About four years ago, Sarah Thornton and partner Brooke Johnstone, disappointed and frustrated by the lack of outlets to display the work of creative and original designers in the pair’s home city of Sydney, chose to take constructive action to remedy the situation.
About four years ago, Sarah Thornton and partner Brooke Johnstone, disappointed and frustrated by the lack of outlets to display the work of creative and original designers in the pair’s home city of Sydney, chose to take constructive action to remedy the situation.
Thornton and Johnstone, both designers by trade, decided to establish a market designed to allow emerging designers to showcase and sell their creative works. Four years later, and the subsequently named Finders Keepers has become a successful event in its own right, with the original Sydney market mirrored by markets held in Brisbane and Melbourne. "We didn’t feel that there was anything out there to support designers," Thornton says. "And now the market has grown into a regular event, held twice a year, with music and a bar – it’s very exciting."
The Finders Keepers started out with approximately 20 stalls in Sydney. In time, the market found a place in both Melbourne and Brisbane, building up a strong network of part-time assistants along the way. "We found that designers were travelling from interstate to attend the Sydney market, so we decided to hold events in both Brisbane and Melbourne," Thornton says. "We find that each city is different – Melbourne is very creative, and there are lots of amazing galleries and shops, which isn’t the case in Brisbane. So in Brisbane the markets get really crazy. And in Sydney it’s different again. So a designer that travels to different cities will experience something different wherever they go," she explains.
At the first Finders Keepers, applications were chosen by the organisers based on some rudimentary, but important criteria – originality, local design and manufacture and ethical production.
In 2011, those basic attributes remain. "Initially we did a lot of scouting," Thornton says. "We really wanted to make sure we had quality in the work that was being sold, and that we were featuring emerging designers. Now we have guidelines and an application process to get in – that helps the market stay new and exciting," she says.
With a potential glut of applicants to participate in the market, Thornton and Johnstone have been careful to maintain both diversity, integrity and balance in the markets held in each state. "We’re particularly interested in people who need experience and exposure," Thornton says. "We want to have Australian designed and made product, and we also want to know how the product is made, whether it’s from an ethical background. And it needs to be of a high standard – it’s no good having something that’s not very well made, and falls apart after you buy it," she says. "We want to have stuff that you don’t see everyday in the shops," Thornton says. "And we try and cater for everyone, so there’s fashion, accessories, jewellery, textiles, everything from headgear to toys."
Design, like most branches of the creative arts, tends to have its own temporal themes, and the Finders Keepers has to walk a fine line between recognising emerging trends, and guarding against commonality. "It’s interesting when the applications come in, because you get to see what the trends are at the time," Thornton says. "There’s often lots of jewellery because it’s relatively easy to start working with jewellery – but it’s not always original."
For any emerging designer, the creative process tends to be a labour of love, with a small aperture of commercial light at the end of a long production tunnel. Thornton says the average Finders Keepers participant endeavours to stay true to their independent roots. "Most people stay independent, but we have had people who’ve gone onto open shops, and some have received recognition overseas. While a lot of people have managed to go onto become self-sufficient, people aren’t going off and doing deals with K-Mart," Thornton laughs.
This month’s Melbourne Finders Keepers, to be held in Shed 4 at Docklands, will again feature local musicians, now a staple of the event. "We have a music coordinator in each state, and we try to have a similar vibe with the music that we have with the designs," Thornton says. "Most of the musicians usually approach us. It’s nice when people want to be involved – it keeps that community feel."
Notwithstanding its lack of government support ("we seem to fall in a grey area in the Australia Council funding arrangements"), the Finders Markets seems to be on a secure footing. "We like to think we’re self-sustainable," Thornton says. "We’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing."
The Finders Keepers Markets will be held at Shed 4, Docklands on March 26 and 27 from 10am-5pm. They’re totally free to get into but obviously buying things costs money. For more info head to thefinderskeepers.com.
