first visit to a craft market

As many of you already know, my last trip to the Eveleigh Farmers' Market got me thinking about applying as a vendor for their monthly crafts one.  This Sunday, I visited their August Artisans' Art and Craft Market to scope out the vibe.

The Cat and I arrived at Carriageworks bright and early (perhaps a little too early).  We arrived at 10:15am and most of them were still setting up.  By the time we left at about 11-11:30am, it started picking up a bit more.  We were immediately struck by the wonderful range of handmade goods, everything including jewellery, upcycled notebooks, felted scarves, artworks, and ceramics.  There were no import goods or second hand in the mix, which I hear is what a lot of 'handmade' markets are doing nowadays when application numbers are low.  It was particularly promising for me to see that fragrance-wise, the closest was one stall that sold reed diffusers and candles.

Despite how new the Eveleigh Market is, the standard was very professional.  I visited every stall and almost all of them were well-established and had their own websites and many even a physical store or studio.  The prices were definitely higher than what you would find on Etsy, but knowing how much time goes into everything, I wouldn't say anything was exorbitant.  Most vendors who had $75+ necklaces or something would always be sure to also carry $10 rings or $15 earrings for impulse purchases.

In terms of selling there in the future, I had a really enlightening talk with one of the organisers on our way out.  He was quite frank and said that with what I make, I'm in with a good chance because they're really interested in variety.  He confirmed that jewellery is one of their most saturated categories and the applications he went through for them were two huge folders full and they had the longest waiting list.

However, measuring myself up against the other vendors there, I think I wouldn't feel comfortable applying until I was closer to their level of professionalism.  I have made two more supplies order over the weekend and today, getting much more proactive about my perfumery study and research than I have ever attempted before.  I'm thrilled to say I have quite a few exciting projects in store and I can't wait to share them with you all in due course.

friday moments

This week, I'm grateful for...

• Amazing tutorials and wonderful students.
• Jasmine blossoms, rose and violets. Such miracles.
• The Cat’s colleagues who let him skip overtime to come home and have dinner with me.
• A beautiful funeral for my grandmother who passed away last week.

there's something about felting

Those of you who knew me before I began this blog would know that my first craft was making jewellery and that I even had a brief stint selling my handmade jewellery on Etsy last July. The crocus necklace pictured on the right is one of my personal favourites, featuring antiqued brass and Czech glass beads in garnet.

My jewellery making hobby was always a little conflicted. I really don’t wear a lot of jewellery myself, but when I do, I’m drawn to elaborate and unusual designs like this necklace I made four years ago that converts to a bracelet, or this beaded choker featuring tiny framed illustrations from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Lewis Carroll’s self-portraits I made one of my past Mad Hatter’s Tea Party themed birthdays. However, it was not easy for me to learn to accommodate for more tastefully restrained styles, and even when I tried, I just didn’t have as much fun with making jewellery.

Since I have picked up wet and needle felting in the last month, I feel as though I have found my calling.

Felting supplies are simple and affordable, while the beads, charms, components, findings and tools required in jewellery making are mind-boggling. Each of those categories also comprises an almost infinite range of sizes, colours, and materials. All my needle and wet felted projects come from wool roving, which differs most importantly by coarseness and colour. The latter can even be customised with hand dyeing.

If you wanted to move into metal smithing (welding your own metals) or lampworking (making your own glass beads), the space, equipment and resources needed for them will set you back several hundred dollars at least. I stuck with cold working, which meant I only ever worked with stringing bought beads on to silver, brass or copper wire, and even then I spent a couple of hundred dollars every month on supplies. All my tools and equipment for both wet and needle felting have not yet set me over $50 and $100 worth of wool will keep me in good stead for a long time.

Second only to those cotton/hemp friendship bracelets you learn to make in primary school, cold working is the easiest jewellery making technique to learn, and hence also the least skilful and unique. In my experience, jewellery makers, particularly cold workers, are very secretive about their suppliers. Finding cheap supplies is sometimes the only way we can compete with each other, but if someone else discovers where you purchased that antiqued brass crocus charm, there is virtually nothing preventing them from making the same piece as yours. I love that there is no deception to felting. Everything you see is wool and a lot of love, patience and elbow grease. Although I’m sure felters can still try to replicate another’s designs, it’s not as easy as buying the same beads and charms and stringing them together. You still need to build something from scratch and it will never really be the same as the original. Each creation is imbued with the soul of its creator.