“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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Sunday serving suggestion ☀️
Gorgeous photos from @JolieFemmeStore - who make sweet garments from vintage bedsheets.
#PeppermintMagazine #SlowSunday #SwitchOff #Unplug #ReadAMagazine
A toast to the old you 🥂
We wholeheartedly love this post from the brilliant @EmilyOnLife:
“2026: Reinvent, burn it down, let it go (whatever it is). Year of the Snake it up. Exercise your boundaries, exercise your body, take one teeny step every day towards a life that feels better to be in.
But don’t you dare shit on your old self while you do it.
Hold yourself with reverence and tenderness and respect, because you got you this far. You did your very best with the information and tools you had at the time. You scraped yourself together, you made it work, you survived what felt impossible to survive: again and again and again.
You are perpetually in the process of becoming, whether you can feel it or not, whether or not you add it to your 2026 to-do list.“
Some very wise words from @Damon.Gameau to take us into 2026 🙌🏼
⭐️ We made it!!! ⭐️
Happy New Year, friends. To those who smashed their goals and achieved their dreams, and to those who are crawling over the finish line hoping to never speak of this year again (and everyone else in between): we made it. However you got here is enough. Be proud.
It’s been a tough year for many of us in small business, so here’s to a better year in 2026. We’re forever grateful for all your support and are jumping for joy to still be here bringing you creativity, kindness and community.
We’re also excited to be leaping into the NY with our special release sewing pattern – the Waratah Wrap Dress!
How great are our fabulous models: @Melt.Stitches, @KatieMakesADress and @Tricky.Pockets - and also our incredible Sewing Manager @Laura_The_Maker! 🙌🏼
Ok 2026: let’s do this. 💪🏼
#PeppermintWaratahWrapDress #PeppermintPatterns #SewingPattern #MeMade #WrapDress #WrapDressPattern
Putting together our annual Stitch Up brings on all the feels! We feel humbled that you’ve chosen to sew Peppermint patterns, we feel inspired by the versions you’ve created and we feel proud of you.
Where to begin?! As always, there has been a plethora of Peppermint patterns flooding our feeds this year, and we wish we could showcase more than just a handful of magnificent makes from you, our clever community. We encourage you to flip through the me-made items in your wardrobe or scroll through your grid and remind yourself of the beauty you’ve created with your own two hands (and maybe a seam ripper and some choice words). Congratulations to all of us for our creative achievements this year!
We’ve put together some (but absolutely not all) of our favourites from 2025 over on our website. We hope it inspires your next make!
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Pictured: @FrocksAndFrouFrou @MazzlesMakes @KatieMakesADress @_Marueli_ @IUsedToBeACurtain @Nanalevine.Couture @PiperInFullColour @MadeByMeJessieB @SarahMalkawi @Made.By.Little.Mama
#PeppermintPatterns #SewingPatterns #MeMade #MeMadeEveryday
“The ocean is a great equaliser. It doesn’t matter your age, size, background or circumstances – when you’re in the water, you’re stripped back to your essence. I’ve watched women who were terrified of the ocean walk in tentatively, then emerge with tears of joy and new-found confidence.”
For Perth photographer Amanda Battle, the deep blue has brought sisterhood and second chances. Growing up in Shoalwater Marine Park, the ocean was both her playground and sanctuary, and a balm for body and soul during challenging times. Born from her own healing journey, Amanda’s @WomenOfWaterProject, book and documentary showcases a community of women who found belonging and connection in shared experiences in the ocean.
“Every single woman arrived with her own story – grief, trauma, joy, resilience – and every single woman showed up exactly as they were in that moment. Photographing over 100 women in the ocean for the Women of Water book has been the most humbling privilege of my life.”
Discover Amanda’s work and story in ‘Saltwater salve’ in issue 64, at newsagents and stockists now!
#PeppermintMagazine #WomenOfWater #OceanTherapy #DeepBlue #OceanPhotography
