-
Home
-
Interviews
- The Tastemakers
The Taste Makers
Birdy and Clementine – creating tiny works of art
Robyn Stewart has been a creative on and off for over 30 years, starting as a production style potter in ceramics, then moving to silver smithing and now she has combined the two mediums to create the jewellery and homewares brand, Birdy and Clementine.
Travelling from her studio on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Robyn is a frequent stallholder at the Handmade Canberra markets. Robyn says she is driven by an earring addiction, making bold colourful earrings that are playfully elegant. Each small batch of earrings begins as a spontaneous inquiry into pattern and colour. There is no mass production, just thoughtful creation with Birdy and Clementine’s hallmark 24kt gold linework bringing the process to completion. Each pair of earrings is unique, a mini abstract in porcelain using various techniques. When time permits, Robyn also creates functional ware for the home, favourites being vases and serving dishes.
Underground Spirits – celebrating the Aussie spirit
Underground Spirits produces some of the world's best vodkas and gins using their unique cryofiltration process. This patent pending process sets Underground Spirits apart, as the product is not only made from high-quality ingredients, the entire process has a base in science.
Proudly Australian, the premium range of vodkas and gins are distilled in Canberra and have won several major awards around the world, including medals at the International Wine and Spirit Competition, San Francisco World Spirits Competition, World Vodka Awards, and The Gin Guide Awards.
Terra Preta Truffles – the family business advantage
Terra Preta Truffles is a family run farm growing the award-winning Black Truffles, Tuber melanosporum. Situated just outside of the Braidwood, the truffles are grown without the use of any herbicides, pesticides or chemicals and have won Gold in the prestigious Australian Food Awards in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The truffles are exported to restaurants in Paris, Napa, New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo.
Peter Marshall, renowned arborist and forester, runs the farm along with his wife Kate, children Gus, Rita and Keith, and Keith’s partner, Zoe.
Handmade Australia – providing an export platform for small Australian made businesses
The creative sector has been one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with events and venue-based activities shut down during lockdowns at short notice or only able to cater to significantly reduced numbers of visitors.
The impact the creative sector has on our society is far reaching. On the one hand, there is the social impact through our engagement and enjoyment of the arts. There are also far-reaching economic impacts. The creative sector not only employs artists and support staff in the cities and regional areas, but also the value chain of suppliers that provide materials; venues that host events; and the hospitality sector that benefits through art tourism.
WildBear Entertainment – innovating during periods of change
Human Rights Activist Peter Tatchell - protesting in Moscow, 2018 from WildBear produced feature documentary "Hating Peter Tatchell" (c) Christopher AmosWildBear Entertainment is a content studio that produces factual film and television. They have clients across all the Australian free to air television networks and Foxtel; plus international networks, like Disney+, National Geographic, Netflix, BBC, PBS, ZDF, Arte, CCTV, NTV, France Televisions, Mediawan and Viasat.
The company was formed in 2014 by the merger of Wild Fury and Bearcage Productions, incorporating the stock library, Content Mint. Bringing together a combined domestic and international industry experience of more than fifty years, WildBear has offices in Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane as well as Dunedin Aotearoa (New Zealand).
WildBear produces over 150 hours of content a year. This content can take the form of a TV documentary for a broadcaster, a series for a streamer, or it might be a feature documentary for theatrical release.
WildBear owns the intellectual property in the content they develop. Not only do they come up with the idea for original content and a plan for producing the film, they are also responsible for raising the finance. They bring to the market around 250 projects a year in total and of those they finance around 35 annually.
ONA Coffee – creating the best coffee in the world
Saša Šestić believes his mission is to keep chasing the perfect cup of coffee. In 2008 Saša founded ONA Coffee Wholesale (Canberra) Pty Ltd which has grown into a global distribution company with wholesale partners across Australia and worldwide, as well as a range of cafés across Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne. ONA’s mission is to create not only the best, but the most sustainable coffee in the world. It sources its coffee through the organisation’s ethical green bean trading company, Planet Origin.
Dilkara Essence of Australia – Going Global
Dilkara Australia has developed a boutique range of hair, hygiene and skincare products infused with ancient indigenous botanicals, native aromas and organic elements from the Australian bush.
Dilkara’s products are effective yet gentle on both users and the environment. These specific blends are renowned for their healing qualities and are infused with traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander native bush essences that understand the harsh Australian climate. Ingredients have been sourced from local Indigenous communities to ensure their authenticity and that integrity and care has been taken to grow and harvest these native elements. Dilkara’s organic, chemical-free base is perfect for customers who are aware of their environmental impact and are looking for natural products.
Summernats – it’s not just about the car
There are few people in Canberra who have not heard of the Summernats Festival. The first festival was held in 1988 and is now one of, if not the best-known car festival in Australia. The festival has set not only records for car entries but also attendances with around 100,000 people from around the country and the world attending the four-day event.
Summernats has not been without its detractors, but love or hate the festival, it not only generates over $30milion dollars each year for the Canberra economy, but it also highlights the rapidly growing aftermarket automotive industry both in Australia and internationally.
Chef Sunita Kumar – Canberra’s 2020 Business Woman of the Year
Chef Sunita Kumar (wearing black and orange)Chef Sunita Kumar of Canberra’s multiple award-winning DAANA restaurant has been named as the Chamberlains Law Firm – 2020 Canberra Business Woman of the Year. Last night the 2020 Rubik3 Canberra Women in Business (CWB) Gala Dinner and Business Awards was held at the National Arboretum in Canberra.
Thylacine – rethinking how we engage with exhibits
With many galleries, libraries, museums and cultural centres closed during the Coronavirus lockdown, local business, Thylacine, has been finding innovative solutions to continue working on exhibition design projects around the country.
Founded in 1999 and named after the Tasmanian Tiger, Thylacine is actually two companies – Thylacine Design & Project Management & Thylacine Exhibition Preparation. The team of designers, artists, makers and installers is responsible for some of Australia’s most vibrant and engaging public art works and exhibitions. Some recognisable Canberra public art works are Running Lights, the kinetic sound sculpture of illuminated steel forms that emerge from Lake Ginninderra; the blue Kent Street bridge screen over Adelaide Avenue, the Village Centre at the National Arboretum and the interactive light canopies on Childer’s Street Acton. Recent exhibitions in Canberra include Endeavour Voyage for the National Museum of Australia and Connections and Voices permanent galleries for the National Archives of Australia.
The Show Must Go On – Screen Canberra and the film industry during COVID
COVID-19 has had a major impact on the film industry. Content production has come to a standstill as social distancing and lockdown measures have been implemented around the world. However, there has never been more demand for content as people are confined to their homes looking for ways to entertain themselves.
WildBear Entertainment – riding the wave of global content
WildBear Entertainment is one of Australia’s leading factual content producers. The Canberra-based organisation specialises in creating audio-visual content across subjects such as history, science, engineering, wildlife, and arts and culture. WildBear has been commissioned by leading international platforms including BBC, National Geographic, Discovery, Netflix and PBS and a host of platforms in USA, Canada, UK, France and Germany. In Australia, WildBear content can be found on Nine, Seven, Ten, ABC, SBS and Foxtel.
Terra Preta Truffles bringing life back to the forest and creating opportunities in the process.
Heston Blumenthal, Shannon Bennett and Peter Gilmore all love them. Even the lesser known chefs among us know that truffles are a culinary delight that can make even a plate of scrambled eggs taste like a 5-star dish. But what is a truffle?
To the layperson truffles are rare, edible, subterranean fungi or tubers. Many people know that they are a type of mushroom, but quite different from the mushrooms we all know. Mushrooms grow outside of the ground, but truffles grow underground. They like moisture and temperate conditions and are fussy about the type of tree they grow on. Truffles evolved from mushrooms that started growing underground to protect themselves. Truffles are hard to grow and they don’t all provide that little taste of heaven.
Shaw Vineyards – delivering exceptional wine experiences domestically and internationally
Shaw Vineyard Estate is not only known for their range of premium cool climate wines, but also for their state-of-the-art cellar door experiences.
Exporting to China, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and South Korea and on track to export to Japan, Malaysia and India; this family business has picked up a number of awards. In fact, in the last five years, Shaw Wines have been awarded over 1000 medals and trophies from national and international wine shows; they were a winner in the 2016 ACT Chief Minister's Export Awards; and were a winner in the 2019 Canberra Region Tourism Awards. They have also participated in a number of international Trade Missions; the ACT Government’s Trade Connect program and TradeStart Program which is delivered in partnership with Austrade.