On the weekend I visited Castlemaine in the Goldfields - very interesting place, its sort of 'Northcote in the country' - lots of creative people and things going on. The artisan market - which happens once a month on Sunday in the courtyard of the old Theatre Royal - is particularly impressive. I've been to lots and lots of crafty / artistic galleries, markets and studios in my time in regional vic. And they are not all great, in fact some are downright amateur. The ones here in Castlemaine are really high quality - I could see them selling at some of the quirky laneway / inner city boutiques in Melbourne. But whereas in Melbourne you'd be looking at paying $100 or more for a piece of handcrafted resin jewllery necklace - here it's $50. There's also some great crafts - this image is of 'The Noodle Sisters' - little asian dolls, each one comes with its own noodle box. Had to buy one for my mum for mother's day!