Breeze Magazine Central Coast Issue 9

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FRONT COVER: Salty Dog Beverage Co. spotted at Like Minds. by Tim Brand THIS PAGE: Ooomph Avoca by Tim Brand

contents

Breeze Buzz 08

Breeze Health 16

Breeze Loves 09

Breeze Beauty

Breeze Books 10

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Place:

5 Lands Walk 16

Place:

Place:

Ooomph

Artist:

Music:

Debrief 50

Getaway: Upper Hunter

32 54

Like Minds Lauren Merrick

Home:

1940s cottage

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Growing Roses

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An African Adventure

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Gardening:

Travel:

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Andrew Mansfield has been peddling organic produce in East Gosford for some time now.

After a career in corporate processes which took him to London, Andrew was keen to try a different career when he came back to Australia.

Moving to the Coast, Andrew decided to pursue his dream of providing fresh organic produce and handpicked artisan products to discerning locals.

It was a tough gig, sitting on a milk crate in an East Gosford laneway, waiting for canny folk to discover him.

They did though, drawn to the small industrial storage unit by Andrew’s friendly welcome. This, combined with his knowledge and passion, ensured that they kept coming back. As did the quality ingredients not readily available elsewhere.

Andrew’s decision to start serving coffee was a fortuitous one. Not only did it keep the regulars happy and draw some new customers, with Andrew’s pursuit of perfect quality in everything he does, it ensured that when Adam Harrigan walked in looking for organic groceries, he also got the best coffee he had ever tasted locally. And that piqued his interest.

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Adam originally trained as a chef but had been working in industrial design for some time. He still had a passion for good food and had become something of a coffee connoisseur. His work regularly took him to inner city Sydney and to Melbourne where he fell in love with the coffee scene. Particularly in Melbourne where there’s quite a culture of cafés hidden down laneways and in industrial buildings. “I had recently become more interested in organic food and went to Ooomph to check out the range. I ordered a coffee and wow, I wasn’t expecting that! One of the best coffees I’d had.”

The great coffee, the industrial location, the hidden laneway ...

Luckily Andrew and Adam hit it off and found they shared a similar aesthetic, had a similar work ethic and a passion for quality food. A business partnership was formed and Ooomph has gone from strength to strength.

The cafe at East Gosford is now a stylishly eclectic space. The coffee is still exceptional but it’s the food that really sets Ooomph apart.

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Andrew and Adam have an unwavering commitment to providing the best quality food available, but at a reasonable price. Of course this can be a fine balancing act that calls into play Adam’s problem-solving skills and Andrew’s experience in procedure and processes. One thing that is of paramount importance to their business is consistency. Customers should be able to come in, order their favourite item off the menu have it be identically delicious each time. Their trademark sourdough mini-buns and delicious baked muffins are a great example of this philosophy, having reached something of a cult status with Ooomph’s many fans, based on that unswerving quality and consistency.

This has led to an interesting experiment in breaking down the chef’s skills to a process that nails it every time. There’s always allowance for improvement but the quality of the product must never be sacrificed. If Ooomph have a manifesto (and it wouldn’t surprise me) it might read as something like “food made with love for the masses”.

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When Adam came into the business it continued to trade as a gourmet grocer and café but, as the cafe side of the business grew, the products were increasingly shoved to the back of the space. A year after opening they found themselves with a sister store – Piccolo Pear, a homewares and gift store combined with a florist. Nina and Judy shared the passion for sustainability and also a love for the industrial spaces not often seen utilised outside of large cities.

Piccolo Pear is a beautiful store, adding another dimension to Ooomph’s success, with many combining a browse with a coffee or bite to eat. Not to mention the

attraction of fresh flowers. It did mean though that the grocery side of the business was becoming more than a little compromised.

In August of last year Andrew and Adam opened the Foodstore across the lane, with street frontage on Victoria St, East Gosford. It has been instantly embraced.

It looks stunning and could sit proudly in any ‘tony’ suburb. There is a dizzying choice of groceries and fresh produce, all beautifully displayed and encouraging you to linger and browse the shelves.

At the back, there is a small café which wanders out into the lane behind to look across at its flagship store.

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THE MUSIC Kicking off the day’s festivities were local lads, The Young Lions, with a steady following of happy fans. The young songwriting duo took to the stage in classic Central Coast style; barefoot and breezy, and delivered a winning combination of mellow charm and sundrenched harmonies. Their new single ‘Hello/Goodbye’ caused an instantaneous outbreak of swoon and sway amongst the jubilant crowd and set the tone perfectly for the rest of the festival.

- everybody loves to watch someone do what they love, and this was precisely one of those moments, as front-man /guitarist/ keys, Jake Dobson, owned the stage with his enthusing charisma. Churning out an eclectic mix of alternative, prog-rock, and just a smidgen of folk into their raw and tenacious sound.

Cranking up the voltage, Elliot The Bull instantly brought volume to the serene parkland surrounds. Let’s face it

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Bringing with them their most abysmal dance moves (I’m looking at you Pepa Knight) and distinct native rhythm, Jinja Safari cleared the stormy skies with infectious beats and primitive guitar tones. Sending good vibes into the night and whipping the crowd into a frenzy of jungle fever, as multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Pepa Knight used his keys stand as a jungle gym and leapt off with rock star-worthy vigor.

Ball Park Music are a band of ceaseless wonder, full of energy, wit and cynicism.

The best bit of all; their live sets are always intensely well translated. Ball Park Music had Mountain Sounds well and truly psyched as front-man Sam Cromack thrust his hips continuously to a set list concoction of back catalogue favourites such as ‘Sad Rude Future Dude’, ‘Its Nice To Be Alive’ and ‘Literally Baby’ as well as a bunch of new tracks like ‘She Only Loves Me When I’m There’ and ‘Trippin’ The Life Fantastic.’

New or old, the crowd found their voices without any encouragement, creating unforgettable moments of lose-yourself dancing and bringing a spine tingling end to what was a delectable day of live music on the Central Coast.

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Trying to describe Like Minds can involve a lot of words, and quite a few “umm ...s” as well. But really, it’s all in the name.

Housed in an old corner shop in Avoca, Like Minds is a cafe, exhibition space, creative hub, design studio, learning space and market garden ... And that’s just this week. Who knows what next week will bring?

It’s a place that seems to dodge definition, and yet I think it’s more the fact that our busy society has forgotten.

It’s kind of simple ... It’s just a place to come to. A place that opens its arms to you, says “come in, be comfortable, tell us something about yourself”.

You wont be hurried in Like Minds. You can order a superb coffee, a nourishing meal, sit inside, sit outside, learn something, pass knowledge on ... I’m equally sure that if you just drifted in and sat and watched the world pass by, that would be okay too. It’s like the hearth around which a community is swiftly gathering. A community of ... exactly ... like minds.

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Like Minds came about over a meal.

Four friends who shared the same passion for community, creativity and sustainability were excited by the idea of creating a space that would replicate the experiences they had with their friends - food and company that nourished the body and the soul.

All four are creative, well-travelled and have a natural curiosity that sees them actively seek knowledge and new experiences. Their different skills brought about the perfect space.

Melissa is in charge of the kitchen. She has an amazing amount of knowledge and experience in food. Her meals at Like Minds are simple, home-style cooking but with a respect for her ingredients that results in delicious flavours and colours and a good dose of nurturing love.

Meals are based around what is available seasonally - often a local grower will pop in with some superb produce, knowing Mel will relish the chance to turn it into some love on a plate.

Fresh produce is incredibly important and Like Minds has a small but thriving vegie patch onsite that supplies the kitchen. Mel’s latest interest is Ayurveda cooking, based on the Indian medical science dating back over 5000 years, which emphasises both eating for wellness and the ‘mindfulness’ of cooking food.

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James is a passionate barista who makes each coffee with love and attention. He is also a keen green thumb and utilises all those empty paper coffee cups by growing seedlings in them for the Like Minds vegie garden and for sale. Wander out to the garden and grab some of James’ organically grown herb and vegetable seedlings.

There is some produce for sale in the cafe, an ad hoc collection of local products and fresh produce, dependent on what is available and what is good rather than part of an imperative to keep the shelves stocked.

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Lauren Merrick

A lifelong love of children’s illustration has led this talented young Avoca local to her dream career.

Photography by Tim Brand

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For Lauren Merrick, there was no indecision about what she wanted to be when she “grew up”. A fascination with, and love for, children’s illustrations have led her straight down that very path, with hardly a deviation.

Lauren has been drawing for longer than she can remember. As soon as school was done, Lauren applied for the Design Certificate VI course at Design Centre Enmore. During the course, she experienced the many disciplines of design – graphic design, fashion design, set design and so on. The course is a great foundation for those considering a creative career path as you can gain an overview of the creative industry and perhaps choose a specialty that you weren’t aware of previously.

Lauren enjoyed her year of exploration but emerged keener than ever to pursue illustration. She therefore applied for a place in the Advanced Diploma in Design and Illustration. With a strong portfolio behind her she was accepted.

Lauren’s original preferred medium was papercut. She had some reservations about trying watercolour but it was meant to be, a perfect combination of sensibility, talent and material.

Lauren works almost exclusively in watercolour now, although she still goes back to her first love, papercut.

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After graduating from college there were some jobs that were more about earning cash after those lean student years than furthering her dream, but in a very short amount of time, Lauren’s single-minded yearning for a career as a working illustrator is fulfilled. A book featuring Lauren’s papercut illustrations has been recently released and she has two more book illustration commissions ready to go.

Lauren works on other illustrated pieces including her beautiful bespoke watercolour blog headers that are

highly in demand, adding credibility and a whole heap of style to a range of blogs.

There is also her successful range of cards and prints. Lauren sells these online and also at the Olive Tree Market, Avoca Beachside Market and the Sydney Finders Keepers Market.

Her cards are an easy way to have a piece of her beautiful work and have also led to private commissions as well as publishing jobs.

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This whale was Lauren’s first illustration using watercolour and he is still a big seller on her website and at markets.

Lauren’s work is often inspired by the natural environment and her style is deceptively simple. Stylised animals and plants bely the keen observant eye that is recording them. You will see it in the stance of a sweet duck, in the twist

of a plant’s tendril – at times Lauren’s illustrations take on an almost scientific level of detail that is somehow conveyed with a few confident sweeps of a loaded brush. Her use of watercolour is bold and conveys texture, all the while utilising the lightness of the medium.

Lauren is gaining quite a reputation and following for her watercolours but she is keen to keep discovering and learning, pushing her talents in new directions.

One thing that will not be pushed is

for the love of

Roses

Simon Carr is a true green-fingered gardening guru; he has been growing roses for over twenty years and loves taking photos of them too. Autumn on the Coast often sees a last flush of rose blooms and winter is the time to prepare your beds and purchase bare-root shrubs, so we asked Simon about his fascination with the popular romantic bud, their use in the garden as well as some of his top tips for successful growing.

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Look out for Issue 10 in July