The Finders Keepers wrap-up

As you may well know, the Sydney Finders Keepers market was on this weekend. I had the day earmarked with hubby for months and was soooo looking forward to it - I going, no matter what other offers came up for Saturday, I was going dammit! And I wasn't disappointed.

We got there just as the Eveleigh farmers market was coming to a close, so after a quick whip around the fruit and veg and other lovely things for sale, we stopped for a coffee and a belgian chocolate brownie from Fare Gourmet (NOM NOM NOM... so worth seven bucks), we headed across to the adjoining Carriageworks where the Finders Keepers was held.

Firstly, the location was fantastic. The historic building with its original machinery dotted here and there was heaven for a train-mad two year old, as well as providing a perfect foil for the funky stuff on display. The large scale knitted scarves adorning the building's internal struts set the handmade mood, as did the plush fabric toadstool arrangements near the entrance. Dork that I am, I thought the whole thing wasn't very big till I realised I'd missed two whole rooms. All up, there were around 90 stalls selling ceramics, papercrafts, jewellery, baby gear, clothing, shoes, accessories, artworks, textiles and more.

So - on to the purchases! I didn't go mad, even though Richard had given me free licence to buy 'whatever' for myself as a mothers day pressie. I did however, buy:

A piece of fuschia wool felt from B&M Felt (it looked too delicious to resist although I'm not entirely sure what I'll make with it yet), a delicate porcelain quote tag from Paper Boat Press, a fabric leaf brooch from Kindling, and a leather wraparound cuff for the man from Te.Mono, as well as picking up a Frankie mag.

My mum, hipster that she is, bought an intricate laser-cut acrylic elk brooch from A Skulk of Foxes - doubly hip because apparently the black-on-white layered acrylic was created especially for the market, and she was the first ever to buy one. Trendsetter!

The kids were cactus by about 2pm and thankfully both fell asleep in the pram so we could stop for another coffee. Then it was home time - all up, a fabulous day.

HOT: 

• Miller & Harry - only just stopped myself from buying Holly a lemon yellow cardi from the softest cashmere blend
• Bonnie Poplar - loved her Scandinavian style woodcut bird brooch
• Natalie McWilliam - I'm a sucker for anything anondised aluminium, especially her purple brooch shaped like a bird of paradise
• Printink Studio - their quilts looked stunning
• Angus & Celeste - porcelain bangles *swoon*
• Herbert & Friends - sweet little plushies, especially the goat :)
• Sisken - a silky dress with a leather breastpiece caught my eye
• Liana Kabel - knitting needle bracelets are the bomb
• Sharon Muir's exquisite birds

NOT:

• People pushing to get a look in - c'mon people, be civil
• Redfern station not having an elevator - lucky I have giant man arms and can carry the pram up two flights of stairs
• A few stallholders being too uber-cool to smile
• The lounge area near the music stage creating a bottleneck just inside the front entrance
• A 25 minute wait in line to get coffee and a sandwich from the bar
• Wet, soggy vanilla slice

P.S. - Happy Mothers Day to all the yummy mummies. Hope you all got spoilt for that five minutes in between doing the washing and taking out the garbage. It never stops. Even on our special day, it never bloody stops.