STALLHOLDER - FEATURE PRESENTATION

Hello
So, once a month, we are doing a feature presentation on one of our wonderful stallholders. This month, we have chosen Cathy Reinke from Bearly Basic Creations. We went for a visit out to Cathy's store in Rosewood, had a chat and took some photos. We hope you like it.



Cathy has lived in Rosewood for approx 15 years and has owned her shop, Bearly Basic Creations for 12 months on the 22nd September, just gone. Cathy named her shop Bearly Basic Creations for 3 reasons. She is crazy about bears, she likes the basic things and she likes doing things the basic way. We asked Cathy where her passion for all handmade things comes from. "My passion for all things handmade came from my Nan (my Mums Mum) she taught me to crochet & knit when I was really little and the sewing and all other craft built from there. I have tried just about everything now, but really love the bear making and quilting. My Nan passsed away last year and not long after that, the shop came up for sale and I told myself, just buy it and live your dream as you don't know what is around the corner, and if I don't do it now it may never be the right time again. My Mum tells everyone it was a gift from heaven from my Nan".
Cathys favourite types of craft are "Patchwork and bear making. I Also love to hand stitch (embrodiery)" but Cathy's passion and favourtite things to make are "Bears and Bags".

You can find Bearly Basic Creations at 10 John Street, Rosewood, QLD, Phone: 0754642286 or email: pcreinke@austarnet.com.au. The website is being put together as we speak and will be available on the blog once it is done..so keep an eye out for it in the future.
Cathy offers classes in patchwork, bags, bears, dolls etc, so please feel free to contact the shop for further details or you can see Cathy at The Handmade Expo in October.

BOTTLES NEEDED

Hello

One of our fabulous stallholders is making preserves...pickles, jams, chutneys,relishes, marmalades, etc however, they are running very short on bottles to place them in. They were so popular at the last market that they sold out completely and would like to make some more to keep the customers and stallholders happy.
If you can help Rachel and Margaret, please email:
Margaret at: b_bong@tpg.com.au OR
Rachel at: rachelandjason@bluemaxx.com.au

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

BREAST CANCER RESEARCH

Hello

Recently The Handmade Expo team decided to start donating part of their profits each month to Breast Cancer Research through the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Although we haven't received the official banner and paperwork yet stating this, we already have a donation put aside to kick start our regular contribution.
One of our stallholders, Tina Wilson from More-ish is already raising money for this cause and is having a High Tea in October. Hoping to acquire some raffle prizes, Tina is wondering if any of her fellow stallholders would be interested in donating a prize from your thoroughly gorgeous handmade goods to be raffled at her event. You can contact Tina via email at: swansoil@bigpond.net.au.

Thanking you all in advance.

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

LETS HELP OUT A STALLHOLDER

To all of our Stallholders and Customers.
It has come to our attention in the Sunday Mail this weekend gone that one of our stallholders is going through some hardship at the moment. A drug that is needed by her husband, Avastin, is not on the PBS.
We decided that we needed to do something to help as that is what "extended families" do.
Barbara has a petition going for the government and after reading the article (below) we have a feeling that you too would like to help. If you would like to help by signing the petition, please see Barbara at the next Handmade Expo and put your name on the petition. It's people like all of us that if we band together can make a difference. You'll find Barbara and her lovely wares along the back wall starting at the left hand corner as you enter the pavilion.
Thank you for your time.

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

SEPTEMBER EXPO - ANOTHER SUCCESS

Hello

The September Handmade Expo was amazing. We ended up with 95 stallholders all selling wonderful handmade goodies. The weather was warm, the sun was shining. We had just over 1000 people through the door. A steady flow of customers all day.

We had a lot of positive feedback about the setup of the Expo this month. It looked bigger, felt bigger and the aisle width certainly made a difference.
There was also a fair bit happening around the South East on Saturday as well and especially the start of the school holidays had a bit of an impact on our customer numbers but all in all we are over the moon with the response. If we can consistently keep these numbers up, we will be stoked.

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale came at 9am to be a Celebrity Chef for the MS Sausage Sizzle. Paul is a hoot and had lots of fun. He finished sizzling sausages at 10:10am. Keep an eye out in the Queensland Times tomorrow for a follow up story.

We ended up having 6 stalls outside, they looked amazing, the weather was perfect for it and the position was great. All 6 stalls have now been booked out for the whole year. Once again, an amazing response.

We had some great new stalls this month...The cupcake stalls were a big hit and also the 3d Dinasour Puzzles were loved by the kiddies...especially the 6 foot dinasour. We also had many of our fabulous August stallholders being apart of this wonderful market again.

We are already behind the scenes starting to organise different bits and pieces. We are all back on board again after having Sunday with our families and recovering from such a busy day on Saturday.

We are also starting to advertise in "Handmade" magazine every month... The first advertisement will appear in the November issue (We are pretty sure it comes out towards the end of the November) so make sure you keep an eye out for that one, we will be advertising our Xmas Xtravaganza (which will be on 13 December).

Our next market is on the 18th October, same time, same place. We are having a sausage sizzle again, this time, it will be supporting the Silkstone Baptist Community Kindy. They are raising money for a shed for their outdoor play equipment.

So, we hope you have fun preparing for the October Expo, thank you to our stallholders for your co-operation and friendliness. To our customers, thank you for your support and we will have something new and exciting at every expo - so come on and explore.

OUTSIDE STALLS UP FOR GRABS - FOR SEPTEMBER

Hello
Ok, so outdoor stalls are now up for grabs for this Saturday. It is on a first in best dressed basis. You will need to supply your own tables and your own canopy/tent. The cost is $20 and we will also supply you with 1 chair.
There are photos on the blog (down further) which will give you an idea of where you will be.
There are 2 areas...1 is grassed and under a big tree and the other is concreted, outside the cricket pavilion.
There are only 8 stalls left, so email us at: thehandmadeexpo@optusnet.com.au.

DONT MISS OUT!!

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

AND UP GO THE SIGNS

Hello
With only 6 sleeps to go, it is that time of the month that we start putting up our signs around Ipswich.
One of the questions we asked on the customers feedback form from the August Expo was "what advertising did you see?" Alot of answers mentioned the signage that was placed around the Ipswich area.
We have attached some photos so you can see how fabulous these signs are...I am sure that most of you have already seen them...if not, check them out!!!!...thanks Mitch
Our massive banner has been put up at the showgrounds and our other banner this month will be placed in the main street of Rosewood.
So, if you are local, we hope you enjoy seeing all the signage around the place.

Outside Stalls

Hello

So, after much deliberation, we have decided to utilise the great space outdoors to add some more wonderful stallholders. It is getting a little warmer as well, so these areas would be great coming into summer...
We are getting in contact with all the stallholders on the waiting lists to see if they would be interested in utilising these spaces. The cost will be $20 and you need to have your own tables and canopy. We will post again if we still have spots available after contacting everyone on the waiting list.






Thanks
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

WAITING LIST FOR DECEMBER

WOWEE
What an amazing response.
We now have a waiting list for December as well.
We hope to have more than 87 stalls for December, but we will not know until after the November Expo how many extra stalls we will have...hence a waiting list. We are hoping to extend to outside the pavilion and have some outdoor stallholders.
So, please keep your enquiry coming in and be placed on a waiting list to avoid dissapointment.
Thanks once again for your support in The Handmade Expo.

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

WAITING LIST FOR OCTOBER & NOVEMBER

Hello

Wow...we are so overwhelmed by the enquiry from new stallholders. We are almost full for October and November and as at now, are now needing to place all new stallholders on a waiting list for these months...this does not mean that there a NO spots available, we would not like to dissapoint anybody by telling them that they have a spot and then advising them down the track that we have overbooked...We will know approx 3 weeks before each expo if a position is available for a new stallholder.
So, keep the new stallholder enquiry coming in to be placed on the list and we will be in touch.
We are still taking bookings for December as we have not quite reached full capacity yet and we are thinking a bit bigger for the Xmas Xtravaganza, so we hope to have more stalls available.
While I have you, there has been a lot of demand (from the public) for a stallholder who makes pickles, conserves, chutneys, sauces, etc.. If you know of anybody that would like to have a stall, please get them to contact us.

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

FOOD FOOD FOOD

Hello

We are in the process of planning our December XMAS XTRAVAGANZA XPO (XXX)..
Do you know anybody that does FOOD? We will of course have a sausage sizzle and the coffee van, but we are wanting something else...It will be summer, so, it will be on the warmer side and we want something that people can eat and walk with. We do have some thoughts...

Snow Cones
Strawberries and Icrecream
Roasted Nuts
Popcorn
Fruit Salad
Fairy Floss
Fresh Juice
Corn on the Cob
Gourmet style finger food

If you know of anybody that might be interested in attending on December 13th, can you please get them to contact us on 0422876154 or thehandmadeexpo@optusnet.com.au

Thanks
Liesa, Micky & Miriam