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ISSUE 33

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game changers. thought leaders. rule breakers. style makers

TRAILBLAZERSTHE

ANNE HATHAWAY ON FRAGILITYARIANNA HUFFINGTON SCREW BURNOUT

JACK DORSEY PLAYING FAIR & SQUARE

+ HOW TO STOP EDITING YOUR DREAMS & START OWNING WHAT YOU WANT

ESCAPE PLACES AND SPACES TO GET LOST IN

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HABITAT

!ile most DREAM of trading city life for an idyllic existence in the COUNTRY, few have the courage to actually up and do it. "ese two did – and happened upon a SURPRISE BUSINESS in the process.

WORDS AMY MILLS

FROM LITTLE THINGS

Standing in the kitchen of her charmingly renovated wooden country church, Amanda Callan is making peppermint tea while breastfeeding her blue-eyed baby son Percy,

who is cocooned in a sling.Looking at the 30-year-old in her

rustic surroundings, it’s hard to believe that a little over four years ago, the former model was living a fast-paced city life. Craving a simpler lifestyle, Amanda, a naturopathy student, and her musician partner Andrew, a member of country blues outfit The Wilson Pickers, packed up their life and headed to regional New South Wales before the arrival of their first child, Banjo.

And not only did they find a slower way of life, but also a surprise new career. Their home and workplace is a restored 81-year-old church in the quaint township of Billinudgel (population 200), from which they run a roadside stall-turned-online store, Church Farm General Store, which sells handmade natural soaps and a smoked hot sauce that boasts a growing cult following. Their products are now stocked in 68-odd delis and stores.

“Andrew has always said that as soon as we moved to this area he felt a sense of opportunity and a fresh beginning,” says Amanda. “I think being surrounded by greenery, somewhat empty beaches and rolling hills – as opposed to traffic and people everywhere – opens up the space for more creativity; for us anyway,” she shares.

The couple, who were renting a beach shack nearby when they first relocated, drove through Billinudgel one weekend with Amanda’s folks when her dad made

a now-serendipitous wrong turn.“We said, ‘Turn right,’ and he turned

left and we pulled into the driveway,” says Andrew, 38. “We said, ‘Wow, imagine if that place was for sale!’”

Turns out, it was. The pair took down the phone number from a ‘dodgy’ laminated sign and purchased it from the Catholic Church, moving in with an eight-week-old Banjo and an enormous DIY project. Their aim was to create a unique, peaceful space for their new family.

“They had only advertised in the local Trading Post – no real estate agents or anything,” says Amanda. “We still pinch ourselves.”

“This was just an empty hall when we moved in, so it was like camping,” says Amanda. “We had a mattress on the floor, a mosquito net and any furniture we had was piled in the corner because we didn’t know where to put anything!”

Andrew built the kitchen island bench from two original church pews, and the pastel multi-coloured kitchen cabinets from original weatherboard walls from Amanda’s sister’s home in Queensland.

They put in a spiral staircase and a mezzanine floor where their master bedroom, complete with an ensuite and dreamy four-poster bed, overlooks the rest of the light-filled home.

The space is filled with treasured items from their travels, and a mixture of new and antique furniture, with the original church windows and ceilings providing a unique touch.

Outside, they have created their own ecosystem, which provides natural products for their own food and ingredients for Church Farm products. They eat only from their garden or produce purchased from local farmers, in turn teaching their boys about the origins of food. A weatherboard soap shed sits in the front yard, close to a newly acquired caravan which will soon become guest accommodation. >

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BARNABY & CO COPPER HEXAGONAL WALL SHELF AU$220 barnabyco.com

OLLI ELLA NATURAL BELLY BASKET AU$29 downthatlittlelane.com.au

ADAIRS HOME REPUBLIC LAMP, FROM AU$149.95 adairs.com.au

HK LIVING EGG CHAIR RATTAN IN NATURAL AU$969 designtwins.com

OMNI ROUND COFFEE TABLE MARBLE TOP AU$1760 satara.com.au

adds Amanda. “We thought, ‘I suppose we should have an online store then.’”

Then came Andrew’s hot sauce, made from all fresh ingredients from their excess produce and cooked over coals, stored in beer bottles for friends. This year the pair also launched a new product, Brown Sauce. They are surprised by the interest in their humble venture, boosted by their inspiring Instagram feed and support from friends such as The Vista founder Julia Ashwood.

“It looks better on Instagram,” laughs Andrew. “But no, there was no master plan; it just evolved to where we are now – which is not really anywhere! We are not going to be in the [Australian newspaper] Fin Review anytime soon. But we love what we do.”

Andrew adds that they want to remain true to their vision, insisting they have no interest in investors or selling their sauces in chain supermarkets.

“We are sticking to our guns and making products we really believe in,” says Amanda. “We are not skimping on anything for cost and we are not doing anything for the money. We love what we are doing and if we get sick of doing it, we will stop doing it.

“We had one guy who said he’d give us money to do this and that, but we don’t want a factory and we want to keep it all handmade, otherwise it loses authenticity. We are lucky that all of our stockists that approached us are a perfect fit for our products.”

“My favourite part of our home is definitely the garden,” says Amanda. “It’s where everything for us starts – mealtimes, soap and sauce preparation – and we have some good hang times with Banjo in there, too.

“There wasn’t one tree on the property when we moved here. We really got to do everything ourselves. We’ve been able to watch the kids grow and watch the trees grow.”

Meanwhile, loving the idea of a roadside stall and honesty box system, Andrew and

Amanda thought it would be a great opportunity to sell their excess garden produce.

They were thrilled when visitors started walking away with arms full of fresh, chemical-free produce, so Amanda began making natural soaps. The soaps are created using olive oil, local hemp seed oils, homegrown herbs and flowers via the cold process method.

“We like natural soaps and we found it quite hard to find reliable sources of them made without using palm oils and

fragrances,” says Andrew. “People would leave cute little notes

where they put their money saying, ‘Here’s our number, can you save us 10 bars?’ Or they’d write, ‘I drove past Billinudgel on holidays but I live in Nareen, can I buy some soap from you?’”

We are NOT SKIMPING on anything for cost and we are not doing anything for the

money. We LOVE what we are DOING and if

we get sick of doing it we will stop doing it.

Most importantly, the couple believe they are giving their sons some valuable life lessons while earning a living. “Good things take time, and patience,” says Amanda. “There is so much ‘go, go, go’ out there and so many quick fixes for everything.

“We like to show the boys that you can’t have everything right now, and that if you want strawberries, you will just have to wait until there are strawberries growing in the strawberry patch! It’s about going with nature’s rhythms, following the seasons and spending as much time outside as possible. That’s got be a good thing right?”

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ART CLUB CONCEPT LOVE AFIRE WALL ART AU$89.95 artclubconcept.com

ARMADILLO&CO ZULU IN NATURAL & SHALE WOOL RUG FROM AU$1440 armadillo-co.com

BAREFOOT GYPSY MOROCCAN WOOL POM POM CUSHIONS FROM AU$123 EACH barefootgypsy.com.au

OPUS TRENNERY LADDER AU$1150 opusdesign.com.au

TANDA TIMBER & BRASS SOY + WOOD WICK CANDLE AU$79.95 tandamodern.com

ARTISANTI GRADUATE BROWN LEATHER AND METAL CHAIR £449.00 artisanti.com

CASA UNO JAHA SIDE TABLE AU$289 Zanui.com.au

BOYD BLUE KADE CONTAINER AU$350 boydblue.com

CHURCH FARM GENERAL STORE ROSE & PINK CLAY SOAP AU$7 churchfarmgeneralstore.com