Meet the Maker | PM Plaster Craft
This month we catch up with stall-holder Stacey West from PM Plastercraft. You'll find Stacey, along with all the other awesome local makers and creators at Handmade in the Hunter Markets – see page 5 for details.
Can you please tell us a bit about what you do? How did you come up with the idea?
We are a family business based in Singleton, making plaster characters to paint. As a child, I often painted plaster casts at the local shopping centre (I still have a dolphin figurine I painted as a child!) I moved to the Hunter Valley in 2001, and as I had never really seen plaster painting in the area, so in 2018, while on maternity leave, my hubby and I started accumulating everything we needed to start our own business and started experimenting with making our own plaster characters to paint and PM Plastercraft was born!
How long have you been running PM Plastercraft - and how did you start?
We have been running PM Plaster Craft for four years now. When naming our business, we wanted to steer clear of the plaster fun name and try to be a little different, so we named our business after our children, Paxton and Micah (PM). It hasn't been the easiest road running a business while sleep deprived in the early years, but we are a well-oiled machine now.
What types of products do you sell? What is your top-selling product? Who is your typical customer?
Products we make from Plaster of Paris include Gift Packs, Party Favours, Bulk plaster painting packs, and name packs, all of which contain Non-Toxic acrylic paints and a paintbrush. These items are mainly for children, but we do often find some parents will purchase them for themselves as well to join in the fun with the kids.
We make our moulds with a 3D printer and various mould-making methods. Thanks to a customer at Handmade in the Hunter markets from Sydney, we now have a naughty plaster available to paint for Hen's nights which will be available on our website shortly. The customer had asked if we could make this special plaster, and of course, we did!
Our top selling product is definitely our plaster party favours. The parents love them because they aren't lollies, and the children can take them home and paint later.
We heard that you are catering for eco-conscious customers. In what way?
Over the years, we have seen a trend in customers wanting more sustainable packaging, and we also preferred a more eco-conscious product. We have tried to evaluate every aspect of our product and packaging when shipping to be as eco-friendly as possible. We reuse shipping boxes and packing where possible and use compostable shipping mailers for smaller orders. We have swapped our foam trays for cardboard, and we give our customers the option to swap out plastic paint brushes and cellophane bags for bamboo paint brushes and a calico bag which is my favourite.
What do you like most about Handmade in the Hunter Markets?
We love that it's like a family. We all feel each other's ups and downs; we cheer each other on when we are busy, encourage each other when we aren't as busy, and watch each other's stalls when we need a quick break. We love that we can bring along our children with us as well while we are working.
Handmade in the Hunter Market will be held at Sobels Wines from 9am until 2pm on Saturday,
24 September, and Saturday 1 & Sunday 2 October + Saturday 8 and 15 October.
For more information, visit www.handmademarkets.com.au.
