'Twas the Night before Christmas, and time to take stock...

Mum and Dad

I've been feeling so blessed this year.

My big boys are all finding their paths in adult life, my parents have stayed in excellent health as they both turn 80, Terrific Trev is mellowing and enjoying life more than he has allowed himself to for years!, and I've had the most wonderful time all year ignoring housework and exploring creative avenues in all sort of directions.

small Harry

I've met great people through the markets, both fellow marketeers and also wonderful marketers. I have had good times with old friends and spent wonderful moments with my sister, brother-in-law and their children when they visited. I nursed new great-nephew Harry within hours of his birth - how special does that feel! - and spent time with all of Trevor's wonderful family, including my first visit to his home city, Adelaide, where his 90+ year old Dad still lives. Life is pretty sweet, and I really do feel privileged to be able to say just that.

when my sister came out to visit

Thank-you, dear followers of this blog, for keeping up with my ramblings this year! Have very happy Christmases and stay safe and healthy for 2012!

A twilight affair

"The city" is a pretty magic place in the nights leading up to Christmas...somewhere I took my boys when they were little to see the lights, the giant Christmas tree in the square, and the Myer windows, and it's where my own parents also took me and my brother and sister when we were small, for much the same purpose.

Debra Lidster's photo of the Myer Christmas windows

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It's great fun to be part of the Christmas events with the Christmas BrisStyle indie Twilight Market this coming Friday night...not just about offering our hand-made goodies for sale as stocking fillers and presents for under the tree in a world where we all have to search harder and harder to find something a bit unusual, a bit special.









It's also about sharing the buzz with the city workers, the families come to see the lights and the tree, those starting out their Friday night festivities, those on their way to pick up trains or buses to get home...the chat is always interesting and stimulating and we all love talking to people who are interested in what we do and why we do it in the happy crafting collective world that's BrisStyle. And the many others we've got to know - the customers, the suppliers, those from allied fields, the extended families, the new babies, those who have faced illness, even a few we've lost along the way. The hand-made world is like a very large, disparate family and I feel very blessed to be part of it.

In BrisStyle we have a little band of special, special people who dedicate a great chunk of their "spare" hours to organising and promoting us and what we do - arranging markets and seminars and workshops, liaising with government agencies and business organisations, supplying us with all sorts of info and suggestions to help us all along our chosen paths, and at the same time still trying to find the time to ply their own crafts.

Peppermint Magazine's photo of a BrisStyle indie Twilight Market in full swing.

So if you are local, come and visit us in King George Square from 5 p.m.  - have a chat, and by all means look around at our wares for some Christmas shopping that's outside the parameters of normal retail shopping. Look forward to seeing you!