Lots of lovely things at Magnolia Square in Sydney

the giant handmade pink paper chandelier making quite the entrance

inviting reception area

a collection of 'favourite things' from each stall

Welcome to a little piece of the Magnolia Square experience. The venue looked beautiful, the stalls very pretty & stylish, super lovely stall holders to meet & chat to, including my neighbours from Yknot, Beautiful Souls, Sweet Dreams Cakes & the Kinder Gallery. All very nice to look at during the breaks between customers. It was busy during the first couple of hours of trade each day, then not so much, so i had the chance to look around & shop!! As i've been doing markets for some 3 years & sewing professionally for 10, i spent much of my time handstitching headbands & brooches, so no time wasting for me!! the sweet Kinder Gallery stand was simply adorable

meeting Yogi from Sweet Dreams Cakes was a highlight, what a talent!!
between Yogi & my stall was Emma from Yknot, up from Melbourne for the event

Lucy & Ally from Beautiful Souls had me laughing all day & night!!

Enjoy these images . . . & maybe if you didn't make Magnolia Square this time, next time you'll get there one day. I won't be returning, it was a big call for me to do a 3 day event interstate away from my family, i actually felt out of my comfort zone as after all, i do what i do as i'm a stay at home mother & being away for 4 whole days, well that's not being at home is it??

the gorgeous Sam from Little Nest had me enticed with this replica Arne Jacobsen chair, so it came home with me back to Canberra for my eldest daughter, i chose red!!

Blue Bird & Honey, sweet name & totally gorgeous vibe going on here

i didn't actually meet this lovely lady from Little Bubble & Tree, pretty stall isn't it, she looks adorable too

It was lovely to visit Sydney (my home town), saw lots of family & friends, new fabrics from Retro Mummy & home baked cookies from my mum. Oh & of course, a trip to Ikea!! I came home to a happy husband, clean home, 4 very excited children & lots of cuddles. That's more like it!! Love Posie

Gorgeous new jewellery range has launched

Greetings all, while i catch my breath & wait to down load my images from the beautiful Magnolia Square market in Sydney this past week . . . just thought i'd support my gal pals who launched this new range from their collaboration, Zugara Collective. Zugara means something wonderful like 'pattern' or 'design' in Japanese which is perfect for this Asian fusion aesthetic going on with these designers.
Amy from Moyou showed at Magnolia Square & we car pooled up from Canberra together & shared very budget motel rooms in Sydney, it was clean, that's about all we could say!! It was a very tired trip home on Saturday night. More on Moyou next, but just have to boast that i am the proud new owner of an Emma Kidson origami box ring (top right of this image) & i love loVE LOVE it!! Even my husband didn't mind 'looking after it for me' on his finger while i did the dishes. It's just lovely to wear, i'm a silver girl & i've wanted this for 8 months since Emma started at Handmade Canberra's UpMarket with me. Awesome work girls.
Back to sorting out my stock, studio, new website massive make over, with new stockists & that's right, 4 children indoors on school holidays as it's frrrrreeeeezzzzzing in Canberra. Sydney was sunshine & happiness, here we have moments of blue skies, but it's still brrrrrr. Love Posie

hype HYPE chaos CHAOS & hitting the road

Greetings all, very quickly as i have a zillion upon zillion things to do . . . doing the final round up of products, packing & planning for Magnolia Square in Sydney. While it's only a smooth 3 hour trip from Canberra to Sydney, it involves a rather large loop of Sydney to collect last minute bits & pieces. Things like a trip to Ikea for more shelving & stools; a trip to my parents who picked up my Ikea shelving in advance, phew; a trip to collect more cushion inserts; a trip to Retro Mummy for more fabric which has just arrived (thanks Corrie my love): THEN we can settle into our motel for the evening. I am bringing the fabulous Amy from Moyou who will have a gorgeous stall in the grown up section (think felt fusion, acrylic & fun jewllery & accessories) & super Julie who is helping me at my stand. Goodness, a real life helper, this is something very decident for me. On Saturday i have a dear friend (our husbands go way back) Lisa coming along to help too. For the non stall holder community, running your own stall is hard work on many levels, mainly the 'needing to use the bathroom' issue, when you're alone!! Thanks girls, it's going to be a blast!! Quick way to find the Posie Stand . . . i'm on the corner outside the ladies' bathroom, one up from my new friend . . . the gorgeous Yogi who does amazing Sweet Dreams Cakes. Love Posie

mega Handmade Market success, phew!!

Greetings all, the lastest Handmade Market looked something like this times 10 000 people in 6 hours!!

My Kristen Doran fabrics went crazy so next Handmade i'll have the entire collection including her gorgeous patterns & kits. Go Kristen!! My customers were loving the Screen Printed in Australia vibe, very unique & popular.
Also incredibly popular were the Japanese imported fabrics, next market i'll have another dozen bolts to offer . . .
Well it's amazing to think that in just 6 short months, the fantastic quarterly Handmade Canberra's UpMarket has gone from nothing to a 10 000 person event in 3 markets!! I am so proud to be a part of this awesome market atmosphere & each event keeps topping itself, with stalls, customers, sales . . . i can't wait for Handmade in Bloom which coincides with Floriade!! So if you're super into Spring, flowers & all things pretty, make a trip to our nation's capital in September & you can do it all in one weekend!! Just check out the crowds & my little old marquee . . .

Some sneak peaks of what i'm working on for Spring with my little children fashion label sTaRt oF FaShiOn . . . enjoy. If you can't wait until then . . . there is always Magnolia Square in Sydney in July. Russian Doll obsession anyone??

Love Posie

read all about it, The Chronicle in Canberra

Greetings all, in a neat lead up to Handmade Canberra's UpMarket this Saturday at Albert Hall, the Chronicle did an interview about my sewing business. I'm really pleased with the article, it covered all the basics of what i'm about, handmade, family, fabric, design, passion . . . so if you're in Canberra or our surrounds, please join us at Handmade, don't be shy, come along & say hello at the Posie Stall - i'm outside on the lawns just near the French doors to the balcony. Thanks Julie (Queen of Handmade) & shucks folks, love Posie

up uP UP & DOWN DOwn down

Greetings all, feeling like i'm on a roller coaster ride at the moment.

Last Sunday's Mother's Day market was lovely, great customers, everyone up beat, my stall was next to Little Angel Little Devil run by Rachel who i adore . . . (UP) made some cash, paid for new children's fancy sneakers (DOWN).

I ran the Mother's Day stall at our primary school which had a Handmade Canberra's UpMarket raffle of goodies & raised a tonne of cash, yippee (UP) but ended up exhausted with a migraine (DOWN)!!

Then Monday was the zone cross country & my 3 girls were all competing for their school, i was one very proud mama on the side of the track with my eldest placing in the final (UP) & promptly falling asleep after an attitude attack in the car on the way home from Mount Stromlo (DOWN).

Recovering from my weekedn migraine, my body has passed the baton to a sinus infection & 10 day course of antibiotics (DOWN DOwn down) & when i was at rock bottom with heat backs on all my aches yesterday, the Chronicle called & asked if they could pop over for a photo shoot & interview (UP but out of puff). That's happening today, i had to postpone them 24 hours or i would be way too hazy & puffy, sure the photo will be average anyway.

Naturally today when i took my husband's morning tea into work, which he made last night, i burst into tears (DOWN) & you know the look your husband gives you when you're crazy crying woman in the car, for no apparent reason. My morning wasn't smooth with the delivery of four children to school on a particularly cold & windy day.
All these great things - newspapers articles, gorgeous husband, clever children & great businesses . . . & i'm struggling this week. Oh, did i only just realise i'm a busy mother & thinking positive isn't a cure for exhaustion??

Tomorrow is the Handmade Show Case at Civic (UP), come & meet us, which is always fun & a fantastic promotion for the big Handmade Canberra's UpMarket the following Saturday . . . oh & a Country Road Sale (UP & down, sale ace, spending all my money, not so ace) then Sunday we have no less than 4 parties all over the ACT, with different combinations of children at each one, some with clashing times. Fun!! Can you hear the circus music as my juggling act on a unicyle goes wrong?? Super Dad will do one drop off & pick up, while i recruit another mother in similar situation to car pool one of my children from her party to the next. It's takes a village!!
After the big super Handmade UpMarket on Saturday 23rd May, i can rest, relax, catch my breath & stick to the on line orders for a while. So that should balance me out. I'll also let you know how the Chronicle article goes & my new hair cut, it's cute!!

But wait, there's more . . . head down tail up, i'm sewing for the next big event in my life . . . on an up uP UP to the sky note . . . i'm going to show at Sydney's Magnolia Square. This is a market which my customers (first in Darwin as that was where we were living at the time when Magnolia started in Victoria) have told me i must go given the opportunity. So now Magnolia is branching out to Sydney, i'm coming too. Sydney is where i was born & raised, i have a fabulous customer base there, friends, family & i'm very much looking forward to doing a fantastic market event - details below & a whole lot more on Magnolia Square later . . . love Posie

Happy Mother's Day Australia & Mums around the world

Greetings all, my favourite of days, even better than my birthday, is Mother's Day. As cliche as it sounds, i do think some of us were just born to be mothers, be it broad hips or incredible patience, (i tick both categories) but when i think about my children, it makes my stomach butterfly. Sure i have great ones, happy, healthy, funny, sporty & bright. They are easy children to love. I feel so lucky to have 4 of them too, all clones of my favourite person in the world, my husband. I'll blog about my gift later . . . blame Retro Mummy for making it happen, you know when you get a thought into your head (be it a fabric, dress, toy) that you just HAVE to have . . . well my husband considered it an investment in the business, bless him. I'm not normally up for gifts at birthdays. Christmas etc, but this is my 10th Mother's Day so why not & tax deductable at that, yeah for everyone from me to the tax man.
Tomorrow is our school's Mother's Day stall which is always sweet & with my access to wholesalers, we have a fantastic range of goods & my dear husband made 20 bags of rocky road to go with brownies & cookies for the $3 table. We also have a fantastic Handmade Market raffle (thanks Julie & Tania) valued over $100 on offer, includes Handmade apron, badge, bag, goodies from Peggy-Jean, Edna&AliceMay plus Posie - it's who you know ladies!! The money generated from ticket sales has paid for any overheads for the 300 odd gifts we require for the market. Kudos!! It never hurts to ask for donations & bam, every ticket sale is pure profit. Give it a try for any event. Handmade Canberra's UpMarket was a great fit for our school's raffle as it's motherly goodness, cross promotion with the upcomign event & Tania McCartney's new book Beijing Tai Tai, which i can't put down!! Tania is so glam, honest, frank & very funny about her 4 years living in China with 2 young children as the 'wife'. I added an autographed copy of her book to our raffle & can't wait to see who wins so i can talk their ear off about Tania to yet another person. My husband wants to meet Tania & thank her for having to put up with the back of my head as i read & read & read on. FYI, i'm NOT a reader at all, i'm a scientist remember, not into humanities at all, so reading anything more than a magazine or parenting book since university, it's just not heard of, even on holidays for me!!
If you're in Canberra, come along to Glebe Park next to Civic Shopping Centre & join in the fun on Sunday!! There is free entertainment, market stalls (me me me) & a great play ground to boot. Sure my family will come too, help me pack up would be handy . . . 'many hands' . . . Happy Mother's Day, love Posie