MarketFinds Goes to Zurich, Switzerland

The past month has seen me use up my entire annual leave, as well as be one week in the negative, to prance around Poland & Switzerland. Whilst I have had an incredible adventure, I have been feeling rather guilty of neglecting my baby – this blog. So as a thank you for your patience, I wanted to share with you some photos from a market in Zurich that I just happened to stumble upon one fine Swiss morning.

Market in Zurich

The first thing you notice when going to a market in Europe is that antiques are far more common, and you can get some REALLY old stuff! Switzerland is expensive in general, so market shopping is the way to go in this country. This particular market is sometimes a farmers food market.

Sweet little dress in a Zurich market

There was an abundance of interesting musical instruments & books:

Musical Instrument in a market in Zurich

Platen Book in a market in Zurich

Musical Instrument in a market in Zurich

And vintage jewellery galore:

Vintage Jewellery at a Market in Zurich

And others:

So that was my Swiss market experience – I would highly recommend you check it out if you are in the area, and I will endeavour to update this post with specific details of this place once my jetlag has left me & I have properly unpacked & found my notebook with all the details. Until next time, it’s good to be back!

Rose Street Artists Market

Rose Street Market

What it is: A quaint little artist’s market that embodies the feel of Fitzroy with graffiti walls and its own cafe.  Here you can find art, photography, fashion, accessories, home-wares, vintage items, and can even hire a bike here. Don’t forget to say hello to the friendly guy handing out fliers on the corner of Brunswick St. & Rose St.

Where it is: On Rose St. in Fitzroy (side street off Brunswick St.)

When it is: While the cafe opens at 9am on the weekends, the market is open from 11am – 5pm every Saturday & Sunday.

Anything for the males of the world: absolutely! Mostly accessories, homewares, art & photography.

How to get the best from this market:

• The market is very small, and you can walk through it all in less than an hour, so it would be best to visit Fitzroy for breakfast or lunch on Brunswick St. and then pop in to the market
• Visit their facebook page to see details on how to get a free coffee in June
• For upcoming events at the Rose St. Market, check out their blog
• Friendly dogs are welcome
• Let me know how you go 🙂

Upcoming… Round She Goes

Round She Goes is back on this Sunday in Victoria, and I’m hoping my flu will leave by Sunday so I can buy all the pretty old things.

Round She Goes market at Kingston Town Hall

What it is: The brainchild of sisters Emma & Anne, Round She Goes is the market for girls – it even won an award! With 100 carefully selected stalls selling crafty crafts and quality vintage and designer pre-loved frocks & accessories, you won’t find any sportswear or t-shirts here.

Where it is: When in Melbourne, the market is held in the very large Kingston City Hall (a.k.a Moorabbin Town Hall) at 979 Nepean Hwy, Moorabbin, VIC 3189. It is very close to Moorabbin station, and free parking is available on site.

When it is: From 10am to 3pm this coming Sunday (20th of May, 2012). The one after that won’t be until the 9th of September at the same location. For future events, please refer to the website.

Anything for the males of the world: nope!

How to get the best from this market:

• There are communal change rooms available, so wear your best underwear. I usually wear stockings too.
• The market is quite large and you only have 5 hours to shop (assuming you get there on time of opening) so be efficient. Don’t assume you will come back to a stall later.
• It is mostly pre-loved & vintage items at this market, so if that’s not your thing, you might as well give it a miss.
• A stall holder is most likely only going to have one of each pre-loved or vintage item, so if you love it, don’t wait till someone else has bought it to realise it’s the only thing that will make your wardrobe complete (I am still longing for that red glomesh purse)
• Wear something comfortable but makes you feel good – you may get snapped up with your photo on the website
• These guys have a newsletter you can subscribe to and win cool stuff too.
• Bring cash (there is an ATM across the street, but none in the hall).
• Let me know what you got, and check back for my review and photos next week, if I get better in time – wish me luck!

I Love Vegans Festival

Melbourne turned on a gorgeous Sunday, so we were out and about enjoying the sunshine in St Kilda when we came across this fine gem.

What it is: a free festival, including ~ 10 stalls, to enjoy all things vegan: fashion, food, health and fitness, music & film, among others.

Where & when it is: Port Phillip Eco Centre, 55 Blessington St., St. Kilda (St. Kilda Botanical gardens, near where veggies are grown).  It was held on Saturday the 28th & Sunday the 29th of April, 2012.

I Love Vegans Festival at St Kilda Botanical Gardens

What you’ll find: live cooking demonstrations, film screenings, yoga, zumba, health discussions, and fun activities. There is a vegan clothing swap, as well as a fashion show, and people selling amazing food from warm meals cooked on the spot to yummy cupcakes to smoothies and healthy snacks. There were other stalls selling other stuff from cookbooks to dog toys, but this is a market and festival for those who love food, health and fitness. It really is a very chilled out atmosphere, and everyone is friendly and cheerful, so although it’s always good to go with a friend to markets, you could probably make a friend at this one. Maybe you can take this new friend with you to the other markets.

Organic Food Box Ad

Beanstalk Bakery Cupcake & Hot Food stall

U Little Beauty cosmetics

How to get the most out of this market:

• Bring cash (there’s an ATM in the seven-eleven on Ackland St. nearby)
• Check out the program for the day here and arrive according to what you want to take part in or see
• Try food from all the food stalls, but save room for the cupcakes
• If you have a dog, buy him (cos all dogs are boys) a toy from the Soidog stall – they are cheap, awesome, and the money goes to a great cause
• Feel free to bring your friendly dog(s) and child(ren), as there’s lots of grass and shady areas nearby
• Check out the veggie patch, you might learn something

Lenny enjoying his new Soidog toy

Motorbike parked outside the festival