Renegade Handmade Market
A Townsville handmade market that grew out of one potter's search for somewhere to sell, now filling a stadium concourse a few times a year with a permanent shop between events.
About this market
Karissa Chase spent two decades running a pottery business in the United States before moving to Townsville, and when she got here she could not find anywhere for local makers to sell. She started Renegade Handmade Market in 2013 to fix that, and opened a permanent shop in Warrina Arcade at Currajong the following year. The market and the shop have run in parallel ever since.
Two things under one name
The market is the bigger event and the harder one to catch. It runs a few times a year rather than monthly, mostly on the concourse at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, with anywhere from 50 to more than 120 stalls of handmade work from micro-businesses across Townsville and North Queensland. Pottery, earrings, candles, kids' clothing, plants, coffee and food all turn up, entry to the stadium markets is free, and the venues are chosen undercover so a wet season Sunday does not kill the day. A coffee van works the floor. Stallholder applications are screened rather than accepted automatically, which is why the standard holds up across a floor that size.
Market at a glance
The Currajong shop is what makes the model work in a city this size. A maker who sells at three or four market days a year would struggle to build anything on that alone, so the shop carries their work in between, and a visitor who misses a market date can still find the same people's goods on a Tuesday. It sits inside Warrina Arcade alongside Otto's Market Warrina, which means one trip to Illuka Street covers both fresh food and handmade.
Before moving to Townsville, founder Karissa Chase wholesaled her own pottery to more than 75 stores across the United States. The gap she found on arriving here was not in demand for handmade work, but in places for local makers to sell it.
Good to know before you go
Work out which of the two you are actually going to. The shop is the reliable option: seven days, fixed address, fixed hours, and the hours panel on this page covers it. The market is the event, and it needs a date check first, because there is no weekly or monthly rhythm to fall back on and the venue changes. Stadium market days run 8am to 1pm and are worth arriving early for, since a 120-stall floor takes real time to walk and the popular makers sell through. Parking at the stadium is free on market days. For the Currajong shop, Warrina Arcade has its own car park off Illuka Street. This is Wulgurukaba and Bindal country.
Frequently Asked Questions
- When is the next Renegade Handmade market?
- Market days run a few times a year rather than to a weekly pattern, mostly at Queensland Country Bank Stadium from 8am to 1pm. Check the operator's own site or social channels for the next date.
- Is the Currajong shop open between markets?
- Yes. The shop inside Warrina Arcade trades seven days a week, weekdays 9am to 4pm and weekends 9am to 3pm, stocking work from local makers year round.
- How much does it cost to get in?
- The stadium markets are free to enter. The larger Mega Market at Murray Stadium has charged a small entry fee of $2.