News with a hint of monopoly today … Our beloved hard rubbish treasure chest has had many purposes at ACC, including being used by our playgroups to store special books and activities … and by our crafters to store and sell craft … Now it is in our foyer, full of things to give away.

We often get donations of little things that are not quite op shop fit but could be loved if given the chance.

So next time you are here (particularly with kids) you might like to take a peek inside to see if the random items in our community chest tickle your fancy. You’ll find it in the foyer.

Well that was fun! And exhausting!

Thanks to everyone that came along to the Alphington Open Studios opening on Friday night, our Christmas Makers Market on Saturday, and/or popped in to the Open Studios salon show at ACC right across the weekend. We had great weather and it was just fabulous to see such a cross-section of our community enjoying our facilities.

I will quickly add some pictures below … and include some more next week, with some detailed thankyous etc. then.

But don’t forget the studios are all open this coming weekend as well! Saturday and Sunday 11am-6pm. You can collect a map from ACC this week (or when our salon show opens again on Saturday morning). Isn’t it just great to collectively celebrate our lovely, creative, arty community … it warms the cockles of the heart!

We’ve got a big weekend coming up at ACC with the Christmas Makers Market on Saturday from 10am-1pm, and the Alphington Open Studios event also on.

If you’d like to pop past on Friday night between 5-7pm you can help us celebrate the opening of the salon exhibition at ACC that is part of the Alphington Open Studios weekends. Our salon exhibition includes works from all the artists with their studios open over the next two weekends plus works by other local artists. It should give you a lovely snapshot of what’s on offer … Share a drink with us, admire the art, collect a map (if you haven’t got one in your letterbox already) and then plan to take a neighbourhood walk and visit local artists in their studios over the next two weekends. Find out more here.

Then come back on Saturday morning for our Christmas Makers Market. We have 25 stallholders who have been busy making lovely things. This is a great opportunity for you to buy local and support your neighbours creative endeavours this year for Christmas presents.

We hope you can make it!

Local artist Rose Kulak did an fabulous job this year replacing our Science Week in-person eco-dyeing workshop with a take home kit. Over 20 families collected the kits from us. I know I’ll never look at sour grass (oxalis) now without thinking about the amazing colours it can produce in a dye bath.

As a follow-up Rose has now put together a second kit that is an introduction to contact printing with natural dyes … onion skins, eucalyptus leaves etc. The kit includes all the materials you will need along with a step by step instruction sheet … it will make a wonderful weekend or mid-week project.

If you emailed us previously for one of these kits please pop in and collect it this week. If you haven’t put your name down but would like to collect a kit and have a go please email us here.

And thanks again Rose for sharing your skills. What a great community we live in!

What did you miss the most in lockdown? For me (apart from friends and family of course) it was rifling through others people’s junk! So I am excited to see this garage sale coming up … thanks for sending your flyer through Catriona.