Gift Guide

Miss Bellibuttons	Passion For Craft	With You In Mind
SewDarnEzy	Mellebug	Koobi Designs
Yannas Designs	TassieDevilKnits	Badge Bliss
Geek Chic	Wunday	Rose Berry Bays Soap

Huckleberry Market

Huckleberry Market is the new kid on the Melbourne market scene, specialising in boutique and hand made items for babies and children!

We began as a one off market to raise funds for a special little girl called Holly, but the response from customers and stallholders was so strong that we just had to keep going!

Our aim is simple Collect the best in boutique and handmade items for babies and children under one roof, have fun doing it and lend a helping hand at the same time.

Our stallholders offer boutique and handcrafted goodies that range from T-shirts to softies, play rugs to beautiful quilts, toys, jewellery, hats and hair accessories; almost anything you can dream of (and even things you didn’t know you wanted). If you’re after something special for your little one chances are you will find at Huckleberry Market.

And the shopping experience is just as much about the kids as it is the adults pushing them around in prams! Every Huckleberry Market will have some form of entertainment for the kids be it a face painting fairy, balloon twisting clown, gardening activities or craft. It’s all about the littlies!

Some of our regular stallholders include: Piccaninny Rugs, Life is like a blanket, tiger baby, baby laila, Me shirts and Jaybee baby. All showcasing such beautiful handmade products.

Visit our website
Like us on Facebook

Handmade Love

Tell us all about handmade love?

Handmade love is a haven for quality Australian handmade. It is a place you will find the most sought after and beautiful handmade items from some of Australia’s most talented and creative artisans. A place where you will find the crème de la crème of Australian handmade.  Our aim is to promote, support and encourage those in the handmade industry to sustain and boost their WAHM business by offering affordable prices for advertising and a cleverly researched market audience. Handmade Love has wonderful capacity to broadcast handmade businesses through our website, blog, advertising, business directory and product reviews – all in the one place.

What inspired you to start handmade love?

Handmade Love was born from my Love of handmade.  Last year I became quite disheartened with mass produced commercial clothing and items for my children and wanted something beautiful and unique for them. Children each have different personalities, their own little style and flair – something discouraged by commercial clothing, the same piece seen over and over again on many. Children are beautiful and expressive and handmade affords a quality unlike any other. I was frustrated with spending so much money on commercial brands that would inevitably fall apart. With this in mind, I began to spend time trawling facebook, etsy and madeit, searching for the perfect handmade items for gorgeous children.

 

From my initial beginnings, my search then turned to home decor, art and in fact anything handmade – it became quite the obsession! 

 

After researching for a period of time, I began to purchase some lovely items, building rapport with many WAHM’s, many which have grown into wonderful friendships (which evidently shows how many handmade items I have acquired!). After seeing the incredible quality and love that has gone into these items, I became a HUGE supporter of handmade. I decided to run my thoughts past a few of my favourite handmade ladies, the idea to promote and grow the best of the best handmade all in one spot and, received so much love and encouragement. Its such an honour to be welcomed into the handmade community with open arms.

What are you hoping to achieve with handmade love?

 

For me, I would LOVE to increase the awareness of how beautiful handmade items are in the general community, on behalf of those who create handmade. My aim is to have people see, much to their surprise that, handmade items are far more superior than commercial items. Each item is made one at a time with love, attention and detail. Many hours go into handmade pieces and, the quality and designs are to a totally different standard than those made in chain stores , there really is no comparison.  I'd also like those who create items in our handmade community to have more belief in themselves. Many feel as though they are constantly having to defend themselves with issues such as pricing - more often than not many hours go into each item and yet items are listed for a price well under what is reasonable. For me, just having the general community be more aware of the handmade industry, the standards and have a greater understanding of these businesses would be an ultimate goal.

Tell us about your handmade showcase?

The handmade showcase, showcasing the beautiful designer fabric “Sophie” by Moda is the first of what we hope will be many more showcases to come . I was honoured to be approached by a group of WAHM’s to hold the showcase as a means to invite the handmade community to Handmade Love and am very grateful for this opportunity. The idea behind the showcase is to promote and showcase the works of all different WAHM's and those involved in handmade industry. By using the same collection of fabrics, it allows us all to see the creativity of each designer. We can see how each designer puts their own inspiration into practice on their items and, opens the door for the general community to find handmade businesses that speak to their style and tastes, that perhaps they have not heard of before. It gives them the opportunity to see first hand their work and the opportunity to purchase something unique that they may never have had before. 

 

The response to this showcase has been overwhelming. With over 100 entries and many more to come, it has been an amazing success so far. Unfortunately there have been some delays as many ladies purchase their fabrics from the US and the fabric has taken a little while to arrive but, with many more items being emailed daily we expect to have in excess of 100 beautiful items available to showcase. 

 

Your first handmade showcase has been such a success, do you plan on more down the track?

With the instant success of this showcase, and the wonderful promotion it is creating amongst the handmade community, I plan on hosting 2 showcases in the coming year. There will be a few alterations made to ensure a smooth and more efficient process and, once details are finalised I will most certainly make an announcement on our site.

 

How are you managing to juggle home/work and your new venture?

Ahhhh the juggle! Well, so far I am living and surviving on very little sleep. I am currently working part time 3 days a week as well. One might say that launching a website and running a showcase within a week of each other is not ideal! The moment I am up I am checking emails and posts on our facebook page before work. I then check emails again on my iPhone during lunch, come home and have another quick check. After the dinner/bath/bedtime routine which is generally anywhere from 6-30 til 1030 (my almost 3 year old thinks sleep is for the weak LOL) I jump on the computer, check messages and update facebook. Most recently my time is taken up replying to emails and loading pictures for the showcase. I like to ensure I have answered all emails and questions before closing off for the evening.

 

I have found this situation is not ideal so, after the showcase I plan to set some strict work hours and write the majority of my content with scheduled posts. For me, the hardest part is not just working from home but trying to find the balance for my family and my business. I guess for all of us that’s the million dollar question so, if anyone has the answer please feel free to share!

 

Visit Handmade Love's website

Visit Handmade Love's Facebook Page

Sew Vintage

Sew Vintage came about from my absolute adoration of 1950’s and 60’s children’s fabrics. I love using genuine vintage patterns and I had garnered myself quite a substantial collection of 50’s and 60’s style printed fabrics, such as Michael Miller and Alexander Henry. 

 

I was using these patterns and fabrics in creations for my other store, Silly Gilly, and customers often commented on how gorgeous the fabrics were. I decided to open an online store which specifically caters to the niche market of lovers of 1950’s and early 1960’s style children’s prints.

I like to stock novelty prints which reflect 50’s style illustrations. My favourite print of all time has to be Michael Miller’s Retro Rocket Rascals. It’s such a happy playful print and can look great as a feature in boys or girls rooms. 

 

Customers often comment to me that they find it hard to find vintage style prints for boys so I make an effort to stock a good range of boys’ prints, including cowboy themes and vintage forms of transport.

Sew Vintage also stocks a range of genuine vintage sewing patterns dating from the 1950’s through to the late 1970’s. I carry patterns for women, men, children and craft patterns. All patterns are thoroughly checked by me to ensure all pieces are there.

It feels so wonderful to find other lovers of vintage style fabrics out there that share my passion for gorgeous, cute, and quirky designs. I’m always adding new prints to the store and welcome requests for specific prints or custom orders. 

Visit Sew Vintage

 

GIVEAWAY

It's time to spread the hand-made love!

Up for grabs we have a $50 Spotlight voucher!

And its very easy to win....

All you need to do is send us an email at info@hand-made.com.au with the subject line of:
Hand-Made Giveaway and your in the draw! The winning entry will be picked using the random number generator.

Competition closes midnight AEDT Friday 11th Novemember 2011.

The winner will be announced via email Saturday 12th Nov

Its that easy! :D

FREE PREMIUM MONTH GIVEAWAY!

Who wants a free month of premium membership to hand-made.com.au?
 A premium seller gets to enjoy unlimited listings on hand-made.com.au. No commissions, no listing fees ever!
As well as use of our facebook app.

What do you need to do?
(1) If your not already a seller on hand-made, Go hand-made.com.au and sign up as a free seller.
(2) Browse through the website and find a product you adore. (it cannot be yours)
(3) send me an email at info@hand-made.com.au with your shops name and a link to the product and tada your in with a chance!


We want to give out some free months!


The more people that enter the more we will give away!
One out of every 5 people will win! ** Free months capped at 10 in total.



*Open to Australian Residents Only
*One entry per person
*Open until midnight monday  24th oct 2011 (VIC time)

Support Handmade!

At hand-made.com.au we are proud to supply a venue where Australian Handmakers are able to share their products with handmade lovers from around the country.
In order to spread the handmade world we need your help! If you help to spread the word of hand-made.com.au you are eligible to receive up to 6 free months.

So what do you need to do? This part is easy. If you have a blog or a website all you need to do is place a badge with a link back to us (found here: Handmade Australia :: Badges and Buttons) or link to hand-made.com.au directly on your
website or blog. Once you have done this send us an email, with the page address that the link is on, to info@hand-made.com.au. Please also let us know the name of your shop on hand-made.com.au. If you are not already registered on hand-made.com.au please sign up as a free seller.

When will you get your free months? Once we receive your email and visit your blog/website, just to confirm you have placed a badge with a link to our site, you will receive  a free premium month.
Each month after this (up to 6 months in total) we will visit your blog/website and if the badge and link remain on your site, you will receive an additional free month until the badge and link have been removed or until you have reached the  total of 6 free months.

This offer is valid for the first 100 only. We hope you will support us to support you better.

Introducing Nada Design

Many years ago I did fine arts and graphic design however due to the demands of children have found it hard to do much art. I have just started doing this art form as it fits into my lifestyle at the moment. My other loves are painting, etching and photography. I tried to do a range of subjects to suit a wide range of topics that appeal to me, from animals to architecture and more playful and less serious ones like my horned ladies. I love doing this type of art and can spend hours at a time dotting away. My designs take anywhere from one to two weeks depending on the complexity of them and how engrossed in them I get. I have them mounted and backed professionally to give them some colour and enhance the drawing as it is in black and white. I am open to ideas if anyone has a specific topic or image, if it lends well to this form of art then something could be arranged. I am very happy to be contacted to discuss anything regarding my art, see contact details below.

email: nadadesigns@optusnet.com.au 

mobile:0403 202 809

Introducing Bloombub

Bloombub is a boutique baby and toddler clothing label featuring original designs. I have been operating since February 2010. I began creating special items for my daughter as I was unhappy about all of her clothing coming from mass-production factories overseas. Commissions from friends and families grew steadily until I could envisage a viable small business around my original patterns.

Bloombub items are made to order, and in one-off or short run styles. I release a new set of designs each season, plus take custom orders and make some one-off creations throughout the year. All items are priced between $10 and $50.

 

My signature products are crochet embellished t-shirts featuring trees, flowers and other nature-inspired motifs; a Mini-Pinny (pinafore) made from a fat quarter of fabric plus trim. I also have a few different styles of toddler dresses, matching bloomers and skirt and tee sets available with each seasonal range.

I focus on sizes 6 months to 3 years, but have made larger and smaller sizes on special orders. I believe in age-appropriate clothing for little children and my range is inspired by classic styles with a fresh, modern twist.

Bloombub products are designed made with love and care by me, in my home-studio in Brisbane. I make every single item personally, including the crochet appliqués. You can order a limited edition Bloombub outfit via our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/bloombub.

Haylo

Haylo Sock Monkeys are one of the special sock creatures you'll find here at the Haylo HQ in Launceston, Tasmania. My name is Lori and I have been busily turning new socks into adorable critters for you and your families to love and adopt. We use new socks and stuff them with a recycled PET stuffing from Innergreen. The main attraction are our extra long limbed sock monkeys which are 55cm long and we have seen them wrapped around little children leaving our market stalls, we can also personalise all our critters with an embroidered name on the bellies.

You can find sock ninja's sneaking around as well as those naughty skittle kids with rattles in them, Sock Dinosaurs, sock monsters, puppies and kitties as well as rabbits and even cuter our bunny hugs featured in the pic above.

Please stop by our facebook page and say hi:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Launceston-Australia/Haylo/160812910623176


Or email us for a custom order:
haylodesigns@hotmail.com

All about Anne and Anou Design

Fish on 25x30cm canvas

My last project, a present for my mum.

Hi, my name is Anne… from Anou Design and I make little artworks for little people in little interiors.

I am inspired by… colours, decoration and fabrics.

My favourite colour… well, all of them! I do like white and black together; but it is the combination of all colours that I like most.

My favourite season… autumn, for its red-orangy leaves.

My passion… Anou Design, my business I started in 2009. I design and make canvases for kids  inspired by my own childhood.

Materials I work with… felts mostly, also buttons, papers, beads and fabric.

Three words that describe my style… colourful, handmade and French.

My favourite room at home is… my kids’ bedroom. It’s a fun space full of vibrant colours, handmade artworks, toys, French books and laughter!

I cannot live without… my computer or sewing machine

I relax… in the garden or sewing in my office.

I spent my childhood… on the beach in Tahiti surrounded by colour and exotic beauty. Anou is my childhood nickname.

My last custom order for a little girl.

I would love to… travel to Cuba to go scuba diving.

I most admire… my Mum (a self taught crafter) and my Dad (who is neat, precise and technical).

I am learning… how to knit.

I am drinking… black coffee and red wine.

I dreaming of… travelling around the world.

I am currently reading… The secret of Channel No 5 and lots of decoration magazines
(Elle Decoration, Real Living, Inside Out to name a few)

I hate… cruelty to children and to animals.

Finally,
My tip for decorating... Don’t be afraid to use bright colours! Break some rules, and don’t follow trends – just reveal your own personality!

Find Anou Design on Facebook.

Cherry Blossom Kids

Cherry Blossom Kids has been founded by a busy Mum of three girls with a shameless passion for creating fashionable, functional and fun clothing for little ladies. Fabrics are hand picked and designs road tested to the limits. The quality of our clothing is exceptional and made to last. At Cherry Blossom Kids we understand the need for clothing to with stand parties, mud pies and infinite washing.

We create exquisite pieces that are sure to make a lasting impression in the memories of your little girl. Each time you purchase from Cherry Blossom Kids you are sure to be receiving items that are wonderfully unique and only made in limited edition quantities.


Find Cherry Blossom Kids on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/cherryblossomkids

Need a unique gift idea? Then Letter It (Name Decorative Art) is here to help!

Letter It (Name Decorative Art) is a quality, handmade, modern and uniquely alternative way to personalise names, letters, words and bonbonniere using canvas blocks and photo frames.

Each canvas block or photo frame can be hung horizontally or vertically on a wall or door, placed on a shelf or arranged in any other creative manner. Canvas blocks and photo frames are decorated and personalised as requested using a variety of colours, fabric, lettering styles and themes to suit your needs.

  

“Personalised name art is a thoughtful and unique gift for all types of occasions... it makes people feel really special because you’ve taken the time to design a gift just for them. With all Letter It (Name Decorative Art) designs, you know you are getting a truly unique and personalised gift, as all of the creations are custom made, specifically designed to suit each individual order. Each piece is one-of-a-kind; just like the person receiving it!” Linda Privitelli, Business Owner, Operator and Designer of Letter It (Name Decorative Art).

Letter It (Name Decorative Art) endeavours to provide you with friendly service and strives to capture the essence of all you wish to personalise!

      
Visit Letter It (Name Decorative Art) website

Checkout Letter It (Name Decorative Art) on Facebook