Daylesford Makers Market - February Edition

I've been gone for awhile, I do apologize.

Work has started again, and the first week of work had me waking early, sleeping late and trying to figure out my schedule. I enjoy my work immensely (I'm a music teacher) and I'm quite willing to drive the 1+ hour just to get to work. I don't know if my petrol bills agree with me though.

But I'm slowly getting back into the groove, slowly sorting out my time problems but I'm a fair bit away from sorting out all my problems. That's what keeps life interesting, perhaps. If one day you are faced without problems to solve... I know I'd be bored.

Over the weekend, I headed over to Daylesford for the 2nd market of the year. My first was The Handmade Show but I seem to have slacked off and forgotten to post about that. I promise a catch up post very soon. But Daylesford first:

I had a bit of drama in the morning - I overslept. I had been working on very little sleep the past week, so when I crashed on Friday night, I must have crashed real hard. I even managed to shut all my alarms off without me realising it! I woke up 45 minutes after the time I was suppose to leave, and went through a huge panic trying to get myself into the car and on the way to Daylesford. Thankfully, I got to Daylesford at 9.30am without any major delays after the initial 45 minutes setback. It's one crazy drive up the freeway I would like to say : Never again.

Other than that, the day went without a hitch. I met Alison, the fantastic lady behind Lark who was sweet and understanding when I burst into the hall panting like a dog. Not a pretty sight, quite unlike the hall which had been magically transformed into the handmade heaven on earth for a short few hours. Everybody's stalls were incredibly well-presented and it took all of my willpower not to dish out my hard earned money for some of the amazingly cute plushies that were up for sale at the market. However, I was so out of it that I didn't get any photos of other stalls, nor business cards, but you can head over to the Daylesford Makers Market blog to check out the other fantastic stallholders.

Here are some photos of my own from the day:



I've changed my display! It's now Cream / Light Yellow and White instead of Pink.
I will be changing the table cloth soon too.


Some of my latest necklaces. Sweet offerings for a very low price!
(They are only 10 dollars each)


Many people asked for it, so here they are!
The return of my roses bracelets!


A limited edition set of necklaces that I named: The Working Lady necklaces.
I rather like them. Again, only 10 dollars!


This year, I've also added a shelf to my display collections.




It houses my ear studs collection!



It was a fantastic day at Daylesford, I really enjoyed myself! I'd love love love to do it again, just without the crazy maniac driving at the start of the day please. The drive back was lovely, and the next time I'm up in Daylesford will be for the April market, plus I'll be doing a little holiday away for the weekend then too!

Oh yes, don't forget that we still have a giveaway going on: Shenevski's crochet shawl is a beauty to behold, I want it for myself but since I can't be part of it, please please please win it and love it on my behalf!

Daylesford Makers Market - February Edition

DIY Tutorial: earring displays

Earrings are such whimsical things. They can sit and twinkle from your ear lobe or they can dangle and catch the light and shimmer everytime you turn your head.
I love earrings.

In fact, they were the first piece of jewellery that I covet, and till now earrings hold something special in my heart.

But I always have an issue. How do you keep them so that they don't get tangled? Especially if you are like me and especially love the crazy long ones that dangle past your shoulders. They get tangled so so much!

So here's a tutorial on how to make a display for your earrings: it doesn't just keep your earrings tangle free, they also allow you to show them off like the pieces of art they truly are!



You will need:


1x thumbtack
Jewellery pliers


1x cardboard with windows cut out
(Make sure that the windows are longer than your dangle earrings!)

Not pictured:

1x silver chain (or any colour chain you'd like really)
Jumprings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Step 1:
Cut out windows from your cardboard as shown above.
Make sure that your cardboad is fairly thick!
If it's soft, it won't hold the weight of the earrings.

Step 2:


Measure out the length of chain you need.
If you want your chain to be tight, you need to cut it slightly shorter than the width of the window.

Step 3:

Use a thumbtack to punch holes in the side of the cardboad.
Try to punch the holes near the side of the window.

Step 4:

Attach the chain to the cardboad by hooking it up to the holes with jumprings!
See why you need to punch right at the side now?

Step 5:

Repeat steps 2 - 4 for the rest of the windows
And you are done! Technically.

Step 6:
This step is optional. But we are crafty people, so...

~* it's time to decorate! *~


This is what I did with mine. I wanted something simple and girly!
Plus, I do have a heap of flowers and ribbons laying around..

And there you have it!




Your very own earring display, customized the way you want it to be,
a work of art that's functional to boot!

How was that? Easy isn't it?
It takes about 10 minutes to do, and it's so much fun!

Perfect for the bedroom, the craft room, even the living room!
Plus you can change the earrings around, so you can constantly update the piece of art.
Or even put one next to the front door, so you can grab a pair just as you go out.

The possibilities are endless...

So try it out, and please do show me your results~~!
Good luck! and Happy crafting!


p/s: You can make it as large as you like, with as many windows as you like. It's really up to you!

DIY Tutorial: earring displays

Yarraville Market: A report

And with that, today's market is over!

I definitely enjoyed today's market, and I loved how intimate it felt. I was also really lucky as one of my friends came down to hang out with me behind the table and we even managed to sneak away for a milkshake and pie.

I met a few interesting ladies today and had a lovely chat with another stallholder who's an artist. Sarah from Billyboy and Mia came to visit me at my table as well, and it's always lovely when internet friends meet in real life! I love being able to put faces to names, it's rather like.... 'aha, you actually do exist! I'm not going crazy!'

I'd love to go back to Yarraville Markets if possible. I think the venue's just lovely!

Anyhow, here's some photos of my table today... There are still things I'm changing and things I meant to do but ran out of time to.. so the next version of my table should hopefully be much more attractive than this one!









My newest ring display, yes that's a baking tray! Also note the quirky stop sign rings. Hehehe.



It was tiring, but absolutely amazing. How about you? How did your Sunday go?

Yarraville Market: A report

4 days to go: PANIC.

No seriously. Four days before my first ever craft market in Melbourne.
Four.

Are you coming, are you coming? I'd so love to see a familiar face there, right before I melt into a complete puddle of panic and then more panic.

I have been busy with making sure that my table looks alright, making sure that I have enough stock.. thinking of ways to pack the extra stock, and how much extra stock to bring.. there's still so much to prepare for!

So while I'm off being a headless chicken, let me share with you a few photos of my favourite craft market displays from flickr:



Image by Contented Sparrow on Flickr


Image by Contented Sparrow on Flickr


Image by Popko on Flickr


Image by BeckyOh on Flickr


What are some of your favourite displays or display ideas? Please do share the love!

4 days to go: PANIC.

Little Waltz @ Northside Makers Market

Remember my talk about Jewellery displays for craft markets? I mentioned that if Lady Luck shone upon me, then I'd have a spot in the brand new Northside Makers Market.

Well, she did shine upon me. *does the hippy happy dance*

So yes. Little Waltz will be at the brand new handmade market : Northside Makers Market on the 10th of October (Saturday)





How exciting is this? I'm so stoked yet so completely and utterly nervous as well. What if I don't sell a single thing, what if people hate my creations? What if I don't have enough stock, what if .. what if... what if....

But you know what, that's half the fun. That's part of the excitement. And I definitely know what I'm going to be busy with for the next few weeks now.

If you are in the area and free... do come down and have a look see! It will be great fun, I promise. At the very least you will be able to pick me up from the floor where I, most definitely, will have melted into a puddle of panic.

Little Waltz @ Northside Makers Market

Jewellery Displays - It does the head in.

With Spring off to a slightly wet start, I've started thinking about craft markets even more so than usual. Something about good weather screams outdoor markets and picnics, don't you think? I've put myself down for two markets this December at the Camberwell Sunday Trash and Treasure Markets, but if lady luck shines on me, I might be able to have a place in the brand new market organized by Northside Makers.

However applying for markets is one thing, and being ready for it is another. Part of the preparation process is working out your display. And that's something I'm really picky about. I have an image in my head on how Little Waltz should look like, and I really want to stick to that. You'd think with an image already all sorted out, the rest should be easy right? Wrong. Not with me anyways.

While having the image and the idea is half the battle, that doesn't actually mean I know how I want my pieces displayed. So I turned to Flickr.com to have a look through. I found groups such as: Arts & Craft fairs & shows and Show me your booths that had quite a number of beautiful photos contributed by crafters showing off how they did up their booths.

Here are a few of my favourites:


image by Sugarcookie


image by TheCupcakery Girl


image by Glass Elements


In the commercial market right now, there are different different types of jewellery display. If you were to waltz out there right now, you could probably come home with enough to fill a table. However, the problem for me lies in that it looks commercial. While the lovely white busts look really good in photos; on a craft market table, rows and rows of them remind me of goldsmith shop windows: not a favourite look I'm afraid. I'm a crafter, a handmade supporter. It seems wrong for me to go out there and fork out the money for commercial displays. Is this weird? Possibly. But I think I will sleep better at night for it.

That really leaves two pathways for me to take. Either I make my own displays stands, or I salvage something vintage and recycle it, modding it to suit my needs. There's always the ever popular corkboard on a stand: I've tried it, and have noticed that it potentially poses as a safety hazard (It pushes over easily). And winds or crowds can easily do that.

I also have to be aware of the very real time constraints that I will have while setting up, and packing up. I can't take hours uhm-ing and aah-ing over my table. So whatever I come up with will have to be easily packed up and put away efficiently.

And then there's the clutter aspect to be careful about. It can't be cluttered for that will just look messy and buyers will lose interest if they get lost within your own goods on the table. The presentation must be eye-catching or potential buyers will wander past without a second glance.

All these and so much more to think about: Just how do you decide on one? It seems to go on and on and on, and I'm ever so afraid of making that first step.

But when push comes to shove, I know I will come up with something that will do myself and my pieces justice. It's only that right now, I have absolutely no idea what that is.

Jewellery Displays - It does the head in.