The Mill Markets Ballarat Review

The Mill Markets Ballarat Review

A cold and rainy Tuesday in Ballarat seemed like the perfect day for taking a bit of a wander amongst the Mill Markets vintage stalls. Having visited before, I knew they had a little cafe section and even the tempting draw card of an open fire. I didn’t have anything specific in mind, but like all good vintage hunters, you know you can never pass up an opportunity for a bit of a ‘look see’. After all, that is how we manage to come up with the amazing finds; by constantly being on the look out.

With Sonny Molone (Miss 10) on the camera, I’m was free to wander and poke around hands free; a very important factor in digging about in piles of potential treasures.

The stalls are each run by individual vendors with goods sold by stall number at the central counter. It means that there is generally no one on hand to ask questions about items you’re interested in, but on the flip side, it does allow you to feel like quite the treasure hunter.  Many of the larger items include the vendors contact number to help you sort out any queries or deals you might have in mind.

There is a large proportion of stalls selling the usual suspects of nick nacks and what nots, some of the more collectible variety and some that will appeal to the more idiosyncratic collector.

“There was this duck see, and he walked into a bar…”

 

There is a mix of what could be categorised as vintage, retro, second hand and artisan pieces here at the Mill Markets Ballarat. It isn’t a strictly vintage dealer outlet pre curated to meet specific tastes, but rather more of a choose your own adventure shopping experience. Something that everyone will see differently. Where I gravitated towards the clothes in a search for nifty hand knits, the girls made a bee line for the retro toy section, coming up trumps with an 1980s Kermit the Frog doll.

If you’re hunting for clothes you’ll only find a small selection of true vintage pieces here. There are a couple of stalls selling vintage reproduction outfits from the likes of Pin Up Girl Clothing, and local hand made pieces. Home wear and conversation pieces is really what the Ballarat Mill Markets are all about. That one off find that makes a room like an old fuel pump, a retro beaded curtain featuring pop culture hero ‘Monkey” or even a life sized came,l (sadly not for sale that day).

 

 

All in all, if you’re planning a visit to Ballarat, this is one place I’d recommend adding to your touring list.

 

Vintage Style Inspiration at the Love Vintage Show

Vintage Style Inspiration at the Love Vintage Show

I took a day off last weekend for a special occasion; the Love Vintage Show was in town and I really needed new vintage style inspiration! It is hard to explain to Mr.SKM why I need to go to another vintage shopping event when my closets are overflowing, but more often than not, these events are really about socialising for me.

Whether it is a vintage show, a music festival or even a classic car event; it is the one time I get to see friends from all over the country and catch up about our mutual obsessions. This Sunday was no exception, and I wanted to treat my styling team to a big day out of “fancy old things”.

Sometimes I head to these events with a budget and an agenda, but this time it was really about finding new inspiration for me. We all go through times when we are sick of looking at our closets, no matter how much variety there is, and I’ve been struggling with this of late. I really adore vintage everything, but occasionally it is like I’ve overdosed on it and just need to press the reset button. That has been my last few months.

With a serious lack of storage space, I’ve had to pack up the majority of my vintage collection to make more room for Miss 6’s bedroom, and I found by putting everything away and out of eye line it gave me a bit more clarity. I’ve stuck to the same few basics and gone for function over high style, to give myself the ‘no frills’ time I needed to get on top of some major projects happening at home. (By major I mean heavy machinery and no roof!)

Having this little hiatus has given me the sartorial palette cleanse I needed. It’s allowed me to look at my collection with new eyes and decide what I should part with and what I truly love. Spending time in the company of my other artistic inspirations, gives me room for new ways to interpret and mix those old favourites. As vintage lovers with the internet at our disposal, it is all to easy to live exclusively in our own style microcosm; but without keeping your inspirations fresh, things can quickly go stale. And that was how I was feeling, stale.

Fast forward to a few months later, (now) and I have a sense of enthusiasm and refreshment that you just can’t fake. The kind that keeps you up sewing frustrating vintage patterns until midnight or more. And that is why I love these vintage shows; spending time not only browsing beautiful wares, but browsing the way other people interpret their take on vintage style.

Vintage will always hold new and fresh ideas for me, but it is important to know when and how to look after your style mojo. I’d guess I’m not the only one of us who goes thorugh this, and I’d love to hear what you do to keep things fresh!

Outfit Details

Purple “Ava” dress from Pin Up Girl Clothing

Berry suede heels from Airstep

Hand bag from Prada

*Photography by Helen McLean*