Community, Connection and a Me-Made Parade: PepTalks Was One for the Ages
- Words by Peppermint
words CAITLIN MORIARTY photos SABINE BANNARD
Stellar speakers, delicious food and flowing drinks, a fantastic fashion parade, prizes and goodie bags galore, and a finale that saw the whole room on their feet singing Joni Mitchell’s ‘Big Yellow Taxi’… We’re just going to say it: PepTalks 2023 was a vibe!
Held on Thursday 1 June – the first PepTalks since 2019! – the evening saw the relaunch of our signature event with a fresh feeling but the same focus: a positive event to inform, inspire and uplift.
Guests were welcomed to the beautiful Food Connect Shed – decorated with greenery, herbs and flowers foraged from the gardens of the Peppermint team – to enjoy opening drinks from our exclusive wine partner Yalumba (with wines from their organic range, Yalumba Gen) as well as beer from the award-winning and solar-powered Helios Brewing and refreshing sparkling water from Dash. The happy crowd then sat down to share platters from First Nations-owned caterers Three Little Birds Brisbane for a gorgeous vegetarian meal with a focus on native ingredients.
The night officially opened with a moving Welcome to Country from Chris Tosh Dawson – an emerging Turrbal leader and nephew to Turrbal Elder, Songwoman Maroochy – who shared stories and language and performed the welcome song ‘Gari Gynda Narmi’.
The wonderful Bonnie Hislop steered the happy crowd through the night with efficiency, joy and warmth (we could not believe it was her first time being an MC – she made it look effortless!)
And the speakers? From sewing to social justice, sustainable fashion to compost and the life-changing power of creativity, these five amazing women brought the pages of Peppermint to life.
Daile Kelleher, CEO of Children by Choice, gave a powerful and eye-opening history of the decriminalisation of abortion in Queensland and offered tangible advice for us to be allies to pregnant people.
Use your platforms! Whatever you have! Shout about your support for reproductive rights.
Sewing influencer and author Daisy Braid spoke about her journey to becoming DIY Daisy and finding her community, and also about the balance between getting that stable day job your parents always wanted you to get, and chasing your creative dreams.
Finding my community helped me find my purpose.
Dr Anna Hickey, who holds a PhD in fashion – which, as she confirmed in her speech, is a real thing – asked us to consider the complex and personal relationship we all have with fashion, which goes far beyond catwalks and couture.
Fashion is not all models and runways; it is special and personal. It is a community. And, sometimes, it is dressing up and being joyful with your friends and strangers.
Ashley Baxter, CEO of Monty Compost, gave us a clear-eyed explanation of the importance of composting in the fight against climate change – asking the whole room to become composters, and giving us every reason to try.
It has never been easier, more efficient and more engaging for everyone, everywhere, to be a composter. With compost, you can use your waste to change the world.
Our final speaker Hillary Wall – artist and founder of Cork & Chroma, who stepped in at the last moment for the wonderful Rachael Sarra – took the audience through a breathing and singing exercise that led to a whole audience rendition of Joni Mitchell’s classic ‘Big Yellow Taxi’. The first-ever PepTalks Choir! A big shoutout to PepTalks guest Emma who got up and rocked out on the Cajon drum too!
And it wouldn’t be a PepTalks without celebrating our stitchy friends!
The Peppermint team wanted to acknowledge what the sewing community means to us, so the Me-Made Parade was born! We invited everyone who had made their outfit to show it off in a fashion parade with a difference. Clearly, they brought the house down: twirling, boogying, jumping and voguing their way across the stage to thunderous applause.
Goodie bags have always been a beloved part of the PepTalks experience, and 2023 was no exception. Handmade, natural, sustainable, beautiful… guests took home over $300 worth of products from our partners!
We can’t thank these makers, businesses and brands enough for their generous gifts to our audience.
Under the golden glow of festoon lights, we said goodnight to our guests but not goodbye to PepTalks. We’re hoping this is just the beginning!
Want to see more photos? Head to our Facebook page!
The Peppermint team would like to extend a huge thank you to our PepTalks 2023 partners and sponsors, including the team at Food Connect and Three Little Birds, our wonderful friends at The Finders Keepers and The Fabric Store, Yalumba, Helios Brewing and Dash Water, plus our goodie bag and lucky door prize donors: Opty.NC, ZERO, Seed & Sprout, Pablo & Rusty’s, Weleda, Sama Nail Polish, Khanun by Mimi, Luk Beautifood, Uncle Charlie’s Tastes of Country, Ministry of Handmade, Jade and May and Smitten Merino.
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NEW PATTERN ALERT 🎉
She’s giving comfort, she’s giving style, she’s giving palate-cleansing sewing. There’s nothing quite like an easy breezy dress that’s not only a dream to wear but a delight to sew, and the NEW Peppermint Myrtle Shift Dress delivers!
Cute, classic and cool with a touch of retro: the Myrtle Shift Dress is a beginner-friendly make with sleek lines and elegant curves. Bust darts are in play for shaping and spacious pockets to hold all your treasures. Top-stitching detail around the neck and armholes invites creative contrast threads and the keyhole loop closure at the back neck begs for a feature button (or a tie closure!).
Myrtle cuts above the knee with options to customise the length. Don’t think she’s reserved for hot weather either: try a heavier-weight fabric to turn your Myrtle into a pinafore-style garment for layering.
For our fabrics we chose two from @Karmme_Apparel – the bold Rottnest Stripes in a lightweight, soft-drape cotton, and the quality linen in the handpainted Mexico Collection. Karmme also stocks darling tassels so we popped a hot pink one on as a closure!
The love child of Imby Langenbach, Karmme Apparel (fittingly pronounced ‘calm’), is a haven of boho apparel sewing patterns alongside complementary fabrics steeped in tradition with modern iterations from Jaipur, India. Hand block-printed and digitally printed soft cottons produced by Indian artisans showcase rich colours and designs from Imby’s travels, perfect for showing off me-made masterpieces.
Our dresses were superbly stitched by our sewing manager @Laura_The_Maker, and modelled magnificently by Shannon @Pins_And_Tonic and Serah @SerahSews. And that perfect pink wall was courtesy of the good folk at @ShareTheDignityAustralia, an organisation that aims to bring dignity to women, girls and those who menstruate who are experiencing homelessness, domestic violence and period poverty.
Get making the Myrtle – the only question is, can you stop at just one?
Link in bio 🪡
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Sewist: @Laura_The_Maker
Patternmaker: @GarmentaApparel
Models: @SerahSews and @Pins_And_Tonic
Fabric: @Karmme_Apparel
#PeppermintMyrtleShiftDress #PeppermintPatterns
Connection 🫶🏻
Such great ideas from @GrowWithColby:
“A common theme I noticed in 2025:
Everyone is craving more connection.
Use these friend nights to make it happen in 2026.
Send this to the people you want to do these with.”
#Connection #Friends #Community
No bull - these pants are the cat`s (or cow`s) pyjamas...
Jenny from @RhubarbSundays:
And they are done! My @PeppermintMagazine #PeppermintFernPleatedPants made using a gorgeous fabric from @IndyBindyFabrics! I absolutely love this fabric! It’s soft and drapes beautifully. And the best thing about it is that, from a distance, it looks like an abstract print and then you look closer and theres a curious bull looking right at you. 🤣🤣 🐄 🐮
Really happy with the end product. They are very comfy! I didn’t make many changes to the pattern. Just a touch more room in the rise and a little bit off the waist. I’ll post some closeups of the details tomorrow when I actually take them off. 🤣 "
Grab the pattern from the link in bio!
#PeppermintPatterns #IMakeMyOwnClothes #ClothesThatFeelLikePyjamas #SewersGonnaSew
Missed issue 64 at the newsagent?
Grab a digital copy from our website and read it whenever you like. 📱💻️
Link in bio! 💜
#PeppermintMagazine #YouBelongHere
🌤 Festival forecast: high creativity, with a strong chance of radical hope on the horizon.
If you’ve been craving a little colour in your calendar, consider this your sign. This May, the Sunshine Coast’s much-loved Horizon Festival is celebrating ten years of art, imagination and joyful gathering, returning from 1–10 May on Kabi Kabi and Jinibara Country.
For ten glorious days, beaches, streets, galleries and unexpected corners of the coast become places to wander, wonder and play. There’s music drifting on the sea breeze, performances that make you feel things, art you can step inside, and plenty of moments where you’re invited to join in rather than just watch. With 35+ events across the region (many of them free), expect live music, First Nations gatherings, immersive dance, family-friendly fun, writers’ talks, artist markets and more. At its heart, @HorizonArtFest is a celebration of people, place and shared imagination, honouring the first artists and storytellers, while making space for new voices and bold ideas.
Then there’s ‘Radical Hope Machine 2’: an immersive exhibition at Caloundra’s new Library+ that will fuse textiles, technology and storytelling. Featuring textile artist @Shaye_Hardisty, award-winning author Peter Carnavas and artist Sarah Winter, this series of events explores what hope looks, feels and sounds like to the Sunshine Coast community in response to the question: ‘how to solve the world’s wicked problems?’ We spoke with Shaye about tech vs textiles, magical garments and tiny joys.
Read more at the link in bio!
Photos: @HorizonArtFest
#HorizonFestival SunshineCoastEvents
Style, sass and simplicity: Miss Myrtle is almost here! 💕
Lay your peepers on the new Peppermint Myrtle Shift Dress – this sensational sewing pattern is going to be winging its way to subscribers inboxes this Sunday 1st March at 11am, so if you`re not a subscriber already, you know what to do!
We created this pattern with the support of @Karmme_Apparel – and how gorgeous are those fabrics! The love child of Imby Langenbach, Karmme Apparel (fittingly pronounced ‘calm’), is a haven of boho apparel sewing patterns alongside fabrics steeped in traditions with modern iterations from Jaipur, India.
Modelled magnificently by Shannon @Pins_And_Tonic and Serah @SerahSews, the Myrtle Shift Dress is a beginner-friendly make with sleek lines and elegant curves. You won’t be able to stop at just one!
Subscribers – keep an eye on your inbox on Sunday for your exclusive download code. Everyone else - subscribe now before Sunday so you don`t miss out!
Launch date: 5th March 💕
Link in bio 💕
Pink wall courtesy of the good folk at @ShareTheDignityAustralia, an organisation that aims to bring dignity to women, girls and those who menstruate who are experiencing homelessness, domestic violence and period poverty. 💕
Sewing and instructions: @Laura_The_Maker
Photos: @KelleySheenan
#PeppermintMagazine #PeppermintPatterns #PeppermintMyrtleShiftDress
