Suggestions for Shopping with Sugar & Spice

One week away from our final market for 2012 and we thought we would share with you some of our suggestions that may make your shopping experience at Sugar & Spice even better....

• Pencil Sunday 18 November, 9am - 1pm into your diary (in permanent texta!)

• Visit the Shop section of this very blog and click your way through our list of stallholders that you will find on market day. Start drafting your shopping wish list. Perfect opportunity to tick off some of your Christmas shopping load.

• Try and leave the pram at home. We wish St Ambrose Hall was twice its size but sadly it's not. If you want to be able to navigate your way around the hall with ease, while checking out each and every stallholder try using a baby carrier or baby bjorn - you will be thankful.

• Type 'St Ambrose Hall, Corner of Anslow & Templeton Streets, Woodend' into your GPS. Our market is a couple of streets away from Woodend's main shopping village and this will help lead you straight to us.

• Visit an ATM before coming, we don't have one on site. Although some stallholders have their own eftpos machines, most take cash only.

• Come early! We have 100 of our gorgeous goodie bags to hand out free to the first 100 shoppers through the old church hall doors. With goodies from Coles Baby & Toddler Club and SIDS & Kids inside - who doesn't love free stuff!

• Do a few laps of the hall. You may have missed something the first time. Each stall is full of treasures that are there for you to find.

• Stop by Kim Selby Photography's stall and say Hi. Kim is one of our fabulously talented market sponsors, and she is LOVELY! She may even take a quick snap of you and your cute little ones for our facebook page!

• Hang around between 10am - 12pm as another one of our hugely talented sponsors, Jo from Mini Maestros, will be holding free little music workshops outside the hall for children wanting to take part.

• Don't be put off by the queue for face painting. Kerriann from Colour FX: Facepainting, our amazing facepainting sponsor, puts her heart and soul into every little face she paints - you will not be disappointed. Her face painting IS THE BEST and your little people will thank you.

• While in the food room grab a good, hot coffee from Jo from Wild Espresso.

• Then move on to Aunty Em's Cakes for some of her delicious cupcakes. She will even have a selection of hot food at this market.

• Take a seat at our food room tables enjoy your cupcakes and coffee with a newspaper while the kids can colour in their very own Christmas colouring sheet.

• Before you leave, do another lap of the hall just to be safe. This is OUR FINAL market for 2012 so you don't want to regret not getting those last few extra Christmas presents! :)

• Visit the Sugar & Spice Reindeer Food Bar. We have enjoyed planning this one so much! Let your kids fill up their very own little bag full of treats that will help Santa's reindeer find your home on Christmas Eve. Christmas is so magical!

• On your way out stop by our raffle table and purchase some tickets for our big Christmas Raffle. One lucky winner will win this entire prize pack all donated by our lovely retailers. All proceeds will be donated to important charity, SIDS & Kids.

• Go home put your feet up, and rummage through the beautiful, unique and special goodies you bought that were most likely handmade by the lovely people you bought them from.

• And finally have a very Merry Christmas!

All Things Nice - Whale Spout

Christmas is coming and so is our big Christmas Woodend Market!! In all of the excitement of our last post we forgot to mention that we will also be adding a few outdoor stalls to our November 18 event... so the shopping is going to be even better :)

One lovely retailer that you will find set up inside St Ambrose Hall is Kate from Whale Spout. A gorgeous name, a gorgeous logo and some serious gorgeous products. Here's Kate to tell you some more about what you'll see from Whale Spout at Sugar & Spice....

Are you more sugar or spice?

Definitely more sugar – I love anything with some sweetness to it (and not just food!).

What inspired you to start your own business?

I have three small girls and my concerns regarding the sexualisation of children in society and the media led me to create designs for them – designs that allow and encourage kids to be kids, and not to dress them up as mini adults.

Whale Spout encourages kids to embrace the essence of childhood in designs that let them be little fish. My inspiration comes from my childhood and the way I was raised - playing outside, getting dirty, connecting with nature, stimulating the senses and being allowed to be a child.

How did you name your business?

My eldest daughter chose it - a ‘whale spout’ is that first hair style a little girl has when her hair is long enough to tie up on the top of her head. It also has influences of us living by the beach and my love of whales!

What is your favourite piece from your own range?

The Grace skirt in Paris is one of my earliest pieces and is still my favourite. I have a passion for all things French and every girl that puts this skirt on is guaranteed to do a twirl in it!

Where else can we check you out? 

Web www.whalespout.com.au
Facebook www.facebook.com/WhaleSpoutAUS

Twitter www.twitter.com/WhaleSpoutAUS

 Kate and her beautiful fam - thanks for taking part Kate

Special addition

Our final market for 2012 is only a short few weeks away and it's shaping up to be pretty special.

Our Sugar & Spice 2012 Christmas Market will have our usual gorgeous mix of beautiful stallholders, good coffee, yummy cupcakes and free face painting for the kiddies. There will be our 100 free goodie bags for the early risers and another few surprises which we're keeping under wraps for now. You will just have to come along if you want to find out more!!

We are however, announcing an exciting new addition to our Christmas market here today!

We are thrilled to have a new sponsor join our Sugar & Spice family, one who will no doubt bring smiles, joy and (hint, hint) a bit of music to the day :)

Drum roll please....

The lovely Jo from Mini Maestros will be holding mini music workshops for our littlest shoppers - making our market an even better family day out!

From 10am - 12pm, you will find Jo on St Ambrose Hall's lawn singing, playing instruments and weaving her music magic with those who want to join her. (weather permitting).

Sugar & Spice is over the moon with our three market sponsors who help make each and every event a beautiful, unique experience that is so much more than just shopping. Thank you :)
Mini Maestros, ColourFX: Face Painting and Kim Selby Photography.

Sunday 18 November 2012, 9am - 1pm
St Ambrose Hall, Woodend.
We hope to see you there :)

Painted little faces

By this time tomorrow, St Ambrose Hall will be full of happy, painted little faces. It is without doubt that, Colour FX: Face Painting keep the little people delighted at our market. It wouldn't be Sugar & Spice without a big queue for face painting snaking itself around our food area!

The person responsible for adding the splash of colour to our market is the lovely Kerriann from Colour FX. Kerriann has worked tirelessly and non-stop at our last three markets - and we owe her a HUGE thanks.

So thank you Kerriann for not only bringing smiles to the kids visiting Sugar & Spice but also for allowing the parents to shop just little bit more by doing so!

Be sure to visit Kerriann online or at the market tomorrow. She has a wonderful, unique new offer in her Prenatal Belly Painting sessions. Taking 2-3 hours, they include a relaxing paint session while creating a unique piece of living art. We love it!

See you tomorrow :)

All Things Nice - Peter Piper Picked

When you hear the term 'hand made' what pops into your head???

We're a little bit excited about showcasing a stall with a difference at our Sunday 22 July Market....

Peter Piper Picked is the brilliant brainchild of a local Macedon Ranges Mum. Through this clever business, Kayla sells frozen baby and kids food made in Kyneton from fresh local ingredients. Kayla's aim is to provide healthy kids meals for busy families that want to feed their children handmade but don't always have the time. What a great idea!

Thanks for being this week's 'All Things Nice' star Kayla, we're looking forward to visiting your stall in a couple of weeks.

Mmmm pumpkin, beetroot and spinach!

Are you more sugar or spice?

Spice probably cinnamon

What inspired you to start your own business?

My second child

 Kayla from Peter Piper Picked and her gorgeous family

How did you name your business?

After days of thinking with no luck I woke in the middle of the night with Peter Piper Picked in my head, and just went with it.

What is your favourite piece from your own range?

Sweet potato & cauliflower curry- So many people are surprised when they see a curry for babies!

Where else can we check you out? 

Facebook -  Peter Piper Picked- baby food

 Lots of yummy, healthy Peter Piper Picked meals will be available at St Ambrose Hall on the 22 July 

All Things Nice - Marleymooo Creations

Happy Sunday! Hope you're all enjoying a lovely weekend. 

In this little home, we were happy to rid the gastro bug that has invaded our house, rug up and spend some time on the beach. Weekends are definitely good for the soul...

As the calendar moves forward, we have nearly reached one month until market day. Can you believe it! Today I wanted to continue the countdown by introducing you to another one of our market day stallholders.

Fab from Marleymooo creations will be making her market debut at Woodend on July 22. Be sure to stop by her stall and say hi. Not only does she make gorgeous products, but I have to say she is one of nicest people you will ever meet... I don't believe the 'Spice' reference below at all :)

Thanks for taking part Fab.

Are you more sugar or spice?

I do have a little sugar in me but I would have to say I am more Spice, I think that’s the Chilean in me.

What inspired you to start your own business?

Just after little Miss Mooo was born I started to make my own baby gifts and I received great feedback, so I decided to take the plunge and start selling my creations. 

How did you name your business?

I named the business after my little Miss Mooo who was the reason I started sewing again. It was only fitting as she is my inspiration.

What is your favourite piece from your own range?

I am proud of all my creations but at the moment I am loving “E’s” Girlie Pouch. It is named after my younger sister who set the challenge to design something to store her girlie things and so “e’s” Girlie pouch was the result. Mine is always in my bag with my girlie things in it.

Where else can we check you out? 

I have a facebook page Marleymooo Creations and a blog marleymooocreations.blogspot.com.au, where you can browse through to see all my creations.

All Things Nice - By George

Have you been making your way through the wonderful list of stallholders that will make up our July 22 Woodend Market?? If you haven't yet, make sure you do - it will make drafting that shopping wish-list all the more easier :)

One new, upcoming, super talented business that will be making their Sugar & Spice debut at the market is - By George. A lovely mother and daughter duo who create gorgeous knitted and crochet treasures for little people.

Thank you Kim for giving us an 'All Things Nice' perspective on your business. We're looking forward to showcasing your range in July.
Sherryn & Jackie x

Kim from By George with her gorgeous little people

Are you more sugar or spice?

Definitely more sugar, a little sweetness always brightens the day :)

What inspired you to start your own business?

Mum (George) has always loved knitting and has been creating gifts for family and friends for over 50 years – not that she would like me admitting it :) We have both always adored all things handmade, and with the arrival of our own little munchkins really focused on beautiful products for little people. When my interest in crochet developed, we thought it would be fun to combine our skills and share our passion with others.

How did you name your business?

When my son Oscar started making his mark in the world, as first child and grandchild, he nicknamed his Nanna ‘George’. Seeing as it is her creativity and talent behind so much of what we do, it was only fitting to name it after her.

What is your favourite piece from your own range?

That’s very difficult to choose. It’s hard to go past a warm snuggly beanie, and I think the pixie style hat is probably one of our most favourites.

Where else can we check you out? 

http://www.facebook.com/knitsbygeorge

Stallholder essentials

July market shoppers are in for a real treat. Our retailer list is close to being fully locked in and it's looking like the stalls on the day will be a diverse range of fresh, beautiful, some well-known and some new and upcoming businesses. We thought some tips on how to get the most out of your Sugar & Spice experience could be handy for those retailing. So here's Katie from 5 Star, Baby! with some essential market day advice. As a regular retailer on the market scene, and with many, many market days under her belt, Katie's advice may be just what you need. Enjoy! Thanks so much Katie :)

Sherryn & Jackie
***************************************
Wow!! What an honour to be asked by Sherryn and Jackie to do a guest post on their blog with some handy tidbits for stall holders.

• First things first…DISPLAY! I can not emphasize this enough. This is your chance to draw someone towards your stall, or have them walk right past.

• Think carefully about your display. Always practice your set up at home. Take photos to get perspective on how it’s going to look and make sure you fit into your allocated space.

• Most of the items I take to a market are purely for display. Think outside the square and make it different, creative and super appealing. Use different heights to create multiple levels of interest.

• Make sure you have good signage so everyone can see your brand.

• Your stall needs to be well stocked so there are no empty spaces, but not so cramped that it’s overwhelming.

• Be friendly. A smile is free and will entice customers over to browse.

• Try to stand behind your stall rather than sit, I know it can be exhausting, but trust me, this small difference will invite customers over to browse.

• Write yourself a checklist of must haves. Some things I try to remember on the day are paper bags, (which I have on occasion forgotten!!) people like to have a bag to protect their precious purchase.

• Your float. Make sure you have a few of each note and as many gold coins as possible. I find many people come to the market via the ATM and only have larger notes. So be prepared!!

• Some plastic drop sheets or something similar to cover your stock on the trip in and out of the hall in case it rains.

• One last thing to remember is your coat! Woodend is freezing in winter. The hall gets nice and cosy, but trust me, until you thaw out, you will need to be rugged up nice and proper!!!

• Most of all, have fun. Relax and enjoy the day!

Katie
5 star, baby!

Giveaway Madness!

While our Scienceworks Giveaway doesn't close until April 1, we have had so many great entries that we had to source some more wonderful prizes!

Thankfully, our friends at The Baby & Toddler Show have generously given us some double passes to this weekend's awesome Baby & Toddler Show in Melbourne! So do you have wonderful things planned for your weekend? If you sent in a photo entry for our latest giveaway, there may be some free passes in your inbox very soon to solve any weekend boredom worries! There's also the possibility that some lucky (randomly chosen) facebook fans might receive a double pass tomorrow too! So if you haven't already, go 'like' our facebook page!

The Baby & Toddler Show is Melbourne's premier baby and parenting event and an invaluable resource for expectant and first-time mums. This year, the show will feature daily seminars by parenting expert Pinky McKay and parenting psychologist Angharad Candlin at the Bio-Oil Main Stage; informative, hands-on sessions with leading maternal and baby nurses and experts at the Advice Hub; and over 200 exciting exhibitors showcasing and selling their new and innovative baby and toddler products.

The interactive and fun Fisher-Price playground, roving entertainment and meet-and-greet sessions with New MacDonald's Farm and Bananas in Pyjamas will keep little ones entertained, while peaceful and relaxing areas such as the Woolworths Change Room and show Feeding Room have been set aside for parents.

The Baby & Toddler Show will run from 30 March to 1 April (9.30am - 4.30pm) at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre.  We hope you were lucky enough to win a double pass from our recent giveaway, but if not, tickets are on sale now and can be purchased from The Baby & Toddler Show's website at www.babyandtoddlershow.com.au/melbourne.

Hope your weekend is fabulous!

Sharing the Love

It’s giveaway time :)

Our friends at Scienceworks have so very generously donated us two family passes to their super awesome, family-friendly, always fun, science and technology centre.

Located just out of Melbourne, Scienceworks is the experience that makes science fun. Here’s a little insight into how your trip to Scienceworks may pan out…

Once entering the doors of this western-based gem, you will be welcomed by sights, sounds, buttons, pulleys… a learners wonderland.  Your little people may run around like crazy possessed professors at first, swept away by the hands-on frenzy available to them! Once they overcome this and relax into the facts and figures in front of them, you can spend hours enjoying each interactive exhibition and learning more about the world around you. Lucky for you, the pass also includes FREE entry to a Planetarium show. Here you will lay back, recline in your comfy seat and immerse yourself in the stars above. You will learn things that will blow your mind and give you some perspective on just how big the Universe truly is. Other places to explore include the hair-raising Lightning Room, the history filled Pumping Station and the playgrounds, surrounding. No doubt you will leave exhausted, but with happy little minds and bodies in tow.

HOW TO WIN:

And now by sharing your love with us, we will share our love with you ….. by presenting two of you with these brilliant freebie tickets!

What we want to see from you is pictures of well loved goodies that you bought from a Sugar & Spice Children’s Market. Things like a well-loved dolly, a stained and much worn dress, an always cuddled blanket, a well-used bib, anything that you have purchased from one of our markets and found itself into a much loved home.

Miss Sugar with her Miss Ruby May dolly, who has had (real) lipstick smothered on her face one too many times :)

Please email us your pictures along with a little caption and we will share them on facebook for you all to see. Two entries will be chosen by random generator and awarded a FREE family pass to Scienceworks (Two adults, Three Children, including Planetarium entry, valid until 31 Dec 2012) You can enter as many times as you like, each picture will give you one entry into the draw.

We can’t wait to see your entries – send them through!

sugarandspicemarket@gmail.com

By entering this competition you are allowing us permission to post your picture and caption to our Sugar & Spice facebook page. Winners will be drawn Sunday 1 April 2012. Australian residents can enter only.

Drum roll please....

It is with great Sugar & Spice pleasure that we release the dates of our 2012 exclusive, boutique markets, to be held at St Ambrose Hall, Woodend.....

Sunday 22 July 2012, 9am to 1pm

&

Sunday 18 November 2012, 9am - 1pm

We are NOW taking applications for stallholders interested in the July market. Retailer applications for this market will close on the 31st March, with the successful stallholders to be announced in the first week of April. November bookings will open at a later date.

If you are interested in being a part of our July market please visit our blog and fill out our online retailer form:

http://sugarandspicechildrensmarket.blogspot.com.au/p/retail.html

With just two markets for the year, our focus will be on promoting each event and your businesses as much as possible. We aim for a diverse mix of products and retailers at each market, to ensure a wonderful shopping experience for our visitors. 

Pencil us in your diaries please, it's going to be a lot of fun :)
YAY!

Under the Sun

Why hello 2012... you crept up on us didn't you?! 
and can it really be true that it is nearly March? eeek!

We have enjoyed such a truly magical and sublime summer that it has been hard to draw ourselves away; growing and changing little people, long days on the beach, picnics, camping holidays, poolside parties, we didn't want it to end. But after our little extended break we're back and storming towards an exciting 2012, that will see some changes to the Sugar & Spice brand.... keep reading :)

This summer has bought home to us just truly how fast children grow! Can you blame us for not wanting to spend every mili-second of this Summer focusing on them and soaking in their little person beauty. The Sugar & Spice babies are growing before our eyes, and this Summer alone, more than we ever thought they could in just a couple of months...

Miss Sweet (Jackie's beauty) 

The girl with the personality as big as the sky turned 4 on Christmas Eve. She has been swimming with her cousins all summer and has finally gained the confidence to jump in, not just into the pool, but into anything the big kids can do! She is taking on new challenges, and leaping head first into kinder and showing an extraordinary amount of confidence that just blows me away. It's stressing me out that she seems to have gone from my cute baby to a big kinder girl in a matter of days! How did this happen?!

Baby Spice (Jackie's little man)

My littlest man, the dimpled cheek cutie, learnt to walk over the Summer. Not long after he was running, climbing, skateboarding (!) and even fielding in an Australia Day backyard cricket match! Where has my little 8 pound newborn gone!? (sob!) I have been behind the camera all summer trying not to miss a single moment, it just seems so fleeting!

Miss Sugar (Sherryn's baby girl)

My baby turned 3 during the summer break and continued to surprise us with her humour and imagination. She learnt how to throw award-winning tantrums, to wrap her Daddy even more around her little finger and to make us smile with her growing grasp of concepts and speech. She learnt how to draw people, complete with the longest legs you have ever seen! She had her first hair cut (oh those beautiful golden curls) and she spent day after day making 'rumballs' in the sand and jumping the shallows of sea.

Master Spice (Sherryn's big boy)

Oh big boy, how much you have changed and thrived since Christmas is mind boggling!? Farewelling your training wheels without ever looking back. Standing up and surfing your first waves and wanting to do it again and again. Starting your first day of Prep and loving it so much that you "want to go Saturdays and Sundays and the next 10,000 days". You are our carefree nudist, who loves any sporting/outdoor activity, yet is such a sponge and facts and figure man that you have integrated into the classroom with such ease. This was your Summer big boy!

Ah and in roll those beautiful, proud Mama tears... 

So back to the markets and bringing our Sugar & Spice handmade love to you. 2012 will see us focusing more on what is important to us and that is bringing you high quality, unique and divine stallholders, lots of publicity, awareness and profiling of our markets and retailers, busy days (we hope) and fun, family-friendly events. 

With this in mind Sugar & Spice will no longer be including Ballarat in our destination list (so sorry Ballarat friends). It has been a tricky decision but we will now keep our focus entirely on the Macedon Ranges and beautiful Woodend. We will hold two exclusive, high quality markets during 2012 (in July & November) with dates and details on how to apply to retail at them to be released very soon (very very soon). 

We appreciate your understanding and support with this new shift with Sugar & Spice and we look forward to working hard and bringing you two unique, handmade events for the year. See you soon!

Sherryn & Jackie x