Interiors
SOHI Secrets
When you go on a mini break it’s the small ‘discoveries’ which give you a fondness for a place. A lot of retailers operate on the 7-11 or McDonalds principle of ’secure the real estate and they will come’, offering cheap tat and a convenient location for tourists to empty their wallets. We’re proud to say that our advertising partners don’t subscribe solely to this theory and when you enter stores like One Wise Owl and Roots & Wings Design in Berry, you really feel like you’ve been let in on a secret that only the cool kids know about.
We’ve made a couple of discoveries locally which we hope will keep the tourists coming back. Tulip-Free-Zones if you like. The first is Dirty Jane’s Emporium on Bong Bong Street in Bowral. What you can see from the street is far from the whole story. It’s really not enough to window-shop here. Go inside and items will speak to you directly. Your imagination will run wild with the history of each piece. Snap up one of their giant French cheese boards in particular.
The second discovery we made is Sidetracked Depot next to the Milk Factory Cafe in Bowral. It’s difficult to walk out empty handed as they stock less expensive items right through to super slick antique glass and steel medical cabinets as seen at Industria on Melbourne’s Gertrude Street. They stock ex-film props, original artworks, industrial spools-cum-candle-sticks, anatomy toys, and of course cloches full of dolls – a perfect gift for the person who has everything.
We hope that the area starts attracting more tourists who spend money on unique things, and that forward planning for the area involves a little more than bussing pensioners in to look at flowers and buy a cup of tea. We would love to hear your comments for event ideas for the area – events that will attract the young, interesting and moneyed.
Serious Jugs
Don’t you just hate branding on your breakfast table? Milk bottles, peanut butter jars, hideous butter tubs. Quelle horreur! One can never have too many jugs but one certainly have too few. So what a delight it was to discover Robert Gordon’s pottery range at The Cake Store on Kinghorne Street in Nowra. We now have jugs til next Tuesday having collected various sizes and colours with those silly little names that we secretly love like cornflower, duck egg, buttercup, latte and mint. They’re really so sturdy that they feel like they’re from another time. We’re very pleased to have helped you unbrand and unclutter your life.
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Roots & Wings Design – online shop open for business
Good news for all our non-SOHI dwelling fans. Roots & Wings Design in Berry has now opened their online store. Researching this blog post very quickly resulted in a side step to Paypal when we discovered this belt we shouldn’t have bought to go with this shirt-dress we definitely can’t afford. Rebecca’s tireless curating results in a collection of homewares, clothing and life-organising essentials that make us feel so very grown up. And though Berry is a beautiful place to have an ivy covered shopfront, now we don’t have to drive. Oh dear.
Note: the shots on the ’shop’ section of the site are by Rebecca’s little sister Sam Riles. She is only 18.
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homelove
Uber-stylist, ex-Burrawang resident and friend of SOHI, Megan Morton, has published a book. It’s called homelove and you should buy it here. The postmistress delivered ours last week and we’ve been enjoying it at bedtime as one enjoys a mint tea and a Champagne truffle before drifting off. It’s perfect timing with a well known shelter mag having booked in a photo shoot of SOHI HQ – inspiration urgently needed! Megan, true to her real-life self, preaches comfort, pride and usefulness. She also gives advice on how to decorate fearlessly and express yourself through your home, working its advantages and negotiating its limitations. Anyone who has read her Good Weekend column will recognise her wonderful conspiratorial chatterings! If online tidbits are more your style, you can also subscribe to her blog RSS here.
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The Word on SOHI
Sometimes when publishing we forget that we have two audiences. We have our local audience, and we have our non-SOHI audience: the SOHI-curious. We were asked today about our recommendations for places to do and things to see in the area and we thought since Winter is approaching it might be timely to post on ‘Friends of SOHI’ who are doing their ambassadorial bit to impress out-of-towners and generally give all of us a good name!
Regarding places to stay : For those of us who have our batteries recharged by a little bit of isolation, The Rectory Park Cottage at Kangaroo Valley is the place to go.
We also love ‘friend of SOHI’ Bluemetal Vineyard with their cute cottage. It gives the feeling of being away from it all but it’s very close to the villages of Berrima, Mittagong and Bowral.
For things to do, we would recommend a treasure hunt at Grandpa’s Shed at Fitzroy Falls. You have to go right inside to appreciate it as the street view is pretty awful. Don’t forget your heart medication. We had heart palpitations when we saw the floor to ceiling wonder.
The Burrawang Pub is where we take Sydney friends to try and trick them into thinking that the whole of the Highlands looks this awe-inspiring. The views are unbeatable and if you don’t mind your kids running rampant and free over green grass, then it’s what you might consider kid-friendly. The Burrawang General Store Cafe is where we go when we want fine food on a Wintry day and it’s right across the street, so you can arrive then decide on the spot what your tummy is asking for.
The Robertson Cheese Factory serves an incredible breakfast – we highly recommend the brekky roll.
If you have an entire day free, you can’t go past FoodPath Tours for both a brilliant learning experience and a way to pretty much cover the whole Highlands area and all it offers. The tours are an essential foodie experience. Jill and Nick are so incredibly knowledgeable and the suppliers you will meet are so candid and fascinating. There will be more on Jill and Nick and their passions in our upcoming print edition.
Sturt is great. There is a gallery filled with works which all tell a story, a shop stocking clothing, homewares and furniture all hand made in Australia, and a wonderful sunny cafe and garden. You could spend some serious time here.
If you’re thinking of rambling, pack a picnic and plenty to drink and keep your eye out for signs to Belmore Falls, Carrington Falls, Fitzroy Falls and the walking track before Joadja. We don’t want to give away too much detail here as the best rambles we have had have come from randomly following signs with no firm plans. Stick to the roads and tracks and open your heart to an adventure. It’s the only way.
(image: Sascha Walters, the Burra Pub view).
Please comment if you would like to share your tips on SOHI visits.
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