“An Electric Atmosphere”: Don’t Miss the Finders Keepers Market in Sydney This Weekend
- Words by Peppermint
top image THE FINDERS KEEPERS SYDNEY SS21 BY SAMEE LAPHAM.
Closing out a stunning autumn/winter season, The Finders Keepers market is hitting the harbour city this weekend, returning to The Cutaway, Barangaroo Reserve from the 29–31 July. Shop with local New South Wales and interstate makers, learn something new at workshops with MakerSpace & Co and Clay Sydney, snap a shot in front of our fabulous floral photo wall and rest your weary market feet as you flick through copies of Peppermint at the Read and Refresh Lounge. What more could you ask for on a Sydney weekend!?
Tickets are on sale now (just $5) and when you buy a ticket, you’ll go in the running to win one of five subscriptions to Peppermint! What a dream! Head to the link here for all the details.
To get you excited about all things Finders Keepers and help you curate your shopping list, we caught up with four of the incredible Sydney stallholders!
image THE FINDERS KEEPERS SYDNEY SS21 BY SAMEE LAPHAM.
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Deadly Denim
Tell us a bit about what you make?
Sustainability is at the heart of Deadly Denim – we create one-off, recycled denim pieces and customise them with First Nations artwork. At The Finders Keepers stall you will find recycled denim shopping bags, jackets, skirts, dresses and jeans showcasing artwork by Bobbi Lockyer, Kiya Watt, Mikayla King, Leona McGrath, Cungelella Art, Babbarra Women’s Centre and Ikuntji Arts.
Why do you love The Finders Keepers?
I love the creative community that Brooke and Sarah have created! This will be my first market in person – we need one over on Nyungar country (south-west WA)! I also love that the Melbourne Finders Keepers had 20 First Nations-owned and led small businesses this year at the event.
What are you looking forward to most about the Sydney market?
I’m looking forward to visiting Gadigal Country, it will be my first time. Also to meet all of our Sydney-based followers, to meet other creatives and to share the message of changing our habits that support the fast-fashion industry and to buy from recycled and slow fashion labels instead.
Why is the creative community so special?
The creative community is so deadly. I love how supportive we are of each other and always love meeting other people working in creative industries and yarning about what they do and create.
Voluptuary Ceramics
Tell us a bit about what you make?
I make shapely vessels and dreamy pastel tableware for my ceramic brand Voluptuary. I love to play with objects that appear soft, gelatinous and jelly-like and turn them into joyous, functional, handmade objects that blend beauty with something visceral and emotive. If you find me at the market, you can expect a treasure trove of colourful porcelain tumblers, belly mugs, iridescent vases and sorbet-coloured serving ware.
Why do you love The Finders keepers?
The Finders Keepers is a market that really celebrates creativity. It’s a melting pot of talented and dedicated artists and makers showcasing the best work they have to offer. So much creativity in one space has an electric atmosphere. The food is always delectable and the drinks are just as tempting. It really is the perfect social outing and shopping directly from a creative small business fosters a joy like no other.
What are you looking forward to most about the Sydney market?
I think the inner child in me really sees markets as an opportunity to play shop. Decorating my stall to make it as pink and feel as magical as possible is one of my favourite parts of the whole event. I love admiring the other stallholders’ setups as much as I do their products. It really is an event worth visiting, ogling and shopping for your favourite finds.
Why is the creative community so special?
The Finders Keepers is definitely an event that draws in a wonderful community. Meeting so many new people and sharing my brand with them is what I look forward to the most. Nothing beats connecting in person and I am really grateful to be able to do so in such a beautiful venue, surrounded by so much creative energy! If you pop by the market please come and say hello, I’ll be at the pink and orange stall, dripping flowers and overly discussing the joy a handmade mug can bring you.
Scrubba Body
Tell us a bit about what you make?
We are all about ‘self-care’ and treating yourself. With bath and body products like body scrubs, soaks, soaps and oils along with face masks and lip balms. Also, soy candles to complete that at-home spa experience.
Why do you love The Finders Keepers?
There is such an amazing sense of community at every Finders Keepers market, from customers, organisers and other stallholders alike. Everyone is happy to be in such a vibrant and entertaining environment. Also, the organisers do an amazing job at curating an amazing group of high-quality stallholders and conveying that message so that customers know what to expect.
What are you looking forward to most about the Sydney market?
At the Sydney market, we get to catch up with a lot of our Sydney customers face-to-face, which is amazing and something we don’t get to do as often as we would like. Also, on a more selfish note, getting in a quick shop for myself with the other amazing stallholders and getting some sweet treats to take home!
Why is the creative community so special?
Talk to anyone in the creative community and you’ll be lucky to find one person that isn’t completely approachable, down-to-earth and super passionate about what they do. I am constantly in awe of some of the creations I see from this community and it shows that a lot of creatives are wired differently… which I think is awesome!
Alice’s Earth
Tell us a bit about what you make?
I hand-make fine jewellery using solid recycled metals and sustainably sourced stones. I also hand-make solid brass key-rings and wall hangings. My style is best described as line drawing with metal.
Why do you love The Finders Keepers?
The Finders Keepers has helped me grow my small business substantially over the past few years. From visiting as a customer in 2018 to debuting as a stall holder and opening my Samford shop in 2021.
What are you looking forward to most about the Sydney market?
I’ve never travelled interstate for work before so I’m really looking forward to this market and seeing more of Sydney. I’ve made small business friends and customer friends over the years who live down here so I’m excited to meet everyone in person. Also keen to discover some more small businesses.
Why is the creative community so special?
Everyone is like-minded and has an appreciation for each other’s work. It’s inspiring to follow and learn about other creatives.
The Finders Keepers is Australia’s largest curated marketplace of makers, designers and entrepreneurs. Online, and via their major market events, the Finders Keepers is where communities come together to shop, explore and discover the very best from designers, makers and entrepreneurs in our country.
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“My piece of advice for makers and designers? Run your own race… make sure your key decisions stay anchored in your brand’s core beliefs.”
- Bec Bligh
Quick show of hands: who’s opened a water bottle expecting a refreshing sip… and instead been greeted by the unmistakable whiff of uh-oh?
Because for something that follows us everywhere (desk, car, hikes, yoga…), the humble drink bottle is strangely prone to becoming a science experiment. Hard-to-clean corners and gaskets. Mystery smells. Bec Bligh and her husband Tim know it well. A six-month sailing trip along the Queensland coast left them with a lifetime of memories and one stubborn annoyance: mouldy water bottles they couldn’t properly clean.
So they did something about it.
Enter @EverVessel. Thoughtfully designed borosilicate glass and stainless steel bottles that keep things beautifully simple: durable materials, wide openings, easy-to-clean parts and none of the techy gimmicks that tend to age badly. Turns out simplicity, done well, is pretty powerful stuff. (Their many design awards agree!)
And lately they’ve added a little extra delight: the Artist Series, where creatives like Paola Castro, Ben Miners and Martin Thompson transform these everyday companions into tiny travelling artworks. There are more colabs in the works, too: hydration, but make it joyful! 🎨💧
We chatted with Bec about the sailing trip that started it all, the philosophy behind Ever Vessel, and why the most sustainable product is often just the one you keep using.
Tap the link in our bio to read the full conversation. 🚰
#EverVessel #ReusableWaterBottle
Pull up a chair… there’s room at this table!
For the first time, Feast for Freedom is bringing people together for a spectacular long-table dinner as part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.
A Longer Table is exactly what it sounds like: one beautiful shared table inside the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (@Asrc1), piled with generous dishes inspired by this year’s hero cooks, Noha and Nige.
From 6 to 9pm on Wednesday, 25 March, this is what you can expect:
🍽 A three-course shared feast
🍷 Matched drinks
🎶 Live entertainment
✨ A room full of good humans
Your ticket doesn’t just buy you a delicious dinner. It supports the ASRC’s vital work and helps create a fairer future for people seeking asylum.
Seats are limited, and long tables have a way of filling up quickly – head to @MelbFoodAndWine’s website to book now: feastforfreedom.org.au/mfwf
#FeastForFreedom #MelbourneFoodAndWineFestival #LongTableDinner #FoodForChange
Sew versatile! 🪡
Another great make from Lisa from @SunnySewsEveryday:
My #PeppermintWaratahWrapDress is finished and I’m so proud of it. It has been designed not to flap open and flash your pants in the wind, so I feel confident it will be a great wheelchair or standing dress in English weather.
#PeppermintPatterns #WrapDress #WrapDressPattern
Frame your face with the Peppermint Bucket Hat!
Stay safe and stylish in the sun with your very own self-sewn and self-drafted wide-brimmed bucket hat. This beginner-friendly sew is perfect for a sunny day. Get out your pencils – this pattern is created using equations and maths!
This DIY project was featured in Issue 53 and now you can access it for the lovely low price of only $5.
Sun-safe chic is always in style. ☀️
Find it via the link in our bio!
Photos: @KelleySheenan
#PeppermintPatterns #PeppermintBucketHat #BucketHat #BucketHatPattern #DIY
✨ INSTANT CLASSIC ✨
The Peppermint Myrtle Shift Dress is a beginner-friendly make with a few special details based on the ever-stylish shift shape – the perfect dress you need in your wardrobe right now!
Myrtle cuts above the knee with options to customise the length. Don’t think she’s reserved for hot weather either: try a heavier-weight fabric to turn your Myrtle into a pinafore-style garment for layering.
For our fabrics we chose two from our lovely sewing partner @Karmme_Apparel – the bold Rottnest Stripes in a lightweight, soft-drape cotton, and the quality linen in the handpainted Mexico Collection.
Get making the Myrtle – the only question is, can you stop at just one?
Link in bio 🪡
Fabric: @Karmme_Apparel
Sewist: @Laura_The_Maker
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Models: @SerahSews and @Pins_And_Tonic
Location: @ShareTheDignityAustralia
#PeppermintMyrtleShiftDress #PeppermintPatterns
It’s time to Feast!
Some recipes travel a long way before they land on your table to delight your taste buds. This year’s Feast for Freedom invites us to gather our friends, cook something delectable and raise funds for the incredible work of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (@Asrc1) while we’re at it.
The 2026 Feast features recipes shared by two remarkable cooks: Noha, who brought the flavours of Palestine with her when she arrived in Australia, and Nige, a Sri-Lankan Tamil cook whose journey with food began in the most unexpected of places.
You can host your own Feast up until 30 April – simply register online and get planning! Host a dinner, organise a workplace lunch, or gather your community… However you do it, the idea is simple: cook, connect and celebrate the cultures and stories that shape Australia.
Want to find out more? Head to the link in bio to meet Noha and Nige, learn more about their stories, and discover a delicious recipe to try.
#FeastForFreedom #PeppermintMagazine #FoodForGood #ASRC
