SMALL and Mighty Children\u2019s Market will return to St Patrick\u2019s Hall this Sunday, 19 May from 10am to 3pm.<\/p>\n
As Ballarat\u2019s only exclusive babies and children\u2019s market, it attracts a variety of apparel, accessory and toy brands.<\/p>\n
Around 35 businesses will be in the hall this weekend, and coordinator, Georgia Fiske said the market is a warm space where quality stall holders are a creative family.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone really gets along, supports each other and buys from each other,\u201d she said. \u201cWe get people travelling as far as Frankston, Sorrento, Bendigo, Maryborough and Geelong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most stallholders are women or family businesses that design from scratch, with lots hand-making their wares.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of the brands are mums,\u201d Mrs Fiske said, herself a mother to three. \u201cThey work or are with their children in the day, and sit up and sew at night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mother of four girls, Emma Spong enjoys bringing along her 10-year-old business, Pretty in Bows.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do love the market here. The quality of all the pieces is amazing,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s still that percentage of people that don\u2019t buy online, they want to see it for themselves. \u201cI\u2019ll always get my regular customers and there\u2019s new people that don\u2019t even know that I\u2019m in Ballarat. I\u2019ve been here for 11 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The central location makes it easy to wander through the stalls and grab a coffee over the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople really enjoy going out to markets,\u201d Mrs Fiske said. \u201cIt\u2019s like an outing, they seem to get all their friends together and they make a day of it.\u201d<\/p>\n