Astonishing Little Locals

I love shopping locally. There is something special about the relationships you can build with your local butcher/baker/wine shop lady. Quite a few of Melbourne's (inner) suburbs have quite a villagy feel and are set up so that you can often do a good chunk of your buying locally. Oddly the internet can also help us shop locally; with websites like Etsy and the free marketing powers of social media there are opportunities for talented people to sell their wares without all the costs associated with a shopfront.

Shopping for gifts online is a wonderful thing. It saves so much time and energy and stress caused by traipsing around heaps of stores hoping for inspiration (I missed out on the shopping gene). I have already talked about my love for Hard to Find (here), especially when Christmas shopping. I had to wait until after Christmas to write this post about some little local Melbourne companies/people making truly beautiful things because some of my readers were on my Christmas gift list.

One Two Carabou 

The exquisitely talented and lovely Lou is a friend of mine. We met a few years ago working on a short play festival when we were both trying to pursue theatre. Since then she had an amazing overseas adventure during which she rediscovered herself and her passion for design, quit her full-time teaching job, enrolled in a design course and discovered an amazing talent for illustrations (all in about 18 months- that is one inspirational lady!). She has recently launched her Etsy Shop with some prints of her beautiful illustrations. All the little people in my life got one of these for Christmas and I had to get one for me too.

 

Saturday Lollipop

Ellie calls her pieces 'jewellery to make you smile' and they certainly do. She sells her stunning handmade jewellery at a number of markets about the place (mostly in Melbourne but she also goes to Finders Keepers) and on her website. It pays to 'Like' Saturday Lollipop on Facebook so you can see what she is up to, because a lot of things are snapped up by fans before they make it on to the website. You can contact her for custom orders too.

These little items are squeal-worthy. How cute are they!

Mrs Smileys 

I love antique jewellery and pieces that are a bit different, Mrs Smileys merges the best of both worlds, turning vintage lockets into modern expressions of love and friendship. The Bookworm bought me this beautiful locket from incube8r (an amazing gallery that supports locals artists with locations in Fitzroy, Melbourne and Fortitude Valley, Brisbane). 

It is one of the earlier designs but you can check out the latest pieces on the website. Here are a few more of my favourites (pictures from the website)

Anrol designs

These guys make great paper products, witty little notebooks and some super cute wooden brooches- the best stocking fillers or 'just because' gifts. They are available through the website and I have also seen the notebooks at the incube8r stores

This is not a sponsored post. These are just things that I love and hopefully by telling you about them the artists will have a wider audience.