All posts by Camberwell Sunday Market

Established by Balwyn Rotary in 1976, the Camberwell Sunday Market has become a Melbourne weekend institution. Our market is known for specialty items that are retro, vintage or nostalgic. We love being part of 'old Melbourne' and helping you find things you will find nowhere else. And environmentally friendly - wow - we have been lowering the carbon footprint of Melbourne for years by recycling and reselling second hand items in nearly 400 weekly stall. Discover a Treasure. Discover a Cause. Discover Camberwell.

Meet market stallholder Helen Yang and Camberwell Junction trader Anabela Mangogna

If you’re looking for distinctive and beautifully crafted fashion and accessories, look no further than Camberwell Junction.

Whether you’re searching the stalls of Camberwell’s Rotary Sunday Market or browsing the shelves of Camberwell Junction’s boutique fashion stores, you’re sure to find that special, one-of-a-kind piece.

Camberwell Sunday Market stallholder Helen Yang and Camberwell Junction trader Anabela Mangogna both offer bespoke products across the fashion and accessories category, ensuring you’ll walk away with a piece as individual as you are.

Get to know more about them and their wares below.

Meet Camberwell Sunday Market stallholder Helen Yang

Helen Yang is renowned for creating distinctive accessories in her signature Japanese button style.

Her business B2 Buttons and Beads has been operating a stall at the Camberwell Sunday Market for more than 10 years.

Using traditional Japanese silk fabrics in bright colours and stunning prints, Ms Yang sells a range of products including earrings, hair clips, rings, brooches, magnets, head bands, cards, soft toys and more.

She also uses high-end Japanese Miyuki Delica beads in the beading products and Liberty fabrics from the renowned London department store.

“I love making these things. It allows me to be very creative. And I’m always trying to learn new techniques so I can make new products,” she said.

Ms Yang has recently taken up leathermaking and now offers a collection of handmade leather bags, purses, and pouches. Her signature handbag design features an interchangeable strap which allows the bag to be carried as a backpack or over the shoulder.

“When I buy the leather, I make sure I buy it in Melbourne so I can see it and feel it myself before I buy it. I want to make sure it is authentic,” Ms Yang said.

Ms Yang said she hoped her designs would bring happiness to those who purchased them.

Meet Camberwell Junction trader Anabela Mangogna

Ever since she was little, Anabela Mangogna dreamed of fashion. She dressed her dolls, was fascinated by fashion magazines and loved to dress up in her mum’s jewellery and make-up.

And now she is harnessing that passion in Camberwell Junction at her beautiful clothing and accessories store, Bellite. Learn more here.

Kylie Appreciation Day

To celebrate the homecoming of Camberwell icon Kylie Minogue, we’re hosting a Kylie Appreciation Day on Sunday, October 23 in partnership with Camberwell Junction shopping precinct. On the day you can expect lip-sync performances of Kylie’s greatest hits, Kylie trivia, a fashion parade, a special performance by Melbourne’s most famous Kylie impersonator Millie Minogue, as well as a Kylie look-alike dress-up competition, with prizes to be won. Find out more here: https://bit.ly/3CHYBrA

Discover sustainable fashion at Camberwell

Australians are in the grip of a toxic relationship with fast fashion. Fashion is a great way to express our personalities to the world – and fast fashion is a cheap and easy way to update our looks. Yet fast fashion also comes at a huge cost to the environment.

It has resulted in what’s known as the sustainable fashion movement; a movement that’s being embraced by Camberwell Junction.

Every piece of clothing manufactured has a huge environmental impact. Fast fashion is often produced overseas, in countries that have low environmental standards. A large amount of energy and water goes into its production, and additional carbon is emitted transporting it into Australia and to stores.

Fast fashion is not made to last, which means we buy more of it, more often, exacerbating the problem. Then, the items are sent to landfill, creating another environmental issue.

It’s estimated that every year every Australian acquires and throws out 23 kilograms of clothing and textiles. Ninety per cent of this ends up in landfill.

So bad is fast fashion to the environment that recently clothing textile waste was added to the National Priority Waste List alongside electronics, and plastic oil containers.

The good news is, at Camberwell’s Rotary Sunday Market and the Camberwell Junction shopping precinct, you can still indulge your love of fashion and also be part of the sustainable solution.

Here’s how.

Meet stallholder David Hauswirth and Camberwell Junction trader Tanya Gale

When it comes to antiques, there is no better place to find a rare gem or unique treasure than Camberwell Junction.

Whether you’re hunting the stalls at the Rotary Camberwell Sunday Market for a pre-loved treasure or searching the shelves at Camberwell Antique Centre, there are plenty of incredible items to be found, often with fascinating stories attached to them.

Meet Rotary Camberwell Sunday Market stallholder David Hauswirth

He has been trading from his famous antiques stall at the Rotary Camberwell Sunday Market for more than 15 years, so you could say David Hauswirth knows a thing or two when it comes to collector’s items.

Learn more about stallholder David Hauswirth and Camberwell Junction trader Tanya Gale.

From the President, Balwyn Rotary

How fortunate are we, the current members of the Rotary Club of Balwyn, to have inherited the incredible legacy of the Rotary Camberwell Sunday Market? At the July club Board meeting in 1976 the vote to start a Sunday market at Camberwell junction was tied, six for six against. Charter members, President Jim Hopper and President Elect Fred Gibbs were on the Board. Jim Hopper cast the deciding vote in favour.

Rain, hail or shine: we’ll be there. Rotary volunteers Graeme Bullock (Balwyn) and Tony Nguyen (Canterbury)

The first market on 29/08/1976 was a car boot sale in the Market Pl. car park. Those early days required the club members to start at 5am and finish mid-afternoon. In the forty-five years of trading every Sunday, except for Covid lockdowns, over $20 million has been raised. The ripple effect of our many projects and the projects of other Rotary clubs and community organisations we have supported is enormous.

Paul Coghlan, recently retired supreme court judge and Sunday market tragic, recently regaled us with stories of his thirty-six years of almost weekly attendance. Wearing his faded, once orange cap, a diet coke in hand he followed the same three-hour path starting at the bottom gate with a gold coin donation. The only thing that has changed for Paul is now he has a sit-down coffee with friends and a much quicker walk due to the changing mix of stalls. According to Paul it is the people, stall holders, patrons and Rotarians, that make the market special.

At a recent Board meeting, two Balwyn Centenary Grants were approved (funded from the net proceeds of the Camberwell Sunday Market and the most recent example what the Market supports):

• $25,000 together with existing funds will enable the Inner Melbourne Emergency Relief Network to purchase a van to be used to pick up donated goods and to deliver need goods to those in need. Having their own vehicle will make them much more agile, able to source more quality stock donations and therefore support more people in need in the inner Melbourne municipalities that we service.

• $24,000 to the Rotary Clubs of Central and South Launceston towards their water bore project inTanzania. Note: Funding to be used to install two bores including hydrology survey, drilling hole, testing water quality and volume, casing hole, capping hole and installing hand pump. Installation of 10-20 water bores with hand/manual pumps to provide drinking water for villages of 2,000 –5,000 population in Tarime District of Northern Tanzania, that currently do not have easy access to drinking water. For most of the year women and schoolgirls spend a large part of their day walking up to 10 kilometres per trip to collect water from ephemeral streams and small dams.

ANNE FRUEH
President, Rotary Club of Balwyn
(adapted from the Club Newsletter)