On a somewhat dreary overcast Saturday recently, I took the opportunity to visit the Carseldine Markets, located on what used to be the university campus.

This was to be merely a reconnaissance mission, I was not intending to buy but wanted to see what was available. Hence the fold up shopping bag, just in case👍.

Meandering around the markets, I was really impressed with the friendly, non pushy manner of the stall holders. Throughout my visit, I chatted to about ten of the stall holders, not buying anything but finding out information on their products. For me, I really did enjoy that no-one tried to force their wares on me, but they were more than happy to give out a business card and have a chat. This certainly makes for an awesome atmosphere!

The bonus for the stall holders here, is that I now know where to go when I need something they have, plus I’m happy to tell everyone else where to go and who to visit. Win, win all round😄.

Talent abounds here. This isn’t a market full of stalls with cheap imported products. The variety of handcrafts is quite impressive.

Take a photo of your pet, and you can have Vicki personalise you a Pampered Pets Portrait painting. Or any photo to Lazy Larry and he will personalise you a wooden chopping board with your photo laser engraved. Or you can have that special occasion wine glass or bottle sandblasted at Blasted by Deb. if you love your honey, visit Karl at Queensland Pure Honey then take it home to enjoy whilst relaxing on the new pallet furniture you purchased at Pallet Shenanigans.

The list and the opportunities here are endless. The planning into the setup of these markets should also be commended. There’s a huge international food court area, an arts and crafts area, plus another separate area with your fresh foods.

My forward thinking in taking the foldup bag paid off. This assisted with the purchase of a couple of fresh foods, including 4 large strawberry punnets for $5. Still somewhat difficult to carry around, some strawberries did become a little squashed. Although I should mention, no strawberries were deliberately harmed in the making of this blog😄.

Others had mentioned that at times the areas can become busy and hard to navigate. On the day I went, it wasn’t a problem at all. Being an early riser probably helps too as I did notice it was starting to get busier when I left around 8am. Plenty of parking around and no entry fee….what more could you ask.

Take a visit sometime when you have a spare Saturday morning, it is definitely worth a look. I’m definitely going back, especially now I know what is there!