The Big Design Market returns in 2013 to the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne from 6-8 December, offering visitors a world of independent design.

We are currently witnessing a revolution in the way that people shop. The tide has turned from malls, mass-prod­uction, labels that read ‘Made In China’, and megastores. For the first time in decades, people have wised up to their impact on their planet, are informed, concerned and ethical, and buying with their conscience as well as their wallets.

This is what makes The Big Design Market unique in the world. Free to get in, this visionary pop-up event, curated by visual artist and designer Simon Obarzanek, allows people to connect with 215 of the best independent designers from Australia and overseas.

There are wide aisles, lounging areas, food from some of Melbourne’s favourite eateries, and award-winning craft beer from 2Brothers Brewery. There’s coffee, a Mag Nation magazine stop, and workshops with Beci Orpin and Georgie Cummings. Children can design their own button badge, build with Planks from Green Hat Workshops or weave a star with Maryann Talia Pau.

Eco-smart designers at The Big Design Market include up-cyclers Mabel jewellery, made by an industrial dumpster diver from Hobart and Upcyclette, who turn skateboards into sunglasses and Swiss Army blankets into handbags. Trunk & Orderly use vintage factory machinery to produce modern suitcases, and Otto and Spike use knitting machines from the 1890s for their textiles.

The calibre of the project has attracted influential designers who usually confine themselves to galleries, such as illustrator Beci Orpin, jeweller/artist Kate Rhode, and design establishment such as Craft Victoria, RMIT, the Adelaide-based Jam Factory, and Heide Museum of Modern Art who produce limited edition products in collaboration with Mirka Mora, Fiona Hall and Del Kathryn Barton.

With a vast range of brilliant wares, from Papillionaire bikes and Zaishu’s Ash Keating stools, to Limedrop clothing, Kip &Co bedding and Japanese Nanoblock building kits, The Big Design Market is a rare Christmas shopping opportunity for those who place value on quality, originality and ethical production.

The Big Design Market
Friday 6, Saturday 7 & Sunday 8 December 2013
Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
Free Admission
thebigdesignmarket.com