Community, Connection and a Me-Made Parade: PepTalks Was One for the Ages
- Words by Peppermint
words CAITLIN MORIARTY photos SABINE BANNARD
Stellar speakers, delicious food and flowing drinks, a fantastic fashion parade, prizes and goodie bags galore, and a finale that saw the whole room on their feet singing Joni Mitchell’s ‘Big Yellow Taxi’… We’re just going to say it: PepTalks 2023 was a vibe!
Held on Thursday 1 June – the first PepTalks since 2019! – the evening saw the relaunch of our signature event with a fresh feeling but the same focus: a positive event to inform, inspire and uplift.
Guests were welcomed to the beautiful Food Connect Shed – decorated with greenery, herbs and flowers foraged from the gardens of the Peppermint team – to enjoy opening drinks from our exclusive wine partner Yalumba (with wines from their organic range, Yalumba Gen) as well as beer from the award-winning and solar-powered Helios Brewing and refreshing sparkling water from Dash. The happy crowd then sat down to share platters from First Nations-owned caterers Three Little Birds Brisbane for a gorgeous vegetarian meal with a focus on native ingredients.
The night officially opened with a moving Welcome to Country from Chris Tosh Dawson – an emerging Turrbal leader and nephew to Turrbal Elder, Songwoman Maroochy – who shared stories and language and performed the welcome song ‘Gari Gynda Narmi’.
The wonderful Bonnie Hislop steered the happy crowd through the night with efficiency, joy and warmth (we could not believe it was her first time being an MC – she made it look effortless!)
And the speakers? From sewing to social justice, sustainable fashion to compost and the life-changing power of creativity, these five amazing women brought the pages of Peppermint to life.
Daile Kelleher, CEO of Children by Choice, gave a powerful and eye-opening history of the decriminalisation of abortion in Queensland and offered tangible advice for us to be allies to pregnant people.
Use your platforms! Whatever you have! Shout about your support for reproductive rights.
Sewing influencer and author Daisy Braid spoke about her journey to becoming DIY Daisy and finding her community, and also about the balance between getting that stable day job your parents always wanted you to get, and chasing your creative dreams.
Finding my community helped me find my purpose.
Dr Anna Hickey, who holds a PhD in fashion – which, as she confirmed in her speech, is a real thing – asked us to consider the complex and personal relationship we all have with fashion, which goes far beyond catwalks and couture.
Fashion is not all models and runways; it is special and personal. It is a community. And, sometimes, it is dressing up and being joyful with your friends and strangers.
Ashley Baxter, CEO of Monty Compost, gave us a clear-eyed explanation of the importance of composting in the fight against climate change – asking the whole room to become composters, and giving us every reason to try.
It has never been easier, more efficient and more engaging for everyone, everywhere, to be a composter. With compost, you can use your waste to change the world.
Our final speaker Hillary Wall – artist and founder of Cork & Chroma, who stepped in at the last moment for the wonderful Rachael Sarra – took the audience through a breathing and singing exercise that led to a whole audience rendition of Joni Mitchell’s classic ‘Big Yellow Taxi’. The first-ever PepTalks Choir! A big shoutout to PepTalks guest Emma who got up and rocked out on the Cajon drum too!
And it wouldn’t be a PepTalks without celebrating our stitchy friends!
The Peppermint team wanted to acknowledge what the sewing community means to us, so the Me-Made Parade was born! We invited everyone who had made their outfit to show it off in a fashion parade with a difference. Clearly, they brought the house down: twirling, boogying, jumping and voguing their way across the stage to thunderous applause.
Goodie bags have always been a beloved part of the PepTalks experience, and 2023 was no exception. Handmade, natural, sustainable, beautiful… guests took home over $300 worth of products from our partners!
We can’t thank these makers, businesses and brands enough for their generous gifts to our audience.
Under the golden glow of festoon lights, we said goodnight to our guests but not goodbye to PepTalks. We’re hoping this is just the beginning!
Want to see more photos? Head to our Facebook page!
The Peppermint team would like to extend a huge thank you to our PepTalks 2023 partners and sponsors, including the team at Food Connect and Three Little Birds, our wonderful friends at The Finders Keepers and The Fabric Store, Yalumba, Helios Brewing and Dash Water, plus our goodie bag and lucky door prize donors: Opty.NC, ZERO, Seed & Sprout, Pablo & Rusty’s, Weleda, Sama Nail Polish, Khanun by Mimi, Luk Beautifood, Uncle Charlie’s Tastes of Country, Ministry of Handmade, Jade and May and Smitten Merino.
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Look, I don’t want to make anyone panic but IT’S DECEMBER!!! If you’re planning to give homemade gifts, you’re going to have to act fast. …
Hang out with us on Instagram
🌻 The Paddington 🌻
This is a much-loved staple, created for Issue 50 in 2021. We love seeing the #PeppermintPaddingtonTop continually popping up in our feeds!
How stunning is our model Elon MelaninGoddessEfon – she told us it was one of the first times she had been asked to come to a shoot with her natural hair. 🌻
We worked with South African patternmaker Sarah Steenkamp of @FrenchNavyNow_ to create this wardrobe essential – the perfect puff-sleeve blouse. Raglan sleeves make it the ultimate beginner sew, plus the gorgeous back buttons let you add your own personal twist.
Pattern via the link in bio! 🪡
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Fabric: @Spoonflower
Model: MelaninGoddessEfon
“In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design.”
Crafters have often been at the heart of many protest movements, often serving as a powerful means of political expression. @NeedleAndSkein, a yarn store in Minnesota, are helping to mobilise the craftivists of the world with a ‘Melt The Ice’ knitting pattern created by @Yarn_Cult (with a crochet pattern too), as a way of peaceful protest.
The proceeds from the $5 pattern will go to local immigrant aid organisations – or you can donate without buying the pattern.
Raise those needles, folks – art and craft can change the world. 🧶
Link in bio for the pattern.
Images: @Gather_Fiber @NeedleAndSkein @a2ina2 @KyraGiggles Sandi.204 @WhatTracyMakes AllieKnitsAway Auntabwi2
#MeltTheIce #Craftivism #Knitting #CraftForChange
TWO WEEKS TO GO! 🤩
"The most important shift is moving from volume-led buying to value-led curation – choosing fewer, better products with strong ethics, considered production and meaningful stories. Retailers have real influence here: what you buy signals what you stand for. At Life Instyle, this means using the event to discover and invest in small-scale, planet-considerate brands that align with your values and your customer’s conscience. Consumers don’t need more things; they need better things, and retailers play a key role in selecting, contextualising, and championing why those products matter."
Only two more weeks until @Life_Instyle – Australia`s leading boutique retail trade show. If you own a store, don`t miss this event! Connect with designers, source exquisite – and mindful – products, and see firsthand why this is Australia’s go-to trade show for creatives and retailers alike. And it`s free! ✨️
Life Instyle – Sydney/Eora Country
14-17 February 2026
ICC, Darling Harbour
Photos: @Samsette
#LifeInstyle #SustainableShopping #SustainableShop #RetailTradeEvent
Calling all sewists! 📞
Have you made the Peppermint Waratah Wrap Dress yet? Call *1800 I NEED THIS NOW to get making!
This gorgeous green number was modelled (and made) by the fabulous Lisa of @Tricky.Pockets 🙌🏼
If you need a nudge, @ePrintOnline are offering Peppermint sewists a huge 🌟 30% off ALL A0 printing 🌟 when you purchase the Special Release Waratah Wrap Dress pattern – how generous is that?!
Head to the link in bio now 📞
*Not a real number in case that wasn`t clear 😂
#PeppermintWaratahWrapDress #PeppermintPatterns #SewingPattern #WrapDress #WrapDressPattern
8 Things to Know About January 26 - from @ClothingTheGaps:
Before you celebrate, take the time to learn the truth. January 26 is not a day of unity it’s a Day of Mourning and Survival for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It marks the beginning of invasion, dispossession, and ongoing colonial violence. It’s time for truth-telling, not whitewashed history.
Stand in solidarity. Learn. Reflect. Act.
✊🏽 Blog written by Yorta Yorta woman Taneshia Atkinson.
🔗 Link in bio of @ClothingTheGaps to read the full blog
#ChangeTheDate #InvasionDay #SurvivalDay #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe #ClothingTheGaps
As the world careens towards AI seeping into our feeds, finds and even friend-zones, it`s becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
We just wanted to say that here at Peppermint, we are choosing to not print or publish AI-generated art, photos, words, videos or content.
Merriam-Webster’s human editors chose `slop` as the 2025 Word of the Year – they define it as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” The problem is, as AI increases in quality, it`s becoming more and more difficult to ascertain what`s real and what`s not.
Let`s be clear here, AI absolutely has its place in science, in climate modelling, in medical breakthroughs, in many places... but not in replacing the work of artists, writers and creatives.
Can we guarantee that everything we publish is AI-free? Honestly, not really. We know we are not using it to create content, but we are also relying on the artists, makers and contributors we work with, as well as our advertisers, to supply imagery, artwork or words created by humans. AI features are also creeping into programs and apps too, making it difficult to navigate. But we will do our best to avoid it and make a stand for the artists and creatives who have had their work stolen and used to train AI machines, and those who are now losing work as they are replaced by this energy-sapping, environment-destroying magic wand.
Could using it help our productivity and bottom line? Sure. And as a small business in a difficult landscape, that`s a hard one to turn down. We know other publishers who use AI to write stories, create recipes, produce photo shoots... but this one is important to us.
`Touch grass` was also a Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. We`ll happily stick with that as a theme, thanks very much. 🌿
