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But wait there's more . . .

Tape and webbing, I did buy some of these and they will be in my Etsy shop next week, once I get some pics and costings done.

Any 3rd grader's dream - a whole shop dedicated to Pom poms!

Zips.

More braids and trims.

And really, it just went on and on . . .

Even outside there were basket loads to sort and pick over.

We bought some of these . . .

. . . thought about some of this . . .

And made this lady very happy when we bought a bunch of her things!

 

 

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Shanghai Notions Market.

Rope handles, raffia straps, webbing, matting, hessian and linen, packed to the rafters in this little stall.

Recycled cork fabric. I am intrigued by this and am seeing it everywhere at the moment in homewares. I didn't buy any or even price it but I think I will look further into stocking some of this in the future.

Buttons anyone?

Braids, all stunning, I couldn't decide what to go with so just enjoyed the drooling.

Fluff balls, I really wanted these for bunny tails but I know I can get these in Beijing.

Dance Mums, so many sparkles!

Would you like some rope with that poodle?

 

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Shanghai supplies.

For the boys the weekend of the 12-14th April means the F1 Grand Prix, for me it was an opportunity to hunt out the local fabric markets of Shanghai. Unlike Beijing where there seems to be just one massive fabric market Shanghai seems to have a few. With daughter in tow (she has been brought up on marathon sourcing shopping days) we set off on foot to find the Wholesale Notions Market (Shanghai Tan Shang Xia), it's on Renminbi Lu 388 (Hours: Daily, 8:30am – 5:30pm Neighborhood: South Bund, Xin Bei Men).

 

If you do get to Shanghai and want to find the place this is how we got there:

We stay in the "old town" part of Shanghai (New Harbour apartments on Yongshu Lu - cheap and cheerful, which saves a bit of cash that I can use to splurge at the markets) so all we had to do is walk East along Jinling Rd and then take a street right (we used Sichuan South Rd) to Renmin Rd. Here you come to a big intersection. We accidentally crossed over and then turned left. This took us past a lot of small shops selling all manner of cool "stuff" but not what we wanted. If you have the time, certainly explore over this side of Renmin Rd as there were still some great shops. However if you want to make a beeline for the real notions market make a left at the intersection before crossing over. You then just need to walk about 400m and you will find the market. You won't miss it as there are vendors out on the street with baskets upon baskets of buttons, braids and notions for sale and this is before you even start on the inside!

 

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Getting the handmadesource blogging.

I am finally getting handmadesource blogging. I am not sure how well this grand plan is going to work with all the frustrations of Chinese Internet restrictions. But with the weather warming up I can now ride to hubby's work more often and use the Internet there. They go through an Aussie server so all should be achievable.

For those of you who have only just touched on me through this new blog, you can see my Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/handmadesource

You can also find me on Facebook The handmadesource

I will try to use te blog to not only display new goodies I have found, but also some background about where I find them, some back stories about our crazy life in Beijing and anything else I find that rounds out the handmaidbyhelenhedding and handmadesource ventures. hh

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