Cancellation of the Annual Needlecraft Sale and Bazaar

Filed under Events, Vintage and Value Enterprises by on April 30, 2012 at 3:41 pm {no comments}

Hello there,

I had planned to start this piece with “Have we got a sale for you!”, but that’s not the case. I think it was someone famous who wrote about “the best laid schemes o’ mice and men” and our best laid plans came unstuck when the heavens opened up the other week.

Like so many buildings in Sydney, our loved Dulcie Johnston Hall has significant damage and without the hall we cannot have the Annual Needlecraft Sale and Bazaar.

This has been a big disappointment to the organizers and management at Achieve Australia, however, with me being the eternal optimist, we will work out a program to bring you, our dear readers, some of these treasures.

So if you know of any person who had planned to visit this Saturday 5th May, please tell them that it is cancelled. However, the Fabric Cave, Needlecraft Emporium, Second-hand Bookshop, Pre-loved Clothing and garden nurseries are still operating as usual.

It would be great to receive written recounts of your experiences of past Vintage and Value sales and fetes for the book currently being written in celebration of the 60 years of Achieve Australia. Please send them to Sunita Menezes at smenezes@achieveaustralia.org.au.

Until next time, best wishes,

Jo

Getting ready for the Annual Needlecraft and Bazaar Sale

Filed under Events, Vintage and Value Enterprises by on April 13, 2012 at 10:05 am {2 comments}

Hello there!

Planning for our Annual Needlecraft and Bazaar Sale is full on at the moment and we hope it will be a great occasion! The sale will be on Saturday 5 May and I will be writing more details about it shortly. All I can say is, we have an amazing collection of all kinds of treasures and no one will be disappointed by their visit.

Unfortunately for those who have lined up for a cup of Scott’s coffee from the Coffee Cart over the past nine years, Scott won’t be joining us this year. He is heading interstate that weekend to judge the coffee at the 2012 Melbourne International Coffee Expo. However, he is leaving us some super coffee and a recipe that he says will make a great cup of coffee that everyone will enjoy. Decaffeinated as well!

In the meantime, we have our 50% off Fabric Sale on Monday 16 April and Friday 20 April from 9am to 2pm. This event is not to be missed!

We had a call from a lady recently, who lives on the other side of Sydney, with a donation offer of a collection of needlecraft from three generations. She needs time to pack it up, which will be in a few weeks time. With her location being so far from Ryde, it makes us so grateful for people like her who have us in their thoughts.

On top of that, during the same week we received a letter from a dear lady in Victoria who is now 87 and doesn’t do tapestry any longer. She has a donation of tapestry wools to send us.

This kindness and generosity of people, of all ages and wonderful life experiences really makes us very humble. I can only say that we treasure every donation and work really hard to present it well. Our supporting customers appreciate our efforts and understand, as our donors do, that all our funds go towards services for people with disability.

Donations that we are unable to use immediately are stored, then packaged and priced for selling as required. However, we need more large storage boxes. Should you be finished with that nice plastic box at home, or should you wish to buy one to donate, we would be very grateful.

Before I finish up, I wanted to let you know that we are currently looking for more volunteers in the garden areas and second hand bookshop. Should you be interested (and we’d love to have you), please complete the volunteer interest form or call the head office on 02 9034 1600 and ask for the Volunteers Coordinator. Maybe you, your friend or even the love of your life may enjoy working with us!

Until next time,

Best wishes, Jo.

Keeping Busy at the V&V

Filed under Vintage and Value Enterprises by on February 8, 2012 at 9:43 am {no comments}

Hello there!

Happy new year to all our readers. May this year be everything you could wish for.

We have been busy at the Vintage and Value Enterprises, with some people visiting from country areas and some from outer suburbs who are on holidays.

We have had some marvellous donations, from beautiful linen for the ‘Lines of Linen’ stall at the May 2012 Annual Needlecraft Sale and Grand Bazaar, to the big bag of wonderful bugle beads. We have a great range of fabrics in the Fabric Cave and all kinds of treasures in the Needlecraft Emporium. The Folly Nursery team has just about finished potting up a large donation of propagated plants. The Bookshop once again has full shelves. To top it all off, the Pre-Loved Clothing store has really benefitted from people buying something new to wear for Christmas.

Thank you to all who have helped to make our New Year trading off to a flying start. Talking about flying starts, we do take bookings for groups to visit the Needlecraft Emporium and Fabric Cave for a pre-arranged time. To organise, you can contact us on (02) 8878 3353 during our trading hours or you can leave a message on the answering machine.

Our trading hours are as follows:

Monday and Friday – 9am to 2pm

First Sunday of the month – 9am to 12noon

Now I’m going to do something that I hardly ever do – that is to talk about one of our children. Our Vicki is with Achieve Australia’s Day Programs. She always loved using my camera, but the old roll in film and developing was not practical for her to have her own camera. This changed with the new digital cameras. We got a staff member to buy a suitable one that she could be taught to use. After this was done, Vicki then took some great shots, but alas – the camera went missing. A couple of months later, we were involved in a meeting to discuss what Vicki would like to do during the year and the camera story came up. From that discussion, a group of five people were linked to some students at the University of Western Sydney. These young students raised the money for five cameras and off they went! Going on outings all over Sydney to take photos, these outings were a joy to the university students and participants like Vicki. They took some great shots, all independently, and the best have been chosen for a calendar Achieve Australia has printed. Desk and wall calendars are available for $16.00 at the Vintage and Value Enterprises and Achieve Australia head office in Eastwood.

The pictures are just marvelous, but my favourites are ‘Parramatta River’ by Alex Roustan, followed by ‘Fagen Park’ by Graham Ransley and lastly ‘Palm Beach’ by Vicki McKerrell. This shot of Vicki’s reminds me of a Jeffrey Smart painting. But all the photographs are really splendid. The calendar is called ‘The Good Life As I See It’ and these pictures are just so good as showing the good things in life.

Until next time,

Jo

Season’s Greetings from Vintage and Value Enterprises

Filed under Vintage and Value Enterprises by on December 23, 2011 at 11:30 am {no comments}

Hello there!

What a marvelous time of year! So busy; all the cooking, all the present buying and wrapping, all the planning, all the wonderful foods to choose from. For those dear readers who, like me, have their childhood memories of Christmas during the Second World War, we can only delight in the society we live in today. We are indeed blessed.

Talking about blessings, we have had some wonderful donations. The Folly Nursery is really busy, the Needlecraft Emporium and Fabric Cave have a vast range of treasures, the Second Hand Bookshop is full of great reading for everyone and Pre-Loved Clothing will probably have something for you as well.

Throughout January our trading will continue as usual, except for Boxing Day (Monday 26th December 2011) and the first Sunday of the New Year (Sunday 1st January 2012). For those on holidays, we will be open on Monday 2nd January 2012.

We have had a most successful year and would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the people who donate treasures so generously, our wonderful hard-working volunteers and our much-appreciated supporters who come and purchase items from the Vintage and Value Enterprises. Remember, all of the funds go straight to Achieve Australia. Without these three groups, nothing would be possible.

We wish you and your families a happy and merry Christmas and may the New Year bring you all peace, prosperity and joyful times.

Jo

 

Vintage and Value Enterprises getting ready for Christmas

Filed under News, Vintage and Value Enterprises by on December 2, 2011 at 4:16 pm {no comments}

Jo McKerrell has the latest update about the Vintage and Value Enterprises at Belmore Street, Ryde and all the exciting things happening in the lead up to the festive season.

Hello there!

Our 56th Annual Crowle Fete was a success on such a beautiful day. There were visitors who come every year and some parents who brought their children along to show them the fete they went to when they were young. Fifty-six years is a long time for a voluntary effort to continue, but in this busy, changing world, it is a good thing to have a long-standing custom. One of the big attractions is the fact that all money raised goes directly to Achieve Australia and this is a reflection on the hard work and interest the volunteers undertake.

Christmas will soon be upon us – the magic of the season and the beginning of a new year. The Vintage and Value Enterprises at Crowle Home will be trading all through December and January, except for Monday 26 December, which is Boxing Day and Sunday 1 January, which is our usual 1st Sunday of the month trading day. However, the Needlecraft Emporium and Fabric Cave will be open on Monday 2 January from 9am to 2pm.

Talking about Christmas, have you thought about a special present from one of the Vintage and Value Enterprises? For the past few years, I have been able to find the most wonderful presents, especially in the Second-hand Bookshop where you will find books in almost new (if not new) condition on a huge range of subjects. Tucked away in Laurel Grove is another bookshop full of gardening and cookery books, all at a bargain price. Some of them are a collector’s delight and many of them are new and could possibly be given as a gift. The Folly and Laurel Grove Nursery both have a range of plants for gift giving and the Pre-Loved Clothing store has handbags, belts and scarves, which all make a welcome gift.

At this moment, the Needlecraft Emporium has Christmas stockings and panels at half their usual price – you still have time to do just a little bit of sewing to complete the stockings and a panel to decorate your home or give as a gift. The fantastic Fabric Cave has just had a big donation of the most wonderful cotton floral fabrics. They really have the best range of fabrics for so many uses and at amazingly low prices. It gives the volunteers a real thrill when someone comes in to show us a garment they have made from fabric from our Fabric Cave.

This year, we have had group visits come by bus or train from the Southern Highlands, Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley, Ettalong, Newcastle and from more local guild and patchwork groups. We enjoy these visits and we have also had customers have come from every capital city in Australia. Two customers have even come from overseas; one from Kenya and the other from London!

Until next time,

Jo

The Fete is Quickly Approaching!

Filed under Events, Vintage and Value Enterprises by on November 1, 2011 at 4:24 pm {no comments}

Here is the next installment from Jo McKerrell about the Annual Crowle Fete:

It is now only a few days until our Annual Crowle Fete and it is all looking good!

There have been a few changes from last year. For example, the Garden Stall has relocated to the Laurel Grove, which is the nursery area near the main gates in Belmore Street.

I really wanted to tell you about the treasures that will be in the Dulcie Johnston Hall. We have Judith McKeon’s enchanting craft items, a Jewellery Stall with a wonderland of necklaces and earrings, a collection of dolls, beautiful scarves of many fabrics and colours and gloves for dressing up.  There are also handkerchiefs of linen and cotton and, to my delight, four small, coloured crepe de chine hankies, (which are quite rare) that were used to colour an outfit by being displayed in a top pocket or tucked into belts.

To add to the interest in the Hall area, we have our antique and fine china display. There are some beautiful pieces, including an almost complete Shelly tea set and one of the prettiest Doulton rose bowls you can imagine.

The Cake Stall will be in the kitchen area of the Hall. We are welcoming cake donations from keen bakers to drop off their goods to the Needlecraft Emporium, Fabric Cave or Hall anytime this Friday 4 November. This stall is always quite popular, so they are expecting to sell fast!

A huge donation to the Needlecraft Emporium and Fabric Cave has kept the volunteers very busy and we now have a wonderful collection of goods ready for the fete. Even if you are not a person who enjoys crafts or sewing, you should take a look at these unique enterprises.

The Bookshop and Pre-Loved Clothing stores have both received generous donations as well and they have a lot of bargains to offer.

Adding to these attractions will be the usual Annual Crowle Fete happenings, making it a great day out for the whole family. Hopefully, we’ll have fine weather!

Best wishes,

Jo

Annual Crowle Fete – Donations for Cake Stall

Filed under Events, Vintage and Value Enterprises by on October 28, 2011 at 2:04 pm {no comments}

We are looking for generous people to bake biscuits, scones or cakes for us to sell at the Annual Crowle Fete to raise funds for people with disability.

If you are able to contribute, please leave your baked goods at the Needlecraft Emporium, Fabric Cave or in the Hall at 76 Belmore Street, Ryde NSW on Friday 4 November 2011.

Thank you for your support and we hope to see you there!

 

Event Details:

Annual Crowle Fete

Saturday 5 November 2011

8:30am – 3pm

76 Belmore Street, Ryde NSW

02 9034 1600

 

 

Introducing our Vintage and Value Enterprises

Filed under Vintage and Value Enterprises by on October 19, 2011 at 4:36 pm {no comments}

A long-serving volunteer, Jo McKerrell will be writing a series of blogs about fundraising at the Vintage and Value Enterprises at Achieve Australia’s Crowle Home in Ryde, NSW.

She will include information about the exciting happenings leading up to the Annual Crowle Fete on Saturday 5 November 2011.

 

Hello there!

Dear reader, this is a really amazing time for me. I am absolutely technology illiterate and can’t even manage a mobile phone – let alone the internet! However, I am absolutely in awe of this blogging concept and I am full of admiration for the patient person at head office who is trying to explain to me how all this works!

Fundraising through the years at Crowle Home has been an amazing journey, illustrating the very best of human nature. There have been over 60 years of constant fundraising activity, including functions of all kinds, with no other aim than to raise funds for services for people with disability.

At Crowle, the general philosophy was always to be clever with marketing, scrounge whatever was needed and spend the absolute minimum to raise interest and attract supporters. During all these years, success in every endeavour is something we can take pride in and it is all thanks to the human spirit of our generous donors, supporters who come to events and the incredible volunteers.

Today’s set up of the nurseries and bookshop within our Vintage and Value Enterprises are the result of our early Annual Crowle Fete days. Due to the large extent of plants and generous donations of books, it soon became difficult to transport items before and after the fete, so we decided to establish space for it all onsite.

Originally, plants for the Annual Crowle Fete were grown in someone’s backyard in jam tins and prune tines (plastic pots weren’t widely available) and then moved over to Crowle in many big truckloads. About 20 years ago, we established the two nurseries and started selling them every Friday. Around the same time we started up the second-hand bookshop, which saved us from moving a substantial amount of books once or twice a year!

The Needlecraft Emporium and Fabric Cave came about somewhat differently. Fourteen years ago, we were given a very generous donation of needlecraft items and were told to “sell it”! This we did at a highly successful sale, which later became an annual event. We then started trading every Friday in another garage onsite. We now also open the doors to the Needlecraft Emporium and Fabric Cave on Mondays.

The pre-loved clothing store was established only a few years ago when the Needlecraft Emporium and Fabric Cave were relocated.

Next time I ‘blog’, I will tell you all about the wonderful treasure trove of items and attractions we will be featuring at the fete.

So open your diary and keep Saturday 5 November from 8:30am – 3pm free for the Annual Crowle Fete!

 

Until then, best wishes,

Jo

Accessibility Widget

  • A  A  A  A
    •  
    Recent Comments Tags

    Achieve Australia on Twitter

    Achieve Australia On Facebook

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter

    Watch Achieve TV

    Support