Jumpers & Jazz Festival.....Here We Come

Hello

Some of you may have heard on the grape vine! that we are heading to Warwick in July...However, the details were few and far between. It is now confirmed and we can now let the world know that we are taking part and incorporating The Handmade Expo in The Jumpers and Jazz Festival, Warwick. You can check their website in our supporters section.

Here are the VITAL details:

Saturday 18th July 2009
10am-4pm
Warwick Indoor Recreation & Aquatic Centre (WIRAC), Palmerin St, Warwick
Entry $2 adults...kids are free

This is where it gets a bit tricky and will be a little different to our other expos.

We are heading to Warwick at the end of February, so, we will not know exactly how many stallholders we will be able to fit into the WIRAC until then.
We will still be taking names for this event. Spots are limited so it will be FIRST IN BEST DRESSED. Once we know how many stallholders we can fit in, we will be getting back to you individually to let you know whether you will have a spot at this event.
We wish we could accomodate everybody, but it may not be possible.

We are so excited that Warwick have invited us to be apart of this fabulous and long running festival...So, a big thanks to all of you.

So, email us at thehandmadeexpo@optusnet.com.au if you are interested in having a stall and would like to be added to the list.

Thanks heaps
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Photos from Jondaryan

Hello

As promised, here are some more photos of our great day at Jondaryan.
Hope you like:


Lilly Cottage


Kerry and Betty from The Garden Gifts of Life


Rebecca Baker


Tanya and Val


Ken's Signs


Bill and Jean Nicholls

There will be plenty more to follow during the week.
If you of course have any photos from Jondaryan, we would love to see them...please email them us at: thehandmadeexpo@optusnet.com.au

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Micky's Sheep Shearing Bruises

Hello

We are sorry if you have a very very weak stomach, but we just had to share with you the bruises that were left on Micky's leg when she was shearing a sheep at Jondaryan. Micky must have let the pressure go on the sheep while she was holding it because it went CRAZY!!! and started kicking and screaming.
We are glad that it was not us standing in the crowd when Jimbo was searching through the crowd for one of us...Micky was very brave...So, snaps for Micky!!
You know what the good thing is? She is going to make it!




From
Liesa and Miriam

#2 Announcement

Hello

As promised from the previous post, we are now making our dates available from August to December.

All you need to do is:

1. Decide which expos you would like to be apart of.
2. Email us at: thehandmadeexpo@optusnet.com.au and let us know.
3. In turn, we will email you a booking form (which has further details on it, like cost, etc)...Please complete ASAP and return at your most earliest convenience. You are only tentatively booked in until completed booking form is returned back to us.

Please remember, our location has changed to the Ipswich Turf Club and we have ALOT more space.. We also HIGHLY recommend a canopy.

Here they are:

Saturday 15th August
Saturday 26th September
Saturday 17th October
Saturday 21st November
Saturday 12th December

We look forward to hearing from you.

From Liesa, Micky & Miriam

#1 ANNOUNCEMENT (there is another one to come)

Hello

We are so excited to let you all know the BIG and EXCITING change that is happening with The Handmade Expo.

We are changing our venue.
As you all know, we are currently at The Ipswich Showgrounds in the Exhibitors Pavilion HOWEVER, this will change from AUGUST.

As from AUGUST (our first birthday), we will be at The Ipswich Turf Club. They are located on Brisbane Road, Bundamba.
There are many positives to making this change.
1. The exposure is priceless. There are approx 30,000 vehicles that pass The
Ipswich Turf Club on a daily basis.
2. The space that we have is almost unlimited.
3. There will be NO waiting list as we can fit many more fabulous stallholders on the grounds.
4. There are many areas to the turf club. From undercover locations, to grassed areas, to cemented and paved areas, shady areas and sunny areas.
5. The Ipswich Turf Club is only approx 500m from railway station and very close to bus stops.
6. The parking is easy and large.

We highly recommend that ALL stallholders have canopies as there is limited undercover areas.

So, in saying this, we will be making our dates available from August to December in the next post so get your diary ready!

From Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Australia Day at Jondaryan - WELL DONE

Hello

A BIG well done to all of our Jondaryan Stallholders for braving the Woolshed and for getting into the Australia Day spirit. A nice day out had by most. We certainly enjoyed our day. The storms and rain held out for us all day, the weather was warm with the occasional breeze coming into the shed. A very busy morning from 10-12 with the crowds disappearing from about 1pm...not sure where they disappeared to, however, I am sure that a lot of the Stallholders would call it an "experience" to remember.
Here are a couple of photos with plenty more to come during the week.
A big congrats to MICKY for shearing a sheep. I am sure many of us can say that "we have never done that, nor will we ever". I have seen the bruises and we have proof by photos below...so well done!
A big thanks to all the customers who entered through the Woolshed, it was nice to see the admiration on their faces and the positive feedback about the high quality and standard of ALL stallholders.
Enjoy the photos and plenty more to come and don't forget..WE HAVE OUR BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS THIS WEEK SO KEEP AN EYE OUT...


Micky Shearing THE sheep


Micky, Minnah Girls (Cass and Rach) and Liesa


Liesa, Miriam & Micky


From Liesa, Micky & Miriam

See you all on Monday

Hello

Well, Australia Day is almost upon us and this will be the last post before the market.
We are super excited to be taking the expo on the first road trip EVER....

Just a note...there will be earlier celebrations going on at Jondaryan, however, the Expo will not open its doors until 10am.

Stallholders...there has been some confusion with times...Even though these celebrations will be going on earlier than our opening time of 10am, please be aware that you will be entering through a back entrance so not to interrupt the ceremonies, etc. You can arrive anytime from 7:30am however, you will need to be completely set up (including vehicle moved) by 9:45pm. The expo will go until 4pm.

If you have any queries or concerns between NOW and tomorrow morning, please call Liesa on 0422876154. Emails from now will not be able to be returned.

Take care, travel safe and see you all tomorrow.

From Liesa, Micky & Miriam

WE MADE THE FRONT PAGE

We just had to share this with you...WE ARE SO EXCITED (as you can see).
Last week, we had a meeting and photo with the Advertiser (a local freebie in Ipswich). When he took the photo, we asked him to make sure that we had NO OPEN MOUTHS, NO CLOSED EYES or NO DOUBLE CHINS...He must have misheard us! But in saying that, HOW GREAT IS IT.

Lets hope we get some of our fabulous Ipswich customers travel the short distance of 90 minutes to spend a fabulous Australia Day at Jondaryan Woolshed. Entry has been drastically reduced to $2 each. Here is the schedule again..just in case you missed it, so much to see and do.

We also made the Toowoomba Chronicle on Monday.


We are just so amazed by the support from our Stallholders, Customers and the Media..So, a big thanks goes out to everyone who supports The Handmade Expo.



Jondaryan Woolshed Australia Day Schedule

From Liesa, Micky & Miriam

CRAFTERS RETREAT

Hello

Well, doesnt this sound like the best IDEA EVER?

Tabitha is on her way to organising a Crafters Retreat in South East Queensland.

She is currently taking expressions of interest from fellow craft lovers.

Not only a girly weekend away from the hustle and bustle, but why not throw in craft as well...might as well be in heaven. All you will need is your overnight bag, your craft of choice or perhaps your UFO's (a great excuse to get them finished) and a bottle of wine for good measure.

If you are interested, you can email Tabitha on tabrob@hotmail.com in turn, Tabitha will email you a form with questions and details. The venue, date and price has not yet been decided on but you will have a say on the form...HOW GREAT IS THAT?

If this isnt supporting HANDMADE, We dont know what is!

Count us in Tabitha.

From Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Handmade Magazine - Full Page

Hello

So...2 posts in 1 day...Thats unheard of!
We just couldn't wait to share this ad with you all and can be seen in The Handmade Magazine.

A big thanks goes out to the stallholders who participated:

Miriam from Bubba Chenille...www.bubbachenille.com.au
Trish from Trishalan Designs...www.dyeingforfabricandthreads.com
Sue from Olivique...www.talgaiolives.com.au
Tenille from Heart On Your Sleeve...www.heartonyoursleeve.com.au
Lisa and Sharon from Cute as Buttons...www.cuteasbuttonsat.blogspot.com
Sally & Janet from Gottabee Country...www.gottabeecountry.com.au
Michelle from Vintage Visions...www.vintagevisions.com.au
Michele from Lets Get Personal...www.letsgetpersonal.com.au

Check out their fab handmade goodies and more at their websites.
Hope you love it as much as we all do.



From Liesa, Micky & Miriam
ps...feel free to comment with your feedback.

Jondaryan Woolshed...Australia Day Schedule

Hello

As promised, here is the schedule for Australia Day at Jondaryan Woolshed.
So much to see and do.



Just click on the schedule to enlarge.

Hope to see you there on the day.

From Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Brisbane Bridal Ball

Hello

Well, it is not very often that we go "outside the square" and talk about non handmade things...well, maybe we do...however, we have and we would like to plug this new event that expressions of interest are currently being taken for.

You can check out their blog at www.brisbanebridalball.blogspot.com

A bit of a run down for you. You and your partner get dressed up in your wedding dress (that you never ever thought that you would wear again and has been sitting in the cupboard) and tuxedo (which for sure would be hired...seriously...who buys a tux to wear at their wedding)!! You have a 5 star night out...3 course meal at a fabulous brisbane location which is all decked out, wedding style. Photographers and celebrant on site (if you want to renew your vowes), dancing...everything that you can think of that you had at your wedding...maybe not the speeches, that would take wayyyyyy to long!.

So, if this is something that you would be interested in attending, jump on the blog and send your expression of interest to Micky & Paula.

Count me in..I am hanging out to put on my wedding dress again, get my 5 star treatment and have it feel like my wedding night ALL over again!

Hope to see you there.

From Liesa

STALLHOLDER - FEATURE PRESENTATION

Hello

Every now and then, we like to approach stallholders and ask them if they would like to be FEATURED on our blog.
This month, we have chosen the wonderful girls, Cassandra and Rachael from Minnah Designs. We asked them a few questions about themselves and about their wonderful handmade business that they have going on.

Question 1:
You guys are sisters right?
Yes, and Rachael is the oldest, contrary to everyones belief!!!!

Question 2:
When did you start Minnah Designs?
We are about to hit our 12 month milestone in February, it certainly is true, when they say time flies when your having fun.

Question 3:
Where does the name Minnah Designs come from?
The name minnah was first heard when Maclain, Rachael's son, would look out the window of the car on our many trips to country coffee shops. At first we thought he was just singing away, but the pointing and shouting at every windmill was a quick giveaway. We soon discovered that his word for windmill came out as minnah!

Questions 4:
What exactly do you make? and for what market?
Since having our own children, we found it hard to find anything other than the standard pink and blue throughout the stores, so we decided to change that. We make clothes from 3mths to about 5 years, from nappy covers to full outfits and back to our very original boot covers for kids, to be featured for the first time at Jondaryan Woolshed. We have even made outfits for little flower girls and page boys for weddings, not to mention Christmas and birthday outfits. We love doing The Handmade Expo in Ipswich and anywhere they are going and the Queens Park Markets in Toowoomba every third Sunday of the month.

Question 5:
Do you both sew?
We do both sew, it started with a great home economics teacher at school, and mum would always have the sewing machine out making us new things as kids. When we each turned 21 we were given a sewing machine that promptly lived in the cupboard for many years, then we started our own families and soon were giving those machines the workout they have been made for.

Question 6:
Where does your handmade flair come from?
As kids we can remember going to the local haberdashery store to help mum pick the fabric for our next outfit and any other little adornments we might be able get. We have always loved getting into everything 100%. So at our places anything goes, the bigger, brighter, the more unusual, the more we seem to love it

Question 7:
Why do you love handmade?
We love the originality of anything hande made. No one likes showing up dressed the same as someone else. It's great to be able to dress our kids and everyone elses in something unique, bright and very individual, just like our kids. We were also both given a handmade quilt from Mum for our weddings which was very original and got us
appreciating the hard work that goes into anything that is handmade.

Question 8:
How can our fabulous readers get in contact with you?
Rachael-0419 776 622 and Cassandra- 0400 022 253 or by post - PO Box 137, Southtown Qld 4350. You can also find us at The Handmade Expo in Ipswich or every 3rd Sunday in Queens Park Toowoomba.

ANY FINAL COMMENTS TO OUR AVID HANDMADE EXPO FANS:
We would love to take this opportunity to thank all our customers, especially those that return and bring friends. We love the feedback, and seeing the kids in our creations is such a great feeling, it just makes us want to get sewing even more!!







A big thanks to Rachael and Cassandra.
Here are some wonderful photos of their beautiful creations.
We have to admit that we have purchased from Minnah and put our kiddies in their wonderful creations...So a big thanks from us.
You can see them at The Handmade Expo on Australia Day and all The Handmade Expo markets.

From Liesa, Micky & Miriam

HELLO 2009

Hello

Well, we are all back from our wonderful christmas break and new years celebrations. We hope that you all had a nice, safe time over the holiday break.

And so 2009 begins. Our first Expo for this year will be held on Monday 26th January, Australia Day. What a great day to celebrate our wonderful country at Jondaryan Woolshed and also celebrate HANDMADE.

We are still taking bookings for our January Expo...we have outdoor sites still available. If you are interested, please email thehandmadeexpo@optusnet.com.au for further information. We currently have just over 50 stallholders (payment is due ASAP guys).

Until next time...take care.

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam