Bendigo Sustainability Festival 2024 – Crafters & Makers
Discover the crafters and makers joining us for the day. Explore a spectrum of innovative offerings, spanning from organic foods to baby apparel, all showcased with pride.
Crafters & Makers
Compost meets hair. It’s a magical and potent combo. Jackie invites you on the zero waste journey as Soilz Alive transforms a beauty by-product into beautiful and abundant gardens.
Hair is bountiful and nourishing. It’s a resource, not something to throw away. This is the circular economy we can and must embrace. This is how we change our social systems and our food system. Hair collected from salons is turned into a magical soil conditioner that helps the environment in several ways: reduced waste, enriched soil with nutrients like nitrogen, sequestered carbon, improved water retention in soil, and a natural, chemical-free alternative to synthetic fertilisers.
I’ve been making beeswax for wraps from second hand fabric for over 5 years. The scraps from the wraps I use as fire starters, and other fabric scraps go into badges, magnets and kids crowns. I also make reusable wipes and gift bags from second-hand fabric.
Tea Associates is an owner operated business developing, blending, and selling tea. The product range includes ten blends: four black teas (including one chai), one green and five herbals. Six of the blends are available in biodegradable & compostable teabags – NO PLASTIC.
Accessories were introduced for the enjoyment of the tea experience, enabling the customer to have fun with tea, which include tea caddies, flasks, strainers, glass teapot set, travel tins, tea tins and two sizes of jute carry bags. Tins are Australian designs and can be refilled or repurposed and gift packs are also popular.
Having lived and worked in the Bendigo community for over 35 years, I wanted Tea Associates to have a strong presence within the local business community, and associated networks (hence connection to the word ‘associates’). It is important for me to support and nurture these local networks through partnerships, collaborations, product donations for fund raising events, sponsorships, and tree planting days.
Locally produced pure Aussie honey, straight from the hive to you.
A family owned and run business who specialise in turning single use plastic milk lids into brand new, usable and unique products.
Hartlands Eucalyptus Oil is produced in Huntly North from naturally regenerating blue mallee plants with no added chemicals.
Victoria's first 100% off grid saffron farm.
Creators of sustainably grown saffron and unique saffron products.
Packaged in recyclable and compostable packaging.
Peppercorn Products is a family owned business based out of Castlemaine, Victoria.
We make everything ourselves, and have two product lines; our blacksmith made products and a collection of pieces made from reclaimed corrugated iron.
Our reclaimed iron products include: bird feeders, garden baskets, potplant pots, metal trugs, and egg baskets.
The blacksmith made range includes hooks, shelf brackets, gambrels, bale hooks, plant hangers, and extensive range of fire tools.
Alice creates all the woven iron pieces, and her father Glen is the blacksmith.
Sheesh specialises in Aline skirts made well and made to last. Suzie from Sheesh is a Melbourne based maker who has focus on sustainability and waste reduction. Fabrics used are vintage and/or deadstock excess fabrics.
Suzie cuts each skirt out by hand and is therefore able to minimise waste by carefully cutting around faults and selecting the best use of each length of fabric.
Made well and made to last using high quality fabrics and threads, these skirts are expected to live a long life.
Offcuts are then used to make bandanna tie hats to reduce waste to landfill.
The ethos of Chris’s Creations epitomises everything about living smart to ensure they do not waste products which often end up in land fill. Their products are handmade, unique and one-off. The business has changed over the years to become one that follows the slow fashion movement ensuring that predominately all materials are recycled and repurposed. They include clothing, furnishings and some jewellery made from recycled doilies, tablecloths and vintage chenille for adults and children. Knitted accessories which are colourful, textured, and unique made from mixed second-hand fibres. They use crochet or knit jewellery wire as a base for jewellery using vintage buttons and re-purpose damaged doilies into buttons using self-covered buttons and some of these become brooches or necklaces and make doily hangings re-purposing drum skin rings, doilies and fibres.
All products are made from 100% recycled single-use plastics and are created by hand by me (Jessica) in the beautiful forest setting of Blackwood, Victoria.
I have a deep passion for re-using and up-cycling in a bid to keep 'single-use' items out of landfill and our oceans.
The plastics I melt down to create my earrings include milk cartons, straws, plastic lids, shampoo bottles, formula lids, dish-washing liquid containers, meat trays and more. Every bit of colour you see in my work is melted plastic. Through much exploration, I have developed a technique where I use the melted plastic like paint. There is a 'multiverse' of useful, beautiful things, these throw-away plastics can become.
Turning preloved clothing, bedding, and other items into beautifully unique baskets. The baskets are made with rope that is wrapped with fabric. A heavy-duty thread is used to ensure a strong and sturdy finish to all our products.
Vanessa Campi Face Painting
Your child will feel special and unique and inspire them to think creatively and come up with new ideas. Face painting is a form of art, and like any art form, it allows children to use their imagination and explore new ways of expressing themselves.
Mother and son team specialising in Chemical free seeds.
House of Thickett is a Melbourne based micro fashion label, whose primary aim is to aid in the procurement of nice times. An independent, micro fashion business which makes use of discarded textiles in order to produce new, seasonless, vintage inspired statement pieces and wardrobe staples. Sourcing pre-owned mens business shirts which are considered no longer wearable, due to wear around the pits and neckline.
A radically transparent business model, House of Thickett produces limited runs of thoughtfully designed garments in a one woman production line in an adorable and deeply aesthetically pleasing studio space. A celebration of textile integrity and heritage.
I make children’s clothing from newborn to size 5. My main item is coats, dresses and vests made out of vintage woollen blankets, all lined.
I sell handknitted baby rompers (made by me) and upmarket recycled ladies’ clothing .
When it comes to our artisan condiment products, we firmly believe in supporting our local community. That's why we source the freshest and most flavourful produce from local growers in the region. By doing so, we not only ensure the quality of our ingredients but also contribute to the sustainability of our local agricultural economy. We also have a SUSTAINABILITY & RECYCLING system, where we encourage our customers to return their used jars and bottles to receive a discount on their next purchase.
We have developed this system to be more sustainable and continue to work on ways to be more environmentally friendly.
100% HANDMADE
NO PRESERVATIVES OR ADDITIVES
Vegan & Gluten-free friendly
Locally sourced fresh ingredients
100% Australian made.
Handmade soy fragrant candles.
Want to be a stallholder in 2025?
Stallholders will be able to showcase their sustainable products, services, and initiatives that offer sustainable solutions for both businesses and householders across Central Victoria.
For all stallholder enquiries contact festival@bsg.org.au