4 weeks until the next Market

A friend reminded me that I only have four weeks until our November Market.

So crafty peeps, if you already know that you are having a stall, please advertise far and wide.

This image is linked to a higher res image on our flickr site.
Feel free to print it, pass it around and pop it on your blogs and websites.

The Redwork Quilt Project

Not sure if you have stumbled across "The Quilt Project" in your online travels. The site is certainly worth a few moments of your time.

For quite a few meetings, young Mel brought her block along to work on at Coffee and Craft gatherings ... her finished project is truely inspiring!

via The Quilt Project

Northside member Curlypops has also done a square!

An online community friendship quilt made up of 66 squares.

A modern twist on traditional redwork - participants were asked to "work a square in red".

After hours of handwork by each of the participants the squares were posted to Melbourne where they were photographed & assembled into a temporary quilt.

Displayed for one night the quilt squares will now be returned to their creators or swapped.

The Quilt Project is a permanent record for everyone to enjoy. Thanks for your interest.

The Quilt Project was initiated in Melbourne by Kirsty from kootoyoo.

If you are interested in similar projects , check out Block Party Blog for some inspiring ideas.

Cider and Craft at the Northcote Social

What better way to spend a Monday night, than crafting and drinking with a bunch of Northside Makers gals.

We all met up at the Northcote Social club on Monday night for dinner then craft.
The night was aptly named Cider and Craft because the Northcote Social does not serve tea or coffee! .......and maybe because our intentions were out side the realms of serenely sipping coffee!

There was much craft to be had, from hand sewing to stamp carvings ...

Some of our crafters were sporting skills that we had not seen before ...

and lots of discussions happening from toddler taming....... through to bath mat knitting with left over sheets ...

Talking about our crafty plans for Christmas and of course......

some glasses of wine and cider shared along the way! Lots of fun!
Hope to see you at the next one.

Melbourne Bead Expo November 6th to 8th

On cup weekend the The Bead Society of Victoria have their Melbourne Bead Expo.

Camberwell Centre, 340 Camberwell Rd, Camberwell, VIC
Friday 6th and Saturday 7th November 2008 – 10am to 5pm
Sunday 8th November 2008 – 10am to 4pm

This expo involves a broad range of workshops, all good value and the full expo brochure is available on the link above. It costs $10 for a 1 day pass or $25 for a three day pass.

So if you are a jewelry maker, pop along and check out the new techniques and supplies for sale.

Art for the kids....

If your kids are anything like mine, they could get lost for hours in a sea of glitter, paint and coloring pencils. Well it's all fun and games 'till it's time to clean up the mess.

Sign by: I'm not spoiled designs.

Lucky for us, someone else has jumped on board and decided to begin art classes for the kids.

Starting on Monday October 26th, there will be 'kids art afternoons' hosted by the lovely ladies down at Thornbury neighbourhood womens house.

Includes afternoon tea to share & all art materials.
$10 full $5 Concession/per session.
Family discounts apply.

MONDAYS: 26TH OCT to 30TH NOV 2009
TIME: 4.30 pm to 5.30pm
Bookings ph: 9480 0466

THORNBURY WOMEN’S NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE
131 Shaftsbury Parade, THORNBURY

Do you think we could all pass as 5 year olds !
Might see yah there.

Monday 26th October - Craft and Cider at the Northcote Social

Hooray for daylight savings and a little bit of spring weather. The days are getting longer and warmer...... So what better time to host the first of our Craft and Cider evenings!

picture via Twinssoon on etsy

We would like to invite all those members that ticked "weeknights" on there forms, to a Craft and Cider, or beverage of your choice, evening at the Northcote Social club (Directions here)

Monday 26th October
Northcote Social club
301 High st,
Northcote.
7pm onwards.....

A few of us will be ordering dinner at 7 as we come straight from work. If you don't want dinner you are welcome to come just for chats and drinkies or arrive a little later, so that you're not tempted by the lovely smells.

There's lots of us now, so hopefully we all fit in!

RSVP here, so that we know who is coming and who to make room for.

We'll set up out in the back area of the Northcote Social, near the dining room.
You can order food, alcohol, cake and coffee as we chat and chew our way through crochet, embroidery or any hand held project.

It's the perfect time to share any ideas you've come up with about how you'd like to see the collective evolve.
Look forward to seeing you all there....
and don't worry if you didn't tick evenings on your form.....you're still welcome too.

Counterfeit Crochet

Hello Northsiders!

Can you tell that one of us is 30,000 miles away in the land of "u" "k"? The blog has been mysteriously quiet of late ... Jennie's adventures in England can be found on her blog.

In the meantime, Jay and I have been busy sorting through the applicants for the next market, and geez do we have lots of applicants for our humble market!

We had our first work through last night, making a "yes" and "maybe" list. Our first priority goes to local newbies who don't do a lot of markets. There is only so much we can do without our final team member. Our virtual team infrastructure has been having a workout, with wiki's, google docs and MSN being used to make decisions.

We are also tossing around dates for Coffee and Craft and even Cider and Craft when I came across this site.

Counterfeit Crochet ... debasing and defiling designer items one step at a time...

via Pinku Crafty

via Pinku Crafty

Hope you are all having an enjoyable crafty week ... stay tuned for news of our next craft-a-long session.

Margaret
xx

The Black Market Sunday 18th October 12-6pm

The north has many eclectic markets and gatherings this is just one. If you are upto nothing on Sunday, come down and have a look at this market.

The Black Market
Sunday 18th October 2009
12 noon till 6pm
7 Eunson Avenue, Northcote
by the banks of the beautiful Merri Creek

Facebook event page

The Black Market happens only a few times a year and attracts the local goth, steam punk, rockabilly, psychobilly, punk, ska, hippy, emo, metal and cyber crowd. Lots of second hand and brand new stuff with an alternative theme.

BBQ & LIVE MUSIC - THE RESIGNATORS! (help get these guys touring overseas, band souvenirs, CDs & refreshments for sale to help the cause)

A nice chilled arvo under the gum trees with a bevy or 2 & ya mates getting rid of all that STUFF!

There will be a few Northside Gals selling their wares, so come down and say "hi!".

Victorian Button Collectors Club

Thank-you Mrs Vintage aka Nicole Jenkins from Circa Vintage for her post on the World of Buttons, presented by Victorian Button Collectors Club.

When: Saturday October 17th, 930am to 4pm
Where: Burwood Heights Uniting Church Hall, corner Burwood Highway and Blackburn Road.
Cost: $3

ABC Collectors did a show on them in 2007 and it seems that there are plenty of button clubs around the world!

Applications now open...............

Ladies and gents, get your engines started! The applications for our

November 28th market are open

Apply Now

We've had an overwhelming amount of interest for the November market and have taken on board your responses to our survey on opening hours, stall fees and advertising.
A big thank-you to all the October stall holders who filled out our "very quick" survey yesterday. Having your comments and thoughts allows us to make informed decisions.

For this market application, we have decided to offer it TOTALLY online.

No paper or printing required...Why?

Apart from saving the trees and the hip pocket on printing costs, it also cuts down on the manual data entry at our end and allows the committee to easily consolidate information ... (as we can suck the data into a spreadsheet and do funky things with it ... can you tell that one of us is in I.T?)

Planning meeting at the Wesley Anne ...

I'm sure that you'll agree the new application process is much more agreeable than trying to work with PDFs and word documents.

If you have any questions don't hesitate in dropping us a line northsidemakers@gmail.com

Otherwise .... let's get this party started!

Northside Makers Market : An illuminated page

f we can think of one person or group's craft experiences as a story, be it adventure, romance or comedy, then each project or event can be thought of as a chapter, and the end result as a single page in that story. A beautiful page with illuminated lettering and a gilt edge, written painstakingly in ink by near-blind monks.

The inaugural Northside Makers Market was such a page in the burgeoning story of the Northside Makers. A delight to read, to behold, to experience. The sun shone warmly and birds sang in the trees. The only smudge on the page was the very late cancellation of the sausage sizzle, but our other food suppliers Melbourne Epicure and Cafe Koula rose to the challenge and liquid papered over the mar. (Can I shelve this analogy now?)

We organisers were genuinely moved by the number of stallholders who arrived first thing in the morning to help us set up. After all the tables were set up we hurried off the set up our own tables. The first time we returned to the hall and saw the visual offering our stallholders had prepared, the sight was breathtaking.

With all the months of planning and organising we had put into this day, it would have been for naught without the talent and quality our stallholders brought to the event. You are what makes us great!

Of course our outdoors stallholders were equally a delight to behold.

One innovation of Northside Makers Market was to offer our members the opportunity to display their work even if they didn't have enough to fill a whole table themselves. The result was a diverse Collective Table with six makers contributing stationery, accessories, screenprinted bags and more.

We received a lot of comments about the family-friendly vibe of the day, which was one of our top goals. The face painter and kids craft table proved a valuable distraction while parents shopped or relaxed in the shady courtyard with a coffee!

We'd love to post every photo from our new Flickr Pool here, but they would cripple your bandwidth. Instead we invite you to click through and take a look for yourselves, and even join up to contribute your own market day photos. It would be satisfying to sign off this post with a photo of we exhausted yet happy organisers - anyone take one?!

See you again on November 28th.

Jennie, Jay & Margaret

x o x

Did you visit the Northside Makers Market?

Here at Northside Makers we espouse the theory of continuous improvement.

If you had a chance to visit our market, but didn't have a chance to fill in one of our vistor survey sheets, then you are in luck ... we have set up a quick survey at survey monkey which will take 5 minutes to do, it will be open until next weekend.

So please, tell us what you think!

Share your Northside Makers Market photos!

We will bring you a full market wrap-up post as soon as we've recovered.

In the meantime we invite you to join the brand-new Northside Makers Market & Events group on Flikr and share your views of the day. Just click here and make a request to join. We'll approve you ASAP so you can start sharing your photos!

See you on Saturday.......

It's almost market day and after months of preparation, hours of stitching, painting and gluing, we are proud as punch to be presenting an awesome selection of handmade products for you this Saturday at the first and definitely not last, Northside Makers Market .

Check out all the fabulous crafters that will be displaying oodles of handmade wonder at our October market. (in alphabetical order):

Amanda O'Donnell

Blue Blue Patches
Buttonlicious
Celia Adams
Chuckles Designs
Cosmetic Cat Creations
Curlypops
Custom Culture

Daneeta Hennessey
Elmie

Ffarff Art
Finki Handmade
Flicketty Splits
Found and Bound
Hawthorne Cottage
Jenny Anderson
Jo Woodberry
Kazzalblue
Konstant Kaos
Lauren Williams
Light of the times
Little Cooties
Little Ray
Little Waltz
Luise Adams
Made by Sarah
Mecino
Mee and M'lee
Melbourne Epicure
Mrs Beckinsale
Pepperberry & Co
Piccolamia
Pivotal Xpressions
Polly Pratt
Retro Print Revival
Ros Chambers
Samantha Ramage
Selina Bayliss
Slap Cosmetics
Stitch in Time
Tinniegirl
Tirese Ballard

Vintage Sew and So
Whittaker Rose Designs

Not everyone has a website or blog to link to so you'll just have to come by on market day for an up close view of the real thing. (if we've missed you just shout and we'll fix it right up),

There will be scrumptious gingerbread cookies, tarts and more... made by the lovely Cathie at Melbourne Epicure, delightful coffee and eats from Cafe Koula and a sausage sizzle to raise funds for the local Girl Guides.

And don't worry we haven't forgotten the kids....there'll be a face painter around from 10.30 - 2.30, free craft table activities and balloons all set up in the courtyard so you can sit and relax with your coffee and cakes whilst the kids are entertained.

The stage is set, the weather forecast is sunny.....the stallholders are preparing a feast for the eyes.....all we need is you.

Blog about it, Facebook it, tweet it, text it....whatever your method is just make sure to tell all your friends to come support your local crafters this Saturday.

See Yah there
Jennie, Jay and Margaret
xx

Publicity

As well as postering four corners of the northern suburbs, the press releases we sent out are starting to pay out. Here's our clipping from this week's The Melbourne Times, distributed to 95,582 readers from Richmond to Flemington, Reservoir to Alphington and everywhere in between:

Have you seen Northside Makers Market promoted somewhere? Leave a comment and let us know!

Meet the Northside Crafters: Retro Print Revival

While working on this "crafters" post, I found myself listening to 70s music (and also listening to a bit of Pornland ...) and thinking of fondue ... enjoy reading about Retro Print Revival.

Tell us about what you sell?
Retro Print Revival make lamps and lampshades made from rare 100% vintage fabrics and lamp bases creating a true retro look. The lampshades vary in style from 60's floral patterns to bold 70's geometrics.

Each lamp is made as a one off piece giving you a truly unique piece of decor for your retro or contemporary home.

What inspires you?
I surround myself with inspiring things everyday. Other crafters inspire me, the colours and patterns in my fabrics inspire me, the demand for handmade products inspires me, and switching on a lamp that I've just made inspires me.

What is your favorite medium to work in?
Vintage fabrics

What would you be lost without?
The great designers of the 1960's and 70's and the amazing people in my life that listen to me talk about lamps ALL THE TIME, who are always on the look out for new materials for me, who inspire, encourage and support me in my endeavors.

What's your favourite crafty read?
I've just picked up this 1970's book from the op-shop full of quirky craft ideas and very funny illustrations.

What do you like to listen to when you craft?
It could be anything from The Beatles to Elton, Leonard Cohen to Wilco or Nick Drake to The Stones.

What other crafty forums do you lurk in?
I havent quite tapped into this side of the craft scene yet but I do like Meet Me at Mikes forum.

Do you have any UFO's?
I have recently started a new line of decor. The product is vintage fabric stretched over circular wall hangings that come in all different sizes and widths. They offer something different than you're standard rectangular or square wall hanging. I will be selling them in sets or individually and I've got some for the kids room too!
It's a new project for me that I would like to get off the ground in the coming months.

Where else can people shop for your goodies?
Retro Print Revival will be doing markets in the spring/summer

Rose Street Artists Market, The Sisters Market, Thread Den, Craft Hatch, Yarraville Market,
Substation Market. Look on my myspace for market dates shortly and soon to be stocked in stores!

Meet the Northside Crafters: Kazzal Blue

Kazzal Blue make the most gorgeous knitted finger puppets you have ever seen ... come along and check them out!

Tell us about what you sell ...
Anything baby or children oriented. For example, baby booties, singlets and baby quilts, toys for small children such as finger puppets for pretend play. Amazing what a 3 year old comes up with when he has pirate finger puppets. Other soft toys also, and colouring wallets for 2 year olds plus, that hold everything you need for drawing.

What inspires you?
I love making things. I dont really know where it all comes from, a long line of talented parents and grandparents I think. Also I love the results, when an idea works out!

What's your favorite medium to work in?
I like fabric the best but I knit a lot too.

What would you be lost without ....
My cutting board, my stash of fabric which I love to look through for motivation and ideas. Probably my twin sister who I throw ideas at and who I share some of the sites with.

What's your favourite crafty read?
Have you seen Material Obsessions. A lovely quilt book put out by two Australian ladies who had a common interest. Gorgeous pictures and lovely to just look through over and over.

What do you like to listen to when you craft?
I love the peace and quiet, which is pretty tough to come by living in a house with 6 males, so I don’t listen to anything usually. If I do I love Bryan Adams spirit of the black stallion. Great instrumental music.

What crafty forums do you lurk in ....
Too many. DUST, Etsy, Madeit, I like seeing what everyone is up to and what the latest trends are.

Whats up next for you on the craft front?
I am going to try dying next I have decided.

Do you have any UFO's (unfinished objects),what are they?
Far too many. Quilts I was making for my boys, one for my Dad also, Toys sitting on shelves waiting for bits, Bags that are unfinished. The list really is toooo long.

Where else can people shop for your goodies?
You can find me at www.kazzalblue.etsy.com I can also be contacted through my blog at http://kraftybiz.blogspot.com/ or you can leave me a message on my email at jandklove [at] netspace.net.au

Meet the Northside Crafters: Flickettysplits

We thoroughly enjoyed putting together this "crafters" post .. I am sure that you will enjoy reading Flickettysplits response to our probing questions!

Tell us about what you sell ...
I think what I really sell is colours and stories. Those are the things that make each of my pieces unique, and I think it's fundamentally what my customers want to buy. Craft customers don't want a mass-produced item made on the other side of the world and shipped here inside tonnes of packaging - they want something original, something local, something special. Every one of my pieces has a story I can tell you, whether it's about where I found the fabrics, or how I put them together, or what I was doing at the time - boy troubles, work stress, a trip away - it's all there inside my work. It might be just the name, or it might be something deeper. So on the surface it looks like I make softies as well as cushions, tote bags, doorstops, pencil rolls, fabric buckets and whatever else takes my fancy .... but really what I'm selling you are the colours and stories of my life.

What inspires you?
I am fascinated by colours and patterns and textures. There is no way I could ever live in a minimalist house of beige colours with a polished concrete floor. No, if it was described in a catalogue my style would be "Versace Threw Up" - prints and patterns and colours wildly clashing all over the place. But that's what makes me "me", and it's what my customers love. I am never afraid to take risks with material.

What's your favorite medium to work in?
I am a fabric hound. I live inside a fabric house and I eat fabric food and I breathe fabric air (it's quite thick and hard to force down).

What would you be lost without ....
Well, obviously my Bernina!

What do you like to listen to when you craft?
The aching, weighty sound of silence in the house. Punctuated by the occasional snip of scissors, the whir of a sewing machine, and the never-ending stream of babble inside my head.

What crafty forums do you lurk in ....
I'm afraid I'm a completely unfaithful blog reader. One week Blog A is my next best friend, next week I've turfed it outside to sit quietly sobbing by itself, while I'm shimmying up alongside the new and sparkly Blog B. I love you all, you crafty blogs you!

Whats up next for you on the craft front?
I think I'm going to take a detour into clothes for a bit. Every time I wear something I've made I get a nice comment on it, so perhaps that's a talent I can bring to other people as well. It's all about the colours, naturally.

Do you have any UFO's (unfinished objects),what are they?
Well, there's this dress I tried to make in my first ever sewing class, which is a complete and utter abomination - the pattern was WAY beyond my skill level - so I butchered it, but I love the fabric so I can't throw it away, even though I can't finish it either. I'm thinking of cutting the good fabric out to use for something else.....

Where else can people shop for your goodies?
I'm on Etsy along with the rest of the craft world, and you can visit me on my blog All Toile And No Reward. Plus if you haunt craft markets in the Northern Suburbs - Northside Makers, Made N Thornbury, Sonny & Coco, Shirt and Skirt Market, Northcote Town Hall markets - you're bound to bump into me somewhere. Please come and say hi and I will tell you a story

Meet the Northside Crafters: Pepperberry & Co

Northside Makers are excited to have Pepperberry & Co at their market. Sandra has built up her business over the last year and her drive and enthusiasm is truely inspiring ...

Tell us about what you sell.

Pepperberry & Co. is my boutique textiles store specialising in earthy, natural products. My products are crafted by hand using natural cotton & cotton/linen blends, use unbleached fabrics where possible & are 100% Vegan and Cruelty Free. My signature items include Notebook Covers and Passport Covers, and I am looking to expand with a Baby Range shortly.

What inspires you?
My mother, who passed away when I was 14, is a constant inspiration. She worked so phenomenally hard and achieved so much even though, as a non-English speaking immigrant from the war in Poland, she had so little. I am growing up to be just like her, and I love it! I am also inspired by the broader crafting community. I spend a ridiculous amount of time each day browsing Etsy, blogs, and great crafty websites, just soaking up the talent, creativity, passion and inspiration.

What's your favourite medium to work in?
I have two core addictions: fabric and paper. It's not a wonder I have two shops that celebrate each one! I believe you can create anything with these two mediums and a touch of creativity.

What would you be lost without?

My family! My partner Sharon and our five fluffy rescued cats and dogs are the reason I get up each day and live my dreams. Without their love and support, none of this would be possible!

What's your fave crafty read (linked to Amazon)?

As a crafter who wanted to transform a hobby into a business, I got a lot out of Craft, Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco. I would highly recommend it! The book I'm saving up my pennies for at the moment is Re-Bound: Creating Handmade Books from Recycled and Repurposed Materials by Jeannine Stein. I've got my fingers crossed it appears under the Christmas tree!

What do you like to listen to when you craft?

Silence! I've never worked well with any kind of noise, although I do tend to enjoy the purrs that emit from my cats as they sleep on my sewing machine... and on my fabric pile... and on my laptop keyboard...

What crafty forums do you lurk in?

I'm a regular in the Etsy forums, as I find I gain so much from my chats with other crafters there. I also pop up in the forums for the Etsy teams I'm on- the Australian DUST Team, the EtsyVeg Team, the Cruelty-Free Team, and the Vegan Etsy Team. (editor: Sandra also has a good post on crafty haunts ..)

What's up next for you on the craft front?

There is so much coming up! I have yet to fulfill half my ideas for Pepperberry & Co., and I'm sure there will be even more as the time goes. At this stage, I'm working on Christmas Cards and Baby booties, but I also have plans to expand my travel and baby ranges and release a Pepperberry fabric range. So much to do, so little time!

Do you have any UFO's (unfinished objects)? What are they?

I have too many to count! I even have a special box set aside for these, so that it sits there and taunts me from the bookshelf. Right now, I'm in the middle of making a Softie Mouse, hand-carving a stamp set and making a Coptic-Stitched Journal- oh, and learning how to draw!

Where else can people shop for your goodies?

I have two online stores on Etsy: Pepperberry & Co. and Papers By Pepperberry. I'm also a regular at Yarraville Markets and the Made 'N Thornbury Market. An up-to-date list is always available on the Pepperberry & Co. blog, and I always hold specials for Fans of my Facebook Page and my Followers on Twitter.