Christmas 2023

Well, the Christmas season is upon us again. It feels too early, as it always does, but as we are just about to tip over into November I thought this was a good time to announce our upcoming Christmas markets for 2023.

First is the Olive Tree Market in Newcastle. One of our favourites, we have been trading at this market since 2015. We will be attending all 4 of their Christmas market dates, which are 4th and 18th November, and the 2nd and 16th of December. The Olive Tree Market is located at Civic Park, Newcastle, and the market days run from 9-2.

In the second weekend of November, the 11th and 12th, I will be at the Arthouse Pavilion at 25 Muraban Road Dural as a part of the Arcadian Artisans Trail. This is a wonderful artists trail run by locals, and showcasing local work, alongside the work of visiting artists and artisans who are hosted by the venues on the trail. It’s a great excuse to get to know this pocket of Sydney better if you’ve never really been there before. The trail will be open 9-5 on both days.

On the 25th of November we have the Sydney Made Art and Design Market which will be held at Sydney Town Hall from 10-5. This is one of the few markets we’ll be doing in Sydney this Christmas season, and getting access to the market couldn’t be easier with it’s fabulously central location. Entry is a gold-coin donation as the market is run entirely by volunteers and all the money goes back into running and servicing that community.

The 3rd of December is a double market day for us. We will be running one stall at the Coal Loader Artisan Market (a twilight market) 3-9 in Waverton, and another in Coogee at the Best Gift Market (times TBC) which is held on the park just behind Coogee Beach.

And lastly, one of the big ones, we are very glad to say that we will be coming down to Canberra for the Handmade Canberra market which will be held 8-10 of December, with the 8th being an evening only event, and the 9th and 10th being 10-4. We are anticipating that this will be a really big event being a part of the market with 150 other makers. We’re always so warmly received when we do make it down for a Handmade Canberra date, so we’re really looking forward to this.

So, if you’re looking for a little piece of ceramic joy for yourself or for a loved one this Christmas season, please come visit our stall on one of these dates. But if you’re not able to make any you’re always welcome to book in a time to visit the studio, or to shop on our online store. We’ve had some extra time on our hands this year to work on some new designs and are really looking forward to seeing how everything is received. Happy Christmas season everyone!

Website Shop Updates

You might have noticed some changes in the shop section of our website. We’ve been updating the categories one by one with new photography and better descriptions of the pieces. We do this in an effort to accurately represent our works as best we can to those who aren’t able to buy in person or who prefer the online experience. All our photography is done in-house and we improve with each photo session we complete. Head to the ‘blend’ and ‘patterned’ categories to see some of the updates we’ve made, and if you have any feedback or information you think is missing, please let us know!

February 2023

Here at LouiseM studio, we’ve been using January to reflect. 2022 was a huge year. The year started with a move for the studio into a space twice the size we had been using, followed by three floods, a broken down kiln twice, supply chain issues causing us to run out of slip three times during the year, and the suppliers to change the slip recipe, causing production issues of cracking in our patterned vases. However, despite all these interruptions to our work-flow we were still able to do so much. Our team grew in April with the hiring of part-time production assistant Marcy, our production capacity grew with the addition of a huge new kiln in October (just in time for the Christmas rush!), and we attended a large number of markets and other events as design markets came back in a big way in 2022. What a year.

What does 2023 hold in store for us? We’re hoping to make changes, but maybe some quieter ones this time around. Alongside ongoing improvements that are planned for the studio workspace, we’ve also got plans to work on some new ranges, and some new collaborations with other businesses and creatives. But to make more room and time for new things, we have decided to take a break from teaching our extremely popular beginners ceramics classes that were run through the Sydney Community College. Last classes are being run from mid-February. We’ve also got some big design market events booked in for the year, so keep an eye on our page footer for the next events coming up.

We Are Hiring

For the longest time it’s just been me toiling away my studio, helped and supported immensely by friends and family, but ultimately alone. The journey from a full time ‘regular’ job with ceramics on the side to full time ceramics has taken a long time and now I’m at the point where my pottery can support me and also another person. So. I AM HIRING! If you or anyone else is interested, please head here for more details and shoot me an email if you want to know more. Looking for someone to start January or February 2022

Back to Work

After a massive 12 weeks away I will on October 11 finally be able to get back in to the studio! Cue the celebrations! Of course this also means that I will have a lot to get done in the lead up to Christmas with lots of markets planned on top of pre-lockdown orders to fulfil. Add to all of this that Australia Post is probably running on fumes at this point…If there’s anything you want in time for Christmas, my recommendation would be to order sooner rather than later, and to pick up in person if possible. In the meantime, if you need me, I’ll probably be in the studio…