It was a happy Saturday because I visited a market:
the Etsy Adelaide Community Market at Tonsley.
the Etsy Adelaide Community Market at Tonsley.
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If you think this scene looks familiar, that's because it is the same venue used by Maker Faire Adelaide–the former Chrysler and Mitsubishi factory's Main Assembly Building (MAB) which has been renovated and repurposed as a community space since the car manufacturer closed.
This market was organised by the Etsy Adelaide team of online shop owners. It was a great way for members of the public to inspect the goods first-hand and meet the creators.
There are some things that you cannot determine from looking at a photo on the internet; e.g. the weight, drape and texture of a fabric, the accuracy of colour representation or the fine details of handmade finishing.
I enjoyed getting a closer look at the hand-made products and was very impressed with the quality of workmanship and the creativity on display. There is so much talent in the local neighbourhood!
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| This leaflet was letterbox-dropped in the neighbourhood. |
I hadn't planned on taking photos. It was just going to be some good research for my Christmas shopping but , naturally, the camera came out when I found some crochet!
(Links are listed at the end of this blog entry.)
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| Meet Kate (left) and Kim (right) of Fig & Sparrow Kate is the knitter and Kim is the crocheter. They had beautifully soft cowls for sale, knitted and crocheted with Australian wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills. As you can see from this photo, these ladies are also talented in the sewing department as well! |
The latest fad amongst the teens right now is cacti and succulents so when I came across some wonderfully attractive specimens, I had to take a photograph for the teens' benefit.
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| Tim from Hand to Hand Designs has some cute and clever botanical décor ideas at her stall. Have you noticed the crocheted planters and hangers? Tim crocheted them herself out of jute twine which can be quite hard on the hands. I admire her fortitude in creating these attractive little planters and crocheted mushrooms! We had a chat about crocheting pots and hats. |
At last I get a photo of my friend who was mentioned in my posts about the last two Maker Faires but didn't have a photo:
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| This is Jodie of Priscilla's Steampunk Emporium. Priscilla is the doll in Jodie's hand who oversees all of this amazing creativity. At Priscilla's you will find brooches, dolls, artworks and unique gifts and decorations, many around a musical theme. I am in awe of Jodie's cleverness and imagination to turn the most ordinary of found objects into the most beautiful of artefacts. |
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| This display is something special. These are not your ordinary bonsai trees. They have been lovingly created by Michael of Wire Twists. That's right, they are made of twisted wire of different colours. The large one in the centre took Michael 60 hours to make and used more than 200 metres of wire! I am truly astounded by the beauty and delicacy of Michael's work. |
I must give a special mention to Juanita Tortilla. She had a variety of sewn goods including "Temperature Bags". If you are familiar with the crocheted or knitted "Temperature Scarves" or "Temperature Blankets" you will know that these items are made of colours which are determined by the weather.
Her lined shopping bags or totes were decorated with a woven patch pocket. The woven strips were applied in various colours depending on the temperature of the day, week or month. Juanita had gone to a lot of trouble to not only have a care label in her bags but also to include a little screed and legend so the new owners can 'read' their 'Temperature Bag'.
I was very impressed with her thoughtfulness!
This is what I love about good quality, handmade goods. Creators are proud of their work and they do their very best for their customers. It is true the adage, "love in every stitch" (or twist, brush stroke or dob of glue)!
Most of the artisans at the market were willing to create custom orders and take commissions too so if you are looking for something very specific that you can't find anywhere, try the local artisan or Etsy market when it comes to your neighbourhood.
Lots of Etsy Shops to Explore!
Here are some links to some of the stallholders that I met and saw on Saturday. The descriptions include the owners' own descriptions and some reminder notes of mine.
Bead Inspired: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/BeadInspiredSA
Hand-made beaded jewellery by Lisa Gawler & Kerry Kasmeris. Their pea pod, bird's nests and tree of life pieces caught my eye.
Blackwood Lily: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/BlackWoodLily
Mixed Media pendants and art, vintage inspired. (Liliana has very creative ideas; I remember cute sandwich and cupcake pieces and I loved her original display signage).
Chatterbox City: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ChatterboxCity
Fun whimsical funky items (including lupin heat/cold packs).
Cute2Hoot: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/Cute2Hoot
Handmade children's accessories and clothing (including babies' hats crocheted in acrylic).
Fig & Sparrow: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/figsparrow
Handmade giftware specialising in home decor and ladies' accessories (including crocheted coasters and cowls, knitted scarves).
Flora Domestica: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/FloraDomesticaShop
Unique botanical pressings framed in leadlight.
Glass Leaf Studio: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/GlassLeafStudio
Unique terrariums made with love and recovered glass.
Hand to Hand Designs: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/HandtoHandDesign
Unique handmade home decor by Tim. (We chatted about crocheting the planter pots and hats).
Head Cred: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/HeadCred
Jewelry handmade from vintage tins (including antique pieces. As a fellow tin collector, had an interesting conversation).
Hope Paper Scissors: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/HopePaperScissors
Origami decorations and embellishments, framed origami wall art.
(Great to see such confidence and enterprise in someone so young.)
Juanita Tortilla: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/juanitatortilla
Eclectic art to accessorise the eco conscious (including 'Temperature Bags', postcards, screenprints, weaving).
Kate Mason Artist: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/MessyMissKate
Art + Illustration
LHOH Leathercraft: https://www.facebook.com/LHOHLeatherCraft/app/259525164100619/
Only a Facebook page is listed on the business card.
Made in Wonderland:https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/MadeInWonderlandAUS
Custom fit women's and kids' activewear.
Minski: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/Minski
Unique, colourful, quirky, cute accessories. (Lots of bags in cute fabrics.)
My Vintage Supplies: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/MyVintageSupplies
Reclaim Repurpose Recreate. Little vintage finds for creators and collectors.
One.....Upon a Time: https://adornjewels.com.au/product-category/collections/cards-one-upon-a-time/
Handmade greeting cards and an excellent sales assistant!
Priscilla's Steampunk Emporium: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/PriscillasEmporium
An eclectic mix of jewellery and homeware creations, often of a collage form, using new, found and repurposed materials.
Twine & Seek: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/TwineandSeek
Unique handmade gifts and décor (including yarn tassels, woven wall hangings, framed prints. Great colour palettes).
Violet New Village: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/Violetnewvillage
Ljubica Novosel, dress, pattern, designer, creator, maker. One off, unique, hand crafted pieces. (Beautiful clothing from vintage knitted fabrics, knitted lace fabric that almost looked like crocheted lace all self-designed.)
Wire Twists: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/WireTwists
Twisted wire tree decorations.
Word Finders Club: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/WordFindersClub
Cute woodland prints and cards (including word search cards and personalised cards).
This is by no means an exhaustive list of everyone in attendance at the Etsy Community Market at Tonsley on the 29 July 2017. These are the stalls that took my interest on the day. As I haven't been wearing jewellery much these days, I did not take too much notice of silver smiths and costume jewellery makers. The same goes for home made cosmetics and skin care as most products aggravate my sensitive skin.
I was so pleased to discover so many enterprising, clever and creative friendly people making beautiful, good quality goods in my own backyard. That makes me happy!
Do you shop on Etsy
or own an Etsy shop yourself?
Related Links & Posts
Etsy Australia: https://www.etsy.com/au/
- What is Etsy? Mission & Values Statement: https://www.etsy.com/au/mission?ref=hp&from=homepage.about_etsy
Lupey Loops, "Adelaide Mini Maker Faire 2015", 17 December 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/adelaide-mini-maker-faire-2015.html
Lupey Loops, "Lupey Loops at Maker Faire Adelaide 2016", 1 December 2016: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/lupey-loops-at-maker-faire-adelaide-2016.html
Maker Faire Adelaide: http://adelaide.makerfaire.com/
Ravelry, search result for "temperature scarf" shows a variety of projects based on temperature records: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#sort=best&query=temperature%20scarf
What a fantastic event Jodie. You've got me wondering whether there are events like this where I live. Getting to meet all those fellow crafters must have been a lovely experience. Your photos are great too! I do like to buy on Etsy particularly when I'm buying gifts for my family in the UK. I can filter by country made and country delivered to which is useful.
ReplyDeleteThe flyer makes me think that the community market is an Etsy promotion so you never know, there probably will be a market like this near you one day. All I can suggest is to keep an eye on the Etsy website for promotions and also visit other markets in your area.
DeleteI notice many of the sellers at Saturday's market were also regulars at other markets around the city. Every stall holder is different - some have an Etsy shop first and go to market to promote it while others are seasoned market sellers who set up an Etsy shop to service their customers and expand their reach.
Your tip about using filters on Etsy is handy. I will keep that in mind. Thanks! :-)
Now what kind of blogger would you be if you didn't take pictures. :) There are definitely some very talented and creative folks on Etsy. I can imagine how lovely it was to see all their work up close and personal.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is though, Tammy, that I didn't want to lose valuable browsing and chatting time to fiddling around with technology! Fewer photos more shopping, yes? ;-)
DeleteThe atmosphere was very nice. At times it felt like a mutual appreciation society between the stall holders. Lovely to have that aura of support and cameraderie instead of cut-throat competition. It does make a difference to the customer experience.
Thank you for the pictorial tour. It looks amazing and I wish there was something similar in my neighbourhood.
ReplyDeleteI wish there were something like that for you too. You never know, Etsy may have enough sellers in your region to promote itself with a similar event. I heard about my local Etsy market earlier in the year through other makers and again through the flyer in the letterbox. Now that you know Etsy has promoted itself in this way in other places, you can keep your eyes and ears open for news in your neighbourhood. You never know!
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