Urban Village by Urban Village

urbanvillage.com.au | October - November 2017

Sustainable Surry Hills Clothing, coffee & compost Crown Street School Food Fete

October 28th 9am-3pm

Monthly, for those who live, love, work, visit & play in Surry Hills & Redfern

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33 YEARS OF THEATRE FROM THE HEART OF SURRY HILLS SUBSCRIBE NOW BELVOIR.COM.AU Urban Village | 5

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Contents Lachlan Colquhoun discovers Crown Street, the school of plenty.

Matthew & Cheryl Clarke tell the stories of our community.

Tess Scholfield-Peters adventures through the vintage shops of Surry Hills.

Hiscoeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is the local gym with a big history.

The Share Bike Invasion. Convenience or clutter?

Surry Partnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s director and co-founder Peter English shares a few business pearls of wisdom.

Editor Lachlan Colquhoun Words & Images Tess Scholfield-Peters, Leigh Harris, Dean Bentick, Luca Ward, Tim Ritchie, Katie Mayor, Roisin McGee, Andrew Mackinnon, Brandon Matich. Design & Layout Adrian Kotik, Guilherme de Carvalho Publisher Leigh Harris Cover Luke Hulls and Scarlett Gambale Cover Photo by Luca Ward All Enquiries Tel: 02 8218 2163 Email: info@urbanvillage.com.au Office: Ground Floor, 483 Riley Street Surry Hills NSW 2010 ISSN 2208-6242

Urban Village is published under licence and with the support of the Surry Hills Creative Precinct to foster communcation, innovation and networking between the business community and residents in Surry Hills, Redfern and the surrounding neighbourhoods of inner Sydney.

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OPEN! WHATEVER THE WEATHER

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Provided by Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre proudly serving the community for over 40 years. shnc.org facebook.com/surryhillsnc

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Heads Up

Kitten Wall

Your guide to Surry Hills this month

One of the stand-outs of the Surry Hills Festival / Double Take is the colour-in kitten wall by artist Tim Andrew on the corner of Devonshire and Marlborough Streets.

Look out for...

The Big Anxiety Festival 20 Sept - 11 Nov Join artists, scientists and the community and explore the world’s biggest mental health and arts festival.

Night Noodle Markets 5 Oct – 22 Oct Good Food Month’s Night Noodle Markets return to Hyde Park. What a perfect way to spend a Sydney Spring evening. Photo credit: Mitch Lui (Broadsheet)

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Double Take Festival 23 Sept – 15 Oct A celebration of art through installations and projections in the streets of Surry Hills.

Crown Street School Food Fete 28 Oct 9am – 3pm A school fundraising event featuring food stalls, celebrity chefs, activities and events.

Sydney Beer Week 20 Oct – 29 Oct Sydney’s biggest and best celebration of all things beer, featuring events, tastings, tours and activities all around our city.

Festival Recap

Photo credit: Luca Ward

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Local Review

ESSENZA 560 Crown Street, Surry Hills essenzaitalian.com.au

Gareth outside Essenza. Photo credit: Luca Ward

Essenza Italian was born out of the passion that owners Gareth and Nicole share for the honest, delicious and family oriented culture of Italian food. Words by Tess Scholfield-Peters

areth has worked in kitchens all over the world since he left school, from pizza making in Naples to pastry training in Michelin starred London restaurants. “Running a restaurant is more of a way of life than just a nine to five job. You have to love it and I still do,” explains Gareth. It’s been ten years since Gareth and Nicole opened Essenza. “Our vision was and still is to provide our local community with an affordable place to come and enjoy honest and tasty food.” “We’ve seen a lot of customers travel through life, from meeting on their first date at Essenza to getting engaged, to having their wedding with us and then having their children christened across the road,” says Gareth. Whether it’s a big family gathering, a candle lit dinner or a meal with friends, the quality of produce, warm atmosphere and traditioninspired menu have kept veteran customers

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loyal for a decade and new customers returning for more. “The arancini would have to be the dish that people always come back for, closely followed by our gnocchi dishes.” Essenza aspires to use as many local ingredients as possible, opting for Australian grown produce instead of importing from overseas. The gnocchi and ravioli are both rolled fresh and in house. The brown paper table covers and big chalkboards detailing the specials give the place an old school Italian feel, and together with the sunny outdoor terrace and the strong Italian accents of the waitresses, Essenza is a little Mediterranean haven out of the bustling Crown Street traffic.

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Local Review

JAZUSHI 145 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills jazushi.squarespace.com

Jazushi owner and manager Yuki Ishikawa’s musical path was set from an early age.

uki´s Dad played the banjo and the guitar, and Yuki himself took up the piano at just six years old. He fell in love with jazz after joining a local jazz club group, in which he played the saxophone. But he was captivated by the drummer of the group and decided from then on that the drums were his true musical calling. “Our band started with swing, then moved into jazz hip hop,” says Yuki, whose band toured venues across New South Wales. Yuki started off as wait staff at the restaurant he now manages and owns. “Before working at Jazushi I used to come here and listen to jazz, and I simply loved this restaurant,” he says, “I worked here as wait staff for two weeks before becoming manager.” Five years later, Yuki now owns and manages the restaurant. If you’re lucky, you may catch him drumming out a few jazzy beats with the band. The charm of Jazushi is obvious. Where else in Sydney can you enjoy the city’s best live jazz while enjoying authentic Japanese and fusion cuisine? Only in Surry Hills, of course.

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Images from top: Inside Jazushi restaurant; Jazushi owner Yuki Ishikawa; delicious Jazushi cuisine; Jazz trumpet player. Image credit: Andrew Mackinnon.

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Local Review

THE DEVONSHIRE 204 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills www.thedevonshire.com.au

Chef Jeremy Bentley in his kitchen. Image credit: Andrew Mackinnon.

From Nanna’s sponge to Michelin stars, Chef Jeremy finds home on Devonshire Street.

eremy Bentley’s restaurant The Devonshire was the first fine dining restaurant to open on its namesake strip.

For instance, the pig’s tail – small in size, big on flavour.”

Before Jeremy found his way to Devonshire Street seven years ago, he was working in kitchens across the globe, earning his culinary stripes far and wide. He spent four years at London’s The Square, a restaurant with two Michelin stars. Jeremy has had a world of culinary influences, but he sites his earliest authority on the art of cooking as his Nanna. “Our Nanna lived with us and she would cook cinnamon loaves or sponges with jelly in the middle. I’d help out, and that’s where it started for me.” While The Devonshire may not have sponge on the menu, for inspired, inventive food it definitely takes the cake. “My menu is about evolution and testing out different things,” explains Jeremy. He loves cooking pork because nothing goes to waste. “The secondary cuts are incredible.

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Jeremy sources most of his ingredients locally. “It’s important to know where the food comes from. If we can’t get it locally, we’ve got great suppliers around the country. You could say our footprint is across Australia.” Marrying the perfect meal with the perfect wine is another of Jeremy’s passions. “The menu comes first, then you go on the journey to find that special wine. It can be an exciting discovery.”

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Local Review

TRINITY HOTEL 505 Crown Street, Surry Hills trinitybar.com.au

Kevin Keogh behind the Trinity Bar. Photo credit: Andrew Mackinnon.

rom the tiny town of Tumut to the teeming, terrific Trinity (via London and Dubai). Kevin Keogh has seen a lot of the world, most of it from behind a bar or inside a restaurant. After eight years overseas, Kevin returned to Australia in December last year, and has been managing the Trinity Bar ever since. He’s someone who doesn’t take himself too seriously, as Kevin puts it plainly, “Pretentious or pretend is not in my vocab.” It’s this down to earth attitude that makes Kevin and the Trinity such a great fit. The Trinity is one of those good old-fashioned drinking and eating hubs that relies on its high quality consistency to keep the regulars coming back in. This consistency is found in the dedicated staff that help Kevin run everything. “You can tell a good pub by the staff that work there, they stick around, and enjoy each other’s company. Our customers can feel that, and that happy, relaxed atmosphere is contagious.” Kevin says. There’s also the dedicated sport aficionados who regularly pop in to watch their favourite team on any number of Trinity’s big screen TVs. Kevin points out that “Sport is a big draw card for us, 100%. But on top of that, you need great beer and nice food”. He observes “Nothing beats Australian produce. You can’t bring a plate of food out that has asparagus on it, when asparagus isn’t in season. People expect quality, and they get it here.”

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Local Review

ELOURA LIFESTYLE

HAIR SALON & SPA 507 Crown Street, Surry Hills elouralifestyle.com.au

Richard Campbell in his Eloura office. Photo credit: Andrew Mackinnon.

ichard Campbell owns and manages Eloura Lifestyle Hair Salon & Day Spa, an oasis of tranquility in the middle of Surry Hills.

After decades of working as a hairdresser in his native UK, one decade of that spent at London’s Selfridges, Richard was after a change of scenery (and temperature!). “I thought, why not give Sydney a go.” Richard fondly recalls the first time he walked up the Cleveland Street end of Crown Street. “Immediately it really felt like home, and now it is.” Before opening Eloura, Richard took time out from the salon world and worked with Aveda, a brand he’s incredibly passionate about. “I’ve been in this industry a long time and worked with a lot of brands. They all promise the world, but very rarely deliver. Aveda does exactly what they promise. I learnt so much working for them.” His passion for Aveda extends to him using their extensive range at Eloura. “The level of care they embrace is incredible” says Richard. This level of care is also how Richard looks after

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his guests. The moment you walk into Eloura you’re transported to a place of bliss, or as Richard describes it, “bringing people into the moment.”

That moment can consist of any number of things, from a facial, body treatment, massage and beyond. “We’re proud of what we offer. It’s not just about the one thing. The moment a guest walks through that door, it’s about taking them on a journey.”

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School of Plenty The Crown Street School Food Fete on October 28 is a unique showcase of the school’s garden program, with the participation of some of Surry Hills best restaurants and professional chefs. Words by Lachlan Colquhoun Pictures Luca Ward

ot so long ago, most of the kindy kids at Crown Street School thought that apples grew underground, and there were maybe a maximum of four apple varieties. Most of them had only ever tasted one type of apple. Not any more. Since the school’s garden program ramped up about three years ago, apple trees sit alongside peach, pear, orange and nectarine trees in the school orchard, and are cared for by the students. Because this is an urban environment and space is at a premium, they are all dwarf trees which won’t grow too big and take over the playground. A short distance away from the orchard is the vegetable and herb garden. Right now, the students are growing an impressive list of produce: kale, rocket, leaks, broadbeans, spinach, potatoes,

aubergines and rhubarb. And then there are figoas, a rare fruit which is like a cross between a strawberry and a guava. As we enter spring, there is a lot of pollination going on, a process which is being helped by the school’s two beehives. These are stingless bees, so there’s no chance of them stinging any of the kids. The bees range around 500 metres or so from the school hives, so if you live in that sort of proximity to the school there’s a chance the bees could be helping your garden too. In all of these initiatives, school parent Ang Becroft has been the driving force. She is the daughter of one of New Zealand’s leading orchardists, who was heavily involved in the “5+” initiative to encourage all Kiwis to eat at least five servings of fresh fruit and vegetables a day.

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Righ and left - Luke Hulls and Scarlett Gambale at work in the school gardens. Photo by Luca Ward.

are always taking me to see what is growing well at the moment, and in many cases these are vegetables they have planted themselves.” The introduction of the bees took things up a level. Initially, Ang says the kids were scared of the bees, but when the beekeeper came in and gave them a demonstration and answered the kids’ questions, the fear went and they started to get into it. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as they say, and Ang has brought her drive, enthusiasm, and organisational skills to the garden project at Crown Street. She leads the garden project and is the coordinator of the fete. “I saw the kids weren’t having much variety in their diet, they didn’t know vegetables at all and they couldn’t identify plants. Inside three years, a lot has changed. Crown Street has around 300 students, representing more than 50 different nationalities, and all the kids participate in the garden project with the help of six parent volunteers. Produce from the garden is then prepared in the school kitchen, with the help of parents, some of whom are chefs at local restaurants. “When we started the garden the kids would run through it all the time, now they treat the space with respect. They

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“The kids take their parents to see the bees and there’s a real interest in them, and of course they help with the pollination in the garden. It’s something that a lot of homes could have in their back yards, because we really need more bees and there is a serious shortage.” All of this initiative will be showcased at the school fete on Saturday October 28, when produce from the garden will be on sale to the public. And if you are interested in bees, one of the hives will be split at the fete in a demonstration promoting the importance of bees. “Many of the kids who come here don’t have gardens in their own homes, but what we are doing with the garden here is part of a real cycle,” says Ang Becroft, “they are learning so much, and it’s about diet, cooking, and even science and maths. And these are skills they can take with them and use well after they leave the school.”

“They didn’t know what grew above and below ground. Now the kids are eating healthier foods and also cooking these things at home.”

- Ang Becroft

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Elodie Kliendienst and Kiki Breeze at work in the kitchen with chef, Ares Qubaja. Photo by Craig Nielsen.

Dolphin: a part of the School Community. If you ever see a group of kids in Crown Street uniforms going into the nearby Dolphin Hotel, there is an explanation. They are probably going inside for a cooking demonstration, and to make pizzas in the pub’s state of the art pizza oven. Brett Robinson from Icebergs Group, which owns the Dolphin, has a daughter = Pearl = in kindy at Crown Street and has forged strong links with the school since the group took over the pub last year.

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It has coincided with a major renovation at the Dolphin and a revamp which has installed a new kitchen, expanded the restaurant, and created a new wine bar themed around organic and biodynamic wines. “We want all the parents and kids to have a great relationship with the Dolphin,” says Robinson. “It revolves around the pub being a social meeting place for parents from the school, where kids can eat free in our early dinner session up to 6.30 pm.” Chefs from the Dolphin

have also become involved with the school’s cooking demonstration program in the 12 months since Icebergs took over the pub. The involvement has culminated in the fete, where the Dolphin has come in as a major sponsor. “Crown Street has been a great environment for my daughter since she started there, and we really wanted to put some support into the fete and make a contribution to the community,” says Robinson.

Crown Street Cornucopia The Crown Street School Fete is not your average school fete, it’s a showcase of the school community’s unique links to the restaurants and chefs in Surry Hills. First of all, there’s the Crown St Botanica stall, run by the class from the school. This is an opportunity to purchase some of the produce from the school garden project, and also “bliss balls” made at the school. There’s also “merch,”

in the form of calico bags with alphabet images. Then there are cooking demos by a list of chefs and restaurants with links to the school: Dan Hong from Mr Wongs and chefs from Ume Burgers, Fred’s, and Belles Chicken.

Then there is the High Tea & Sugar Plums, run by a class at the school and an awesome collection of cakes baked by parents, plus a crepe stand.

Fancy sushi? It is being provided by Zushi. The Burger Joint is doing the Mexican stand, and if you fancy a gelato you can get some of Sydney’s best, from Messina. Coffee? It is from Bills and Two Skinny Pickles.

What do the experts say? Xavier, 6

Louie, 7

“We work in teams to get food from the garden to cook in the kitchen."

“I think the garden is fun. We got to take out worms and those “clover weeds.”

Nia R, 9

Kiki, 9

“I love learning how to make gnocchi, it’s my favourite, because it’s enjoyable and amazing to know that you made the incredibly delicious food.”

“I like the experience of the cooking and gardening and most of all trying new foods I've never tasted before.”

Casper. 8 “I like picking the potatoes, I don’t like eating the potatoes so much. I like digging and getting rid of the weeds with my friends.”

Luke, 10 “I love working in the garden, learning about the plants and picking them and using them in the kitchen to make things. I now eat Kale.”

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The Future is Vintage. Tess Scholfield-Peters adventures through the vintage shops of Surry Hills. Words by Tess Scholfield-Peters “There’s a choice, there’s a history, there’s an energy behind the clothes already,” muses Peter from behind the counter of C’s Flashback, one of Surry Hill’s veteran vintage shops. Going to a mall and buying overpriced, fresh off the conveyer belt style clothes has never been my cup of tea. Yet too many times I’ve found myself in a white walled fitting room several floors away from natural light, buying a half decent item of clothing just so I can get out of there. It’s very likely that most of our clothes will outlive us. They might be handed down or donated to charity but the majority of what we wear will probably end up in landfill. For a more ethically and sustainably sound way to shop, there is little reason to look past vintage.

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Characterised by unique prints and fabrics, craftsmanship and embedded nostalgia, vintage clothes are worlds away from the cheap garments we churn through without a second thought. Crown Street is the epicentre of the Surry Hills vintage scene, with institutions like Zoo Emporium, C’s Flashback, U-Turn, Storeroom Vintage, Cream on Crown, Miss Brown’s and Route 66 all a stone’s throw from each other. And that is only naming a few. C’s Flashback has been on the strip for over twenty years and, while the suburb itself has evolved exponentially around it, the store has very much maintained its old-school approach to vintage. “The way we approach the shop is you go in there and you find it,” Peter tells me as he helps me into an oversized fifties tweed jacket that

caught my eye as soon as I walked in. “You go with what you feel and how you react to an item, rather than being told this is what you have to wear.”

dollyupvintage) runs the shop, and her eye for timeless styles and well-made garments has secured Dolly Up as a go to for vintage lovers around the world.

At Storeroom Vintage, one off tees, tracksuits, jackets and cargo pants line the walls. Most of their vintage stock is hand picked at markets during their pilgrimages to America. “Vintage tees are like records. Sooner or later people are going to start framing them on walls,” owner Lee explains as he points to a rare N.W.A tee hanging above the register, one of his many prized pieces.

Dolly Up specialises in ‘adult vintage’ and eveningwear. Gowns hang delicately from the rack that winds around the store and sparkle in the natural light coming in from the street. “Vintage is a history and an art lesson,” Erin tells me as I try on a yellow floral dress from the sixties that she found in Paris.

The appropriately named Zoo Emporium is just off Crown on Campbell Street. “We have a lot of collector’s pieces, designer pieces, vintage from the 1900s all through to stuff now. Everything is generally just fabulous,” says Zoo employee Ella. Each garment has life weaved through it. Vintage shopping is an adventure, a portal to times in history that I would otherwise have no tangible connection to. Just down from the epicentre, on a Cleveland Street corner lives Dolly Up Vintage Emporium. Personal stylist and vintage obsessed Erin (@

The dress is something that I would never think to put on and it somehow changes how I feel altogether. “I think vintage shopping offers something in the way of happiness to a lot of people,” muses Erin. Surry Hills vintage shopping attracts people who are thoughtful, who favour something that is well made over something that is cheap and mass-produced, and who love the little thrill that comes from rummaging and discovering treasure. ‘Vintage fashion is the future, to be honest,’ Cream on Crown owner Johnno says. As oxymoronic as it sounds, ethically, sustainably and style wise, Johnno may well be correct.

Opposite page: Playing dressups at Dolly Up Vintage; this page: exploring Cs Flashback. Photo credit: Gina Snodgrass.

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Power of the Political Cartoon.

port For Jove’s current show at the Seymour Centre uses the political cartoon as the driver for the story of freedom of speech. Corruption and censorship are issues as relevant today as at any point in history, and these themes dominate the latest Sport For Jove production, No End of Blame. Set over six decades of the 20th Century, this rarely seen and immensely daring and original play follows the European odyssey of two passionate and provocative artists, one a painter and the other a cartoonist, silenced by regulation and censorship but refusing to give in. The production, which runs as part of the Seymour Centre’s Reginald Season for 2017, opens on October 12 and runs to October 28. Playwright Howard Barker’s writing, razor sharp in its comic and tragic intensity, satirises the nature of our right to freedom of thought and speech, leaving corruption spreading through the land, uncovering the gruesome and savage nature of censorship, both behind the iron curtain and in the apparently ‘free world’. Cartoons are still powerful political weapons in the 21s century, and – for some – are important enough to kill or die for. With a cast including Akos Armont, Sam O’Sullivan, Danielle King, Lizzie Schebesta, Bryce Youngman, Angela Bauer, Amy Usherwood and Monroe Reimers, the production is under the direction of Sport For Jove Theatre Co’s award-winning Artistic and Managing Director, Damien Ryan (STC’s The Father, SFJ’s Cyrano de Bergerac, Antigone). “Barker’s use of language is as remarkable as Shakespeare’s to me”, says Ryan.

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Image supplied by Sport for Jove.

“He is an astonishing writer, challenging and supremely difficult in his approach to communicating vast human ideas with effortless intelligence but with a caustic, brutal sense of humour and refusal to offer neat packages of meaning to an audience. He is a theatrical magician, debunking all attempts at careful ‘relevance’ and yet remaining deeply powerful and insightful in his harpooning of the institutions we subscribe too and rely on. “We are thrilled to have three of Australia’s finest artists working on original pieces for the many art works in the show. The great cartoonists – Cathy ‘Wilcox’ and David ‘Pope’ – are creating all of the play’s cartoons through their original prism as Australian provocateurs, and the extraordinary Nicholas Harding, one of our most revered artists, is creating the figure studies and portraits for the audience to feast on. It is a huge honour to be working with such adventurous and talented artists.” This dangerous and savagely funny play could not be more relevant to our modern world and its new brand of war, journalism and self-expression. With a thrilling sound design by Alastair Wallace, full of exquisite Hungarian works, No End of Blame is a visual and aural feast for the senses. NO END OF BLAME DATES: 12th October to 28th October TIMES: Tue 6:30pm Wed to Sat 7:30pm + Matinees at 2pm on Sat 21st October and Sat 28th October and Mon 23rd October 6:30pm BOOKINGS: www.seymourcentre.com/events/event/no-end-ofblame-2017 or (02) 9351 7940 TICKETS: Adults $44 / Concession $35

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Bootcamp action. Photo credit: Lachlan Colquhoun.

Contact: www.thecampfitness.com

E: Liam@thecampfitness.com

Spring. Perfect time to kickstart your fitness goals. Words by Lachlan Colquhoun Jess Viera starts work at her transcription job in Sydney’s courts at 8.30 am, but on three of those weekdays she has already had an early start tearing up Prince Alfred Park with her fellow bootcampers. Viera lives on Cleveland Street, so it’s only a few minutes to roll down to the park to be there for the 6 am start with trainer Liam Barrett and her fellow members at The Camp Fitness. “I can train for an hour, be home by around ten past seven, jump in the shower and be at work at time by 8.30,” says Viera. “I have a friend who lives nearby so we meet up and go down there together. I’ve been a member since February, so that’s around seven months now. When I started I could hardly run across Prince Alfred Park without taking a

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T: 0457 333 680

break or my legs cramping up, so the difference it has made is amazing.” Since starting bootcamp, Jess has ticked off some personal fitness goals and is preparing for her star turn as a Bridesmaid at a friend’s wedding. Jess is one of around 50 members of The Camp Fitness, a business Liam Barrett founded three years ago as a boot camp for gay men. Camp Fitness has sessions four mornings a week at Prince Alfred, and there are afternoon and evening sessions and the group also uses parks in Devonshire and Albion Streets. “It was originally a gay men’s boot camp created as a place for people to meet outside of Oxford Street or a mobile phone app,” says Barrett. “But over time we had other people wanting to join, so now it’s a mixture of everyone. “I think that reflects the changing demographic of the area. It’s now a big collection of everyone, from gay people and young professionals through to families with children.” Now that spring is here, Barrett says he notices

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an increase in people enquiring about boot camp. To help them make that leap between thought and action, he’s offering a trial session and a fitness consultation as an initial promotion. “Spring is a great time to start with fitness, but we have a hardcore group of people who are with us all year round,” says Barrett. “And for an inner urban location, Surry Hills has got some great places to train, plus there’s the advantage that if you live in the area it’s so easy to get to training.”

Photo credit: Lachlan Colquhoun

You can check out Liam and see his neat video at www.thecampfitness.com Beyond boot camp, Surry Hills has a range of other facilities for people who are into fitness. The Prince Alfred Park Pool also opens at 6 am, just when Liam and his bootcampers are warming up to the sound of music pumping from the portable sound system at the outdoor fitness area. After a $20 million refurbishment, the pool is a flagship for the City of Sydney’s sustainability policies, with a green roof featuring more than 35,000 plants. It’s also the first full accessible outdoor heated pool in the city, with new ramps making it accessible for everyone. And after the workout, there is a well equipped café to help deal with the pangs of hunger. Prince Alfred Park Pool is holding an open day on Saturday October 21, with free entry and a range of fitness activities including free rides on the aquatic inflatable.

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Local Business

BOURKE STREET BAKERY 633 Bourke Street, Surry Hills bourkestreetbakery.com.au

David McGuiness outside the original Bourke St Bakery shop. Photo credit: Andrew Mackinnon.

They lead the way in sustainability technology yet still make each loaf by hand. Words by Tess Scholfield-Peters

hefs David McGuiness and Paul Allam opened Bourke Street Bakery thirteen years ago on a magical little corner in Surry Hills, the place that started what has now become an iconic name in Sydney’s food scene, eleven bakeries strong.

“The system reduces our compostable waste by ten times and comes out as soil after twenty four hours,” explains David, “it can hold up to 200 kilos, so up to 200 kilos of waste goes into it and comes out as twenty kilos of soil the next day.”

“The original vision for us was to open a community bakery and sell the best possible product,” says David, “it’s always been about the food and keeping good produce going out to the customers. It’s what we love to do and always have.”

This brand new technology is being observed by the Environmental Protection Authority. They monitor testing of Bourke Street Bakery’s waste output in the hope that the technology can become the future of hospitality waste management.

From their famous sausage rolls to their sourdoughs and pastries, everything is still made by hand, the same way it was done over a decade ago.

The bakery also offers a twenty-cent discount for customers who bring reusable coffee cups, and sells them in store.

“We have a group of bakers that cut, weigh and shape every single loaf of bread. When we first started I would stand there with a piping bag and probably make fifty sausage rolls, and now we get six or eight guys standing along a bench making massive batches of them.” Currently Bourke Street is the only bakery in Australia to own a Closed Loop environmental waste system.

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“I think it’s definitely possible to eradicate single use coffee cups, but there will have to be some changes before that happens,” says David, “people would need to carry a cup at all times, or the way that coffee is served will have to be different. This generation is pretty set in their ways, so maybe the change will come with the next generation.”

Should we ban single use coffee cups altogether? Tell us what you think, send an email to us at info@urbanvillage.com.au

Upcycle & refresh ... your favourite clothes

“Yeah for sure. If they’re not an option people will purchase cups that are sustainable. That will grow a market, which is good for the economy as well.” Ben

“Yeah definitely. If it has a positive effect on the environment it would be worth it.” Jenna

Jeans before dyeing

Dye .... don’t buy! “I wouldn’t ban them. I think banning things is just too many rules. Cafes should offer an alternative to locals, like bringing their own cup, or they could have cups that people could take with them and bring them back. There are so many alternatives.” Anthony

“It’s definitely not going to happen overnight because it’s a big thing to do to completely ban them. But I think in time it would be the best thing.” Elle

Jeans after dyeing

02 9310 7766 216 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills 2010 www.cullachange.com.au

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Bikes scattered around Prince Alfred Park. Photo credit: Tess Scholfield-Peters

Share Bike Invasion. Convenience or Clutter? Words by Lachlan Colquhoun

ou can’t help but notice. Sydney streets are now full of as many as 2000 yellow oBike bicycles, along with the several thousand Reddy Go bikes which launched earlier this year. When both companies have finished their roll-out, Sydney will have as many as 10,000 rental bikes on the streets of the CBD and inner suburbs by the end of the year, available to those who download the app, pay the deposit $69, and pedal for $1.99 per half hour. It’s been a divisive move. Some people see it as a great and progressive addition to urban mobility, while for others it’s like an invasion of insects falling from the sky, a plague on our streets. In Melbourne, some people are doing everything with the bikes apart from riding them. Around 40 bikes were fished out of the Yarra River, thrown in by angry pranksters calling them urban “vermin”, while one wag uploaded a video of him “fishing” for a bike like an urban Steve Irwin. Other people are practicing their surrealist skills and putting them up trees. One bike did come in handy when someone grabbed it and threw it under a car driven by

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a masked teenager going crazy with a knife in Melbourne’s Flinders Street, but such extreme events are rare. Urban Village got in touch with oBike to find out more, and had an email exchange with company spokesperson Chetham Rangaswamy. He acknowledges there have been some issues, but says it hasn’t all been negative. “Since our launch, we have had a few who abused our bikes either by dismantling them or throwing them into canals. This was disappointing,” said Rangaswamy. “But we had a few bright sparks. For every abuse case, there had been many more who exhibited positive riding behaviors. We urge all users to treat our bikes as if they would their own.” Rangaswamy sees it as an educational process. “Bike-sharing is still in its infancy stage now. As such, many cyclists are still not fully aware of the correct behaviors required to develop a socially gracious and courteous community of riders,” he says. So, what’s the message for riders? Be polite, gracious, download the app and give it a go. oBike is a commercial businesss, so its success or failure will be determined by how many of us get pedaling.

OFFICES + WORK STATIONS AVAILABLE 5 OFFICES 483 Riley St, Surry Hills 418A Elizabeth St, Surry Hills 66 Goulburn St, Sydney 20A Danks St, Waterloo 321 Kent St, Sydney Coming Soon

For any enquiries, please call 0401 905 805 or email edwina@idealspace.com.au www.idealspace.com.au

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Dye, Don’t Buy. 216 Devonshire St, Surry Hills www.cullachange.com.au

Rosemary (left) with neighbour Nikita outside Culla Change. Photo credit: Luca Ward.

If you think something can’t be dyed, Rosemary says think again. Words by Tess Scholfield-Peters “I love colour and I love seeing people happy about colour. Dying is about transforming something that’s yours already and making it exactly what you want.”Rosemary WrightDyer and her husband David started Culla Change in 1990. Since then it has developed to be an Australia wide business, with the introduction of their CullaPac postal service in the early 2000s.

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Inside the complimentary ‘CullaPac’ package is a dying order form, a detailed information brochure, a colour chart and an Australia Post certified mailing satchel, in which customers can post back to Rosemary the items they want dyed. “I’d had enough of people saying ‘it’s been in my car for six months waiting to get to you.’ So the postal idea developed. If we could give customers a way of getting their garments to us easily, they wouldn’t have it in the back of their car for six months.” For Rosemary, communication between her and the customers is crucial for a successful dye experience. “Dying is a risk, we can’t actually anticipate everything but we’ll do our very best. “For me it’s a communication skill as much as a dying skill. We ring and talk to customers about the project, and will often give them

a second call the next day to give them time to think about it.” There is really no limit to what Rosemary and her Cullachange team will attempt to dye.“We dye lots of weird things.“ Apart from clothing, we’ve dyed hammocks, parachutes, fishing net for a seafood restaurant so it looked like the ocean, curtains, lounge and chair covers. It’s really possible to dye anything.” “One woman came in, she had bought her wedding dress in London and wanted to get the colour of it changed. The woman that sold the dress to her asked where she was from and she said Sydney. And the English woman said ‘oh, you’ll be able to get it changed at a place called Cullachange in Surry Hills.’”

innovative postal service and passion for colour has resulted in this small Devonshire Street shop growing to be a world renowned name in the dying business. “It’s taken years to develop to this stage. I think we’re the only business of our kind in Australia. If we’re the only one of our kind in the world, one day we could export our package system around the globe. Wouldn’t that be nice.”

The dying industry in Australia is a very small pool today, as the garment industry now sources their dying from overseas instead of locally. “One might say dying in Australia as nearly died out,” says Rosemary, “it’s almost as if the skill will never be needed here again because labels aren’t producing here. It’s very sad.” “Writing the dye recipes, mixing the dye and actually putting the colour on requires a good eye. It’s experiential, it’s a learned skill. We’ve got a whole bag of intellectual property that we’ve gathered over the years,” explains Rosemary. Rosemary and her team’s expert level of dying experience, strong customer service skills,

Culla Change on Devonshire Street. Photo: Leigh Harris.

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Invitation to a dream

Image supplied by Belvoir St Theatre.

Belvoir is presenting the world premiere of award winning playwright Lally Katz’s new work Atlantis, from October 28 to November 26. Lachlan Colquhoun caught up with Katz to discuss the work.

here’s nothing like a broken heart, says Lally Katz, to inspire a writer. “That’s when the most interesting things happen to you,” she says. “Because you are open to the world and are looking for answers, and it really helps to make an interesting quest.” Katz’ new work, Atlantis, came after a relationship breakup prompted a journey, both of the geographical and personal kind. Described as “part Don Quixote, part Bridget Jones,” and with echoes of climate change, Atlantis is a semi autobiographic work “about travelling into a mess of love” and refusing to accept that the world is doomed. The journey which followed the break took her from her adopted home Australia and back to the US, where she gravitated to Miami, a city she had left as a nine year old and hadn’t visited in 30 odd years. “Miami is like a fantasy place which is represents my childhood, but it’s also about trying to find myself as an adult,” says Katz. As she continues her journey, the main character the “Lally character” meets and interacts with a host of wild and strange characters.

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Some of them are real, others are people she met briefly and who she then fictionalised. “One of them was a taxi driver who believed in Atlantis, but who was saving money to move her family to Florida,” says Katz. “Then I thought, but Miami will be one of the first cities to disappear when sea levels rise, and that made me start thinking about all the new Atlantis’s which will be created by climate change.” So after this wild ride of self discovery, how does she want audiences to feel when the lights go up and play is finished? “I want audiences to feel they’ve been on the journey with the play,” she says. “I want them to feel they have dreamed into what we have been dreaming on stage, and I want them to have enjoyed that journey.” Belvoir presents Atlantis, by Lally Katz, from October 28 to November 1. Directed by Rosemary Myers, with Paula Arundell, Lucia Mastrantone and Amber McMahon. belvoir.com.au/productions/atlantis

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An Ideal Partnership 483 Riley Street, Surry Hills www.idealspace.com.au

David King and Clint Christie have known each other since preschool. Words by Tess Scholfield-Peters

n the thirty years they’ve known each other they have built careers in construction and are now the brains behind Ideal Space serviced offices. “I don’t think we’ve ever had an argument,” says David, “We’re both totally different and have very different roles within the business.” Ideal Space offers fully serviced private and open plan workspaces for a range of clients, from entrepreneurs to small businesses and professional services. The office spaces are important places for creative collaboration and innovation, reflected by the highly functional and design oriented fit-outs. David is passionate about customer service and creating the most successful office experience for his clients. Clint loves the building aspect and gets excited by the potential of new spaces. “We regularly amend our office fit-outs to suit the client,” explains David, “a lot of working serviced offices don’t change, but we see the space as the clients’ office. If they want to put a wall up, hang artwork or a whiteboard, we’ll do that. A big part of our focus is making sure

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David King (left) and Clint Christie (right) in the Riley Street office. Photo credit: Luca Ward.

everyone’s got what they need.” Ideal Space have offices all over Sydney, in Goulburn Street in the CBD, Danks Street in Waterloo, Riley and Elizabeth Street in Surry Hills and another office in development in Kings Cross. They approach each office space a little differently, depending on the needs of the tenants and the influence of each area of Sydney. “Each space is different. Riley Street is different to, say, Elizabeth Street, which is a bit more corporate.

Our clients range from those in professional services to designers, photographers and tech start up types, and our fit outs and locations reflect that,” says David. Ideal Space runs regular networking events and is in the process of creating an online forum so tenants can engage with each other and build business relationships within the Ideal Space community. There are nearly four hundred individuals across their office locations, with that number set to grow.

“Building a community within our spaces is really important,” says David, “when our clients walk through the door we want it to be about more than just coming to work.” David and Clint have plans to build an in-office licensed café into their Riley Street space, as well as fitness classes and opportunities for businesses to showcase themselves to the Ideal Space community, giving everyone a chance to work with each other. “Our goal is to grow the business through helping all our tenants succeed through any challenge,” says David, “I think that’s what excites us the most.”

Image supplied by Ideal Space.

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When There’s a Will, There’s a Way. Martin Clark outside the Northcott building. Photo credit: Tess Scholfield-Peters.

Words by Tess Scholfield-Peters

Community Development Worker Martin Clark.

The Department of Family and Community Services (FACS) is inviting local businesses in Surry Hills to donate and support their Wills Day initiative.

The Northcott building, a 1960s ‘vertical estate’, is comprised of 430 dwellings, representing approximately 50% of social housing in the area.

Wills Day is a collaborative project from FACS, the Council on the Ageing (COTA) NSW, Senior Rights Service and Legal Aid NSW. On October 26, free legal advice and services such as the drawing up of Wills, Enduring Power of Attorney and Enduring Guardianship will be available to Northcott social housing tenants over the age of 55.

In 2016, Family and Community Services (FACS) conducted an in-depth study of the Northcott community, which involved gathering surveys from social housing residents, local businesses, service providers and passers-by.

The Northcott Estate is comprised of social housing tenants living in the John Northcott building on Belvoir Street, and tenants living in surrounding Riley Street, Wilton Street, Clisdell Street, Belvoir and Devonshire Street. COTA NSW has qualified solicitors who will offer free consultations to draw up the documents for a fee of $50 per document. FACS is seeking donations of a minimum of $500, which will allow for ten documents to be written up. “The aim of Wills Day is to attract older tenants who are on a pension, and who don’t have a will, or have a will that needs updating, and ensure that as many of our community members as possible have something in place for them when they move on,” says FACS

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From this study, the Northcott Estate Collaboration Implementation Plan was developed. The main aim of the two-year plan is to work towards a more vibrant, diverse, safe and healthy community through collaborative efforts between both government and nongovernment agencies. The study also revealed that of the Northcott tenants, around 300 are over 60 years old and many do not have a Will or basic planning estate documents. “It’s important to know that your wishes are going to be followed through when you pass on. It’s nice to know that if you do have things that you want to leave to people or make certain provisions, there is a legal document to help you with that,” explains Martin. Martin Clark has been working with FACS for over twenty years, and has held his current

position as Community Development Worker for two and a half years. “I work very closely with the community and I build a lot of respect and trust because I’ve worked in the area for a very long time,” says Martin. “Social housing residents are part of the community which makes up Surry Hills and we all have to work together,” says Martin, “seeing the achievements, seeing the community evolve and grow, that gives me a lot of hope for the future.” By donating $500, local businesses as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility can help to provide social housing residents with vital legal documents and a service that they may not otherwise have access to.

Martin Clark. Photo credit: Tess Scholfield-Peters.

Payments can be made to the auspice for Family and Community Services Charmaine Jones - Executive Officer, Inner Sydney Voice 770 Elizabeth St, Waterloo NSW 2017 PO Box 3277 Redfern NSW 2016 Phone: 9698 7461 Email: char.jones@innersydneyvoice.org.au

More than early learning, an inspiring start to life

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is hard to create with such a small team so it’s vital that it comes from the environment around you. This is something that The Office Space recognise and have totally nailed. We prize community and culture which is why we chose a shared space. What are the practical advantages of the Office Space? The offices are fully serviced which means you don’t have to deal with the headache of rates, cleaners and admin etc. The receptionists are great too, always on hand to answer queries, take messages and chat to. The main advantage though is the feeling of community and the Office Space culture that all the residents both contribute to and benefit from. What about the culture? What do you get from TOS you can’t get elsewhere?

Urban Village visits serviced working location the Office Space to meet with the businesses who work there. We talk with Dylan Salotti from Divitis Finance. Tell us about your business, Divitis Finance. Who are you and what do you do? Divitis Finance was established 3 years ago with the aim of creating smarter, easier and more convenient ways for young people to understand and achieve their finance needs. We provide customised broker services; analysing, negotiating and processing loan applications

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on behalf of our clients. Our mission is to help as many young Australian professionals and business owners reach their property and finance dreams. Why did you choose to use a shared office environment, rather than use your own premises? As small business owners, community is something that

The vast range of events are a huge bonus. Our team certainly takes advantage, attending the weekly ‘Health club’, the office wide ‘Table’ lunches and the monthly ‘Insight’ events. The events are varied, well executed and are a great place to meet your coworkers, network and exchange ideas.

The Office Space. Boutique shared office space in Surry Hills. www.theofficepsace.com.au Image supplied by Divitis Finance

Recycled terracotta tile facade In light of the disruption to our business from the construction of the (overengineered, dendrophobic) light rail project, Luigi Rosselli Architects are decamping 500 metres away from vehicle ravaged Randle Street to leafy Buckingham Street. From 8 January 2018 come and visit us in our brand new, purpose built studio at 122 Buckingham Street, Surry Hills, NSW or call or e-mail us to discuss your project

Devonshire Street

t: 02 9281 1498 | e: info@luigirosselli.com | w: luigirosselli.com

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Matthew & Cheryl Clarke Photo: Tim Ritchie

Telling the Stories of People in Our Community. Matthew Clarke: Purveyor of Style

am the local telegraph pole. Very little goes on in Surry Hills that I don’t hear about. Well that was historically the barber shop’s role. You would go in on Saturday, you would find out what’s on, who’s doing what to who and when. Unconsciously that’s what we’ve created- The Barberia. I initially lived on Cleveland street in 1982. It was a very different place back then, mainly

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Turks but still a lot of skinheads and punks. It’s a lot safer now than it was in the early days of the Barberia twenty-five years ago. What people forget is the really big street alcohol problem in Surry Hills. The police considered the corner of Campbell street and Crown a “no go zone”. They told the publican, “you read into that what you will. If you have trouble we won’t come. (The flip side was), you won’t get any trouble from us.” There were a lot of muggings on Bourke street. The bikies were there. You were buying car radios at The Clock! To walk over to Dimitri’s

pizza Cheryl would take our rather mean looking dog, just because of the amount of people getting bashed down at Reservoir street. The Bentley Bar was a really amazing time in Sydney. I remember finishing work on a Saturday evening and leaving at midday the next day from the Bentley Bar. Whenever the movie Trainspotting came out that changed things a bit. A lot of the club kids started to get into heroin, we noticed there were a couple of deaths. I never saw the innocence in Trainspotting and what it did to legitimise heroin use. There was a big baby boom in 2003. All of a sudden the kindergarten on Crown street had 80 kids and Bourke street was similar. There was a lot of parents, like-minded people who got in early with the housing when it was affordable and this family community grew as well. The most important change in Surry Hills was the Eastern Distributer. Bourke street and Crown street were Parramatta road continuously. I still am offended that people protested the Eastern Distributer because without that, Surry Hills would still be a really shit suburb. The Eastern Distributer made Surry Hills a village. Fight the good fight when you protest! A lot of people who created the area were forced out due to the price rises and that’s really sad. They are the first ones out. It happens to gay communities around the world. The creative types who are drawn to the inner city, all of a sudden they are gone. I can’t see Surry Hills changing much more. The most important thing in life is family, friends, community. I know it’s a cliché. It’s really important to be able to rely on people. More importantly, for Cheryl and I, we want to be that reliable person for people. We want to be dependable. We are there. The salon is really important to some people. Back in the Bentley Bar days it was very colourful, everyone used to drink there. A couple of the boys went by the wayside and ended up in gaol. I was the person they could come out and see when they got out of gaol because I would be standing in the front room of the salon, my house. Straight out of gaol they’d think, “I’ll go see Matty at the Barberia. He’ll be there.” There is some joy in that. What advice would I give to my younger self? Buy that apartment.

Cheryl Clarke: Devoted Mum

he main changes have happened already in Surry Hills. I wouldn’t go get a pizza down the road without taking my dog 15 years ago. You couldn’t even buy an apple in Surry hills 25 years ago. Now you have got such a choice of grocers. We find community in cafes like this. The lady who owns it puts on the most amazing Christmas party and asks everyone who lives around here to come. A turning point in our lives was when we had our shop across the road. We didn’t have a lease. Our rent at home was going up, our shop rent went up we thought, “What will we do?” We knew we were going to be pushed out of the area. We ended up buying our place down the road. By Surry Hills standards we got it cheap. That was a turning point because it meant we had two more daughters after that. We could afford to stay on Crown street. The area today has become more expensive Friends, family and community are important for us. We’ve always said to people, our family and friends, you can call us any time, either day or night. People have done that. Our customers are important. You get to know them after you’ve seen them for 15 years. What would I say to my younger self? Take care of yourself better.

About surryhillsandvalleys.com We are four storytellers whether through art, photography or written word, who want to create a space for giving voice to the stories of the inhabitants of Surry Hills. Surry Hills has a history of storytelling. We hope that the stories that are told will bring about community in our neighbourhood especially during this time where Surry Hills is going through so much change. We want to represent the diversity of the people in our community so we can increase learning from and respect of each other.

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HISCOE’S OLD-SKOOL GYM 525 Crown Street, Surry Hills www.hiscoes.com.au From left: Lynsey, Mac and Susan of Hiscoes. Photo Credit: Inlighten Photography.

Words by Tess Scholfield-Peters “This gym is a bit like the Tardis,” Lynsey tells me as we climb the stairs to its second level, “from the outside it looks pretty small, but we fit a lot in here.” Lynsey, Mac and Mac’s mother Susan run Hiscoe’s Gym on the corner of Crown Street and Miles Lane. The family run operation dates back to 1981 when the building was purchased by Australian squash champion Ken Hiscoe, Mac’s grandfather. Windsor, Ken Hiscoe’s wife, started the business and kept it running with her daughter Susan after Ken left. “Windsor was a tough bird,” says Lynsey, “we have a long history of strong women in this business. Mac is next in line to take over, but

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I’m not sure he has as much weight as his mother and grandmother.” Stepping into Hiscoe’s isn’t like stepping into one of the big name franchise gyms, or as Lynsey calls them, “bro-gyms.” “I think Hiscoe’s is more relaxed. People aren’t here in little crop-tops and active wear and it’s not packed with guys with massive muscles. We’re a bit old school, which I think is a lot more inclusive.” The gym houses four squash courts, as well as spinning and boxing studios, group fitness studios, cardio machines and weight training areas. “Squash is definitely the most social aspect of the business,” explains Lynsey, “if you come on

a Thursday night or Saturday afternoon when we do our in-house competitions, people are hanging out drinking beer and chatting. It’s got that old, club kind of feel to it.” Retro-Sweat, an authentic 1980s freestyle aerobics class, is for Lynsey a welcome perk of owning a stand-alone gym. “We wanted to try something different, and because we’re not a chain we have the freedom to make those choices. The leg warmers aren’t mandatory and neither are the G-string leotards,” laughs Lynsey, “but people still like to wear them.” The importance of community runs deep at Hiscoe’s. Aside from its history, Lynsey and Mac live upstairs, their children go to the local school and the senior personal trainer has been with the gym for over twenty years. “The kids come down sometimes and play on the treadmills or the courts, and some of the older members remember when Mac and his sister Tegan used to do that too,” says Lynsey, “family really is everything to this business.”

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Colour Your Mood. Surry Hills artist George Khut’s Mobile Mood Lab is crossing over into the area of health and diagnostics as part of the Big Anxiety Festival.

“The purpose of this is to give people an experience of the connectedness between our emotions and our breath and our bodies,” says Khut. “It is about an experience of our bodies which have not been medicalised or judged, it is just your experience of yourself being alive.”

ou are lying down on a specially designed bed in the back of a converted ambulance. Wireless sensors are connected to your heart, and changes in your heartbeat drive changes in coloured lights which flow and flash around you: the colours move from orange, yellow to green and blue as you relax and your heart rate decreases.

The Mood Lab is another example of Khut’s work in the area of biofeedback, the measurement of bodily processes. Khut’s art is all about connecting these processes with digital art, “to amplify a signal to control a change in a sound or a light.”

The closest comparison to the experience could be a float tank, with the difference that instead of lying in water, you are on a bed. Instead of sensory deprivation driving your internal imagination, you are looking up at yourself and the changing lights as if looking in a mirror. Welcome to George Khut’s Mobile Mood Lab, an innovative installation piece which is featuring at various locations around Sydney as part of the Big Anxiety Festival.

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“The Mobile Mood Lab is really the culmination of my 15 years of exploration of biofeedback art, as I have looked for new ways for art to engage with the processes of the body,” he says. “It’s not a selfie. It’s you controlling the changes from inside.” Several hundred people have experienced the Mobile Mood Lab so far, in various locations from Customs House at Circular Quay out as far as Mount Druitt.

Check out the schedule at www.thebiganxiety.org/events/mobile-mood-lab The Lab will also be stationed at Angel Place in the CBD in November. Urban Village | 53

Surry Hills Icons: Hollywood Quarter Words by Lachlan Colquhoun The Hollywood Hotel was named for a reason.

is still ensconced, lending some of her own impressive list of film credits to the quarter.

For several decades the hotel stood in isolation, deprived of its context, but today its all starting to make sense again.

Next time you have a drink there, you should know that Doris played opposite Katherine Hepburn and Bob Hope in the Iron Petticoat, as a Russian spy.

The nearby Paramount Building has been restored and now houses the Golden Age Cinema, in exactly the same location as the theatrette where Paramount Pictures used to preview its new films to cinema owners in the 1940s. It’s a reminder that Surry Hills once had its own Hollywood Quarter, and when the hotel opened in the 1940s it was there to service workers from the film industry, not just at Paramount but at Fox Studios, built on an adjoining lot.

A woman with diverse talents, she then played a shotputter in a strange English movie about a caber tossing Scotsman, Geordie, which screened on free to air television not so long again. Key to the rejuvenation of the area and its reconnection to its history have been the efforts of Bob Barton, who redesigned the original Paramount screening room – now the Golden Age – and the adjoining bar.

In the very same theatre where today we can watch anything from art house releases to classics to film screenings organized by your friends, around 70 years ago the cinema owners of Sydney used to crowd in to see the latest releases. Paramount built its Oceania headquarters on cheap land at the city’s fringe, always a magnet for bohemians, and today their descendants can move easily from cinema to hotel to restaurant in a revitalized Hollywood Quarter, updated for the 21st century. Over at the Hollywood, longtime publican, matriarch and Surry Hills icon Doris Goddard 54 | Urban Village

It’s part of what is now an award winning office space which is also coaxing film and tv companies back into the area. And there’s more to come, with a hotel and health club due for completion next year. “Golden Age was envisaged as a way to bring life back into Paramount House, inject some filmic fun, and breathe a different kind of social life into Sydney,” says Bob Barton. “Its aim was to create a beautiful experience that blended the romance of the past with the opportunities of the present.” How lucky we are to have it back with us again!

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The victorious 4 Pines crew. Photo Credit: Brandon Matich.

Battle of the Brews. Words by Tess Scholfield-Peters Each year Dove & Olive hosts the Craft Beer Fight Club, a series of tastings that see breweries go head to head to be crowned Craft Beer Fight Club Champion of the Year during Sydney Beer Week in October. The Fight Club is made up of four elimination rounds throughout the year, with the fifth and final round being a tasting showdown from the year’s four winning breweries. Urban Village caught Round 4 of this year’s Fight Club, a face off between northern beaches breweries 4 Pines and Modus Operandi. Despite our limited prior craft beer knowledge, we joined in on what was a very memorable evening (despite feeling somewhat hazy the next morning). Each brewery offered up two distinct beers, giving punters a taste of the best they’ve got. The $30 ‘Heavyweight’ Craft Beer ticket will get you four schooners to taste, and the $20 ‘Featherweight’ ticket will get you four middies. Die-hard beer nerds and craft beer novices alike came together and shared in the banter,

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the games and the all-important tastings. We sat around in the beer lounge and mingled with the other fight club goers, drank and compared our thoughts on tasting notes and flavours. Our simple word offerings of ‘juicy’, ‘hoppy’ and ‘crisp’ were received with jolly encouragement from the craft beer aficionados in our booth, and very nearly earned us a win in the Craft Beer Bingo. From bingo to beer trivia, to question time with the brewery reps to designing our own craft beer bottle and name, the banter and jousting between 4 Pines and Modus Operandi kept everyone in rowdy spirits. The winner of the night was 4 Pine’s ‘Nitro Pavlova’, a fruity beer with generous additions of passionfruit, kiwi fruit, strawberries and lactose that gave it a creamy, dessert-like finish. Whether you’re an authority on all things craft beer or you just enjoy a schooey and some banter, the Fight Club is a rare chance to watch the country’s best breweries get together and show each other what they’ve got.

For tickets and info Round 5, head to doveandolive.com.au/craft-beer-fight-club/

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An Inlightening Experience. Words by Tess Scholfield-Peters

Photo Credit: Inlighten Photography

alking into the top floor Crown Street office of Inlighten Photography is as much of an experience as those captured and hung on the walls in ornate frames.

“Everyone in the team is incredibly personable. You have to love weddings particularly, in fact you sort of have to be an expert in weddings as well as photography.”

“Every client receives a glass of champagne as soon as they walk through the door,” Inlighten founder Dean tells me as I take a seat on a lounge straight out of Vogue Living, “we work really hard on the whole package, not just the photos. We are selling a whole experience.”

“I carry a sewing kit in my camera bag in case the bride or bridesmaid’s dress rips,” explains Dean, expert trouble-shooter on both sides of the lens, “at a wedding we shot last week I dressed the bride myself because all the bridesmaids had long fingernails and couldn’t do the buttons up.”

The Inlighten Photography experience has earned husband and wife business duo Dean and Rachael the reputation as one of Sydney’s premium wedding and event photography studios.

I couldn’t help but ask about the wedding of the man who has shot around one thousand weddings in his time.

“I was coming home from school one day and I found a box of rubbish someone was throwing out. There was a camera lens in there and it just sparked my interest,” says Dean, who has been a professional photographer for twenty-five years now. Rachael’s background is in marketing and accounting, and together with Dean’s photography skills and passion for people, Inlighten has expanded to a team of four full time photographers and ten freelancers, some of which have been working with them for fourteen years.

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“We had it at the old mortuary train station in Redfern,” recalls Dean, “all the guests played Conga drums while we danced the Bridal Waltz in the middle. It was a bit out there. We wanted something different yet elegant.” As well as wedding, portrait and event photography, Inlighten’s business side branch Social Media Photos (socialmediaphotos.com.au) is aimed local businesses that are after affordable and professional social media-targeted photography and videography. “There’s such a hub of creative businesses in Surry Hills. We want to be really involved, work together creatively and help each other.”

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A Visitors Guide to Eastside Sydney

Katie Mayor hosts the travel and indie music show Wanderlust on Bondi Beach Radio and blogs at wildspinoftheworld.com / Photo Credit: Roisin McGee

ith the rise of the digital nomad, bespoke urban tour companies and house sharing services like Airbnb, we know one thing for certain: that people are searching out a

locals’ experience when they travel. So if you have guests coming to visit, you might want to help them explore the oasis of urban cool that is Eastside Sydney. Here’s a short guide to how you can best impress your visitors by showing them some of the hottest places to eat, stay, work and play while stationed in the inner-city neighbourhoods of Potts Point, Surry Hills, Woolloomooloo, Kings Cross and Darlinghurst.

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our guests have come to the right part of town, as Eastside is rammed full of the city’s best foodie establishments, with names like Apollo, Cho Cho San, Ms G’s, China Doll and Nomad all firing up their grills in the inner east. If your dining dilemma is choosing between world cuisines at the likes of Porteno, Bang Street Food, Almond Bar, Dear Sainte Eloise or Buffalo Dining Club, we don’t feel sorry for you at all. From Yellow to Yulli’s, you’ll also find some great options for dining with your vegetarian and vegan friends. For killer light snacks, don’t look past Smoking Gun Bagels or the original Bourke Street Bakery, and for a supreme coffee fix, hit up Single O, Edition Coffee Roasters, Kwila or Room 10 in Llankelly Place.

he idea of the traditional office may be under threat, as more creatives are working ‘remotely’ and coworking spaces are springing up all over the city fringe. So if you’re housing a visitor mixing work with play, they may want to hot desk at Hub Australia, the Surry Hills outpost of Spaces, or why not suggest TwoSpace, which will have them working in restaurants and bars that are normally closed during the day.

WORK

PLAY

f you’re strapped for time, and you’d like to suggest a local in the know to show you guest around some hidden gems, book a bespoke tour with Culture Scouts or The Sydney Connection. At night, the area transforms, with an almost unfair concentration of live theatre and entertainment venues. Belvoir St Theatre almost needs no introduction, the Darlinghurst Theatre Company runs out of the iconic Eternity Playhouse and Blood Moon Theatre in The World Bar is turning heads since their recent Hidden Sydney performances. If that’s not enough, get your cult flicks fix at Golden Age Cinema, see the best touring bands at Oxford Art Factory, or catch some sneaky burlesque, comedy and cabaret at the Bamboozle Room.

f your inner city apartment is a little petite for a guest to stay in – never fear – Eastside is rich with stylish stays. For luxe lodgings, opt for Spicers Potts Point, housed in classy, renovated Victorian terraces, or Ovolo Woolloomooloo, complete with Instagram-worthy kissing booths in the lobby and a couple of ‘rock star’ rooms. You’ll be wanting to bunk in with them! And for budget boutique, it pays to look no further than above local favourite bars, so explore Hotel Harry, Frisco Hotel or rooms in the Darlo Bar, all of which will keep your vacationer in walking distance of you and the best of the local areas, ensuring they live like a local in the urban heart of Sydney.

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Expert Advice Locally

website that would allow Australian businesses to promote their products online. While flicking through the thesaurus, Boyce came across the name ‘Twitter’. Boyce’s initial enquires revealed that no other businesses was using ‘Twitter’. He registered the business name, as well as the domain name ‘twitter.com.au’, and starting trading. Meanwhile, in the US, Jack Dorsey came up with the idea of sending short, SMS-type messages to a small group of people, while working with podcasting company Odeo. On March 21, 2006, the first ‘tweet’ was sent. What began as a prototype internal service for Odeo employees become what is known today as Twitter; a service that now has an estimated 328 million active users every month. In October 2007, Twitter Inc. applied to register the trade mark TWITTER.

Twitter - The importance of registering your business name as a trade mark One of the first things we advise clients who want to start a new business is to register their business name and to secure an internet domain name. Many business owners assume that if their brand name is the same as their company name which is registered with ASIC, or is the business name they have registered, that they have all the protection they need. Wrong. Trade marks can be both registered and unregistered. Registering a trade mark gives the owner a statutory monopoly to use the mark to promote particular goods and services. This means that if someone uses a name that is confusingly or deceptively close to your registered trade mark, you can sue to stop them, fast. By contrast, an unregistered trade mark only points to evidence of ownership, and if there is a dispute it can be expensive and difficult to establish that you should have monopoly rights. An older decision of the Australian Trade Marks Office is a reminder of the importance of early registration of your trade mark. Background In 2006, Australian web developer Jason Boyce was deciding on a name for his new project: a

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Although Twitter’s service was starting to gain worldwide prominence, Boyce’s business was doing well. He applied to register the trade mark ‘TWITTER.COM.AU’ in 2009 to protect his brand and business name. He was not aware that Twitter had registered its trade mark. Twitter Inc. successfully opposed Boyce’s application, despite Boyce operating his business prior to the registration by Twitter Inc. The Practical Business Implications This case illustrates the importance of early trade mark registration, especially where a business has built a significant reputation locally and has ambitions to expand nationally or overseas. It also shows how hard it can be to register your trade mark after someone else has registered a similar mark, even if you started using your trade mark beforehand. Before adopting or applying to register a new trade mark, it’s a good idea to conduct searches to ensure that your trade mark is not too similar to other registered or pending trade marks. This could potentially occur even if the earlier trade mark is registered for different (but similar) goods or services. Be warned.

Peter English is the director and founding partner of Surry Partners Lawyers www.surrypartners.com.au

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