers

Michael

Saturday, 14 March 2009


I'm very much looking forward to a year of creative craftiness at The Little Market at Avid and I can't wait to see the new and lovely things that will be on offer. I think we are in very interesting times and my feeling is that people will appreciate handmade things more than ever.
I look froward to continuing Rowena's great work and hope to see our networks grow and our ideas and knowledge getting shared around.
I've attached the flyer for the next Little Market 27/3/09 along with the notes for stallholders document. The artwork on the flyer is the work of our own Becky Lewis. It would be nice to feature a different makers work each month. Let me know if you've any ideas.
Please remember to rsvp soon for this months market. So far we have 4 of the 11 places filled. I encourage you to visit our facebook identity Lovely Thing Makers or join our facebook group The Little Market at Avid. It woul be great to see lots of activity and info sharing there.
The next market is scheduled for Friday March 27 5.30-8pm

Cheers

Michael

Wednesday, 19 November 2008

christmas markets

christmas markets seem to be a special thing. i don't know if people are just getting excited about the season, the opportunity to share with friends and family or something else, but they have a vibe of their very own. there are just two markets left for the year - friday november 28 and friday december 19 - and both promise to offer a full-house of stallholders and newly crafted wares. in any case, whether you are into celebrating christmas with ethically and locally handcrafted products or otherwise, it's a great way to end the year. a finale of sorts. it marks two years since we first established the little market at avid reader, and since then we have had almost twenty market evenings, all different and all wonderful in their own way. we would like to think that we have inspired crafters to get out of the living room, and shoppers to explore and buy locally made products. we hope you have enjoyed them if you've been coming along. and we also hope that if you would like to see more community projects like this, that you take the step towards being part of creating one in your own local area. happy crafting, and best wishes to you all for a great send off to the year.

Tuesday, 9 September 2008

spring markets galore!

well i don't know if you've heard about park(ing) day, but this year it's happening in brisbane in a big way. park(ing) day was established in san francisco to highlight both the lack of green space in the city and the amount of public space that is devoted to the motor car. on park(ing) day, we pay the meter, but instead of a car park, we create the kind of park we'd probably all like to see a bit more of. greenery, lounging space, creativity, community... the little market has decided to jump on board, and will be celebrating with other 'parker's' with some markets out the front of avid reader on september 19 from 4-8pm. there'll also be entertainment throughout the day, in the form of readings by avid's fiona, performance art, rickshaw rides and hopefully some live local music too... so, if you're out on the streets on friday september 19 at any time of day, you might like to celebrate park(ing) day with some games outside of the rumpus room, art appreciation outside of ugee's or being entertained and shopping it up with local craft out the front of avid. for more information, check out http://brisbaneparkingday.blogspot.com

we'll also be operating our usual monthly market out the back of avid on the last friday of the month - september 26 - from 5.30-8pm.

hope you can make it!