renee anne // art. love. food. life

right when I thought it was time to relax after the huge Once Upon project, life thought otherwise. I mean, I work better under extreme time pressure anyway, don't I?

When it rains, it pours. Or something like that.

SO! I, along with a handful of talented others, have been selected to be a Featured Artist at the next Finders Keepers markets. Yep, that one that is on NEXT WEEKEND! It is all a bit surreal at the moment. The Finders Keepers is my all time favourite market, I have been going to it since the little Hope St days. And look. Now I am apart of all the action. In fact, for some it might be a little bit of Renee Anne overkill. Not only will I have my art on the walls of the gorgeous Carrageworks building, I will supporting my boyfriend at his Foreshore Dynamic stall, and I will be sharing the love over at the Leeloo stall where I can (at the very least to bring the team coffee and hugs). Did somebody say "clone required?"

Cool eh? So now, our tiny appartment is not only filled to the brim with t-shirts, every possible surface is also covered with my "creative projects". So many ideas. So much wall to fill. I cannot wait.

welcome home!
gosh did I even post that I was going to Brisbane? well I did! I am home now. Many of the Australian internet peeps will no doubt have heard of the Finders Keepers markets?! They are a super amazing market, that have prevously been held in Sydney (every 6 months or so). Last weekend however, they made the big trip up to Brissie, and brought the super market magic to the lovely sweet lovely people of Brisbane!!

I had my Leeloo hat on for the entire weekend which was just fantastic, and for those of you who went, I was one of the tired, sweaty, exhausted, happy, excited and hopefully friendly ladies standing behind the gorgeous Leeloo stall! It was a big task to get all the pretty Leeloo things up to Brisbane, then get ourselves up there, then set everything up and still keep our spirits up for the nine hours to follow as the people just constantly poured in (and all again the following day!)But I think we did ok.

The adrenelin was pumping at the time, and while I felt tired, I never once felt sad. The smiling faces, the sweet comments, the happy people, the kind words, the inspiration, the community element all made the whole experience more than worthwhile. Plus, I got to meet so many online "buddies", and in the 4.3 minutes I had spare, got to do a little bit of shopping!

I am just going to do a bit of a shout out to some of the peeps I met, bought from, spoke to, smiled at, or whatevers. If I have left you off, I am so sorry. Slap me and I will fix that right up!

blossom creations :: bespoke letterpress :: chi designs :: courtney brims :: electric boy :: elodi magazine :: frankie magazine :: girl made this :: kim wallace :: kindling :: little jane st :: lola & bailey :: neu creative :: and the rest of the wonderful stallholders at the markets ::

for those of you who were not there, or ran out of cash be sure to check out the stallholder directory, because lots of the talented peeps sell online!


and of course, keep your diarys marked for the next Sydney markets, which are going to be held on the 4th and 5th of December, at the CarriageWorks in Sydney’s Inner West. I am also so very excited to share that my talented boyfriend was acceped as a stallholder for these markets, and so Foreshore Dynamic will be there to enjoy all of the excitement! Yipee!

so, I thought I best keep with tradition and do a post fair post. the day was quite good. fairly busy. boiling in the morning, freezing in the arvo. I had two coffees and a lovely cupcake. I got to meet gorgeous blogger Ebony from hello sandwich ! (and score some totally cute tape and vintage wallpaper from her clever shop). I got to spend 6 or so hours with my boyfriend. and most importantly we go to spam the people with Foreshore Dynamic again. stay tuned.

[behind the scenes]


[james being arty]


[james being arty, again]


[james hiding/our stall]

going to the farmers market is quite possibly one of my most favourite things to do. I usually go with my mum, but sometimes on my own. I have always said that my most favourite element is getting to chat to the farmers/stall holders. I always ask lots and lots of questions, about preservatives, and chemical free farming methods, or even just engage in general chit chat. I also love giving feedback, because they always really really appreciate it (and occasionally throw in a little extra something for my kindness!)

new original cards, available in my shop

last time I went however, I did have my first ever negative FM experience.. I know. Depressing. Basically I asked a stall holder selling veges if they sprayed with chemcials (a question I always ask, and if the farmer does, they usually just tell me "yes" and let me be on my way or direct me to someone who doesn't).

But this stall holder wasn't so happy with this question.

He responded with a rude "YES OF COURSE WE DO!"

I was rather taken back and went to leave and he continued.

"YOU ARE SILLY, EVERYBODY DOES. EVEN STUDPID ORGANIC PEOPLE DO. YOU HAVE TO SPRAY. YOU HAVE NO IDEA LADY".

Then the mother chirped in.

"STUPID GIRL OF COURSE WE SPRAY...."

I was in shock. And just plainly said back,
"No, there are farms that don't spray, but thank you"
My Mum; "Yes and we shall take our business elsewhere, there is absolutely no need to yell at her."

We were horrifed.
But I guess these things happen.
And we went on our way and ended up with some delicious organic veges from the sweetest lady.

But yes. It was definitely an interesting experience.
It seems like a lot more people are going to farmers markets these days (WONDERFUL!)
Have you ever had a bad experience?

On a relevant (but positive) note;

have a look at my farmers markets inspirate cards,

now for sale in my shop.

Wow. I am surprised I still have the energy to be typing this. But it is just one of those occasions where it doesn’t matter because you are just too excited, you just have to share. 

Spent my day today at the hugely popular Finders Keepers markets (along with a whole lot of other [lovely] people). 

For the first part I was helping out at the Leeloo stall, which looked absolutely gorgeous. It was just so special seeing how everyone reacted to the beautiful pieces, and it is funny how you get all warm and fussy when someone makes a purchase. It really was super to be apart of (Thanks Leeloo !)

1. the bag of purchases, 2. ruby and scarlett, 3. look how pretty they go, 4. little shop of

And of course all that stall helping make be hungry for some shopping, the result was like a kid in a candy store. I did go a bit mental, but I think every purchase was absolutely worth it, and just like watching people buy handmade, the warm and fuzzy thing happens just as much, if not more, when you return the favour. I just loved chatting to all the stall holders (which they still managed to do even though they were super busy and super tired I am sure), and seeing all the lovely things they have worked so hard to create. 

1. sweet purchases, 2. tabitha emma, 3. red berry design, 4. materialistic

Be sure to check out my flickr for more details on the sellers behind all my beautiful “finds”.

1. magdalena duma, 2. sweet clothes, 3. shona, 4. the finders keepers