WORLD OF FLAVOURS

Adelaide is preparing to play host to music, arts and dance acts from around the globe at the 18th Womadelaide Festival.
The festival (March 5-8) will feature 57  artists from 27 countries during a weekend packed with performances, visual arts, workshops, cooking sessions and more than 100 food and craft stalls.

Taste The World cooking sessions are a much-loved part of Womad with  festival artists and other guests taking to the stove to prepare  exotic recipes from an array of countries and cultures.

Womadelaide is a family-friendly event and even the cooking sessions have a youth element. Celebrity chefs Poh Ling Yeow and Simon Bryant will be on hand for several workshops and there will be sessions run by The Little Cookie.

www.thelittlecookie.com.au 

Junior primary teachers Alexandra Marcus and Joanna Tierney established The Little Cookie to offer hands-on cooking classes for children which teach them about food and healthy eating while getting them actively involved in preparing food.

Simple egg pasta with sauce by The Little Cookie:

You will need:
1 egg
100g Tip 00  flour 

What to do:
Place flour on a board or in a bowl.
Make a well in the centre and crack eggs into it. Beat the eggs with a fork until smooth.
Using the tips of your fingers, mix the eggs with the flour until everything is combined. Knead the pieces of dough together until you have one, smooth lump!
Now comes the tricky part! You need to knead and work the dough with your hands until it is smooth and silky instead of rough and lumpy. This will take a few minutes and lots of stretching and rolling!
Then wrap it in glad wrap and leave it in the fridge for half an hour or so.  Now you’re ready to roll the pasta. Follow the instructions on the machine. Have fun!

Roasted red sauce

You will need:
6 tomatoes
4 basil leaves
garlic to taste
1/2 onion finely diced

What to do:
Gently score each tomato with a sharp knife. Remember to ask an adult to help you.
Place the tomatoes in a microwave for approximately 4 minutes. Once the tomatoes have cooled down gently peel the skin away and scoop out any seeds.
Put the tomatoes into the tomato machine and gently turn the handle. You will see your delicious healthy sauce
falling into your bowl.
Gently fry finely diced onion and garlic in a fry pan before adding your tomato sauce.
Before you remove the sauce from the heat gently tear delicious fresh basil and stir into your sauce.
Season with salt and pepper. 

Artists from around the world will swap their musical instruments for cooking utensils again this year when they create favourite dishes from their home countries during Taste The World sessions.
The sessions were first introduced to Womad in 2004 and will once again bring a kaleidoscopic array of world foods to audiences.
The cooking action will be held at the kitchen next to the Coopers Garden Bar at various times from Friday to Monday, March 5 to 8.

Highlights include:

Singer/musician Mariem Hassan from the Western Sahara will cook meifrisa, a traditional festive meal made with camel, a revered animal among the Saharawi people. Mariem will serve the meifrisa with bread called leftir which is unleavened and baked without any yeast. (Saturday, 5pm)

YAMOTO Japanese drummers will prepare authentic makizushi or sushi rolls with authentic ingredients such as kanpyo (dried gourd shavings) and denbu, mashed fish boiled with sugar and soy sauce. (Sunday, 8.30pm)
Kamel el Harrachi from Algeria/France will prepare Algerian Chorbo, a tasty spicy beef and chickpea soup. (Monday, noon)

France’s Babylon Circus will prepare oven-baked skate (fish) wings with camembert gratin. (Monday, 5pm)

www.womadelaide.com.au

Some Womadelaide food stalls to check out:

Parachilna Garden Café
If you’ve been meaning to go to the Prairie Hotel but don’t have time to do the road trip, fear not, as Australia’s most awarded and hip outback hotel is relocating its Flinders Ranges Café from Parachilna to Womadelaide with a “Tastes From The Outback” menu of true-blue Aussie foods.

Byron Bay Organic Donuts
People keen to taste one of these donuts may need to be prepared to wait in a long line but it is worth the wait. The hand-rolled ‘doughy’ doughnuts were the undisputed favourite of the masses last year with a permanent line of people waiting to taste what all the hype
was about.

The Organic Market
The Adelaide Hills gourmet institution brings great organic coffee, vegetarian delights, local gourmet produce and a sumptuous dessert cabinet to Womadelaide.

Passion 4 Juice
The mobile juice bar has a team which travels the UK and Australia serving fresh-pressed juice at big music festivals such as Glastonbury, The Glade, The Big Chill, Edinburgh Fringe and Womadelaide. The 100 per cent natural juicy concoctions are full-bodied, tasty and absolutely free from preservatives, added sugar, artificial colours and flavours. 

Leigh Warren appeared on the
first cover of Adelaide Matters
in February 2000

Peggy Veloudos from T-Bar
tea salons

Joff Chappel of Miss Gladys Sym Choon

Chef Rosa Matto

DECADE IN PRINT

ADELAIDE MATTERS HAS SPENT 10 YEARS TRACKING THE LATEST IN FOOD, FASHION, ART AND DESIGN

Fads come and go but Adelaide Matters has been part of the city landscape for 10 years.

Our first issue, February 2000, was dedicated to the Adelaide Festival and a glance at the first year of covers reveals a group still very active in the arts; among them dance choreographer Leigh Warren, film producer Kerry Heysen and composer Graeme Koehne.

Adelaide Matters was going to “distill the essence of our city, its inhabitants, their lifestyles and moods”, said then-editor Megan Lloyd.

A glance through the first year’s issues shows Alison Dunn, then Adelaide Festival marketing manager, and now CEO at the Helpmann Academy, and in-demand furniture designer Khai Liew.

Some of the first pictures of the new-look David Jones store, part of the Adelaide Central Plaza complex were featured, as were some of its fashions, as well as clothing from Burnside Village, Max Mara and North Adelaide boutique P.Smith (now closed).

Adelaide Matters featured a “must haves” list of fashion which included a denim jacket, pussy bowtie blouse, pleated skirt and shirtdress.

It also included a trench coat and halter-neck top – both of which are still extremely fashionable.

In 2010 the pleated skirt and shirtdress are no longer at the top of the fashionista’s list, replaced by the maxi dress and shorts.

Melbourne St was once a fashionable address but in 2010 it has been usurped by Rundle St, with recent openings by Lisa Ho, Zimmermann and Saba, backed by locals such as Sooki and Miss Gladys Sym Choon.

Our fashion models were once colleagues and relatives but are now sourced from agencies.

Among our most famous faces have been Alex Venema, the face of this year’s Adelaide Fashion Festival, and Jennifer Hawkins.  

Our first year also included themed magazines such as the children’s edition and the rose edition. Browsing through the children’s edition, it’s amazing the difference 10 years makes.

Jay, a fresh-faced boy at his dad’s cappuccino machine is now driving and building up his bank balance to study at uni, while a blonde-haired toddler (Henry) is readying himself for Year 7.

Back in 2000, cooking schools were just starting to gain momentum with classes run by pioneers such as caterer Rosa Matto and restaurateur Ragini Dey. While Rosa and Ragini are still going strong, the past decade has seen an explosion of cooking schools and the list now includes Outdoors On Parade, Bottega Rotolo, Sticky Rice, The Cook’s Pantry and Homewares Direct.

The Rose wine variety revival was in full swing in 2000 with our tasting panel giving Charles Melton Rose of Virginia and Eldridge Estate Gamay top points in a Rose tasting.  In the same year, Penfolds released its first vintage of Penfolds RWT Shiraz 1997 which was being dubbed “Baby Grange” at $80 per bottle. The most recent release is priced at $170.

We wrote about young chef Ben Sommariva, then 28, who was chef at the late George Capoccia’s  Eccolo restaurant in Grote St (it later became Auge under Terry Soukoulis). Ben is now head chef at The Kitchen Door at Penny’s Hill in McLaren Vale.

Blumenstein’s cafe, named after co-ownerVictoria Blumenstein from Seattle,  opened in Grenfell St with artisan sourdough bread by John Downes, organic food by chef Geoff Platt  and fantastic coffee.  Unfortunately it later closed down and Victoria headed for the Barossa, Geoff cook in Grafton, NSW and John Downes continues to make sourdough.

A story on the hottest restaurant designs featured David Bui’s  Halong Vietnamese restaurant  and Now Furniture’s refit of Soho – both on Melbourne St (both now defunct). We also featured Greg Hamilton’s stylish design for The Melting Pot at Hyde Park and designer Michael Youds’ refit of the Newmarket Hotel.

Peggy Veloudos was onto something when she opened her first T-Bar tea salon in Gouger St which became a huge hit and she has since opened two other outlets in the city and at Burnside Village in addition to an online store. 

The Adelaide Festival 2000 catered for audiences with food at The Canteen which celebrated the tradition of the Coles cafeteria and followed on from 1998’s Parachilna café theme. This year, while not an official Festival event,  chef Ann Oliver will host “cold + hot + sweet and offal supper clubs” at the Red Ochre Grill (phone 8211-8555) for the duration of the Adelaide Festival (February 26 to March 13). Ann’s supper clubs at her former restaurant Mistress Augustine’s throughout the 1980s until 1991 were legendary and she will revisit the tradition for the last time before she gives up catering for large events.

Martyn and Wendy Flevill

Kate Palmer

CAFE STRIP

SAND AND SURF ARE ONLY PART OF THE ATTRACTION OF SEMAPHORE WITH QUAINT CAFÉS BECOMING A DRAWCARD

Swedish Tarts patisserie brings a tasty slice of Scandinavia to Semaphore.

The patisserie and café is owned by Louise Vanzati (pictured left), who originally hails from Järsvo, in the north of Sweden, and also owns the Argus House Bakery in Strathalbyn.

Louise makes a  tantalising range of cakes, tarts and pastries including banoffe tarts, Sarah Bernhardt cake with chocolate ganache and an almond meringue base, Swedish postkakan (post cake) honey-glazed hazelnut cake and the intriguingly named but delicious scab cake covered in flaked almonds.  The blackboard menu features a blend of Swedish and Australian foods with all-day breakfasts such as smoked bacon and free-range eggs on house-made bread, omelettes, Swedish waffles with cloudberry jam or fat Swedish pancakes with lingonberry jam. Lunch dishes include freshly cooked filled flatbread, salads and savoury crepes or waffles. 

Louise has transformed a previously run-down space into an eclectic little café with cherry-coloured fabric banquettes, timber tables and chairs and feature walls painted by a local Estonian artist.

A benchtop with stools offers Swedish books to read over a coffee while a chandelier adds some bling near the front of the café with its red Ruggero espresso machine serving Brasilia coffee. 

Swedish Tarts is known among the locals for its Bowl Latte which is a popular tradition in Europe.

“People sit here and drink them for about half an hour!” Louise says.

Other drinks include Swedish Glogg, which is a hot, spiced blackcurrant juice, homemade chai with honey, ginger and milk or warm blueberry or rosehip soup served with whipped cream and crushed amaretti biscuits.

In a delightful twist, Louise met her Swedish partner Bo in Adelaide’s IKEA store!

“I hadn’t set foot in Semaphore before I met Bo and I have really taken to it… I can’t believe how beautiful it is.”

Lovely Jubbly

The aromas of eggs and bacon and hot roast beef rolls make it very hard to pass by the laidback Lovely Jubbly café at Semaphore.

Since husband and wife team Martyn and Wendy Flevill opened the café in 2008, it has become a local favourite for freshly cooked breakfasts and lunches.

Martyn, who hails from Hampshire, is a trained chef and prepares everything on the premises. He roasts his own chicken breasts and joint of topside beef to create burgers and there are always homemade soups.

Favourite dishes include their hearty Full Monty breakfast with eggs, mushrooms, sausage, bacon, tomato and beans or the popular egg and bacon muffins made with rolls from the nearby Skala bakery at Port Adelaide.

The café has simple décor with an open kitchen, aubergine walls, linoleum floor tiles and a long window bench.  The outside courtyard is a peaceful zone with palms and bamboo fencing, and is a meeting spot for a local Dog Club.

Wendy says the café name wasn’t inspired, as many think, by chef Jamie Oliver but rather by a character played by David Jason in the British sitcom, Only Fools And Horses.

Whipped Bake Bar Cafe

Whipped Bake Bar Café at Semaphore breaks the mould for suburban bakeries.

The designer cafe is owned by Kate Palmer who comes from a baking background and helped start the popular Ned Kelly Bakery with her father, Murray Price, four years ago.

“I always wanted to remain part of the industry but do something different, a little more funky, and this is it! “ she says.

Kate, who says she is a frustrated interior designer, renovated the building and knocked down walls to create the spacious, modern café with polished floor boards, chic Belgian light fittings, stripy fabric banquettes and retro-style wallpaper (Woodstock from Cole and Son in the UK).

“This place needed work, everyone told me I was mad, it was a hovel, but I didn’t see it as it was, I only saw it as it would be,” she says.  Kate balances working at Whipped with raising her young sons, Patrick and Jack, and she is often helped out by her husband Kim who works in IT but is also a qualified cake decorator.

The Whipped menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner is based on fresh, local and often organic produce with free-range eggs from Paskeville, smoked bacon from the Argentine Butcher a few doors along and all house-made condiments. 

There is a compact range of boutique SA wines and local beers from The Brew Boys, while a bright yellow Marzocco espresso machine turns out coffee made with beans from The Organic Coffee Co.

Kate says signature dishes include the “big night out” breakfast, a best-selling house-made chicken burger and a sunrise parfait with layers of Whipped’s own muesli, SA yoghurt and berry compote.

The display cabinet is filled with an eye-catching selection of homemade cakes, cupcakes, pastries, éclairs, muffins, doughnuts and slices.

“Semaphore is a great place to be, it’s definitely changing, but most people down here want the character to remain as it is,” Kate says.

Swedish Tarts, 40 Semaphore Rd, Semaphore

Lovely Jubbly, 170 Semaphore Rd, Semaphore

Whipped Bake Bar Café, 35 Semaphore Rd, Semaphore, www.whipped.com.au

Jaime Sanchez (below)
designed a chair for his daughter Eva, 3 (above)

Two Halves designers Daniel
Scott (left) and Austin Brandon;
Jack and Jill coat hooks (above) and Sink shelf

CREATIVE JOURNEY

FOUR EMERGING DESIGNERS DISCUSS THEIR ASPIRATIONS

Adelaide design student Brianna Hammond (right) will be winging her way to Europe in just a few months, after winning a coveted scholarship with the prestigious Fabrica “creative laboratory” in Italy.

Brianna, 20, is about to complete her Bachelor of Design (Visual Communication) at the University of SA  before spending a two-week trail period at Fabrica which is Benetton’s research centre in Treviso, Italy. 

If successful, she may go on to score a one-year placement at the talent incubator, which gives designers younger than 25 the chance to work and learn with other young artists and designers from around the globe.

 “I’m from Tumby Bay, my family are all there, so it won’t be a new thing being away from home but I guess I’m a little bit nervous about going away on my own,” Brianna says.

Brianna entered a multi-media project in the NewStar exhibition, part of the agIdeas International Design Forum Melbourne which awards the scholarship.   

“I entered in the multi-media section, I thought that would stand out, and included animation set to music, a website and then decided to include some photos I’d taken as part of my course,” she says.

“I’d taken a lot of photos of bearded guys and made it into a health campaign idea so the point behind it was ‘Movember is over, but you can keep supporting prostate cancer because it’s now Decembeard’.”

Brianna, the fifth UniSA student to win the scholarship, says her campaign fits in with Fabrica’s interest in creative work that tackles social and environmental issues.

“They’re not just interested in pretty websites and design which purely looks nice but has no meaning,” she says

Brianna leaves for Italy in January and will spend the two week trial living and working at Fabrica’s headquarters, a striking building designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. 
 

www.youtube.com/user/brihammonddesign
www.fabrica.it

CREATURE COMFORT

Industrial design student Jaime Sanchez took inspiration from his young daughters when creating the ingenious Dinosaur chair which doubles as a toy.

The Dinosaur chair was a finalist in this year’s prestigious Vivid Awards in Melbourne which are a national showcase for emerging designers.

Jaime, 38, of Torrensville, says he wanted to build an object for his daughters Eva, 3, and Lola, 1, which wasn’t just a toy but also required their input to construct.

“The chair is very much like those little plywood dinosaur models kids used to have and that shape really lends itself to a chair,” he says.

It is easy to construct and assemble - kids just push open the “bones”. It is also safe with no fixtures and fittings and its shape makes it easy to flat pack. 

Jaime says he made a lot of industry contacts at Vivid and met several furniture retailers who expressed an interest in stocking the dinosaur chair but he is still looking for a manufacturer to back the project.

Jaime, a senior business analyst who is studying industrial design part time at the University of SA, says he enjoys product design and the challenge of creating design solutions to make life easier.

His latest project is a cube-shaped bookshelf which can be configured to store objects of all shapes and sizes.

sanchez@bigpond.net.au

HOOKED ON DESIGN

The most successful product in the Two Halves design range typifies the adage “from small things, big things grow”.

The Adelaide company’s Jack and Jill coat hooks were intended as an easy way for product designers – Austin Brandon and Daniel Scott - to have a presence in the wholesale market but they have become so popular they are produced in their thousands and help fund the designers’ other projects.

Austin and Daniel established their business in 2006, after graduating from the University of SA’s industrial design course.

Encouraged by the success of having their Quartered coffee table shortlisted for the Launchpad design award, they decided to set up a studio to make and sell their own products. They also had designs featured in the 2007 and 2008 Launchpad Awards.

“When we finished the industrial design course we had that real uni mentality that we could do anything,” Austin says.

Daniel: “We were making and selling furniture through own shop but the costs on the retail side were just too high.”

The Jack and Jill coat hooks were a result of going back to the drawing board and coming up with an alternative product.

“We wanted something that was simple, just one component,” Daniel says.

Austin says he didn’t ever expect to be selling hooks but acknowledged the product was teaching them a lot about business.

“From where we initially started we’ve changed a lot with making and developing products our focus, rather than selling (retail),” Daniel says.

Other projects being developed by Two Halves include a wine rack and plank light, while a new larger version of the Jack and Jill hooks will be launched shortly.

The pair admits to being idealistic about still wanting to design and sell their own furniture but say they will wait until they have the “right” piece.
“Making other products and getting them out there still gives me a lot of satisfaction,” Austin says.

twohalvesdesign.blogspot.com

Georgina Rogers at
El Choto at Hindmarsh

Grace Vari at Vari’s, Norwood

Domenica Forza at Underdale’s Forza Continental

Joanna Prokopowicz at Mama’s Pierogi, Beverly

COUNTER CULTURE

FROM PRESERVED MEATS TO CHOCOLATE, CONTINENTAL DELIS ARE THE SOURCE OF SOME OF THE WORLD’S BEST FLAVOURS AND AROMAS

The weekly shopping can be less of a chore and more an adventure when exploring the exotic foods and charm of Adelaide’s continental delis.

The suburbs are home to several old-school delicatessens offering aromas of coffee beans, fridges full of traditional meats and jars of imported goodies. More often than not, the store owners are quick with a smile and happy to share their knowledge about the colourful array of foods on offer.

This all rings true at the new El Choto Fine Foods at Hindmarsh, which is Adelaide’s only Spanish deli, run by Georgina Rogers (formerly of Bottega Rotolo).

“I always wanted to have a deli, I’ve lived in the western suburbs for a few years and there’s been nothing like this here,” she says.

“If you’re cooking at home, you need to be able to pop out and get a good bottle of olive oil, or spices or fresh bread and not have to go into the Central Market.”

El  Choto has bright orange walls, timber floors and shelves lined with Spanish vinegars, Calasperra paella rice, paprika and packets of the popular sweet olive oil tortas snacks ideal with cheese, coffee or tea and Ceramica black cookware from Colombia.

Blanxart Spanish chocolates and fresh Portuguese tigelada baked custard tarts rest on the counter.

The fridge is filled with boquerones, white anchovy fillets marinated in olive oil, hojiblanca green olives (the traditional tapas olive) and Spanish cheeses including Queso Oveja Al Romero traditional manchego with solid rosemary crust. Georgina has also been able to source a great range of traditional smallgoods such as mejilla (cured pig’s cheek).   

El Choto also stocks mojama air-dried tuna fillets, ideal as a salty, textured addition to pasta, jamon iberico free-range ham and morcon sausage which has a Spanish chilli and black pepper kick.

Fresh Spanish artisan breads are delivered to El Choto Saturday and the deli also serves Peruvian organic Fair Trade coffee.

Vari’s Generi Alimentari Italiani at Norwood is a traditional Italian delicatessen with legendary status.  Owners Frank and Grace Vari have seen the social fabric of The Parade evolve over the 50-plus years they have run the deli. Their son Pat is the next-generation Vari to work at the store.

“We remember when the trams were here and the street had all little shops like this, not the big shopping centres,” Grace says.

“It is wonderful now, how much food we can get here in Adelaide…people travel a lot more these days and want and expect to be able eat everything.

“In the early days here it was very different importing some of the foods – we even had a lot of trouble selling our packet herb and vegetable seeds back then.”

Vari’s is a treasure trove full of neatly arranged foodstuffs which take up every inch of the shop. It feels authentic with Il Globo newspaper on the counter next to a basket of fresh eggs, salami and big jars of homemade panzarotti, treccia and mostaccioli biscuits and old Italian tunes playing in the background.  

Racks hold fresh panini rolls and wood oven loaves and every type of pasta imaginable while buckets of lentils, borlotto beans and white fagiolo bean rest alongside sacks of coffee beans. Floor-to-ceiling shelves contain meticulously arranged tins and jars while a display fridge is full of melanzane (pickled eggplant), wild olives and onions, homemade semi dried tomatoes and roasted peppers.  The back of the shop is jam-packed with smallgoods hung from hooks and a fridge full of  casalinga, prosciutto, pancetta, sopressa and salami and big chunks of Italian provolone and parmesan cheeses.

The western suburbs also has quite a few old-style Italian delis including the homely Barilla Continental on Grange Rd, Seaton, which is run by community-minded Joe Barilla.  Forza Continental Deli at Underdale has cheerful service and sells all the staples required to cook up an Italian-inspired lunch or dinner.

The delicatessen culture embraces other European cultures such as Poland. A popular Polish deli called Krakus at Mawson Lakes is a mecca for lovers of European foods.  The store, owned by Marian Nedza, specialises in continental meats, cheese, pickles and homemade Polish sourdough bread. Specialties are the Country Polish sausage (no fat), wedding sausage, viennas, kransky, kabanosi, kassler chops, pepperoni and liverwurst and an exhaustive grocery selection with pretzels, pasta, flavoured tea, stock and seasonings, red cabbage, mustards,  carp fillets, bream, herring, mackerel and sardines. Customers can take away homemade sauerkraut, cabbage rolls and potato salad or grab a roll for lunch filled with meats, coleslaw, onions, pickle and cheeses which can be enjoyed with an Altura coffee.   

Another Polish favourite is Mama’s Pierogi at Beverley (previously at Croydon) owned by Joanna Prokopowicz who is aiming to preserve traditional European-style pierogi (dumplings). 

The new shopfront sells savoury and sweet pierogi, tripe, zurek sour flour soup with Polish sausage, bigos (stew) , goulash and dumplings kluski (made with potato flour), kopytka (made with wheat flour) or knedle or meat and sauerkraut croquettes.
 
El Choto at 124 Port Rd, Hindmarsh
Vari’s Generi Alimentari Italiani, 210b The Parade Norwood
Barilla,  405 Grange Rd, Seaton
Forza, 133 Holbrooks Rd, Underdale
Krakus, 5 Goodall Cres, Mawson Lakes
Mama’s Pierogi, 644 Port Rd, Beverley

Harmony O’Cadin of On
Cue Events says couples
are dispensing with
traditional speeches
and dances

Event planner Stephen
Culgan and his wife Katy
on their wedding day in
Sydney

DAY TO REMEMBER

AS WEDDINGS GET MORE ELABORATE AND EXPENSIVE, THE ROLE OF WEDDING PLANNER IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT

When it comes to the modern wedding, perfect weather and a beautiful bride are only part of the story.

A lot of time and effort goes into making the day an amazing experience for not just the bridal party but the guests as well.

But the “wow” comes at a cost with $30,000 to $40,000 being spent on the average wedding in Australia.

The expense of a modern wedding is one reason why wedding planners are in vogue, according to Harmony O’Cadin of On Cue Events.

“When people are investing so much, they need a planner to ensure it all comes together,” she says.
Harmony says a planner will also handle any
last-minute dramas such as the DJ not showing up.

 Harmony set up her business with friend Sarah James two years ago. Both had been working in hospitality and could see a niche for weddings and corporate event planners. They decided to split the duties with Harmony focusing on the wedding side.

“I thought weddings would be a fun thing to be involved with – and they can be – but there’s also some tension,” she says.

Fortunately, Harmony deals with the stress well. She says a wedding planner’s role can include being a counsellor and providing a “constant ear when friends and family are sick of hearing about it”.

Her service includes a premium package, which covers the entire wedding from initial planning to the big day; a recommendations package where she provides couples with the names of various suppliers; and a wedding day service for people who want to organise their own wedding but have someone coordinate everything on the day.

A premium package can cost anywhere from $2000 to $5000, while an on-the-day service costs from $600 to $2000.

“When you think about it, most people have never organised a party for 100 or 150 people, so how they approach their wedding day without any expertise, I don’t know,” Harmony says.

Harmony says the main priority for many brides is to create a memorable wedding, using an amazing theme or striking colour or pattern.

“It’s trendy to have a wedding in a marquee. There are so many beautiful places to put a marquee like our wineries or along the river,” she says.

“Having a marquee also gives you creative freedom, rather than a venue where you’re limited with décor.”

Harmony says extravagant flowers are a priority for many brides, although they are moving away from the traditional white wedding.

In another departure with tradition, there is less emphasis on speeches and dances at the reception, and long tables seating 20-40 guests are a popular alternative to round tables of 10.

“Wedding budgets are getting larger but the weddings themselves are not necessarily getting bigger in terms of numbers,” Harmony says.

“It’s actually quite popular to have an ‘intimate’ wedding. Some couples are choosing to have less guests and to hold their reception in a fine dining restaurant such as The Manse.

“This means they spend the money on superior food and beverages, and styling and decorating the restaurant.

“Intimate weddings with generous budgets are incredibly classy and yet they can be quite relaxed due to the smaller number of guests.”

Stephen Culgan of The Dandelion Project agrees “wow factor” is an important part of the wedding planner’s brief.

“The emphasis is on creating a memorable occasion. The bride wants to think that out of all the weddings you’ve been to this year, hers is the one you remember.

The Dandelion Project offers a range of event management services, including weddings, and image consulting. Stephen runs the business with his wife Katy Coghlan, and while both are former Adelaide residents, they are drawing on the experience of years spent working interstate and overseas.

Before moving back to Adelaide six months ago, Stephen was working for event management group James Gordon Workshop in Sydney.

He says while high end corporate events were clearly being affected by the global financial crisis, wedding inquiries were still strong.

When he and Katy returned to Adelaide, they decided to launch the Dandelion Project, offering everything from personal styling to planning for weddings and major events.

Stephen says demand for wedding planners or coordinators is on the rise because people are time poor.

“Some people know what they want but don’t know how to make it happen, while others have no idea where to start,” he says.

Another advantage of using a wedding planner is they can get the best out of any budget because they know which areas are worth investing money in.

The Dandelion Project offers a range of services from a full wedding which includes setting up the gift registry, buying outfits and organising the décor, through to a last-minute overhaul just a few weeks out from the wedding.

“We offer a full plan through to a rescue package,” Stephen says.

He says his clients are opting for traditional venues, rather than marquees, because of the cost involved and channeling the savings into lavish decoration and great food.

As an experienced event manager, Stephen felt he knew best when it came to his own wedding but now realises he should have handed the organisation over to someone else.

The glamorous event was held on a boat on Sydney Harbour and while it was a memorable occasion for the couple, Stephen admits he spent too much time worrying about the detail instead of enjoying the experience.

 “There’s a perception that wedding planning is a luxury service but if it means easing the workload and ensuring you enjoy the occasion, then it’s just a good idea,” he says.

www.oncueevents.com.au

www.thedandelionproject.com.au

www.royvphotography.com.au

Creative Spaces

WHEN IT COMES TO DECORATING CHILDREN’S ROOMS,
OPT FOR GOOD DESIGN AND QUALITY PRODUCTS TO
ENGAGE YOUNG MINDS.

There is a quiet revolution taking place in the western suburbs; mums are growing tired of Disney prints and fairy motifs. Whether it’s decorating a toddler’s bedroom or buying clothes, demand is high for more options, preferably eco-friendly and fashion-sensitive ones.

Dianne Goldsmith, mum to Madeleine and Piper, opened Kiddylicious, at Glenelg, in February.

“I was sick of going into shops and finding Dora (the Explorer) and Disney characters; it’s plastic and not very nice and I wanted some alternatives,” she says.

She found some options, but only after exhaustive searches on the Internet, and she was dubious about buying brands she hadn’t used before.

“I don’t like to buy online because you can’t touch the products or feel the quality,” she says.

Convinced she wasn’t the only mum up late at night trawling the Internet, she decided to open her own shop, offering quality gifts, furniture, homewares and linen.

Her target range is “children who are in their first bed”, so generally those aged two to 10.

Her product range includes everything from melamine dishes, clocks and mobiles to ride-on suitcases and Lilly & Lolly linen and furniture.

She says personalised canvases and wall plaques with children’s names are popular among home decorators but the gift lines – many with an educational focus – are her biggest sellers.

Items include eeboo notebooks, Djeco origami kits and pencils, Rosie Flo’s books and a selection of wooden toys for boys and girls.

While the range is a little different to major stores, Dianne says she doesn’t want it seen as elitist.

“I don’t want it to be pretentious. It’s good value and simply an alternative to other things on offer,” she says.

Interior decorator Heidi Barreau admits her focus changed from grown-up living spaces to the needs of children, after the birth of her son Leo.

As a parent she wanted well-made clothing and toys for her son, not “tacky pictures and designs”, and she was surprised at the lack of variety.

She decided to retain the interior decorating side of her business, Plume, but change the retail arm from home office supplies to toys, clothing and decorative items for babies.

Relocating from Henley Beach to a tiny shop at Grange, she launched the new business – Plume Petite – with friend and fellow mum Kelly Frost earlier this year.

“It’s all about the things we wanted but couldn’t find,” Heidi says.

Everything from floor rugs to bedheads and fold-out sofas is available. Dwell Studio linen, Bholu rugs, Milk Baby organic skincare and eeni meeni clothing and accessories are among the items stocked.

Interior decorator and retailer Rebekah Cichero at One Small Room, Croydon, has long championed the concept of individual design.

Her design shop, which caters for adults and children, is a mix of collectible furniture, locally made jewellery, selected clothing items and textiles by Sprout Design. When it came to decorating rooms for her children – Ruby and Toby – Rebekah says she wanted to avoid a nursery-themed room, opting for a style with more longevity.

“A nursery may look cute for a baby but they soon outgrow it,” she says.

A favourite piece of furniture and a cowhide rug were the inspiration for the rooms; the low-line buffet being used as a nursery cupboard and the rug setting the chocolate and white colour scheme for daughter Ruby’s bedroom, although Rebekah says she has since relented and included a pink feature wall. 

Kiddylicious, 105b Jetty Rd, Glenelg

Plume Petite, shop 5, 1-3 Jetty St, Grange

One Small Room, 6-10 Elizabeth St, Croydon