How a Night at the Markets Led Us to a Movie Set 🎬
Running a market stall, you never really know who you’re going to meet.
Most nights at the Surfers Paradise Beachfront Markets are pretty normal for us:
painting hats, chatting with families, helping kids choose colours and designs.
But last year, something happened that we never expected.
While we were working at the markets, an actor stopped by our stall while filming on the Gold Coast.
That actor was Ludi Lin — who plays Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat.
At first, it just felt like a normal conversation.
He watched us painting, looked through the hats, and asked questions about what we do.
Then he asked something we definitely weren’t expecting:
👉 Could we make custom hats for the cast and crew?
Not one or two…
Thirty hats.
🎨 A Huge Deadline… Right Before Christmas
There was just one catch.
The crew were about to leave for Christmas, which meant we only had two days to finish all 30 hats.
At the same time, we were still running the markets Wednesday, Friday & Saturday from 4pm–9pm.
So for two days straight, we worked almost nonstop.
Markets during the evening…
Then painting hats late into the night after we finished up at Surfers Markets.Â
Some nights we were working until around 3am just trying to make sure every hat was finished in time and a high standard.Â
It was exhausting…
But also one of those moments where adrenaline and excitement keep you going.
đź’™ Our Kids Got to Experience It Too
One of the most special parts of the whole experience was being able to take our kids with us when we delivered the hats onto the movie set.
As parents, moments like that mean everything.
What started as a normal night at the markets turned into a memory our family will never forget.
🎬 Walking Onto the Mortal Kombat Set
Once the hats were complete, we were invited onto the movie set to personally deliver them.
Walking onto the set of a major movie production felt surreal.
And while we were there, we also got to meet some of the other characters from the film, including Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade.
For a small family business that started with airbrushing hats at the markets…
it was one of those “is this really happening?” moments.
🎨 More Than Just Hats
Looking back, the experience was never really just about the movie.
It was about:
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hard work
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saying yes to opportunities
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backing ourselves under pressure
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and creating something special enough that people connected with it
That’s what we love most about what we do.
Every hat is painted by hand.
Every design is personal.
And every now and then, something incredible happens because of it.
🌴 Still Painting at the Markets
Even after moments like this, we’re still doing what we’ve always done:
painting hats live at the markets and creating personalised designs for families every week.
That’s honestly our favourite part.
Watching kids get excited seeing their design come to life…
seeing parents smile when they put the hat on…
That feeling never gets old.
✨ Final Thoughts
Sometimes the biggest opportunities come from the most unexpected places.
For us, it happened at the markets.
And it’s a reminder that small businesses — and big dreams — can lead to some pretty unforgettable moments 💙