Canberra is a wonderful city surrounded by mountains and filled with sweeping nature reserves and of course, is home to one of the best Canberra markets – Handmade Canberra! Today we celebrate Canberra Day 2022 by showcasing some of our most favourite Canberra themed products that celebrate all of the things that make Canberra such a fantastic city to live.
What is Canberra Day?
For those of you who perhaps don’t know, Canberra day is held on the second Monday in March each year and is a public holiday in the ACT to commemorate Canberra’s official founding in 1913. At midday on the 12th of March 1913 Lady Denman, the wife of Governor-General Lord Denman, officially gave the city the name “Canberra” after selecting it from almost 750 suggested names!
Meet our Makers from the Canberra Region
Irene Tan is the name behind the iconic Canberra brand Miss Minzy . Irene is an artist and illustrator that is all about fabulous colourful, bold, whimsical and quirky fun designs. Her current style is inspired by all things Australiana and surface pattern design.
Anna Sutherland is a textile designer and screen printer based in Canberra, who is passionate about creating vibrant and unique designs, screen printing intricate patterned lengths of fabric and tea-towels with a retro influence.
Glenn Martin is an award winning Canberra based photographer specialising in the landscape and architecture of Canberra and Australia. Glenn’s photographic prints are created on the highest quality photographic papers and are available in a number of different sizes and colours to fit with your décor. They make the perfect Canberra gift.
MayFred Jewels makes lasting sentimental jewellery in her Canberra based studio, by combining natural high grade crystals with quality 14k gold filled and sterling silver metals. From birthstones to colourful crystal combos, each piece is uniquely handcrafted and designed to be meaningful to each wearer, featuring charms that are stamped by hand.
Eggpicnic is a Canberra prints studio devoted to wildlife conservation. They produce fine art prints capturing the beauty of the natural world with the hope of inspiring others to protect it. Their work actively supports conservation programs in Australia.
Kate’s Bombs takes hot chocolate to the next level! Such a fun twist on hot chocolate plus different sizes and flavours – so much choice. Whether you are looking for one to take home for yourself, a family pack or a beautifully curated gift box, Kate’s Bombs has it all.
Leafy Sea Dragon loves to celebrate Canberra and surrounding regions urban landscapes and diverse culture through a range of unique artistic products. The Leafy Sea Dragon range includes digital lino prints, t-towels, t-shirts, cards, posters, jigsaws, fridge magnets, books and calendars.
The Canberra Distillery handcraft fine spirits from only essential, raw ingredients. They are a small batch distillery with a passion for local flavours and the creative process. Because they are unconstrained by the need to produce volume, they channel their time and energy into quality. They never fail to get excited with the possibilities inherent in the raw ingredients of water, yeast and energy (grains, spices, fruit & sugar). All products are manufactured and bottled in Canberra.
Hue Lane believes there is an inner creative in us all and they delight in how colour and design can lift moods and spread happiness. They want to make it easy for people to express their own love of colour and design through beautiful accessories and homewares. Inspired by travel and nature the designs are originally painted by Clare Mazitelli with a mixture of watercolours and acrylics creating beautiful painterly textures.
We have so many talented Canberran designers in our midst head. You’ll find them all in our Australian Made Directory.
We hope that you have had a wonderful day celebrating all that you love about Canberra.