From tiny ceramics to bag charm workshops, this Melbourne market is all about playful creativity
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UGLY CUTIE
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
Stepping into a wonderfully unusual world.
Pull on your freaky toe shoes, slip in your orthotics, text a rodent boy and extend that eyeliner up to your hairline – the ugly renaissance is finally here!
As beauty standards become increasingly homogenised (hello, ‘Instagram face’), a growing cohort of artists are rejecting the conventionally attractive in favour of the unsettling and endearingly offbeat. Because when digital perfection feels inescapable, embracing the odd might just be the coolest thing a creative can do.
Stay updated on the latest fashion and design events at FJ’s Events section.
Curious about where to find this community? You can meet 130 of them at Melbourne’s upcoming Merry Ugly Market, held at Crown Southbank on November 28 and 29. Bringing together a range of Australian and international creatives, it’s a celebration of strange little trinkets, off-kilter art and all kinds of beautiful, unconventional treasures, made by hand.
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For those who haven’t attended before, this year’s market is set to be one of the best yet. Hamish Bassett, the Melbourne-based ceramicist behind Tiny Pots, is making his highly anticipated return after a three-year hiatus. Working on a miniature pottery wheel, he crafts petite teacups, vases, crockery and pot plants, then glazes and fires them like full-sized ceramics. Think a woodland creature’s kitchenware, or dinner party essentials for a sharehouse full of fairies.
Tiny Pots
If you are a reformed Labubu lover, you’ll also get the chance to create a new ugly-adorable accessory at DIY Daisy’s ‘Bead It Yourself’ bag charm station. Using her giant collection of secondhand beads, the designer and author will guide you in crafting something cute, colourful and unique.
DIY Daisy
You can choose between general entry (which grants you access to one of four timed sessions on Saturday or Sunday), VIP access or a two-day pass. With VIP access, you’ll get limited-edition merch and flexible entry over the weekend, including during the Sunday morning Quiet Hour. Designed for visitors who prefer a calmer market experience, it’s a free-entry session from 9am to 10am.
Most importantly, Merry Ugly is a chance to have some unbridled, wonderfully unusual fun. Snap some pics in the free photo booth, take home a complimentary tote bag and tick off your holiday shopping list with the kind of gifts you won’t find anywhere else.
Get your tickets to the Merry Ugly Market here.
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