Enjoy traditional music and dance groups throughout the day while browsing handcrafted treasures - bright lanterns and silk handbags from Vietnam, mysterious blackwood statues from Africa, hand felted Nepalese slippers and brooches, Persian hand knotted rugs, Umbrian ceramics, French provincial textiles, Balinese homewares and more.

Sample a wonderful multicultural dishes from around the world – Spain, Laos, Ethiopia, France or Mexico – and then fill your bags with delicious take home food such as Turkish burek, Thai curry and stir fry pastes, French nougat, and real Indian chutneys.

Start off the year hunting out that unique collectable, small antiques, crystal and china, retro decorative arts, collectable books and maps, linen and lace, antique jewellery and other curios. Antique and collectables dealers from around the region come to offer the old and the unique.

Happy New Year everyone.

Hilde Botten and Pieter Bouwman are a husband and wife team creating interesting and unusual stainless steel wind mobiles.

Based in Sydney, Botten and Bouwman’s Geo Mobiles move in the wind and create a beautiful display of movement and reflection. The mobiles are precision made from Marine grade stainless steel and come in three interesting shapes – circle, square and teardrop, and range in price starting from $59 each. Having started at the markets around five months ago, Hilde and Pieter will continue to be market regulars with their Geo Mobiles and will be at the 2011 Christmas Markets on Sundays only before Christmas.

We will be open every Saturday and Sunday – including Christmas Eve – in the lead up to Christmas, promising original, handmade gifts for your loved ones, and all within a vibrant market buzzing with the Christmas spirit.

At the Christmas Markets visitors can browse and buy beautifully handcrafted, personalised home wares and gifts, scrumptious Christmas fare such as gingerbread houses, cakes and cherries, gifts for the table and the tree, exquisite hand carved decorations, live Christmas trees, art, soaps and plenty of stocking stuffers.

This year, new stallholders will present their own take on popular Christmas items including handmade Christmas stockings and advent calendars, Christmas wreaths, brooches and table centres. Foodies will love the spread available including beautifully decorated Christmas sugar cookies, mince tarts, shortbread, Christmas cakes, puddings, pan forte, whisky marmalade, traditional Russian fruit and walnut log and macarons inspired by the flavours of Christmas.

Jewellery is one of the most sought after handcrafted products at the Old Bus Depot Markets, and “The Jewel of Canberra” will make it hard to leave empty handed!

There will be something for everyone who loves to adorn themselves with blown glass beaded pieces, flower brooches made from antique Japanese kimonos, pearls, hand crafted one off silver pieces, funky beaded bracelets and more – all transforming the Markets into a giant jewellery box of treasures and trinkets.

There’s a lot to be said for mother-daughter teams. And with creating children’s clothing, a mother and daughter team can give you a great mix of the old and the new from two generations, with different skills on hand and two pairs of eyes for spotting original vintage and modern fabrics. That’s the case for new business, Tiptoe Threads, with mother and daughter Gai and Tracey both passionate about creating children’s clothing exclusively designed and handcrafted in Australia.

Having started out creating the clothes back in 2009, the business was officially launched this year at our Kids in the Shed Market back in June. Tracey and Gai select unique, vintage and modern fabrics from around the world and pair them with older techniques such as crocheting to create fun and functional handcrafted pieces that cannot be found in mainstream stores. Plus the fabrics used are kind to little ones’ skin. The current range includes clothing for girls in sizes 00 to six years, and a boys range will be available from November – just in time for Christmas. Tiptoe Threads are at the markets at least once a month, so look out for them on your next visit.

New Stallholder: Vintage Creation

Vintage Creation is a welcome addition to our markets. Offering new prints of retro to vintage French fashion, there’s also a great selection of handbags made from reclaimed leather and Florence Broadhurst fabrics.

The business, run by Leisa Hoare, revives the memory of vintage French fashion. With an original magazine collection dating from 1890 French Fashion Magazines to Art Nouveau 1920s, and through to 1940 Art Deco French Fashion Magazines, Vintage Creation prints this history of fashion on cotton silk and canvas, and as posters and card stock big enough to frame. Leisa has also created a range of handbags including a style with an interchangeable top that can be updated using different fabrics, and the new “seven way bag” which can be used as a clutch bag, sling bag, backpack and more. Vintage Creation will be at the markets once a month, and then every second Sunday throughout November and December.

Long time market goers would know Mean Fish Design well. Having started at our markets the very first year we were open, they traded here for around 12 years then took a well earned break. After firmly establishing themselves in Canberra, and indeed throughout Australia, Mean Fish Design has always impressed with a large range of high quality original artworks and signature resin finished products.

Husband and wife team, Matthew and Louise Judd, are now back at the markets after downsizing and reinventing the business, and are feeling reinvigorated with a new range of original art on canvas inspired by the Graphic novels and Comics of the 1950′s, and Pop Art of the 1960′s. “We do this because we love it,” said Matthew. “After Louise and I had our two kids, we’ve fallen in love with our business again once the stress and pressure was taken out of it via downsizing.” Mean Fish Design is at the markets every Sunday with original art on canvas, clocks, mirrors, name plaques and decorative wall art. And their products are just as popular as they were at the markets 17 years ago!

View Mean Fish Design’s Stallholder Listing on our website.

Featured stallholder: Crème n’ Sugar Pâtisserie

Three decades as a pastry chef in five star hotels around the world has made Mayil an expert in creating delicious tarts. Running the business with his wife’s help when needed, all the baking is done by Mayil in a home-based commercial kitchen in Canberra using Australian produce and quality, natural ingredients.

For just over a year now, Crème n Sugar Patisserie has been lovingly creating a range of individual and mini tarts in a range of exquisite flavours. Individual tarts are available in many varieties including lemon, lemon and lime, chocolate, cheese with blueberry or raspberry and there’s also Frangipane Tarts with seasonal fruits.  For a little sample, try the mini tarts which come in such flavours as passion fruit, banana caramel, chocolate macadamia, lemon raspberry and crunchy chocolate. Throughout November and December they also offer large jam short breads, trees and fruit mince pies. Crème and Sugar are at the markets every Sunday so stop by to try a delicious tart on your next visit.

View Crème n’ Sugar Pâtisserie’s Stallholder Listing on our website.

Click here for information on the speakers and 30 speciality stallholders who will be there on the day.