For Ocean Road Magazine

I was recently invited to tour designer homewares and lifestyle collective, Newrybar Merchants, located in the quaint, scenic and historic Northern New South Wales township of Newrybar in Byron shire (19 Old Pacific Highway, Newrybar, NSW). I, of course, enthusiastically accepted because I’ve been looking for an excuse to visit and there seemed no better one that this. I am pleased to report that I was not disappointed.

Newrybar Merchants is the result of a shared vision by Zane Grier and Todd Miller to open a collaborative concept store bringing together a handpicked group of creatives in a way that compliments the old world charm of the village. Mission accomplished and so without further adieu, meet the artisans of Newrybar Merchants.

Newrybar Merchants

The Society Inc.

I’ve long followed Internationally renowned interior stylist, product designer, and author, Sibella Court and I even own one of her books so I was delighted to see and touch, in person, Sibella’s carefully curated collection of curiosities known as The Society Inc. The space can also be described as a hardware & haberdashery shop made up of items found whilst venturing off the beaten track and currently it is Sibella’s only bricks and mortar retail destination, making Newrybar Merchants even more worth the visit.

Shannon Fricke – Heart and Home

Respected interior designer and stylist, Shannon Fricke’s homewares and bedding range, Heart and Home, is a showcase of diverse pattern, textures and natural fibres and all designed to be mixed and matched, promoting individuality and originality in the home. Shannon’s mantra is, a life lived with love, sensuality and an open-heart is a life better lived, which drives the aesthetic and ethos of her brand.

Shannon Fricke

Jai Vasicek & Paterson & Steele

Artist and retailer, Jai Vasicek has long been revered for his art and homewares offerings and his latest venture with Nicole Steele from Paterson + Steele at Newrybar Merchants is the only collaborative gallery-style space of its kind. Jai’s original and one-off pieces sit beautifully against Paterson + Steele ceramics. The space also showcases pieces from like-minded Australian designers including Megan Weston, Bonnie & Neil, The Beach People, Pop & Scott and Anchor Ceramics.

Beautiflora

Open since 2000, Beautiflora is the Byron area’s longest established floral design studio headed by Britte Sunde, who is renowned for tackling projects on a scale that others won’t, and with exceptional results. The brand’s success is due, in part, to Britte’s ability to strike a balance of creativity, attention to detail, skill and exceptional organisational skills. Specialising in botanical styling, Beautiflora provides exquisite bouquets for local delivery, weddings and large events and their space at Newrybar Merchants provides a dynamic first impression of the creative space.

Beautiflora

Diana Miller Artist

Artist, Diana Miller describes her contemporary abstract paintings as expressive and emotive and they provide a striking and spirited pop of colour within the space, juxtaposed perfectly against the old, raw, heritage homestead that houses Newrybar Merchants. Diana now pursues her art on a full time basis and in addition to her large scale artworks, she produces prints, greeting cards and a range of art cushions. Look out for Diana’s work in other forms as she embarks on producing a range of fabrics.

Fate & Fortune

Friends, Daniella Picone and Heidi Sidoti founded stationery boutique, Fate & Fortune in 2015 spurred by the notion that a little heartfelt message scrawled on the prettiest of paper can brighten any day. The talented duo, with their keen eye, are skilful curators and Fate & Fortune offers customers a delightful collection of paperware, journals, ribbons and pens, as well as hand-sourced gifts from both local and International artisans.

Newrybar Merchants

Mister Zimi

Husband and wife team, Jimi and Zoe Paul are the masters behind, Mister Zimi, a carefully designed edit of 70s inspired garments that admittedly and unashamedly march to the beat of their own drum. The brand’s aesthetic is about loud and proud prints on relaxed-cut designs, which take shape in classic shift dresses, maxi skirts, harem pants, leather jackets and footwear.

Wolf & Maiden

Wolf and Maiden is a Cape Town-based luxury accessory and lifestyle brand that creates products made from sustainable and natural materials of supreme quality, a nod to craftsmanship of a time gone by. Each one of the fine handcrafted products promotes simplicity and sumptuousness and is designed to evolve with its owner.

Wolf & Maiden

Tigmi Trading

If I could have a floor covered in berber rugs I surely would, which is why it was such a treat to see the Tigmi range of rugs sitting proudly at Newrybar Merchants.  The carefully sourced, rare Berber rugs sit perfectly against other artifacts from Morocco and around the globe as the brand aims to present an eclectic mix of vintage and contemporary pieces, which stimulate cultural curiosity and promote the values of traditional production methods.

Tigmi Trading

Since my visit, there have been some recent additions to Newrybar Merchants including MJG (Mr Jason Grant), Minimosh and Nikau. Read up on the new residents here www.newrybarmerchants.com.

Photography by Brian Usher for Ocean Road Magazine.

Carlene xx

For Domain.com.au

Queensland’s Sunshine Coast has a lot to offer: a laid-back pace, superb natural scenery, good shopping and a bevy of unassuming creative talent whose work should be shouted from the rooftops. One such creative is Eve Simmons, the name behind ceramics brand Liquorice Moon Studios.

Eve Simmons in her studio on the Sunshine Coast

How do you describe your ceramics?

My pieces are organic and earthy with a twist of modern bohemian. I love to work with the textures and the natural colours of the clay, contrasting it with simple glazes and striking metallic finishes. I primarily make special pieces for the home, such as decorative bowls for jewellery and trinkets, unique mugs, jugs and platters, along with ceramic bangles, bells and hanging planters.

What is your artistic background?

I grew up living above a pottery studio in Avalon, on the northern beaches in Sydney, in a creative family of artists, designers, photographers and makers. My sister and I would play in the studio, dipping our hands in the hot wax (used to wax the bottom of the pots before glazing) and making coil pots with our grandmother.

After dabbling in fashion design and photography for over a decade, I eventually responded to my memories of clay-making as a kid. I purchased a block and began experimenting and was hooked instantly. I taught myself to throw pots on the pottery wheel, mix glazes and kiln-fire my pieces through reading books and watching YouTube tutorials. I created an Instagram account, @liquorice_moon_studios and as I grew as a potter, so did my Instagram following, which prompted me to open my Etsy store. The whole process has been a huge challenge, however I feel that it’s the challenges that have kept me interested.

You’ve picked yourself a beautiful part of the world in which to live, how does your environment impact your work?

Living on the Sunshine Coast has a huge impact on my work. A vast majority of my pottery and photography inspiration comes from the shapes, patterns, colours and textures of the beach and surrounding scenery and our laid-back lifestyle puts me in a good place to get my creative juices flowing.

What are you plans for the business? Do you want to grow or are you exactly where you want to be?

I never imagined Liquorice Moon Studios could become a full-time job. I feel so blessed that people enjoy my work and that I can be at home for my kids and have the lifestyle that I want and need. I always wanted to incorporate other artists and products into Liquorice Moon, so I’ve recently introduced to my Etsy store my sister Kate’s brand, Stolen Heart Design (@stolenheartdesign on Instagram). Kate makes beautiful hand-dyed organic indigo peshtemals (turkish towels). I’ve also introduced a small collection of yoga books made by my mother, Linda Jenkin. Mum has been a yoga teacher for over 20 years and her books are hand-written, drawn and coloured, so they’re very unique.

I’m content with the natural evolution of my business. Working with clay truly nourishes my soul. Hand making functional pieces that are both visually appealing and serve a purpose makes me very content and I like to think that contentment translates in my pieces.

Carlene xx

Ever wondered about what goes behind those calm and prettily styled shots you see in magazines, Pinterest and Instagram?

I was fortunate recently to style, fellow Gold Coaster, Leah Bartholomew’s, new art collection. I have long been a fan of Leah’s work (I introduced you to Leah’s bold and beautiful, native flora-inspired work here), so I was all in to help create the perfect scenes for what I knew would be a killer new series of work.

Leah knew from the get go that she wanted to shoot in the Kira & Kira showroom (on the Gold Coast) for access to their beautiful and very complementary furniture and homewares. Negotiating our way around all that beautiful product to create enough space for the shots was tricky and photographer, Nat McComas, had to work her magic to pick up as much light as possible with the challenges of west facing building, low ceilings, and shadows galore but the proof is in the pudding, she delivered the goods.  It helped that Leah had complete faith in Nat and I to get the shot and was completely relaxed about the whole process.

Massive shout out to my first hand woman, Madeline who whilst gaining some work experience with me, also did a fabo job of contorting herself into some not so comfortable positions to hold props in place for the shot. Thanks Maddie.

We had 9 hours in which to get 7 shots. I know it sounds like an excessive amount of time but it’s so not. There is so much that goes into achieving those perfect styled shots that to the viewer should look like a completely natural, unstyled scene. We had to work with some urgency because I knew we would lose light at 5pm so my motto for the day was, “don’t split hairs,” I know myself well enough to know that I could compulsively add, delete, and move around props all day in a trance-like state. Anyone would think I’m performing brain surgery.

The creative agony is so rewarding when you see the final shot and it works.  And ta da…..here they are…….

Spring Carol Myrtle

Cunjevoi Plants

Summer Proteas

Grey Carol Myrtle

Bootlace Bush

Pandanus at Dusk print and Blueberry Ash print

Through the Paperbark Trees

Coastal Banksia print

It was such a fun and rewarding day. I didn’t realise until I got in the car that none of us sat down for 9 hours but the outcome was so worth it. Congratulations Leah for a knockout new collection. You can view and purchase the full series of Leah’s work via Greenhouse Interiors right now.

If you have questions about the suppliers of the product used in the shoot, feel free to query in the comments section.

Carlene xx

For Domain.com.au

Brisbane-based watercolour artist, Pip Spiro, made the best decision of her life when she took a leap of faith and threw in her corporate role in advertising for a far less certain, but infinitely more rewarding, life of an artist. We’re glad she did.

The arts can be a tough gig. Have you always been destined to be an artist?

I certainly didn’t start out this way. I worked in advertising for about five years before I began this journey and I don’t think I could have imagined that painting would one day be my job.

From the outset, the prospect of being an ‘artist’ seemed a bit pie-in-the-sky but it all happened very organically, from painting late at night as a wind down from work, to balancing it part-time with an office job. I finally took the plunge to make a go of it full time about three years ago. In hindsight, committing to it one hundred per cent was undoubtedly one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and has totally changed the direction of my life, and me as a person, in the best way possible.

Who are your major influencers, personally or professionally?

Cressida Campbell is my painting idol. She also works in watercolour but has a totally unique technique using woodblocks to make one off screen prints. I have great admiration for her talent, but also love that she is unashamed in simply painting what she finds beautiful – hers is the art I would love to have on my wall.

Personally, my husband Nick is both my toughest critic and fiercest advocate and rightly or wrongly I value his opinion more than anyone else’s. He’s perhaps the smartest and most positive person I know. I feel very lucky to have him always in my court.

Where do you want to take your art? Is there an ultimate goal or are you already there?

I see becoming an artist as a lifelong pursuit that I am only just beginning but my hope is that I can continue to make work that resonates with people and sparks joy in their homes and lives. I’m moving toward producing more bodies of work for exhibition rather than so much of the commission work I currently do a lot of (though I still enjoy the contrast). I’d love to exhibit more down south and eventually overseas. Representing contemporary Australian art to the world on any level would be the pinnacle for me, a most humbling and fulfilling cherry to top the joy I get from painting every day.

Pip Spiro

Carlene xx