A splash of colour...

There's so much happening in the beautiful Macedon Ranges this Spring, it's the perfect time to get out and enjoy some gorgeous sunshine, and why not pop along to our Springtime Market in Woodend on 11 September! There'll be goodie bags to the first 100 through the door, yummy cupcakes and delicious coffee, and of course, FREE face painting for the kiddies!

Our fab face painting friends at Pass-The-Parcel are busy with the Kyneton Daffodil Festival, so we have a wonderful new face painting business on board for our September market... Let us introduce you to Colour FX!

Kerriann, face painter extraordinaire, is the creator of Colour FX and a mum of two. Happy to travel to your function, Kerriann is skilled at providing face painting, body art and special effects for all sorts of events and themes, including birthdays, fundraisers, community and corporate events, markets YAY!, and even nightclubs! Her designs not only cater for children, but also the young at heart.

Kerriann promises to splash a bit of colour around our lovely Springtime Market, so prepare yourself for some wonderful creativity, a great deal of fun, and loads of smiling painted faces!

 
Check out their Facebook page: Colour FX Face Painting

The show goes on!

Hello all,

Thank you for the concern you have all shown me the last few days. Please rest assured that my family and I are fine and dandy. The catalyst for finding S&S a new home was brought about because my husband is going to travel more and more with his job (and it is a job that he adores so I can't be selfish and tell him to find a new one!!). There are some simply lovely people interested in taking over S&S and they all have some pretty impressive qualifications too, it is gong to be a difficult decision for me to make! The future for S&S is very bright indeed.

I hope you are all looking forward to the Woodend market this Sunday, I know I most certainly am. Here is the list of retailers you will be able to shop at!

Designs at Larch

Miss Ruby May

totally innocent

Little Ray

Eager Hands

Itty Bitty Oak

Maisy Dee

G is for Georgia

Almond Tree Frames

5 star, Baby!

Milladdi Kids
Bunty and Sars
DEAR life
Shady Days
Impressionable Kids
Retrobub
Little Herriot
Mr Moo
Cool Kids Creations
Bridie - Jane

And not forgetting our lovely lovely photographer Kim Selby Photography

Poster perfect!

Prue has out done herself once again! How gorgeous is this poster??!! As we speak (so to speak) 100 of these are being printed on glossy A3 paper. Volunteers to help get these posters out and about would be much appreciated.

Merry Christmas everyone

I just love Kim Selby and her lovely, lovely photographs! This one would have to be my favourite. Head over to our facebook page to see lots more gorgeous photos from the last Woodend market

Wishing you all a safe Christmas filled with love, laughter and loved ones as well as wonderful New Year

Better late than never .....

Honestly where is my time going these days? I feel like I am living in some sort of a time warp!
Anyway here is the retailer list for tomorrows market. Better late than never as my gran would say!!

Charlie Bird Clothing

Adorning Al

Kim Selby Photography

Osihi-M

Fawn & Fox (formerly Little Elk)

La Toriana

Cro-chelle

totally innocent

Dandelion

Retro bub

The bear & the Whale

Picanniny rugs

Little Nogg

Miss Ruby May

Tom & Molly

Mister Mista

Spunkee

Moederkip

Clucky

Eco Clay

Ceci Bean

Little Puddles

Piper + Lily

Owl Designs

Amore kids

Iggle & Boo

Almond tree Frames

Little Wrap bags

5 star, Baby!

ByeBye Birdie

Inspired by paper

Sissy & Bro

So make your list and check it twice ... I know I am going to be shopping up a storm tomorrow! There will also be coffee and free face painting, sadly no cupcakes this time around : (

The weather is going to be lovely, but even if we get a shower do not panic, we are an indoor market!

A drum roll please!

The dates for next years markets are ..........

Ballarat - St Patricks Hall

13th February
31st July
27th November

Woodend - St Ambrose Hall

6th March
5th June
4th Sept
4th Dec

Mornington - RSL Memorial Hall

20th March
17th July
20th November

TA DAAAA!!!

Does anybody know how to add a calender to blogger?? Anyhow .....

The online booking form will me modified asap so you can start applying for next years markets if you feel so inclinded : )

The other exciting news for the market is that there will be 100 goodie bags to giveaway at every market and even better, I will not have to pack them YAY!! The Goodie Bag exchange is a new business that offers affordable advertising for mumprenuers. If you are thinking about how to spread the word about your business but your budget is on the modest side, then you should seriously consider The Goodie bag exchange. They distribute goodie bags through out Australia but you also have the option to select which bags your material appears in .... retailers with Sugar & Spice will be able to place material in our bags at a discounted rate.

Did you get a copy of our gorgeous new newsletter yesterday? I have received such positive feedback but I can not take all of the glory for the newsletter, Prue from Gigi & Lulu made it pretty and the contributions from Nat (tiny & Little), Jo (Little Melbourne - or Little Melby as I like to call it now!!), Jem (Little Eats) and Sabrina (Little Kitchen) were so incredibly awesome!! And you will be seeing more of their fabulous work in the future! Make sure you spread the love by forwarding the newsletter to your friends and gain yourselves an entry for our awesome Chrissy giveaway for each person you forward the newsletter to!

How gorgeous is this photo of just some of the chrissy goodies to win by Kim Selby?

Have you met .........

Rebekah, the maker of the most lovely upcycled rabbits in the world? Also otherwise known as the creative force behind Dandelion!

Are you more Sugar or Spice?

Definitely more sugar, I'm a lover not a fighter!

How did your business Dandelion come about?

I have always enjoyed sewing & making things for my five children and this led me into starting up a small business from home. I also have a passion for op shopping and vintage fabrics. On a visit to the Creswick Woollen Mills I fell in love with their amazing alpaca blanket offcuts & saw huge creative potential. I wanted to create a toy that combined a variety of recycled materials and that is how my Blanket Bunnies were born. My mum helps out by knitting the girl bunnies gorgeous little cardigans using Australian wool from the Victorian Tapestry Workshop in South Melbourne. I am now making boy pirate bunnies too. Since Dandelion began I have made hundreds of bunnies who have gone off to loving homes all over Australia & the world. Knowing that one of my bunnies is part of someone's life, a part of their childhood, is the best feeling ever!

What is the number one thing you can not leave the house without on market day?

My eldest daughter, Charlotte, who is the best helper in the world!

What has been your best purchase at a market?

It would have to be my super ace sky- blue flowery leather purse that I picked up at Paddington Market this year. It always makes me smile.

Where else can we catch you?

You can visit me at my blog www.dandelion-beck.blogspot.com, or via my shop www.dandelion.bigcartel.com, or at Sugar & Spice in Ballarat & Woodend. Come and say hi!

How could you say no to taking one of these home?

What did you buy?

I have a very tolerant husband, which is just as well really as I set myself a budget to spend at the September market ..... and then blew it by 50%!!!

I have discovered that it is quite a dangerous thing, running a boutique market and having a little girl, dangerous to the bank balance that is!!

This market I had a bit of a spending spree on dresses. I also grabbed a few gorgeous bibs from Gromarts and I will have to share a photo of them on facebook with you as they are in Miss T's room and she is having a snooze as I type this.

This lovely little dress is from Pinikity

This gorgeous dress is by Miss Haidee and is made from some old table cloths! I just adore the details ...

There was another dress I could not resist from Little Ray as well, but for some reason blogger has decided that I am not allowed to upload any more photos *sigh* I will have to post that one on FB too!

What did you buy at the market? I would love for you to share photos of your purchases over at our facebook page!

P.S. How pretty is my new blog??!! The makeover was done by the lovely Prue of Gigi & Lulu. My favourite bit is the retailers form that you will find under the retail tab. No more using ticket systems in evil (and confusing) ways

A slight change of plans

Due to some unforseen circumstances Tea & Jam Photography will not be able to attend next Sunday's market.

However, we are very lucky that the lovely Kim Selby has agreed to be our official photographer. Kim is mum to two gorgeous boys and a Woodend local. She takes the most magical pictures, especially of busy little people and their families. Kim's style is very relaxed, natural and candid. She aims to capture the smiles, frowns, laughter, kisses and cuddles but most importantly your family just being themselves!


Make sure you pop over to her blog to see some more of her gorgeous photos. And stop by her stall next Sunday & have a chat!

I am also very thrilled to let you know that Kim has also agreed to become the official photographer for Sugar & Spice Market in Woodend. You will still be able to catch Tea & Jam Photography at the Ballarat market.

See you next Sunday

Ali xx

I simply had to share

These stunningly gorgeous postcards designed by the very ace Sarah from Style Me Gorgeous. Sarah whipped these up in a day, truely, just the one day. They are off to print but I will not have them until the end of August. There will be 2500 of them printed so if you are keen to help spread the word then let me know and I will pop some in the post as soon as I get my little hands onto them!!



I also have some A4 flyers being printed to be put up in kindy's, local community notice boards, businesses ... essentially anywhere I can get them. They are so so pretty


Yesterday I had a photo and interview for one of the local newpapers (the Macedon Ranges Telegraph for the locals), and will hit letter boxes next week. Another interview has been organised for the other major local paper which should appear in the week leading up the market. Did I mention that I hate having my photo taken? But what terrifies me even more is that there is the possibility of a TV interview for WIN news .... see the lengths that I go to for the market??

Ali xx

The September market is full

Just a quick post to let you all know that all of the stalls for the September market have been snapped up. Thank you to all of the wonderful businesses that applied, I really wish I had the space to fit you all in.

If you are curious who is retailing this time around have a looky at the September retailers page.

Ali xx

Spoil yourself ... stay for the weekend in Woodend!

We are very excited to announce a fantastic accomodation package at the very beautiful Campaspe House in Woodend.


The bed & breakfast package for a double is normally $280 per night, but for those of you attending Sugar & Spice it is a ridulous $160 a night!! That is a massive saving of over 40% and is available the Saturday night prior to EACH market. Here is a description of this package from their website:

• Be spoilt on arrival with our Campaspe Country House welcome drink, served in our gracious guest lounges, or in the historic Edna Walling gardens.
• Relax in our intimate accommodation, with a choice of either a courtyard room with ensuite, or one of our two historic manor rooms (which are not ensuite but have their own private shower facilities).
• Indulge in our extensive continental buffet, which is followed by an a la carté cooked breakfast, served in our restaurant.

Gorgeous!!

So why not treat yourself to a lovely relaxing evening in a beuatiful boutique hotel, a sumptious breakfast in the morning and then a short stroll to all of the delights Sugar & Spice market offers ........ bring the kids along too (or not!!!)

To book this wonderful package simply contact Campaspe House and mention that you would like the Sugar & Spice Market accomodation special. Then simply sit back and dream of the lovely weekend you are going to have!

So back to Woodend ...

With all the chatter of Ballarat it would be easy to forget the Woodend market!

Applications for the September market opened last Sunday and there has simply been a flood of application, and may I say how many simply lovely businesses there are out there making gorgeous bits and pieces for the kidlets. The September market is going to be very lovely too!

I am also trying to be being super doper organised by starting to plan the Woodend Christmas Sugar & Spice and I would really like to have a bigger venue. Now do not get me wrong I really do love St Ambrose Hall, but a bigger space = more retailers = more variety with the added bonus of more space .... and a lot of you have told me that more space is really important. So, do you have any suggestions of a suitable location. I would preferably like to keep it in Woodend but I am open to any suggestions really!

Ali xx