We welcome Jacqui Fink of Little Dandelion, who introduces us to a new crop of Australian creatives for this week's Hand Made Market.

My own work is informed by my great love of raw fibres and the soft, muted palette of naturally coloured wool. That I have an affinity with makers who share this love of raw and natural is no surprise. There is something very honest about the use of these materials when applied to traditional crafts. The results are timeless, special and impossible to replicate with synthetic materials or automated processes. Our Raw and Natural Market is slow craft at its most beautiful. From exquisite earthy prints, hand-felted woollen cushions, hand stitched linens, ceramics and expertly crafted timbers, Raw and Natural is all about quality, artistry and sophistication.



Monique Lovering
Monique Lovering is a Sydney-based superlative abstract artist. Monique creates stunning evocative works using a range of mixed media on beautiful handmade papers and linens. Monique's colour palette is earthy, moody and monochramatic with an occasional stroke of colour. Her forms are intuitive, raw and allow your imagination to run wild with possibility. With a background in Fine Arts, Monique worked for many years as an Art Director and designer. Her love of art stayed with her though and she spent many summers honing her artistic skills in her "soul home" of Palermo, Sicily. Monique's artworks have exhibited in London, Italy and in Sydney. You can enjoy Monique's original works on paper first hand in her upcoming exhibition entitled "Flow" at Kmyoga in Bondi Junction, Sydney. Flow opens on 29 August 2014 at 6pm.


Mr and Mrs White images by Alex Carlyle

Mr and Mrs White
Mr and Mrs White is the eponymous homewares label of lovely young creative couple Sasha and Nathan. Sasha, also a graphic designer, makes the textiles and Nathan, a qualified shipwright, makes the furniture.  In Sasha's own words, Mr and Mrs White is "all about simple, honest, handmade design with a focus on the natural beauty of the material whether it be recycled timber, linen or leather."



Based on Sydney's Northern Beaches, Mr and Mrs White's signature style encapsulates everything I love about "raw and natural": a clean, uncomplicated and neutral aesthetic paired with a classic and sophisticated design philosophy. I admire Sasha and Nathan's strong vision tremendously.

Follow Sasha and Nathan on Instagram @mrandmrswhite_ 



Melissa Guyatt - Weave and Wonder
Melissa Guyatt is a Brisbane designer, teacher and maker and runs an eco friendly fair trade business named Weave and Wonder. Melissa is passionate about craft and design and has developed a wonderful series of workshops to nurture the inherent creativity of others and to share her tacit knowledge built up over years of studying Architecture and Interior Design as well as practicing various art forms. Using an earthy, subtle palette and natural materials and fibres, Melissa's handmade pieces are a perfect addition to a design conscious home: timeless, unique, beyond market trends and beautiful. Wait to you see her hand-stitched linen notebook paper. It is crazy cool!



Sheba McCaffrey
Sheba McCaffrey is a Sydney based artist who has made her life's work out of reclaiming the beauty of raw and natural materials collected from the ocean and earth. I first met this lovely woman during a workshop last year at The School. We instantly connected over our love of natural materials, process and the repurposing of found objects.



Nestled in her beautiful Palm Beach studio, Sheba creates wearable art, large scale collages and installation works from shell, bone, feathers and other treasures. Sheba is constantly on the search for these treasures and has an eagle eye for objects most would pass by without a second thought. Sheba's works are highly sought after and frequently appear in the pages of interior magazines.

Follow Sheba on Instagram @beached_treasures1



Carmen Hui
I love animals. Except snakes. I don't like snakes. So it was a happy day when I discovered (via Instagram) the whimsical delights of Carmen Hui's skilled and delicate hands. Carmen is an illustrator and artist from Sydney with a focus on animals and botanical sketches using traditional media on beautiful papers.



Carmen has been drawing since the day she could hold a pencil and has experimented with many mediums in the past but is always drawn back to the intricacies of coloured pencils. Her work has been featured in numerous magazines and she has participated in several group exhibitions as well as her first solo exhibition in Sydney earlier this year.

Follow Carmen on Instagram @_carmenhui_



Elke Lucas Ceramics
Elke Lucas is a German born ceramicist now based in Noosa on Queensland's beautiful Sunshine Coast. Elke's life as a potter started by happy accident when she married into a family of eccentric artists and potters. She figured, "if you can't beat them, join them" and so began her education in this fine art.



Elke's range of wheel thrown, high-fired porcelain is delicate and highly original. In her process, Elke combines natural elements such as leaf litter with natural oxides to leave delicate imprints in soft muted colours on her porcelain forms. While Elke's pieces have a natural sophistication and a beautiful quiet presence they are also made to be used everyday.

Follow Elke on Instagram @elkelucasceramics



Nichelle Scholz - Fox Hill Llamas
Nichelle Scholz from Fox Hill Llamas is a fibre artist hidden away in picturesque Marradong Country in the South West of Western Australia. In a true vertical integration, Nichelle makes gorgeous one of a kind hand felted pots, vessels, fibre balls and paper using naturally coloured fibre from her own pet llamas.



Much of Nichelle's self-taught and environmentally friendly process is carried on outdoors with these inquisitive creatures looking on and frequently dropping in for a playful cuddlle. Nichelle even does her own shearing which is very impressive for a woman from a corporate background. It doesn't get more raw and natural than this.



Grace Wood Designs
Grace Wood is a beautiful young textile artist based in Sydney's Blue Mountains. With a Bachelor of Design from COFA and an internship with the legendary Dutch fibre Artist Claudy Jongstra, Grace brings a level of technical proficiency and emotional maturity to her work beyond her years.



Applying traditional crafting techniques of, amongst other things, felting, weaving and spinning Grace makes exquisite textiles and objects for the home in a sophisticated colour palette. Using high quality natural fibres and natural dyeing techniques, Grace's magnificent work is light on impact to our environment and heavy on the comfort, security and delight it provides.



Senkki Furniture
Senkki Furniture is the design studio and manufacturing business of Charles O'Donovan, a designer and former shipwright, and Monique Boseley, a photographer with a background in marketing. Based in South Australia, Senkki Furniture specialises in beautifully constructed hand made furniture in both contemporary and retro inspired designs at affordable prices.



Senkki's design process even allows you to incorporate your own ideas into the design to create something truly bespoke. In that way, you can be fully engaged from the conceptualisation of a piece to its completion and delivery into your home.