Believe it or not, my very first trip to Brisbane was just last month. But before you say, “how is that possible, aren’t you Australian?!” The answer is of course yes, but living abroad for many years of my life means that I haven’t actually explored alot of my own homeland. When I was a teenager living in Italy at the time,  people were always a little astounded that I hadn’t been to Uluru, or the Great Barrier Reef, or Darwin, or well, Brisbane. I always said to myself “when I move back, I’m going to travel across Australia!”. When I did move back life took over  – school, university, my shop, cafe and now here I am, living across the other side of the world again. And still without visiting Uluru. But I can now add Brisbane to the list of places I have been to in my home country. Although I was there for less than 24 hours, I got to see a good amount of the city with many thanks to my dear friend and  fab tour guide, Zoë.

brisbane on the river – seen through the reflection of the bow of the citycat

So, here is a little photo essay of the trip we took along the river on the city cat to the powerhouse, in New Farm. Traveling on the river was the best way to be introduced to the city – we got to see all the different bridges, the old, refurbished buildings, and got a good idea of where each area is located…

We hopped off at the powerhouse (which I had  a ball exploring) and had drinks outside on the top deck, while watching the sun set over the city…

above and below: view from inside the powerhouse…

my view after a couple of champagnes! no, I did purposely take off the auto focus for this shot, I promise.

Heading back on the city cat at night was lovely. Seeing the bridges all lit up was rather fantastical, albeit a little kitsch but still, lots of fun…

The next day we had brunch at the Lock ‘n’ Load on Boundary Street, West End. The food was great! As was the setting. Then we wandered up and down Boundary Street where there are heaps of great independent boutiques and bookstores.

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I was utterly surprised at how gorgeous this city actually is.  Most Brisbanites I’ve met around the world talk their city down and to be honest, that’s probably why I never made the effort to visit earlier. But it’s beautiful – an urban scape nestled around a huge, winding river lined with old native bushland. I think most Australian’s take the expanse of nature for granted. I must say  I did growing up, and it wasn’t until I lived abroad that I realised no matter how “urbanised” we think our backyards are, nature always rules and that is really, really special…

…between stars afloat in the night sky…

Now, I’m no poet so I’ll stop right there, but this lovely friend of mine is. Not only is she a poet, but an artist of the truest kind who surrounds herself with beautiful handmade creations, works in progress, and lots of interesting curiosities.

Are you ready to come and visit her corner of the world with me? She lives quite far away so I hope you’re up for a little adventure. Take my hand. All set? Okay, let’s go…

Welcome to the home studio of Kylie Johnson, creator of paper boat press. Kylie lives in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, in one of the most picturesque quiet corners of a city I’ve ever seen. Surrounded by huge native eucalyptus, wattle, ferns and palm trees, Kylie works on her clay creations, illustrations, and poetry in her studio which is an outdoor room overlooking the trees and a gorgeous old church.  I visited her a couple of months ago for the first time and already, I am missing being in her presence and her calm, inspiring space – which is why I wanted you to come with me today…

I could spend hours looking at Kylie’s creations – picking each piece up, turning it in my hands, and imagining a world that exists outside the one I know. Her book of poetry ‘count me the stars’ is filled with beautiful words, phrases, fragments of memories and dreams. I like to open it at a random page and digest the content while I continue with my thoughts.

Fancy a cup of tea and some homemade muffins out on the balcony? Kylie has just pulled a batch from the oven, they smell utterly delicious. Tea is on the table…

Kylie has lots of wonderful things happening this year – including the release of her second book of poetry published by murdoch books called ‘a once courageous heart’. I can’t wait to read it…

photograph courtesy of kylie johnson

It’s time to go. I know, I don’t want to leave either. But now that we have this post permanently in the (blog)house, we can come back again and again. Thank you for having us dear Kylie, I wish you all the best for the year ahead and I can’t wait to see you again, wherever that may be…

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The launch for Kylie’s book is next Friday, March 5th and if you live in or near brisbane, please go along and cheer her on for me. The rsvp date is this friday, february 26. Details are below…

I am going to linger in queensland for the rest of the week here in the (blog)house as I have lots I want to show you from my trip there last month. I hope you’ll join me…

xx

PS oh and I nearly forgot! Here is a little peek inside her living room, I love it. But I got so distracted with her studio and creations that I forgot to show you…

all gorgeous photographs for this story  by chris chen.

Before I hopped on the plane back to Amsterdam, I grabbed the latest issue of country style at sydney airport for two reasons. 1. because I’ve always loved this mag (the photography is perfection, and they often feature the homes of country artists whose style is natural,  real and inspiring) and 2. because a little birdy told me that the feature article would make my heart sing. Indeed it DID make my heart sing because it is all about Harriet Goodall, her home & property in Robertson NSW, and her incredible woven creations…

Harriet’s story about how she came to be weaving baskets is as beautiful as her creations themselves. She says she has always been drawn “to the ephemeral and imperfect beauty of natural materials and have forever collected buckets of shells, driftwood, beautiful leaves, bones, moss and feathers  with no particular purpose in mind.” Sounds delightfully familiar.  She saw a flyer for a basketry course in Mittagong and decided to join up because it fitted perfectly with her love of art made from nature. After another course she was well and truly hooked on the craft. Inspired by the work of Andy Goldsworthy, Herman de Vries, and Chris Drury, Harriet says that the wonderful thing about baskets is that “it’s possible to harvest your garden then sit on a patch of ground and, just with your hands alone, make something that’s strong, useful and beautiful – while knowing that women have done this for millenia”…

Harriet and her husband Mat collected all their furniture from the local tip shop and family hand-me-downs. The area where they live is surrounded by national parks, waterfalls, beaches, rainforests, and incredible escarpment and rolling green hills  – all within a 30km radius…

Meet Banjo: Harriet and Mat’s little guy who loves being in nature as much as they do.

It’s a beautiful, inspiring story, and I encourage you to find yourselves a copy of the february issue of country style to learn more about harriet’s home and work…

cover shot by mikkel vang, styled by sibella court.

Thank you for the inspiration Harriet! I hope to come and visit you one day, and see your creations in person.

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Harriet’s baskets are available to purchase. They start at around $140.00 AUD. For further enquiries, click here to email Harriet, or you can call her on +61 402 346 106.

A big thank you to Country Style and photographer Chris Chen for the use of the images.

I woke up this morning in anticipation of the deafening screech of cockatoos but instead I heard the wind gently pulling at the thick ropes that hold my home to the shore. As I dozed off again I thought I heard the dawn call of a kookaburra, but it was a distant car alarm. And as for the sound of cicadas, there is now unnatural silence in its place.

I recall a strange conversation I had some time last year here in Amsterdam with a European who told me about how much they disliked Australia. I said “what is it about it that you don’t like?” They said they had visited for 2 weeks, traveled down the coast from Sydney to Melbourne, and just hated it. Even though this person was quite rude, I, uncharacteristically, shrugged it off. When I glanced over to french boy, he was very obviously irritated. He said, “Well, what about the nature?! It is full of incredible, wild, unspoiled nature!” and to that this person dismissively replied “Oh yeah sure, but how much can you have of nature?”

So anyway now, I have to unpack. Needless to say that some of the sand, sea treasure and dried foliage from my homeland made it into the suitcase. Unpacking can be so bittersweet…

…to bid this landscape goodbye. While I write, the kookaburras are singing their last song for the day.

I will miss this country. again.

Next week I will be writing my posts from mon petit bateau in amsterdam. I have lots of posts to share with you that I haven’t had a chance to compose while here, so even though I’m leaving sydney, we haven’t seen the last of this landscape and its creative souls in the (blog)house just yet. Next week is going to be alot of fun. Until then, mes amis, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

xx

PS it has not stopped raining here in sydney all day. I had hope to enjoy one last swim in the ocean, one last walk through the bush, and blow one last kiss to the sun but alas, it’s not meant to be. The above photo is something ( I call it an ‘interpretation of the landscape’) I composed from a collection of botanical findings from my walks over the last 2 months. I will pin this photo up on my wall when I get back to amsterdam to remind me of the nature I so love.  À bientôt australia! tot ziens!