Jenan Taylor
11 July 2023
A Melbourne church has strengthened its wider community links through its makers’ market.
Treasures and Tastes at Trinity market in Surrey Hills has helped the area’s creators, artists and growers unveil their offerings for 15 years.
Holy Trinity warden Di Weetman said the parish of Surrey Hills and Montrose took over the market from a Presbyterian church congregation whose aging members were no longer able to run it.
Ms Weetman said it has been a major fundraiser for the parish since then, helping to support its general functioning, and programs including its youth group and the monthly kids’ church.
But she said the market’s main value was in outreach and bringing the community together.
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Held in the church hall and around its grounds, the monthly market has a cafe run by barista-trained church members and community volunteers, as well as a barbecue. Then there are its stalls.
Some months the market had up to 50 of them, Ms Weetman said.
She said stallholders were there to promote their established businesses or indulge their creative side, but many came for the social connection and community.
“Many of them know one another, and it’s very chatty. In the café we offer soup in winter, another lady does crepes. It’s a great atmosphere,” Ms Weetman said.
She said the market drew huge support from the area’s people, including neighbourhood groups who always stopped by for coffee on the market days.
Market coordinator Natasha Kuperman said the word patrons most often used to describe it was ‘lovely’.
Ms Kuperman said while church members plied visitors with sponge cakes, scones and chai tea, the stallholders’ offerings drew plenty of interest.
“There are soap makers, candle makers. There’s knitting and personalised embroidery. One woman makes copper foil glass, another weaves her own scarves, there are artists and photographers. Some people bring fresh produce like eggs and honey, and more,” she said.
Ms Kuperman is not a Holy Trinity member, but a local who followed Treasures and Tastes market through social media.
She was exploring the possibility of becoming a stallholder, but then grabbed the coordinator role instead.
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Ms Kuperman said for many people the market was an opportunity to have an outing with their families.
“It’s very intergenerational, you’ll often see people there with their kids and grandkids. And it’s really just a nice place to catch up with friends. I see Facebook comments from people like, ‘Oh, we’re meeting next month at Trinity’, or ‘Look it’s back on!’ They love chatting to the store holders. And having that community connection,” Ms Kuperman said.
She said it was also popular with traders in the Surrey Hills and Mont Albert retail precinct, an area that experienced a decline when railway level crossing issues diverted traffic away.
“It’s helped build good relationships with traders, because it brings people to the area. So we feel that it’s giving back to our retail community as well. It is a nice regular activity in a nice space that appeals to a wide audience,” Ms Kuperman said.
Ms Weetman said it was a boon to have volunteers and others interested in helping with the market now that Holy Trinity congregants were beginning to slow with age.
“We have lots of people who aren’t church members that come and help to set it all up and pack it up at the end of the day,” she said. “To be able to have such support is wonderful.”
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