The Square: Bendigo's Handmade Market

The two week countdown to two big days

With just two weeks until our big christmas market we're in full flight getting organised and preparing. A couple of things you may not know...

1. each day of the market we have different stalls, so it's kinda like gettting two boutique markets in the one weekend!

2. doors open at 9am each day, an hour earlier than our regular markets. People have often asked us to start earlier in the day and we're hoping this makes it easier for you to fit us into your weekend at this busy time of year.

3. It's our third birthday! We'll be doing a wee giveaway which we'll announce next Monday, so stay tuned.

And for now, click over and check out the amazing creative stallholders who'll be with us on market weekend... having two days means we've been able to accommodate heaps of our popular stallholders and a good dose of new faces too. 

The stallholder sneak peeks will start tomorrow... you can keep up with them on our facebook or twitter feeds.

 

The christmas market done

Whoosh... the market weekend has come and gone so quickly! What a fabulous market! Many thanks to all who shopped handmade, and there were a LOT of you coming through the doors :) Our two VIP shopper competition winners came in early and shopped up a storm as well. Two very happy ladies.

Thank you to our stallholders for their lovely wares and friendly faces. We got so many comments on the weekend saying what a nice shopping experience it was in the gorgeous town hall and being able to chat to the makers themselves. 

And with that, we're done for 2011... we've had an amazing first year. Looking forward to seeing you at market in 2012!

Wishing you all an utterly fabulous festive season,

Belinda, Jodie and Bridget @ The Square

 

Two lucky winners!

This morning i've had the super nice job of calling the two winners of our VIP shopping competition! Yay! Picked with the random number generator from heaps of entries. So much fun chatting to the lucky ladies, they were both so very excited. I've been smiling ever since and i'm sure they are too :)

Congratulations to Tracy and Alison... we're really looking forward to having you both as our special guests this weekend!

And thank you to everyone who entered with your wonderful comments. We really appreciate how many of you took the time to leave us feedback about the market too. 

Sneak peek: kid's stuff

Christmas shopping for kids is just so darn fun! (Yes shopping for them, not with them... clearly a different story) As always we've carefully selected some great sellers who specialise in quality children's products. Here is just a sneak peek of a few to get you started... 

One of our new stallholders reataling on Saturday is Eoh & Roro, a range of screenprinted tees featuring African animals. Great range of designs that would suit boys and girls. 

Gorgeous dolls and kid's decor items from Miss Ruby May will be available on Saturday.

Complete cuteness for the bubs available at LIttle Poppet Handmade on Saturday too.

The lovely Larissa from The Bear and the Whale will be back with us again on Sunday sharing her beautiful creations.

And be sure to stop by Sillee Billee toys on Sunday too, a range of soft and wooden toys made by Doug and Robyn.

There's a lot more that our creative stallholders are crafting for the small people... click through the full list of stallholders to check them all out. 

Sneak peek: the jewellers

Our jewellery sellers are always some of the most popular stalls at every market and we know that they'll be even busier this weekend as everyone does their christmas shopping! We've got an amazing selection of jewellery on offer for you with heaps of different styles and price ranges on each day of the market.

Here's just a few to wet your appetite!

You'll love the Mecino stall on Saturday, with their sweet range of vintage inspired jewellery which is cute and affordable. This lady was super busy the last time we had her at The Square, so get in quick!

We're really happy to have studio jeweller Milton Long back with us again on Sunday with his high quality and unique range of handcrafted necklaces, earrings and brooches. 

Another favourite who you'll see again on Sunday is the lovely Carli at Bead-licious. Her stall will be filled with colourful glass lampwork beads and one-of-a-kind jewellery.

Click here to view our full list of stallholders and click through to the makers' own websites to view their wares.

The VIP shopper bags...

If you haven't entered our VIP shopper competition yet, you realy really really should. Really. Our VIP bags are full of heaps of great stuff! Entries close midnight on Wednesday. Our wonderful stallholders and some lovely local businesses have been so very generous... check it out!**

Our SATURDAY VIP will receive:

* a hamper from Bob Boutique

* $75 gift voucher for Milt and Joe

* cute bib from Little Poppet Handmade

* soft toy and bunting flags from Miss Ruby May

* child's singlet with feather wings from Liz at Little Things & Co (you should see this, it is absolutely darling! You can exchange at her stall for a different size if you need to.)

* decorative art block from Pink Possum

* a box of yumminess from Chef Sonia

* earrings from the talented Lisa Kennedy

* christmas cards and gift tags from Here we go Loopy Lou

* $20 gift voucher from The House of Cloth, our wonderful sponsor this year

* stuffed elephant toy from Vintage Chenille

* earrings from Era Beads

* the cutest crocheted toys from LaDeDah Kids

* $30 gift voucher for the Love Paper Scissors art stall

* $20 gift voucher from Greta Kids

* $10 gift voucher and a hand's free carry bag from Jan at Warana Country Crafts & Flowers (whose stall will be at The Square on Sunday)

* two bird decorations from The Bear and The Whale

* vintage wallpaper notebook from Moonmum

* small snap purse from Bags by Meg

* plus we're throwing in a $20 gift voucher for El Gordo cafe in Chancery Lane for you too! After all that shopping surely you'll deserve a coffe and a yummy :)

________

And our SUNDAY VIP will receive:

* earrings from the talented Lisa Kennedy

* the cutest crocheted toys from LaDeDah Kids

* bookends from Jayangee Craft & Signs

* $75 gift voucher for Milt and Joe

* Soaps by Jules gift pack, including 6 soaps

* a hamper from Bob Boutique, containing pocket mirror, calico carry bag and badge set

* 20% off voucher for the Alternative Thoughts stall

* El Gordo coffee gift pack which includes a handmade espresso cup (from Bendigo Pottery) and one of their locally-roasted custom blend bags of El Gordo coffee 

* $10 gift voucher and a hand's free carry bag from Jan at Warana Country Crafts & Flowers (whose stall will be at The Square on Sunday)

* a box of yumminess from Chef Sonia

* a handmade paper luminary light from Pink Possum

* glasswork earring from Bead-licious

* christmas cards from Here we go Loopy Lou

* photographic work by Megan Spencer

* $20 gift voucher from The House of Cloth, our wonderful sponsor this year

* two bird decorations from The Bear and The Whale

* large snap purse from Bags by Meg

* stuffed elephant toy from Vintage Chenille

* greeting cards from Moonmum

* earrings from Era Beads

* $25 gift voucher from Milton Long, studio jeweller

* plus we're throwing in $20 gift voucher for El Gordo cafe in Chancery Lane for you too! After all that shopping you'll deserve a coffe and a yummy :)

________

I hope i haven't missed anything...

It's pretty amazing right? Two people are going to be so very happy with their loot. Good luck to everyone's who's entered the competition and if you haven't filled in an entry form yet then DO IT NOW!

** there are a few things listed in the description that didn't make it into the photos, but rest assured they'll be in the bags on the day :)

Sneak peek: Little Skipper

Ok. Take a breath... you're going to love today's sneak peek! Little Skipper is the artwork of Sally Gross, clearly one very talented woman. With over a decade of experience in graphic design and illustration, her original illustrations are loved by adults and children alike. Working with themes of dreams and childhood, the works are reminiscent of children's book illustrations and dark fairytales. Available for sale as limited edition prints.

This is the first time we've had Little Skipper at The Square and we know her stall will be a very popular place on Sunday!

Sneak peek: Pink Possum

Have we told you how much our stallholders rock? Case in point - Jenny and Jen, the mixed media artists behind PInk Possum. Not only are they uber creative and just lovely ladies, they are also giving you 10% discount voucher to use exclusively at The Square chrissy market! Click here to print it out and be sure to bring it with you to their stall on Sunday. The voucher can be used on any of their products, including brooches, decorative art blocks, scarves, cards, journals and magnets.

 

Sneak peek: locally made soap

Do you have people on your christmas list that are terminally hard to buy for? We can highly recommend a couple of lovely stallholders to you... 

On Saturday we have Urthly Organics back with us again selling their wonderful range of locally made soaps and body products, made with all natural ingredients.

 

Soaps by Jules is with us on Sunday, all products palm oil free and are all natural cold pressed soaps. 

Before we started The Square we had no idea there were such great soapmakers in these parts. Big fat yay for the lovely and locally made! And we can assure you soaps aren't just for the ladies, there are also great products and scents for the men-folk too.

 

 

Sneak peek: Here we go Loopy Lou... a fave!

There are two full days of different sellers at The Square for December, so it's kinda hard to know where to start with the sneak peeks... click here and you'll see for yourself! We're lucky to have some of our most popular stallholders back again, as well as some lovely new ones too.

You may have seen 'Here we go Loopy Lou' before, a gorgeous range of cards made by the gorgeous Melinda! One of our favourite creative ladies and we're so happy to have her back for you guys for christmas on Sunday 11th. Put her on your shopping list. Now. 

 

Heaps more sneak peeks to come before market day!