Meet the woman behind Bowerbird - Adelaide’s high-flying design market
JANE Barwick is the creative force behind Bowerbird Bazaar, a three-day biannual showcase of work by innovative Australian designer/makers that lets the public in on the process of creation and the stories that emerge from it, writes Gordon Kanki Knight.
JANE Barwick is the creative force behind Bowerbird Bazaar, a three-day biannual showcase of innovative designer/makers that lets the public discover original pieces with interesting stories, writes Gordon Kanki Knight
NEW CITIES, NEW DIRECTIONS I’m a jack-of-all-trades. I first studied recreation, planning and management – I think I was keeping my options open! I did some community work, hospitality, then publishing, and it was through publishing that I went to London. I was doing some work over there in picture research when I decided to do a diploma in Art and Design at RMIT in Melbourne.
3D DESIGN I thought I’d go into graphic design, but I ended up more interested in three dimensions. I was in Melbourne for about nine years. Over there, I had my own range of (jewellery) work – and started up jewellery label inSync Design with a friend.
HOMEWARD BOUND Melbourne just became a bit too much – traffic, parking and things like that. I enjoy visiting Melbourne, but a quieter life is appealing and you can get that in Adelaide. I was born in the US but I’ve been in Adelaide since I was three.
CENTRE STAGE As a jeweller, I recognised South Australia needed a platform for local makers to be able to sell their work and also for people from interstate to be able to bring their work here. And taking part in events as a stallholder gave me an awareness of what I’d like to see at an event.
HAVE YOU GOT THAT IN BLUE? There’s a lot of benefit in not having a retailer between you and the customer. You’ll often have people ask “Do you have that in blue?” or “Do you have that with a handle?” so having a stall can influence your product range. It’s great to be able to speak directly to people who are interested in your work.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE MARKET When we started, there wasn’t a culture of design markets in Adelaide. At first, people came thinking it was a “market” and there were comments about work being expensive. But there’s been an educative process – taking part in workshops, seeing people make and talking to designers.
PRODUCTS WITH SOUL I think it’s really important that you can find something unique, one-off and handmade at Bowerbird – I think there’s a soulfulness in that and meaning. Hearing the story behind each piece and meeting the person who designed it adds another dimension. It’s the antidote to buying things that are mass-produced.
GETTING AWAY I would like to be doing something creative again, but I’m not sure if it’ll be jewellery. I like painting, I like textiles, but I’ve just bought a little 1950s caravan; that’s going to be my next creative project. It’s only 9 feet (2.7m) long.
ONWARD AND UPWARD Improving on Bowerbird each time is really important to me. Moving (from Stirling Pavilion) to Wayville Pavilion has given us more scope to develop the event – we can have more collaborations, and involve other people and other ideas. Even the food and drinks are now an extension of what we do. This year, we have coffee by Dawn Patrol, Booknook and Bean, Public CBD and Mischief Brew, who are doing an iced coffee. And we’ll have a long bar open throughout the event. We’ve got Petaluma on board, Antipodes Gin, Three Oaks Cider, Prancing Pony, and Fairweather Small Batch will be doing beer tasting.
Bowerbird Bazaar, Wayville Pavilion, Adelaide Showground, Goodwood, November 25-27, Fri 4pm–9pm, Sat-Sun 10am–5pm. Entry $5. Under 12, free, bowerbirdbazaar.com.au