Three upcoming markets and an auction date postponed

It’s a busy time of the year here, the school year is drawing to a close and summer holidays are just around the corner. And with the holiday season just about upon us, it’s also market season for me. I’ve got three coming up in the next couple of weeks, two of them this coming weekend and all local to me!

This Saturday is The Handmade Show, my regular monthly market. It’s literally just around the corner from home—I can walk there! It’s on from 10:30am-3:30pm if you happen to be in the area. Oh, and my Mum, who is a talented potter, will also be there with me!

On Sunday I’m participating in a brand new market at The Breslin Gallery, a café and gallery down the street from me in the other direction! It’s a funky little gallery in a converted church and I’m looking forward to it. Just gotta hope the weather holds out, as the forecast is looking damp! It’s going to run from 9am-1pm.

Then on Saturday 29th September our local primary school is holding its annual Craft Market, from 9am-2pm. It’s strategically timed to coincide with the school hall’s use as a polling place in our state elections, so I’m hoping that means plenty of people will come by.

If you live in Melbourne, and want to get a head start on your Christmas shopping, I’d love to see you at one or another of these upcoming markets! Tell me you saw this blog post and I’ll give you a coupon to use on your purchase.

Finally, the Art Charm Auction for Beads of Courage has been postponed for a couple of weeks. Instead of kicking off this weekend, it will now be starting on Monday 24th November, in the evening, and the blog hop will follow on Tuesday 25th November.

Cufflinks for Dad

Here in Australia it’s Father’s Day on Sunday 7th September, and if you’re looking for a handmade gift for Dad, I’ve got new cufflinks to show you.

It’s always fun to find different papers and images that work well under resin to make interesting cufflinks. And this year I came across a great set of images from Etsy seller Valentine Grimm featuring iconic images and signage from the 50s and 60s such as the Route 66 sign, Vegas signs and more. I picked out a few that I thought might work, what do you think?

From the same Etsy seller, I also picked up some pretty Art Nouveau tile designs and floral designs, as well as some medieval illumination-style images. I selected ones that I thought were not too feminine, although I realize that can be very subjective. My husband said he’d wear them, so that works for me!

Finally, I made a couple of pairs using scrapbook paper with a musical theme.

If you’re interested in buying a pair of these cufflinks, I will have them at The Handmade Show this Saturday, and on my Facebook page on Sunday or Monday. And if Father’s Day isn’t coming up for you, don’t forget there are only 19 weeks until Christmas!

Upcycling for jewellery display

I’m constantly working on my display options for markets and shows. Recently I have been inspired by Tammie Everly‘s upcycled suitcase display, which she blogged about in April. And then a group I belong to, Bead Swap USA, held a Facebook challenge to “think outside the box”, for us to take a plain box and decorate it. As the challenge description said:

You know those little wooden boxes available at all the big box craft stores? Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to go get one and decorate it with whatever medium or mediums you what. You can paint it, decoupage it, felt it, bead it, and mix media it up to your hearts content. You can choose whatever size box you like, with or without a clasp. 

Well, some time ago (maybe a couple of years ago), I picked up a wooden box on the side of the road, someone had put it into hard rubbish. It had a broken clasp and the inserts inside it were also broken, but I thought that I would be able to do something with it. Of course, it then sat there, and sat there, and sat there …

When I started doing shows about 18 months ago, I started to paint it, and then went on to easier things, like trays and papier maché busts. So it sat there some more. And then this challenge came along and I thought, aha!

So I painted it inside and outside, first with a colour called Eggshell (it’s kind of a greyish off-white), and then with a lovely aqua blue called Sea Breeze, which I watered down a bit and also wiped with a sponge to get a streaky translucent effect. In retrospect, I probably should have sanded the outside of the box down, but it’s fine for the intended purpose.

I took some foamcore board and cut it just a bit smaller than the inside of the box—two pieces, one for each side—and covered it with burlap. The pieces just pop in nicely, although I think I will get some double-sided tape and stick them in a bit more firmly. And voila!

I’m undecided what I will display in this box, but bracelets are a good possibility. Or perhaps my collection of resin cufflinks and earrings. I will have to experiment before The Handmade Show next month. And I’ll need to rework my table to fit it in too. Currently my display looks something like this:

Would you like to see some of the other elements of my display sometime?

Last market for 2013 is tomorrow

Tomorrow’s table at The Handmade Show is my last one for the year, so if you live in Melbourne, come on down and finish off your Christmas shopping! I have loads of pairs of earrings, necklaces and bracelets, and even a few pairs of cufflinks for the sharply-dressed man in your life!

The market runs from 10:30am – 3:30pm and there are stallholders selling all sorts of handmade goodies including candles, cards, clothing, children’s toys, Christmas decorations and more. Activities for the kids include free face painting and a lolly-guessing competition. Cafe Handmade does a mean bacon and egg sandwich, among other delicious offerings. Musical entertainment will be provided by Marisa Rae Quigley. And there’ll be giveaways for market shoppers, including some for the kids.

Hope to see you there!

Saturday 14th December
10.30am – 3.30pm
St. Anthony’s Parish Hall
164 Neerim Rd (cnr Grange Rd), Glen Huntly

Market this weekend

Just a quick post to say I’ll be at Bend and Snap Market in the Melbourne CBD this Sunday from 11am-4pm. It’s a quirky little market in a big gallery space behind the 1000£ Bend Café on Little Lonsdale St. If you’re a Melbourne local, I hope you can come along to see me, and get a bit of Christmas shopping done too.

I’ve only got two more markets left this year after Sunday. I’ll be at the Carnegie Primary School Xmas Craft Market on Friday 6 Dec from 3:30-6:30 and at the last date for The Handmade Show on Saturday 14 December from 10:30-3:30.

Here’s a new necklace and earrings I’ll be selling on Sunday. The pendant is from one of my favourite bead makers:  Natalie Fletcher-Jones of Peruzi, combined with lovely aqua-blue Czech glass and antique silver-plated chain.

It’s less than 10 weeks until Christmas …

… are you making your Christmas list yet?

I’ve got a few markets between now and Christmas if you want to do some Christmas shopping.

Tomorrow is the first of three stalls I will have at The Handmade Show, at St Anthony’s Parish Hall on the corner of Neerim and Grange Rds in Glen Huntly. I’ll also be there on 16 November and 14 December. New to this market is the ability to pay by EFTPOS, through special arrangement with the market organisers. If it looks like a good option for me, I’ll sign on for my own EFTPOS setup.

On Sunday 3 November, I will be at the Fitzroy Lions Market, which is at the Fitzroy Victoria Bowling and Sports Club, next to Edinburgh Gardens. I don’t know much about this market, but hopefully it will be a good day with lots of happy shoppers.

And on 24 November, I will be back at the Bend and Snap Market behind the 1000£ Bend Café on Little Lonsdale St in Melbourne CBD. I didn’t have a great day at this market last month, so fingers crossed next time the Christmas crowds will be out in force!

It looks like my girls’ school will have another twilight craft market in late November or early December, and I will do that one this year too. I’ll be selling jewellery appealing to the primary school set, as well as some easy and inexpensive Christmas stocking stuffers like earrings and cufflinks.

And I promise my Etsy shop will be open soon! I have just not had enough time to work on it recently! In the meantime, if you see something you like, drop me a line via my Facebook page.

Something new for The Handmade Show

I’ve got a table at The Handmade Show this weekend and I’m busy getting a few last minute things ready for it (earrings anyone??). As it’s Father’s Day in Australia at the beginning of September, I thought I would make some cufflinks.

I had some antique brass cufflinks with round bezels and some silver-plated square bezel cufflinks. At the craft show I went to a few weeks ago, I bought some Japanese paper in various colours and patterns, which I cut to fit and set in resin. All in all I have made 8 pairs for the show, enough for a trial anyway! I think they turned out well. (if you’re wondering what the black grid is, I used a baking rack to hold the bezels flat while the resin was setting!)

I do have one small problem though, I have no idea how to display the cufflinks on my table. Any suggestions?

If you’re in Melbourne this weekend, think about coming to The Handmade Show. It’s nice and warm inside, there is great entertainment from crooner Frank Lee Darling, facepainting for the kids, plus 30 stalls packed full of great handmade stuff. And me, of course!

Saturday 17th August
10.30am – 3.30pm
St. Anthony’s Parish Hall…
164 Neerim Rd Glen Huntly, Melbourne Vic

PS: this is my 99th post. Stay tuned for something fun for post number 100!!!

Boho Bird Jewellery is on Facebook!

I finally got a page for Boho Bird Jewellery up and running on Facebook  a couple of nights ago, and I’m astonished to see more than 60 likers already! It’s made me realise that I need to get an online shop going, so I need to really get my Etsy page up and running.

In the meantime, you can buy anything in the albums Bracelets, Necklaces and Earrings on Facebook, simply by commenting SOLD under the item you want to buy, or by sending me a message. And you can like my page directly from this blog, using the LIKE button on the right hand side of the page.

I have just put my application in to have a stall at The Handmade Show again in October, November and December—fingers crossed! I didn’t sell a lot at last week’s show, but I did sell a few pieces and made a small profit after the stall fee. There was a slow trickle of people through the venue, and hopefully that will improve over time as the show gains traction.

Here is a picture of my table this time around. I was quite pleased with how it looked and I got quite a few compliments from shoppers as they browsed the stalls.

Some new jewellery for The Handmade Show this weekend

A quick update to show you some things I’ve been working on for The Handmade Show, where I have a stall again this coming Saturday. Hopefully the wintery weather won’t put people off coming, it’s inside and it’s warm! If you’re local to me, come along and have a look!

The two pendants, in case you’re wondering, are from Peruzi. And those lovely luminous round beads are cultured sea glass, which seems to be all the rage in the jewellery world right now. I love the combination of turquoise and lavender, might have to make something for me along these lines I think!

I’ve got a variety of earrings and a bundle of bracelets for the show too. Here are just a few …

This Sunday is the Summer Elements Blog Hop, and I’ll be posting a set with a real summery feel to it. Pop back in to have look.

I’m planning to get an online shop of some kind set up in the very near future. I’m not sure which way to go, though—should I set up on Etsy along with what feels like millions of other jewellery designers, try one of the lesser-known marketplaces, or use one of the emerging Facebook e-commerce platforms? Advice, experiences and suggestions would be welcomed!

(And finally, apologies for sending a half-completed blog post out into the world yesterday! Hit the wrong button and off it went … eeek!!!)

Bits and bobs

I’m working up to another market in mid-June, not sure what it will be like as by June it’s pretty cold and wet in Melbourne, which could drive down the numbers a bit. Still, as long as I can sell a few things, I’ll cover the costs of being there.

I recently took part in a swap through Bead Swap-USA with the talented Lennis Carrier of Windbent. Our swap was to be a finished piece (or pieces) of jewellery with a woodland theme. I think we both laughed when we opened our respective packages and found we had gone down the same woodland path. Lennis made me this necklace:

I love the mixture of metals—copper, gunmetal, brass and that wonderful rusty iron pendant—and the eclectic mixture of glass beads (see the owl bead?). And there is a coordinating pair of earrings there too.

Here is what I sent Lennis. See what I mean about sharing inspiration?

The pendant is from Peruzi and I chose a mixture of brown and green beads to go with it. I also made a cute sari silk and copper wrap bracelet for her. It’s long enough to wrap twice around her wrist, and works as a choker necklace too.

In the next couple of months I have a few challenges and blog hops coming up. First up is at the end of this week, the second round of the History Hop, hosted by Leah Curtis. Then I’ve got Toltec Jewels’ Summer Elements hop in mid-June and  Lisa Lodge’s Seasons Blog Hop in early July. Mid-July will see Lori Anderson‘s Bead Hoarders blog hop, and in late August there is the Summer Colour Surprise blog hop, also hosted by Lisa Lodge. You can see buttons on the sidebar for most of these hops (a few of them haven’t had official sign-ups yet). All of that should keep me on my toes!