Northside Makers Market - what it means to me

It's only a few days until we declare the first Northside Makers Market open for business. I'm ignoring the long-range weather forecast - we organisers have opted for outdoor stalls.

One of my first tasks come 10:30am Saturday will be to walk up and down High St with my face painted and wearing a tutu, handing out balloons and flyers to unsuspecting families. This is how committed I am to our market.

My main motivation to jump on board with Jay and Margaret and do all this on a not-for-profit basis was my desire to provide emerging craftspeople like myself a venue to sell their wares without paying the high fees of for-profit markets or taking the deep discounts of wholesaling.

I want a thriving, eclectic and unpredictable market full of talented home studio crafters and innovative fine arts and design students. It's been such a thrill to receive a diverse range of applications, and I think that when we all look around the market space at 10:29am we'll be delighted with the range that's been gathered together.

Having a sausage sizzle, facepainter and established cafe on site makes me confident of the market's success. The smell of a barbeque, entertainment for kids and real coffee is a winning combination. The fact that we're smack in the middle of Northcote's High St precinct guarantees a lot of walk-in traffic (as long as the weather's on our side). We really do think we've put an unbeatable market package together.

This week we organiers are busy postering the local area and today our Facebook ad has gone live. If you're already a 'fan' of Northside Makers on FB or have RSVPed to the event listing you won't see the ad, but thousands of other Melbourne women aged 18-45 will. We're being included in The Melbourne Times' 'World News' listings this week and have our fingers crossed for the big papers on the morning of the market.

So how do I feel about the tens of hours of planning and organising coming to fruition? Not quite how I'd expect. I'm happy to hold it at arm's length when I'm able, and focus on sewing for my own stall or reading to Little Jack. But pretty much every other minute of the day is spent in mental preparation - Have we sent the email about X? Who's doing the layout for form Y? I'm trying maintain a feeling of control rather than letting myself be excited that the big day's nearly here.

Last Thursday's stallholder meet & greet at the Wesley Anne was another confidence builder. The response to our invitation was three times what I had anticipated, and the enthusiasm our stallholders have for the market is contagious. We want to give you all a market you can feel ownership of, and from our own market experiences we know the importance of ensuring all our stallholders feel individually welcomed and valued. We hope you enjoyed yourselves - we sure did! It was refreshing to take a couple hours off preparation and making and enjoy each others' company.

The teamwork in bringing Northside Makers Market about has been the best part of the experience so far. Jay and Margaret have become like sisters to me - sometimes we all get mad at each other but deep down we know we couldn't do it without all three of us being in it together. Jay and ML, thankyou for helping me realise my dream and I hope you've reached yours too.

Whatever the weather, there'll be a lot of love at Northside Makers Market.

Three Sisters photo originally uploaded by Richard Seaman. Geddit?