Southgate - Poppyseed Markets Xmas Market Weekend

Hi Everyone!,

Just a reminder for Sydneysiders that Selkie Smith will be Southgate Shopping Centre, Sylvania this weekend 6-7 Nov for Southgate/Poppyseed Markets Christmas Market and Family Fun days! As well as some fabulous stalls including Butterfly Garden, Archie & Moo, Vintage Ruffle, Raspberry Lime Paperie, Mon Tresor plus many more, Santa will be there for the kids, along with face painting and free entertainment.

Kylie and I will be at the Selkie Smith Stall both Saturday and Sunday. We will have some great new stock of Yorkiepies and Caitycoos, plus a few more new items that we will launch on the weekend...great ideas for a handmade xmas : )

We would love to see you there..

Cheers,

Mel xox

My First Mathildas

Yes, hello, it seems that I am consistent with my monthly blog post..sorry!!

Well Selkie Smith had its first stall at the beautiful St Ignatius College Riverview last Sunday.  What a well oiled machine, this market is super organised.  We had a great corner spot so we could get both our trees fully laden with Bags!  Pity our photos aren’t so fantastic..   This pic was a little overladen and had to be pruned a bit, but we had a lot of bags!

We have decided not to take the lattice panels with us anymore but Wall Art and Memo Boards can still be custom ordered and will eventually be available on our website..(more on that later..)  That left me needing another way to let people know who we are.  The lovely Christina of Billy Mac and C&C Design Management made us a fantastic pop up banner! We love it and its so much easier to take to markets! Christina had a stall as well, and it was great to catch up with her and also with Dianne from Little Fish Creations who has some beautiful mobiles and tutus, and is the wonderful admin of the Handmade Cooperative, which we are proud to be a part of!

We had our new eftpos machine on hand, and it was worth its weight in gold, and a lot easier for us to use than we thought it would be! Our Hairclip Boards sold well as did our hair clips, which at first I was reluctant to start making but I’m determined not to waste fabric and these are a great way of not doing that. 

Anyway all in all a great day, and we hope to be at the next Sydney Markets in October.

Next up for us though is Poppyseed Markets at Bulli on Sunday, and I can’t wait to meet the lovely people of the Illawarra!

Then we will be focussing on trying to get our website up and running, the bones are there, check it out www.selkiesmithdesign.com.au  we just have to make it look pretty and fill it up with stock!

Last big news, I got me a Industrial Sewing machine! I hopefully should have it by next week, I’m know that it will be great for my Deluxe Porkiepies (Laptop Bags) and it gives my other machine a rest and I can do more embroidery on it.  Now I just have to figure whether I should move my studio into the playroom and move the playroom into the studio..I think Little Miss Selkie will have alot to say about that!

Selkie xo

Double Market Weekend!

Hello!!! This week I have been super busy getting ready for the two markets that Selkie Smith Design will be at this weekend! Some people call me crazy…lol…

On Saturday I will be at Allie’s Attic at Cronulla Leagues from 10-2 and on Sunday I will be at Poppyseed Markets at Ador Ave Rockdale from 10-3.. check the exact details on the right side bar.

This time I will have some Saffron Craig Porkiepie Satchels in stock as well as my standard fare of Large Totes, Yorkiepies, Caitycoos, Memo and Hairclips Boards, and a few other bits and pieces.

Apologies for my madeit shop looking a bit bare, as I haven’t listed anything due to the amount of markets that i’m doing! But I hope to list more shortly, and Mr Selkie Smith is working on a website for me, so hopefully we will have that up and running in September! Just in time for Christmas orders : )

Ok that’s me done, I need to get back on the machine.

Take care,

Selkie

In a Bind!

Oooh i’m using Windows Live Writer! Thanks to the tips from the Australian Contemporary Handmade Alliance I would never had known about it!! Check them out if you are a crafty like minded person for some great tips!!

Ok well it’s been a bit quiet in Selkieland, My little puppy has been sick, but she is on the mend, thank goodness! I have completed some custom orders over the last week and now i’m going to spend some time getting stock together for Billycart Markets on the 26th June. I’m working on an idea I’ve had for a while. I’m designing some binder covers for both “Kids Art Portfolios” and also for a “My Recipe” Binder. The covers will be removable for washing as we know a) kids are messy and b)chefs are messy!! Well i am! I also want to have a detachable pencil pocket for the art binders and the same for the recipe binders for a notepad and pencil.

I also used my embroidery part of the sewing machine last weekend with a bit of trepidation, but it was much easier than I expected. Although from the pic below you can see it doesn’t have much flair, i’ve bought lovely coloured embroidery thread for the real thing, so I can personalise the binders! So if you want it personalised then you can place a custom order with me!

Ok well for the moment I only have a very cryptic photo of my idea but I will post it to give you some idea!

Of course I have some great fabrics in my stash for both styles of binders and I can’t wait to use some of my Retro 50’s inspired fabric for the recipe binders! I hope to have the Recipe Binders ready for Poppyseed Markets in July!

Take care,

Selkie xo

Selkie Smith's First Market Stall

Hiya,

As usual I've been super busy. Over the last couple of weeks i've been making stock for my first market stall at Poppyseed Markets. I had a great time and met alot of lovely people who made some lovely comments about my bags and boards and a few sales too! I learnt alot on the day and greatly appreciated help from my lovely friend Kylie and Mr Selkie Smith. He built the lattice work for my memo boards and the tree I bought was great for hanging up the bags.

I'll be back at Poppyseeds in July, but coming up next will be Billycart Markets in late June. Before that I will be looking at making a few new bag styles, a laptop bag, a nappy bag and a clutch, wish me luck!

I'm going to keep this one short and sweet, and will post up a pic of my stall, I'm pleased with my mini tree on the table that I was putting together at 1am the morning of the markets! To say i'm exhausted is an understatement!

Selkie xo

Full Steam Ahead

Sorry guys for being so slack on posting! I've been busy, busy, busy...I finished up at work on the 30th March...woohoo, and have been making custom orders ever since!! I also bought a steam iron press, which has been a godsend speeding up the process of interfacing my bags!

At the moment I'm working on a collaboration project which i'm very excited about. I'm making 6 bags and a purse for this, and I can't wait to have it finished and see the results...hopefully I can show you the end product before the month is out! I'll leave it at that and then it will be a surprise at the end!

Otherwise, i've set up my madeit shop, and have two markets booked. Poppyseed Markets on the 16th May and Billycart Markets on the 26th June. I'm very excited about these and being able to meet people face to face and find out what they think of my designs.

Speaking of designs, once I finish the collaboration project, I'm going to be working on my designs for a makeup bag, and also a hairclip travel bag, as well as building up a market stash. I know when I was on the holidays, I would have loved a hairclip organiser. I'll also be working on a few other ideas, with more of a domestic goddess feel, I've had these ideas for ages, just have to work them out!

Ciao for now,
Selkie