The Bluebird Market

Introducing: The Bead Bodies

Another one of our new stall holders for November are The Bead Bodies made up of sisters Nicole and Rachael Honeyman.  We had a little chat with them about theri jewellery range.

Can you describe the items you create and how you learnt your craft?

 We aim to design pieces that bring out the best of the gemstones we use. We really design a piece around the shape and colour of the stone. Our designs are therefore one-of-a-kind pieces that come together either in an instant, or after a long creative process where the finished piece has no resemblance to the initial idea.
We became interested in jewellery making after an initial basic lesson, and over a period of four years we have taken more classes to learn advanced techniques such as metal work, silver clay, and making handmade glass beads.

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Introducing: Kezcraft

Today we’re spotlighting one of our new stall holders for November :)  Keren will be sharing a stall with her father Stephen who is a master at crafting beautiful things out of wood.  We spoke to Keren about her label Kezcraft :)

Tell us about Kezcraft.

Kezcraft is basically things I love to make! It was born out of creating gifts for myself and  friends, then developed to selling to friends then finally having a medium to sell the items I make. Which currently is ETSY and local markets.

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Introducing: Rubyfruit Vegan Bakery

Rubyfruit is made up of two very lovely ladies named Simone & Amanda.  We love their baked goods and we love them, here’s a little bit why :)

How long has Rubyfruit been running and what inspired you to start up?

We have been operating for just on a year.  The business started one long weekend last year when the cafe where Amanda worked ran out of cakes, so i offered to make them one - vegan of course, as i had been vegan for three years at that stage and have a passion for baking delicious vegan treats that are super indulgent and not what you would expect vegan food to look - or taste - like! They loved it, as did their customers, and it kind of snowballed from there!  Amanda and I had been looking to open a vegan/vegetarian business for a few years, and this seemed to be a great way to start. We started renting a commercial kitchen in Leura soon after that weekend, and it has become really big - really quickly! Our range now includes cakes, cupcakes, cookies, donuts, muffins, loaves, and baked cheesecakes - all egg and dairy free, and quite a few gluten-free too. We primarily sell wholesale, and we have stockists throughout Sydney and the Mountains. 

We also sell directly to the public via phone and email orders, special events and markets in the Mountains each month … including yours! We love that we can produce delicious treats that are cruelty-free… and challenge people’s misconception that a vegan lifestyle is one of deprivation and bland, unsatisfying food. We also have a lot of customers who have kids with food allergies, or allergies/intolerances themselves. Whether people are choosing our products for health or ethical reasons… it is really satisfying to see how excited people get when they discover our products - the baked GF cheesecakes in particular tend to elicit some very cute squeals of joy!

(more of the interview under the cut, click ‘read more’ to read more!) 

How do you come up with new flavour combos and recipes?

When we started, we would find a recipe we loved, play with it and tweak it to make it perfect (and our own), and go from there.   Now we are always seeing or thinking of new ideas and flavour combinations, and we have a bit of a brainstorm, then start testing and play around with them until they are right.  Inspiration can come from anywhere - something we have eaten, something we have seen that we want to try to ‘veganise’, new products or produce we want to try to work with… anywhere! We spend a lot of time making sure that we are happy with all the products we sell, which can involve a lot of testing until we get it right - especially with gluten-free baking! 

You supply a lot of places with your goods, is it just the two of you that bakes all your products?

We do! We now have stockists in Newtown (two!) Glebe, Waitara, Bondi, Darlington and Cronulla in Sydney, as well as Glenbrook, Blackheath (two!) and Katoomba in the Mountains.  Amanda now bakes fulltime through the week, so she does most of it! I still work in my ‘day job’, so I just get in the kitchen after work and on weekends, but i hope that one day soon we can both be in it fulltime together.  We should also mention that we have a very dedicated team of volunteers who help us out!  Both our Dads are regulars in the kitchen each week helping wash up, zest, and whatever else needs doing…  My sister Nadine often helps us out with cooking when she can, and you’ll often see her on the stall with us! Many other friends and family help out doing deliveries, washing up, marketing, laundry… we are very lucky!!!

What do you get up to when you aren’t baking?

ahhh….in our spare time??  hehe. Lucky we love baking!  We try to make time for family and friends, and catch up wherever we can.  We also love visiting Sydney and other towns and cities, trying out new restaurants and checking out little grocers, delis and suppliers for new and interesting things.  We try to take advantage of our beautiful hometown of Blackheath by getting out for a walk in the sunshine when it visits!  And we love catching up with friends over a great meal…. foodies through and through!

What’s next in the pipeline for Rubyfruit?

Its still very much early days for us, so for now we are still just trying to build the business up. We would love to distribute our goods beyond Sydney, and eventually we would love to have a shopfront here in the mountains!

Catch up with Rubyfruit on their Facebook page and at our next market! :)

Introducing: Butterflyzee Face painting & Photography

I thought it would be nice to get to know the stall holders by spotlighting some of them here.  First cab off the rank is Rachael Brady of Butterflyzee Face painting & Photography!  She’s our lovely face painter extraordinaire, awesome photographer and all round lovely person :)

Click the read more link to, well, read more!

How did you learn to paint faces?

Last Halloween I wanted to do a Mexican Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) theme so I bought some cheap, non-professional paint and did sugar skulls on myself, my husband and my eldest son. I had so much fun I decided to buy some professional paints just to have a play and now, almost a year later I’m a busy face painter who does parties, markets, 
and photo shoots.

You’re also a talented photographer, are there any other arty skills you possess?

I’m an arty kind person in general so I like to doodle and draw. I’m also a singer/songwriter having independently recorded and released two albums and toured the USA, I still play gigs around Australia in between raising 3 kids and being a photographer/face painter. I’m also part of a local performing collective of female musicians called “The Women of the Blue Mountains”.

How do you come up with new face paint styles and characters?

I’ve found that kids only ever ask for a few characters in particular - butterflies, tigers, princesses, monsters…So i research photographs and also the work of other face painters and then I adapt, experiment and practice. It’s a continual learning process. I rarely get asked for anything left of field but when I do it’s a good opportunity to learn something new.

What makes you happy?

Living a simple, creative, respectful and consciously aware life with my family in the Blue Mountains makes me happy.

Check out more about Butterflyzee here