If you’re in need of a unique gift idea for Christmas this year, look no further than the locally-crafted goods and accessories on offer at Kinglake Creative. Launched in October 2021, Kinglake Creative is a not-for-profit group that prides itself on its dedication to the community through the sale of products made from local items by local artists.
The community collective provides more than sixty artworks plus an extensive range of other handcrafted pieces sourced almost exclusively from Kinglake and surrounds. Kinglake Creative Director Georgina Beausang said the shop was founded from a desire to provide a community centred outlet from which local designers and artists could benefit from selling their wares.
“We noticed living in Kinglake that we have such an abundant range of creators, whose work is amazing, and we wanted to create a collective outlet, central to much of the community, where our artists can sell their pieces. Kinglake Creative is a wonderful place for both locals and visitors to the area can see so much local talent in one place,” she said.
“We are not-for-profit, run by the community for the community and we take a small commission to cover our rent.”
Available to purchase is a multitude of items including various types of jewellery, pottery, bath bombs, soaps, candles, pyrography, and floral works, as well as paintings covering different genres and styles.
“I have all local artists where possible, but if there’s something incredible that I can’t source locally then I will go a bit further afield,” Ms Beausang said.
Coming into Christmas, the hope of the Kinglake Creative artists is to encourage locals in the surrounding region to support homegrown creative talent when looking for gifts.
“Our Kinglake Creative artists recently participated in the Kinglake Art Show, which the shop sponsored. We want to find ways to support the community, and we would like to thank the community for the support we have been given since our inception, they have been very generous.
“All the proceeds bar our rent goes back to the makers and we’ve taken over $200,000, which is pretty incredible for a small little shop in Kinglake. We hope the appreciation for what we do here continues to grow in 2024.”
Kinglake Creative is open 10am to 4pm seven days a week during December, and 10am to 4pm Wednesday to Sunday for the remainder of the year and is located at 2/6 Whittlesea-Kinglake Road. The Kinglake Creative team look forward to welcoming you.
