La Belle Vie French market: A French market in Southern Sydney this Sunday

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Taren Point Public School is holding La Belle Vie French market this Sunday. The 4rh edition of this French market will see stalls selling food, drink as well as fashion, homewares, art products – perfect to buy your Mother’s Day gifts. 

La Belle Vie French Market

TAREN POINT PUBLIC SCHOOL

The school has been a member of the Australian Association of French English Bilingual Schools for four years and the market is also in its 4th year. Previous years have seen attendance of 5,000 people at the La Belle Vie French Market.  

 

FASS

Francophone Association of Southern Sydney (FASS), a local not for profit group which promotes French language and culture in the community, assists Taren Point Public School in making La Belle Vie Market happen. It’s involved in supplying volunteers on market day but also in the planning and organisation of the market event from an administration perspective.

 

LA BELLE VIE FRENCH MARKET
This year there are more than 60 stalls offering fabulous French products across food, drink, fashion, homewares, art, as well as a Citroen Club car display and live music throughout the day.

 

LIVE MUSIC: ‘ACCORDI-ng To US’ will play from 9am to midday and singer, Christelle Nativel will perform from midday to close.

 

STALLS AT LA BELLE VIE FRENCH MARKET

 

French products for yourself and for others

  • A French Affair  – tea towels and tablecloths
  • Au Revoir Les Filles – Parisian-style jewellery
  • Beju – hand crafted European jewellery
  • Big on Hats – wide-brimmed French hats and the iconic beret
  • Canal Plus – French cable TV
  • Decathlon – French sportswear
  • France at Home – your French supermarket online in Australia
  • French Cargo – diffusers, scents, body lotions, décor items, linens, jewellery, scarves and so much more
  • Fora Studios – unique and sustainable products for the modern garden, home and craft lover
  • Funked Up Eclectic Treasures – french/vintage inspired and funked up treasures
  • Holala Paris – French Homewares, designed in Australia and handmade in France

La Belle Vie French Market

  • Janneys Vinney vintage
  • Jan Roach vintage
  • Kalaf Artwork – epoxy resin serving boards, serving knives, kitchen utensils, coasters and wall art
  • La Brocante’ with Kathy Finch – pre-loved, vintage, retro and collectable pieces
  • Le Van du Livre – French books 
  • May Clementson vintage – French homewares
  • Mo Resin – jewellery with artistic designs embedded with materials such as Dutch Gold and Silver leaf into epoxy resin
  • Mrs Flowers – flowers straight from the Sydney Flower Markets to La Belle Vie French Market
  • Oatley Bay Candles
  • Pottery by Pottier – pottery and artworks
  • 2nd Vie (previously Just Swiss by Chris) – sustainable items hand made using fabric sourced from local business or from charities: car tidies, cutlery holders, lavender bags that can be used and re-used around the house, out and about, in the car, or just for decoration.
  • Secrets of Eden – pretty flower crowns and headbands for the princesses in your life, and unique Macrame creations
  • Toothless  – hand-made tooth fairy pillows
  • Whitelaw & Newton Decoupage Trays

 

Food & Drink stalls

  • Alexander Roastery – coffee
  • Baguette Brothers
  • Bella Icecream Van & Jumping Castles
  • Byron Bay Olive Co – Marinated olives, sweet garlic, extra-virgin olive oil and tapenade amongst other delicacies
  • Carne/Ash Rotisserie – rotisserie chicken and porchetta, roast potatoes
  • Cheese on Wheels
  • Choux Patisserie – beautiful éclairs
  • Citrus and Sugar – lemonade and delicious juices made from all real fruit, nothing artificial and no preservatives. 
  • Crepe de France
  • Fils de Pomme – French botanical organic cider 
  • Frenchies Bistro and Brewery – French style beers made for Aussies
  • Frencheese – raclette

  • French Oven – fine French pastry made my hand and not by machine
  • Great Southern mead & honey – honey fresh from the hive
  • Jeerys Tacos
  • La Bastide – charcuterie
  • La Bonne Crepe
  • La Bonne Fromagerie – cheeses
  • La Gitana – paella
  • Le BBQ 
  • Le Saucier – home-made pasta, pasta sauces and fine finishing sauces
  • Le Secret Wines – French wines, characteristic of their region and from small family owned vineyards
  • Les Petits Gars
  • Madame Madeleine – Madeleines in original flavours including lemon butter, French Earl Gray, matcha, caramelised honey.
  • Madleine Bakery – freshly baked madeleines 
  • Pistou – traditional French deli foods 
  • Sacre Bleu!  (Caneles and Co)
  • Stephs Gourmet Foods
  • The Original Smoke & Spice Company – herb and spice mixes
  • Tonton Bread – bread and pastries
  • Wendy’s Crafts –  jam, marmalade & relish

 

Club stalls

  • Citroen Car Club
  • FASS Book stall
  • Meccano Modellers Association
  • Taren Point Public School Enviro stall

 

Want to participate in a future edition of La Belle Vie French market?

Contact Anyes McLean via email at [email protected]. Stalls must have a French connection, to ensure the authenticity of the market.

 

KEY INFO FOR LA BELLE VIE FRENCH MARKET

 

WHAT: La Belle Vie French Market

WHEN: Sunday 1 May 9am to 3pm

WHERE: Taren Point Public School, 

HOW MUCH: Entry by coin donation at the gate – all proceeds assist the learning programs at Taren Point Public School

 

For other events with French links check out our what’s on in April article (the what’s on in May will be online this Sunday).

 

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Flash of Culture: a compact, convenient and beautiful way to learn

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Flash of Culture is an Australian company which sells flashcards, stickers and posters promoting cultures of various countries, including Australia and of France. A great idea for language learning too, these items have drawings of iconic animals, monuments, foods with the name in their local language and a translation into English. For example, in the set of French flash cards we see the French bulldog, cheese, lavender fields, the Eiffel Tower and many more.

 

We had a chat to Samantha, owner and designer at Flash of Culture.

Flash of Culture

Samantha, you’re the owner of and designer at Flash of Culture. What made you decide to start the company?

My idea for Flash of Culture came about after our family took a big European trip in 2016. My son was 18 months at the time and really enjoyed himself. He tried a variety of food, visited exciting places, saw different animals and met wonderful people. When we got back from our trip, I wanted to find a way to continue the learning and excitement of that trip and provide inspiration for future journeys, which sparked the idea for Flash of Culture.

 

The countries you currently cover in your Flash of Culture posters and stickers are Australia, New Zealand, Croatia, France, Italy, and Japan. How do you choose which countries to focus on?

I started first with the Australian flashcards because of the cute animals, and I’m an Aussie! After that, I chose countries with distinct cultures that can easily be represented visually. I have a long list of countries I would like to create more products for, but these initial countries stood out the most. I also have a Croatian background, so I included the Croatian stickers.

Flash of Culture

Have your Australian and NZ cards, stickers and posters gained an international audience?

Yes, they have been well received. There are a lot of Aussies and Kiwis living overseas that love to have a little something to remind them of home. Also, there are a lot of Aussies sending gifts to friends and family overseas.

 

While the cards may have been designed to allow children to get excited about travel and culture, the cards could also easily be used by any French language learner to expand their vocab. Are you aware of whether the cards are being used by adult French language learners?

Yes, the main goal was to celebrate French culture, but I’ve received feedback from customers who have purchased the flashcards for adult learning as a basic introduction to the language. Also, some parents and carers have mentioned that they’ve enjoyed learning the words along with the children.

Flash of Culture

Are you French speaking?

Oh, I wish! I love French music, cinema and the language, but unfortunately, my visual brain is not very good at learning languages. I found learning Croatian extremely hard, and I imagine French would be even more challenging. I definitely would love to learn one day!

 

Do you have an entrepreneurial or a design background?

I am originally a Digital designer, and I have a BA in Visual Communications. I’ve always had an interest in entrepreneurship. Before kids and Flash of Culture, I lived in Croatia with my husband and sold photographs of Europe on Etsy.

 

What are your next steps for Flash of Culture?

My sticker range has been very popular with an overseas audience, so I’m focusing on expanding the range and possibly adding some new posters too.

We thank Samantha for her time. You can view the Flash of Culture range of flash cards, posters and stickers at the Flash of Culture website 

 

KEY INFO FOR FLASH OF CULTURE

WHAT: Flash of Culture posters, stickers and flash cards to encourage language and cultural learning.

WHERE: Online at the Flash of Culture website:

HOW: Purchase the products via Flash of Culture’s website https://flashofculture.com/

WHO: For all ages

 

If you’re interested in French learning in children, you may also be interested in the following articles:

My Little French Club: activities to help children learn French at home

Ma Petite Librairie: buy French books in Australia

Bilingual education with public-school accessibility? It’s possible in Adelaide with the French Bilingual Binational Program

 

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