Local, Secondhand, Handmade: The Kustom Krafts Brisbane Retro & Vintage Markets

Yesterday I dragged my mum to the Kustom Krafts Brisbane Retro & Vintage Markets. I had been looking forward to it for a long time - I went to one a few months ago and loved it!

Unfortunately the weather was terrible and by the time we parked and got there we were soaking wet thanks to an insufficient umbrella. Due to the rain, all the outside stalls had been crammed inside the Sandgate Bowls Club and it was extremely crowded!

Though I loved the actual market, I felt rushed and crowded the whole time - there was always someone bumping or pushing, and I felt I couldn't linger over the stalls as there were always people behind waiting to get through. And so, uncharacteristically, I didn't buy a thing!

As I drove home, I resolved to search online for as many stallholders as I could. Here are six of my favourite businesses that were there - all local; all making or repurposing fabulous things. You all know I'm a huge fan of stuff like this!

Ella Mobbs Design & Illustration

I've admired this talented lady's work for a while - she combines cool art with vintage china to create unique pieces. She also makes brooches and hair clips; and artwork is available as prints.

Huis Design

It wasn't only the wooden jewelry that caught my eye - this brand also had for sale on the day soy wax candles in vintage tea cups. Adore!

 

Call Me Old Fashioned - Vintage & Collectables

What a great range of quality vintage items! My mum bought two plates, while I drooled over the kitchen canisters and a Staffordshire trio. Stalls like this make me happy.

Rag Top Vinyl

Who can resist a good repurposed record? Rag Top Vinyl makes everything from bowls to cake stands. Their items and not only unique, they're retro cool!

SUGAR

SUGAR makes handmade soaps, funky vintage and retro-inspired bags and accessories. I fell in love with the hawaiian-themed bags. So cute.
 

The Attic

Instantly fell in love with the paper ephemera from this local business. Hand-bound journals, cards and gift tags that will amaze you - featuring actual vintage photos and book illustrations, no reproductions. Just divine. Wish I had bought something from here now! My mum got some gift tags which was promptly put in the most darling gift bag - old sheet music sewn into a pocket. Amazing.



What's your favourite market purchase lately? Any places you'd like to recommend?

When Beach Photography Goes Bad

On the weekend we did something I have been looking forward to for ages - went up the Sunshine Coast for a night with my parents. They'd rented an apartment so we were going to sponge off them.

I took my fancy camera and decided to take some lovely ocean photos. It was overcast and rough but I was undeterred.

I love the ocean. I love the sound of it the most. On Friday afternoon, I had a cup of tea on the balcony of the apartment and just listened to it crashing onto the sand.

On Saturday morning after a big fry-up breakfast I wandered down to the beach with my hubby and dad. Dad was braving the waves, I was going to take photos.

I don't know what I was thinking. But as I was snapping away somehow the unthinking, spontaneous side of my brain decided it would be a good idea to climb on the rocks, which were covered in green algae. It was only when I slipped and went down like a sack of potatoes that the logical side of my brain decided to pipe up and say THIS WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA.

I sat there, trying not to cry and realising that there was no way I could get back up on my own with my camera and bag, so I texted hubby on the shoreline: "HELP". How embarrassing.

He came and helped me, and only laughed at me a little bit. I have an epic scrape on my knee and bruising on my foot and toes. And a good story.

Have you ever had a mishap while in pursuit of the perfect shot?

A year of wedded bliss

Today, C and I have been married one year. 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days. Many hours. Lots of minutes.

To be honest, to me, time has flown. It seems only yesterday I was cramming my gigantic train into the truck (our wedding car was a F150) and trying to calm myself before walking down the aisle.

Our wedding celebrant sent us a card, isn't that nice?

I have little to say about the institution of marriage that hasn't already been said. Except perhaps that it is quite different on the inside than it appears on the outside. Same goes for long-term relationships: whether you're married or not, it's always about love and compromise. The love part gets tested by the compromise part. I asked hubby if he had any wisdom to share about marriage for this blog post and he shrugged and grunted. So there you go.

For our anniversary I tossed up going out to a fancy dinner. Then I realised that would be something C wasn't into but I was. So in the end I settled on a movie date - but a posh one.

So Gold Class it was. I must admit the Gold Class lounge was pretty intimidating - all top shelf alcohol and dim lights. There were couples sharing bottles of Champagne. But then some more folks showed up in shorts and thongs so I relaxed a bit. After all, if you can buy a ticket to it, it's not that an exclusive club is it?

We saw the new Die Hard movie. It was pretty good. I thought the action sequences were some next-level stuff. And the fact we could enjoy it from the comfort of big puffy armchairs and have a waiter being us fries with truffle aioli made it just that much more enjoyable!

What was your best date ever? Do you celebrate anniversaries?

In praise of Slow Blogging

Below was my favourite tweet coming out of the Digital Parents blogging conference today. I saw it and went "Me too! Wait, there's a name for that?"

Because I'm sick of placing pressure on myself in an area of my life that I indulge in purely for my own pleasure. A few months ago I decided that I was going to stop feeling bad if I hadn't blogged for a while. I gave myself permission to blog only when I felt like it.

It was so liberating! Not worrying about constantly creating content and coming up with new ideas was great. It gives me time to ruminate, and as an added bonus, what makes it into my blog is only writing that I have felt I simply must share!

I guess this whole Slow Blogging thing isn't going to work if your blog is monetized, or you want it to be. But if you're like me, and are doing it purely for yourself - for those myriad inexplicable reasons that drive us to share - then I highly recommend it.

Like Slow Food, Slow Blogging may just catch on.

A collective love of old and used

Each year, the Darling Downs Veteran & Vintage Motor Club Inc.holds a Swap Meet. Over time it has grown in size to be the biggest in the State, and one of the biggest in the country!

As soon as I got there, I could not believe that I have never been before. This event is a vintage-lovers paradise!

Hundreds of stall-holders, thousands of objects from the rare and collectable to the common and ordinary! And thankfully for my mum and myself, it's not all about cars. Oh no. There's a solid second-hand bric-a-brac contingent that makes up a lot of the stalls. I was in retro heaven at one point scoping out a stall that had everything from Shelley china to old bakelite radios and sheep shears!

One thing that mum is always on the lookout for is Automobilia and old garage relics. The big sign below caught her eye because her father had a COR garage way back when. But it was $400! Man oh man these sellers knew their prices. There weren't many bargains to be had, but if you are a serious collector and know your prices, the swap meet was your oyster.

In the end we only spent a few hours there - we went on the Sunday because the Saturday was so crowded that you couldn't get into the showgrounds to park for hours, the traffic was that bad. I really had a ball but next year I'll be going early, and packing my most comfy walking shoes and plenty of water! 

And if I happen to come home towing the shell of a 1920s roadster, well then, hubby is just going to have to deal with it...

Sunday Drive

This Sunday, I spent mooching around the house and grocery shopping. But two Sundays ago, I bugged my husband until he took me for a drive. I knew exactly where I wanted to go - the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

We went out through Dayboro (charming town, but I never seem to actually stop there to enjoy it!) and took the Mount Mee Rd up to D'aguilar. Then via a sneaky back road to Maleny.

It rained on and off, which was a nice change from the constant rain that we had had for the past week. Everything was so green! These pics where all taken with my new Nikon DSLR. Out the window. While driving. Because Hubby Dearest doesn't believe in stopping much. So please excuse the glare off the glass!

Having uncovered a herefore-to unknown dislike of of the lovely hinterland towns of Maleny, Montville and Mapleton in my other half, we finally stopped in Landsborough of all places! The cafe there was charming, and served a double-chocolate cheesecake so rich I couldn't finish, and tea in a proper cup and saucer (which I adore).

Next time I'm taking my mum though, so we can go to Montville. I don't care if it's touristy and expensive as all hell, I love it!

Ideas for a rainy weekend

I'm struggling with the weather here in Brisbane right now. I don't want to whine, but I miss summer already. I feel like I did not swim in my pool nearly enough!

I've decided to have a no-spend weekend so I'm sitting here at home indulging myself in things I want to do, and interspersing those with things I really don't want to do, but should (ie. housework).

If it's raining where you are, here are some ideas for things to get up to at home over the weekend:

* Make soup. Perfect soup weather, wouldn't you say? Then eat two bowls with toast or crusty bread slathered in butter.


* Bake that box of cupcakes or muffins that been in your pantry for weeks. I know my mixer Betty would thank me for dusting her off and giving her a whirl as she's been idle for a while. Live-tweet and instagram it.

* De-clutter. Yes, it's probably a chore but if you choose one small area (say the corner of the office where all the junk gets dumped) you can complete it in a short time and get a feeling of accomplishment. Yay!

* Stand at the front door and try to look at your house with a stranger's eyes. Do you want to move some things around? Have you been thinking about shuffling the furniture, pictures, knick-knacks? If you're the kind of person that does change their interior styling each season, this weekend is a good time to change the cushion covers and get out your winter throws for the lounge.

* Go through your wardrobe and anything you haven't worn in a year, give to charity. Don't just pile the clothes in the corner and forget about them like I do. Get a plastic bag, then when it's full put it in the boot of your car. Next time you're near a charity clothing bin, drop it in.

* Get out that DVD you borrowed from a friend ages ago and watch it. Even better, curl up with that bowl of soup and your throw rug and make it a movie afternoon.

* Read blogs! I never get time to read the blogs I follow properly, so I'll be using this weekend to catch up on what's going on with all my fave bloggers. LEAVE COMMENTS. After all, you're not in a hurry, it's the weekend!

And now I'm going to take some of my own advice and start on that last idea.

What are you up to this weekend?