Craft Markets & Makers Fairs
Rose St Artists' Market, Finders Keepers, and weekend makers fairs where you browse handmade ceramics, jewellery, prints, and textiles from Melbourne's creative community.
What this looks like
Melbourne has a big craft market scene. The Rose St Artists' Market runs every weekend in Fitzroy with over eighty stalls of handmade goods. Finders Keepers takes over the Royal Exhibition Building twice a year with hundreds of independent makers. The Big Design Market fills the same venue with locally designed products before Christmas.
Smaller markets pop up across the suburbs: community halls in Northcote with ten stalls of ceramics and candles, warehouse sales in Collingwood where jewellers and printmakers sell direct, and Sunday morning markets in neighbourhood parks with live music and food trucks alongside the craft stalls.
Your support worker helps you find your way around the stalls, carry bags, manage spending if that's helpful, and chat with makers about their work. Markets are social, colourful, and fun to wander through with someone who enjoys them too.
Experience info
- 2 to 4 hour market visits
- 3:1 support while browsing
- Transport and spending money
- NDIS Core Supports funded
What we include
Each market day covers planning, crowds, spending, transport, conversation and food.
Market planning
Your support worker tracks which markets are running each weekend. They check locations, opening times, and stall lists so you can decide which ones to visit based on what interests you.
Crowd navigation
Popular markets get busy. Your support worker helps you move through the stalls at a comfortable pace, find quieter spots to rest, and circle back to anything you want a second look at.
Spending support
If it's helpful, your support worker can keep track of what you've spent, hold your cash, and check prices so you don't miss something you want.
Transport and bags
Pickup, parking, and drop-off sorted. Your support worker carries bags, wraps fragile purchases, and loads everything into the car so you can keep browsing hands-free.
Maker conversations
Craft markets are a chance to talk to the people who made what you're buying. Your support worker helps start conversations with stallholders and bridges social interactions if that's useful.
Food and breaks
Most markets have food trucks or cafes nearby. Your support worker builds in time for coffee and food, finds seating, and makes sure you stay fuelled while you explore.
On the day
Your support worker picks you up at 10am on a Saturday. The Rose St Market opens at 11 and it's a ten-minute walk from the car park on Brunswick Street. You arrive just as the stalls are finishing setup. The first row is ceramics. You pick up a mug with a textured glaze and the maker tells you she fires everything in her backyard kiln in Yarraville. You put it down and keep walking but come back to it two rows later. Your support worker remembers the stall number. Next is a jeweller making earrings from recycled brass, and a printmaker with botanical illustrations of Victorian native plants. You spend fifteen minutes choosing between two prints. Your support worker holds up both against the light while you decide. After an hour, you've got a tote bag full of purchases. You grab a coffee and a halloumi wrap from the food truck out front and sit on a bench along the laneway. Your support worker snaps a photo of your haul laid out on the bench before you pack it all back into the bag for the drive home.
Who this is for
- People who love browsing handmade ceramics, jewellery, and prints
- Anyone who enjoys weekend markets and the buzz of stall browsing
- Craft enthusiasts who want to talk to makers about their process
- Gift shoppers looking for locally made finds
- People who appreciate design and want to support independent makers
- Anyone who wants a social weekend outing with support
Tell us what kind of handmade goods you love and we'll find markets running this weekend.
NDIS Core Supports funded
What a craft market visit costs, whether it fits your plan, and how to book your first weekend market day.
What it costs
Pricing follows the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. The amount depends on the type of support and whether your market visit falls on a weekday, evening, weekend, or overnight. If you don't have a relevant plan category, you can pay fee-for-service. Cost is always confirmed with you in writing before the experience starts.
Am I eligible?
Craft market and makers fair outings are usually funded under Assistance with Social & Community Participation, a Core Supports category. If your plan includes it, you're covered for Rose St Market, Finders Keepers, and local maker events. A support coordinator can help check, and fee-for-service is available if you don't have a current plan.
Where we work
We're based in Thomastown and cover Greater Melbourne, including the northern, western, and eastern suburbs, for weekend markets and makers fairs. Many respite experiences extend into regional Victoria too, and larger fairs further afield can be planned as an overnight experience.
How to start
Tell us what you like to browse and we'll find markets running near you.
Tell us which market and we'll sort the day.
Tell us what you like to browse and we'll find markets running near you.
Get in Touch