In its ninth year of operation, Bowerbird Design Market's founder Jane Barwick reveals some simple rules she has for success.

Bowerbird feels like it personifies the best of Adelaide in many ways. The three-day festival of everything exquisite feels like it helped create a wave of design consciousness in the city that has borne and benefited many successful brands.

It’s also grown and changed a lot in the last nine years – like the city itself.

Jane Barwick has been at the helm since the beginning and on the eve of her 18th Bowerbird, she’s candid about what she believes makes the event such a success. 

“I have a lot of help from a really diverse team,” says Jane before going on to list those people both past and present who’ve helped add to or realise her vision.

“We have a committed crew who come and set up the event twice a year, who all do other creative and exciting projects outside of Bowerbird. I love catching up on what they’re doing,” says Jane.

She agrees that Bowerbird is very much a part and extension of the arts in South Australia.

And while Jane is very clearly interested in making Bowerbird the most appealing and convenient and enjoyable way to spend your weekend as a customer, a great deal of the event’s ongoing success is that she’s equally, if not more, invested in ensuring stallholders do well.

Bowerbird Design Market director – Jane Barwick. Image: Belinda Monck

“It’s great for the stallholders taking part because they get that direct feedback they wouldn’t get if they were wholesaling to a retailer or gallery,” Jane says. Beyond this unique feedback loop though, Bowerbird also offers professional development opportunities, which ensure stallholders have the best chance of success over the weekend.

“We’ve just run visual merchandising with Nicola Danby from TAFE and Julie Pieda from Koush Design. We had a dozen stallholders, most of them new, but also some stallholders who’ve done Bowerbird before come and get a lot out of it.”

And while it would be easy for Jane to relax and simply create a carbon copy of her event each year, she continues to invest and evolve the offering to the public.

“In some ways it’s become easier over the years but we do like modifying it each time and that does create more work but it’s definitely worth it,” she says.

Jane is also seeking relaxation by getting off her computer as much as possible and has taken the chance where practical to experience different festivals around the country and overseas.

She’s recently returned from New Zealand where she volunteered as a worker on a new food festival. Later this year she’ll attend Dark Mofo’s Winter Feast to again take stock of her own processes and further develop her understanding of how different events develop their own unique character and identity.

It’s this lateral and creative approach that gives Bowerbird so much authenticity and ultimately reflects so positively on this city that really makes Bowerbird Design Market the iconic South Australian event it is.