A basket of dreams for different times
Story by Winnie Pelz. Photography by Sean McGowan.
The first time I met Lara Tilbrook she was carrying an orphaned baby kangaroo in a pouch across her chest. The small creature was receiving the same love and affection, it seemed, that one might normally direct to a child. I quickly learnt that this level of attention and care that Lara displayed was far from limited to the joey in her arms. Many people have extraordinary life journeys and stories to tell, but the dramatic contrast between the world Lara has chosen on Kangaroo Island and her previous one in the concrete, fast-paced jungle of London paints a colourful picture of a woman connected to the environment around her, who isn’t afraid of adventure. Lara was pulled to the other side of the world in the ‘90s after obtaining a Bachelor of Design in Jewellery and Metalsmithing at the University of South Australia. She backpacked through Africa before setting her sights on Notting Hill. Remarkably, within a few short years, she had made a name for herself, offering a bespoke service for wedding and engagement rings, and other adornments. She went on to design for several iconic London retailers including Paul Smith, Marks & Spencers and British Homestores. 58
Success built on success and soon enough, she found herself in Primrose Hill; she became one of the founding directors and designers of the internationally-renowned boutique, Sweet Pea Fine Jewellery. The studio employed ten staff and had more than 200 stockists across the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe and Asia. She travelled regularly, visiting Paris, New York and even Tokyo to sell newly-designed collections; she also ventured through parts of Europe and India to source precious stones and materials for her distinctive, delicate work. They were heady years – her pieces were featured in Russian, French and German Vogue magazines and bought by A-list celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez, Lulu, Gwen Stephani and Janet Jackson. ‘I loved it as a young woman,’ she says. ‘Fashion was an avenue where I could make a good living and it was exciting to be part of that world. But after adorning celebrities for some years, it all began to feel like a facade and I started to question the purpose of it. I began to realise the importance of having a basket of dreams for different times, and the different time had come.’ After living in Notting Hill for more than a decade, there was a growing hunger for nature, trees and the Australian bush. So, in 2008, Lara sold her business in London and made the decision to invest in the environment. Childhood memories of Cape Forbin and Snug Cove on Kangaroo Island lured her back to the land and when she found 400 acres of pristine, high rainfall bush – with no man-
