In response to lockdowns across the country, The Finders Keepers is hosting a snap two-day Springtime Online Market from today until 9am tomorrow (Saturday 4 September) to show support for small creative businesses across the country.
Salsa Verde
Fans are invited to cruise the curated virtual aisles of the Finders Keepers Online Marketplace, a 24/7 eCommerce platform launched to support makers online and snag exclusive event-only specials.
object Co
From ceramics to hand-sewn sustainable fashion, local art and new launches across the site, the Springtime Online Market is an opportunity for conscious consumers to throw their support behind small Aussie businesses at a time when it’s needed most.
The Keeper Bag
And there’s plenty of homewares to be found for interiors addicts!
The Finders Keepers is Australia’s largest curated marketplace of makers, designers and entrepreneurs. Proudly partnered with Australian creative business Inke Packaging.
Ceramics Australia: Our favourite new handmade brands
From the singular vision of Carla Dinnage to Kaz Morton‘s gorgeous pieces and our long-time favourite Jones & Co, loyal readers will know that we’re a bit ceramics obsessed around…
Our favourite handmade Aussie ceramics
I’ve done a lot of homewares roundups in my time, but very few have been this tricky. There are just too many amazing ceramicists out there! This list could have…
Following on from the success of its last online event, and after two successful post-COVID comeback events in Brisbane and Sydney, Finders Keepers is back online this week with its winter market. Fans are invited to cruise the curated virtual aisles of the unique 24/7 marketplace, and snag dedicated event-only specials from the comfort of their couch.
From homewares to art, ceramics to slow fashion and many one-of-a-kinds, the market is a unique opportunity for conscious consumers to throw their support behind small creative businesses in Australia; particularly those impacted by lockdowns.
Australia’s largest curated marketplace of makers and designers, Finders Keepers has long been recognised as a great way to discover emerging and established design talent from across the country. See below for a sneak peak and our top picks from the June market.
TS Makers Handmade in Sydney by a husband and wife team with carpentry and design backgrounds, TS Makers is creates lovely, minimal homewares. All of the pieces are made from reclaimed Australian timbers, including jarrah, mahogany, spotted gum and Queensland maple. The brand’s core range of hardwood serving boards and trivets features a seventies-inspired squiggle design, an arch and abstract shapes.
Tinker by printink studio A colour-fuelled Australian made lifestyle range, this brand spans homewares, linen tableware, fashion accessories and organic toddler and baby wear. We like the bold, bright and distinctive prints that are each developed from hand drawn designs before being meticulously screen printed by hand.
Indelible Designs Handmade in Melbourne, Indelible Designs make functional ceramic pieces using both wheel thrown and hand built methods. Featuring gorgeous retro-inspired designs and colours, these one-off wares have that unique and nostalgic handmade feel.
Ivy & Wood Handcrafted in Brisbane, this range of small-batch candles and home fragrance products is made with natural soy wax that is biodegradable, sustainable and free from pesticides and animal products. Ivy & Wood also uses lead-free wicks, pure essential oils and gorgeous vintage-style, reusable mason jars.
The Finders Keepers June Online Market This Friday 18 to Sunday 20 June Shop online
Reno shopping online has its advantages: here’s 3
The online world not only provides endless inspiration for our renos, it also allows us to purchase almost anything we could possibly want with the click of a button. Traditionally,…
While the hugely popular The Finders Keepers markets can’t go ahead as usual due to the social distancing measures in place, we won’t miss out entirely! Make yourself comfy on the couch this weekend when the event goes online, and with more than just shopping!
Constanza Illustrates
“Just like you can’t replace a real-life hug with a zoom chat, our coming together at events is something too hard to beat. This hasn’t stopped us from creating something equally as special,” says a spokesman. “Finders Keepers at Home is your weekend to connect with artists, designers, makers and memorable experiences. Our IRL events are all about creativity, community and connecting, and while we won’t be seeing faces in the flesh, the basis of Finders Keepers at Home will remain. It will still hinge on creativity, community and connecting (in new ways)!”
Hooray Hoop
Having an online marketplace already in motion, meant The Finders Keepers could quickly offer brands and small businesses ways of making sales. In addition, they’ve worked alongside their stallholders of the three postponed events (May, June and July 2020) to create even deeper ways for them to connect with the community.
Lisa Peri Ceramics
Over three huge days (this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday), Finders Keepers at Home will be a host of creativity.
Shop small and support local and visit the markets online! Cruise virtual market aisles and snap up special event weekend only specials. Look out for crowd favourite ceramists Bonnie Hislop gifting a freebie with each purchase, and Daisy Cooper Ceramics offering Australia wide free shipping! With hundreds more exclusive Finders Keepers at Home offers, head to the FIND tab.
Limone Art
Watch your favourite makers and seek out some spicy new content. They’ll program content from behind the scenes, studio demonstrations, a day in the life of designers, as well as some how-to tutorials. Dozens of makers have been curated from hundreds of submissions. They’ll include behind the scenes with Eggpicnic, a participatory nature adventure with ceramicist Bridget Bodenham, and Musings from the Moon will demonstrate her beautiful water colouring skills, producing a piece from start to finish AND uniquely for sale over the Finders Keepers at Home weekend. Fashion gun Bilboawill revamp a piece from your wardrobe, young star Oddishwalks you through a guide to ‘Unboring Your Laundry’, while Brookies Gin will give you a live cocktail lesson and special recipe to download!
Don’t miss The Peppermint Magazine panel talking Covid tactics! Tune in to learn what Finders Keepers makers have done to innovate and connect during COVID, how the crisis has changed their business models and relationship with their customers, and what they most miss about the physical markets. Featuring Kitty Came Home, High Tea with Mrs Woo, Kingston JewelleryandBilboa.
Watch all of the content at your own pace via Finders Keepers at Home, plus highlights featured on their social accounts over the three event days.
Finders Keepers At Home 19 – 21 June, 2020 An immersive weekend celebrating creativity and community Join in at thefinderskeepers.com #finderskeepersathome
Ever since I wrote about the Finders Keepers market a year ago, I have been itching to experience the buzz. By the time the Sydney market rolled around in December, however, I was on my honeymoon halfway across the world. This year, I was determined to keep my schedule free and attend Melbourne’s 10th Finders Keepers market, earlier this month. I had no excuse, considering I was now residing in the very same city. That was until I realised that my husband and I were driving back to Sydney that same weekend!
It looks like I was fated to miss another weekend of art, design, food and music. Here are the top five stalls which were on my Finders Keepers list.
Daisy Cooper Ceramics
Inspired by the wilderness, each piece is handcrafted using traditional methods of pinching and coiling clay, and finished with a beautiful glaze. The best part? You can mix and match to create your own perfect collection.
Alchemy Produx
What happens when you mix chemistry with fashion design? Super cool and quirky candles, hand poured in laboratory glassware, that’s what. Made from 100% natural soy wax, these will not only look good, but also have your home smelling fantastic – unless of course you want floral scents. They don’t have those, but their Lychee & Black tea scent is to die for.
Dots by Donna
Where do I begin? Ever since I came across a west elm photograph featuring these beautiful stippled artworks, I have been in love. Donna’s prints are limited reproductions of her own original artworks, ranging from animals to dream catchers and the highly coveted African Goddess. Did you read my interview with this talented artist yesterday?
Love Mae
Love Mae have some of the cutest and most stylish designs for kids – but I would be more inclined to buy them for myself! Their whole range is biodegradable and includes fabric wall decals, bamboo dinner sets, wallpaper and wrapping paper. I love good-looking products that care for the environment.
Golden Grind
This might not fall into the design category per se, but I am an absolute sucker for a good golden latte. Golden Grind’s good looking (and tasting) range of chocolates, beauty products and turmeric latte mixes is handmade in Melbourne using organic ingredients. I’m beginning to feel really hungry.
The next Finders Keepers markets are in Melbourne from 20–22 October, Brisbane from 10–12 November, and Sydney from 8–10 December 2017. I have already blocked out my October weekend.
Timed to coincide with peak cocooning (winter!), Australia’s best interior design fairs are mostly staged in our coolest months. And with DENFAIR kicking off at the end of this week, we thought it was about time we did a round-up of the best design events, both trade and consumer, set to hit Australia this season.
DENFAIR Filling the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre for three days from June 8-10, the boutique trade event DENFAIR will showcase the best of contemporary Australian design, both established and emerging, across a series of interactive installations.
A 2016 DENFAIR exhibition space
Exhibition highlights include the BELLE restaurant and oyster bar, designed by the award-winning Fiona Lynch Studio who will also speak at the fair alongside Bree Leech and Chris Connell to name just a few guest speakers. The event will also play host to a textile district, the SMEG café and the BMW art bar and it’s the perfect event for architects, interior designers, stylists, specifiers and retailers alike.
2016 DENFAIR exhibition space
Finder’s Keepers Melbourne In its tenth year, the Finders Keepers market returns to Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building from July 14-16. A fabulous retail market for Australian art and design consumers, the doors will open at the new time of 5pm on the Friday night making it the perfect post-work pit-stop.
Hordes of shoppers at the 2016 Finder’s Keepers Melbourne market
Notable interiors exhibitors include Uimi, Love Mae, Next of Kin Handmade ceramics and Feliz Home bedding. The market will hit Brisbane and Sydney later this year.
Decor + Design/AIFF The premier buying and networking event for furniture, homewares, lighting, home décor and artwork, Decor + Design returns to the Melbourne Exhibition Centre in July for its 14th year. Held from July 20-23, the event will run alongside the Australian International Furniture Fair (AIFF) and is set to attract more than 11,000 visitors over its four-day schedule and Interiors Addict is this year’s proud media partner.
Decor + Design 2016 exhibition space
The program also includes the popular international seminar series where industry leaders from around the world will discuss the latest developments in their fields. Plus, trend enthusiasts will be thrilled to hear about the trend hub – a dedicated area where interactive design-led activity and future design trend information will be showcased.
Melbournites, you’re in for a treat: The Finders Keepers market is back again this winter.
With another meticulously curated line-up of local emerging designers, head to the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton on 22, 23 and 24 July.
The designers’ paradise sees the super popular K is for Kani participating as a stallholder for the very first time. “This will be my first Finders Keepers market event and I’m extremely excited to be showing my work to my audience directly. I love how markets give people the chance to see and try the product in person and meet the seller, it’s a whole different world to selling online,” said Connie Cao, the lady behind the label.
Beyond fashion, expect handmade ceramics and planters, bespoke leather goods, fine jewellery, artworks, stationery, accessories, food trucks, coffee, and even a bar (to treat yourself after all that shopping).
Finders Keepers returns to their spiritual home at Eveleigh’s Australian Technology Park from the 29th of April to the 1st of May. As Australia’s leading maker market, there will be a fantastic range of goods on sale.
Photo: Dave Kan
One of the most enchanting things about Finders Keepers is that you are literally surrounded by beautiful and unique products, with the creative minds behind them on hand to assist you or have a chat should you be interested.
Find homemade ceramics, hand poured and deliciously scented candles, original artworks and cushions and homewares suited for whatever room you’re decorating.
Studio Cockatoo. Photo: Bec Taylor
There is innovative and one-of-a-kind fashion, accompanied by a plethora of handmade jewellery stalls. Just as much as I enjoy browsing the clothes for sale, I love checking out the outfits stallholders and customers put together for inspiration. The whole market is imbued with creativity, not least the people in it!
Urban Cartel. Photo: Dave Kan
Artist Leah Bartholomew, the mind behind homewares label Beneath The Sun, is featuring fine art at Finders Keepers this year. She says it’s this variety and chance to meet customers and fellow designers that draws her to the market.
“Hands down my favourite thing about the marker is meeting everyone who supports my brand, and interacting with fellow designers. It is such a highly professional setup where we get to showcase our work in beautiful buildings and be surrounded my top quality work.”
Beau Wylie. Photo: Bec Taylor
It’s this opportunity to interact and share creatively that is making Shane Thompson, creator of leather goods label Afternoons With Albert, so excited to be participating in his debut Finders Keepers. He is excited to show customers the passion and authenticity that he puts into his work.
Angus and Celeste. Photo: Bec Taylor
Shane is just one of many first-time stallholders at the market this year. Finders Keepers ensures that approximately 30% of the 200-plus stallholders are brand new, meaning that new and exciting items being created by community members have a chance to show off their work.
This is part of the magic of Finders Keepers – designers and artists at different stages of development meet and feed of each other. According to market organisers, the shoppers and community itself also helps nurture this growth.
Photo: Dave Kan
So if you’re in the market for bespoke and handmade goods, or even if you’re not (I’m yet to come away from Finders Keepers empty-handed despite intentions otherwise!), check out Finders Keepers. I can guarantee you’ll come away happy and inspired!
For the first time, Adelaide residents will be able to experience the magic that is the Finders Keepers markets this winter.
Arguably the country’s biggest and best design market, Finders Keepers launched in Sydney in 2008 and currently runs in Melbourne and Brisbane and too.
“The design community in Adelaide have been super keen for us to head that way since we launched, so we’re incredibly excited to be able to host our inaugural event in South Australia, “ says co-founder Brooke Johnston.
Over 200 stalls are expected to set up in the historical Jubilee Pavilion at the Adelaide Showgrounds at Wayville from 12-to-14 August this year.
“We can’t wait to see what new and unique items the creative makers of Adelaide bring to our new annual event, and we’re sure that shoppers will be immensely impressed by what’s on offer,” says Brooke.
Applications for stallholders are currently open so if you’re the creator of original and creative work, independent designs or high quality handmade products, it’s the perfect forum in which to gain invaluable exposure and kick start your design business.
“We provide a limited number of debut spaces to fledgling artists and designers who’d like to road test their products with the public or are keen to enlist their business into the exciting world of Finders Keepers,” says the market’s communications and sponsorships manager, Angela D’Alton.
“Our market maintains a reputation as the best for designers launching their labels, for makers to meet their audience and to connect with the lovely, like-minded people of this community,” says Angela.
To find out more about applying for a stall at the event, or simply information about attending, click here for more.
Fiona Michelon from DIY blog crafthunter.com.au will be offering a range of different classes to make something for your home or as a gift for a loved one at the upcoming Sydney Finders Keepers market.After taking in all of the inspiration from the market, sitting in on a workshop with a friend is the perfect way to escape the beautiful chaos for an hour or so and learn a new skill.In addition to Fiona’s personalised leather purse workshop, she has collaborated with the likes of Lisa Tilse from We Are Scout blog to teach you fabric coil bowls, Melissa Carey for macramé plant hangers, and Bronte from Staple & Seed teaching woven wall hanging (which also includes your own weaving kit to take home).The Finders Keepers Market is running from 11-to-13 December at the Australian Technology Park in Eveleigh. Check out the workshop schedule and pricing here.
Spring is finally here, and what better way to celebrate than at The Finders Keepers Spring Summer Markets?
The festival vibes and boutique fun will be returning to Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney over October, November and December, where they will showcase a vast array of independent designers, artists and musicians from all around Australia.
“We have been curating an exciting line-up of the best local designers from each state, some of which are new on the scene and some much loved favourites,” said Sarah Thornton, co-director of Finders Keepers. “Every year our community of emerging designers is growing, and it is a pleasure to be able to celebrate their work with a weekend of festivities, food, music and of course inspiring design.”
Whether it’s a moreish gourmet pizza from The Happy Camper pizza truck, or a decadent made-to-order dessert from St. Gerry, Melbournians won’t have to look hard to find a good time this October long weekend. Hosted at the Royal Exhibition Building, dog owners will find doggy beds worth showing off at Nice Digs, and jewellery lovers can expect handcrafted wooden beauties at Woodfolk.
This is merely the tip of the iceberg, with over 250 stalls offering everything from cutting edge fashion and artisan ceramics to organic coffee. Only $2 entry and free for kids under 12, there will be something for everyone at the Finders Keepers Spring Summer Market.
Brisbane will get a taste at the Old Museum from Saturday 7 to Sunday 8 of November, and Sydney will have to wait for the Australian Technology Park to host it Friday 11 to Sunday 13 December.
To view the full line-up of amazing designers, artists, musicians and food trucks that will be at the Melbourne markets keep be sure to check out the Finders Keepers blog.
Struggling to find a suitable market to sell their wares, fashion designer Sarah Thornton and jewellery designer Brooke Johnston, decided to take matters into their own hands. Creating what would become the extremely popular Finders Keepers market, the seven-year-old event now runs bi-annually in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Sarah and Brooke
“We dreamed up the concept of collaborating with like-minded emerging designers that sold really unique up and coming designs,” explains Sarah. “We then started really small with 20 designers and it all snowballed organically from there. The ‘design market’ was not yet a thing in Australia.”
Having met after Brooke moved to Sydney and started dating Sarah’s cousin (they’re now married!), the girls had an instant connection. Similar creatively, they started Finders Keepers as a hobby, not paying themselves a wage and working in their spare time.
“There was no real business plan or financial plan in place,” says Sarah. “We had no idea what we were doing! As we grew, we needed more time, resources and staff and had to grow up in so many ways. It’s been such a crazy journey but I do believe if we hadn’t started it out of passion alone, I don’t think we would have started it at all. You sometimes need to go into these things blindly and put your whole heart and soul into them!”
Strong supporters of independent design, everything on offer is from a small business owner and mostly handmade or sourced and made in Australia. With their products ranging from fashion, jewellery, homewares, art, lighting, plants, beauty and food products, the girls pride themselves on showcasing not just amazing goods, but having a beautifully curated event.
“While Finders Keepers is primarily a design and art market event that brings together talented designers from all around Australia, you will also find live music, workshops, inspiration, food and beverages and great locally made products to take home. We have a passion for bringing independent design to the forefront and creating a platform for emerging designers, artists and musicians to showcase their work in a supportive and creative atmosphere.”
With upcoming winter events in May (Sydney) and July (Brisbane and Melbourne), the girls don’t plan on slowing down. “We’ve been working on getting Finders Keepers to new states and even looking overseas as a one-day-dream. We just want to continue holding great inspiring events and helping small business owners grow their own little dreams too.”
I am so excited to reveal to you an exciting collaboration that has been in the pipeline for months: Rainy Sunday’s 7 Vignettes Gather Journal. For the hundreds of you who take part in our monthly Instagram challenge, here’s somewhere gorgeous for you to keep all your styling inspiration together and you can buy it in time for Christmas (as a gift) or the January round of the competition (for yourself!).
Don’t you love that copper foil?!
The gather journals are the brainchild of Frith Hucks from Rainy Sunday and I leapt at the chance to get Interiors Addict involved. Rainy Sunday has evolved from a home enterprise making drinking jars (on a rainy Sunday) into a fully fledged homewares design business. Their products are often a modern take on old school ideas, so creating a series of journals with this in mind seemed quite natural.
Photo: Nikki Hernan
“Having dabbled with the 7 Vignettes Instagram challenge myself, I realised how much thought and planning goes in to each theme,” Frith says. “Why not create a journal that both inspired and helped participants create their best vignettes each month for the challenge? Rather than just a journal with blank pages, the Gather Journal gives you the background to 7 Vignettes, fantastic tips from previous challenge winner Nikki Hernan (aka Brown Paper Lemon) to help improve your compositions and ideas on where you can get more inspiration. It’s not just a regular journal – it really is a place for gathering.”
Photo: Nikki Hernan
From my point of view, the journal was a brilliant opportunity to showcase some of the work of one our very talented participants and blog readers, Nikki, who could not have been more excited to have her photos featured on its pages! “7 Vignettes gives you the freedom to be as expressive as you like, drawing from life experiences and connecting trinkets and heirlooms to tell tales and acknowledge loved ones,” Nikki says. “The old saying ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ rings true within vignettes. Exhibiting not only inanimate objects but also the mood that the artist is feeling. My style has has been enriched by this learning process which I look forward to continuing to explore.”
Photo: Nikki Hernan
The 7 Vignettes Gather Journal is the first in a series of journals Rainy Sunday will release next year including editions for green juices and flower arranging. “Hopefully there will be lots of feedback from this Gather Journal that we’ll use to help us enhance the design and inspiration we include in our next ones,” adds Frith.
You can get your hands on the first Gather Journals ($23 each) at Finders Keepers Sydney tonight (Friday 12 December 2014) or online from today.
Known for their bespoke wedding stationery and decor, Brisbane brand Blushing Confetti have expanded their repertoire with the introduction of foiled art prints for your home.
The Love is the New Black collection, which abides by the Blushing Confetti mantra of daring simplicity, features a mix of simple typography and graphics with a statement element.
All limited edition, the prints are priced from $74.95 and will fit standard frames bought from Ikea or your local variety store.
To view the collection visit Blushing Confetti’s online shop or catch them at the Brisbane Finders Keepers Market in November.
Artist Madeleine Stamer’s work is hugely influenced by a Melbourne shop her mum took her to as a child and her dad’s love of birds.
Ghost Orchid
It just goes to show what a profound impact our childhoods, where are parents take us and what they introduce us to can have, and I think that’s rather wonderful!
Madeleine
“My mum has always been my style guru,” says Madeleine. “She’s a needlework champion and used to work part time at Priscilla’s Tapestry shop in High Street, Armadale near my favourite shop. Market Import, in the iconic Moray Street retail strip. Mum first took me to Market Import when I was a child. I have fond memories of the pure white walls encrusted with vibrant Mexican handcrafts, bedazzling like precious jewels. I recall being enthralled by the ladies’ gift-wrapping skills which involved wrapping even the teeniest of objects in layers and layers of rainbow-coloured tissue paper topped with fancy adornments that would make any recipient’s heart swoon.
The Finders Keepers Markets are returning to Melbourne on Friday 5 and Saturday 6 April 2013 at the Royal Exhibition Building, for the annual Autumn/Winter event. The market allows for independent Australian artists and designers to showcase their work. With over 200 designers, these markets are set to be the biggest yet!
