Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Stallholder Profile...The Grain Free Bakery

Todays stallholder profile is The Grain Free Bakery in Cairns.


Your name: Teresita Nastasi

Your Business name and facebook name : 
The Grain Free Bakery



The suburb/town you live in now: 
Mareeba

What is it that you make and what skills do you use? 
We make grain and gluten-free breads, cakes, cookies and pastries. Our artisanal baked goods are handmade in small batches using mostly organic ingredients, freshly milled flours and contain nothing artificial.

What inspired you to start your business?
It all began when I learnt that grains were at the root of all my autoimmune problems. Not only did I have to stop cooking/eating grains, but shopping for groceries and eating out with others became more difficult too. In the past few years there has been an increase in gluten awareness and more products have become readily available, but eating out still proves to be a problem for those with intolerances/allergies. Due to consumer demands there are a lot of cafes and bakeries that offer gluten-free foods, however, these products are intended only for those who choose to eat gluten-free. They may only use gluten-free ingredients to prepare your food, but in a kitchen where they mainly produce gluten containing products or make fresh breads, the risk of cross contamination is too high and is near impossible to guarantee they aren’t contaminated during the process. That is where our inspiration came from, so we built ourselves a dedicated gluten-free kitchen where we could safely cater to those with autoimmune disease, intolerances or allergies and anybody looking for gluten-free foods that are not only better for you, but taste better too.

How long have you been creating? 
I’ve been baking gluten-free for about 6 years. It was just a hobby up until the last few months.

Is it a full time/ part time/hobby or business?
Business

Where do you sell your creations? 
We take orders by phone/email/facebook which can be collected from our studio kitchen and we also sell products at our local The Handmade Expo market and other local markets.


What makes what you so special or different? 
Every product we make is free from grains, gluten, wheat, oats and corn. Unlike most cafes/businesses, we bake our products in our dedicated gluten-free kitchen. By having this kitchen and sourcing our ingredients from gluten-free companies we eliminate the chance of cross contamination and can safely cater to the demographic of people with intolerances and allergies by providing 100% gluten-free foods that taste better than the real thing.

What is the most rewarding part of what you do?
The feedback. As somebody who can’t eat grains/gluten, I know how hard it is to find products suitable for me, so when we receive feedback telling us how grateful people are for our products we truly appreciate it and are glad we are making it easier for people with intolerances/allergies to eat out.

What is your favourite product that you make?
Our chocolate filled croissants! Not only are our croissants gluten-free but they are grain-free too! A lot of time and dedication has gone into developing our recipes to ensure our products rival traditional wheat-based goods in both taste and texture. It is quite a big feat to successfully make a grain-free croissant and we are really proud of them.

Do you teach classes or workshops?
Unfortunately no. Our business is fairly new and we don’t have the space in our kitchen to do so. We would love to in the future though!



Monday, July 20, 2015

Stallholder profile...Lady Feather Creations

Todays stallholder profile is Lady Feather Creations


Name: Bree Kaden

Your Business Name  
Lady Feather Creations


The suburb/town you live in: 
Cairns!

What is it that you make and what skills do you use? 
I make an assortment of different creations included talismans, wands, incense holders, dreamcatchers & wall-hangings. I make these using clay and crystals, along with feathers, charms, driftwoods & shells.

What inspired you to start your business? 
I've always been creative and after being made redundant I decided to put that creativity to use and self-teach myself how to create the things I do to build a business for myself! Who doesn't love being their own boss?!

How long have you been creating? 
About a year and a half now I've been doing what I do!

Is it a full time/ part time/hobby or business?
It's currently part-time/hobby but I'm gradually building myself up to full-time, which I love!

Where do you sell your creations? 
The Handmade Expo in Cairns is my first market & I'm looking forward to many more! I also sell at The Designers Den in Kuranda and feature in Handmade Cans on occasion! I also have an Online Etsy Store and do several established Online Markets!

What makes what you do so special or different? 
My creations come from looking at a crystal, a shell or a feather and intuitively working out a design to best complement the beauty within nature's gifts. I strive for my creations to be wearable or usable art and entirely unique.

What is the most rewarding part of what you do? 
I thoroughly enjoy the feeling it gives people when they buy my creations. I put a lot of energy and love into what I do and it always gives me the warm-and-fuzzies whenever I see that fruition pay off!
What is your favourite product that you make? It's definitely an even toss up between the Goddess Talismans and the Faery Door pieces I do!

Do you teach classes or workshops?
I do! I'm currently hosting a DreamCatcher workshop at the end of August and will be doing more Goddess Talisman Workshops in the near future!

Friday, July 10, 2015

Stallholder profile Mummyopathy

Our latest stallholder profile is all about Mummyopathy at our Toowoomba market.

Name: Tammie Pike

Your Business name: 
Mummyopathy

The suburb/town you live in: 
Pittsworth Queensland

What is it that you make and what skills do you use? 
I make essential body creams, rub & oils.


What inspired you to start your business? 
To help families incorporate essential oils into their lives for a healthier & happier lifestyle without harmful chemicals.

How long have you been ‘creating’? 
Nearly 12months

Is it a full time/ part time/hobby or business? 
Part time

Where do you sell your creations?  
I mainly sell through word of mouth, I have just started selling on Facebook & now at The Handmade Expo Market.

What makes what you do special or different? 
I mainly custom make each product to suit each persons needs & wants.


What is the most rewarding part of what you do? 
When my customers contact me to tell me how much they love my product and that it has made a difference for them.

What is your favourite product that you make?
I love making all of them as they all smell amazing & I love finding the right essential oil for my blend.

Do you teach classes or workshops? Yes.
 I hold information sessions and will be holding workshops monthly in the near future. There will be a workshop at The Handmade Expo Market in Toowoomba on 30th August.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Stallholder profile Bonjour Boulangarie

Get to know Gwendoline from Bonjour Boulangerie

Your name: 
Gwendoline Perret

Your Business name:
Bonjour Boulangerie
Twitter / Instagram: @BonjourBread

The suburb/town you live in now:
Toowoomba East

What is it that you make and what skills do you use?
Authentic French style breads, pastries, danishes and savoury products, with imported ingredients. 
Baking skills. 

What inspired you to start your business?
A café asked me to supply with local, handmade, quality products. 

How long have you been ‘creating’?
9 weeks as of today. 

Is it a full time/ part time/hobby or business?
Business

Where do you sell your creations? 
Toowoomba and Darling Down cafés, coffee vans, food businesses. 
Margaret Street market (to start in August), Toowoomba farmers’ market (to start in sept), The Handmade Expo starting in August. 
Will start catering for business and private functions in September. 


What makes what you do special or different?
Handmade traditionally, baked with love every night, authentic French style, with best quality ingredients. 

What is the most rewarding part of what you do?
Texts, emails, messages of my retailers clients saying they have spent a few seconds in heaven or back in France while eating our products. 




What is your favourite product that you make?
Brioche, most definitely. So many memories of my childhood in France. 
My friends and I always say that there is no worries that an oven warm brioche and a handmade hot chocolate (milk in which you melt real Valhrona chocolate) cannot fix. 



Do you teach classes or workshops?
Yes, at Sauce at the moment (French cooking and baking), and looking at more options. 
Alos teach French classes through Bonjour Toowoomba, which I also own. 

Monday, July 6, 2015

Stallholder profile N'Hay Gear ( pronounced Neigh Gear )

Get to know Loretta from N'Hay Gear

Your name: Loretta
Your Business name:N'hay Gear (pronounced Neigh Gear) and The Chopper Bag


The suburb/town you live in: 
Beautiful Hatton Vale, Lockyer Valley

What is it that you make and what skills do you use? 
N'hay Gear is a custom sewing service. I make everything! Specialties include custom tailored horse rugs. Made to measure everything and gear bags and covers. I also have a great range of dog training equipment designed and recommended by professional dog trainers.



What inspired you to start your business? 
Becoming a mother and doing so with the plan to be a stay at home parent I did a lot of sewing for the kids. One Christmas my mother said she required a canvas bale bag to be made to keep her new car clean on hay buying day. My brother (a sailmaker by trade) let me use his industrial machine to make her one, because she couldn't buy them in the shops. She loved hers, sold five at the first horse event she went to, and the rest is history. N'hay bale bags were born. Years of practise have been great. Custom work comes naturally. Turns out I am very good at solving horse rug fit issues, and generally covering three dimensional objects in fabric. 
The Chopper Bag came about because the original creator and crafts woman saw my work on a large scale at an expo and saw my skills so enlisted me and asked me if I would take on Chopper bags as my own. I am humbled to be given the opportunity and truly honoured to make the Gen 2 bags.


How long have you been ‘creating’? 
I have sewn all my life. As a toddler I got in trouble for breaking into mum's sewing gear and making bags for my marbles etc. without permission. I made clothes for myself for years. Formal dresses and wedding dresses. Because I have a preference for one-offs and out of necessity at times. N'hay Gear is six years old this year. The Chopper Bags are much much older. But I have been crafting them since the beginning of the year.

Is it a full time/ part time/hobby or business?
More full time than I would like some weeks! Seven days a week usually. Every waking hour. I'm either thinking about work or working. And I love what I do, so it's not a problem.

Where do you sell your creations?  
I am delighted to attend a Handmade Expo! Finally I am getting it together! Other than that, my work is recommended to others through word of mouth either locally or on Facebook. I sell through my websites too. 

What makes what you do special or different? 
My work is all custom and built to last. Everything is hand made. The horse rugs are truly tailored to the individual animal and quality of product and service is top priority. The Chopper Bags are really something special. Check one out I the flesh and then you can tell me you "get it". My service and attention to each customer is rare, in any industry.


What is the most rewarding part of what you do? 
I love the feedback I get! People are regularly telling me how great their products are. How much they love what I do and how well I do it. Seeing horses with the best fit ever. Super comfy and happy and relieved owners when the fit is perfecto. No more wasted money. Chopper Bags are proving the same. Owners are loving the Gen 2 bags as much as the Gen 1 and it's fantastic to know I am doing the product justice and being a part of an iconic hand made item. 

What is your favourite product that you make? 
That's a really hard one. I love anything that loves being made. You know, the ones with the "good attitude" while you make them and leave you with a sense of completion.

Do you teach classes or workshops? 
I don't yet. But I have a trainee who is enlisted to learn the secrets of my trade. She's been a great help. Made me realise not everything can be taught, but everyone has their talent and potential to harness. That has been very rewarding.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Stallholder Profile Teapot Therapy

Todays Stallholder profile is Emily from Teapot Therapy

Name:  Emily Butler

Your Business name:  
Teapot Therapy


The suburb/town you live in:  
I am a local Toowoomba handmade business

What is it that you make and what skills do you use?  
I create handmade tea and coffee cosies. I also create vintage inspired homewares, including Cushions, Macramé hangers, crochet clocks, rag rugs and other tea related items. 


 What inspired you to start your business?  
Teapot Therapy evolved from my love of knitting.  

How long have you been ‘creating’?  
I have always been creative.  From art classes, to being taught to knit as a child by my grand mothers.  And I’m still knitting 25 years later.  Just this year I have taught myself how to crochet, via the amazing technology of  ‘youtube.’    .  

Is it a full time/ part time/hobby or business?  
Teapot Therapy originally started as a hobby, with occasional markets on the weekends.  But I quickly discovered my little hobby would become my profession and my passion.

Where do you sell your creations? 
At The Handmade Expo in Toowoomba. My cosies are available online at my via madeit.com.au store, at many local markets and at several stores located within Toowoomba.  Pop by my facebook page to see what markets I will attending!

What makes what you do special or different?  
I think the best way to describe what makes Teapot Therapy items special comes  directly from a customer. “Your cosies are beautiful!  So many you see are yucky acrylic ones in hideous colours, but yours are beautiful” - a customer at St Lukes Market September 2014

What is your favourite product that you make?
 My favourite product is the ‘novelty’ cosies. I love the way lots of little knitted pieces come together to create an amazing tea cosy.  Often I look at am item amazed I created it!

Do you teach classes or workshops?  
Currently I only teach one class with a local craft group.  But I’m always happy to help anyone with knitting questions.  Just stop by my stall at a market, with your knitting or yarny-question.

Friday, July 3, 2015

Stallholder profile Julatten Earth Food

Todays new stallholder profile is of Julatten Earth Food

Name: Kate Mitchell

Business name: Julatten Earth Food


The suburb/town you live: Julatten FNQ

What is it that you make and what skills do you use? 
I am a 5 acre farmer and produce homegrown fresh food and preserves.

What inspired you to start your business? 
Love of plants since I was three!

How long have you been creating? 
8 years

Is it a full time/ part time/hobby or business?  
Full time business


Where do you sell your creations?  
20 Restaurants around Cairns and Port Douglas. The Mossman Community Markets. The Cairns Tanks Markets. AND The Handmade Expo!

What makes what you so special or different? 
I actually do grow the food I sell. And we grow sustainably and ethically.

What is the most rewarding part of what you do? 
Hearing the customers say how good the food is!

What is your favourite product that you make? 
Rainbow Salad…a mixture of lettuce all sorts of herbs and edible flowers! Exquiste!

Do you teach classes or workshops? 
Not yet. Although thinking about teaching food growing skills..for the tropics