Brighten up your home

There is still some Summer left to brighten up your home. Think weekends spent priming, prepping, painting and prettifying things in your home. So for all your decorating and chalk painting needs why not up-skill yourself and do a 2-hour creative workshop held at the Fresh2U Farmer’s Market!

Loads of possibilities for restoring and rejuvenating your home with a fresh pop of colour. Try your hand at painting on wood, glass, fabrics, metal etc or breathe some life into your old furniture or garden pots with a splash of colour using Tjhoko paints. This paint is unique as it already has the sealant inside making painting more time effective and more economical.

Cost R250 includes all paints and item to take home and display. Contact Eileen on whatsapp 0828542582 for more information or to book. Next workshop is on Sat 31 March at the Fresh2u Farmer’s Market 10am till 12.

 

 

Egg-citement at the F2U Market

It’s that time of the year again and we are bouncing with egg-citement to invite you to the Fresh2U Easter Festive Market.

Plenty to keep the kids busy:

• 2 x Easter egg hunts, one at 10.30 – 11:00 for kids under 5’s and one at 11:00 -11.30 for kids over 5 (note there will be no bunny) …. This is completely FREE!
• Vendor Oh My Nosh will be doing Easter sugar biscuit decorating for the kids
• Easter colouring-in table with various kiddie’s competitions

Stallholders

will be having some hopping specials that you won’t want to miss out on.

So make your way to the Market on the 31 March 8am – 2pm for some Easter fun!

Chalk Paint Workshops

Chalk paint remains a popular choice for makeover projects. Find out how to make the most of a versatile product using the newly launched South African product called Tjhoko Paint!

Many of us love decorating and if we have the confidence to do it ourselves, so much better! What about trying your hand at upcycling or rejuvenating pieces of furniture … then these workshops are for you!

For those of you who have been keen to try chalk paint but have lacked the confidence then come along to one of our workshops held at the Fresh2U Farmer’s Market.

If you would like to arranged for a home workshop where you can gather 6 friends and do it in the comfort of your own home with plenty of laughter, fun, snacks and some drinks even better!

Hosted by Chalk Paint expert Eileen Weston, the workshops will show you how to make our very own beautiful table décor, upcycle pieces of furniture – plus offer a few tips and tricks on how to use chalk paint to best effect. The workshops are also ideal for all DIY…ers young and older, men and women!

The workshops

Each two-hour workshop is designed to make sure that everyone receives individual attention. The following projects will be available to paint and you get to take them home to show off to the rest of the family:

1. Cheese boards or platters.
2. Decorate glass bottles
3. Paint on fabric (door stoppers, napkins etc)

The workshop costs R250 per person; We will provide all the materials.

Book your spot by emailing eileen.weston@telkomsa.net or  Call Eileen on 082 854 2582 with any queries. 

 

Festive Season at the Fresh2U Market

Time flies when you put your nose to the grind, hustle hard and kick deadlines where it counts… but enough about our daily to do’s. Let’s get excited about the festive season which is fast approaching.

Are you ready to venture out into the sunshine this Saturday 2 Dec and explore some of the best that the Fresh2U Farmer’s Market has to offer with all the Christmas goodies on sale?

Where else can you purchase fresh locally grown produce, support the local economy, sample amazing food, and connect with your community, all at the same time?

So come prepared Bring Your Own shopping bag (more environmentally friendly), a cooler box, and some cash.

Plenty of outdoor kid-friendly activities with lawn games, sand-art, colouring in tables and craft activities.

See you there!

 

 

Do you want to Wiggle?

How do we create happy, confident children …. and introduce different ways of thinking by stimulating both sides of the brain?

Look no further then this great music and movement program called Wiggle and Jam.

As we know and understand the first 6 years in a child’s life are the most important developing years in our human lives.  During this time, our children have an absorbent mind, and they acquire all their knowledge and skills without consciously having to learn.

Wiggle and Jam is a Music and Movement program designed specifically to meet our children’s various needs including:

·                  Core Strength, Balance, Spatial Awareness, and overall physical development

·                  Stimulating children’s problem solving skills

·                  Help children to communicate and express emotions

·                  Help them with concentration

·                  Help children with memory

·                  Develop language skills including listening, speaking and following instructions

·                  Teach children discipline and boundaries

·                  Give children the opportunity to be creative

·                  Help children to develop confidence and strong self-esteem

·                  Encourage children to develop relationships with others

Why add music to the movement?

·                  Through movement with music we stimulate the brain, the emotions and the body simultaneously.

·                  Both the logical and creative side of the brain are being stimulated and used

·                  By utilizing both sides simultaneously the brain grows connections across the hemispheres integrating the left and the right

·                  The more neurological brain activity we have, the faster we are able to think!

 We believe that the Fresh2U Farmer’s Market is in the most tranquil, peaceful and beautiful space to host these types of programs.

This space is the ideal spot for children to be free to explore, play and learn. Adding our Wiggle and Jam Music and Movement Program to this tranquil space is the most amazing privilege we are looking forward to sharing this with the local community.

Through this Wiggle and Jam Music and Movement at the Fresh2U Farmers Market, we hope to add some learning filled music and movement fun for the children visiting the market with their parents.

Catch the team at the Fresh2u Market this Saturday 28 Oct at 9:30am one session costs R25 per child.

Demo: Planting veggies in pots

Always wanted to grow veggies but don’t have the space? New vendor Green Scene Landscaping with show you with a simple demo at the F2U Farmer’s Market on the 7 Oct, how to use containers to turn a tiny courtyard space into a kitchen garden in a weekend.

Here are some real advantages of planting your veggies in pots:

• Convenience of positioning on windowsill or just outside the kitchen
• Limited space to have a veggie garden or you may only have a balcony or paved area but still wish to grow herbs or veggies

Green Scene will demonstrate which types of seed or seedlings are suited to various types pots. They wil also chat about soils and nutrition for plants and demonstrate planting up the pots.

Maintence of pots throughout the year is also important so as not to loose any plants or ensure that the nutrients remain in tact.  This too will be covered.

So if you are looking for some free, professional advice come along to the Demo happening this

Saturday at the Fresh2U Farmer’s Market which opens at 8am.

The true value of Anja’s Pantry

Anja’s Pantry is a relative newcomer to the Fresh2U Farmer’s Market, having been with us for only a couple of markets, but they have years of experience in experimenting and perfecting their product range.

Their inspiration for their business came from … longing to see people “get better” … by

• Supporting that lady that’s been struggling to fall pregnant and before long there’s a little bundle of joy.
• Giving a diabetic child her first cupcake or ice cream.
• Crying tears of joy because he is now in remission after a long cancer battle.
• Jumping for joy because they reached their weight loss target.
• Lastly remembering the children that struggled with hyperactivity and seeing them now calm and confident.

There is a growing need for Gluten and Sugar-Free Products in our current society.  “We have seen this need grow in our own personal lives with the children being constantly on some form of allergy medicine. Always complaining of some irritation in the gut, the lack of concentration”. That is what drove us to find solutions to these challenges,” say entrepreneurs Angelika and Charlene.

Their products not only help people, they are truly delicious. Although they have spent years perfecting their range, there is still room to grow and new products are introduced monthly. They have 365 products in their range, all Sugar-free, Gluten free, ADHD Friendly, Diabetic friendly and cover a spectrum of allergies and illnesses such as Celiac, Auto immune diseases, autism, epilepsy, cancer and weight loss.  All the products are Low Carb, and for that reason perfect for the Banting Diet as well.

This dynamic duo love being entrepreneurs, with the freedom to plan work life around family life. They both echo that “their children take priority and with a proper system in place and good communication and planning skills the workplace runs smoothly and we get the time we need to invest our personal time into our children”.

 

They believe that the words “Farmer’s Market” says something about what we as individuals are supposed to be eating…fresh and healthy.

“We need to always strive to choose the organic, the natural and the pure. This Fresh2U Farmer’s Market is the perfect setting for us!”

Check out Anja’s Pantry at the Fresh2U Market this Saturday 30 Sept 8am – 2pm

 

New vendor Fiesta Foods

The Fresh2U Farmer’s Market welcomes new vendor Fiesta Foods as part of the family! Ashogan Pillay the business owner for Fiesta Foods visited the market a number of times before deciding to join, discussing many options and ideas with us.  He is passionate about his brand, his food and this comes through in the delicious flavours we get to sample at the Market.

What is your favourite part of being a small business owner? It has to be the response from satisfied clients, it is such warm and overwhelming experience when a customer gives us positive feedback about our food/services.

What sparked this idea to launch this business? We have always had a mad love for Mexican culture. Be it from the awesome accent, movies or tasty street food. We have tried a few Mexican meals from some great food places in Gauteng and after some
various tasting we realized that even though the meals were tasty and made with authentic Mexican style we wanted to add a bit of our own spin to this already amazing culture. This was a turning point for us as we started to look for the right combination of ingredients to fuse South African with Mexican culture. We had so many trials but eventually, we found what we think is the best mix!  We are happy to now share with our fellow customers and will keep working to improve and innovate.

Our secret ingredient is what makes us different!  It’s our sauce … it is definitely the secret and is the centre of all our food items be it the Nachos, Tacos as well as our proud and newest edition Taco cups (each of which has its own tweak to suit the
meal)

Why a farmer’s market as a vehicle to sell your product?  Since there has been a huge attraction of community members toward the fresh locally home made delights for some time now, fellow local food vendors have finally found a platform to showcase there delights at the farmers market. For us, this is also ideal as we are meeting people in a more fun and relaxed environment therefore interacting with clients is more pleasant and very enjoyable. We at Fiesta Foods do not consider ourselves as business owners in this setting but rather as community members doing what we love best and having a place to share what we love doing with visitors who in return love what we have to offer. It’s the perfect setting to be a vendor … and let’s be honest this setting under the trees is really lovely.

Where does your inspiration come from?  My inspiration came from a young age when my dad used to work as a caterer to help get us through tough challenging times. Watching him do this and share his experience with us back home was always a treat. So from a young age, I always dreamt to have a food service one day.

We wish you all the very best Ashogan with Fiesta Foods and we encourage our visitors to give them a try and don’t be shy to give feedback as this helps us all to improve on our offering!

See you at the Market Saturday 30 September!

“Life without Mexican food, is like no life at all!” Anon

Proud guardian of the Chicks

As much as Astrid, Withok’s loveable labbie, looks like she is guarding the babies, keeping them safe from all predators…. just be sure no chick tries to escape … “she will quietly & gently catch them & hope I don’t catch her with the delicious snack” says Leandra the keeper of the free range chickens at Withok Farm … what is that saying “Wolf in sheep’s clothes”.. that’s my Astrid 🙂

Life in August is always a challenge on the farm, with windy days, the more frequent “dwarrel winde” that throws a roof just for the fun or moves a coop a couple of meters while passing through. The wind definitely brings a different kind of daily challenge.
But with every passing windy day, the promise of rain comes one day closer… You can almost feel it, the sun is up earlier & the rooster tries to beat the morning by crowing at 4 am right in front of your window, declaring it’s excitement for the new day…

…. and with the last of the cold spell on it’s way out … and the last of our later start time at the Fresh2U Farmer’s Market  … we see you at 9am this Saturday 26 August.

Address: 30 High Street, Modderfontein.

Recycling and Creative Inspiration from the House of Re

The House of Re vendor has been a part of the Fresh2U Farmer’s Market for a couple of months now and we caught up with them about their business.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF BEING A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER?

The most exciting part of something like this is watching it grow and evolve, to see something you’re personally responsible for succeed and, in our case, make a difference (no matter how small), is very rewarding.
Each day that we make an item, sell an item, build a jig or cut a template, buy a new tool or acquire a new skill, is a day with forward momentum. Being aware of that is a great way to track that growth.

“Small Business” often means “Family Business”, and I’m more than happy for that to be the case. I see The House of Re as a generational business: Every skill I have learned, I have either taught myself or acquired from my father, either one of my grandfathers or my uncle – the same could be said for most of our tools too. Our entire business is built in the spirit of “Re”.

WHAT SPARKED THIS IDEA TO LAUNCH THIS ENTREPRENEURIAL ENTERPRISE?

I was overseeing renovations to a house that was being converted for rental. I couldn’t believe what we were pulling out of the house and throwing away. I decided to save as much of it as was useful – doors, door frames, skirting, paint and more, and used it to make a number of items; big and small. The (proverbial) “bug” had bit and I started seeking more reclaimed material and further inspiration. Before long we had more stock than customers and it was time to start exploring all avenues within which we could connect with the public.

We live in a “throw-away” society, where useful items are discarded everyday.
All our products are made from as much reclaimed, recycled or repurposed material as possible. From our bigger furniture items to the smalls that we take to markets, the message is the same – There is just simply too much waste in the world, not all of it needs to be thrown away, there is a (re)purpose for everything.

WHY A FARMER’S MARKET AS A VEHICLE TO SELL YOUR PRODUCT?

Fresh2U Farmer’s Market is situated less than 10 minutes from where we are based, in Linbro Park. It is a great way to meet new clientele and reconnect with existing customers within our immediate community. Of course, farmer’s markets are about whole foods and natural products; things that are good for you, and our products are, well, good for the planet, and good for your conscience too.

WHERE DOES YOUR INSPIRATION COME FROM?
Everywhere!
Clients approach us with an idea they would like replicated or brought to life – we do so, adding our own character to their projects.
Clients may also come to us with an existing item, unsure of how to keep it up to date, that’s inspiration too, refurbishing is a big part of what we do – anything to keep beautiful and useful items out of the dumpster.
We find unusual discarded items and are inspired to find a purpose for them.
We see a clever idea that is made commercially or from new materials and find a way to make it from reclaimed or recycled material.
If nothing else, our “inspiration” comes from wanting to minimize waste by making pretty things.

…. and many pretty things this team has on offer for sale at the Market.  They truely are inspirational and just plain lovely to chat too!