November Made On The Left Market Stallholder Call Out!

We are very excited to announce the second Made On The Left Market and need you and your handmade goods!

Our intention is to give every type of designer an opportunity, no matter the scale of their business. Maybe you are a veteran or maybe you’ve just started out and this is your first event. No matter the experience level, we will try to accommodate you and your space preference in the best possible way.

The last event was a great success and we hope that you will join us this time.

Made on the Left Designer Market
10am – 4pm
Saturday November 15 2008
Hyde Park Hotel
331 Bulwer St North Perth

Stallholder Applications are now available in pdf or word format via the Made on the Left Craft Fair page of the website. Submissions close 6pm September 30 2008.

Then submit them to admin@madeontheleft.com or alternatively contact us for our mailing address.
Have a question that hasn't been answered on the application? Visit the FAQ page for further information.

A Chance To Teach Drawing

Janet Pfeiffer is an Artist, Creativity Coach and was one of the vendors at the July Made on the Left Market. One of her art students is looking for a really good drawing teacher. She is unable to fulfill this role and is reaching out the the wider community to see if anyone would like a drawing student.

You can contact her via her website or email her directly janetpfeiffer@mac.com for details.

July Market Photos

Our first event was an amazing success. Did you miss it? Here are some photos to remind you of how much fun it was!

Want to see more photos of the event? Have some photos? Then visit & add them to our flickr group!

Second Market Date Confirmed!

We know you've been waiting for it, and we are very excited to announce the second Made On The Left Market!

The Made On The Left market will feature a wide array of Western Australian handmade art, jewellery, clothing and more. This is the perfect place to pick up pre-Christmas gifts, fantastic fashions and treasures from local makers.

Made on the Left Designer Market

10am – 4pm

Saturday November 15 2008

Hyde Park Hotel

331 Bulwer St North Perth

Applications for stallholders will be available on 12 noon Friday August 15 2008 via the website or by emailing admin@madeontheleft.com

All market details will be available on the application form.

Until then - do you have a question? Visit the FAQ page for further information.

Blue blue sky!

How good is this blue sky after the weeks of rain? In celebration, I've compiled a collage of blueness from some of the great WA etsy sellers linked to our blog.

Featured are: absolutefeli, adornedbysally,ambiencestudio, auntyevil, aussiepatches, barenest, cseneque, daraart, desertbloom, EmiliaRose2, funkymumdesigns, getsilvered, hemd, j2aney, neverenoughhours, oddgirlout, planetlime, polyjarman, polyclarific, ramsdendesigns, rosannaelizabith, rubbergob, sharonpeterkin, sinipuu, stuffaduck, suganspice, tashimidesigns, teaforbini, thetinylittlegirl, trio, virtualshadows and witchetty. You can catch links to all of their etsy shops on the right.

Enjoy the blue skies!

Heads up for wholesale site

Rhonda has contacted us to give Made on the Left a heads up about her brand new online showcase for designers.

Unique Boutiques is a place where new designers and wholesale suppliers can showcase their products directly to boutique owners around Australia. The website, which is currently under construction, will act as an online portal to help boutique owners get directly in contact with designers to make wholesale enquiries.

Unique Boutiques is already featuring selected designers from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and Rhonda is now looking for representatives of our vibrant left side scene to showcase their designs on the site.

While the site is getting up and running, free profiles are being offered to selected designers. Once a critical level of boutique owners have registered, subscription fees will apply but existing designers are under no obligation to sign up. Categories will include Children, Babies, Stationery, Adult Fashion, Spa & Beauty and Jewellery.

Check it out at http://www.uniqueboutiques.com.au/ - the Children’s section is currently the most finalised if you would like to view that as an example of what the rest of the site will look like when complete. You can get in contact with Rhonda through the website.

Disclaimer: by providing information Made on the Left does not endorse particular products or websites and users are encouraged to undertake their own research before signing up!

Phew!

made on the left market, originally uploaded by the tiny little girl.

Wow - 'oh what a night' (cue pub music).

Actually, it was more a case of 'oh what a day' with the Made on the Left market universally recevied as a big success by sellers and buyers alike.

Congratulations to all the stallholders on their fantastic goods and preparation, and thanks to all our wonderful customers for turning out in droves.

The inaugural Made on the Left market was such a great success that we feel it would be churlish not to get another one up and running,...so watch this space for exciting news in the coming weeks!

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone from the organising committee for your support!

Faces behind Made on the Left - Part 5 - Rosanna Elizabeth

Rounding up our introductury series is our highly valued regional Made on the Left founding member, Rosanna Vinci. Rosanna has introduced you to all the other committee members as Made on the Left's 'Blog Queen' but went all shy when it was time to show herself, so I had the pleasure of interviewing her about her lovely jewellery, life at the doorway to WA's wine region, and her plans for the future - allow me to present Rosannna Elizabeth:

Tell us a bit about yourself & your craft.

Hi, I’m Rosanna and I create jewellery under the brand Rosanna Elizabeth.

I grew up on a farm in Donnybrook (the apple capital of Western Australia!) and now live in Bunbury, two hours south of Perth. I studied at Murdoch University and graduated in 2005 with a degree in Media Studies. After working in radio for a couple of years, I became a fundraising campaign coordinator for a not for profit organisation during the day, and a jewellery designer by night! I love creating jewellery that is a little bit different, like button necklaces and jewellery that incorporates vintage pieces. Something a little bit out of the square I guess that no one else will have. I have a driving need to keep learning new things and improving my craft.

What made you want to get involved with organising the Made on the Left craft fair?

I originally wanted to organise a market in the south west around the Bunbury area, but it was a little difficult by myself. So when Dara kick started the first event, I thought that I could learn a lot from it, and I have! I hope that we can extend our events to other regions of WA, including the south west, and also through to the northern regions of WA if there is a market for it.

What do you cherish most in your life?

I cherish life in general. You never know what can happen in the space of a day, or in 10 seconds for that matter. Life is too short. I also cherish my family, I wouldn’t be here without them, they are the best and I love them dearly.

What could you not live without?

My GHD hair straightener! I have really curly hair and if I let it dry, it’s a frizz ball! So I need to blow dry it straight after I wash it, which takes almost an hour (I have really thick hair), then spend another half an hour straightening it with my straightener…it works though and everyone thinks I have straight hair. If only they knew : ) If I’m being slack I just let it dry over night and then go over it with the straightener in the morning, but it doesn’t look as nice. My sister is a hairdresser - I blame her for me wanting to have nice hair all the time!

What inspires you?

Anything and everything! Colours, fashion, nature, people and personalities – I love it all! Colours are a huge thing for me though…it sets my mind off in all directions and I tend to mix different colours together, which makes for cool combinations!

Do you think being in Western Australia affects your craft in a negative way?

Not really. I think the internet makes it a lot easier these days to put your work out there. I have my jewellery in a boutique in the U.S. and without the internet, this probably would not have happened. I also think a lot of my creativity comes from the relaxed atmosphere here in Bunbury, so that’s certainly a positive!




What is the most important thing to you when you create your work?

I need to have some inspiration while I’m creating and be in a creative mood. If I don’t have that creativity in my mind, I just can’t seem to put anything together, or things just don’t work. I went though a creative drought not long ago, I didn’t make anything for about three weeks and I was starting to doubt myself. But thankfully the spell has been broken and I’ve found the motivation to get my groove back!

What are your plans for the future?

I hope to have my work in boutiques around the world and also making my mark locally with both my jewellery and bags.

I am learning to sew at the moment and I’d like to use this in the future to expand into making other crafty things. While doing this I’d also like to continue learning new jewellery making techniques. I am currently learning more about wire work, but I’d really love to get into Precious Metal Clay…I just need to remind myself to stick with one thing at a time!

In the long term, I hope to expand my jewellery range and launch a line of bags and possibly even clothing! My plan is to establish myself locally first and then go from there.

Faces behind Made on the Left - Part 4 - Odd Girl Out

I've introduced you to Dara, Jacquie, Ali and now, it's my pleasure to introduce you to the talented Sarah Gazia - the face behind Odd Girl Out.




Tell us a bit about yourself & your craft.

• I am a marketer by ‘real’ job and usually have a good way with words...except maybe when it comes to talking about myself.
• I returned to Perth at the beginning of the year after a couple of years living within the shadow of Tower Bridge in London.
• I’m a polymer clay queen at present...but I love to learn how to work in different media.
• In my previous crafting life I did a lot of silk painting...examples of which may still crop up in my etsy store in the future...you just never know.
• My partner and I started our own marketing and design business this year as well as getting Odd Girl Out off the ground – there’s no doing things by halves!

What is Made on the Left?Made on the Left is a celebration of Western Australian ingenuity and craftiness and a central source for information on local creative opportunties.

What made you want to get involved with organising a craft fair?I don’t really think of myself as an organiser (leaving that up to the more naturally organised members of the group!) but I do know a bit about marketing and promotion and thought I could lend a hand. I have a background in arts and tourism promotion so I guess I had a head start on promoting the arty attributes of WA and this plan seemed to fall naturally into place.

What can we expect to see there?A wonderful array of handmade goodies with a particular emphasis on fresh talent – we have a great proportion of stallholders for whom this is their first market, and I think that’s really exciting. It definitely won’t be same old, same old...About two thirds of the sellers are from Etsy, so although they may have had an online presence for a while, this is the first time you’ll see them all in a ‘brick and mortar’ room together.

What are your plans for the future?
Just looking ahead for the next year, I hope to really establish our marketing and design business and get more accustomed to the ins and outs of being a small business owner. With Odd Girl Out, I would like to raise the brand profile, achieve some exposure in fashion media and distribute/sell more widely through wholesaling or direct selling (like more markets!). I’m going to be seeking some advice from people who have a lot more experience than I do in jewellery retailing and setting some realistic goals.

What do you cherish most in your life?My partner Moz, who I am hoping to convince to have his own stall (as an illustrator) at the next market. At the moment his can be seen as my lovely assistant on the Odd Girl Out stalls.

What could you not live without?Gelato. Well, actually many foods. Mmmmmm. And travel.


What was the first thing you ever created?
With an art teacher for a mum, I think my creating dates back to before I could stand and probably involved poster paints and my fingers.

What inspires you?
I love visiting museums of modern art, galleries and funky shops (preferably in far off cities to get the travel angle in too!) and seeing what’s happening out there in the world. When I was travelling through Europe for three months last year I carried a small sketch book with me all the time and I have lots of inspiration to draw from now.




What do you think of Australian design?I think Australian design is definitely well regarded, but these days no one is going to get a gold star just for being Australian – there is a whole world of creative people out there and the bar is continually being raised, so there’s no room for complacency.
Do you think being in Perth affects your craft in a negative way?
I would say being based in Perth has both positives and negatives. Truly, with travel, the internet etc as developed as they are now, the ‘isolation’ issue is really not as significant as it once might have been and there is a strong, although not massive, pool of creative people to take inspiration form. The most frustrating thing is the cost of supplies and not being able to get things quickly

What is the most important thing to you when you create your work?
I’m pretty critical of my work so when I can look at something I made and think – I really like that – I’m pretty happy!

Where do you see yourself in a year’s time?Hopefully more well known, established and regarded in both of my businesses!

Press, Press and More Press

We are so excited to see so much press coverage about the Made On The Left Market which is THIS Saturday the 12th of July. That is right... only two sleeps to go!! :)

Here are a few recent articles -
(to keep up to date just check out the 'press' page on the website)

Oh - and here is the ad that was in Xpress Magazine thanks to the sponsorship grant we received from Etsy!