Shop Handmade: Incube8r

The BrisStyle team is kicking off a new blog series on handmade shops stocking BrisStylers' wares.

First up is Brisbane's brand new Incube8r!

Incube8r has kicked off its first week with loads of sales! The store is divided into glass cubicles, shelves, racks and partitions available for lease at a small cost. With the capacity to hold up to 90 artists, crafters and designers it promises to be a fantastic destination for shopping in Brisbane!

Check out these fabulous BrisStyle wares while you're there:

Gorgeous vintage kimono accessories from Kimono Reincarnate.

Beautiful clutches, purses and accessories from Sybella Boutique.

Fine art, prints, cards and photography from Sandra Darling.

Funky and chunky button accessories from Kellie Christie.

Embroidered designs, cards, artwork and homewares from Jennifer's Gift.



Colourful magnets and pendants from Designs of the Heart.


Plus gorgeous wares from Tree Party Design, Miss Dish, Tracey D Designs, Rock'n'Wrap and more!

Incube8r is located at 1/253 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley. Check out more details here.

Saviours of the Lost Arts

The Brisbane City Council clever initiative, Saviours of the Lost Arts (SOLA) was launched today in true crafting fashion at the Bleeding Heart Cafe in Brisbane City. It had all the elements and feel of a CWA get together of days gone by; a warm sense of community, craft demonstrations, women speaking passionately about their crafts and not to forget cupcakes, sandwiches and a really good cup of tea!

Over the next couple of weeks SOLA will give lovers of craft, senior residents, young and emerging craft workers and professional artisans the opportunity to showcase and share their arts and crafts - a refreshing first for Brisbane's art and craft communities.

SOLA FREE Workshops and Events

The SOLA FREE workshop series began today and will be presented over two weeks, from May 24- June 5 and everyone is invited to get crafty. You don’t need any special skills, just a willingness to get involved!

Here's a wrap of all the events that BrisStyle members will be involved in:

Today: PANEL DISCUSSION – VIRTUAL REALITY: CRAFT AND THE INTERNET
Like Alice through the looking glass, the world of craft online is a magical place of wonder and beauty. And it can help you make money by selling online! Today's talk featured BrisStyle's own tech-savvy crafter Kim Wallace (Udessi: Contemporary Australian Art and Craft, KW Ceramics, Brisbane ABCD: Artists + Bloggers + Crafters + Designers), who talked about how the Internet has changed the world of craft.


Saturday 29 May 9.30am-11.30am Make and Take
GAME ON!! CRAFTING FUNKY PENDANTS OUT OF RECYCLED GAME PIECES
presented by Up in Annie’s Room
Emma Gascoyne believes that anyone can find their “crafty” side and create something beautiful! Learn about mixed media jewellery concepts and recycling found objects. Create a Domino or Scrabble Tile Pendant and walk away with written instructions, a list of resources and your very own ‘found art’ collectible!

Saturday 29 May 2pm-4pm Make and Take

STENCIL AND SCREEN PRINTING USING SUSTAINABLE FABRICS
presented by Red Seed Studio
Meet Ellie Beck and Sam Messina of Red Seed Studio. Learn the exciting techniques of stencil and screen printing by hand. Create your own design (or use one from Red Seed), and stencil print onto a linen tea towel or eco hemp tote bag. Learn about organic and sustainable textiles and marvel at precious pieces using upcycled fabrics {Japanese kimonos} and wood {broken skateboard decks}.www.redseedstudio.com.au

Monday 31 May 12noon-1.30pm Talking Heads

A SHIVER OF EXCITEMENT - PRESENTED BY BRISSTYLE
Come and hear the BrisStyle story, learn how to sell your craft wares on Etsy.com and meet some of the BrisStylers including Tracy A Brown from Wildlight Studios who will demonstrate Glass Beadmaking and Trish Goodfeild from Trishalan Designs who will demonstrate Kumihimo weaving with her own Eco hand dyed yarns.

Monday 31 May 12pm-4pm

DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY: ART GROWERS MARKET
presented by Artworkers
The Art Growers Market is an opportunity for craft practitioners and craft groups to have a 30 minute one-on-one consultation with industry professionals such as BrisStyle who will be offering advice in regards to selling online with Etsy, starting a crafting collective and breaking into the market scene.

You can book in to a 30 minute session by emailing savioursofthelostarts.workshops@gmail.com



CRAFT FAIR
Come and visit us at the BrisStyle Co-op

10am -6pm , Tuesday 1 June
King George Square

All the events are FREE and registrations are NOW OPEN- call Brisbane City Council 34038698

For more details pop on over to the Bleeding Heart Cafe website here

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Hot Fudge dresses are a Raceday winner!!

Styling and article by Laura Stead 
(Click to enlarge image)

Congratulations to BrisStyle member Robyn whose gorgeous dresses for little girls have been featured in a mother/daughter racewear article in Brisbane's newspaper the Courier Mail last Friday.

Anyone who is familiar with Robyn's Hot Fudge children's clothing label will know her sumptuous dresses feature lush fabrics, beautiful detailing, and perfect finishing. Just the thing for the little lady accompanying her mother to the races!

 Hot Fudge French Beach Party Dress

If you'd like to get a bit of a 'behind the scenes' feel for how the shoot panned out you can read Laura Stead's Behind the Seams blog (and learn some interesting 'fashion shoot tips' along the way!!). You can also read about the shoot on Robyn's blog, where with typical humour she states "if you are wondering about some of the models in the main picture, apart from the professional model in the long gown, they are the dress designers wearing their own labels.  Thank goodness they didn't ask me to do that!"

If you'd like to check out a bit of Hot Fudge goodness for yourself, you can catch Robyn at the upcoming BrisStyle Indie Designers Market, 5 June 9am-2pm, St Augustine's Church, Hamilton. You will also find her online at the following places:

Hot Fudge Etsy Shop
Hot Fudge Blog
Hot Fudge Facebook
Hot Fudge Twitter

BrisStyle Indie Mother and Child Market Colouring Competition!

The winners of the BrisStyle Indie Mother and Child Market colouring competition are:

Jasmine Miller-Hicks (9-12 years)

Erin Gordon (5-8 years)

Moby Spencer (1-4 years)

Thank you so much for the amazing entries, it truly was a very hard job to only pick one winner from each age group. We will be in contact with the Mum's of our winning artists shortly to arrange your prizes!

The crafty world of Seamstress and the Daughters

This week the BrisStyle team caught up with Suzanne, Melissa and Marie, the ladies behind the fabulous world of Seamstress and the Daughters.

How would you describe your work?

As we are a co-op of 3 so our work can be an eclectic mix of things. Melissa is very into vintage fabrics and recycling old fabrics. Suzanne loves wool and all things crochet. She loves the feel of soft wool and loves to make soft things that are great to touch. Marie loves the prettiness of little girls clothes and loves to try different combinations of trims and frills to make the perfect skirt.


How did your Etsy shop come into being?

Melissa was a big Etsy browser and Suzanne was always making more scarves than she could wear so they discussed making a shop and they asked Marie who has been sewing for over 50 years if she wanted to make some things as well and so we joined forces.


Who or what inspires you?

Suzanne loves scouring the internet and books about crochet and is inspired by the talent of others and sometimes the wool itself will be the inspiration.

Melissa loves seventies fabric patterns and fashion, tea towels and old linens, Montelupo ceramics and her kids art work. Dodgy craft books from when she was young are a winner too.


Marie is inspired by the almost limitless possibilities in a skirt design. She loves the fabrics as well as the options for girls are almost endless.


Do you ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ as part of your creative process?

Out of all of us, Melissa is definitely the eco girl - 80% of all her goodies are made from Vintage and op shop fabrics. Suzanne and Marie are beginning to delve into the eco world.

Can you describe your studio / work area?

Marie has half a rumpus room as her sewing empire. There is an industrial sewing machine in the middle and piles of fabric all around.

Melissa is currently renovating so all her material is in bags,and is working on a desk in the bedroom needless to say it’s all a bit crazy, part Narnia wardrobe part Nana’s gone crazy and bought 100 tea towels.

Suzanne has managed to eek out half a cupboard to store all her wool (thankfully crochet hooks take up very little room).

What is your favourite thing in the shop at the moment?


Melissa loves our darling little Barbie Beds, being a dolly loving girl herself, I like seeing Barbie snugly asleep after she has finished her day job as a NASA fashion designer doctor scuba instructor.


Suzanne loves the crochet covered notebooks. They just feel so wonderful to hold in your hands. A wonderful place for the everyday or those special thoughts.

Marie loves the denim skirts with all the frills.


Do you have any other places that people can view/purchase your work?

Blog
Etsy Shop
MadeIt Shop

Thanks so much for your time ladies and for the insights on how your co-operative works!

BrisStyle Indie Mother & Child Market Wrap Up

Brisbane delivered the most perfect Autumn day for the first BrisStyle Indie Mother & Child Market on Saturday.

Jetta's Nest; EmBelIsh/Enticing Icing; Hot Fudge; Little Mary Moo

The BrisStylers turned up fully stocked with gorgeous products to whet the appetites of all the Mums and kids who came along for the fun!



It wasn't simply a shopping day for Mum, the kids got in on the action too with some very cute and cool face painting. Hurrah!



Creativity isn't only reserved for our marketeers. The colouring in competition, designed by our very talented artist Sam of Jetta's Nest, got the creative juices flowing for the kids (and some adults)!



The fabulous fairy floss duo sporting their pretty in pink wigs caused a stir with the fairy floss connoisseurs. Whispers of "melt in your mouth" and "best fairy floss ever" were heard around the streets of Hamilton.

moose & bird; Kellie Christie; Retro Bird; Meggy Green

And did we mention the shopping? There were loads of gorgeous goodies to be found!



It's hard to believe but even more creative action was happening inside some of our marketeers stalls. Michelina from Bella Mea set up her painting easel and welcomed all the little artists in sight to create gorgeous abstract pieces.



Ellie from Red Seed Studio gave the budding fashionistas an opportunity to create uber cool accessories with her ever-popular badge-making machine.



And the belle of the ball was our very own BrisStyle Faerie armed with bubbles and purple balloons, she really was the most popular girl of the day!



Big thanks to MixTape for supporting this fabulous event and also to Darren from Kish Photography for the beautiful shots.

Want to hear a little more about the day? Check out these posts direct from our marketeers:



*** STOP PRESS ***

Get your diary out and mark down the next installment which promises to be bigger and better than ever, with more marketeers and fresh faces:

BrisStyle Indie Designers Market
Saturday 5 June, 9am-2pm
St Augustine's Church Hall and Grounds
Racecourse Road
Hamilton

See you there!

The Big BrisStyle Giveaway

The Big BrisStyle Giveaway is on again!

At the start of each month a group of BrisStylers will be hosting a giveaway on their blog!

So, what are you waiting for? Get clicking and check out these great giveaways. BrisStylers will be entering links on this post throughout the month so check back later for more glorious giveaway updates!

Please note only members of BrisStyle are eligible to enter their link below.

BiMC News from our Marketeers

The BrisStylers are gearing up for the first BrisStyle Indie Mother & Child Market this Saturday 8 May at St Augustine's Church Hall and Grounds, Racecourse Road, Hamilton, 9am-2pm.

Here's a little sneak peek of what to expect from our marketeers...


We're loving this gorgeous new product from the Queen of giving buttons new life, Kellie Christie. Kellie will be taking orders for these fabulous 'insert name here' canvases at the market. Check them out here.


Cuddly Cats will be making a comeback at edward & lilly, pop by the co-op stall in the Church Grounds to meet these cute little kitties in person!


Maleena from Curiouser & Curiouser is all set to go with buntings and gorgeous kids clothes, check out her blog for more products available on Saturday.


Not only is Miriam from Bubbachenille weaving her chenille magic with some gorgeous new buntings but she's also putting together scrapbooking and applique packs! Check them out here.


With loads of marketeers and heaps of fun activities the BrisStyle Indie Mother & Child Market is definitely the place to be this Saturday!

Stop Press! Exciting news about Saturday's market!

It's finally time for BrisStyle's first Indie Mother & Child Market!


Along with a selection of our beautiful handmade goodies not only for Mum but for the Kiddies too, we will have some other super cool stuff to keep the whole family entertained!


While Mum is off browsing the amazing stalls, the kids can head off to get their faces painted, pop into the hall and enter our super cool colouring competition (for the chance to win one of 3 x $25 vouchers to be spent at ANY BrisStyle members store/or market stall).

Dad can grab a sausage and a drink and have a little sit down in the church grounds, and if it’s more food you're after we will have a Fairy Floss and boutique Snow Cone stall too!
PLUS our very own BrisStyle Faerie will be wandering the grounds to keep those little ones entertained with lots of bubbles, balloons and laughter and letting everyone know just what's on offer at this fab event!

Sneak peek of the BrisStyle Faerie

The BrisStyle Indie Mother & Child Market
Saturday 8 May, 9am-2pm
St Augustine's Church Hall and Grounds
Racecourse Road
Hamilton

Spread the word and pop back tomorrow for a peek at what our marketeers have in store for Saturday!!

It's a wrap! BrisStyle Indie Twilight Market

Photo courtesy Kish Photography

The very first BrisStyle Indie Twilight Market was a huge success! As the sun set over the beautiful Brisbane skyline, pretty lights flickered on and King George Square came to life! There couldn't be a more fabulous setting.

Hundreds of our fabulous fans and followers rocked up to shop till their heart's content. Even those just passing through couldn't resist our gorgeous marketeers in all their twilight glory.

Photo courtesy Kish Photography

But don't take our word for it, check out more twilight tales straight from our marketeers:

edward & lilly
Enticing Icing
Hungry Designs
Jetta's Nest
Marjon Scheffer
Mrs Smiley's Lockets
RE-read Design

Next!! The BrisStyle Indie Mother & Child Market on this Saturday 8 May, 9am-2pm at St Augustine's Church Hall and Grounds, Racecourse Road, Hamilton. Stay tuned for more exciting news about this event and a sneak peek at the BrisStylers' market preparations.

Don't miss the BrisStyle Indie Mother & Child Market!

Roll out the red carpet! This Saturday 8th May marks the inaugural

BrisStyle Indie

Mother and Child Market

where the spotlight will be on beautiful, unique items for Mums, babies, and older children.

Head over to St Augustine's Church, Racecourse Road, Hamilton from 9am to 2pm. More tempting photos here.