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The Crafty Squirrel

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The Crafty Squirrel

Morgan Wills • The Crafty Squirrel
Vintage • Textiles • Handmade
Ballarat Studio Shop + 24/7 Online
Curated Craft Tours — Japan, France & Hobart

The Crafty Squirrel is the little corner shop and studio of designer/maker Morgan Wills.

28/08/2026

🇯🇵 LOVE JAPAN

A lovely parcel arrived at The Crafty Squirrel today — an advance copy of Lonely Planet brand-new book Love Japan. 💙🇯🇵

They really couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate book to send me!

It’s a little different from a traditional travel guide. Written by 30 Japan-based writers, it’s all about the people, traditions, customs and stories that make Japan such a fascinating place.

And making it even more special, I discovered that one of the writers who contributed to the book is the lovely Manami Okazaki, who I know! Manami “maki” Okazaki (岡崎真奈美) Such a wonderful connection to have to this beautiful book about Japan.

Of course I headed straight for the art, craft and culture pages! 🐿️ These are the things I love most about travelling in Japan — meeting craftspeople, visiting workshops and studios, learning about traditions and discovering all those little details of Japanese life along the way.

The box it arrived in says “Fall in love with the real Japan.”

I think it might be a little late for me… I fell in love with Japan a long time ago! ❤️🇯🇵

Thank you Lonely Planet for sending it my way. I have a feeling my Japan list is about to get even longer! 😂❤️🐿️

27/08/2026

I was so sad to hear today of the passing of one of my all-time favourite artists, Yayoi Kusama, at the age of 97. ❤️

Her work has always made me smile — the pumpkins, the polka dots, the incredible colour, repetition and sheer joy of it all. 🎃🔴🟡

Over the years I’ve been incredibly fortunate to experience Kusama’s work in some very special places.

I’ve visited her hometown of Matsumoto and the wonderful Matsumoto City Museum of Art, travelled to Naoshima Art Island several times to see those iconic pumpkins sitting beside the Seto Inland Sea, stumbled across her work in Osaka, and most recently immersed myself in the extraordinary Yayoi Kusama exhibition at the NGV in Melbourne.

Seeing her work in person has always been such a joyful experience. There’s something about those dots, colours and fantastical shapes that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into another world.

Looking back through these photos today, I’m feeling very grateful to have experienced so much of her extraordinary work — particularly in Japan, a country that means so much to me.

What an incredible creative legacy she leaves behind.

Vale Yayoi Kusama.
Thank you for a lifetime of colour, dots, pumpkins and imagination. ❤️🟡⚫️🎃🇯🇵

24/08/2026

😆❤️🐿️🌈

21/08/2026

You never quite know what you’ll find at The Crafty Squirrel… and I think that’s part of the fun!

Most of our stock comes from Japan and France, with a little bit of Germany thrown in, along with vintage finds and handmade goodies.

One of the things I love most about travelling is finding treasures to bring home for the shop. Everywhere I go, I’m always on the lookout for things that are a little different — things I haven’t seen everywhere else and that I think you’ll love too.

Over the years this has become such a big part of what The Crafty Squirrel is. The shop is really a collection of things I’ve found, loved and wanted to share with you.

There’s always something new arriving and you really never know what you’re going to find when you come in.

I think that’s what makes The Crafty Squirrel so much fun and a little bit special. 🐿️❤️

The shop is open Thursday, Friday & Saturday when I’m home, and you can always find a selection of our treasures in the online shop too. If you’re travelling from further afield to visit us, it’s always worth checking our Google opening hours before you set off — I keep them up to date so you can be sure I’ll be here when you arrive.

11/08/2026

You might remember that earlier this year I travelled north in Japan to do some more research for my Kokeshi-themed tour — the first one will run from 25 Oct to 5 Nov 2028 (get in touch if you’d like to join the waitlist!).

One of the absolute highlights was visiting a lovely Kokeshi-making family, where mum, dad and son were all involved in the craft. I came away completely inspired and started wondering… what might my own little wooden doll look like?

Of course, it was always going to involve a little Crafty Squirrel whimsy! 🍄

Combining my love of woodland whimsy and all things toadstool, my love of Kokeshi, and, of course, my lifelong love of sewing and stitching, I came up with the idea of a toadstool-inspired wooden darning doll.

I drew up my design and asked our friends Rie and the team at Woodrock Turning, who have brought a number of our exclusive designs to life over the years — including our acorn tape measures and acorn stitch markers — whether they could turn my idea into reality.

And this is the very first one! ❤️🍄

I think she is pretty adorable, and I’m so thrilled to see something that began as an idea during my travels in Japan become a real little object that combines so many of the things I love.

And even better… we’re hoping to have some available in the shop soon! 💚🐿️🍄

01/08/2026

Do you love little things as much as I do? Trinkets forever?! 😍❤️🐿️🌈

30/07/2026

When you own a building like ours, built around 1885, there’s always another job waiting. This time it was one of the biggest—the main shop window, whose timber frame had reached the point where it needed replacing.

Last Saturday, after closing the shop, I packed up almost everything. On Sunday I finished the job, moving half the shop into my lounge room and covering everything with dust sheets to protect it during the work.

Our rainbow-coloured glass had been set into old metal louvres that have become a signature of The Crafty Squirrel. Unfortunately, the louvres were too deteriorated to be reinstated. Rather than lose this special feature, I carefully removed the glass and sent each piece to a local leadlighter, who transformed them into beautiful leadlight windows. I’m so pleased this little piece of The Crafty Squirrel’s history has been preserved in a new form.

I’m incredibly grateful to the team of trades and specialists who made it all happen—it’s been a long time in the planning. Along with the new windows, we’ve added fresh signwriting, and the painters are nearly finished (just the outside frame remains), but I’m calling it done.

I can’t quite explain how much work went into this, or how hard everyone pushed to go from trading last Saturday to reopening at 10am this morning. It’s been an enormous week, but we made it.

I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved, and the shop is sparkling with its refresh. Thank you to everyone who helped bring it all together. ❤️

15/07/2026

✨ What an unforgettable day! ✨

Today we had the absolute privilege of welcoming Rika & Rie from NONA (.jp) in Tokyo to Ballarat for our Temari Ball Workshop at the Rare Trades Centre ().

Watching everyone discover the beauty of this traditional Japanese art form was such a joy. From learning how to make the temari balls to placing each stitch to create intricate patterns, every participant created something truly unique while learning directly from two incredibly talented artisans.

The room was filled with concentration, laughter, encouragement and plenty of aha! moments as the beautiful designs slowly emerged.

One of the highlights of the day was the beautiful collection of plant-dyed threads, yarns and carefully curated haberdashery that Rika and Rie brought all the way from Japan. Everyone loved browsing their treasures and had the opportunity to purchase some truly special supplies to continue their temari journey at home.

A huge thank you to Rika and Rie for so generously sharing their knowledge, patience and passion with us. It was a wonderful cultural exchange and a day that I know everyone will remember for a long time.

Thank you also to everyone who joined us, embraced the challenge and made the day so special. And thank you to the Rare Trades Centre for being such a fantastic venue and helping us create this memorable experience.

I feel incredibly grateful that The Crafty Squirrel can bring extraordinary opportunities like this to our community, connecting Ballarat with the rich traditions of Japanese craft.

💛 Arigatou gozaimasu, Rika & Rie. We can’t wait to welcome you back to Ballarat one day! 💙🐿️🇯🇵

13/07/2026

Just a little heads-up for this week. 🌈

We’ll be open Thursday 16 & Friday 17 July (10am–5pm), then taking a short break on Saturday 18 July.

We’ll be back to our usual Thursday–Saturday hours from Thursday 23 July.

If you’ve been meaning to pop in for supplies, a project treat or just a browse, we’d love to see you this week. 💙🐿️✂️

06/07/2026

Thanks Everyone for all the support over the last 15 years!

FOR 15 years, Morgan Wills has been living her crafty corner store life. The maker and owner-operator of The Crafty Squirrel celebrated her business’ anniversary at the weekend. Wills opened the Ballarat Central shop at Urquhart and Errard streets in 2011 and, pointing to a vintage nightlight shaped like a squirrel, explained the origins of the shop’s name. “When I was trying to think of a name for the shop, I didn’t want to call it my own name,” she said.“ I thought, ‘What can I call it? I’m crafty. I like making things. I’m like a squirrel. I collect and gather.’ So, The Crafty Squirrel.” Such qualities have been with Wills since a young age. “From when I was a young child, as soon as I learned how to use scissors, I wanted to cut and make things,” she said. “It’s my whole life. I’ve been making things. And then at school, all the art subjects… I just always have been a maker.” Wills, her husband and two children moved from Melbourne 16 years ago after finding a store where she could sell her work. “We’ve had ups and downs, and we’ve lived through COVID, and we have managed to keep going through everything. I feel really blessed and very supported by the community around me,” she said.
The business has since grown into running craft tours in Hobart, Japan and France, allowing Wills to travel throughout the year. “The fact that I can incorporate travelling in my business model is really great,” she said. The social aspect of her shop, which attracts both tourists as well as residents, is one of her highlights. One customer brought Wills flowers for her business achievement. “To me, that feels like that’s not a normal shop,” she said. “People meet each other here, they catch up, they might see a friend they haven’t seen in forever who happens to be here at the same time. You know, it’s all of that. ”Wills said she was thankful to her customers and everyone who had supported her.

July 5, 2026 BY Chris O'Leary for The Ballarat Times

Address

Cnr Errard & Urquhart Streets
Ballarat, VIC
3350

Opening Hours

Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	10am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 4pm

Website

https://www.thecraftysquirrel.com.au/index.html

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