Bowerbird Bazaar

I was happy to see a few new stalls this time round and loved that the eating area had been moved to a marquee outside. This opened up the space in the hall as there was no over crowding at each end particularly at lunch time.
I would love to see more emphasis on the local SA makers, maybe a sticker at each stall so us consumer know if we are buying local or not.
I’m not too happy though about now having to pay $ 5 to do our shopping, when It used to be $ 2. This seems a little steep considering all the stall holders need to pay to be there too! I understand the hall needs to look nice, but $ 5 is a bit rich. Just saying…

Bowerbird Bazaar. Where have you been all my life. Or, pardon me, I should truly say — where have I been…
Waiting outside for my friend to arrive did not prepare me for the awesomeness that awaited inside. Mummies and babies strolled past with bags and eatables, hip couples in beanies and mocassins stole my street cred, and trendy older ladies appeared to be seriously focussed on getting in to where the action was. And then it happened. The moment I walked in, I felt UNDER dressed — or could that be dressed in the dark dressed. Not at all one to shy away from a splash of wildness, I was wearing cool high-​top shoes and sneaking a splash of fluro yellow under my khaki jacket.
By the by — totes not saying that you needed to be having a wild outfit to walk in there, but — there was a lot of cool dressed ladies, cool haired grannies, cool bearded blokes. I had to shove my hands in my pockets just to prevent myself from the want to un-​creepily stroke a pleasant face-​warmer* — or hundred. It was bearded man heaven, with a sneaky short-​back-​and sides gelled crop to boot.
Moving right along the tripled isled cosy room, and beyond my initial shock of my personal presentation, was that comforting feeling that you are amongst a bunch of cool folks. Many of the wares and skills on display I had the pleasure of knowing from Instastalking fabulous artists — like Gretel Girl — and seeing her gorgeous creations in the über fabulous and my favourite café E for Ethels (Melbourne Street). Getting to tell these creative folks «Hey, I know your stuff, I’ve seen it… a) b) c)» hopefully was as much of an encouragement as their faces looked like that would be to hear.
Whoever says that Melbourne is the hip and cool capital of the known Australian land needs to take off their shoes and eat their own socks. No offence if anyone does think that — because Melbourne is truly a cool place — but Adelaide is bringing its quirky charm to the surface and we are exhibiting greater quirky cool cafes and more awesomener cool artists and creators.
So — if you are pondering the possibility of storming the Bazaar tomorrow, DO IT. You will regret it if you don’t and you want to. You wont get to have a change of mind until the next one in November, so I suggest getting in tomorrow. Last day Sunday, if I had a free day schedule — I, too, would be back.
*pleasant face-​warmer = beard.

Love Bowerbird Bazaar! I’m a regular and do miss the old charm of Queen’s Theatre but understand the need for more room provided at Wayville Showgrounds. The event is a great opportunity to showcase Australian designers. I always end up spending way much more than planned (well perhaps not having a plan is the issue!). I have given this event five stars but do hope that additional new and varied designers are added in future.

Yep, I’ve been completely sucked in to the Bowerbird Bazaar experience … I usually describe it to others as a w**ky design market (that’s a compliment from me, seriously!!) — just my kind of thing!
For a measley $ 2 you can wander around and peruse exclusive and trendy designer items, have a delicious cup of (fair trade, organic) coffee and sample yummy delights from Adelaide favourites Let Them Eat and Red Door Bakery (amongst others).
The only criticism I have is that sometimes there’s too much of a good thing … I mean, how many screen-​printed kids tshirts do you need in one place, regardless of how nice they are?
Despite Bowerbird’s skew towards trendy names of the day, sometimes real gems pop up — like Earthie By Kate (natural skincare), Bellatextiles (handwoven yumminess), John Richardson (amazing SA jeweller) and Grandoliers (amazing light fittings from Tasmania — they have to be seen to be believed!). Yes, some things are expensive, but there are also some budget items that would be difficult to find elsewhere (unless you shop online).
This is definitely *not* a daggy craft market — there is a strict selection process to ensure that a standard is maintained, and some people may find that a tad ‘elitist’ … personally, I prefer it this way, as you don’t have to sift through lots of stalls for quality items! The new venue is a winner too, making sure there is more room for browsing — there definitely could be more seating for food and coffee though ;)

It is great to see a design market that brings a range of Australian designers into the Adelaide market.
These markets are held bi-​annually and bring together a range of high quality stationary, clothing, jewellery and some small homewares items. There is also always a lovely selection of organic and fair trade food, coffee and drinks — normally including Let Them Eat and Red Door Bakery.
My biggest challenge is that I would have to mortgage my house to be able to afford any of the items at this market. I can tell the quality of everything on offer is incredibly high end and that screen printing leggings or making jewellery takes time, but I guess I am more an online Etsy or op-​shop girl where I know that my budget can afford a purchase.
This year the range was good but not as broad as I remember from the previous year as I did get a bit of jewellery fatigue after about the 15^th stall. It would be also good to see a better range of both middle and high end priced items.
Overall I look forward to seeing this market continue to grow and flourish as it is continually getting more and more popular each time they run!

Bowerbird Bazaar is a design market held at Queen’s Theatre a few times each year. A curated selection of independent designers and small design companies fill the big old building with stalls, selling one-​off furniture, jewellery, textiles, stationary and home products. Plus there is some top-​notch snacks and bit of pleasant background muzak. I can’t say that this kind of up-​market fair is my favourite thing, but I have seen the occasional amazing item here. Once I bought a cute dogtag necklace made by a Victorian artist with the words «CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS TOMORROW» embossed on it. Now that’s a sentiment I can agree with.
Bowerbird is a pleasant weekend activity, and does a great job of supporting quality independent design and business. Some items are pricier than others, so you might just enjoy looking. The organisers certainly have exceptional taste. Most of the featured designers and brands have their own websites, which you can check out here:
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