October 17, 2024 • 12 mins
The Tasmanian Craft Fair is the largest display, sale and working demonstration of all types of crafts in the Southern Hemisphere, held annually in Deloraine in Tasmania's north.
In this episode of iHeart Tassie, Olivia Hicks takes a look at the popular event which kicks off on November 1.
How has the craft fair grown and changed over the years? Why is it so popular? And what impact has it had on the Tasmanian economy?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
I Heartasi.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
The Tasmanian Craft Fair is the largest display, sale and
working demonstration of all types of crafts in the Southern Hemisphere,
held annually in Dela Rain in Tasmania's north. This year
the fair has around two hundred and thirty exhibitors from
right across Tasmania and into state. In this episode of
Our Heart Tasi, we take a look at the popular
(00:25):
event which kicks off on November one. How has the
event grown and changed over the years, why is it
so popular and what does the event do for the
Tasmanian economy. I'm Olivia Hicks and this is iHeart Tassi.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
I Heart Tasi.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
I My gifts Homewhere is an art made out of
Tasmanian specialty timbers like sassafras, myrtle, blackwooden, hue and pine.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
That's Hobart woodworker Matt Grocott. He's the owner of Black
Heart Tasmania Woodwork, which he launched four years ago during
the COVID nine pandemic. Twenty twenty three was the first
time showing his hand crafted pieces at the fair and
it exceeded all expectations to be accepted.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Back is a huge validation of what I do. That's
a huge event with highly skilled makers and creators coming
from all over Australia, so it's definitely a really nice
little pat on the back just to get in. Being
my first year was a huge boost to my morale
and great fun meeting and talking to so many customers
and also the other craft.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
People spanning right across the quaint Tasmanian town of Delaraine.
The fair has received high praise from makers and artisans
alike across the country and those in the craft scene
make sure not to miss the iconic event. The fair,
run by the Rotary Club of Delaarrain, focuses to celebrate
and nurture high quality artists and makers across a broad
(01:50):
range of crafts, both traditional and contemporary. You are encouraged
to show their works being created at the fair.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Two hundred and thirty exhibitors spread across for Venue one
is our main venue. It's where our premium exhibitors are
and the same as the last forty three years that
we've been running the carts there.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
We've got local people.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Seventy eighty percent of our exhibitors are from Tasmania. There's potters,
there's artists, there's textiles, there's timber people, high end artisans.
So Venue one's our main one and then Venue two
is at the showgrounds. Venue three is a road free
park and venue falls the end of Valley Performing Arts Center,
(02:32):
with the last two Roadtrey Park and the Performing Art
Center being free venues. You don't have to pay to
get in.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
That's fair. Director Michael Plunkett, who says this is event
has a hands on focus with a range of workshops
and master classes.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
We've got Hannah Maloney who's a presenter with Gardening Australia,
a Tasmanian girl. She's coming up for the weekend on
a Saturday and Sunday and it's doing a series of
master classes for us in our auditorium. Our feature artists
this share is Matthew Sloane from Coppying. He's a sculpture
it's an artist, but he does sculptures in metal and
(03:11):
he builds animals. If you have a look at his
online presence Sloane Sculpture, he's done some amazing stuff and
he's actually making a silent scene for the first time
a Tasi tiger for us as part of a commission he's.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
Doing for us for the Craft Fair.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
On top of that, we've got two local indigenous artists
who are emerging artists. They've been supported by the Craft
Fair to display their wares and start sharing some of
their knowledges and some of their artwork from their community,
their local Meander and dell Orain people. And on top
of that, we've got out of our two hundred exhibitors,
(03:50):
I think about forty of them are doing demonstrations and
workshops all through the weekend from the Friday.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
To the Sunday.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
He says. The maker selection process is lengthy.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
We go through a fairly rigorous curating process.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
We want people who.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Make their own craft, their hands on. We encourage our
exhibitors to demonstrate how they do their craft. We've got
the spinners and weavers from Delrayin doing a demonstration on
the Friday. We've got the lay skilled people here. The
local potters from reading Marster coming again this year, and
(04:30):
there'll be an opportunity for everyone to get their hands
thirty and make a pot. Them really popular last year.
The kids come along and they set it a will
make a pot, take it off, put it up there
the sundry and then they get to take it home.
So that's sort of the philosophy where we're trying to
avoid having mass produced stuff. We want craft that's made
(04:52):
by the person who's in the stand, who's the exhibitor,
that can talk about it. They're passionate about it and
they can tell people how and they put their products together.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
In the late nineteen seventies, Delraine experienced in flugs of
artists and crafts people seeking a different lifestyle. The Rotary
president of the time suggested a craft fair as a
way not only to bring the two parts of the
community together, but also to develop an avenue for the
artisans to sell their products. The idea was taken up
(05:23):
by the Rotary Club of Delarain, which started development of
the inaugural event in nineteen eighty one and called it
the Tasmanian Cottage Industry Exhibition and Craft Fair. The fair
boasted thirty four exhibitors and during the two days, attracted
about three thousand people to the local community center. During
the following years, the fair continued to develop and expand
(05:45):
with increased numbers of both exhibitors and attendees. As the
fair grill, it was necessary to find additional space, so
spread throughout various venues around the town and gallery owners
became involved. Cottage industries blossomed to include cheese, wine, liquors
and trifles, and the fair grew to such an extent
that it gained recognition as a major Tasmanian event. Coming
(06:09):
up next on this episode of iHeart Tasi, what does
the event do for the Tasmanian economy?
Speaker 1 (06:16):
I heard Dasi, I Heartasi.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
This year's edition is expected to pump more than three
million dollars into the local economy. Mister Plunkett says many
of the visitors see the Tasmanian Craft Fair as a
great reason to spend a week or more in the state,
which means that every corner of Tasmania benefits. It's a
win win for the talented crafts people as well as
our tourism and hospitality businesses that are the lifeblood for
(06:45):
regional communities. The Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has
called it a showcase for many businesses. This is the
biggest event of the year and with Christmas just around
the corner, it's a great opportunity for Tasmanians and visitors
to shop local. And this year the fair is going
back to its roots.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Initially was three days, it moved to a four day
event in nineteen ninety ninety ninety one and was spent
four days for the next thirty odd years. And it's
now got to a point that we want to basically
go back to three days, to.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
Put everything into three.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Days and do it really, really well, and we think
that's going to be the best way going forwards. But
it's evolved and it's grown and it's embraced. It's got
a lot of support from the local community, a lot
of support from government, a lot of support from council.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Would worker Matt says he's ready to meet the people
and offer an insight into his work.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Do I use a laser or a c and I
guess I should take that as a compliment, but no,
I use a scroll sawer and lots and lots and
lots of pantanning more than computer run machines basically, so
you're only touching the wood when you're putting it on
and taking it off, whereas I use a scroll, which
is and contact for the whole process.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
He says.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
People are drawn to the smell of Tasmania's native Huean pine.
In particular, it's becoming extremely hard to find and is
highly sought after. It's known for its rich gold color
and strong resistance to rot. It can live for thousands
of years, making it one of the most durable and
in demand timbers in Australia. The wood is often used
(08:25):
in everything from fine furniture to boat building, and its
unique oil gives the pieces a distinctive scent.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
So many people comment on the smell of hue and
pine when they walk past my store. But it actually
smells a lot stronger for me when I'm soaring and
standing it, and I'll never gets seager the smell.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
They're all quite different, the smell density and the character
that the sassafrast so different. I've got different things that
I like about each of the timbers. I use the
characteristics of different timbers to bring out different products, likes
chiny as, the birds, eye on the human features of animals,
(09:05):
and then the patterns of the folded sassafras. I use
the stripes and stuff as much as they can to
animals as well.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
According to Timberworld, it's estimated that there are only two
hundred and fifty tons, or about eight log trucks worth
of salvaged hue and pine left. It's neither sensible nor
sustainable to cut down a thousand year old trees, so
Matt reclaims and recycles timber where he can.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Quite a few of the products that I'll have It's
not obvious, but I'm using recycled designing table or a
coffee table that damage that people aren't using anymore, and
I can top it all up and tender back and
make it.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Look brand Newion More than fifteen thousand to ten dees
wolflock to Delraine, and more than half of those are
from outside the Northern region. Mister Plunket says the sites
are easy to access, with extensive parking options and shuttle
busses to take visitors between the fair sites in Dela Raine.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
You're coming from.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Long Seston or coming from Hobart. You drive into town,
you'll come up, you come into Elvison drive, you go
and park your car.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
You walk in.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
If you have a ticket, we will scan you and
get you in as quickly as we can so that
there's no delays. If you need to buy a ticket,
you purchased a ticket, we give you a wristband and
a program and off you go, so you go round
Venue one. When you finish looking at Venue one, A,
D and C, because there's three separate parts to it,
you then jump on the bus, go round to the Showgrounds,
(10:29):
which is Venue two, and have a look at the
building that exhibits from the various displays and presentations there.
Jump back on the bus, go to Venue three, same there,
go to Roachory Park which is a food court, and
then from there get on the bus, go to Venue
four and end up back where you started from. So
the other is you park your car and we then
(10:51):
can move you around. You don't have to don't have
to drive from one point to another. It's all self
contained in that respect. We're trying to make it.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
As easy as possible. The buses are free, you can
get on and off as often as you like.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
We have guides on each of the buses that they're
to answer.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Any questions, and there's also a bumper list of food
and drink producers and entertainment on offer.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
We want people to come and have a really good
day out. It's not just a matter of coming and
having a look at all the exhibitors. It's an opportunity
for people to come and do their Christmas shopping. But
more importantly it's a day out, so we have entertainment.
We have local musicians. We have the Dollray Big Band,
we have the musicians from Saint Patrick's from Lantest and
(11:37):
they all come over the three days. They provide entertainment.
We have all the food is predominantly local and there's
a whole range of foods. We've got Lebanese, We've got Italian,
We've got computer mushrooms, there's a whole range of stuff.
I mean a number of the foodies are from Salamanca
(11:57):
and they come up on the weekend to the copy
so Pellamka Markets is a little bit quid on that weekend.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Profits from the event fund ongoing community projects for the
Rotary Club of Dela Raine. The three day event runs
from November one to three. And that's it for iHeart
Tazzy for this week. If you enjoyed this episode, make
sure to subscribe to the iHeart Tazzi podcast feed on
the iHeart app or wherever you get your podcasts, and
(12:25):
if you'd like, you can leave us a review while
you're there. I'm Olivia Hicks.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Thanks for your company.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
My Heart Tazzy
I Heartasi.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
The Tasmanian Craft Fair is the largest display, sale and
working demonstration of all types of crafts in the Southern Hemisphere,
held annually in Dela Rain in Tasmania's north. This year
the fair has around two hundred and thirty exhibitors from
right across Tasmania and into state. In this episode of
Our Heart Tasi, we take a look at the popular
(00:25):
event which kicks off on November one. How has the
event grown and changed over the years, why is it
so popular and what does the event do for the
Tasmanian economy. I'm Olivia Hicks and this is iHeart Tassi.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
I Heart Tasi.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
I My gifts Homewhere is an art made out of
Tasmanian specialty timbers like sassafras, myrtle, blackwooden, hue and pine.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
That's Hobart woodworker Matt Grocott. He's the owner of Black
Heart Tasmania Woodwork, which he launched four years ago during
the COVID nine pandemic. Twenty twenty three was the first
time showing his hand crafted pieces at the fair and
it exceeded all expectations to be accepted.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Back is a huge validation of what I do. That's
a huge event with highly skilled makers and creators coming
from all over Australia, so it's definitely a really nice
little pat on the back just to get in. Being
my first year was a huge boost to my morale
and great fun meeting and talking to so many customers
and also the other craft.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
People spanning right across the quaint Tasmanian town of Delaraine.
The fair has received high praise from makers and artisans
alike across the country and those in the craft scene
make sure not to miss the iconic event. The fair,
run by the Rotary Club of Delaarrain, focuses to celebrate
and nurture high quality artists and makers across a broad
(01:50):
range of crafts, both traditional and contemporary. You are encouraged
to show their works being created at the fair.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Two hundred and thirty exhibitors spread across for Venue one
is our main venue. It's where our premium exhibitors are
and the same as the last forty three years that
we've been running the carts there.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
We've got local people.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Seventy eighty percent of our exhibitors are from Tasmania. There's potters,
there's artists, there's textiles, there's timber people, high end artisans.
So Venue one's our main one and then Venue two
is at the showgrounds. Venue three is a road free
park and venue falls the end of Valley Performing Arts Center,
(02:32):
with the last two Roadtrey Park and the Performing Art
Center being free venues. You don't have to pay to
get in.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
That's fair. Director Michael Plunkett, who says this is event
has a hands on focus with a range of workshops
and master classes.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
We've got Hannah Maloney who's a presenter with Gardening Australia,
a Tasmanian girl. She's coming up for the weekend on
a Saturday and Sunday and it's doing a series of
master classes for us in our auditorium. Our feature artists
this share is Matthew Sloane from Coppying. He's a sculpture
it's an artist, but he does sculptures in metal and
(03:11):
he builds animals. If you have a look at his
online presence Sloane Sculpture, he's done some amazing stuff and
he's actually making a silent scene for the first time
a Tasi tiger for us as part of a commission he's.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
Doing for us for the Craft Fair.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
On top of that, we've got two local indigenous artists
who are emerging artists. They've been supported by the Craft
Fair to display their wares and start sharing some of
their knowledges and some of their artwork from their community,
their local Meander and dell Orain people. And on top
of that, we've got out of our two hundred exhibitors,
(03:50):
I think about forty of them are doing demonstrations and
workshops all through the weekend from the Friday.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
To the Sunday.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
He says. The maker selection process is lengthy.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
We go through a fairly rigorous curating process.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
We want people who.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Make their own craft, their hands on. We encourage our
exhibitors to demonstrate how they do their craft. We've got
the spinners and weavers from Delrayin doing a demonstration on
the Friday. We've got the lay skilled people here. The
local potters from reading Marster coming again this year, and
(04:30):
there'll be an opportunity for everyone to get their hands
thirty and make a pot. Them really popular last year.
The kids come along and they set it a will
make a pot, take it off, put it up there
the sundry and then they get to take it home.
So that's sort of the philosophy where we're trying to
avoid having mass produced stuff. We want craft that's made
(04:52):
by the person who's in the stand, who's the exhibitor,
that can talk about it. They're passionate about it and
they can tell people how and they put their products together.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
In the late nineteen seventies, Delraine experienced in flugs of
artists and crafts people seeking a different lifestyle. The Rotary
president of the time suggested a craft fair as a
way not only to bring the two parts of the
community together, but also to develop an avenue for the
artisans to sell their products. The idea was taken up
(05:23):
by the Rotary Club of Delarain, which started development of
the inaugural event in nineteen eighty one and called it
the Tasmanian Cottage Industry Exhibition and Craft Fair. The fair
boasted thirty four exhibitors and during the two days, attracted
about three thousand people to the local community center. During
the following years, the fair continued to develop and expand
(05:45):
with increased numbers of both exhibitors and attendees. As the
fair grill, it was necessary to find additional space, so
spread throughout various venues around the town and gallery owners
became involved. Cottage industries blossomed to include cheese, wine, liquors
and trifles, and the fair grew to such an extent
that it gained recognition as a major Tasmanian event. Coming
(06:09):
up next on this episode of iHeart Tasi, what does
the event do for the Tasmanian economy?
Speaker 1 (06:16):
I heard Dasi, I Heartasi.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
This year's edition is expected to pump more than three
million dollars into the local economy. Mister Plunkett says many
of the visitors see the Tasmanian Craft Fair as a
great reason to spend a week or more in the state,
which means that every corner of Tasmania benefits. It's a
win win for the talented crafts people as well as
our tourism and hospitality businesses that are the lifeblood for
(06:45):
regional communities. The Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has
called it a showcase for many businesses. This is the
biggest event of the year and with Christmas just around
the corner, it's a great opportunity for Tasmanians and visitors
to shop local. And this year the fair is going
back to its roots.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Initially was three days, it moved to a four day
event in nineteen ninety ninety ninety one and was spent
four days for the next thirty odd years. And it's
now got to a point that we want to basically
go back to three days, to.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
Put everything into three.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Days and do it really, really well, and we think
that's going to be the best way going forwards. But
it's evolved and it's grown and it's embraced. It's got
a lot of support from the local community, a lot
of support from government, a lot of support from council.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Would worker Matt says he's ready to meet the people
and offer an insight into his work.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Do I use a laser or a c and I
guess I should take that as a compliment, but no,
I use a scroll sawer and lots and lots and
lots of pantanning more than computer run machines basically, so
you're only touching the wood when you're putting it on
and taking it off, whereas I use a scroll, which
is and contact for the whole process.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
He says.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
People are drawn to the smell of Tasmania's native Huean pine.
In particular, it's becoming extremely hard to find and is
highly sought after. It's known for its rich gold color
and strong resistance to rot. It can live for thousands
of years, making it one of the most durable and
in demand timbers in Australia. The wood is often used
(08:25):
in everything from fine furniture to boat building, and its
unique oil gives the pieces a distinctive scent.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
So many people comment on the smell of hue and
pine when they walk past my store. But it actually
smells a lot stronger for me when I'm soaring and
standing it, and I'll never gets seager the smell.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
They're all quite different, the smell density and the character
that the sassafrast so different. I've got different things that
I like about each of the timbers. I use the
characteristics of different timbers to bring out different products, likes
chiny as, the birds, eye on the human features of animals,
(09:05):
and then the patterns of the folded sassafras. I use
the stripes and stuff as much as they can to
animals as well.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
According to Timberworld, it's estimated that there are only two
hundred and fifty tons, or about eight log trucks worth
of salvaged hue and pine left. It's neither sensible nor
sustainable to cut down a thousand year old trees, so
Matt reclaims and recycles timber where he can.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Quite a few of the products that I'll have It's
not obvious, but I'm using recycled designing table or a
coffee table that damage that people aren't using anymore, and
I can top it all up and tender back and
make it.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Look brand Newion More than fifteen thousand to ten dees
wolflock to Delraine, and more than half of those are
from outside the Northern region. Mister Plunket says the sites
are easy to access, with extensive parking options and shuttle
busses to take visitors between the fair sites in Dela Raine.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
You're coming from.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Long Seston or coming from Hobart. You drive into town,
you'll come up, you come into Elvison drive, you go
and park your car.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
You walk in.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
If you have a ticket, we will scan you and
get you in as quickly as we can so that
there's no delays. If you need to buy a ticket,
you purchased a ticket, we give you a wristband and
a program and off you go, so you go round
Venue one. When you finish looking at Venue one, A,
D and C, because there's three separate parts to it,
you then jump on the bus, go round to the Showgrounds,
(10:29):
which is Venue two, and have a look at the
building that exhibits from the various displays and presentations there.
Jump back on the bus, go to Venue three, same there,
go to Roachory Park which is a food court, and
then from there get on the bus, go to Venue
four and end up back where you started from. So
the other is you park your car and we then
(10:51):
can move you around. You don't have to don't have
to drive from one point to another. It's all self
contained in that respect. We're trying to make it.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
As easy as possible. The buses are free, you can
get on and off as often as you like.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
We have guides on each of the buses that they're
to answer.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Any questions, and there's also a bumper list of food
and drink producers and entertainment on offer.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
We want people to come and have a really good
day out. It's not just a matter of coming and
having a look at all the exhibitors. It's an opportunity
for people to come and do their Christmas shopping. But
more importantly it's a day out, so we have entertainment.
We have local musicians. We have the Dollray Big Band,
we have the musicians from Saint Patrick's from Lantest and
(11:37):
they all come over the three days. They provide entertainment.
We have all the food is predominantly local and there's
a whole range of foods. We've got Lebanese, We've got Italian,
We've got computer mushrooms, there's a whole range of stuff.
I mean a number of the foodies are from Salamanca
(11:57):
and they come up on the weekend to the copy
so Pellamka Markets is a little bit quid on that weekend.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Profits from the event fund ongoing community projects for the
Rotary Club of Dela Raine. The three day event runs
from November one to three. And that's it for iHeart
Tazzy for this week. If you enjoyed this episode, make
sure to subscribe to the iHeart Tazzi podcast feed on
the iHeart app or wherever you get your podcasts, and
(12:25):
if you'd like, you can leave us a review while
you're there. I'm Olivia Hicks.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Thanks for your company.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
My Heart Tazzy
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