Erin Madeley a true sparkler inside and out! In her journey of making and selling her own quirky homemade socks, she founded the Perth Makers Market and with it, has created a wonderful platform for celebrating WA’s handcrafted artistry! Erin’s goal was to create a community of makers and sellers that could come together and offer their beautiful handmade items, and how it has flourished! With its vibrant stalls, live music, delicious food and beautiful city views, it has become a glittering place for Perth Makers to meet and share their stories.
Erin from Perth Makers Market
Perhaps unbeknown to Erin, through her own growth and success, she has created opportunities for others to overcome their own difficulties or disabilities to start new businesses and lead fruitful lives. We at Born to Sparkle feel very fortunate to be among other makers such as Daniel (ink.) and Baked by Erica whom we met at the Market and absolutely fell in love with.
If you didn’t know about us, Born to Sparkle make handcrafted and exclusively designed glitter tattoos and we’re therefore super keen to get on board with the Perth Makers Market. The company was founded by Mrs Sparkles (Belle Maccoll) who was a survivor of a serious motor vehicle accident which left her unable to return to work and really struggling for a while. It was with the need to support herself and her wish to add sparkle and smiles to those around her that Born to Sparkle was born. She absolutely believes that everyone was Born to Sparkle , and loves to help others in any way she can!
Mr Sparkles (Mark) is the clever custom glitter tattoo stencil designer of the tattoos and makes the stencils from scratch in Fremantle. He adds love and care into the recipe of every glitter tattoo and sparkle to give it that extra shine!
Mark from Born to Sparkle
We met Daniel (ink.) at the Perth Makers Market, a talented young creative who designs and prints original t-shirts using Perspex, lino and screen-printing techniques. Although he has Cerebral Palsy (which affects the muscles in his legs and hands), it is with his love for laughter and art that his t-shirt business came into being. Daniel’s business has brought new direction and focus to his life and he generously donates 10% of all profits to the Ability Centre formally known as the Centre of Cerebral Palsy WA. He always comes to get his glitter fix every time he sees us and Mr Sparkles wears his Daniel (ink.) shirt religiously! We absolutely love his work which you can find online or at various markets across Australia and Daniel if you are reading this — our young sparkler Glitter Glam is hoping to get the penguin angel design soon!
Daniel ink t-shirts
Also at the Market is our favourite cookie maker — Baked by Erica. She not only bakes and sells the most delicious cookies, but with every cookie each person enjoys, that joy and happiness is passed along to a charity in the Philippines. Having grown up there, Erica nurtures the strong ties she has with her community and is dedicated to helping provide opportunities for those who have limited options in life. Through her cookie sales, the team in the Philippines puts in the hard yards and organises various projects that help raise money for meals and clothes for both children and adults in need. With this and in so many ways, Erica’s product is more than a delicious baked treat. Each cookie represents her resilience amidst unemployment, her strength to build something from nothing, and her determination to make a difference and to turn a negative experience into a positive!
Erica from baked by Erica
Erica’s Village
There are so many amazing people to meet at the Perth Makers Market, the sparkle crew is so thankful to have befriended such vibrant souls and can’t wait to see what Daniel draws up next and to see Erica rise and dominate the cookie empire! Born to Sparkle loves being a part of the creative community in Perth; we have been part of the Perth Makers Market since we started and have enjoyed every opportunity. Erin is always well organised and runs the event smoothly, filling Perth City with hundreds of makers and thousands of participants each month. She also offers workshops for marketers through Perth Market Scene.
Truly, her spirit of overcoming challenges to add brightness and success to her craft is mirrored in the people and artists she has drawn around her. Do look up when the next Makers Market is on and come on down to experience the good vibes and see visions of smiling faces – glittery ones too! Cheers to sparkling new lives!
For more information on —
Perth Makers Market : www.perthmakersmarket.com
Born to Sparkle : www.borntosparkle.com.au
Daniel (ink.) : shop.danielink.com.au
Baked by Erica : www.bakedbyerica.com.au
And here what Erin has to say about us and the challenges of setting up a new business.
