Thea & Sami Organic Gift Idea

Thea & Sami are happy to be joining the Designers Emporium Boutique Market. We will be offering our hand-printed tea-towels and organic cotton t-shirts among other goodies at the market every month.

I thought I would share with you this great eco-gift idea. Hemp tea-towels make a wonderful environmentally friendly gift wrap. Hemp has the advantage of being naturally resistant to bacteria and mould even after several washings. While these towels are not certified organic, hemp is a weed so grows well without the use of pesticides and will quickly regrow once cut, making it very sustainable. As the strongest natural fibre, it will last for many years.

I am going a step further by choosing a certified organic wine. We are very fortunate in Australia to have wonderful vineyards and many of the smaller ones are now growing their grapes organically, without chemicals.



So for a lovely guilt-free hostess or party gift, begin by choosing a hemp or organic cotton tea-towel, an organic wine and some hemp twine. I purchased my twine from my local organic food store.



I am using the Thea & Sami Mexican Climber hemp tea-towel as the design is reminiscent of grape vines. Fold the towel wrong side out so when wrapped, you can fold over the border (see final image).

Place the bottle inside the towel and wrap. This step is very important otherwise if you wrap the towel around the bottle without enclosing it, the towel can easily slip off and the bottle may tragically crash to the floor.



Use the hemp twine to secure the towel and fold the towel over and style its collar. You now have a very impressive gift with wrapping that will be treasured for many years to follow.

Please feel free to comment if you find a better way to wrap your tea-towel.

bon voyage red bamboo

From all at the Designers Emporium, we would like to send our best wishes to Annie from red bamboo, who has been a fabulous part of our group for the last 6 months. Annie is moving to Tasmania next month and she will be dearly missed! Annie brought along to the markets, not only a beautiful product but her friendly, bubbly personality and she was a favourite with many of our retailers and customers alike. So Annie, from all of us ...Good Luck! We hope that your new adventure is full of wonderful surprises! We love Annie's fabulous product so much that we have decided to include her on our 'we support' section of our website, a special place for our favourite retailers, so if ever you need to find that special red bamboo gift from Annie, you know just where to find her.

red bamboo is....

Come the January 4th Designers Emporium Market - red bamboo will be having a genuine Clearance Sale!
After being involved with the markets for several wonderful months, red bamboo is leaving Brisbane and heading south to Tasmania and needs to clear as much stock as possible. With discounts and other great deals, come along for a chance to nab a great variety of handmade goodies such as:

• Goat Milk & Vegetable Glycerin Soaps
• Hand & Body Lotions
• Lip Balms
• Bath Salts and more!

With only select stalls available, come along on Sunday the 4th for some great deals and a chance to kick off the new year with a bargain or two!
See you there!

New Market Trading Times

Beginning in January 2009, our market trading times will change. Our new market trading times are from 9am til 1pm, replacing the 2008 finishing time of 3pm. And with many of our fabulous retailers on a well deserved holiday in January, we will be trading in CC'sLounge Bar at the front of the Everton Park Hotel, rather than in the indoor marquee for our January market.

A Christmas to Remember

Many braved the stifling heat yesterday to come along to our annual Christmas Market. With marquee open on all sides to let the breeze through, and the fans and cool drinks running all day! Even the brief thundery storm didn't stop peoples enthusiasm to come and shop for that special gift - and shop they did! A massive turn out which thrilled our 35 strong boutique retailers with customers eager to scoop up a handmade item..... or two or three! we ran a fabulous raffle as well with proceeds going to the Royal Children's hospital and people generously bought tickets. The first prize of $100 'market cash' was won by Michelle Kohler, second prize $50 'market cash' was won by Ada Smith and third prize of $20 'market cash' was won by Lucy Buchanan. Five random $10 'market cash' prizes were also given away through out the day. Winners were delighted and have 12 months to come along and spend their cash at our marketplace. The kids weren't left out of the fun with lots of bouncy fun on the fabulous jumping castle, kindly donated by Grasshopper Jumping Castles. The wet weather closed the carousel down for a brief time, but we managed to raise loads of cash from these kids rides and activities to bring smiles to the RCHF. A big thank you to the volunteers from the Hospital who kindly helped out on the day and everyone else for their involvement.

Christmas Market Retailer List

Billy Bobbins - boyswear

Blue Gum Inspirations - cards and jewellery

Bombalaska - children's swimwear

Bra Strap Pizzazz - fashion bra straps

Cloth to Creation - craft and vintage

Cute as Buttons - childrens wear

Dragonfly Designs - jewellery

Fudge From Heaven - fudge

Heart on Your Sleeve - childrens keepsake jewellery and accessories

HeMaKa - womens jewellery

knickerbocker - childrens decor and linen

Laugh Land - costumes and childrens wear

Mags Bags - knitted and handmade bags

Mango Wednesday Ceramics - hand painted functional and decorative ceramic pieces

My Cheeky Monkeys - little girls hair accessories

Nature Play - childrens toys

Peg & Kate -children's school accessories

Queenie Sleepwear - childrens sleepwaer

Red Bamboo - handmade body products

Rachael Zelensky Art - adult and childrens art

Taryn Newland - Natural, location-based photography

Wimcee - original hand-crafted designs in paint, paper and fabric

Shower Scene - shower caps

Bags & Boxes - childrens school bags and accessories

Bouncy Costumes - costumes for every age

Friends With Glass - handmade glass plates and jewellery

Hot and Painted - handpainted glasses

Mainly Mosaics - mosaic home decor

Peacock Glass - handmade glass jewellery

Pauline Bushnell Christmas Cakes - christmas cakes

Tree Party Design - silicone bakewear and treats

Blossom Child - childrens wear

Christmas comes but once a year....

Christmas might come once a year, but it seems to last for months! 
All the planning and the buying, then the wrapping and the hiding away, followed by the stuffing (both the turkey and ourselves!) and then the inevitable afternoon snooze - it can take a lot out of you.The good news is there are great gifts and bargains to be had, if you know where to look. I plan to stay away from as many of the big shopping centres as I can again this year (who needs the stress?!). 
With great markets like the Designers Emporium around, it is even easier to find that 'difficult to buy for' present or something of quality and craft at a price to suit any budget.
Take some time to look through this website and blog and you are sure to find something of interest or perhaps even, the very thing you've been looking for!
Don't be afraid to ask questions and find out what went into creating some of the amazing items for sale. A small, but well chosen gift can trump the flashiest bulk made gadget if you take the time to look.
So here's hoping to see lots of new faces for our Christmas Markets on Sunday. It's sure to be a great day out for everyone!