The Secret Itinerary for the Christmas Markets in Munich

Being an occassional seller myself, I do love markets. The Christmas ones in Munich are a real touristic attraction and I still enjoy visiting them eventhough I live here but it is even more fun showing friends from abroad. After 2,5 years in Munich, I have established a sort of itinerary, avoiding the most crowded markets and selecting the more unusual ones.

Here is the photo-tour for you.

Saturday afternoon/evening.

We started at the Schwabinger Weihnachtsmarkt (artistic market at Muenchner Freiheit). The decoration is rather contemporary, the sellers are mostly artists and craft people and there is even  "Tent-Gallery" exhibiting local artists (the quality must judge everyone for themselves). The wares include jewellery, toys, fashion accessories, ceramics or paper goods and more... If you are not too cold, there are even music performances.

If you fancy a cute but slightly oversized mosquito for your garten, then this is your market!

As it can get really cold towards the evening, we can only reccommend a fabulous traditional Bavarian restaurant Zur Brezn , which is only few minutes walk from the market.


Sunday (you don't need to get up too early)

First we visited the small market in the Residence on the Odeonsplatz. The inner square of the former palace of the king is rather spectacular location. The market proved to be a real hit with my friends as they managed to buy little presents just about for anyone. This market represent the "traditional" one and offers variery of Christmas decorations, traditional sweets, even traditional bavarian costumes (lederhosen and dirndls). Although it was barely noon, we could not resists the eirpunsch (warm egg nog with cream)!

The next market is the perfect place for lunch. The medieval market on Wittelsbacher Platz offers a wide variety of culinary treats as well as selection of fures (if that is your thing), mediaval waepons, clothing and other bizzare and entertaining items. The sellers wear medieval clothing, so it is a real attraction!

 

 

The last market we visited was a real treat. The Glockenbach Weinachtsmarkt takes place only once per year and my guests were lucky enough to be in Munich at the right time. The venue - Muffathalle-provided  a contrasting experience to the traditional outdoor markets. The sellers were offering hip designer wares including art, fashion and more. Unfortunately, I do not have any photos as we were fairly tired by then. But you can get a feeling for the event when you click here (that was 2010, photos from the organizer's FB page): https://www.facebook.com/events/769708256388686/?ref=ts&fref=ts#!/donna.kilcullen/media_set?set=a.1631051868094.2081877.1590564134&type=1

The Market Marathon with the Creative Lab Munich Team

The market season in Munich is really taking off with the start of Advent and this year Cut & Tear is taking part! On Saturday I co-organize a small private selling event - "The Jingle Mingle Market" - featuring members of the Creative Lab Munich team on Etsy and on Sunday was the fantastic Japandult market organized by the owner of Kirschbluete paper shop. The Japandult aims to feature Bavarian and Japanese products and goods with Japanese flair.

Both markets were really fun and here are some glimpses for you...

This was my stall in the Japandult and the crocheted pandas went to rather unexpected buyers. ;-)

My favourite neighbour sellers - the girls behind the L'EnfantTerrible shop provided ongoing entertainment and sold many many many hairclips, although their fantastic designer clothing for children is absolutelly amazing!!!! Make sure you find their stall in some of the upcoming markets!

April from RawLuxGems did also very well. It was impossible to photograph her stall at the Japanduls as it was all the time busy with buyers.

The Mainly Maren blogger and wreath-maker showed (and sold) her lovely creations at the Jingle Mingle Market.

The artistic prints from Elzemieke proved to be very popular with the buyers at the Japandult. Sharing a stall with her at both markets was fun!

Zaida from The Summer House shop was selling the cutest children shoes ever! They are also available in her Etsy shop.

The ladies behind Limala and KleineKlara shops united their effords and presented wonderful screenprinted children products.

Conny from Vaersgostudio showed her latest creations at the Japandult. This busy graphic designer does not come to many markets but fortunatelly, you can buy her lovely items in her Etsy shop.

Although I tried my best to photograph all, somehow the ladies from Nauli  and Su-pyo managed to escape, what's a pity! Their paperware stalls at the Jingle Mingle Market were fantastic. Fortunatelly, you can buy from them online any time.

Hands Gallery News - Shop Local This Christmas

A few days ago, I have seen a plea on FB to shop local this Christmas. This poster tried to support small businesses and local crafters. I am a very much in favour of this movement. I am a member of the Hands Gallery - artistic co-operative, and our shop is full of handmade, unique items produced right here in Munich.
As I was looking after the shop today, I have taken a few pictures to inspire your Christmas shopping.

Shopping for a party diva? How about these sparkly grey/silver fingerless gloves from Looby knittinx.

If you are searching for the right present for a Retro-mama, check the products from Kiwis and Krauts.

Funky presies for the little ones are also available, come to explore the selection of embroidered goods by 40stitches.

And if you are looking for some Christmas decoration, come to pick the right one. What is your theme: traditional or quirky?

Paris is more than just the Eiffel tower - Parisian pre-Christmas Menagerie

I have visited Paris before, so I knew that I do not want to see the Louvre or other highlights this time. Instead, we played our parisian weekend by the ear and we had fabulous time...

So here is a very random guide to what you can see, if you just keep your eyes open. Somehow it rurned out to be a lots of animals... ;-)

The first finds are from the fantastic department store Le Bon Marché. I love to visit before Christmas as they never fail to offer unusual decorations and here we go this year: Safari Christmas tree or would you prefer nautical theme... ;-)
http://www.lebonmarche.com/en.html

This little ZOO is entirely made of chocolate, yes CHOCOLATE! And it is one of the best in Paris! (Blog post on food experiences will follow when time allows). The master chocolatier is Jean Charles Rochoux. Click on the link, just the site is amazing, let alone the chocolate!

Another sight we could not miss was this pink elephant! Don't you just love pink plastic? (just kidding) He is made by Stéphane Gautier and you can find out more about him on the parisial gallery website: Galerie Barrou Planquart.

The next experience was a real treat for anyone who originally studied veterinary science (me). The National Museum of Natural Science feels like an old museum at the beginning of the 20th century (at least the old part). There are no funky video instalation or interactive devices, just bones, a loooot of them! But I loved it. If you've ever wondered how a skeleton of a turtle looks like, here is your answer:

For anyone, who is frantically looking for small funky Advents Calendar fillers, we found a great option, cute small horses that should bring luck! Just don't be afraid to enter this shop,it is a harmless enterprise supplying the nearby studying medical students with anything they might possibly need. ;-)

And last but not least this beatiful catch! The Italians also sell a lots of sea creatures but do they display it so well? Feeling like a crab for dinner? Then head to Rue Mouffetard, great spot for eating out or just wondering what is out there.... More about food next time!

The Advent Calendar School - The mini Calendars

As well as creating normal size Advent Calendars, I have recently made 2 mini ones. They are cute but I struggled a bit finding a suitable packaging. First I created the "Instant Advent Calendar"by stuffing all the houses, pegs, string and sealing stickers in a jar. It was fun but not so good for shiping and you coudn't realy see clearly inside. Yesterday, I was just playing around with some old DVD boxes when the idea strucked me! The calendar actually fits perfectly in a DVD box. It also looks a little bit like a suitcase. A perfect gift for a guy! Ladies in lingerie with a retro twist. ;-) It is easy to ship too! Visit my shop if you are interested:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/168862342/mini-advent-calendar-in-a-dvd-box-25?ref=listing-shop-header-0

The Advent Calendar School - What is inside #6

It would not be an Advent Calendar without a cute goofy surprise!

Today I found just that. The JuliaWine shop on Etsy has these cute bears in pyjamas to decorate your Christmas tree and variety of other wonderful creatures too! You will also find fabulous sleep masks in the kitty shape! Make sure you check it out. ;-)

The Advent Calendar Auction - OOAK

Your one and only opportunity to buy one-of-the-kind Advent Calendar! 

Two years ago, I made an Advent Calendar inspired by the beautiful houses in Prague. It was not meant for sale but it generated a huge interest online. As each house is hand-drawn, it was a real undertaking to complete 25 different houses and I did not have time again to produce one for sale. This year however, my talented niece (who just started a Graphic Design school in the Czech Republic) took on the challenge and created one Calendar of her own.

She is happy to sell it to the highest bidder. All the profit will go towards art materials for her studies and even though the asking price doesn't seem very high, it certainly helps her when converted into the Czech currency.

You will receive 25 houses made of newspaper and decorated with drawings made by permanent marker. EACH HOUSE IS AN ORIGINAL DRAWING. You can fill the houses from the top and then attach them to a string with  mini pegs or a ribbon as shown on the last picture.

Please note that the last picture if for illustration only, it is the calendar I made 2 years ago and shows you how it looks all connected together.

HOW TO PLACE YOUR BID:
Please follow the link to my FB page and send a private message to Cut & Tear with your bid, your name and your e-mail address. The starting price is 20£.
The Auction will close on Monday 18th November and the winning bidder will be announced on FB and notified by e-mail.
https://www.facebook.com/cutandtear

The Advent Calendar School - What is inside #5

I have bought one of these already for Valentine's day but I think that a coffee spoon from the ForSuchATimeDesigns shop,  with the right message, can make a great advent calendar filler too. At the moment, I would really do with this one...

The Advent Calendar School - What is inside #4

Last year I ordered  24 samples of tea from the wonderful Karen from the ArtfulTea shop on Etsy. My boyfriend loved it. The packaging was gorgeous, the tea tasted fantastic and the variety of flavours never got boring. I looked today to offer you a link to Karen's shop and found this brilliant, ready made Tea Advent Calendar!!! So, now it is up to you, you can order the whole calendar or you can order just some tea from this lovely shop, but in any case, you should try Karen's tea! ;-)

The Advent Calendar School - What is inside #3

OK, I know that swearing is not good but these pencils just made me laugh! I think it would be another perfect filler for a bloke's Advents Calendar. ;-) And I am loving the colour too, such a cool mint!!!

To see more fun stuff, visit the JulieAnnArt shop on Etsy.

Brand new Mini Angels and Jewellery Garland...

As I am in the middle of preparations for 3 Christmas markets and I also have my teaching day-job, I do not have many opportunities to come up with anything new. These schrink-plastic angels and the beautiful garland stringed from paper snowflakes (punched from recycling paper) and leftover beads are exceptions...

The Advent Calendar School - What is inside #2

Although I love little gifts, words of love and appreciations from my loved ones are perhaps even better. The Advents Calendar is a great opportunity to say things, you perhaps don't say enough during the year.

TheSimpleWord shop on Etsy offers an instant help and inspiration...

The Advent Calendar School - What is inside #1

Here is idea number 1.
I don't know how about you but I do struggle finding great advent calendar fillers for my boyfriend. Presents for men are just difficult, don't you agree? Well, I think that this idea is quite a good one...

Tiny little notebooks from the Ordinaryartists shop on Etsy.

Hands Gallery News

Since recently, I am a member of the Hands Gallery - an artist co-operative with a shop in Munich. Today was my day to look after the store, so I decided to take a looooots of pictures and show you what we have in stock...

If you live outside Munich but like what you see and would like to buy, just let me know, it can be arranged. ;-)

Of course, there is much more, so I will be posting as regularly as my life allowes... ;-)