For me, I think my love of vintage started when I was young and I would visit my Auntie’s house. Her home (still to this day) is a treasure trove of wonderful findings from all over the globe and eras. From little trinkets, to kitsch paintings, to very 80’s evening dresses, to her old dancing shoes, to beautiful scarves and brooches. I used to love jumping into her closet and playing dress up for hours. She has a love of handmade items too and we can talk for hours about the beautiful fashion of Dior or Chanel. I loved when she pulled out an item and told me a story about how it came to be. The moment she found it, how it made her feel, when she wore it and how special it was to her. I think that’s the power of something that’s an antique or vintage, it has had a whole other life and now it has a new opportunity to be loved and appreciated again and again.

If you love vintage or antique items, it can be hard to have the time to visit all these different stores around Sydney, so why not let them come to you. The Sydney Fair is coming to town and it’s a great opportunity to find that special something that you’ve been searching for.

With over 60 Australian and International best 20th Century, Art Deco, Vintage and Antique dealers on display, hopefully you can something to tickle your fancy.

Held at the beautiful setting of the Royal Hall of Industries at Moore Park, vendors have hand selected some special pieces and hope to give them a new home.

There’s so much on display, if you’re thinking about acquiring an engagement ring, a dining suite, a fabulous necklace from a Hollywood Costume designer, a poster or print, everything from Furniture, Art, Lighting, Bronzes, Porcelain and glass, this is the place to be.

For the Fashionista, on Saturday and Sunday there will be fashion parade and a gorgeous courture exhibition to celebrate the love of fashion. Check the website for more info on events

Ticket info –

If you’d like to buy tickets to The Sydney Fair, they are available from the website and start from $10 for concession, $15 general day admission to $30 for the opening night.

Win! Win! Win!

Thanks to the lovely ladies at The Sydney Fair, I have 2 x complimentary day double passes and 1 x complimentary opening night double pass up for grabs!

In 25 words or less, tell me what is your favourite time period and why? Comment on this page to enter.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Get your answers in by Midday Friday 11 May and I will select the best 3 responses as the winners.

Good luck and happy vintage finding

Love, Festival Girl

Hanami (flower viewing) is the Japanese tradition of welcoming Spring. This annual celebration is about appreciating the temporal beauty of nature by gathering under the sakura (cherry blossoms).

There’s just something about cherry blossoms isn’t there? In the non-stop world we live in, it’s so refreshing to be able to unplug and just soak up the magic of these whimsical tiny flowers.

I must say, in comparison to my last visit, this year’s crowd control was excellent. The one way in, one way out method had visitors passing through, enjoying the sights and taking their scenic selfies without the feeling of being in a mosh pit.

After viewing the cherry blossoms, we slowed down the pace to enjoy the beautiful sights of the Japanese gardens. It goes without saying these gardens are just breathtaking. I haven’t been to Japan yet, but it’s really lovely to have our own little bit of Japan right in our backyard. I enjoyed seeing so many families come along dressed in their Sunday bests to take some beautiful pics for their family albums.

The other thing I love about these gardens is spotting the peacocks. These have to be the most ostentatious birds of them all.

The weekend schedule was jam-packed. Visitors could take a self-guided tour of the cherry blossom trail, feast on some tasty Japanese snacks from the Food Village, head to the Izakaya Bar to sample some sake or watch a sumo wrestling demonstration at the Sumo Stadium.

We enjoyed the sumo wrestling. The demonstration included the referee explaining the rules of the sport as well as sharing some of the in game rituals. The demonstration was very family friendly and they even got the little ones to participate and take on the wrestlers. Needless to say, it’s pretty obvious who won the sparring session.

Heading across the road to the Peacock gallery, visitors could enjoy some craft in the sun and try their hand at floral headwear and costume making and attend the origami workshop. We also enjoyed some really cool traditional Japanese drumming. Talk about getting a good workout!

To our surprise, MasterChef’s Adam Liaw was there promoting the ‘Love Your Leftovers’ program. Adam showed the audience how to make better use of their leftovers and showed how easy it is to make your own homemade beef stock. Turns out it’s really easy…

Hopefully, the next time you visit the gardens, you get a chance to spot Gary the show-off peacock as you’re leaving the gardens (not his actual name, but a name I gave him because I think he kinda looked like a Gary) He just loves the cameras…

Did you get a chance to visit the Cherry Blossom Festival this year?

Love, Festival Girl

The Sydney Fair is back! Looking for that perfect mid-century modern chair for your home or perhaps, a standout couture dress that has its own story, then The Sydney Fair is the place to be. Let fifity of Australia’s Antique dealers come to you and hopefully, you’ll find the item you’ve been looking for. There will be a wide range of items on display and for sale including Furniture, Decorative Arts, Jewellery, Vintage fashion including couture and luxury vintage goods from all eras.

For lovers of vintage clothing, the event also includes a couture exhibition showcasing evening dresses from 1920s to 1990s. See pieces from Chanel, Dior, and many designers from the Hollywood era Travilla and Chapman. Immerse yourself in the past and watch a film of the Paris catwalk parades from the 1950s while you explore a parade of vintage couture.

Details
What: The Sydney Fair
Where: The Royal Hall of Industries
1 Driver Avenue Moore Park Sydney N.S.W.
When:
Opening night Thursday 25th May 6.00pm to 9.00pm
Friday 26th and Saturday 27th May 11.00am to 6.00pm
Sunday 28th May 11.00am to 5.00pm
Tickets:
For sale at the door or online
$30 Opening night
$15 everyday of the fair
$10 Concession (not opening night)

So last weekend I went along to the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera Exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Why did I wait until the last few weeks long to go? It’s a long story actually. I heard about this event coming to Sydney in late 2015 and at the time I was so excited I was counting down the days. So when the event finally rolled around, I decided to wait until at least the second week to avoid the crush. Then what happened?… on the first week of August, I fell and stuffed my ankle for a few weeks, got very distracted and then all of a sudden, the exhibition was almost at an end. Sigh.

At $18 per adult ticket, entry into the exhibition is staggered every 30 minutes and the reason for this is pretty obvious. It was much busier than I expected as we all crammed into the small space. I really enjoy going to museums and art galleries, but I personally struggle with the anxiety of having my personal space invaded… It can’t be just me that feels this? Anyway, personal space issues aside, here are my thoughts on the exhibition.

There was absolutely no confusing Frida and Diego’s work with any others, nor should there. Large printed photos on the walls of Frida and Diego created a really warm feeling in the space and made it feel like home. Although there were only 33 paintings and 50 plus photos on display in a relatively small space, it’s the detail in the masterpieces that has people captivated.

I love how this exhibition was curated. Coloured walls throughout the space reflected Frida’s colourful style whilst also highlighting and complementing some of the most important works.

‘Landscape with Cacti’ by Diego. This is a large and very attractive piece representing colourful cacti in the dessert. This caricature landscape seems different to Diego’s usual style featuring vast spaces with lots of people and often represent a reflection of society.

Personal letters are on display with interactive tablets displaying Spanish to English translations of handwritten letters. An true insight into their life.

In contrast to Diego’s pieces, Frida’s works are small, humble and mainly self potraits of the subject she knows the best, herself.

I enjoyed people watching and see others observe the works. I love seeing the excitement in their faces. I love how engrossed people become observing a story. I love seeing people examine every brush stroke and of course, fighting every urge to stroke the delicate paintings.

I enjoyed people watching and see others observe the works. I love seeing the excitement in their faces. I love how engrossed people become observing a story. I love seeing people examine every brush stroke and of course, fighting every urge to stroke the delicate paintings.

Family album style photographs adorned almost every blank space and invited people to come close and experience their life.

There’s something so personal about seeing these hand-drawn etchings by Frida. After walking through and observing the photographs timeline, it felt like I had experienced a glimpse of Frida and Diego’s journey through life. It was actually very confronting and emotional to see the final photos of Frida resting in peace.

The Love Embrace of the Universe,the Earth,Myself,Diego and Senor Xolotl (centred). This is probably one of the most favourite paintings I’ve experienced in the flesh. It’s truly iridescent and seems like no photograph can portray the illuminating contrast between the deep blue and the mint-green colours of the right-hand side of the painting.

Coloured photos of Frida. 

‘Self Portrait as a Tehuana’. Dressed in traditional Tehuana dress, Frida started painting it in 1940 after Diego and her divorce and completed it in 1943. Diego was still clearly on her mind.

Self-portrait with Monkey. This is probably my favourite piece. I love how the choice of a bold red gallery wall helps lift the piece. Frida depicted monkeys in a huge amount of her paintings and some say these represented the children she was unable to have with Diego.

During their careers, Diego’s career seemed to elevate above Frida’s, however, it’s clear that Frida draws the masses. Frida as an artist, her story and of course her art, is what captivates people to this day and probably will continue to do so for years to come. The lives and stories of Frida and Diego are so entwined and they will always be two parts of a whole.

Don’t miss the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera Exhibition – with only one day to go, I urge you to go and experience the masterpieces if you can.

Love,
Festival Girl

So I went along to Parramatta Lanes last night located in, you guessed it, the heart of Parramatta CBD. I was really impressed by the whole event this year and I actually think it was of my favourite visits so far!

I LOVE all things American BBQ and fried chicken – so my first stop was an obvious one. I decided to hit up ‘Slow Food, Fast Tunes’ at The Roxy Car Park. I really wish I had an unlimited wallet and stomach *drools…

We sampled the BBQ platter from 2 Smoking Barrels. Based in Wollongong, these guys lugged their smoker all the way to Parramatta. I am no brisket expert, but unfortunately, I found the brisket disappointingly dry. It might have been related to the lack of time in setup, but still, a bit of a shame. I will say that the wings and the pork were really amazing. The pork in particular was right up my alley. BTW, my partner couldn’t stop raving about the little side salad. Hello!?! What about the delicious meat?
Next up, Butter. If you haven’t visited Butter in Surry Hills, it’s a must. It’s really where all the cool kids go. If you can’t decide if you want some retail therapy or to tuck in on some fried chicken, why not do both? These guys sell sneakers and fried chicken side by side…

We opted for the 3 piece feed with slaw from. Fried crumb? Check. Succulent chicken? Check. Chicken box that reminds me of a shoe box? Check plus plus. I must say there’s a really interesting flavour to their fried chicken that really sets them apart from all the fried chicken producers around town.

The queue for Butter was insane!

Kayter Con – I didn’t get to try this place (I was saving my stomach) but they really make some fun looking desserts.

Some talented street performers captured the attention of everyone around them.

‘A Garden of a Thousand Years’ is a beautiful installation by Anna McMahon and Annie McKinnon. Made up of upcycled plastic bottles, colourful string and potted flowers. It’s a really dreamy space that has everyone entranced in its beauty. The soft low lighting really helps set the mood. It’s constricting nature makes strangers get really close to one another, forcing them to connect and perhaps in a way, brings us closer together.

‘The Oasis’ was lit. The bearded bakers from Knafeh Bakery were baking and shaking and had everyone singing and dancing along.

OMG. If you only have one meal at Lanes, make sure it’s a fresh waffle from these guys – Stroop Bros…. Two worlds – life changing. Delicious fresh made waffles with a gooey real caramel (like toffee) centre. I can’t even.

So I obviously ate like a pig as I still had a tiny pocket of room for a delicious fresh lamb roll with gravy from Waroo Famous Original Lamb and Gravy Rolls. The fat from the lamb was rendered perfectly and the (real) gravy was one of the best gravy’s I’ve ever had.

With one more night to go, be sure to head to Parramatta Lanes and eat and explore to your hearts content.

Love, Festival Girl

We’ve finally moved into a new place and I get to have a craft room of my very own. So I decided the craft show was the best place to start stocking up on the essentials.

Some avid crafters attending the My Patch Fabrics workshop on how to get the best shape and silhouette when creating clothes.

A lighter wallet and some hours later, I had a good rummage around. I always find it’s so overwhelming attending this event – but it’s great to see all these great retailers all under one roof.

I kinda walked in half way through this workshop, but it looked fun.

Guest artist and talented Weaver and designer Rainie Williams joined the craft team for the weekend. Rainie is mad about weaving and I’m super envious of some of these chunky knits. Her weaving workshops looked like they were a big hit.

I always enjoy seeing the HSC studuents work and how they’ve worked so hard on a piece. These were some of my favourite of the day.

I’m not that into quilting, but I thought these two in particular were beautiful. The blue quilt was just stunning. Why use all the colours when one colour on top of its self is just gorgeous. The colourful quilt on the right is a collection of signatures from all the craft team at the event. Sweet right?

Although I’ve been to the show almost every year, I’ve never attended any of the workshops or classes. This year, I really wanted to give it a go and narrowed it down between watercolours or fashion illustration. Guess which one I chose.

I loved the flexibility that many of the classes were duplicated during the week and across the weekend, so it gives everyone a chance to attend.

The almost 3 hour class class was hosted by Anita McAdam from Studio Faro, based in Marrickville. Provided in the class was a couple of items including enough paper to draw some creations, access to complimentary backings, backing and a plastic sleeve of course and access to a rainbow of special texters and pencils and of course the expertise of Anita. I would definitely recommend this class to anyone who’s keen on learning the building blocks of fashion illustration.

At the end of the class, we were asked to present all of our works so we could admire what we just learnt.

Here is my creation below.

Also here are some creations from the rest of the class – the girl in the grey below was drawn by an exceptionally talented young lady who is planning on studying fashion design – thank god! 

Anyway that’s it. If you attended, I hope you enjoyed the show.

until next time,

Love Festival Girl

This year, we’re celebrating the year of the monkey. Held at the beautiful Chang Lai Chinese Garden, this is truly a beautiful gem and the suburb’s best kept secret. I honestly had no idea this place even existed!

The event had 20,000 people walk through its doors on Friday night! The parking was well organised and had ample staff to assist with traffic flow and getting cars in and out happily and safey. Lots of festival goers even opted to park nearby and take a short walk.

The festival itself was very well organised with heaps of barriers to keep little ones safe, the bathrooms were conveniently located with lots of well thought out thoroughfares. There was a good mix of cute stalls, tasty snack stalls and cultural activities. Festival goers could learn their future from a fortune teller, try their hand at calligraphy, marvel at fruit carving and having handmade painted patterns on traditional fans. There was also a sizzling Korean cooking demonstration.

Fruit carving – I really wish this was a skill I could master. I was in a cooking class in Bali a few years back, and although the young chef showed us how to do some simple fruit carving, I could never quite master the art of rosette making using carrots. Mine just kinda looked like the end bit that’s left when you’ve finished munching on it.

The main stage was set of rolling hills. It was a full-on evening with the schedule comprising of cultural performances from Asian cultural groups including dancers, performers and Japanese drummers.

I was so pleased to see many people of all walks of life and ethnicities celebrating together. The multicultural community just really embraced it all. There were little kids dancing to music that is not in English and they were having the time of their lives.

We had a delicious Korean spicy pork dish and a tasty Pad Thai with satay skewers. The skewers were really tasty but the Korean dish took the cake.

While we were queueing up for food. We noticed a stall next door selling Fairy Floss, which happened to be the biggest fairy floss I’ve ever seen. I’m assuming are meant to be shared between a family, but I bet you there were some really hyper active kids running around that night.

The highlight of the event was the fireworks on the bridge over the water. It was just so special.

Love, Festival Girl

So I went along to the Christmas Craft Market at OLQP parish in Greystanes over the weekend to check out the latest in handmade crafts for Christmas. This year, the event raised funds and gave its profits to Guide Dogs NSW/ACT.

In its 9th year, the fair had a great selection of handmade gifts for Christmas. As always, the market is run by volunteers of OLQP and featured over 30 stalls from all over Sydney. These included Christmas decorations and gifts, baby wear, home-made décor, kitchen goods, edible treats, scarves and bags, jewellery, terrariums and heaps more.

I’ve attended this little event for the past couple of year, and it always pleases me to see so many engaged community members enjoying the market and supporting local businesses. After speaking with the organiser, she mentioned that they are looking into trying to expand the market.

Hands down, my favourite treat from the event has got to be these Handmade Chocolates – you have to try the Chocolate Hazelnut Crackles, they are to die for. Contact 0418748230.

I spoke to the lovely Alison from Alison’s Busy Fingers who with her Mother, creates delightful handmade baby garments and gifts. The creative duo each have their talents and it’s great to see family producing some wonderful products.

Alison uses acrylic wool for her designs, which means they will deal well with wear and tear

These tiny crocheted Christmas decorations are just gorgeous

Hey everybunny…

The market was bustling with eager shoppers looking for the right gift for friends and loved ones

I paid a visit to The Sewing Plot who creates all sorts of lovelies including handmade dolls, adorable succulents, bunting Santa sacks and cute kids clothes.

I was really impressed by the work of Madelynn the creator of Handmade Treasures. As you can see from the image above, Madelynn is one talented crafter. Madelynn said that a few years ago, she didn’t know if she was good enough to enter her work into the Royal Easter Show and it was her husband who told her that she should give it a go. Turns out, she’s really, really good at it and she’s won a first prize ribbon every year since she started entering. That’s an impressive effort!

Madelynn prefers to use natural fibres for her crafts and she’s she’s meticulous for detail. She won’t sell anything that doesn’t have her stamp of approval. You can tell that she really has a love and passion for her craft and it’s clear that her grand children are a big influence in her life. She shows a lot of great technique and embraces using vintage materials such as silk rayon thread to make her pieces. Some of her award winning pieces include cute baby dresses.

Aren’t these crocheted baby sandals just adorable?

Look at the adorable Advark. When she creates her crafts, Madelynn takes special care to think of the little ones and often crochets details instead of adding buttons and accessories.

These little girl hats are just so sweet. The level of detail and quality is just beautiful in person.

I was particularly smitten by the fuzzy panda.

Julie-Ann’s Jars and Lolly Bars provided some fun and colourful Christmas eye candy.

How cute are these reindeer noses!

A gorgeous menagerie of terraniums, cactuses and succulents, my fav!

I had a real soft spot for the donkey planter – in hindsight, I really should have bought it

Love, Festival Girl

So what should you expect from the Newtown Festival this year? The theme this year is ‘Newtopia’ and it’s all about keeping things local. The festival will highlight some of the amazing people, businesses, artists and organisations that the neighbourhood has to offer.

For the first time ever, Newtown’s lords of liquor, Mary’s and Young Henrys will commandeer the bars. We will see the return of the ‘Newtown Locals’ food-fusion zone and as well as that, the best up-and-coming performers, artists and creatives in the neighbourhood will grace the stage. Also at the festival, there will be hundreds of markets stalls, the Live Art Hub, the ever popular Dog Show and if writing is your thing, the Writers’ Tent brings together some of the best local and national writing in the county. The Kids Zone will keep the little ones more than occupied.

One of the Newtown Festival’s greatest features is its emphasis on the sustainable and maintaining sound environmental practices. *Cue Captain Planet theme song* You can check out the wide range of sustainable festival initiatives here.

Funds raised by the Festival go towards providing community support services at the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre and will help a huge range of community members including disadvantaged groups such as the aged, people with disabilities, people who are homeless, people with mental illness, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and people on low incomes. Go humans!

The event is free to attend, but there are donation buckets that are hungry for any loose change you might have, so dig deep.

Details:

Location: The Festival is held at Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, Newtown.
Entrances: There are six entrance gates at the Festival. Gates 1 and 3 – Lennox Street, Gate 5 – Australia Street, Gates 6 and 8 – Federation Road, Gate 9 – Church Street
Top Tip: Gate 3 is by far the most congested so plan your arrival, and check out the Festival map beforehand so you know where the entrances are. If there is a long line, head to another gate.
Bike: City of Sydney provide FREE valet bike parking on the day! This is located in the park, along the Bike Boulevard (access from Australia Street).
Water: Bring your own water bottle (no plastic bottles yo)

Check here and here for info about the event including more on how to get there.

Images courtesy of the organiser.

Love,

Festival Girl

There’s a lot going on in one day. There will be screenings of feature films, animation and short films in adjacent theatres so if you’re looking to veg out and watch SciFi films all day, be sure to check the feature films and short films program.

SciFi Con celebrates all things SciFi, fantasy and pop culture. The convention showcases comics, cosplay, illustrators, artists and authors, craftspeople, anime, toys, books, collectibles and memorabilia, computer and board games.

Presented by SciFi Film Festival, SciFi Con is designed to bring together enthusiasts, nerds, families, friends and professionals under the one roof. For the ultimate fans, there will be panels, seminars and workshops with comic book and film industry professionals as well as educational and software demonstrations.

Cosplayers are encouraged to dress up and come along. For all your efforts, there will be a cosplay parade and competition if you feel like joining in.

Located in Parramatta, the international SciFi Film Festival is dedicated to exploring and celebrating the science fiction and fantasy genres, their films and pop culture. SciFi Film Festival is a not for profit creative enterprise administered by Screen My Shorts Inc.

Personally, I think one of this festival’s most admirable feature is that it represents and celebrates diversity and promotes the cultivation of freedom of thought, cultural and creative expression, regardless of age, abilities, gender or LGBTI. Go all humans!

Details:

Date: 31 October 2015
Venue: SciFi Film Festival and SciFi Con are located at Riverside Theatres on the corner of Church and Market Streets, Parramatta, NSW, 2150
Where: See map and location
Tickets are available at the Box Office centrally located in the Foyer and is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm, Saturday 9:30am to 1:00pm.

Images from here

Love, Festival Girl