MELBOURNE: An emerging designers market has recorded such success its organisers have revealed plans to expand into a third Australian state.
Founded in Sydney in 2007 by Sarah Thornton and Brooke Johnston, The Finders Keepers is a bi-annual market selling wares created by independent and emerging designers. The past three years have seen stallholder numbers in Sydney increase by 450 per cent and visits to the event's website have hit the one million mark.
Such growth, coupled with the successful expansion of the event into Brisbane last year, has encouraged Thornton and Johnston to take The Finders Keepers to Melbourne. The market will celebrate its Melbourne debut on October 9 to 10, 2010 at Shed Four, Docklands.
“We already have a devoted following of designers in Melbourne and within days have had a massive response to releasing the news that we are coming to Melbourne,” Thornton and Johnston said.
“We average around 350 applications for our Sydney events so we are expecting the same or even more applications [for the Melbourne market] to come through over the next 6 weeks.”
While emerging designers from all fields are welcome to apply to exhibit at the market, the organisers revealed fashion creatives typically make up one third of its stallholders.
“[The] fashion and accessories [category] has really risen in the past year. We think this is an area that really sets us apart from other markets that are more geared towards craft or object design,” Thornton and Johnston said.
Fashion labels Cloth Poppy, Kyoko, Limedrop, Secret Squirrel and Kylie Hawkes are among the emerging designers that have participated in The Finders Keepers in Sydney.
There are 150 stallholder spaces available to emerging and independent designers at The Finders Keepers Melbourne, and applications close August 27. More information on how to apply can be obtained at http://www.thefinderskeepers.com