Magnolia Square is a pop up market that comes to Melbourne a few times a year (and goes to other Australian cities) and it’s full of stylish goods aimed mostly for women. It’s mostly babies/kids stuff, with really ups the cute quotient, but there’s also handmade crafts, jewellery, clothing and gourmet food.

On my most recent visit to Magnolia Square I encountered some of the same stalls as my first visit, but happily also stumbled across some other new goods. Here’s what caught my eye and what went into my shopping basket this time:

Clucky handmade babies’ toys, blankets and clothing. I fell in love with the crochet rattle (more chewable than plastic presumably!) and the baby duck. Luisa, who handmakes all of the products, also told me that she’s about to start ‘Clucky Cravings’, a line of food to meet the cravings for mums-to-be.

Rabbit & Duck. Shannon handmakes all of her cushion covers, notebook covers, wallets and cases from pre-washed fabric. Being a cycling fan, I was immediately drawn to her bike-bedecked A5 notebook ($45) and told her that she should considering making tote bags for cyclists :–)

I spotted the last red polkadot raincoat made by Suzy Allen ($65) and kept circling around it for a bit before deciding to buy it. Suzy is from Brisbane and stocks a couple of stores on the East Coast with her girl’s trenchcoats, dresses, skirts and t-shirts.

Make Me Iconic. Natasha Skunca uses young local students from Sydney and Melbourne to design iconic city images and prints them on posters, cushion covers, tea towels and mugs  – from the Nylex sign to vintage Melbourne tram rolls. For a gift I bought a Skipping Girl mug ($20) and matching tea towel ($25). In about 2 months’ time she’ll be launching the wooden W-class tram complete with colourful passengers and a tram conductor!

Chook Leaf leather children’s footwear and accessories from Mornington. My camera ran out of battery at this point, so here are some images of their adorable shoes.

via Chook Leaf

I have a bit of a fixation on French kids’ clothes (well, French clothes generally), and whenever I got to the Paris sales I’d buy beautiful items for my god-daughter. Now that Paris is far, far away, I can shop at Castlebox, a new Melbourne-based range of vintage French-inspired fashion for kids aged 3-10 years.

via Castlebox

Finally, from Black Eyed Green, the Eco Cradle made of corrugated cardboard and flat-packed for easy travel. I also liked the other items from the range such as the flat-packed bench and table and Feedaway high chair.

via Black Eyed Green

If you missed out these markets, mark the following dates in your diary for the next Melbourne markets – 21, 22 and 23 October at Malvern Town Hall and 2, 3, 4 December at St Kilda Town Hall.

• Magnolia Square, Malvern Town Hall, cnr Glenferrie Rd and High Street, Malvern

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