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As I write, doors have been open at the Ashburton Scout hall below on the second and final day of the wonderful Shabby Vintage Junk Extravaganza 2011. If you haven't been yet, hie thee over there post-haste. Beautiful stuff there.
Congratulations to the marvellous Tamara who organizes the Extravaganzas and top marks to all the women who bring their wares to make this a marvellous showcase of a very feminine economy. Many of the women from SVJ Extravaganza 2010 are there - and they have stepped up their skills quite a few notches and gone into areas that weren't seen last year. Many of the women are new. They came as shoppers last year and are here as stallholders this year.This adds new zest and wider offerings to Tamara's wonderful plan.
The USA has many huge, wonderful events in this genre and the Ashburton Scout Hall is a teensy-weensy venue by comparison. But, compared to the USA market, Oz is a teensy-weensy ant to begin with. If Melbourne and Victoria can support the Shabby Vintage Junk Extravaganza, perhaps Tamara's business plan will be the seed of something large which will transform the recycled goods sector and involve the women who have seeded Tamara's vision in a huge economic step into a more sustainable lifestyle.
What you get at SVJ is not 'Made in China'. You can rest assured that the exploitation that has occurred in putting this together has been from the women themselves - who have worked long hours and burned the midnight oil to have such excellent products available to the public. And I don't think any rainforests have been denuded in the process. My only concern might be for the paint products used along the way - but not everyone bothers to paint, because rust is a well-beloved feature.
So hie thee hither
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