The Finders Keepers Market: What I Found and Kept

Hello lovely people! I've finally had a chance to take some non blurry/badly lit photos of the goodies I bought at this year's Finders Keepers market! It was such a fun night, and this year it was set up in one of my favourite buildings in the whole of Melbourne, the Royal Exhibition Building! We did lots of rounds, ate some delicious vegan cupcakes from Mr Nice Guy, tried our hand at the Frankie Mag lucky dips, and chatted to some lovely, not to mention talented creative types! I'm kind of sad that I won't be here for the October market, but I'm going to be running around somewhere in Europe so I can hardly complain!
 

 First up is this gorgeous print by the very talented Leah Bartholomew at Beneath the Sun. The paper isn't part of the print, it's just me attempting to be good at choosing complimentary colours.

 I'm a sucker for nice art prints, even though only half of the ones I have purchased are currently framed. I was instantly drawn to the colours in this, and then by the time I found out that she uses environmentally sustainable materials and natural inks, I was already reaching for my wallet! 

All I know is that I want to be exactly where these horses are. Right now, please.

And she doesn't just do prints, she does cushions, tea towels, pillow cases and stationary to name a few. Go on, take a look why don't you?

Second up are these gorgeous laser cut Narwhal earrings by So Little Time Co. I still can't get over how cute they are. THEY ARE NARWHALS THAT I CAN WEAR ON MY EARLOBES!!!

I'm pretty sure I showed the same level of enthusiasm when I first spotted these guys, so Lovely, the sweet man that he is, bought them for me. Last year he bought me an adorable bunny ring, and I've worn it so much the finish is coming off it's nose. Just like the Velveteen Rabbit *sigh*.
Anyway, these were just one of the super cute laser cut wood designs they had on show and so I highly recommend you check out their website and hide your credit card. Or not. Go on, treat yourself even. 
 

And last, but by no means least, we have this beauty; a wooden laser cut geometric designed hummingbird necklace! What a mouthful. I've been wanting some sort of geometric accessory for a while now, cos I'm entranced by shapes for some reason, and this pretty much satisfies all of those desires, and then some, because it's a hummingbird, which happens to be my favourite of all birds, ever.

This was designed, created and hand painted by the very clever people at Brainbow! You should check them out on facebook, the characters they design are so quirky and adorable! My favourite is the Viewfinder Clock with the moustache!

Visiting the Finders Keepers Market has reinforced, for me, the importance of buying locally designed good quality handmade products; there are so many amazing, unique and well made things out there that can sometimes be overlooked by the cheaper, more accessible product. However, by buying local and handmade, not only are you helping our economy, you're helping to shift the consumer trend away from mass produced, disposable products, that are often made at the expense of the environment and or basic human rights. That can only be a good thing, right?
And it's not like they're hard to find anymore; there are so many art and design markets around pioneered and inspired by the Finders Keepers, and with the internet always at our fingertips, all you have to do is jump onto Etsy for some beautiful handcrafted goodies.

Well, that's my two cents. The next Finders Keepers isn't until October, but if you can't wait until then, they're always updating their blog with new designers and creatives selling wonderful wares. Give it a try! It may not by so great for your hip pocket, but it will do wonders for the soul!