Pre-Xmas Market Frenzy

Well it is a busy time in Katie-land right now...

 Niche Market

 I have just come home from Launnie where I attended the Niche Market. And what a market it was! The venue was absolutely packed with punters eager to get their hands on some handmade goodness. At one point on the Friday night, there was even a queue to get in the door! Madness.

The organisers (St Giles) estimate that we had over 6000 people came through over the two-day event which is amazing! So great to see that people are wanting and supporting handmade in such a huge way.

 

Thank you to everyone who popped by for a chat and a purchase or three(and some extra warm fuzzies from the knowledge that 20% of the purchase price went to St Giles to assist with the provision of serivces and equipment for kiddies with disabilities - Awwwww).

Christmas Craft and Food Market

 No rest for the wicked. This week I am having a stall at the Collegiate Parent's Association Christmas Craft and Food Market. 

 

The market runs from 4 til 7pm this Friday (26th) and should be a giggle.

Salamanca Market

Finally, my last Salamanca Market before Christmas in on Saturday the 4th of December. Let's hope I can get enough stock made as I think it will be a biggie!

Off to get crafty!

xxxx

Niche

Hello there kittens.

It has been a very long time between posts, and I apologise for my tardiness.

I have, however, been keeping very, very busy with stalls at both Salamanca Market and the Barn Market, filling some HUGE pre-christmas orders for my bricks-and-mortar retailers, as well as trying to fill up the stock boxes for the crazy festive season round of markets and retail sales.

My next big market is the lovely Niche Market up in Launceston on the 19th and 20th of November. I attended this market in August and had a blast, so am looking forward to making the trek north once again.

This time around, the market will be held at The Tramsheds at the Inveresk Railyards.  The market is being held on Friday night (19th Nov)from 4pm til 8 pm and Saturday day (20th Nov)from 10am til 4 pm.

The really great news is that, on Friday night, the bar will be open so we call all sip bubbles whislt we shop and sell!

There is no ATM on site, but as usual I will have Eftpos facilities available at my stall.

I look forward to meeting lots of new lovelies and catching up with old ones.

Oh, and here is a preview of some of the goodies that will be available from WKDN:

fabric button and resin rose earrings ($15)

sterling silver bezel earrings ($35)

glass tile earrings ($25)

And, don't forget, If you are unable to make it to any of my markets or bricks-and-mortar stockists, you can always shop for your favourite WKDN goodies at my online store.

xxx

Newbies: Big Daddy Button Rings

Hot off the WKDN making table this week are these Bid Daddy Button Rings.

 Super-sized and super-hot, these babies will be available for sale for the first time at Salamanca Market this weekend (just $15!).

They will also be available for sale in my online store very soon

x x x

p.s. If you haven't already (or even of you have), I would just love it if you could please head over to the Maeve magazine blog and vote for What Katie Did Next to win an free full page ad in Maeve's Summer Issue (out Nov 5th). I am one of 5 finalists voted to win the prize!You can vote as as many times as you wish, so go crazy!

Rosehip & Co

So the little guy and I took a "roadtrip" to Richmond (Tasmania) today to drop off another order at Rosehip & Co. I had not had the chance to visit the store yet (it has only been open a couple of weeks) and was excited to check it out...

And, oh my goodness! It is gorgeous! Tucked into a perfect little spot in the courtyard next to the Bakery, owner Sherri Coomer has done an amazing job creating a delightful little store full of really really really nice stuff.

Here's a little sample:

Nice huh?

AND, What katie Did Next gets her own little stand on the front counter. Love it!

The stock has been selling really well, so I am looking forward to lots more visits to this gorgeous store in a gorgeous part of the world.

And I think the little guy will be happy for some repeat visits to the "duck capital of Tasmania" too!

xxx

Rosehip & Co - Homewares and Gifts

Shop 8/50 Bridge Street

Richmond, Tas, 7025

Daffodils - The Best Thing About Spring...

Not much to say. Just have a look at this fragrant bounty of daffs that the little guy and I collected this weekend on Bruny Island.  I absolutely LOVE daffodils. Maybe because I am a September baby? Maybe because of their delectable perfume? Maybe because they herald the start of my favourite season? I don't really know why... But when the house is full of these little babies, I am one happy chickie x

xxx

Designer Crush - Florence Broadhurst

I have recently developed a bit of an obsession with the wonderful designs of Florence Broadhurst.

For those that don't know, Florence was an exceptionally talented (and eccentric) singer, painter, designer and patron of the arts who was born in rural Queensland in 1899. After a fascinating life abroad, perfoming across Asia and Britain, she moved back to Australia, where in 1959 she started the business for which she has become famous - designing and creatng the most AMAZING hand printed wallpaper. 

 Florence Broadhurst shunned the ideas of convention and mass production and created the most divine designs in unique and luxurious patterns using combinations of fuscia pinks, lemon yellows, lime greens, vivid oranges, turquoise, blacks, metallic silvers and gold.

 

She called her revolutionary handprinted creations “Vigorous designs for modern living”.

Florence worked voraciosly up until the time of her dealth in 1977 - she was murdered in her home at age 78.

 

Florence's designs are now made into a plethora of drool-worthy products including luxurious fabrics and home furnishings such as rugs, cushions and lamps.

I have just started my collection with the purchase of a piece of this piece of wonderfulness:

I can see that this is going to be the start of a life-long love affair...

xxx

(images from here and here and here and here) 

To Market, To Market

After a two-month, self-imposed hiatus, I have kicked of my re-entry into the world of markets in a big way:

First up was the Christmas in Winter edition of the Barn Market.

This was run over two days (Friday night and Saturday). Despite the hideous weather on the Friday night, the market was pumping: Santa Claus, Christmas carols, mulled wine, and tipsy visits to the Party Booth were highlights.

(pic borrowed from here).

I made a ton of sales and had to work into the night restocking some items for the main event on Saturday. 

 Saturday brought glorious weather (how typically Tasmanian) and more eager shoppers. We were entertained by travelling minstrels, children's storytellers and the ever-popular makers demonstrations.

All-in-all, a very successful and enjoyable market.

(A special thanks to Helen and Mirri and their super-helpful hubbys too!)

*** 

Next on the agenda was the highly anticipated Niche Market in Launceston. This was a lovely market, full of handmade designer goodness, friendly faces, and good vibes.

Again, this market was run over two days - Friday and Saturday. Friday was a tad slow, traffic-wise, but I still managed to have a very satisfactory day. The Saturday was quite a bit busier, and I met lots of punters and made a great many sales.

These little felt flower broches were especially popular!

as were their crocheted cousins!

Thank you to St Giles (and esp to Selena) for organising this great opportunity to explore the northern design scene and donate to a most worthy cause (20% of all stalholders takings were donated to St Giles).

The real highlight of my weekend though had to be spending some quality time with my auntie who put me up, fed me, dyed my hair (greys: be gone!), helped out on my stall, and provided wonderful company and giggles. thanks fuff x

*** 

This weekend sees the third event in my market marathon: the ever-wonderful The Market at the Masonic Temple in Hobart.

For those who have left it all to the last minute, I will have some super-funky cufflinks for sale for a perfect Father's Day gift (pop on and grab some @ $25 a pair on your way to lunch with pa x)

phew... might take a little breather now...next post will cover exciting new stockists for WKDN

xxx

Wedding Belle

A couple of weeks ago I was tickled pink to be asked by a good friend (aka Miss S) to design some jewellery for her to wear on her wedding day. The wedding was to be a super-casual affair (absolutely no meringue dresses and penguin suits to be had) with a red, black and white theme.

 The brief was that it had to "fabulous" and "not too girly".

Miss S and I spent a chatty couple of hours one Sunday afternnoon browsing through my (extensive) fabric collection picking from a shortlist of designs. We finally decided on a lovely piece from Robert Kaufman's Night and Day series.

The carefully chosen fabric segments were placed under glass domes amd set into silver ring and pendant bezel settings.

Here are the finished products:

Miss Mrs S was much-pleased with the end result. She looked amazing on the night, and had many lovely comments about her pretty bling.

The reception was a riotous affair with a great many chuckles and cackles and a generous sprinkling of bubbles and daggy dancing.

xxx

A Few Newbies

Some of the pretties I have been making recently. They (along with lots of other goodies!) we be available for sale at Salamanca Market this week x x x

fabric studs (A$15.00 a pair)

clippies (A$8.50 a pair)

p.s. If you are not able to get to any of my markets or retail outlets and are interested in purchasing any of my range, please feel free to send me an email (wkatiedidnext@gmail.com) and we can sort out something for you x x x

Winter's Rings

A Winter's Ring

I am super excited this week. I have just submitted my first ever pieces of jewellery for an exhibition in a real-life art gallery!

(picture from http://cubeartanddesign.blogspot.com/)

The exhibition, curated by Rebecca Roth,  is called A Winter's Ring and is being held at a gorgeously sweet gallery called Cube(art+design) in Salamanca Place (Tasmania).

The exhibition opens tomorrow night (Wednesday 14th of July) and runs until the 27th of July.

A Winter's Ring is being held in conjunction with the Rainy Days exhibition which features over 100 artworks by over 70 talented artists (including a special man-friend of mine...)

So, pop along and have a look at some beautiful jewellery and amazing artwork.

See you there xxx

Screen Printing Class

Yesterday I attended a beginners screenprinting class. My ultimate plan being to design and print my own fabrics for my jewellery and accessories. It was a hoot, with lots of giggles (fabric dye fumes??), and heaps of help and encouragement from fellow participants. It was a lovely vibe and many gorgeous prints were produced. 

First up, I printed this t-shirt for the little guy.

I cut the stencil from a photo I sourced of a dear little birdy sitting on a tennis net. 

 He was quite popular and a couple of the other participants asked if they could do a print of him as well.

This is Mira's version of him on a black apron. We called it the "gin and tonic" shot - you can just picture him kicking back after a long match with a tiny G & T watching the sun set...

Next I made this ginkgo leaf design. I photocopied multiple images of the leaf sillouette, cut them all out, mucked about for a while arranging them onto a single page, photocopied the whole lot again, and then cut cut cut,...

This is the image on the ubiquitous tote bag:

 Here it is repeated on a European pillow case (which is now stuffed with a huge pillow and has pride of place on our bed):

Nice?

Here is a gorgeous friuty print done by Fiona:

 This is Audrey's birdy tree:

So much fun, so many ideas!