Commencing November 5 last year, Madam Sparrow's Market was a little bit of 2 minds meeting when Antoinette Edmunds, owner of Madam Tojo's Coffee Palace at Chirn Park and Sam Lardner also of Chirn Park, an industrious Graphic Designer, furniture restorer and collector of all things interesting and beautiful. The duo bumped into one another and with a conversation that started with "What's your vision of Chirn Park?", ended with a great little handmade market for the local artisans. Sam Lardner proceeded to run the market with Antoinette providing financials and the space down the Painted Lane and into the Chirn Park Barber's Shop garden.
It's now become a monthly institution for the little village with locals walking to the shopping precinct to enjoy the market and the local fare whilst also enticing people from over the border and all the way to Brisbane to indulge in the great handmade arts, crafts, furniture, decor, natural soaps and candles.
Nearly all the stall holders come from about a 1km radius and it has grown from 7 stallholders, to a full capacity of about 24 with many hopefuls sitting on a waiting list.
Antoinette, an award winning artist and sculptor in her own right, and Sam hope they can expand the market into the rear carpark to allow this amazing hub of creatives to flourish. Sam Lardner said she was amazed at how the community has been knitted together with this monthly event. "We have residents and shopkeepers outside of the market assisting with promotion and letterbox drops, not to mention all the great word of mouth". She believes the residents were in need of something like this, something to look forward to and something to be a part of.
Madam Sparrow's Market is on the 1st Saturday of Each Month: 7.30am to 2pm, and are also listed on our EVENTS page.
Check out all the latest from Madam Sparrow's Market via their facebook page.