My Poppet blogger Cintia Gonzalez-Pell says that living in multicultural Melbourne is like being on holiday all the time – you walk down the street and hear people speaking different languages and cafes serve all sorts of delights from Israeli shakshuka to Greek treats. The talented crafter is also partial to vintage pieces, so luckily for her Melbourne is full of great flea markets and thrift-shop finds!

What do you do?
I’m a mother to three-year-old Emma, crafter, blogger and online shop owner. I blog weekly craft projects on my blog My Poppet and make handcrafted pieces for the My Poppet store.

What’s your neighbourhood like?
We live in Caulfield, a southern suburb of Melbourne. It’s quite unique within Melbourne as it has a large Jewish community, which is multiculturally diverse in itself. Since living here we’ve developed quite the taste for bagels.

What do you and your family do on a regular day out?
During the week our regular routine involves walking to the post office to post off orders, followed by a picnic lunch and play at our local park. On the weekend the whole family heads out for breakfast at a cafe. Melbourne is famous for its cafe culture, after all. If we wake up early enough we sometimes visit the Camberwell flea market. In summer we head to a local beach and in cooler weather I tend to spend lots of time in my sewing room.

What is the biggest media story at the moment in Australia?
To be honest, I don’t often watch the news! It’s mostly about political in-fighting or misbehaved football players.

What’s a popular product for babies or children in Australia right now?
There has been a strong handmade movement in Melbourne for the last few years. Lots of makers markets have popped up and many are focused just on handmade children’s clothing and toys. Personally, I love thrift shopping and often pick up good quality vintage pieces for Emma, who has (unfortunately) recently decided that she will only wear sparkly ‘princess’ dresses!

What about women’s fashion, are there any particular fads going around that you’ve noticed?
Melbournians are famously known for wearing black, so this new colour block trend has been a fabulous way to inject a shot of colour into a sometimes grey city. I tend to wear mainly vintage clothing and try not to get too caught up in fashion trends.

What’s an Australian recipe that you love?
I do love a good pavlova. But the beauty of living in multicultural Melbourne is that we have the world on our dinner plate. Our area is surrounded by a range of culturally diverse suburbs where we can have Israeli shakshuka for breakfast, excellent Chinese dumplings for lunch and mouthwatering Greek cakes for afternoon tea.

What’s a big TV show in Australia right now? Is it any good?
Lately everyone seems to be obsessed with The Voice. I’m not normally into reality shows, but surprisingly I’m really enjoying it.

What have Australian politicians been arguing about lately?
Apart from leadership squabbles, marriage equality and the carbon tax seem to be big issues in parliament.

What’s your favourite Australian blog and what do you love about it?
It’s a bit embarrassing, being a blogger and all, but I hardly read blogs. Who has the time?

What makes Australia feel like home?
I love to travel and feel at home almost anywhere, and I think that’s what I like about Melbourne. I love walking down the street and hearing people speak many different languages. It’s like being on holidays all the time.