Stallholder profile Creative Machine Embroidery by Elisabeth

Todays Stallholder featured is Creative Embroidery by Elisabeth.

The suburb/town you live in now:    Water Ford West.

What is it that you make and what skills do you use?  

I create all sorts items with Machine Embroidery.

What inspired you to start your business?   

I am  not a Business but found myself to young to stop my creativity as I have been in the Fashion industry all my life.

How long have you been ‘creating’? 

I have been creating in what I do now for the last 18 years.

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

Hobby.

Where do you sell your creations? 

By word of mouth and only at the Handmade  Expo in Morayfield.

What makes what you do special or different? 

What I make is all original and only of the highest quality. I am very critical of my own work and if I find it is not good enough I won't sell it. 

What is the most rewarding part of what you do? 

My most rewarding part is when my product is finished and I send the photo's to my friends for them to give me there honest opinion. I get a lot of compliments from people ( Public) who attend our Market, as they always ask me what new items I have come up with.

What is your favourite product that you make? 

My embroidered Bath Towels, Hand Towel with with the Matching trim. Also I love doing Embroidered Pillow Cases. But actually I love everything I make as they are all individual and original.

Do you teach classes or workshops? 

No I don't, as much as I would like to, Embroidery Machines are very expensive. I have 2 and they both total to $20.000.00.

What is on this weekend? The Handmade Expo Markets near you.

What's on this week? After a wild and crazy Cyclone Marcia visited Queensland last weekend, a lot of our Rockhampton friends are still without power and have a big clean up to do. Our thoughts are with them and hope that they haven't had too much damage and will be back on their feet soon. Our Bundaberg friends also struggled with Marcia's presence and were hit with wild winds and lots of rain with saw the postponement of their first Handmade Expo Market in the new Civic Centre. The Civic Centre then became an evacuation centre for the region. Further down the coast and in a bit, Ipswich was also on high alert with the forecast of strong winds and potential flooding and with the safety of customers and stall holders alike in mind, the Ipswich market was also postponed. This was the first time in the 6 and a bit years that The Handmade Expo Market has been running that a market has postponed due to weather, not bad for an outdoor event. So on to this weekend, this weekend...

Sunday the 1st March is the date for the first Handmade Expo Market at Morayfield. This market is an indoor market at the recently refurbished and renamed Sports and Events Centre (previously known as The Morayfield Leisure Centre ).

Jacqui Orme is the new coordinator for Morayfield and she is looking forward to her debut as market coordinator and has 70 eager stallholders waiting with her. The centre has been refurbished with the removal of a dividing wall and polishing of the wooden floorboards and is fabulous venue for this growing market. You can expect to see some of your old favourites as well as a lot of new faces. Time to stop in and stock up on all those lovely handmade, soaps, candles, pickles, relishes and get your first handmade fix for 2015, it has been a while since their last market in December.

Sunday the 1st March is also the date for The Handmade Expo Market at Bundaberg which was postponed from last Sunday.

The Handmade Expo Market at Bundaberg, has a new venue and a new look. The fabulous Bundaberg Civic Centre is a wonderful indoor venue that is a perfect place to showcase all the Handmade talent Bundaberg has to offer. With the event being postponed last Sunday and moved to this Sunday, the stallholders are even more keen to show you their fabulous creations. This is also their first market for the year, so you don't want to miss this.

So a choice of two fabulous The Handmade Expo Markets this weekend. For more information about any of our venues please head to our website www.thehandmadeexpo.com.au and all the information including each venues contact details will be there. Have a wonderful week.

Stallholder profile Lacinda Naturopatica

Our Stall holder profile today is on Lacinda Naturopatica

https://www.facebook.com/lacindanaturopatica?fref=ts

Name: Ilca Andrikis

Business name: Lacinda Naturopatica

The suburb/town you live in now: Narangba

What is it that you make and what skills do you use?

I use my knowledge in Herbs which I am acquiring through my degree at AIAS and I have also attended several workshops in traditional soap making and cream and lotion. I make the following products which are all Natural with natural and organic ingredients:

Face creams face scrubs and face masks. Body butters and body scrubs. Creamy soap, shaving soaps, deodorant, insect repellent, lip balms, Lotion bars, clay massage soaps, goat milk soap, eczema/dermatitis ointment.

What inspired you to start your business?

My love of natural remedies, I have always been fascinated on holistic approach to life.

How long have you been ‘creating’? As a hobby for the past 5 years, as a Business for the past year.

Is it a full time/ part time/hobby or business? A full time business.

Where do you sell your creations? 

I have a website online shop www.lacindanaturopatica.com  and I go to markets and have regular stalls every weekend, and of course on The Handmade Expo in Morayfield. I am also on Facebook.

What makes what you do special or different? 

I research my recipes to include specific herbs for their properties and I make them from scratch with natural and mostly organic ingredients, I make very minimal use of artificial chemical colorants-perfumes-preservatives.

What is the most rewarding part of what you do?

Hearing clients’ reviews and how happy they are that they have found me!!

What is your favourite product that you make?

Very hard to say, but at the moment I am quiet besotted with my Dead Sea Mud Mask and the Coffee Body Scrub.

Do you teach classes or workshops? 

Not yet but I fully intend to become an accredited trainer, so that this can be more than just a “hobby” and for the truly business minded people I want to provide a certification that will give them the opportunity to open up a good business.

Stallholder profile CraftByrd W.A

Stallholder profile today is CraftByrd

https://www.facebook.com/crftbyrd?fref=ts

Your name: Sharmishta Ravindran

Your Business name: CraftByrd

Suburb/town :Bicton, Perth

What is it that you make and what skills do you use? 

I use my machine to sew my products but from time to time I also use hand embroidery and machine appliqué to embellish my work.

What inspired you to start your business?

I love working with Indian fabrics that are hand-woven, block-printed or made with other traditional methods. Maybe it is the fact that each yard of fabric is unique as it is handmade or maybe the lovely vibrant colours or just the fact that it makes me feels closer to home (India). Having said that, I just love fabrics....I just can't walk way from a delightful or quirky print or colour...
I can never have enough pouches and soon I was making them for family, my friends and myself. They are the ones who have encouraged me to open up my little online shop. 

How long have you been ‘creating’?

I have been a crafter since I can ever remember. I like to dabble in all sorts of crafts, but have been into sewing almost constantly for the last five or so years, ever since I got me my awesome sewing machine. 

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

An architect by education, I stopped practising a few years ago as we keep moving around the world due to the nature of my husband's work. So what started out as a hobby has now become my business. 

Where do you sell your creations?

I started my Etsy shop(www.craftbyrd.etsy.com) in November of 2014. I will step into the world of  markets from March this year. I shall be selling my wares at the Handmade Expo Rockingham, The Vintage Collective Markets and Busy Bee Markets from this March on.

What makes what you do special or different?

As I said before, I am a self-confessed fabricaholic. I love mixing and matching different colours and fabrics together. This makes my products be unique and different from the rest. Also, I love to use Indian fabrics that are handmade by various methods - hand block-printed, handwoven, hand loom, which I feel is my USP.

What is the most rewarding part of what you do?

Being able to play with different fabrics and having a reason to buy more fabric ;)...lol 

What is your favourite product that you make?

I love all the products I make and I keep constantly trying to make new products that are handy and pretty too. It is very difficult to choose a favourite product for me. 

Do you teach classes or workshops?

I haven't ever thought about it this far but well, I never thought I would run my own handmade shop. Never say Never :)

Stallholder profile Daphne and Gladys

Todays Stallholder profile is from Daphne and Gladys, 

stall holder at Morayfield on Sunday 1st March 2015

https://www.facebook.com/daphneandgladys?fref=ts

Your name:Trudy Wiley

Your Business name: Daphne & Gladys

The suburb/town you live in now: Dakabin

What is it that you make and what skills do you use?

Handmade bowls, baskets & rugs, using recycled fabrics by crocheting them.

What inspired you to start your business?

When I was unable to buy a pretty rug that was washable for my home.

How long have you been ‘creating’? 

Since I was a little girl, but these products for 18months.

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

Partime( still have a partime job as well) but would love to make it fulltime.

Where do you sell your creations? Online/markets etc..

The Handmade Expo Morayfiled , etsy, facebook, Clove Lane Designs store at Brighton & Billy Angel store at Old Petrie Town.

What makes what you do special or different? 

I love that its recycling and the materials I use are supporting other handmakers & charitys(op shops), nothing from large retailers, helping the small guys, my products are pretty, functional & pet friendly.

What is your favourite product that you make? 

Baskets

Do you teach classes or workshops?

Yes.