NORTHBRIDGE O-DAY - THIS SUNDAY! Northbridge is OPEN this Sunday for O-Day with over 100 things to do, see and collect around the 'hood. From backstage tours to treasure hunts, to workshops and performances, O-Day lifts the lid on all things Northbridge. Get adventurous, get creative and get very busy - how much of the O-Day program can you complete? Explore the massive FREE program at the Perth Cultural Centre, Northbridge Piazza and everywhere in-between. Stumble upon curious delights as you browse designer markets, grab a tasty treat from one of the delicious food stalls, hunt down your free magnet set and pick up some new tips and tricks from one of the many workshops. Dance in the dark, learn some circus secrets, yarn bomb a Vespa scooter at the Montage Pop-up shop or beam yourself into a movie on the big screen... who knows where you will find yourself. Fill in your O-Day guide throughout your adventure, collect stamps as you complete activities and once you have enough points visit the info booth to get your free souvenir book bag. When the sun goes down the fun is not over, party on at one of the many O-Day after parties! Download your O-Day Guide here or pick it up on the day from participating venues. Northbridge O-Day is bought to you by City of Perth, Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority and OnWilliam.

Made on the Left July market applications open!

We're looking forward to our third market at the State Theatre Centre on Sunday 28th July, 11am - 5pm and applications for stallholders are now open. To be eligible, your products must be made in WA.

Apply here: http://www.madeontheleft.org.au/july2013-application-form

The website has a limit of 2mb per image so do be aware of this when sending in images - if your images are too large the application won't go through! Also make sure they are not too small as we want to be able to see your work. There are plenty of online image resizing websites if you don't have access to image editing programs. If you are not sure your application has gone in, email us at applications@madeontheleft.com and we'll check for you.

Categories such as jewellery are always very competitive so the quality of your photo could make the difference between being accepted and missing out.

It is possible to apply for a double space - let us know if this is of interest to you.

Applications close 30th April so don't dilly dally!

Q&A with "A Story Of"

Tell us a bit about your business

Everything you buy has a story.  Whether it has come from a factory or handmade; if it's recycled or completely new; the people who have made it.  All these things make up the story of an item, and that's what A Story Of is about.  I create a little over half of the products on my website myself in WA, using things like vintage plates, recycled leather and local wool.  I also collaborate with some fair trade artisans in Thailand on designs and source yet more that have been designed and made by groups working with women at risk.  I try to make the stories of my products accessible and help people to feel the heart in what they are buying. 

What inspires you?

All sorts of things - a good book, movies, architecture... I get most inspired, though, when I travel and get to know different people, cultures, and the arts that are a part of them. 

What do you love most about selling at markets?

I love meeting new people - sellers and customers - finding out what they're upto and what they love about handmade items.  I also love to see the huge range of work on display.  WA has some amazing creativity to offer!!

What new products are you working on?

I'm just starting work on our first clothing collection, actually!! I want to collaborate with artisans in Thai hill tribes and use their traditional fabrics in modern designs.

Apart from that, I'm always working on new jewellery ideas, playing with different bits and pieces I can recycle. My most recent thing is using leather from belt offcuts, and I'm starting to get into cutting wood from naturally fallen branches.

What is your favourite product and why?

I do love working on my necklaces made from pieces of vintage plates. Finding the plates in op shops or receiving broken ones from friends which I can give new life to. They already have such a history, I can only imagine what their stories are!! I love being able to add my own paintings to make them into something new people can enjoy and feel good wearing. Each one is so unique with different pictures and character.

Business name/your name/website

Candice Tout from A Story Of

www.astoryof.com 

Re-Love Project Update 2

As you may know, the Made on the Left team has been invited to participate in the Feast Watson Re-Love project . We will be bringing an old school desk back to life with a lot of love and hard work. We've finished the planning stages and the muscle work has begun! We've got some pictures to show you our progress (bulging biceps not included). 

So far it's been all about sanding – the metal desk tray had areas of rust and flaking paint and the wooden desk top was uneven and peeling. To make things easier, we detached the wooden top from the metal body. We then used glue to stick down the veneer parts that were coming off and clamped it down to get the best effect. 



Tune in next time to see us prepare the surface ready to paint!

SELLERBR8 Art Markets call for stallholders

Calling all artists, designers, craftspeople, stylists and gourmets.

There is still a very small amount of time to be part of the SellerBr8 Art Market at Mandurah’s 2013 Stretch Arts Festival - applications close Wednesday 10th April 2013.
Creators of high quality, handcrafted goods and produce are invited to apply.

Where: Mandjar (Festival) Square, Orsmby Terrace, Mandurah
When: SAT 4th & SUN 5th MAY 2013, 10am – 4pm each day
Cost: A 3m x 3m space outside is $90.00 incl GST for one or both days

For more information and to download the application form see www.mandurah.wa.gov.au/13204.htm or contact the market coordinator on sellerbr8@gmail.com

For more information about the Stretch Arts Festival Mandurah see http://www.mandurah.wa.gov.au/stretchfestival.htm

Farewell Unwrapped!

Unwrapped has always been one of Made On The Left’s favourite markets so it was a sad day when we learnt that their market on Sunday 24th March would be the last ever. MOTL caught up with founder Ebony Frost to find out all about her inspirational work helping designers sell their handmade work to the public through Unwrapped designer markets since 2006.

Ebony Frost

Do you and the rest of your team have any formal training/experience which helped you organise and manage an event?
I have a degree in Mass Communication and 10 years experience in large-scale event organisation, so I think the combination of the two has been very valuable. Team members along the journey have mostly been PR grads with lots of enthusiasm and a passion for locally designed products, which is always essential when you have to put in long hours!

Unwrapped are passionate about showcasing the best in designer handmade in an outdoor setting. Why did you consistently choose outdoor locations? 

Perth has a great climate and I felt we should make the most of that (though this has backfired on me several times!). Plus the atmosphere is much more relaxed if you have space to browse and wander down the street. 

Handmade has experienced such a huge surge in popularity over the past few years, why do you think this is? 

I think people are always looking for something new and quirky to help shape their personal style. Magazines like Frankie have helped promote the independent designer ethos in Australia over the past few years and I think it’s a philosophy that fits well with a lot of people and it made sense that eventually there would be a backlash against the mass-produced products we see everywhere. 

Does Unwrapped have any predictions for the future of handmade in the Western Australia; do you feel it will continue to grow in popularity? 

I think we need to be careful to nurture handmade as an industry. It’s too easy (and a lot cheaper) for designers to take production offshore to increase their profit margins. So we need to make sure we are prepared to pay a bit more for something that’s been handcrafted. 

What do you love most about putting on Unwrapped events and what do you find the most frustrating? 
I love the feedback I get from first time designers – they get such an enormous confidence boost from the event!
I guess it becomes frustrating when people are critical of things that I can’t control (like the weather) and perhaps don’t appreciate that good events don’t just ‘happen’, they require hundreds of hours of hard work and sacrifice.

Organising such huge events at great venues such as Forrest Chase must be very hard work; what inspired you to have it there? 

The City of Perth invited Unwrapped to be part of their Christmas events program.

What are you most proud of in terms of Unwrapped’s achievements and why? 

I wanted to change the cultural landscape in Perth when I started Unwrapped and I feel like we’ve done that. We started the ball rolling and allowed other events to establish themselves in the same vein. I think there are way more options out there for young designers now and that was always the main aim.

What can we look forward to from Unwrapped for the last market? 

The last event will hopefully be the best yet! It looks like being a perfect sunny Perth day… we’ll have 60 stalls of your favourite designers, plus a whole lot of new ones. The theme for this event is ‘vintage’ so expect to see ‘old meets’ new’ influences throughout the stalls, plus a Laneway Art Gallery with some fantastic photography and art!

 

The last Unwrapped will be held in South Perth. 
11:00am - 5:00pm, Sunday 24 March 2013
Angelo Street, South Perth. Don't miss it!

Stallholder Profile: Spotlight on "Christobel"

Christobel was the winner of our "Best Stall Display" at our Winter 2012 market. Here we find out what goes on behind the scenes.

The Christobel stall at Made on the Left market

Christine Lovitt of Christobel was born in Dublin, Ireland and migrated to Perth in 1988 with her husband and three small children. She has worked as a lawyer since arriving in Perth and only when she changed to part-time hours in 2007 did she find the time to pursue more creative activities.

What inspires you to create?

Sometimes an idea will just come to me – other times I will see something when I am out and about which will give me an idea.

What materials do you use? 

Almost everything I use is pre-loved. I make paper sculptures out of old books, sheet music and atlases, journals using old books covers, jewellery using old bakelite buckles and buttons, cushions out of vintage leather and any other treasures that I pick up from time to time which can be put to another use.

What steps do you take to prepare for a market? 

First I clear my workspace, then I think about what time of year my next market is going to be and what seasonal things I can make. Then I look at what new treasures I have collected and work out what to do with them. Because I am always making things, one market kind of rolls into the next fairly seamlessly without having to say up all night making enough stock.

What’s your number one market tip? 

Practice setting up your stall at home beforehand so that you can perfect the overall appearance and not be stressed on the day. How your stall looks can make a big difference to how shoppers perceive your products.

What is your favourite part of the creative process? 

Experimenting with new ideas. For every new thing that appears on my stall there will have been an equal number that didn’t work out and ended up in the bin. I love scouring church fetes, Sunday markets and op-shops for old treasures and then the challenge of making something new with them.

What’s been your most popular item or line to date? 

My paper sculptures and my tiny plants in vintage teacups.

What is the most exciting thing that has come out of selling your designs through markets? 

The most exciting thing was getting an order from overseas for some of my paper sculptures which had appeared in a Sydney Morning Herald article on craft markets.

What advice would you give someone who wants to sell their crafts? 

Think about your brand and where it fits in the marketplace, then just get out there and apply for stalls at markets like Made On The Left. It is the best way to test your ideas and to get feedback.

What goals do you have in store for the future? 
Ultimately I would love to have my own studio space from which I could sell my pieces. My husband loves finding and restoring old furniture and both my daughters are very creative so it could be a family venture!

Thanks Christine!
xx MOTL team

Silk flowers workshop

creative industries short courses 2013 
art, fashion, jewellery, textiles and design technology

V0674 silk flowers for hats, bridal & decoration (B) Silk flowers can be used for your wedding bouquet, to trim your Melbourne Cup hat, for a ball corsage or a funky decoration. Students will learn how to make various silk flowers using traditional millinery methods; cutting out flower stencils and flower petals, cutting out leaves, tooling flowers and leaves, construction method and completing flower for desired use.   Course is suitable for a beginner level and all materials are provided. Commences: Sat 20th April Duration: 3 sessions Sat: 12:30-3:00pm Cost: $129  Find out more info   Download enrolment form here.

Street Artist wanted

The City of Vincent is offering a great opportunity for a local artist to paint a huge wall on Angove Street, North Perth.

The exciting public art commission aims to create an artwork that is reflective of, and valued by the local community, businesses and visitors to the area.

Artists and creative teams are encouraged to put forward their innovative and creative submissions that will enhance and enliven the street, bringing more life and colour to the street.

 The deadline is 4pm 25 March 2013. Late applications will not be accepted

To download a pdf containing more information click here.

Submit your quotation via email to: yvette.coyne@vincent.wa.gov.au

 For further information or queries please contact Yvette Coyne, Coordinator Arts & Creativity by:
Telephone: (08) 9273 6000   Fax: (08) 9273 6099   Email: yvette.coyne@vincent.wa.gov.au

Elizabeth Marruffo is an artist of Mexican and English heritage whose work uses traditional painting and crafting techniques to explore the lived experience of loss and displacement. Her work draws upon an elaborate collection of personal symbols, icons and totems to create tender and haunting narratives. In her most recent exhibition, Marruffo pulls focus on one of her most persistent totems.

Pup Pup is the Boss of the Stars sees the artist present a large installation that pays tribute to the dogs of our childhood.

"Mexican street dogs have been important in my life and also important subjects in my arts practice. The dog from my childhood was named Corazon, she had a black love heart shaped patch on the side of her body. Corazon means 'heart' in Spanish. She was the puppy of Twotwo, a street dog that my parents found and nearly ran over on a dirt road in Mexico.

I think that if you had a dog in your childhood, they often contribute really significantly to your earliest memories and they act as a kind of witness to the events that happen in your childhood. They contribute so much to your personal and spiritual development and are a way we can learn about love, nurturing and responsibility. Significantly, they are also often the first love of our life that dies."

Marruffo will be recreating the Canis Major constellation with hundreds of tiny needle felted dogs. Each one, suspended within a silver wire star, representing a childhood pet. These lovingly hand fashioned objects are each being sculpted from the photos and stories of contributors. Personal memories, loves and lives, being resurrected and celebrated.

People are invited to contribute their own stories and commission a sculpture on the artist's Pozible campaign.

Exhibitor: Elizabeth Marruffo

Exhibition title: Pup Pup is the Boss of the Stars

Dates:  31st May - 2nd June

Opening night: Friday, 31st of May

Address: Free Range Gallery, 339 Wellington St, Perth