Back in the swing for 2011

Last weekend's Handmade Market at the new indoor venue of the National Convention Centre was a marvellous success and was the perfect way for Flibbertigibbet to commence market appearances for 2011. It is always such an honour to have my work feature alongside the talented designers who make Handmade Market the destination market that it is, and I am sure 2011 will be another amazing year for Handmade.

I'm now busy preparing more stock for Mathilda's Market which is to be held in the ballroom of the Hyatt Hotel on Sunday the 6th of March from 9am to 1pm.



Those of you who have been to a Mathilda's Market before will know it is a veritable treasure trove of high quality handmade and designer items for children and the home, with a huge variety of stalls from local and interstate businesses. For those of you who have not been along to a Mathilda's Market, you really should jot this date in your diary! Have a look here to see the list of the designers taking part. I can't wait!

Under the big top (and some exciting news!)

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Today Mama Goose and I baptised our new marquee under a short and sweet sprinkling of summer rain. We've had the marquee for quite a few months now, but a low hanging tree branch above our allocated spot has thwarted our attempts to erect it. Fortunately the weather has been kind to us and all the protection we have required thus far was a hat and some sunscreen - during summer anyway, winter is a completely different matter!

Last night we dutifully checked the BOM website for Sunday's forecast:

Mostly fine until scattered showers and possible isolated

thunderstorms develop in the afternoon. Cloudy with

moderate east to southeast winds.

Hmm. We decided to take the marquee along, and due to some renovations going on at Hall, we were able to move a few feet to the side of our usual spot and - voila, up went the big top! Well, with a bit of help from our friendly neighbouring stallholders, who had much more experience with marquees than we did and took pity on us!

It was a very quiet day at Hall. I'm not sure if the threatening (but otherwise quite pleasant) weather kept customers away, but even the number of stallholders seemed fewer than usual. Mama Goose and I whiled away a very pleasant day chatting with customers, eating freshly popped Classic Kettle Corn from the stall next door (keep an eye out for their cheerful red marquee at a market or event near you, their 'slightly sweet, slightly salty' popcorn is absolutely delicious!) and discussing plans for our stall at the fast approaching Mathilda's Market.

With the 'moderate east to southeast winds' in mind, I secured

the tags in place with some ribbon and these gorgeous little

ladybird pegs. I've been hoarding them for, oh, about ten

years now - just waiting for the perfect use for them.

I think I've finally found it!

Here you can see one of Mama Goose's gorgeous new Pinny

designs hanging in the background, and some of the quilted

and denim handbags too. These bags are made exclusively

for Flibbertigibbet by my lovely and very talented

mother-in-law, Mary. I added a few new magnet designs

to the range too, and there are lots more to come!

The pegs were a great success, everything stayed

exactly where I intended.

Flibbertigibbet and Goosey Gander will be taking a break from Hall Markets for a few months. Mama Goose and I are very excited to announce that we have recently been accepted as stallholders at the Old Bus Depot Markets at Kingston, and we will be booking in for our first market there very soon. However we still intend to make further appearances at Hall from time to time. Our list of upcoming markets is on the right hand side of this blog and is updated regularly.

A most marvellous day at Mathilda's

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Here are some long overdue photos of the Flibbertigibbet and Goosey Gander stall at Mathilda's Market in November last year. You can click on each photo to view a larger version. You will note the stall is in some state of disarray and there are gaps where things have sold. This is because we couldn't actually get out from behind our stall to take photos before we were swamped by hordes of eager customers! So these photos were taken several hours later after most of the happy throng had departed to coo over their new-found treasures.

You can see Mama Goose's taggy blankets in a basket in front

of the table in this photo. They were a big hit, and no wonder

- they are gorgeous!

A view from front on this time.

Can you see the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree?

Magnets and Crochet Flower clips were the two new ranges

that debuted at Mathilda's and both proved very popular.

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The fabric flower clips, and button clips and elastics were, as always, best sellers. Fortunately I was well prepared with lots of stock in reserve to replenish the stall and for customer requests.

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Mama Goose and I made sure we got a chance to browse and shop too; it was an opportunity not to be missed - what a wealth of talent we have here in Canberra! We just love Mathilda's Market. There's another coming up on the 28th of February 2010, with the Park Hyatt Canberra being the new venue.

News Flash!

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In news just to hand, Mama Goose and I have learnt that we will be a part of Canberra's Mathilda's Market in November. We are very excited!





If you haven't yet heard about Mathilda's Market, then you should know it is a fantastic place to buy handcrafted and unique things for babies and children and you might just find something for yourself there as well! I visited the last Mathilda's in April with Little Poppet, and was very impressed with the range of beautiful things on offer and the talented stallholders we have here in Canberra.

So, when and where?

Sunday the 15th of November
Manuka Oval (Bradman Room)
Manuka Circle, Griffith, ACT

Hours are 10am to 2pm, and there is free parking available.

You can click on the Mathilda's logo above to be redirected to their website.