Domain Review Stonnington & Boroondara - April 03, 2024

FEATURE

Embla’s Dave Verheul Has a Bold New Cookbook

And very defnite ideas on how to spend a perfect Melbourne Sunday

PROPERTY

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Domain Group is a leading property marketplace made-up of a portfolio of brands. We are united in our purpose to inspire confidence in life’s property decisions. Our brands offer products and solutions to consumers and agents interested in property across every step of their property journey. We are motivated to innovate in our industry and leverage our unique data, products, and technology to deliver solutions to our customers that are found only on Domain.

Domain  National magazine editor: Natalie Mortimer   Editorial producer: Hailey Coules   Group picture editor: Kylie Thomson   Senior designer: Colleen Chin

Quan   Graphic designer: Emma Drake   Group content director: Mark Roppolo   Chief marketing officer: Rebecca Darley   Chief executive officer: Jason Pellegrino

Residential sales: Ray van Veenendaal, 1300 799 109, support@domain.com.au

New development sales: Andrew O’Brien, 0408 855 903

Contact: editorial@domain.com.au

Distribution enquiries: distribution@domainreview.com.au

Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, it is all subject to change.

This publication is published by Domain Holdings Australia Limited and Broadsheet Media Pty. Ltd. and is printed by IVE, 25-33 Fourth Avenue, Sunshine VIC 3020

CONTENTS

Broadsheet is Australia’s leading independent publisher. Online and in print, we aim to keep you in the loop with the best Melbourne has to offer and enrich your life in the city. We won’t waste your time with anything you don’t need to know about – just the essentials in home & lifestyle, art & design, fashion & style, food & drink, entertainment and travel. Broadsheet also has a presence in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Broadsheet  Founder and publisher: Nick Shelton   General manager: Sian Whitaker  Publications director: Nick Connellan   National editor: Michael Harry   Melbourne food & drink editor: Audrey Payne   Studio and strategy director: Roya Lines   Media partnerships manager: Jessica Kirsopp

Broadsheet  Editor: Jo Walker   Assistant editor: Gitika Garg   Design lead: Ben Siero   Designer: Ella Witchell   Sub editors: Miriam Kauppi, Barnaby Smith, Adeline Teoh, Annie Toller   Writers: Holly Bodeker-Smith, Alice Jeffery, Brodie Lancaster, Bianca O’Neill, Tomas Telegramma   Photographers: Danielle Castano, Pablo Diaz, Sarah Forgie, Bryce Golder, Amy Hemmings, Kaede James Takamoto, Arianna Leggiero, Taylor Miller, Kristoffer Paulsen, Samantha Schultz, Griffin Simm, Amy Whitfield, Steven Woodburn

Cover credits: Dave Verheul shot by Bryce Golder

Broadsheet Media acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to lands, waters and communities. We pay respect to Elders past and present and honour more than 60,000 years of storytelling, art and culture.

Hospo workers generally take their “Sundays” early in the week, when the rest of us are back at work. For Dave Verheul – chef and owner at the much-loved Embla –this was the case for a good long while. Now he’s claimed back his Sundays for long lunches and time with friends and family. Luckily for us, he’s written a cookbook about it, including some of Embla’s smash-hit recipes.

Jo Walker Broadsheet Editor

Melbourne: Level 4, 600 Church Street, Cremorne 3121, VIC

Instagram: @domain.com.au Facebook.com/domain.com.au/

Sydney: 100 Harris Street, Pyrmont 2009, NSW

Instagram: @domain.com.au Facebook.com/domain.com.au/ www.domain.com.au

Melbourne: Level 1, 231 Smith Street Fitzroy 3065, VIC

Instagram: @broadsheet_melb Facebook.com/broadsheet.melbourne

Sydney: 258A Crown Street, Surry Hills 2010, NSW

Instagram: @broadsheet_syd Facebook.com/broadsheet.sydney

www.broadsheet.com.au

PAGE

PAGE

The

NOW OPEN

Hopper Joint

157 Greville Street, Prahran

Restaurateur Jason Jones and interior designer Brahman Perera recently opened their hotly anticipated Sri Lankan restaurant, Hopper Joint, diagonally across the street from the couple’s French diner Entrecote.

Come for snacks including paddu (a fermented rice batter dish with a prawn filling) and pan rolls. But the namesake hoppers are the main attraction. The team will serve two types: a hollow, bowl-shaped pancake-like hopper (which comes in a set of two plain and one egg), and string hoppers (idiyappam) – soft and pillowy discs shaped with thin strands of batter and then steamed.

Hopper sets come with two sambals and two curries including okra, market fish and spicy prawn. According to Perera, food is better when eaten with your hands – so he’s designed the space with a tap in the centre of the room (for washing hands).

Other design touches include low-lying fans, greenery and decor that belonged to Perera’s grandparents. — AP

ADD TO CART

Emro wallpaper

Given her surname, it might seem inevitable that Emma Rolls produce wallpaper for her 100 per cent Aboriginal owned and operated business, Emro Designs. The homewares label, which also turns out rugs and cushions, currently stocks 12 wallpaper patterns – all based on artworks from First Nations creatives. We particularly love the meandering lines of Garra-Goon by Kija Bardi artist Kamilya Lowana White, and the clever Aussie-doesGeorgian florals of Bundjalung artist Christine Slabb’s Banksia print. — JW

From $210 per roll / emrodesigns.com.au

IN THE DIARY

The Makers and Shakers Market

More than 150 of Melbourne’s top independent makers are coming under one roof at this indoor market celebrating locally made homewares, fashion, jewellery, food and drinks. For snacks stop in at Yarraville gelateria Gigi’s, Sebby’s Scrolls, Pie Thief and Loafer Bread. You can also try your hand at one of the many creative workshops, including macrame bracelet-making, kokedama, collaging and pottery. Entry is $5 and free for kids. — GG

April 6–7 from 10am to 4pm / Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson Street, Carlton / themakersandshakers.com.au

Photo: Pablo Diaz

SNACK BAR STREET STYLE FOR

Thelatestin Melbourne foodnews

By Audrey Payne Whitehorse Road, Balwyn

Melburnians can already find Baker Bleu’s goodies at its Prahran and Caulfield North locations, as well as stockists such as Morning Market. Soon the sourdough bakery’s country rolls and loaves will also be available at an all-day bakery and cafe in Cremorne. The fresh spot opens this spring in a new development at 65 Dover Street. bakerbleu.com.au

Known for its yuzu-and-shichimi tuna melts and fried chicken sangas on cloudlike shokupan, Richmond sandwich spot Hugo’s Deli is running a pop-up shop on Mornington’s Main Street. The sandwich makers will be staying in town until the end of April. 37 Main Street, Mornington / hugosdeli.com.au

Brewmanity was co-founded by former Demons captain David Neitz with a mission to help raise funds for Fight MND. Now the brewery has opened its first bar and brewpub – a three-level, 400-capacity venue in South Melbourne with a beer hall and rooftop bar. 44–50 Tope Street, South Melbourne / brewmanity.com.au

Andy Lee, one half of hit comedy duo Hamish and Andy, has launched his own dim sim brand. Dimmies and Tinnies is the work of the radio and TV personality and some dimmie-loving mates. Keep an eye on the Instagram page for updates on where to try them. @dimmiesandtinnies

The first regional outpost of Flinders Lane restaurant Chin Chin opens in late April as Club Chin Chin – a yearlong pop-up restaurant at Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium. It will offer table service, with a set menu available on game days and an à la carte offering the rest of the time. You’ll find most of the dishes available in Melbourne, plus a few new ones. lucas.online

Name: Jennifer Huang Age: 28 Occupation: Casual retail assistant Tell us about your outfit today. I’m wearing something that’s comfortable and mixes some classic colour blocking. My hat is from Clothing the Gaps, it’s my favourite. I’m wearing the cleanest white shirt that I have, and the shoes are Nike TNs. How does your style fit in with your lifestyle? My style fits in with comfort. It’s a little bit of edginess and something that’s not super feminine. I gravitate towards a baggy look and cut. Who’s your style icon? I really like the vibe of mixing and matching androgynous queer icons. I’m also inspired by people on the street and other creatives.

Read the full story for each dot point: broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/series/snack-bar

FRIENDLY LIFESTYLE

Balwyn features diverse architecture – from elegant period homes to modern designs – while offering easy access to quality schools, a boon for families seeking excellent educational opportunities.

Photo: Amy Hemmings

Photo: Steven Woodburn

Photo: Kaede James Takamoto

Joel Kim Booster’s Comedy Career Is on Fire

Words by Brodie Lancaster

Photo by Taylor Miller

Much of Joel Kim Booster’s life has changed since his last stand-up special. From his home in Los Angeles, the 36-year-old comic, writer and actor tells Broadsheet that his 2022 Netflix special, Psychosexual, was something of a final chapter.

“The special came out, and it was like saying goodbye to that era – that voice and perspective and POV that I was writing from for so many years,” he says. “This last year has really been a rebuilding period for me. I’m figuring out what this next iteration looks like and who this new person is going to be onstage.”

At Melbourne International Comedy Festival for a series of co-headline shows with fellow comedian and actor Zainab Johnson, Booster says audiences will witness “a whole new guy, in many ways”.

It’s not just behind the microphone that things are moving rapidly. Booster was nominated for an Emmy this past year for Fire Island, the queer rom-com he wrote and starred in. He’s also been playing Maya Rudolph’s righthand man on the TV series Loot, and will soon move into production on his second film, Again Again Again.

Broadsheet caught up with Booster ahead of his visit to talk stand-up and returning to Fire Island.

It’s been a few years since you were here for the comedy festival. Is there somewhere in the city you’re keen to revisit? I love Melbourne. I am constantly evangelising for Melbourne. I’ve been a couple times and I think it has some of the smartest, most comedyliterate audiences you’ll get to perform for.

You go to certain clubs in the US where the audience has never really seen stand-up before, and so really simple, hacky jokes will work on them. Whereas I find in Melbourne, they’re ahead of you. Every time I leave Melbourne, I leave a better comic. And Melbourne, the

city, is amazing, too. This is a hot take: I prefer it to Sydney –

That’s, like, our whole thing. Got it. Just culturally it’s a little bit more my speed. It is, outside of Asia, the most Asian people I’ve ever been around in my entire life. So that’s always comforting. And the festival does a really great job of planning things for us to do. I’m always being forced to touch a koala at some point.

Your show is at Town Hall, so you’ve got your pick of restaurants and bars before and after. What is your pre- or post-show routine? Do you have a drink beforehand? I am not a drinker anymore – there are plenty of other things I do that make me not sober – but especially pre-show, it would just make me a little too nervous. Immediately as I step off stage it’s like, where’s the pizza? Where’s the Red Bull?

What was the reception like when you went back to the real Fire Island after the film came out? It is obviously a little weird. I do feel a little bit like Mickey Mouse at Disneyland. That first summer [back] was wild, but it’s certainly calmed down … I will say: no one is more willing to give me a note about the movie than a drunk gay guy. They’re very free. They feel very free to say how much they disliked parts of the movie!

You really can’t control people’s reactions, but it must be tempting to have a response for every criticism. For me, it’s really easy to separate the criticism that comes from people who are upset that it maybe doesn’t represent the universal queer experience in the way that they would like it to, versus people who have criticisms and edits they might have made. The former is really easy for me to dismiss because I’m like, “I never said that this movie was supposed to represent all of us.”

Joel Kim Booster is at Melbourne International Comedy Festival until April 7

HOME OF THE WEEK

A Gascoigne Estate classic

Words by Joanne Brookfield

In Melbourne’s blue-chip suburbs, there’s usually an exclusive enclave that holds greater prestige than elsewhere within the postcode. Examples include Sackville Ward in Kew, Scotch Hill in Hawthorn, and Camberwell’s Tara Estate.

In Malvern East, the best buying is within the tightly held Gascoigne Estate, located between Tooronga and Burke roads, south of Wattletree Road. Dating to the 1880s, when this area was subdivided by the Gascoigne Estate Land Company, the generous blocks were advertised as rivals to Toorak and South Yarra in “character and stability”.

As a result, today, the Gascoigne Estate is known for having some of the best examples of period architecture. At No. 37 in tree-lined Nott Street, this double-level, five-bedroom family home went up around 1920.

While it retains a classic English facade, and period details such as leadlights, ceiling ornamentation and a fireplace, a renovation by Pleysier Perkins has married those traditional touches with contemporary design, creating a home that opens onto lush landscaped gardens around the heated pool.

Al fresco entertaining can be enjoyed in this verdant environment, with lawn underfoot and a canopy of wisteria and jacaranda above, and sufficient space for a dining setting and outdoor lounge suite.

Set on about 708 square metres, the property also has a separate, air-conditioned pool room, should hot summer days get too much.

However, this space also offers the flexibility to use it as guest or au pair accommodation, a hobby room, a gym or an office. (The size of the block also allows for a shed, storeroom, off-street parking behind automated gates, and front gardens.)

“Mostly family buyers are looking at this due to the location and excellent floor plan,” says real estate agent Carla Fetter.

Inside the home, accommodation is split over two levels, with one bedroom on the ground floor opposite the bathroom (which has underfloor heating) and the rest upstairs.

The main bedroom has a sizable walk-in wardrobe-dressing room and en suite, while the other three share a central bathroom.

The downstairs living is spacious, with a central tiled foyer leading into the home,

and a sitting room running off that. Further in, it’s more of an open-plan design with designated zones creating a sitting area, a dining space and a family room with a fitted desk tucked in the corner, so students can do homework while parents cook in the kitchen (which features an island bench, premium appliances and a butlers pantry).

The location is close to leading private schools, cafes and transport, with the offleash dog park and ample green space of Central Park one short block away.

Malvern East

37 Nott Street

$5.55 million

5 3 2

Private sale

Agent: Jellis Craig, Carla Fetter 0423 738 644

Hover your camera over the code to see Domain listings in Malvern East

WHAT THE AGENT SAYS

“This 1920s home has the perfect blend of period features combined with outstanding modern comforts. It ticks all the boxes for excellent family living.”

NEED TO KNOW

The vendors are downsizing and have lived in the home for almost two decades. Back then, it sold for $1.46 million. Owneroccupiers on average live in Nott Street for 15 years and seven months.

RECENT SALES

$5.5 million

9 Nott Street, August 2023

$3.35 million

11 Nott Street, October 2022

$3.2 million

33 Nott Street, April 2022

Carla Fetter

Jellis Craig

COMPRISING 5 LUXURY

For private viewing, contact ;

Kelgend Winters

0439 434 449

kelgend @ pbandco.com.au

www.fiftytwoblack.com.au

SUNDAY BEST WITH EMBLA’S DAVE VERHEUL

Words by Tomas Telegramma · Photos by Bryce Golder

The frontrunning Melbourne chef’s debut cookbook, On Sundays, is full of smash-hit Embla recipes that – with a little forethought and fire power – are totally achievable for home cooks. Plus, Verheul shares a dream itinerary for the laziest day of the week, including his ideal lunch spot.

Dave Verheul, the chef-owner of Embla – one of Melbourne’s most unswerving, and unswervingly busy, wine bars – grew up far removed from the hustle of city life.

His hometown is the tiny Mosgiel, just outside Dunedin on New Zealand’s South Island. “It had a Hollywood-style sign on the hill to try and entice people to come ... they didn’t,” Verheul tells Broadsheet . Yet his memories – particularly of Sundays – are fond ones.

“It was always a very active day,” he says. “Us kids played sport or went waterskiing. We grew up hunting and snowboarding.” (Verheul was sponsored as a snowboarder and skateboarder from 14 to 22.) But there was one constant: his mum’s Sunday roast.

“I grew up very meat-and-three-veg as a young ’un – I don’t think I had pasta till I was a teenager,” he says. “It’s one of those beautiful meals that sets you up for the week.”

Decades on, Verheul’s debut cookbook On Sundays harks back to his childhood –and countless Sundays since – compiling nine years of Embla recipes to help you make meat and three veg better, channelling the chef’s signature brand of restrained refinement.

Verheul’s food learnings began with a couple of years working under celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing at London’s Savoy Grill before making off for Melbourne in the early 2010s to helm the kitchen at The Town Mouse. The nowclosed Carlton wine bar is where he first started making magic alongside fellow Kiwi Christian McCabe, who co-owns Embla.

A rare staying power has come to define their Russell Street spot, where Verheul puts vegetables on a pedestal alongside protein. Pure deliciousness incites carelessness to the fact its flaming heart – a woodfired grill and oven – emits a smokiness that might go home with you. Now in its ninth year, many consider Embla better than ever.

“When you have a team that are all really great in their own right, then it self-perpetuates,” Verheul says. It’s a level of excellence that could daunt a home cook.

“A lot of what we do at Embla might seem

unachievable,” he says. “It’s actually not.”

That isn’t to say his cookbook is full of recipes you can bang out in 30 minutes. While some are suited to a quick Tuesday dinner, Verheul says, most are labours of love – ideal for setting aside a Sunday morning and working your way towards a long lunch.

“We live in an age of convenience,” he says. “Does everything have to be easy? Does everything have to be adapted to cook at home in a 200-degree convection oven?”

Most notably, the book wills you to make friends with fire-powered cooking. “Ninetyfive per cent of what we do at Embla goes over the fire or under the wood oven. Removing that aspect from a book like this just doesn’t make any sense.

“The real beauty of cooking with fire is the simplicity that it affords. That’s one thing we really learned in the early, early days of Embla. You can take a lot of things away and still have something shine.”

For home cooks, the ever-popular portable pizza ovens from Ooni or Gozney will do the job diligently, Verheul says. As will a good barbeque or, of course, a wood-burning grill or oven, if you’re lucky enough to have one.

Cooking over fire is intuitive, Verheul explains, and the sweet spot is “when you get past the just-burn-the-crap-out-ofeverything stage, and you figure out how to get gentleness”.

“Go a little lighter than you think you should in the first instance. You want to be cooking over a bed of coals, not necessarily a yellow flame.”

And if fire is a total no-go? “For some of the [recipes] you can definitely turn your oven up as hot as you can get it and … get fairly close [to the same result].”

As much as On Sundays will empower you to upskill, it’s also a walk down memory lane for Embla enthusiasts. “It has my name on it,” Verheul says, “but it’s also a book on the story of Embla and the way it evolved through the years [and] the people who were inside it.”

Four things have been at Embla since day one, he says: “Me, Christian, our kitchenhand Tej and the cucumbers”. That’s a reference to a verdant signature dish of

soured cukes, feta and dill that’s surprisingly straightforward to make at home – with a little forethought.

Another OG recipe is the golden-glazed roast chicken for “any given Sunday”. It’s far from plain Jane but there’s nothing revolutionary about it. “We don’t brine it, we don’t marinate it, it just comes down to getting a nice piece of meat and cooking it really well.”

And then there’s the thick-crusted, flamelicked sourdough, hunks of which land on every table with sense at Embla (accompanied by butter churned and flavoured in-house). It’s bread too intimidatingly good to attempt to bake at home, right? Wrong. It’s “very” doable, Verheul says emphatically. “It’s exactly the same way I taught my mum.” Getting your head around all a recipe requires – ahead of time – will temper its complexity.

For ease of planning, the 80 recipes are grouped by season and occasion. The former is a reminder that “you can’t polish a turd” when it comes to produce, so emulate Embla’s “micro-seasonal” approach and take a trip to your local farmer’s market. The latter lets you match food to your mood: comfort is key to winter’s “Sunday after a tough week” menu, while autumn’s “Sunday with strangers” is all about conversationstarting dishes.

Ferment recipes are dotted throughout, too, encouraging readers to capture seasonal abundance and make it work year-round. “We’ve always tried to keep the vegetable dishes vegetarian,” Verheul says. “It’s easy to lean on things like chicken stock to add the savouriness.” Apparent in the book is his obsession with fermented fennel juice, an unexpected flavour-enhancer that introduces more complex acidity to a dish.

Above all else, Verheul insists On Sundays has a life beyond your coffee table.

“You look at books by Julia [ Busuttil Nishimura], like the Ostro book, and people cook from them. I’m very visual. I wanted to create – with the help of all the incredible people who have been part of the project –something that was stunning to look at. But underneath all that, I wanted to make something that actually works.”

DAVE VERHEUL’S SUNDAY MUST-HAVES:

FIRST THINGS FIRST:

“I’ll always exercise in the morning,” he says. “I go to a high-intensity training place close to my house.”

THEN:

“Coffee and a super-healthy smoothie. To be honest, I make them both myself ... full service! I’ve got a Moccamaster and I make a long black at home and it’s great. I use a coffee from the guys at Ona in Brunswick.”

HIS IDEAL SUNDAYLUNCH RESTAURANT?

“I like Pipi’s,” a reimagined kiosk on the Albert Park foreshore. “It’s super chill, the food’s great, the owners are cool.”

AND IF HE’S COOKING FOR MATES AT HOME?

“I like to have a theme,” Verheul says, though “not dress up like you’re in the 1920s”. A theme for the menu. “The last one I did ... I actually cooked the whole lunch from Joseph [Abboud] from Rumi’s cookbook and it was sick ... We try to have people over every five or six weeks.”

THE GO-TO FOR PRODUCE?

“South Melbourne Market can get pretty intense on the weekend; if you can shop there on a Friday, great ... Prahran Market is more manageable. You can get in, smash it, have a [Maker & Monger] cheese toastie and you’re out.”

AND TO END THE DAY?

“Probably a Negroni on the couch with my wife and watch a movie.”

LIKE A LOCAL

Sandringham

By Gitika Garg

Sandringham still holds its quaint, town-like feel. At the end of the trainline, the beachside ’burb – lovingly called Sandy by locals – has an active, outdoorsy lifestyle. It’s easy to forget its urban postcode, only 16-kilometres from the CBD, amidst dramatic cliffs and a gleaming ocean promenade.

Find locals bike riding and walking along the Bay Trail, picnicking at Sandringham Beach Park and taking a dip at Sandringham Beach – a big draw for the neighbourhood. Get moving at the Royal Avenue Tennis Centre and take a shot at the Sandringham Golf Course. You can even learn to sail over at the Sandringham Yacht Club.

For food, Station Street is a good place to start. Head to family-run cafe Limoncello for your morning caffeine fix, brunch classics and homemade ready-to-eat meals from a takeaway fridge. Next door, there’s also Our Little Ray of Sunshine plating harissa scrambled eggs and deconstructed sushi bowls, or local favourite Port of Call from the team behind popular spots Touchwood and Tall Timber. If you’re on the go, pick up a fresh smoothie, juice, grilled wrap or salad from Red Moose.

Come evening time, the Sandringham Hotel, better known as The Sandy, hums with groups of locals enjoying a mid-week parma and pint with spectacular bay views. A few doors down, along Beach Road, you’ll find Mediterranean-influenced diner Baia di Vino. Come for woodfired whole fish, classic French desserts and a 200-bottle strong wine list.

Over on Bay Road, enjoy the signature donburi rice bowl at Japanese seafood kitchen and bar Y 14 . Or take a seat at Ammos Greek Tavern for family-style dishes.

Finish the night with a scoop (or two) from Augustus Gelatery. Or if you’re in the mood for a night cap, sink into one of Sparrow Bar’s cognac-coloured booths for live music and cocktails like a New York Sour, Cherry Highball or classic G&T. (Round up your mates for its regular trivia nights.) There’s also wine store and bar Sidebar for local drops and a bottle to-go.

NEED TO KNOW

Known affectionately among locals as “Sandy”, Sandringham is a soughtafter postcode for families and professionals. While a relatively sleepy seaside suburb, there’s plenty to do – especially for those who like to play outdoors.

Average Age

47

Median Weekly income $2,313

Clockwise from top: Our Little Ray of Sunshine, photo Amy Hemmings. Plating up at Baia di Vino, photo Jessica Prince. Stevie on Station Street, photo Amy Hemmings. Port of Call, photo Arianna Leggiero

Clockwise from top: Bayside dog walks, Baia di Vino frontage, Windhover sculpture by Lenton Parr, Dramatic cliffs, photos Amy Hemmings

MELBOURNE MAKERS Three Litres

Words by Jo Walker · Photos by Danielle Castano, Sarah Forgie, Kristoffer Paulsen & Amy Whitfield

Fashion label Three Litres started with a slightly grubby second-hand goon sack, Lia Tabrah says. “I had one hanging on the wall in my Collingwood studio – an actual wine bladder I would use as a handbag,” explains the visual artist, designer and curator. “It was a fun little accessory. But it was a bit slapdash, ‘craft corner’, you know? I made it with the old glue gun, and it was a bit stinky.

“I think the idea evolved from there,” Tabrah tells Broadsheet . “It was time to make it really refined, luxe and classy.”

Enter fellow Melbourne creative Kirk Ireland: designer, maker and former owner of the muchloved (now shuttered) North Melbourne lifestyle store Quirk & Co. While “Lia is the creator of the OG for Three Litres”, Ireland says, the pair combined forces in 2020 to launch a line of high-end bags based on the humble goon sack – silicone taps and all.

“It’s kind of masquerading as high fashion,” Ireland says. “It’s a beautiful idea: take the Aussie low-rent thing and turn it into a luxury item.”

Three Litres’ designer accessories include bumbags, crossbody bags and purses handmade by Ireland in mirror-finish vinyl with black cotton lining, plus a choice of metal, silicone and resin hardware. Most products – including those chosen by stylist Kirsty Barros for this year’s Melbourne Fashion Festival closing night Block Party Runway –are non-functional, embodying the iconic goon sack’s trashy glamour rather than its practical liquidholding qualities.

Only the backpack with wine bladder includes a functional (refillable) wine sack inside – plus a separate compartment that can fit a laptop and other necessities. It took over a year to sample and test the backpack design, and while Tabrah says the pair originally intended for all bags to come with useable bladders, the process forced a rethink.

“The idea of people just, like, chucking their bag on the tram with wine and booze in it, and then throwing their phone in and their money in and

not thinking about it … it wasn’t practical,” she says.

Still, the backpack gave the label its name, Ireland explains. “It was how much we could fill up one bag when we first tried it – three litres.” Although both designers are quick to say that one litre is a more sensible measure. “Three litres is at your own risk,” Tabrah laughs. “We don’t want to be liable.”

One thing the duo are staunch on is making sure their wares feature what Tabrah calls “the classic Coolabah black tap” rather than the cylindrical nozzle preferred by some modern box-wine producers. Most bags include recycled taps from Melbourne cask wine guns Hey Tomorrow, while the functional backpack sports a new bladder and tap “from the factory in South Australia where the goon bag was first invented in 1965”, Tabrah says. Tabrah and Ireland’s latest shiny collaboration is for a doggy-themed pop-up shop at Craft Victoria’s Pet Shop exhibition. They’ve produced two characteristically oddball pieces for the show: the Tinnie poo-bag holder and a saddlebag dog harness with wine bladder that Tabrah says “can also be worn by humans for a kind of Fifth Element cyber vibe”.

Three Litres’ goon-as-fashion has wide appeal, Tabrah says, with a customer base ranging from “the loud-dressing femme boi to the posh, designloving mature woman fashionista”. And the wares are attention-grabbers, the pair say. Both get comments “all the time” when they wear their pieces out and about.

“Today I was in the grocer on Smith Street and the guy behind the counter was just like, ‘Oh my God!’” Tabrah says.

“I wore the triangle version to the fashion festival,” Kirk says. “People love it. They really want to take photos of it and talk about it. I think it’s uber-fun.”

Find the Three Litres range online at threelitres.com. Limited-edition doggy bags available at shop.craft. org.au or Craft Victoria Project Space, Watson Place, Melbourne until May 4

Pack Your Blundstones for a Kimberley Road Trip

By Holly Bodeker-Smith

Two thousand kilometres north of Perth, the remote Kimberley region beckons adventurers with freshwater gorges, epic stargazing and impressive mountain ranges and rivers. The dry season – from May to October –is a great time to visit, ofering clear skies, warm days and wildfowers blooming.

Broome/Rubibi is the launchpad for any crossKimberley journey. The lesser-known Reddell Beach is a great spot to see the town’s 10-metre tides, boasting cinematic clifs, turquoise water and an impossibly long shoreline.

Before dark, visit Broome Fishing Club for fsh’n’chips and front-row sunset seats. Or, if you time it right, the Mangrove Hotel for Staircase

to the Moon – a luminous natural phenomenon that takes place when a full moon rises over exposed tidal fats.

Take the Great Northern Highway eastward and you’ll see towering termite mounds and bloated boab trees. They’ve been here for millennia, much like the ancient rock formations at Bandilngan Windjana Gorge and Dimalurru Tunnel Creek – and the freshwater crocs that populate them. Here you can learn about Jandamarra, the Bunuba warrior who led the resistance against European colonisers.

Further into the heart of the Kimberley, Mimbi Caves is a lesser-known marvel. Traditional owners run tours inside the Devonian-era landmark.

Descending into the limestone maze, you’ll spot fossilised coral reefs and rock art. The next stop is the trip-defning Bungle Bungles. Brave the ofroad track in a 4WD, or take an organised tour to see its prehistoric rocky domes – like colourful pancake stacks rising from the earth.

The area is also known for its Indigenous art. Visit Warmun Art Centre, a gallery that’s been showcased at the NGV. And in last-stop Kununurra, check out Waringarri Aboriginal Arts for paintings and carved boab nuts.

Kununurra Pumphouse is the go-to spot for a feed, with its crocodile kebab pitas and cured saltwater barramundi – plus ripper sunset views over the mighty Ord River.

Photo

LUXURY

Words by Anders Furze, Kay Keighery & Shae Wiedermann

Brighton

2/7 Grantham Court

$3.25 million-$3.575 million

4 4 3

Expressions of interest: Close noon, April 23

Agent: Hush, Andrew Campbell 0419 366 545

Comely lines and a spacious interior recommend this chic townhouse. Secure, low-maintenance and freshly updated, the family-fit dwelling offers basement parking for three cars, two lovely living areas on ground level, and another on the first floor. The lounge (with fireplace) and the kitchen-diningliving hub adjoin a north-facing garden terrace with inbuilt seating. Upstairs, the main bedroom claims a curved balcony while the minors and the retreat connect via a roomy terrace.

Kew

5/33 Stawell Street

$3.5 million-$3.85 million

Glen Waverley

32 Bunker Crescent

$4.28 million-$4.4 million

5 3 2

Private sale

Agent: Harcourts, Julie Wells 0408 885 718

Sitting behind a manicured garden with a pond and water feature, this opulent house has contemporary design and detail throughout. Double American oak entry doors introduce the grand-scale elements within, which include threemetre-high ceilings, French oak floors and stone surfaces. The formal lounge shares a marble-encased gas log fireplace with the open-plan living and dining zone, and upstairs is a second retreat area with a fitted desk and kitchenette.

Brighton

1 James Street

$3.5 million-$3.8 million

4 4 2

Expressions of interest: Close 5pm, April 13

Agent: RT Edgar, Nick Walker 0417 330 650

Here’s one for apartment buyers with lofty standards. With a penthouse position in a boutique block, the pad excels with social spaces on both levels and a pool on a vast roof terrace offering panoramic views. The glam main bedroom suite shares level one with a laundry, powder room and open-plan living area giving on to a small terrace. Head upstairs for two further bedrooms and another living room (or first-class home office) opening to the roof terrace and pool.

Auction: 11am, April 20

Agent: Fredman Property Group, Joel Fredman 0413 487 837

Here’s a discreet oasis tucked away in a Brighton cul-de-sac. The luxurious main bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe and an en suite with a free-standing bath, double rain-head shower and twin vanity. Downstairs, walls of glass bring northern light into the entertaining zone. A pebble fireplace adds warmth in winter, and the rear lap pool is heated. The best bit? This refined design is mere minutes from the beach.

OPEN FOR INSPECTION

Words by Richard Cornish, Maria Harris & Shae Wiedermann

Prahran

2 Irene Place

$1.8 million-$1.95 million

3 1 2

Auction: 10.30am, April 6

Agent: Abercrombys, Jack Richardson 0488 336 929

With its characteristic lace-trimmed Victorian facade, rooms off the central arched hall, traditional fireplaces and Baltic pine floorboards, it doesn’t get more inner city than this. Now upgraded, this home includes a pristine bathroom, a modern kitchen and a living zone that opens to the deck for outdoor entertaining. But the clincher is the double carport, which is as “rare as hens’ teeth” in this part of the world. Hawksburn Village, transport and Victoria Gardens are all close.

Brighton

1/42c Cole Street

$2.195 million-$2.4 million

3 2 2

Private sale

Agent: Hush Property, Victoria Gregory 0404 846 592

A short walk from Brighton’s sandy shores, this architectdesigned, single-level ground-floor townhouse has a terrific connection to the outdoors with a low-maintenance northfacing courtyard, easily accessible from the living room. The main bedroom has an en suite and walk-in wardrobe and opens to the courtyard. Interiors are underpinned by finishes of stone and engineered oak floorboards. It is close to cafes, shops and many of the area’s prestigious schools.

Malvern

G4/6 Chilcote Avenue

$2.95 million-$3.2 million

3 2 2

Private sale

Agent: Thomson, John Chartres 0418 321 951

This recently completed apartment sits on a tree-lined culde-sac only moments from Glenferrie Road and Armadale’s High Street. The unit is on the ground floor and has access to a private, north-west-facing garden with a sheltered courtyard. Inside, two bedrooms have built-in wardrobes while the main bedroom has a generous en suite and walk-in robe. The open-plan dining and living area connects to a stylish kitchen with a Carrara marble finish and a butler’s pantry.

South Melbourne

405/21 Thistlewaite Street

$1.6 million-$1.65 million

3 2 1

Private sale

Agent: Chisholm & Gamon, Jon Kett 0415 853 564

This elevated South Melbourne apartment boasts a dramatic 180-degree city skyline view. The drama of the outlook, through the deep balcony, is complemented by the tranquillity of the interior. Oak flooring, stone benchtops, a chef’s kitchen, a free-standing bath and thoughtful storage complete this comfortable home. The main bedroom has an en suite and city views. The crowning glory is a communal rooftop terrace with a barbecue and panoramic views.

Ashburton

11 Crete Avenue

$1.9 million-$2.09 million

4 2 2

Expressions of interest: Close 4pm, April 23

Agent: Belle Property Glen Iris, Tony Doh 0419 316 676

This spacious home sits on a big, sunny block close to shops, schools and transport. The spaces are generous, from the light-filled living areas to the covered outdoor dining area. Tasmanian oak floors blend beautifully with the modern kitchen and bathrooms.

Beaumaris

22a Glenwood Avenue

$2.2 million-$2.3 million

4 4 2

Auction: 10am, April 20

Agent: Kay & Burton, Matthew Pillios 0408 145 982

Close to the beach and Concourse cafes, restaurants and shops sits this new, double-storey Beaumaris house. Oak floors, polished stone, skylights and pendant lighting characterise the sophisticated interior. The four bedrooms have en suites, and two living areas provide extra space for a growing family.

South Melbourne

238 Albert Road

$2.555 million

3 1 1

Private sale

Agent: Jellis Craig, Max Mercuri 0431 043 723

This solid and charming two-storey Victorian terrace on the edge of Albert Park combines the spaciousness of the period with modern living. The main bedroom opens to a balcony edged in iron lacework, with views out over the lake. A deep, north-facing terrace opens onto a bluestone laneway.

Hover your camera over the code to view live listings on domain.com.au

Put your wellbeing first

Whether you’re looking to stay active, challenge your mind or connect with like-minded neighbours, there are all kinds of ways to thrive.

Indulge in luxury living and prioritise your wellbeing to elevate your retirement lifestyle. New

‘CLYNE’

7 STONEHAVEN COURT TOORAK

5

FLEXIBLE 1, 2 & 3 BED APARTMENTS CUSTOMISED TO YOUR WAY OF LIVING, FROM TWO LEADING DESIGNERS, WINWOOD MCKENZIE AND BERGMAN & CO.