Photo: Supplied.
CONTRIBUTED BY SCATTERED ARTS
Picture a group of beautifully dressed artisans in Brisbane in the sixties, regularly meeting to exhibit their handcrafted pieces for sale at local markets. Then picture the same talented group of like-minded people growing to such a size that some of them served as guarantors to finance the purchase of an old service station in Norman Park. These visionaries worked hard to turn the dilapidated space into an inspired collective showcasing a gallery in the front of the old service station, along with a workshop out the back. This was the birth of Scattered Arts.
In the years that followed, the group continued to nurture an inspired space for makers to come together and display their work for sale to the public. Down the track, various changes in circumstances led Scattered Arts to move to a new location in Camp Hill, before that shop unfortunately closed. In every way, though, along with every new member who joined, it helped shape and form the collective.
Leaping forward to 2024, Scattered Arts was revived when a committee of equally creative and fabulous people secured a tenancy in the bayside hamlet of Wynnum. This brings us to today, where the vibrant not-for-profit shop is brimming with gorgeous, unique handmade jewellery, clothing, silk and felted scarves, framed art and photography, glasswork and papier mache decorations, scented candles, handbags and totes, woodwork, greeting cards, crocheted toys, vases and knitted throws, all by local artists.
We’re proud to be a part of the lively bayside community and along with the delightfully eclectic range of handcrafted items for sale
in-store, we also offer a wide range of workshops from glass fusion to watercolours for beginners, papier mache to candle making, woven wall hangings to Cricut for beginners, woven bowls and printmaking, jewellery making and more, all from the comfort of our Edith Street shop.
At the heart of Scattered Arts, now Brisbane’s longest-running art and craft collective, is the joy of providing a space for people to create, for local artists to display their work, and to build a platform within our community to share with other local small businesses. In the coming months, we’re excited to offer places for guest exhibitors and to invite other community groups into the shop for a social morning.
We’re situated at 117 Edith Street in Wynnum, and we’re open from Tuesday through to Saturday. Our staff are all friendly volunteers, most of whom are makers exhibiting in-store.
If you’re after something handcrafted and unique for yourself, or as a gift for a friend or loved one, we might have the very thing for you. And if you’re keen to join a wonderful group of creative makers, Scattered Arts is always open to new members. You’re never too young or too old to develop a love of crafting or making art.
