Monday, 11 December 2017

Etsy Made Local Christmas Market - An indi Brand gift guide

I had been looking forward to this market ever since Ideas Birmingham reached out for bloggers to attend, it sounded like a great opportunity to get to see lots of Etsy sellers in real life and really touch and see products, It was a great opportunity to see the real quality of the unique products that are on offer from local sellers.
I walked in and was pleasantly greeted by so many beautiful things and I took a wonder around the market. I encountered so many amazing independent brands and here's a list of just what fab things were on offer (in no particular order): 

Silly Old Sea Dog

Silly Old Sea dog stock a lot of vintage style dresses with quirky and modern prints as well as accessories like head bands, bows, socks and scrunchies too. I loved the Alice in Wonderland print dress but it was a little out of my price range, seeing the amazing quality though was great for future reference and seeing the sizing was great too, I'd recommend sizing down one size in the dresses but they have no stretch so bear that in mind. I did pick up a few accessories though! I got this beautiful pin card print bow and the Alice in Wonderland print one to add a little quirky edge to some of my more plain outfits (plus the Alice bow is the same print as the dress!). The spotty scrunchie and dolly mixtures bow were in a goody bag along with my lovely aqua blue headband that I've been sporting a lot since the market!
This is a new favourite for a vintage look, I love this headband!
Firefly Handmade Creations 

Firefly Handmade Creations were selling these really cute wax melts that were so pretty and smelled heavenly at such reasonable prices, I picked up a few different scents for gifts and for myself and spent under £10 to still get loads of different things to try.  My favourites were definitely the Snow Fairy (Lush Inspired!) one and the Caramel apple one because they were both so sweet. There were also wax melts in pots and even a vapour rub scented melt which would be great to clear your sinuses this winter! There were a couple of perfume themed melts which were really good - the Alien one above and the Flowerbomb below which would make great gifts!
Tons of options of scents in the melts!
The flower bomb melt was so pretty and smelled so good!

Woodland Blossoms
This is just a tiny selection of the headbands available! The red is beautiful for this time of year!
Woodland Blossoms had some really beautiful flower headbands and hair grips ranging in prices but all wonderful quality. I particularly liked these butterfly grips which I think would be amazing for spring especially as a blogger for photographs. I also had my little heart set on a headband but it just wasn't meant to be on the day, I can't wait to get some accessories really soon though. The headbands are perfect for those Spring and Summer vibes as well as the general Sugar Plum Fairy look I've been going for recently with my pink hair. 

Those pink butterflies are beautiful and the green roses are so quirky!


Mythillogical
Alice in a bottle rather than err Wonderland..
Mythillogical had so many pretty and inventive designs of necklaces in the style similar to the Alice above, I chose the Alice as you may have noticed a running theme - I love Alice In Wonderland! There were lots of necklaces to choose from and they would make the perfect unique styled gift for a friend or a loved one. There were also cards featuring the cutest hamster ever in many different designs as well as some truly lovely sculptures and ornaments and these cute little stars that I'd have out all year round! I also picked up these Cheshire Cat button earrings to go with my running theme of items, I've worn them a couple of times already and they feel weightless in my ears so I'm very happy! My next purchase I think will be this adorable penguin in a snowglobe necklace because who doesn't need a cute penguin in their life?  

Button stud earrings with great back fastening that keeps them in all day.
Lottie Designs

Some of the cushions on offer at the market
Lottie Designs were at their first market this year and all I can say is I'm impressed, the cushions on offer were pretty, quirky and a truly unique style. The craftsmanship was unquestionable and the standards were high, I really liked the designs that were on offer in both cushions and the lovely scarves that I saw. There were also paintings that would look great in any room. I had to mention Lottie's beautiful work here because like me she's recently starting out and she deserves recognition for the quality of the work she is putting in from the beginning. I adored he scarves on offer and the fox prints are just so stunning. 

This was available on both a cushion and scarf at the market! What a pretty colour!
I will definitely be purchasing a scarf or two and when I hopefully move in the new year the cushions will add a lovely touch of quirky colour to my living room.  The below scarf was my favourite, I loved the colours and the material was so soft and silky.

Beautiful quality material scarves and stunning design!

Cheeky Geeky

Cheeky Geeky had a range of pins, coasters and gift tags on the stall, they were the perfect stocking fillers and gifts for your favourite gamer and I know my brothers would love some of the bits that were on offer. On the site there are also things like joypad earrings which I think are kind of awesome and a quirky range of cufflinks. Its definitely the place to go if you want a "geeky" gift and something a little different. 
A quirky headphone pin that stands out on any piece of clothing.
I was gifted this great pin that I can't wait to wear on some of my vintage style dresses to add a little something special.  Cheeky Geeky is where it's at for this kind of style and these coasters are a great stocking filler for a gamer!

I met so many really lovely sellers and saw so much at Etsy Made Local and I couldn't recommend it more, it was a great day and so worth going - if you attend any of these events make sure you go with plenty of cash as I parted with a fair bit of mine but was definitely worth it! I hope you like my little guide of some of our local sellers! I'm happy to be giving business to local indi brands this Christmas not just the high street chains! 



(Disclaimer - I was given vouchers to spend at the market and gifted some items but all views are my own and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the market, not everything on sale was to my tastes but have included some of my favourites)


A beautiful bauble to finish the post from Woodland Blossoms!




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