Lark - Warehouse sale today and tomorrow

If you love Lark products as much as I do, stop doing what you're doing right now, jump in the car and head to Daylesford. The lovely Allison (the lady behind Lark brand)  is holding her first ever warehouse sale. An event better not missed. Here's a snapshot of what to expect!

Thank you

Thank you dear parents, parents-to-be, grandparents and carers for your loyal support of Mathilda’s Market. We’re grateful for your custom, support and belief in what we do. It has been inspiring to see a shift in shopping behaviour, with ‘Market Shopping’ becoming the norm for many families. Traditional values (i.e. less is more) are returning and I am constantly impressed by the increasing flow of creative minds that bring us fresh and inspiring products for our little ones. Thank you dear stallholders for showcasing and selling your gorgeous wares with us this year. Here is to a fantastic 2010 filled with love, happiness and health.

Anne & Team  xoxoxo

PS - our office is closed from Friday 18 December until Monday 11 January. Most likely there will be few or no blog posts as I intend to run wild with the kids and smell the roses.

Touching

In my travels through blogs, websites, images and stories that comprise the applications we receive, I often find myself clicking on other blogs and websites linked within these. It’s in my nature, I am a curious person and love researching and discovering lives and ways of doing things that are different to mine.

And that is how I entered the world of Sheye Rosemeyer. Her blog is so personal and honest that I found myself reading through Sheye’s live in one entire evening (well, her last few years as outlined in her blog). After that I jumped in bed with my kids and hugged them all night. Sheye’s messages are very touching. Or maybe it is the combination of her writing and her amazing photography. I find myself yearning for blog updates to see what images Sheye will share with us next.

Although very sad at times, I highly recommend reading Sheye’s blog. So here’s the link.

Thank you Sheye Rosemeyer for sharing your life.

Anne x

Sweet Dreams

Another beautiful application for Melbourne ...

A young child’s pillow can be among its most cherished things. Nestling into the cosy comfort, listening to a favourite bedtime story, drifting off to sleep. Now you can enhance these precious moments with their very own pillowcases from Indigo Owl. Inspire their dreams with simple, distinctive graphics that express the shapes and colours of the world we live in. Indigo Owl's designs not only allow children to have individualised pillowcases but they can coordinate easily with other bedding and the most tasteful bedroom décor. All pillowcases are fashioned from 100 percent high-grade cotton and are available in a range of designs for boys and girls. You can order them here.

Indigo Owl Pillow Case

3 Rabbits Pillow Case

5 Sheep Pillow Case

Anne x

Bliss

Application time is bliss for us at Mathilda's Market. Over the coming months we will be sharing the images and interesting stories behind the applications. My favourite for today: Belafonte. Melbourne based Emma Leonard creates original ink and watercolor drawings. These beautiful images are printed on an A4 sized piece of archival, heavyweight fine art paper, and usually include a white border for framing. Find more drawings in Emma's Etsy shop.

Ballet Girl

Bandit

Anne x

Letterpress Christmas Tags

Delightful! Just received this application from Ruby Victoria Letterpress for Mathilda's Market in Hobart (held on 27 March 10). Narelle opened her shop to sell original linocut prints and has since expanded a little to offer letterpress printed stationery. I am glad she did. I just love these Christmas tags. You can buy them here.

Mini Madness

Christmas is almost here, and with just 11 sleeps to go, I wanted to tell you about a website that could solve ALL your “what on earth will I buy?” gift dilemmas, in one swift click on this link: Ministyle. Ministyle specialises in all things “children’s lifestyle boutique” – homewares, accessories, clothes, stationery, etc. Penny, the woman behind this site has impeccable style and taste (I am SURE she lives in one of those picture perfect houses that we all wonder if they exist except on the pages of Vogue Living!)

I visited Ministyle and promptly snapped up the truly gorgeous Greeting Stamps and Alphabet Stamps sets by Cavallini & Co. as gifts for my family. Then - as is becoming quite a frequent occurrence with my Christmas shopping this year - I decided to gift a Greeting Stamp set to myself too! (Well, I’ve been good this year ... honestly!)

As we’re renovating, I am toying with the idea of purchasing the Gypsy Chandelier, which I’ve had my eyes on for a year now. Surely the fact that I’ve thought about it for such a length of time and STILL haven’t ruled it out means it belongs in our abode. I mean, how very grand would it be in a girl’s room. Or even the kids’ bathroom, to create a colourful contrast. I know it’s not to everyone’s taste, but different flavours, tastes and opinions are what makes the world such an interesting place, wouldn’t you say?!

Hmmmm .... clothes for the boys can be a bit tough to find, especially outfits that have a touch of cutting edge cool. I love this Electric Groove Hoodie top from Tommy Rocket. Tick one more present off the list for my son!

Browsing in a different section of Ministyle I also gasped with delight when my mouse tripped upon this Children's Baking Set with its 1950s charm. I could buy this for my two and a half year old daughter – OR my eight year old. Perhaps they could share it, and we could all bake biscuits and cakes happily together like the two little girls on the front of the tin. Although, to be honest, it’s far more likely that there will be batter spread from one end of the kitchen to the other, flour covering the floor, and bickering over who will lick the bowl. My patience tends to run VERY thin when it comes to children and baking ... so maybe I will just keep browsing for another gift.

Given I’m always surrounded by beautiful things at Mathilda’s Market, I should be good at resisting the shopping urge, but somehow I seem to be getting weaker and weaker and taking home more of the beautiful things I discover. I don’t think Ministyle will help my affliction! Especially given the Ministyle team will post out your orders in time for Christmas – BUT you’ll have to get in quick! Enjoy browsing this site, it’s quite delicious indeed.

Anne xoxoxo

Pièce de résistance

We are so busy wrapping up 2009 and preparing for Mathilda's Markets around the country in 2010 that yesterday it dawned on me ... "I still haven't posted pics to the blog of Mathilda's in Canberra! Argh!" Reflecting back on that Market in November, while it didn't have as many retailers as some of the other Mathilda's Markets, every single stall was just exquisite, and some just that little bit quirky. I'd probably go as far as to say it was our surprise pièce de résistance!  

Lots of happy shoppers ...

The lovely ladies from the Emperor’s Laundry ...

The talented Sally and Phoebe from Mackenzie & Smith created these ...

I fondly remember cooing over these lovely ceramic hand painted milk jugs by Ensparkle Ceramics (made with non toxic, lead free paint and glaze), and now of course, I'm berating myself for not taking one home with me on the day (but in my defence I had suitcase size and space issues, you see).

They are described as such in their online shop: The cow on this jug is French, yet thankfully not of the 'snobby parisian' variety and does not mind whether you fill him with milk, juice ... or even wine! I love this description! I think $60 is a reasonable price to pay for such a wonderful jug that will bring years of handmade happiness. I'll be picking one up next time I'm in Canberra. You can buy it here right now, if you like it as much as I do.

Our next Mathilda's Market in Canberra is on Sat 28 February at the Park Hyatt (this time with about 60 stalls) and I can't wait to see the beautiful surprises in store this time around.

Anne x

Mathilda's Advent Calendar

Christmas is almost here, and we’re excited to be bringing you the inaugural Mathilda’s Market Advent Calendar! Because the Mathilda’s Market team are a very festive bunch and just love celebrating Christmas, we’re putting a merry Mathilda’s twist on the traditional Advent Calendar. We’re opening up a window at 10am every morning to unveil a gorgeous prize donated by one of 25 fabulous Mathilda’s Market retailers – AND we’ll reveal the name of the lucky winner of that prize!

So if you entered the Mathilda’s Market Advent Calendar competition, don’t forget to check back here at 10am each day to see if you’ve won the day’s prize. And if you didn’t enter, turn that frown upside down! There’s always next Christmas, AND we’ll be celebrating Easter 2010 in similar style, so we’ll keep you posted on that. And if you head right now to our ‘Win It’ section , you’ll see there’s some cute goodies for you to possibly win.

Have a fabulous day!
Anne, Founder & All-rounder

Apply to retail for 2010 & Venue update

Are you a retailer of beautiful things, wanting to showcase your wares at Mathilda’s Market next year? If so, please register on our retailer’s database by clicking here: MMR. Applications for 2010 will open Wednesday 2 December.

It sometimes feels like having a baby when I’m working on the venues and dates for all our Mathilda’s Markets around the country. It takes a long time, it’s tremendously exciting, and it can involve painful last minute changes and developments! But, just like holding your baby, it's ALL worth it! (Luckily, I don't have to worry about working off extra pounds, although I admit some sleepless nights are involved). You can see the 2010 Market dates on our website. We're really pleased about the new venues in which we’ll be holding our events, AND the fact there will be even MORE dates next year.

Brisbane: Mathilda’s Market will be held five times next year at the Brisbane Racing Club at Eagle Farm. Stallholders will set up shop in the Tote building and the St Leger Stand, and on its surrounding lawns. It’ll be a grand affair with music, yummy food prepared with love and entertainment for the kids. We’re staying open longer, too - till 4pm. And for the first time, we’re bringing you a small selection of stalls just for the adults, with home decor, jewellery, etc on offer. Our first Market for next year in Brisbane is on Saturday 20 February.

Sydney: We also have some fabulous news for Sydneysiders. Next year, those in the east won’t have to go far to find us, as we’re hosting two Mathilda’s Markets in the beautiful Paddington Town Hall, starting on Saturday 6 March. We’ll still be holding three Markets in Lane Cove too. Hopefully, we’re now a little closer to YOUR neck of the woods!

Canberra: If you like art deco architecture, then you’ll love our new Canberra venue! The Park Hyatt Canberra will host our next Mathilda’s Market on Sunday 28 February, with over 60 stallholders showcasing their gorgeous goodies. Ample space, a beautiful setting, delicious food and a great day shopping, and now FOUR Markets – what more could anyone ask for?

Melbourne: Mathilda’s Market once again returns to the Hawthorn and Malvern Town Halls in 2010. However, to avoid “pram jams” and to give our shoppers more elbow room, our Christmas Market in November will be held at the Caulfield Racecourse. We will pop up four times in Melbourne next year – hurrah!

And now, for our super special announcement (drum roll) ... fore the very first time, Mathilda’s is coming to Tasmania and South Australia! Happy days! (We’d love you to send this news on to your friends in Hobart and Adelaide!)

Hobart: Location, location, location! When scouting for venues, we arrived at the stunning Hobart Function and Conference Centre at One Elizabeth Street Pier, and there was no doubt in our hearts and minds we’d found our perfect, dazzling home! Come and see for yourself ... Mathilda’s will first open for business there on Saturday 27 March.

Adelaide: We are MOST impatient to open our Market doors in Adelaide! We’ve unearthed a great venue there: the Loreto College in Marryatville. There is plenty of parking, it’s a beautiful setting, and there’s lots of room to accommodate our divine retailers. Mark our launch date on your calendar: Saturday 6 March!

Here’s to discovering even more exquisitely unique goodies for our little ones, soaking up the beautiful, buzzy Mathilda’s atmosphere, and meeting new friends and catching up with old ones.

Have a fabulous day!

Anne, Founder & All-rounder