They’re knobbly, crooked, smooth, short, long, skinny or wide. And they’re an unnoticed, overlooked, and, frankly, under-appreciated gift of wonder from nature herself. The humble stick can be found on random footpaths, in the backyard, in parks and gardens, deep in the bush and way out in the sticks. This September school holidays, we welcome you to STICKTORIA. A wondrous place at the Purpose Precinct located in the heart of Queen Victoria Market on Wurundjeri Country, where hundreds of sticks from across Victoria will converge to pose a very specific challenge: how can you give me a new life?

Join Will Barrell-Scott, kidpreneur and owner of social enterprise Wilful Kindness, together with his merry stack of Sticklers - a group of artists, makers and sticksmiths - to reimagine a world where sticks reign supreme. Join us at the Purpose Precinct to craft and construct using sticks as inspiration, combining upcycled materials to create a range of different objects d’stick that have nature and circularity in their very fibre. Think weaving looms, bee houses, puzzles, zines, dog toys… we’ve got more ideas than you can poke a stick at!

Weekdays: Two hour sessions available 10am-12pm and 1pm-3pm; Weekends: drop in anytime from 10-3pm!

Suitable for: kids and adults of all ages: 3+. Parents are encouraged to get stuck in alongside their children (parent attendance essential for all children under 16 years). You can also come and take a sticky beak from Tue Sep 19 as we start to craft the house that sticks built.

CREATURE FEATURE: MEET OUR STICKLERS!

The Sticklers are a diverse group of collaborative creatures coming together to make things out of sticks in September

Wildful (Will Barrelle-Scott): Wildful is a Sapien born on Ngunnanwal Country (Canberra) but moved to Naarm (Melbourne) when he was just one. He’s convinced that his canine, Magic, is actually his sibling, and his recent growth of a dark, curly mane certainly suggests his inner creature is emerging. Whilst he’s a city creature with a passion for technology and computer programming, every day his mums insist he ‘touches grass’ and you’ll find him out and about with Magic collecting sticks. He loves other creatures and spends far too much time looking at cute creature videos and memes. He also runs a social enterprise Wilful Kindness which features his funny creature greeting cards that fund Magic his dog to be a therapy dog at STREAT. a hospitality social enterprise. Wildful has autism and ADHD which means his superpowers are….Oh look, a possum!

Magic: Magic was born on the Country of the Jagera, Giabal and Jarowair tribes (of Toowoomba). As a pup she came to Naarm to be trained as a therapy dog for youth organisation STREAT, where her title as Branch Manager reflects her passion for sticks. She’s a Labrador Kelpie Canine with an enormous heart, an acute sense of smell, and an innate ability to round up things. Most often she’s rounding up teenage Sapiens at STREAT, but when she’s at home with her Hoomans, she sneaks around stealing and rounding up their dirty socks. Sometimes she can be found sitting upright in her lair, surrounded by a sea of Sock Subordinates. Though Magic’s most prized possession is a deer antler she’s been carrying around with her for at least three years. She’s a very discerning stick collector and we can guarantee that she Lab(rador) Tests all of our sticks before they’re used. Like Wildful, Magic can get very distracted by possums. And cats. And we’re pretty sure she’s neurodiverse too.

Dr Doolittle (Dr Kate Barrelle): Dr Doolittle was born on Gadigal Country (Sydney) and is the eldest of a combined Sapien/Canine/All Species pack. From a young age, she and her brothers cohabited in urban environments with all manner of animal sidekicks, including dogs (obviously), cats, hamsters, blue tongue lizards, birds, crabs, geckos – basically any species that would hang out with them. Her whole life has been journeyed alongside Canine companions. She planned on being a vet to help heal them and other Creatures. Whilst she ended up specializing in Sapien care (as a forensic and clinical psychologist), her favourite role is as a ‘plus one’ to Magic the Therapy Dog while Magic works magic with young people at STREAT. For over a decade Dr Doolittle has adventured around the world, helping Sapiens to stop fighting one another and see themselves as one pack (her PhD is in countering violent extremism). In the photo she can be seen with her son Wildful climbing a mountain to take some of their favourite sticks to one of the world’s most peaceful sites, Paro Taktsang, the sacred Tiger’s Nest in Bhutan. (Dr Doolittle is also the co-founder of STREAT.)

Beaker (Bec Scott): Growing up on Awabakal Country in the foothills of NSW’s Watagan National Park, Beaker is a restless Sapien who particularly loves heights and flying and has always imagined herself as an Ave (bird). As a young wildling you’d find her climbing mountains and then jumping off them using a rope (ie abseiling) or wings (using a hang glider or paraglider). Beaker has been passionate about sticks for over 50 years, crafting them since she was a toddler. She’s pictured here with her family’s stick collection at age two, and a year later she asked for a chainsaw for her third birthday (true story!). Her first paid job was collecting, cutting and carting sticks with her father Ken who was a tree lopper (also pictured). For her 18th birthday she inherited a heap of her father’s stick crafting tools which she still uses in her studio workshop today. She remains an avid stick collector and crafter, though she also works in other media too (she helped build STREAT, a hospitality social enterprise).

Harebear (Harry Lee): Naarm-based Sapien. Curious and playful nature. Loves burrowing deep and getting stuck into all manner of mischief. Cathemeral: consultant by day, artist by night. Often seen gnawing on puzzles and wicked problems. Constantly hungry.

Mattador (Matt Collins): is a Naarm-based Sapien who grew up in the land of the Ojibwa Indians (Cleveland, Ohio). As a child, Mattador liked to find “elevator trees” - tall but thin saplings that, when climbed to the top, bend from your weight to deposit you safely back onto solid ground. He’s learned to respect nature since then, but still enjoys climbing… as well as trail-running, jumping off of waterfalls, and general recklessness if it’s only himself at risk. Competitive and adventurous, Mattador is always on the hunt for new activities. This has led to many stick-based hobbies including stilts, stick juggling, archery, javelin throw, whittling, and floor hockey. He’s thinking of branching out; if you’re a pole vault, stick fighting, or twirling coach please get in touch!

Flutterscout (Fiona Meighan): loves exploring and discovering. She grew up on Yorta Yorta land (near Shepparton) and in the wilds of Wergaia land (in the Mallee) before fluttering back to Naarm. She has always loved learning through travel and this has led to exploring wilderness in the Amazon and Africa. While snakes and spiders don’t faze her, Flutterscout is incredibly afraid of mice. As a child, one of her favourite pastimes was making cubby houses under peppercorn trees, and practicing what being an international spy would be like. She loves taking photos of nature, finding it a great way to be mindful, but once learnt the hard way you need to look where you’re going when behind a camera or you might just be worse off when encountering a branch. Before getting into cameras, Flutterscout enjoyed painting people, the first one being her kindergarten teacher, Miss Rule.

mARTy: has always been a stickler for creative pursuits. He is from no particular place, and from no particular time… but planet earth is where he calls home. Creative endeavours come in the form of pen&paper, needle&thread, repair&modification, design&fabrication. His forté is designing and sewing handy things - bags, clothes, backpacks, tents. mARTy is a problem solving master! mARTy has deliberately set out to push the envelope of sticky situations, such as living through a winter in the Australian Alps in a self made tent, or traversing half the world on a self built bicycle, with an array of self made bags!