“Our Creative Community is Vital”: Welcome Spring with the Finders Keepers Markets in Brisbane
- Words by Peppermint
images AUTUMN/WINTER SEASON. PHOTOS BY SAMEE LAPHAM.
Hold on to your hats shoppers, the Finders Keepers markets are back for a bright and beautiful spring/summer season! With the smell of jasmine in the air and sunny skies, over 90 local and interstate makers will be blooming at the Brisbane Showgrounds from 2–4 September!
We’ll be there with our latest issue, our best outfits and, as always, good chat! Swing by and document the day with a shot in front of our fabulous floral photo wall, grab a subscription special or a sewing pattern and then rest your weary market feet as you flick through a copy of Peppermint at the Read and Refresh Lounge.
Tickets are on sale now (just $5) and when you buy a ticket, you’ll go in the running to win one of five subscriptions to Peppermint! Happy days! Head to the link here for all the details.
To get you excited about all things Finders Keepers and help you curate your shopping list, we caught up with a few fantastic Brisbane stallholders!
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Retritus
We’re thrilled to be joined at our space by Norton Fredericks from Retritus (you might recognise his pieces from our amazing Issue 51 cover). Norton will be selling some of his gorgeous wares and also spinning yarn live during the weekend!
Tell us a bit about what you make…
I am a queer, Indigenous, sustainable fibre artist and workshop facilitator based on Bullongin Country, who specialises in felt-making and natural botanical dyes. I create wearable pieces, soft furnishings and large-scale tapestry art. I can also create custom work that utilises leftover floral arrangements from life events like weddings or funerals to create extra special memory cloth.
What are you looking forward to most about the Brisbane market?
I am most looking forward to meeting new people and connecting with a broader audience. I have been creating new products, especially for this market, and I’m excited to see what people think of them!
Why is the creative community so special?
The creative community is so special because we love to uplift and support each other. I love having deep conversations with other creatives about their practice. It’s so inspiring.
Rose and Reggie
Tell us a bit about what you make…
Hi, my name is Rose and I make clothing. Fun, bright and ethically made clothing!
What do you love about The Finders Keepers?
I love the people that attend Finders Keepers; both stall holders and customers. Everyone is so supportive, they all have such great style and it’s a big weekend filled with amazing conversations.
Connecting with the Finders Keepers community really fills up your cup and keeps you motivated to keep going.
What are you looking forward to most about the Brisbane market?
I can’t pick one thing, I love the whole weekend. I love the set-up, meeting new customers, eating great food, showing off our new styles and making new friends.
Why is the creative community so special?
Because they are so supportive. Sometimes it’s hard work being a creative. Connecting with the Finders Keepers community really fills up your cup and keeps you motivated to keep going.
Lauren Rogers
Tell us a bit about what you make…
I am a proud Australian Ngarabal visual artist. My artistic vision and inspiration come from my adventures around the country. I like to use layers of fine dotting, linework, colour gradients and Aboriginal symbolism and iconography. I love bright colours that show extreme contrast and capture imagination.
What do you love about The Finders Keepers?
The Finders Keepers is a space for creatives to connect, learn and celebrate! I love that the Finders Keepers is leading a conscious shopping marketplace and that it embraces, celebrates and provides a platform for local artists to showcase their craft!
What are you looking forward to most about the Brisbane market?
Meeting all the fabulous makers from across Brisbane, seeing their beautiful creations and feeling inspired!
Why is the creative community so unique?
Art has been a part of human culture for many centuries. It has been used to express emotions, to communicate ideas and it has been a way to pass down knowledge from one generation to another. Our creative community is vital in continuing the story and keeping our imaginations running wild!
The Finders Keepers is Australia’s largest curated marketplace of makers, designers and entrepreneurs. Online, and via their major market events, the Finders Keepers is where communities come together to shop, explore and discover the very best from designers, makers and entrepreneurs in our country.
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Look, I don’t want to make anyone panic but IT’S DECEMBER!!! If you’re planning to give homemade gifts, you’re going to have to act fast. …
Hang out with us on Instagram
🌻 The Paddington 🌻
This is a much-loved staple, created for Issue 50 in 2021. We love seeing the #PeppermintPaddingtonTop continually popping up in our feeds!
How stunning is our model Elon MelaninGoddessEfon – she told us it was one of the first times she had been asked to come to a shoot with her natural hair. 🌻
We worked with South African patternmaker Sarah Steenkamp of @FrenchNavyNow_ to create this wardrobe essential – the perfect puff-sleeve blouse. Raglan sleeves make it the ultimate beginner sew, plus the gorgeous back buttons let you add your own personal twist.
Pattern via the link in bio! 🪡
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Fabric: @Spoonflower
Model: MelaninGoddessEfon
“In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design.”
Crafters have often been at the heart of many protest movements, often serving as a powerful means of political expression. @NeedleAndSkein, a yarn store in Minnesota, are helping to mobilise the craftivists of the world with a ‘Melt The Ice’ knitting pattern created by @Yarn_Cult (with a crochet pattern too), as a way of peaceful protest.
The proceeds from the $5 pattern will go to local immigrant aid organisations – or you can donate without buying the pattern.
Raise those needles, folks – art and craft can change the world. 🧶
Link in bio for the pattern.
Images: @Gather_Fiber @NeedleAndSkein @a2ina2 @KyraGiggles Sandi.204 @WhatTracyMakes AllieKnitsAway Auntabwi2
#MeltTheIce #Craftivism #Knitting #CraftForChange
TWO WEEKS TO GO! 🤩
"The most important shift is moving from volume-led buying to value-led curation – choosing fewer, better products with strong ethics, considered production and meaningful stories. Retailers have real influence here: what you buy signals what you stand for. At Life Instyle, this means using the event to discover and invest in small-scale, planet-considerate brands that align with your values and your customer’s conscience. Consumers don’t need more things; they need better things, and retailers play a key role in selecting, contextualising, and championing why those products matter."
Only two more weeks until @Life_Instyle – Australia`s leading boutique retail trade show. If you own a store, don`t miss this event! Connect with designers, source exquisite – and mindful – products, and see firsthand why this is Australia’s go-to trade show for creatives and retailers alike. And it`s free! ✨️
Life Instyle – Sydney/Eora Country
14-17 February 2026
ICC, Darling Harbour
Photos: @Samsette
#LifeInstyle #SustainableShopping #SustainableShop #RetailTradeEvent
Calling all sewists! 📞
Have you made the Peppermint Waratah Wrap Dress yet? Call *1800 I NEED THIS NOW to get making!
This gorgeous green number was modelled (and made) by the fabulous Lisa of @Tricky.Pockets 🙌🏼
If you need a nudge, @ePrintOnline are offering Peppermint sewists a huge 🌟 30% off ALL A0 printing 🌟 when you purchase the Special Release Waratah Wrap Dress pattern – how generous is that?!
Head to the link in bio now 📞
*Not a real number in case that wasn`t clear 😂
#PeppermintWaratahWrapDress #PeppermintPatterns #SewingPattern #WrapDress #WrapDressPattern
8 Things to Know About January 26 - from @ClothingTheGaps:
Before you celebrate, take the time to learn the truth. January 26 is not a day of unity it’s a Day of Mourning and Survival for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It marks the beginning of invasion, dispossession, and ongoing colonial violence. It’s time for truth-telling, not whitewashed history.
Stand in solidarity. Learn. Reflect. Act.
✊🏽 Blog written by Yorta Yorta woman Taneshia Atkinson.
🔗 Link in bio of @ClothingTheGaps to read the full blog
#ChangeTheDate #InvasionDay #SurvivalDay #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe #ClothingTheGaps
As the world careens towards AI seeping into our feeds, finds and even friend-zones, it`s becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
We just wanted to say that here at Peppermint, we are choosing to not print or publish AI-generated art, photos, words, videos or content.
Merriam-Webster’s human editors chose `slop` as the 2025 Word of the Year – they define it as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” The problem is, as AI increases in quality, it`s becoming more and more difficult to ascertain what`s real and what`s not.
Let`s be clear here, AI absolutely has its place in science, in climate modelling, in medical breakthroughs, in many places... but not in replacing the work of artists, writers and creatives.
Can we guarantee that everything we publish is AI-free? Honestly, not really. We know we are not using it to create content, but we are also relying on the artists, makers and contributors we work with, as well as our advertisers, to supply imagery, artwork or words created by humans. AI features are also creeping into programs and apps too, making it difficult to navigate. But we will do our best to avoid it and make a stand for the artists and creatives who have had their work stolen and used to train AI machines, and those who are now losing work as they are replaced by this energy-sapping, environment-destroying magic wand.
Could using it help our productivity and bottom line? Sure. And as a small business in a difficult landscape, that`s a hard one to turn down. We know other publishers who use AI to write stories, create recipes, produce photo shoots... but this one is important to us.
`Touch grass` was also a Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. We`ll happily stick with that as a theme, thanks very much. 🌿
