Newsletter: December 2017

Presidents Report:

The end of the year is rapidly approaching and the final MACG activity was the Christmas Fair. As always a great deal of work went into organising and presenting the Fair. A big thank you to all the various groups, and individuals, who participated in the Fair.

The Christmas Fair was successful due to the volunteers who set up the Community Hall on the Wednesday, the members who presented such wonderful items for display and sale, and those who rostered themselves on the Cash and Wrap desk, the Kitchen Workers, the Treasury team, the Floor Walkers, the Raffle Ticket Sellers, Juliana who handled the advertising, and the partners of our members who willingly helped when required. We must also thank the Lions Club members who willingly transport our bits and pieces to and from the Community Centre. Most definitely a large thank you to Claire who organised the Fair so efficiently. 

As time rolls on and with our longer term members not getting any younger, the time must come when younger members must take over. It was therefore pleasing to see so many new members not just contributing items for sale, but assisting with the varied rostered duties required to make the Fair a success.

The compliments which the general public made about our Fair make the whole process worthwhile. They were most impressed by the artistic creations on display and the standard and variety of items for sale. Our members should be proud of their efforts.

Our next exhibition is the Aussie Day Expo which will be held at the Maleny Showground on Australia Day. Some of our members will be involved and it is certainly worthwhile coming along on the morning to see what Maleny has to offer in terms of activities undertaken in this area.

I would also like to thank the Coordinators of the various groups for their cooperation during this year, and the Management Committee for their invaluable support.

As 2017 comes to a close, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and may we all meet again in 2018.  ~ Peter

Vice President’s Report

It has been a few months since I wrote a report for the MACG Newsletter and as usual members from different groups have been busy taking care of business for their groups, and MACG in general.

I shall commence with a very large “Thank You“ to all our members who contributed to the Downs and West Community Support Organisation’s Christmas appeal. There were many different items which ranged from quilts, children’s toys, clothing to a few items of food. Sister Christine is grateful to receive the items on behalf of the individuals and families who will receive them. We can all take pleasure, and joy, in the fact that we have enriched someone’s Christmas.

Another large “Thank You” must go to Colleen Aitkin. Colleen wrote the submission for our last grant for which we received some funding. This enabled us to carry out some repairs and replace the stove and install an instant hot water service. In addition the artists received 2 sets of art doors, although MACG had to partly fund the second set. Since then Colleen has submitted another grant submission and we may hear the results for that by the end of January.

Colleen and Peter organized and assisted with the annual test and tag for all our electrical items in the workshop and gallery. This can take considerable time to work through but it was made simpler and easier by the group coordinators who had their electrical items assembled ready for us and the electrician.

Colleen keeps a watch on the workshop as she frequently has to check on the progress of some kilns when they are firing. Unfortunately, two weekends ago she discovered that the workshop had not been properly locked and, fortunately for MACG, nobody tried to enter the building. However last weekend some, or a number of people, with nothing better to amuse themselves found our, and the SES’s, electricity meter and turned off the power. I believe the message is clear, please make sure that the workshop is securely locked up and keep an eye out for anyone you think may cause trouble or damage on the Showground. If necessary please call the police and make a report.

The Porcelain Artists now have a new kiln. Payment for this kiln came partly from MACG but the majority came from the Community Benefit Fund from the local IGA store. Members who had joined the Community Benefit Scheme and who donated their points to MACG allowed us to build up sufficient funds, which we redeemed, and put towards the new kiln.

The Christmas Fair was just a few days ago and it was wonderful to see the number of people who assisted in one way or another. To everyone involved a huge “Thank You”, which includes Claire who took on the task of coordinating the event.

Next event is the “Aussie Day Expo” on Australia Day on the large oval the Maleny Showground. We will be represented by a few of our members and Peter and I are waiting until group coordinators, or individuals, who wish to participate, contact either Peter or myself. This event is a PR exercise for all of Maleny’s clubs, groups and organisations. It is designed to inform the community of what is available to them and how they can join a group or groups with suitable interest activities. On this day you can purchase breakfast from around 7 am and then attend the flag raising ceremony and the ceremony to welcome our new Australian citizens. Please note that we are not permitted to sell any items.

I attended the November Showground Users Group Meeting. A few items of interest were discussed and one will be further discussed at the next meeting. Because of a lack of rain, up to the last meeting, the Council had advertised and allowed some communities across the Sunshine Coast to access the showers which are normally available to campers and some sporting groups. The places which were advertised had access to water which was paid for by the council. Maleny Showground was one that was not advertised as being open to the public but a number of community members took the advantage of having showers. Maleny Showground has to pay for all the water it uses, not the council, meaning that the Showground has to pay for the water used by these people.

The council is now interested in the Maleny Showground paying for all the electricity it uses. If this comes to pass then all the user groups on the showground will have extremely large electricity bills to pay. This will have an impact on a number of user groups. MACG is not one of these groups as we have a council lease and already pay rates, water, electricity, etc.

Some dogs, or rather their owners, are causing problems for the Maleny Equestrian Group (MEG). Sadly they are now losing members due to the large amount of dog excrement being left in the area that MEG and the Pony Club use.

Not a pleasant note to finish on, but that is reality.

May you all safely enjoy your Christmas and New Year holidays and return to your groups early next year.

- Anita Turner

Gallery Director's Report

Sales were good in November exceeding those of the same time last year. Fortunately for us people started their Christmas shopping early and now that we have a reputation for interesting and well made goods we do have some regular customers both local and from Brisbane and the coast. Our MACG Facebook page helps us as well so go on it yourself some time and 'like' us.

After the fair we did get some articles left in the back room from new members that we did not know. If you are one of them please contact either Heather or myself to introduce yourself and arrange a training day in the Gallery as you will be expected to do shifts if you wish to sell your goods with us.

December has started well for us so please don't relax now that the Fair is over we still need your stock in the Gallery to sell to those discerning Christmas shoppers.

Thanks to those who have offered to do some extra shifts during December so that we can stay open later.

We hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and Happy New Year and come back to the Gallery ready for a busy 2018.

- Priscilla & Heather

Christmas Fair 2017 Final Report

My congratulations must be expressed to all who participated in this year's fair. To identify members who and what was contributed is impossible. The contribution of all is reflected in that the total sales were higher than all Fairs previously. This enables Maleny Arts and Crafts to continue as a dynamic group aiming to cater for the many interests of all members.

My thanks must be extended to the Blackall Lions Club for their assistance in the movement of equipment. Thanks also to the Witta Recreation Club and the Maleny Historical Society who lent their tables. Final thanks is extended to Glenys and Allan Collin for the use of their musical system. In the evaluation process I have had many positives and some suggestions which will be up for the discussion before the Autumn Fair in 2018.

Some of the stated positives include:

- Financial results

- The layout of the Maleny Community Centre

- The members presentation of their arts and crafts

- The roster was filled

- The demonstrators of the handmade crafts

- The interest groups taking responsibility for tasks that had to be done.

- The close and clean-up had many hands (one member who was sweeping had her pedometer on and said she wouldn't have to walk that night!)

- The lights made the artwork to be easily viewed

- Handmade advertising was very positive

A couple of negatives:

- There are still some members who sold crafts who did not contribute to the organisation of the fair

- Some crafts were broken in the haste of pack up

- Improvement in the flow of customers up to the stage.

~ Claire (Fair Convenor)

Some photos from the Christmas Fair…

Publicity:

We had a great response to our Social Media advertising for the Fair – thank you to those people who ‘liked’ and shared our posts. Also thank you to all the people who helped collect data for our future advertising. This will be a great help for us to target our advertising including where and what to spend our advertising budget on for future fairs.

If you have anything that you wish us to share on Facebook or the Blog, please don’t hesitate to email it to me.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/malenyartsandcraftsgroup/

Instagram: @malenyartsandcraftsgroup

Blog: http://malenyartsandcrafts.blogspot.com.au

~ Juliana (Publicity Officer) - macgpublicity@gmail.com

Glass Group

Well the Fair is over and the year is drawing to a close. Congratulations to everyone for your efforts. I think it was one of our better Fairs and all our thanks go to Claire and her team for organising it. The Glass Group has had a very productive and creative year and I am looking forward to it continuing to grow next year. Meanwhile I would like to wish everyone a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year and hope to see you in 2018. ~ Colleen

Crochet Group

The Crochet group would like to welcome our new member Carol. Several of our group participated in the recent fair and I am pleased to say that they were very happy with their sales. The crocheters would like to thank Claire, the Fair Coordinator, and her band of helpers for a job well done.

We are currently organising ourselves to participate in the Aussie Day Expo and hopefully MACG may find a few new members to join the various groups.

The agenda this month has been to find activities for the coming year that all crocheters and knitters, no matter what their skill level, can participate in. Togetherness is a key factor to bind a group and participation is the glue. ~ Vicki

Spinners & Weavers

We had an enjoyable and relaxing lunch last Friday (8th) at The Garden Café. Those members who couldn’t attend were missed. We close for 2017 on Friday 22nd December and will return on Friday January 5th. I would like to wish all our members a Merry Christmas and a Happy & Safe New Year. Please think about ideas and projects we can discuss in the New Year so we can plan ahead for 2018 and perhaps challenge ourselves with some new projects.

Eliza’s saying: Surprise yourself. Use a paper clip instead of a stitch holder. Knit with twine, or grass, or dandelion stalks – dance while you knit. Sing!! ~ Robyn

Quilting Group

We had a visit from Sister Christine. Our members provided many and varied items to help rural families in the West.

Lessons have begun to learn how to operate the new quilting machine and as a result we are hoping more quilts will be made for our Quilt Show in September 2018.

Thanks again to all our members who worked so hard during the recent Christmas Fair.

Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year. ~ Celia (Convenor)

Clay Workers’ Report

Twelve lucky clay workers attended an excellent day-long workshop with Diane Peach on Thursday 7 December. During the day, we learned a great deal about slip casting, the myriad ways liquid clay can be teased into different shapes, decorated, joined and generally transformed. Diane also showed us how to form larger pieces using excellent methods of joining and construction. We finished the workshop with some interesting personal constructions, and the enthusiasm to try out what we learned. Many thanks to Diane.

Clay workers did well at the recent Christmas Fair, with satisfying sales.

We will have a workshop clean-up on Thursday 14/12/17 followed by a Christmas lunch. Could everyone please remember to bring a plate to share. Have a Happy Christmas and a brilliant New Year. Expect to see the usual array of eclectic and brilliant work from our talented members! ~ June

Mixed Craft Evening Group

We had a lovely ‘Christmas’ dinner at Lumbini at the start of December. This was a lovely opportunity for our group to sit and chat with all members being able to attend. We have completed a huge variety of projects this year and look forward to completing many more next year.

We hope all members have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year filled with lots of craft projects! ~ Mandy

 

All mail should be sent to:

The Editor MACG News

PO Box 561

Maleny QLD 4552

e: macgpublicity@gmail.com

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors and not necessarily those of the newsletter nor the MACG Group Inc. The MACG Newsletter is published monthly for the benefits of members.

Reports are to be emailed no later than 5pm Monday 12th February 2018

Next Executive Meeting: Monday 8th January 2018 at 1pm.

Next Management Committee Meeting Monday 12th February 2018 at 1pm