Do your Christmas shopping in one place and help a great cause, with the Local Makers Market at Melbourne Showgrounds from November 18-19.
The Local Makers Market is an ethical and sustainable indoor market that only sells boutique products from Australian makers, designers and artists.
From November 18-19, it’s taking over building 13 of the Melbourne Showgrounds with a Christmas shopping extravaganza, featuring free kids crafts, free permaculture and herbal medicine workshops and plenty of live music.
Local Makers Market
- Location: Melbourne Showgrounds, Gate 5 Langs Road, Ascot Vale\
- Dates: Saturday, 18 November, Sunday, 19 November
- Hours: 10am to 5pm daily
- Tickets: $4 Entry, Children 12 and under free. Buy them here.
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
What’s more, 50% of pre-purchased ticket sales are being donated to Homie, a hugely celebrated Melbourne streetwear label and social enterprise that supports young people experiencing homelessness. Combine that and the fact they’re using Humanitix (to support children’s charities) for all tickets, and you have one very socially-conscious way to shop for Christmas presents this year. All in all, it’s a big NO to mass-produced junk that stuffs too many Christmas stockings at the end of each year; the type of present that at best gets re-gifted and at worst gets thrown straight in the trash.
Expect a huge range of arts and crafts, gorgeous jewellery, pottery and crockery, boutique clothing and knitwear, candles and sculptures, hand-made toys, leatherwork and so much more.
The market is the brainchild of Bousy and Damien, two experienced business leaders who have a passion for the kinds of handcrafted, artisanal treasures you can only find these days at markets like these.
“You’re standing in front of a market stall with your best friend. The vendor is in front of you, telling you how they make the products you’re holding. You can see the passion in their eyes and hear it in their voice. You feel all warm and fuzzy thinking about how good they’ll feel when you buy their product. And you feel all wide-eyed and dreamy thinking about how good this thing will look in your home,” they posted on Instagram.
“Isn’t that so much more fun than picking up one of a dozen identical products in a big store, walking to the checkout and making small talk with a cashier who is probably thinking about how they’d rather be anywhere else?”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Tickets are only $4 with children 12 and under able to enter for free. Buy them now and go into the draw to win a $100 market voucher that could sort all your Christmas shopping for free!
Buy tickets here. If you’re a local maker, you can also check out their Stallholder criteria here.
This article was made in partnership with the Local Makers Market.
