Melbourne Handmade Festival is turning the Showgrounds into one giant market this month

If your idea of a good weekend involves buying something that wasn't drop shipped from a warehouse, mark your calendar.

The Melbourne Handmade Festival takes over Melbourne Showgrounds on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 August, running 10am to 5pm both days. It brings together makers, artisans and small businesses from across the country under one roof for two days of handmade fashion, art, gifts and homewares.

This isn't a market with a handful of stalls and a coffee van. It's a proper showcase, the kind of event where you can actually talk to the person who made the thing you're buying, rather than scrolling past it in a marketplace listing that may or may not be what turns up in the post.

There's something genuinely refreshing about a festival built entirely around the opposite of algorithm driven shopping. No recommended for you, no ads disguised as organic finds, just actual humans who make actual things, set up in one venue for a weekend.

Melbourne Showgrounds in Flemington/Ascot Vale is an easy one to get to and has the space to handle a proper crowd without everyone being crammed into a single aisle, which is more than can be said for some of the city's smaller market events.

If you've been meaning to sort Christmas presents early, or just want to support small business over the algorithm, this is your excuse. Grab a friend, bring cash for the stalls that don't do card, and give yourself more time than you think you'll need. These things always take longer than planned once you start talking to the makers.

Two days only, 15 and 16 August. Don't be the person who finds out about it on the Monday after.