Getting ready for the sale...

We've been rifling through shelves and boxes all afternoon, gathering things for our Garage Sale, which starts Friday at 10.30 and and runs through the weekend. If you are coming, please remember that the sale is CASH ONLY, there is no eftpos facility.











The sale is being held in our beachhut-decorated warehouse next door to the Lark shop. I hope you can come along - make sure you get here early to grab the best bargains. There are Cath Kidston goodies, Japanese masking tape, a few discontinued Belle & Boo prints, Dumpling Dynasty kits and tonnes of Lark goodies starting from only 50 cents up to $25!

Craft weekend!

Have you heard? Daylesford is going to be Craft Central from 2-4 July. All the crafty folks in our crafty town have been collaborating to make this the craftiest craftacular ever! Here’s what’s happening:

Friday:
Lark’s Garage Sale opens 10.30am, with loads of cute and crafty bargains (at the Lark warehouse, 4a Duke Street)

Saturday:
Daylesford Craft Experience at Peppers, with workshops all day
Lark’s Garage Sale continues
Daylesford Makers Market open from 10-5 at the Town Hall
Daylesford Farmers Market
Handmade and craft shops around town open late until 6pm

Sunday:
Daylesford Craft Experience at Peppers, with workshops all day
Lark’s Garage Sale continues
Daylesford Sunday Bric-a-Brac Market
Handmade and craft shops around town open late until 6pm

Lots of crafty peeps are visiting town, some groups, like the lovely Northside Makers, have hired a bus for the day, and many more are making a weekend of it. Why don’t you come for a drive to the country and join in the fun? Even if you're not attending the Craft Experience it’ll be heaps of fun just soaking up the atmosphere in town, and meeting lots of other crafters.

It looks like the weather will be dry, crisp and sunny for the weekend, so bring a warm coat!

I’m really looking forward to this weekend. I’ll be flying around between the different events, it’s going to be full on and I hope you will come and find me and say Hi!

Awww!

I couldn't resist sharing this snap of my two dogs, Jim and Harry. Jim is a 2 year old Goldie and Harry is a 3 month-old Mini Schnauzer. The two of them are great buddies. When we went to Sydney last week they were apart for a few days and they were so ecstatic to see each other agin, you should have seen them jumping for joy! They like to jog around the garden together, roll on the floor and play at biting each other. Jim is so gentle with little Harry, he's a big softie. Jim even lets Harry go in his kennel, he was a bit hesitant at first and would scoop him out with his big paws, but now Harry's allowed in, and sometimes when it's raining you'll find the two of them squashed in there together. As you can see, they like to snooze together too, with Harry curled up on Jim's belly. I'm so pleased we made the decision to get a second dog, we felt that Jim had become a bit lonely since we stopped working at home every day, but now he seems very happy and even a little more grown-up (sometimes)!

We're pleased to announce that we have a lovely new girl called Jordana working at Lark. If you come into our little shop in Daylesford one of the three of us - me, Deb or Jordana - will be very pleased to help you find what you're looking for!

Like Yikes, it's James Bond and Scooby Doo!

The boys went to a dress up event today - they chose to be James Bond and Scooby Doo. My big guy made a very dashing James Bond - he has never actually seen a James Bond movie, I might add. Our kids have always loved dressing up, we have one of those huge old-fashioned hotel laundry baskets full of outfits and accessories. And I have to confess that I love making an effort with their costumes (I once made a Yugioh outfit complete with a multicoloured felt headpiece), although today's outfits were a cinch. I found the tuxedo suit on eBay, and Scooby came from our local costume shop, Mr Showtime (can you believe Daylesford has a fancy dress shop but there's nowhere in town to buy school socks? That's the kind of place it is).

It's been raining heavily all morning over here, I'm hoping it will stop for the school holidays, as we have a few outings planned. Hope it's warm and dry where you are!x

Postscript: James Bond won the contest for best fancy dress, yay!!

Daylesford Makers Market

Need another reason to visit Daylesford the weekend after next? The fab Daylesford Makers Market is on again, with over 50 stalls including local makers, Melbourne girls and several emerging makers who are showing for the first time.

Geoffrey Williams will be playing live sets throughout the day.

Craig and the guys will be making the best coffee and their own hot chocolate blend at the market café.

And lots of bloggers will be visiting this event, so it's a great opportunity to catch up for a chat. Hope to see you there! We'll be open until 5pm.

Sydney again

So we took the boys out of school for a few days and went to Sydney for a treat. It's the third time we have been this year, we love Sydney. Love the museums - at the Powerhouse I finally saw the 1980s are Back exhibition and also we spent ages at the BEST exhibition about Australian fashion week that even appealed to boys, and at the Museum of Sydney there is a great exhibition about how people made do in the recession of the 1930s called Skint. Love the warm weather (well it is warm if you're coming from Daylesford), love hanging out with our friends Diana and Mark and their kids who are like family really, love independent shops like My Messy Room and Papier D'Amour, love Kinokinuya bookshop, the sights, the food, love it! Back to boring school and work now, oh well! How is your week?

Lark's Garage Sale is on again!

Yay! Following the success of our sale last November, we're holding an event next week in our Daylesford warehouse. It's going to be huge, as we seriously need to make some space for the new Spring/Summer stock that will start arriving in August.

For the first time there'll be Cath Kidston and Rice goodies in the sale, as well as craft kits, some Paumes books and all the usual Lark lovelies - boxes and boxes of them. Lots of cool children's clothes too. And many things will be at least 50% off.

AND, because my studio also needs a clearout, for the first time there will also be a table of vintage materials including wallpaper, fabric and habadashery, from my lovely stash.

I hope you can make it over as we only hold a sale twice a year so it's really worth a trip. The sale opens at 10.30am on Friday 2 July and will run through until Sunday afternoon. It's going to be a busy weekend in Daylesford, with the Makers Market and Craft Experience - I'll post about those later!

Click on the pretty poster to get all the details of the sale!

Calling Country Businesses!

I've just started work on a new article for a magazine. I was asked to write about the ups and downs of running a rural business, and it's got me thinking about things, about the challenge of finding ways to earn a living in the country.

I know from experience that it can be a real struggle to get taken seriously as a business without a city address, the cost of freight can be crippling, and then there's the drought, bush-fire risks etc. But on the other side, there's the community support, the commute to your office (mine is a 3 minute walk!) and the view outside your window.

Do YOU have an Australian country-based business? Maybe you have a family farm, run a general store or make cheese? Or run an online business from a rural outpost? What do you do and how do you manage to do it? I'd love to hear from anyone out there who wants to share their story on my blog - let's spread the word about country businesses!. Please drop me a line to allison @larkmade.com.au or leave a comment.

Australian Land Girls photo from here.

Hi, how are you?

What are you up to? I am ok, things seem to have got really busy these past few weeks, I am behind with my emails and trying not to stress about some big deadlines. But also making excellent progress with some new personal and business projects. Off to Sydney again soon. We found a lovely new person to work in our shop at weekends and also someone super to help out in our office a few hours a week, keeping our paperwork up to date. Harry is growing up fast, and he and Jim have become real buddies, running about the garden together and snuggling up for a snooze. Looking forward to school holidays. Struggling with this long, cold Daylesford winter. Planning a date night in Melbourne while the kids are off at sleepovers. Tonight I had a late meeting with the ace committee peeps from the Daylesford Makers Market and when I got home Paul made me my favourite homemade gnocchi with cheese sauce. Glass of wine. Planning to watch Spooks at 9.30. Up early tomorrow to go for a run with my girlfriend. I hope all is well with you. xx

Sugar and Spice

My final market for this season will be the brand new Sugar & Spice market in Woodend next Sunday. If you haven't been to Woodend before, it is a pretty little town about 50 mins from Melbourne, with lots of lovely shops, op shops and cafés. And the famous Hanging Rock of course. There is a bakery that claims to sell 'Australia's Best Vanilla Slice' (and they are pretty good, I have to say). This promises to be a very cute new market, and the perfect opportunity for a little Sunday drive to the country, I think!

We're open!

It's the Queen's Birthday holiday tomorrow (Monday), and Lark will be open from 10.30-3! Pop in and say hello!

Image from here

Yay for Markets

The Sisters Market in Brunswick was lovely yesterday. It's one of my favourite markets as I always see lots of my favourite customers, blog friends and fellow market girls there. I bought these pretty trinkets from Jay of Finki, who was having her last ever market stall as she is going to concentrate on selling her goods through shops. Her story reminded me what a great stepping stone markets are for crafters who want to develop their hobby into a business.

When I was starting Lark four or five years ago, craft markets were a very different thing, I would travel for miles to a huge field where I'd be competing with professional stalls selling acrylic knitted toys for $2, carved wooden plaques and 'country crafts' that were mostly not handmade. I almost gave up my business idea right there and then, thinking that no-one would ever buy my vintage storybook badges and quirky cotton-knit doughnuts. Then a new type of craft market started to emerge, where the emphasis was on quality and original design, so I found myself at Magnolia Square, and the new Life in Style trade fair, and my confidence was restored. I started meeting like-minded people and found out that my stuff was actually good, and I never looked back from there!

These days I am involved in running a local craft market in my town and I still have a stall a few times a year at Melbourne markets, but now my main reason for going to markets is to meet customers in person and stay in touch with friends who have their own craft businesses. And now I am a retailer myself, I also love to see the makers who we stock in our store, and discover new talent.

So this is just a Yay! for craft markets, for the people who run them, for the folks who buy handmade, and for designers like Jay who are taking the next step in their businesses.

The Mini Lark Shop is in Melbourne again this weekend!

This weekend my mini version of the Lark Shop and I will be in Brunswick, as part of the awesome Sisters Market.

If you haven't been able to get to our Daylesford shop yet, or if you need a good dose of cuteness, come along between 10am and 4pm to see a lovely selection of my favourite things...


Here's what you'll find in the Mini Shop:

Japanese goodies
Rice kitchenware in pretty colours
Bob Boutique handmade accessories
Lark knitted toys
Zines including Spoonful, Extra Curricular and Anorak
Blom paper flowers
Vintage Ladybird notebooks
Cath Kidston goodies
Felt deer heads
Cupcake wrappers
Little Beehive party invitations
And lots more!

I'll have some new things that haven't even made it into our web shop yet, like the cutest little kitten bowls, Cath Kidston sandwich boxes and some very sweet badges, plus of course there will be a few special offers but you'll need to come along to see what they are!

If there is something you would like me to bring to the market mini shop for you just let me know in advance. I hope to see you there!

Lark Mini Shop @ Sisters Market
Saturday 12 June 10am-4pm
Brunswick Town Hall

What's new?

Vintage fabric pencil rolls from dear Bec.

Felt deer heads from Kim at Cuckoo Nest, she is my craft idol!


Issue 2 of Spoonful, hurrah!

Gold!

I went out with my girlfriends to the cinema last night, we saw Sex and the City 2, which was so trashy but I loved it! We went to the Gold Class cinema, which I've never tried before but I tell you, it's the best. You get to lounge in a first-class comfy seat with your feet up while people bring you champagne and pudding. Just my kind of thing!

Champagne card by Lisa Jones

Lovely Liberty

I've been dying to show you these gorgeous bias bindings - they come in pretty Liberty prints and are wound by hand onto large wooden bobbins. I have a small batch of them available in my web shop. These are so lovely, you could use them to dolly up a denim skirt, trim a baby bib or bind a blanket. Or just sit and admire them all day!

Larkin' all over the world!

Did you know that we now ship internationally? If you or your friends are overseas, you can order some Lark loveliness to be sent across the oceans. We'll even include a gift card, just ask us when you place your order. The shipping rates are calculated at checkout based on weight, and it takes around 4-7 days to reach Europe or the US. Here are some of the most popular products by Australian designers that we get asked to send overseas...

Peppermint Magazine

Tightology tights

Victoria Mason Jewellery

What Koalas Think

Littlehorn baby clothes

Mister Mista for boys

Lark Made knitted play food

Able & Game cards


Naomi Murrell's lovely things


BYO Coffee Cups

Books from Frankie

Beci Orpin goods


Airmail card by Lisa Jones