Local Business: Pollen Tea Room

I mentioned the other day that this is not a food blog. What I meant to say was, this is not a blog about eat places. There are so many amazing people out there talking about food in Hobart, where to go, what's new... I don't need to fill that space. However, I am happy to talk about growing food (as that's all part of having a garden and working towards sustainability - but I'll talk about that more another day), and I am always, ALWAYS happy to talk about tea. Drinking tea, making tea, the cool things to put tea in and accessorise tea... few things are better than a cup of tea. 

Which is why I am going to talk to you about Pollen Tea Room. Tucked into a beautiful old building on Hampden Road in Battery Point, I hear that Pollen Tea Room has been around for a while. I also have no idea why I've never heard of it before, but I am so grateful that I did! 

So my weekend involved my first visit, and it won't be the last. A warm atmosphere with a lovely outdoor area, Pollen Tea Room are more than just another cafe. Their tea menu is the most extensive I have ever seen, and showcases their own blends, with a priority towards organic and ethically sourced, as well as a focus on chai - my favourite!

The food menu is really pleasant, once again focusing on organic, seasonal and local where possible, and most intolerances/allergies catered for. 

Pollen Tea Room is the perfect spot for a quiet moment, or an intimate catch up with a good friend over the best thing in the world - tea. 

This is the blend I took home!

Even better, if you love the tea you've had, they sell all their brews in take away packets, and you can order online as well. There's also a beautiful range of handmade teaware you can purchase from their website. 

As always, I only mention a business on here that I love, I'm not getting paid or anything out of this review except for sharing something awesome with you! All pics except for the first one lovingly stolen from the Pollen Tea Room website :)

Market: Kingston Beach Handmade Market

Woops! I was supposed to post this up a week ago, thought I had, and clearly hadn't! Nevermind...

The Kingston Beach Handmade Market is an established makers and producers market that's been running for more than 2 years in the bright and charming Kingston Beach Hall, a stone's throw from the blue water and golden sand of Kingston Beach. Only a 10 minute drive from Hobart city, what better excuse for a Sunday drive on a beautiful summer's day!

The moment I stepped inside the hall, I was greeted by the most amazing smell! It was, of course, the beautiful soy candles, handmade and hand poured by Lily and Charlie. 

In the sweetest jars, these candles are devine, and handmade by such a lovely person too! And with scents like Black Raspberry, Strawberries & Cream, and Mandarin Vanilla Cream (I couldn't resist Lemongrass) there's a scent to suit everyone. And you know what? The thing I love the most about soy candles is that when the candle is finished, its so easy to clean out! Because if you're a candle lover like me you probably have a stash of lovely containers that you can't bear to throw away but the wax is so stuck in the bottom you can't use the container for something else! With soy you simply run under the hot tap and it comes straight out. 

I was so in love with the candles I didn't even take a pic of the awesome jewellery range by Lily and Charlie! So you will have to go to the website to see the rest of the great stuff. 

The market was on the smaller side, being right after Christmas, but the setting is lovely (what a great hall!) and its a market worth the visit for sure!

Apricots!

Living in a cooler climate means summer is a feast of local stone fruit, and for me, berries and stone fruit are something worth getting excited about. I can't remember if I realised there was an apricot tree in my backyard before or after I purchased my little house, but its definitely one of the things I love about my property and this year has been a particularly bountiful harvest. The thing with fruit is that it's all ripe pretty much at once which means a huge picking effort happened on the weekend!

Even after giving away bucket loads, I still had heaps left over so I popped a sign out the front and sold some to the neighbourhood! 

So my weekend was filled with fruit picking, grading and jam making! Oh I did have time to pop down to another market, which I will tell you about shortly. I have a dream of making a little stand out the front of my house and selling my excess jams, chutneys and other home made creations... maybe that's what my apricot sales money can go towards!

Market Find: Brass Scales

Wasn't the weather on the weekend just magic? I love the hot, muggy feel in the air before a storm, and it was so much fun watching the clouds roll in across the river. 

I decided to kick the year off with a visit to the Sorell Market on Sunday, and met a lovely lady with a great collection of vintage and antique items for sale. I almost didn't ask how much this lovely piece was, but when she mentioned the rock bottom price of $5!!!! I couldn't say no!

When I asked her where the scales come from, she said they lived in her dad's shed for many years. A lot of the items for sale were from her grandparents and dad's years of hording, and although its hard to let good items go, a person just doesn't have the room and after all you always have your memories! I'm glad she told me the story, I couldn't help but think of my own dad and all his collections, and how my sister and I are still wondering where to keep them all...

I couldn't wait to get the scales home for a polish, and posted a sneaky picture on Instagram to try and make everyone guess what my find was! The guesses were great (vase, hookah, candle holder, door knob, barometer!) but no-one guessed correctly!

And here they are all polished up! I love the little enamel flowers, and I think it looks so much better all shiny.

I can't wait to give them a home in my office revamp!

The Market

I know it's already Wednesday but did you have a great weekend?! I hope you had the time to do a little bit of what you love (because that's what weekends are for!). It's been dark and gloomy here in Hobart lately, not summer weather at all, but we can't complain too much because all the rain is keeping things green and I do spare a thought for the many people on tank water who must be sighing with relief to have a decent top up before the hot weather arrives.

This weekend was extra special as it was the last "The Market" for the year. The Market is *the* market for boutique, quality items from local Tasmanian independent makers and designers. Held in The Masonic Temple in Hobart, The Market hand selects each stall holder to ensure the items for sale fit with their philosophy, and a packed hall on Sunday was the best indication that their formula works! And of course why wouldn't it, with so many beautiful items to buy direct from their maker. 

The Market is on 6 times a year, so you'll have to wait a while for the next one, but I can tell you now, the wait is definitely worth it! So much good stuff, every stall holder was unique, well presented and very polished, and the items were just so beautiful! Some sellers were so busy I couldn't even get in to see their range properly. Luckily The Market website is fantastic and even has a Look Book for each market which you can peruse, and then head to the Profiles page to find the artist and their beautiful wares. 

I'd already had a look through and pin pointed the artists I was especially interested in, so my first stop was Sea Soul Studio. I'm not sure if it was the dreamy and quaint porcelain pieces or the story of their creation in a beautiful 1800's cottage studio which made me fall in love - perhaps both - and I just knew a stunning driftwood spoon had to be mine. 

They were even more amazing in real life and I took a (bad) photo while deciding. When I asked Sarah if I could take a photo, she laughed and said "as long as you're not sending it to China to make copies!". Turns out that an overseas manufacturer had contacted her to say they could replicate her product in a factory for a fraction of the price! Can you believe the nerve?! When I said the photos were for a new and not-very-good blog, she asked for a card! I never thought a blog would be interesting enough to warrant a business card but perhaps its worth considering...

Anyway back to the market! Driftwood spoon in hand, I wandered through the other stalls snapping where I could.

Little Twig's display is their namesake

This pic is a little fuzzy but I still had to share their cute sign!

I would have loved to get better snaps of the gorgeous displays but unfortunately there were too many customers! What a nice problem to have :) I bet there are some very lucky people getting some beautiful gifts this Christmas.

Did you spot my terrible photo of this beautiful calendar?! Bon Mot Design - Bec Adamczewski - is the creator behind this lovely piece. Here is a better pic borrowed from the Facebook page - I love the colours, the woodland theme, and the beautiful saying across the top! Notice how all the little animals are in pairs?! It just looked amazing in the frame too.

You can purchase this calendar from the Facebook Page

The calendar isn't on Etsy but Bec's other sweet designs are, you can find them here. I can't stop thinking about the wall calendar, I'm thinking I might have to make some room for it in my office upgrade - which I am still working on, and will update about soon!!

Do you have a favourite market? Or is there somewhere else you head in the Hobart area to buy your local loves?

Transforming a step ladder

For the past couple of years I, with the help of my family, have been renovating my plain little suburban house in Hobart.  It was a "renovator's delight" back in 2011, and has slowly been transformed into a bright and modern home. By current standards, my house is small - only 10 squares, with a single bathroom and three small bedrooms. I love it though, especially now that the major works are done and it's just the trimmings to complete.

The part I have enjoyed the most is decorating and bringing together the interior with furniture and art and items I've collected over the years. I've had to be mindful of the potential resale as this house is also a stepping stone for me, which means a neutral interior - white walls, pale floorboards, grey tiles... perhaps not very inspiring but its a palate which allows me to bring in colour where I want it, and means when its time to sell I don't have any major changes to make with floor coverings and wall colours, and not doing things twice sounds pretty good to me!

Out of the three bedrooms, one is mine (obviously), one is a guest room and one is an office and craft room. The guest bedroom has a double bed, and even by putting the bed hard against two walls, I only have about 35cm for a bedside table - and let me tell you, there are not many options out there for very small bedside tables!

So when I went looking for inspiration I fell in love with these:

Aren't they just the sweetest?! Lucky for me, I just happened to have my eye on the perfect little ladder! I bided my time and when the poor rickety old thing finally gave in and its owner decided it was destined for landfill, I quickly whisked it home for its new life!

Here she is! Obviously in need of some serious TLC, I'm looking forward to transforming this little piece into something new and great!

This poor step will need repairing or replacing.

With old furniture, I can't help but wonder what it's story is. The marks underneath means its probably home made. Was it a school project, proudly bought home by a budding furniture maker? Did an experienced man whip this stool up for his wife to reach the heights of her pantry? Maybe it was a gift, or simply an item made from scraps someone had lying around....

I will never know its story (the previous owner can't remember where she got it from), but I look forward to adding to its useful life, and showing you how it comes out along the way!

Local Creator: Opaque Handcrafted

Pic stolen from Lilla's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/opaquehandcrafted

Nothing quite makes my soul sing like someone delving into a creative adventure, following their heart and dreams and putting their hand to something completely new... and the venture being a great success!

That's why I absolutely have to share Opaque Handcrafted with you. I met Lilla a few years ago, we worked alongside each other for a few months in Launceston. She is one of the funniest and stylish people I know so it didn't surprise me at all to find she's been making the most amazing jewellery!

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it but I am a hands down, tree lover. My folks are tree people - I think I knew how to spot different types of deciduous trees before I could complete my times tables as a kid (I'm still pretty rough on the times tables!) so to see Lilla using beautiful Tasmanian timbers in her work meant I was always going to be a hands down fan.

The timber paired up with the pastels of the resin work beautifully, and when Lilla started using copper, well, I had to make some mine! 

Over the moon when my package arrived, how sweet is her logo?

And here they are, sweet as can be, I absolutely love them.

Pic stolen from Opaque Handcrafted on Instagram - Lilla takes far better pics than me!

Shameless selfie wearing my new bling!

Well done Lilla on putting yourself out there and making such a stunning product - I can't wait to see what new stuff you come up with in the future!

You can find Opaque Handcrafted on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/opaquehandcrafted

*This is not a sponsored post. Although I know Lilla, she never even told me about Opaque Handcrafted, I had to stumble onto it myself on Facebook!* 

Shopping Locally this Silly Season

I know it might seem a little typical of the times, but as we head into the silly season, where Australians are forecast to spend a whopping $32.6 billion dollars on food, gifts and home decor, I want to get on the bandwagon and really encourage you to think about where your dollars are really going.

Perhaps, in this crazy world of excess and commercialism, its truly time to sit back, reassess how we do this time of year, and make a conscious effort to be more local with our spending. Because money spent at retail chains and corporate giants simply lines the pockets of shareholders, whereas spending money with your local retailers helps keep their doors open, their kids in out of school activities, and means they can then contribute to their local community as well. It also means you can have more of a say about the conditions your gifts were made in, and where the parts of the gift were sourced.

Why buy a mass made candle, when you can support a local person who makes beautiful candles from Tasmanian beeswax? Think about it. You're supporting the farmer, and the creator.

Perhaps think a little further - if you buy a range of local jams and relishes from a stall at the Hobart Farm Gate farmers market, your dollars are supporting a local maker, a local business, and your lucky gift recipient is eating a preservative free product made from locally grown fruit and veg which is in turn supporting a local farmer! That's at least three lots of families who live in your area, send their kids to school with your kids, and work and (hopefully) support the community you work and support. Perhaps the maker had their labels designed by a local artist, perhaps their business cards were printed with a local printer.... the flow on can be endless if you think about it.

And here's another thought - what about buying second hand? The vintage craze is well and truly in full swing so why not take advantage of the trend and buy your loved ones a vintage cake tin, or a retro vase, or a antique tea cup? Recycling, a unique item, and also supporting a local shop or market stall are all advantages of something that's used. 

Use the opportunity to tell your gift receiver your new philosophy behind the gift - nothing says thoughtful like a person actively supporting local this time of year.

So if you're still with me, here are some places you can start looking right here in Tasmania:

Gorgeous artwork from My Little Pixels

Aren't the dreamy colours in these pictures beautiful?! Isn't it nicer to decorate with a local artist, with images from Tasmania, than the mass produced items from the big retailers? 

There are so many that I love, the trouble would be picking which one! Anna Jane also makes her artwork available in phone cases, pendants and calendars!

You can find My Little Pixels on Etsy and Facebook. (And Anna Jane is having a sale at the moment too! Woo!)

Vintage finds with A Creative Lifestyle

Jane must have the best luck ever in finding on trend and sweet items out and about, because her Etsy shop is packed full of pre-loved vintage pieces! I especially love the more industrial style items like wire baskets...

...vintage keys...

...and these quirky wooden shoe forms!

I purchased some great items from Jane, and they came wrapped in old dress patterns and she included a sweet gift too - I can't wait to show you once I finish my craft room upgrade!

Especially good if you don't have the time to go scouring yourself, why not give something unique and pre-loved this year?

Cards with an Australian twist with Trees 4 The Wood

Don't you think its funny that here in Australia people still insist on cooking winter meals at the height of summer, and decorate their homes with frosty santas, snowflakes and wintery evergreens? I see this style in seasonal cards all the time and that's what to love about Grace's hand printed, linocut Christmas cards, featuring local fauna and flora.

What's not to love about this hand printed, hand painted card? Aren't they the sweetest thing! 

And see that funky pencil there? You can buy those from Grace as well! In fact it was these very pencils that lead me to her Etsy page in the first place!

You can even check out Grace's blog to see how she hand prints these cards, right on her kitchen bench! 

Beautiful Books with Jennifer Skelly at Red Parka

Do you love books? I sure do and what better way to support a local bookshop by buying a local book? Especially a book about local birds!! With both words and illustrations by Jennifer, you can check out her funky stuff here on her website. 

So there you have it. Just a couple of the endless options of items you can buy this silly season from local people. And don't forget, local markets (both traditional and artisan), the Farm Gate farmers market and the new Hobart Twilight Market are also great resources for finding local sellers. 

I know this post is only scratching on the surface! Where do you shop locally? Any Tasmanian favourites?

*This is not a sponsored post, I genuinely think these artists and sellers rock, and you should totally buy me a present from them!*