Saturday, February 28, 2009

Our Recky to WARWICK - Jumpers and Jazz Festival

Hello

So, today, the 3 of us headed to Warwick and had an appointment with the lovely Karina. She is one of the co-ordinators of the Jumpers and Jazz Festival.

We are excited to announce and could not wait to blog that...drum roll please.... last year, they had approx 10,000 people attend the festival. THIS IS VERY EXCITING NEWS!!!

We headed straight to the Warwick Indoor Recreation and Aquatic Centre with our measuring tape and are happy to report that we still have stalls available.
We have emailed all the stallholders who have booked their sites and have emailed a booking form to all of them.

If you are interested in having a stall at this upcoming and new market on Saturday 18th July, please email Liesa at thehandmadeexpo@optusnet.com.au

DON'T MISS OUT ON A SITE..CONTACT US NOW!!!

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Jet Music & Books - "The Catwalk to Caston Knitting Night"

Hello

The owner of Jet Music and Books, Tania Murphy, is one of our fabulous stallholders.

On Friday 6th March 09, Tania is having "The Catwalk to Caston Knitting Night". Incorporating the launch of the new Australian Knitting Magazine.

This wonderful event will be held at the One Mile Leichhardt Community Centre. Cnr Denman and Old Toowoomba Rd.

Showcasing:
BIGGAN DESIGN UNLEASH THE DESIGNER WITHIN & WRAP YOURSELF IN COLOUR
100% AUSTRALIAN MERINO FIRST CROSS 8PLY YARN

Former Harpers Bazaar UK Best Dressed List editor, Henrietta Dups will reveal this seasons fashion trends and how to interpret them from Catwalk to Cast On.

HEAPS OF PRIZES TO BE WON!!!!

There will be:
• Wire Jewellery Demonstrations
• Light Refreshments Served
• No cover charge but places very limited..
SO, call TANIA on 32880156 to book your spot
SEE THE GIRLS FROM THE HANDMADE EXPO THERE TOO, PROMOTING HANDMADE....

JET MUSIC AND BOOKS... SEE THEM AT YAMANTO SHOPPING CENTRE OR AT www.jetmusicandbooks.com.au
Craft and Creative Art Books
Cross Stitch Kits
Beads and Beading Kits
Patterns for Handbags, Sofites, Clothes and Quilting
Fabrics
Yarn
Jewellery
CD’s, DVD’s
Musical Instruments and Accessories
Guitar lessons...and more

See you there.
From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Friday, February 20, 2009

The Goondiwindi Newspaper

Hi

On our trip to Goondiwindi a couple of weeks ago, we couldn't leave without heading to the local newspaper to say "HI" and to get our photo taken.

Here we are:


Liesa, Miriam & Micky


We had a nice little write up that accompanied this photo.
The word is being spread.

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Ipswich Vigoro Final Funday Market

Hello

Just to let you know, we are still taking bookings for this new and exciting market that we have been invited to attend.
As we have limited spaces, we have reached our jewellery stall capacity...so thank you to all the talented jewellery stallholders out their who missed out this time, we hope to see you at our other expos.

The cost of a stall is $40 and you will need your own tables, chairs and canopy's (as it is outdoors).
This is a yearly event which attracts around 600 people and we hope to attract more than that this year.
The market is held on one of the playing fields with GREAT exposure from Jacaranda Street.

Saturday 28th March
10am-3pm

We have almost hit capacity and are calling for more stallholders.
So, email us at: thehandmadeexpo@optusnet.com.au to be apart of this new and exciting adventure.

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Friday, February 13, 2009

Jumpers & Jazz Festival - Brochure out

Hello

We just had to share this with you.
The J & J Festival brochures have been printed and are starting to be distributed.
We are very excited.



There is plenty more on the brochure, we just had to show you US!



From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

A NEW MARKET...CALLING ALL STALLHOLDERS

Hello

The Handmade Expo has proudly been invited to attend the Ipswich Vigoro Final Fun Day. We are looking for stallholders who wish to attend.

When: Saturday 28th March
Time: 10am-3pm
Where: Ipswich Vigoro Grounds, Jacaranda Street, East Ipswich
Numbers: This is a yearly event for Ipswich Vigaro and numbers are around the 600 mark...we hope to attract numbers on top of this.

There are very limited spots available.
For further information and to be considered for a spot, please email Liesa at:
thehandmadeexpo@optusnet.com.au

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Reverse Garbage

Hello

So, Miriam and I went on a half day trip this morning to REVERSE GARBAGE at West End.
mmmmm, you might say, well, Miriam has heard about it on forums and was desperate to go and check it out.



"They are a non-profit re-use centre that collects high quality industrial discards, diverting them away from landfill to make them available at a low cost to the general community. Reverse Garbage was set up to help support the work of Friends of the Earth, Brisbane"

They provide:
1. Low Cost Materials for a Variety of Projects
2. Free Class Excursion to the Warehouse(there was a high school there when we arrived)
3. Mail order materials to rural and regional areas.

It was a very interesting trip, you certainly need an imagination when going there. They also have a little gift shop that is full of handmade things made from preloved/recycled/upcycled materials...AMAZING...we did see a few ETSY (www.etsy.com) sellers things there. VERY NICE GIRLS...

So, enjoy if you go and make a day of it, lovely nice cafes, etc in the area.

From Miriam and Liesa (Micky wished she could have been there)

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Victorian Bushfires

Hello

Majority of our posts are positive and uplifting, however, we could not go past without placing a post on our blog about the Victorian Bush fires.

This is a devastating disaster and our thoughts are with everybody involved, from the victims to the victims families to the Firefighters and all the Volunteers from the Red Cross to the Army to the family down the road providing food, clothing and their rooms.

We sit and watch the news over the past few days with tears in our eyes, wishing we could do more than watch...so, this is our chance to give back and to help these people who have been effected by these fires.

With respect to our March 14th Handmade Expo, we will be donating to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal. We will be donating 30c out of each paying adult to this very needy cause. We will also be taking donations on the day which will go directly to this appeal. If you would like to make a donation before March 14th, you can do so here:

www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm
OR
you can make a donation by going to any Commonwealth Bank Branch.

Once again, our thoughts are with EVERYBODY involved.

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam
ps. please feel free to make a comment...

Monday, February 9, 2009

Handmade Magazine - FACES & PLACES

Hello

Well, this is exactly what we said when we opened to page 40 & 41 of Handmade Magazine, Feb Edition.

We did send some photos away about 4 months ago and are so excited that we have been chosen to represent the Faces and Places of The Handmade Magazine.



Congrats and thanks to:
Chris Carter
Sandra-Ann Ringuets
Amanda Bayliss
Miriam Bain
Gail & Claudia Williams
Carolyn Lee
Brian & Dorothy Weatherburn
and
Louise Stewart.

You were the lucky photos chosen to be a part of this.

PLUS we have our wonderful ad on page 68

A big thanks to Express Publications.

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

WISHING WELLS

Hello

We have had an email from a customer looking for someone who made or makes wishing wells (the wooden kind that couples use at weddings for treasure chests etc).

If this is something that you do or perhaps would like to do, please email us at:
thehandmadeexpo@optusnet.com.au

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Accommodation in Goondiwindi

Hello

Please find below details of MOST accommodation that is in Goondiwindi. Ranging from 4 star motels to caravan parks. From in the main street to just on the outskirts (which isn't very far).
We found them all to be very friendly and hospitable.



From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Our Trip to Goondiwindi

Hello All.

So, we have been and returned from our wonderful trip to Goondiwindi.
We (Micky, Miriam and I) had sooooooooo much fun. We met so many great people, saw things we have never seen before and just had a fabulous time.
We did have a reason to head to Gundy, we went for our RECKY to check it all out for The Handmade Expo which will be held at the PCYC on 4th April.

We left Ipswich at 7:45am on Friday morning...on the way, we picked Miriam up from Toowoomba and left Toowoomba at 9:00am. We then arrived in Gundy at 11:20am. So it took very close to 3.5 hours from Ipswich and 2 hours & 20 minutes from Toowoomba. We had a great run. We could not believe how many ROAD TRAINS (they are 36m long - check out the 2nd photo) were on the road. We had a bit of fun...check this photo out of Liesa trying to get a trucky to toot his MASSIVE horn. Liesa was lucky enough to score 2 at the same time...one from each direction. CRAZY!!!!


Getting ready for the double tooting


Proud of the double tooting

From Toowoomba, you will also travel through Millmeran, a quaint little town with a TEEPEE, HORSES AND UNUSUAL TOILET SETUP (which we were too scared to use)!


MILLMERAN


WHO DARES WINS


THE TEEPEE TOILETS


Miriam and Liesa on the TEEPEE


Miss Princess and Miss Beautiful (we gave them names)

Now, the things that we have never seen before include:
1. WILD EMUS...you have to keep your eye out for these, we saw Mum and chicks (whilst doing 110km - which is the speed limit, we weren't speeding). We couldn't take a photo, but through the John Farnham tunes blaring, we were in oar of this.
2. Prickly Pears. This is certainly not a plant that you come across everyday + it's amazing how you just stop seeing them. You really feel like you are out west with these:


Prickly Pear

So, once we arrived, we headed straight to the PCYC (which we forgot to take a photo of) and met up with Sgt Dave Lynch. What a great guy..this is him:


Dave

Dave has been nothing but positive and supportive of The Handmade Expo going to Gundy. He even spent ALL day with us on Friday. Friday was a massive day for us. We headed out for lunch to get acquainted, a nice little coffee shop called NEENS, actually situated BEHIND a jewllery shop. We recommend having coffee or lunch here..YUMMO. Then we hit the main street. We went into almost EVERY shop with our brochures in hand and asked them if they would be so kind to place one in their window. We had an awesome and very positive response to this excerise.
We also headed to every motel and caravan park in town to let them know that WE ARE COMING. We will have business cards in a later post. So if you are staying, you will have a wide variety of accommodation to choose from. We also went to the Tourist Information Centre, and they were very helpful and friendly their too.

We of course had to do some site seeing:

This is The Goondiwindi Grey. A racehourse. You can read about him here:

www.goondiwindi.qld.gov.au/visitors/gunsynd

"He won a string of other big races among his 29 wins and was placed in the Melbourne Cup burdened with the massive 60.5 kilos but it was his character and lovable antics that saw him adored not only by the racing fraternity but also by people not remotely interested in the sport who flocked to the tracks to watch him perform"


Micky & Liesa with The Goondiwindi Grey Statue

From there, we headed to the NSW border which was only 400m down the road, over the Border Bridge which was built in 1914. "The Border Bridge spans the MacIntyre River and was the main hub for freight crossing the border between New South Wales and Queensland where duties were collected by Customs". So, if you havent been to NSW before, this is your perfect opportunity. Had to get some photos:







So, after this big and rewarding job, we then went and checked into out motel. Mind, you, this was at 4:30pm. Dave asked us if we wanted to head out for dinner to the Railway Hotel. Once again, an awesome feed at a reasonable price. We met up with Dave, wife Fiona and gorgeous little Matthew. From there, we headed back to the motel. Very comfortable.

After a full night sleep, away from babies and husbands, we had a sleep in of 8am and headed out for a good old country breaky at the Gunsyd Cafe. Well priced. From there, we scooted around the main street again to see our brochures in windows...what an amazing feeling this was, knowing we had the support of the local shopkeepers and community. THANKS HEAPS.

We met up with Bec from Coffee on the move...she will be providing us with our coffee fix..we all know how much we love and need it!!! So it was great to put a face to the name. We of course had to also hit the shops. They have the best little shops in country towns and we plan to go back in April with a list...and we recommend that if you have time, you do this too.

Finally, we headed back to the PCYC on late Saturday morning to do a final parade! of the venue. Let me say that we can fit approx 120 stallholders into this venue. It is MASSIVE and very well ventilated. It was 38 degrees when we were there but it felt much much cooler inside the PCYC.

So, in saying this, we love Goondiwindi and we are so excited to be taking The Handmade Expo there. A fabulous little town, very community minded (just like we are)...We know we are going to fit in very well.

Bring on the 4th April.

From the travelling Expo Chicks.
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Canopy's for Hire

Hello

We would like to offer our stallholders a fabulous deal.

As you all know, we are changing venue in August to The Ipswich Turf Club. We have limited undercover positions, therefore, majority of stallholders' requests will unfortunately not be able to be adhered to.

We are giving our stallholders an opportunity to HIRE a canopy for the day. The canopy will be set up for you and taken down for you, so you do not need to worry about any of it. All you need is your tables and chairs and of course your handmade goodies.

We have enquired about hiring canopies before at a cost of $100 per canopy, however, DANIEL has found us and offered all The Handmade Expo Stallholders a canopy to hire for only $40, no, you did not read wrong, $40.

This will guarantee that you will be "undercover" without worrying about whether you will be allocated an undercover site on the day.

He is also offering to sell canopy's to our stallholders for $290.00.
ALSO on offer are canopy sandbags for $70 (of which you get 4).

If you are interested in any of the above, please email us at: thehandmadeexpo@optusnet.com.au.

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Sunday, February 1, 2009

A MASSIVE RESPONSE - THANKS

Hello All

Well, we have had a massive response with respect to our NEWS and ANNOUNCEMENTS that we have made over the past couple of days.
The continued support and positive vibes from our stallholders has been amazing and we thank you HEAPS.

Just a small note to let you know that even though we do have unlimited (almost) space at the new venue at the Ipswich Turf Club, we need to reiterate that we have LIMITED undercover areas. WE DO NOT HAVE ANY INSIDE AREAS AT ALL.

We have added a "request" section to the booking form, so please place any requests that you have here. This is why we highly recommend a canopy together with sand bags (to hold your canopy down).

We hope to be able to arrive a couple of weeks out from each expo to allocate sites...We will be in touch with you individually to let you know if you have been allocated an undercover site so you can organise yourselves in advance.

Once again, thank you for your continued support with this great and exciting change.

From Liesa, Micky & Miriam