Our First Time at Finders Keepers Sydney

What a weekend! I’m still recovering a little from the combination of excitement, road trip snacks, market adrenaline and Sydney's maze of roads 😅

On April 30th, I packed up lot's of your favourite Bubbly Type goodies and headed north for our very first time at the The Finders Keepers Sydney Design Market. And wow… Sydney, you absolutely showed up.

I genuinely didn’t know what to expect heading into such a huge interstate market. Having only done one interstate event in Canberra not long ago I felt equal parts excited and slightly terrified. We loaded the car like a game of very delicate rainbow Tetris and hit the road for the 12 hour drive from Melbourne to Sydney. It was long!

But truly, every kilometre was worth it. 

The energy at the market all weekend was incredible. So many lovely conversations, so many beautiful new faces popping by to say hello, and so many people discovering The Bubbly Type for the very first time. There’s something really special about watching someone discover my art and my products, especially when they light up and smile. It's such a gratifying experience to have strangers react wonderfully to the things I make. 

One of the wildest highlights? You completely sold me out of 10 different sun catcher shapes out of the 22 designs I brought along. TEN. I definitely underestimated Sydney’s commitment to rainbow rays.

And apparently Sydney also contains a very elite population of thoughtful children because you also sold me out of my Mother’s Day cards. I brought along three special designs just for mums and by the end of the weekend they had completely disappeared into the world. Somewhere out there, a lot of lucky mums received colourful happy mail this year.

Another huge pinch-me moment was simply being selected as one of the 250+ makers showcasing at the market. Being surrounded by so many incredibly talented artists, designers and small businesses was so inspiring. Getting to meet lots of new fellow makers and artists was insane and I left with a full heart and new friends. Oh and approximately a thousand new creative ideas bouncing around my brain.

And because apparently the weekend wasn’t exciting enough already, we also managed to squeeze in a night at Phantom of the Opera on Sydney Harbour. That was a crazy night, it felt like living inside a movie. Fireworks exploding over the water, the Sydney Opera House glowing nearby, the Harbour Bridge in the background… absolutely unreal. Definitely one of those “I need to stop and remember this moment forever” kind of experiences.

I also need to say the biggest thank you to the beautiful team at The Finders Keepers for creating such a supportive and welcoming event. Running a market of that size is no small feat and the whole weekend felt so well organised and warm.

And of course, a massive shout out to my wonderful assistants who came along for the adventure. From setup chaos to snack runs to helping pack down after very long days, I genuinely couldn’t have done it without them 🫶

Will we be back in Sydney?
Right now, I’m honestly not sure. Interstate markets come with a lot of logistics, planning and very long driving days. But after such an amazing experience, I would absolutely love to return someday if we can make it work.

So for now, thank you Sydney. Thank you for the kindness, the support, the rainbow obsession, and for making our very first Sydney market feel so special.

Until next time,

Nicole 🧡