Let's Shop! - New shopping cart!

On Thursday we added a new shopping cart to madeit.com.au

The shopping cart allows you to buy multiple items from one or more sellers. You can add and remove items easily and you can now send a message to the seller on checkout (size, colour or just a lovely note). Payments to the sellers must be made within 3 days of confirming your purchase.

We think the shopping cart is fab and will make the buying & selling process on madeit a lot easier. Even Mum had a test drive of the cart and has given it the thumbs up! Thanks Mum!

Woo Hoo - Win one of five $30 vouchers!



To celebrate our new shopping cart & our birthday (yes it's been a year since our relaunch) we are giving away five $30 madeit gift vouchers to five buyers who use our shopping cart & buy item(s) over the weekend.

All purchases on Saturday 27 & Sunday 28 February 2010 will go into the draw. Winners will be notified on Monday 1st March.

Thanks for buying Australian handmade
♥ madeit & our sellers

Happy Birthday!!

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Mum who makes :: Giggleberry

Mum who makes :: Giggleberry
madeit.com.au/Giggleberry

Tell us a bit about yourself?
I'm a stay at home mummy to three busy bees. My 9yo step daughter, 2yo daughter & 1yo son - I LOVE being a mum and am having the time of my life hanging out with my kiddies! I have a wonderful hubby and I can't help but keep my hands busy creating things!



Can you explain your craft/art and the materials you like to use?
I make and sell fabric bunting banners - they are also know as garlands, swag, pennant strings. I could play with fabric and my sewing machine for hours and hours on end and get a kick out of putting a bunting banner together. Like many crafters out there I have a major fabric addiction!

How long have you been creating and how did you get into making handmade goodies?
I have always enjoyed creating things from as far back as I remember. Giggleberry Creations came about just over 2 years ago when I wanted something different and fun to decorate my baby girls bedroom. I took the left over fabric from a quilt my mum had made her and created my very 1st bunting banner. When family and friends saw it and wanted one I started taking orders... Giggleberry Creations has grown from there. I have made banners for parties, bedrooms, weddings, market stalls even caravans for people all over the world!

How do you juggle motherhood & crafting/managing your business?
Routine and no TV. I am lucky to have kids who sleep well so take advantage of snooze times to get the things done that little fingers would love to 'help' with like cutting fabric, emails, blogging, taking product photos. We are a TV free home (yup, you read that right. lol) so when the kids are in bed at night I find it very therapeutic to sew, sew, sew with a quiet house around me.

Do you have any advice to other Mothers who are wanting to start creating handmade goodies?
I say find something you truly enjoy doing - the last thing you want is to give away the precious 'me time' mum's get to be doing something you don't enjoy.
I also challenge you to turn your TV off for a week and see just how much more time you find you have to do things - truly :D

We ♥ ACT sellers!!

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New seller quick five :: tairavora

New seller :: tairavora
madeit.com.au/tairavora

How did you find about madeit?
I was alerted to this all Australian handmade site by a friend of a friend.

Explain your style?
I am attracted to bright colours and patterns found in man made objects and nature. I like to challenge myself by photographing day-to-day objects and making them look beautiful. I try to make the ordinary look extraordinary!

What makes you happy?
A creative day spent taking photographs, or working at home sanding, staining and varnishing my wood blocks gives me great satisfaction. Sharing quality time with my family and close friends, listening to my favourite CDs, and enjoying cute puppy photos with my boyfriend (soon I will have my own!) also make me happy.

What makes you sad?
Having grown up in India I have seen how poverty compromises human behaviour and this makes me sad. Wars, armies, dishonesty, animal cruelty and people destroying the environment make me sad too.

What can't you live without?
Sharing smiles and laughter with my family, friends and partner.

Spotlight: Owls are Hunting

Tell us a bit about yourself?
Hello! My name is Jo and I live in Canberra and I actually like it! I do! Canberra gets a tough press! I moved here just over a year ago from a teeny tiny village in the Yorkshire Dales in England where I worked for a bespoke furniture design company who designed for big posh clients like Harrods and Selfridges. I love interiors and homewares so I’ve set up a little business in Canberra (with just the one employee - me!) making lamps and lampshades.

What resources 'have or do you' use to help your creative pursuits (i.e. groups, classes, shops, websites etc)?
We have a fantastic fabric shop in Canberra called Addicted to Fabric so if I’m ever struggling for inspiration I head over there and always find something amazing. I also follow some great design blogs to keep up to date with current trends, and I’m slightly addicted to Twitter – it keeps me connected with other crafters and goings on in the craft world.

What's your best advice for someone starting up?
Be confident in your designs. Stick to your guns. Don’t under value your items – people who buy handmade are cool, intelligent people who want something unique and understand the time and effort and thought that has gone into an item. That’s why they’re buying it!

Do you have any advertising/promotion tips for sellers to be successful?
Firstly: Photography. You need to really take the time to get decent photos of your items. I’m no expert at this at all and I’m still learning with each new picture I take.

Secondly: Take advantage of all the free media stuff that’s out there! Get a blog (I have one! It’s theowlsarehunting.blogspot.com), get a twitter account, get a facebook page, get a flickr account. The more places your name and pictures crop up the more people will find out about you and your lovely products.

Thirdly: Keep your madeit shop looking gorgeous and well stocked. Not only is it a great place to sell your items but it’s also a great place to be spotted by boutique owners, journalists and stylists.

To read the full interview visit the
Owls are Hunting's spotlight page

handmade pet goodies

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This week in the Press!!

Madeit was lucky enough to get a double mention in the latest edition of Notebook Magazine. Not only did Notebook mention madeit.com.au, our twitter account was also mention for great tips by Australian designers and project links. Thanks Notebook!!

The below page is part of an article by Francesca Newby "The Homemade Revolution".


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madeit seller Mrs Beckinsale creative & oh'so gorgeous pillows feature in the latest edition of Frankie Magazine. Check out Mrs Beckinsale's Melbourne Tram and London Bus pillows in their madeit store www.madeit.com.au/MrsBeckinsale


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madeit seller Little Poppett dress features in the "Where the Wild Things Are" photo shoot in the latest edition of Shop for Kids Magazine. Visit www.madeit.com.au/littlepoppett for a range of gorgeous baby & children goodies. (Sorry about the quality of scan below - thumbs down to new printer/scanner)


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Resin Love!!

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