Rose St Artists' Market
Over in Fitzroy, Meet Me at Mikes sells vintage pattern books, fabrics and pages from storybooks alongside its jewellery and accessories. The real inspiration, however, comes from owner Pip Lincolne, who could be said to be Melbourne’s craft queen: as well as making her own crafts for the store, she runs two craft blogs (Meet Me at Mikes and Craft City Melbourne) and has produced a book of craft activities to get other people making too. She embodies the spirit of community, fun and interaction that is getting more and more people interested in crafts.
Of course there’s no better place to interact with makers than at a market, and in recent times there has been a surge in the number of markets dedicated to local craft and design. At the start of October a new market, the Northside Makers’ Market, was held in Northcote, giving new meaning to the term locally made – every stallholder lives and works in the northern suburbs.
In the city, Craft Victoria has set up Melbourne’s only ‘incubator’ market, Craft Hatch, which aims to give exposure to students and emerging designers. It is tiny, with only 10-12 stalls on the upper level of the City Library, but the quality is high and the stallholders change each month, so it’s a great place to view new work.
The big daddy of craft markets in Melbourne, however, is the Rose St Artists’ Market, which has been held for the last six years in a quiet residential street just off Brunswick St. Unlike most craft markets, which are held once a month, Rose St is open every Saturday and Sunday, transforming a disused concrete block into one of the most vibrant and interesting places in the city.
I’d only been there once before, so I went again a couple of weeks ago to remind myself what all the fuss was about. It had been spitting with rain as I left the house, but just as I turned down the narrow, graffitied street the clouds disappeared and the sun shone warmly on my face. Coincidence, I know, but it always feels like a good omen.
It’s an easy place to feel comfortable, and within minutes I’d all but forgotten why I was there. Wandering from stall to stall I got caught up in the playful aesthetic of the work: monster illustrations and birds etched onto maps, ceramic owls, nonsensical buttons, lampshades you can draw on. A lot of the work is based around finding new uses for old things, such as jewellery made from antique watch parts and Golden Book stories reworked as diaries, and so has the atmospheric, well-loved feeling of vintage.
There are far too many markets to list here, but some of the best ones include Magnolia Square, a ‘pop-up’ event (it’s held at sporadic intervals over three days) that represents over 150 of the city’s finest designers, artists, and craftspeople and changes its line-up each time, and the Sisters’ Market, which is held at both Brunswick and St Kilda Town Halls.
This year, for the first time, a festival all about craft, Craft Cubed, was launched by Craft Victoria, and included workshops for both aspiring makers and craft professionals and exhibitions and programs for the public that gave an insight into the making process.
No other festivals deal entirely with craft, but there are a few that include craft elements in their programs. The Fringe Festival in particular has a range of visual arts exhibitions that cover objects as well 2D art forms, including the always illuminating Fringe Furniture show.
One exciting event that will be taking place at the Big West festival in November is the Big Knit, a large scale public work that will drape a well-known landmark in the western suburbs with multi-coloured wool. Artist David Cole will go knitting crazy along with other amateur and professional crafters over 11 days, with the whole thing culminating in the wonderful-sounding Big Knit dance-a-thon on November 28.
I could go on but I suppose the article has to end at some point; it’s easy to get carried away when talking about something you love. As I wrote this article I surrounded myself with objects that told stories of the city, both bought and found, and when I looked at them I felt like I was part of something. My story is part of this city too, and that makes me happy. Whether through words, or objects, or food, or sport, or art, I hope everyone can share their story.
It’s the stories that make this world such a wonderful place to live.
