Honestly, where has the time gone? I’ve been quiet on the website blog as I’ve temporarily moved to Canberra from beginning of October for 3 months for a work assignment (day job) and finding my feet in our nation’s capital. I hate to say it but Christmas is just a month away and soon I’ll have to move back to Sydney but for the moment I am enjoying living between two cities. I work in Canberra and return to Sydney about every two weeks to keep up with the new events and offerings there (PS I’m back next weekend for some exciting events). But it will be back in Sydney for good in the New Year!
Anyway, I’ve been exploring things to do in Canberra on weekends beyond the Tripadvisor recommended touristy things and I’m lucky to be in Canberra for their Design Canberra Festival, where there are many workshops and things to see, taste and do with the perspective of design. I attended three events.
The first was the Winning Appliances Progressive Dinner where appliances from various brands were showcased and we tasted various types of food cooked by chefs at the event. The highlight for me was meeting The Martini Whisperer who introduced me to his non-alcoholic gin cocktail, Botanical Spritz. Yes there are people like me out there who like to drink sociably but choose not to or can’t consume alcohol and let’s face it, options for non alcoholic drinks are somewhat limited so far and it was a refreshing change.
The second was Eat Drink Design where award winning chef Ben Willis of the hatted Aubergine restaurant curated a one-night-only design dinner celebration of the best of food and design teamed with seasonal, locally sourced produce and contemporary designers. I sat next to the local designer and ceramic designer, Chris Harford who designs all the plates for this restaurant. Chris has an interesting story. Ceramics started as a hobby for Chris in his backyard shed and through word of mouth he now designs plates for some top restaurants in Canberra.
Today I headed up to the shopping mall Canberra Centre this morning to attend a Christmas Table Styling Workshop hosted by Terri Winter, Australian entrepreneur, designer and founder of Top 3 By Design currently a host on Australia by Design on Channel 10, and a judge on the Australian International Design Awards. I love the thinking behind how Terri’s styles for dinner tables. Here are the 5 things I learnt today from Terri’s workshop:
- Do away with the Christmassy decorations as they are only used once a year and become landfill.
- Use pieces you can use again
- What’s on the menu as they will guide you on the theme for your table setting eg if you are having seafood then a light and airy Nordic Australian look with whites, silvers and blues could the colour scheme you use
- Do a dress rehearsal of your table styling and keep pieces including flowers at eye level
- Give people a heads up on the theme so they are dressed for the occasion and there is a flow in your photos.
I also unexpectedly bumped into Canberra based blogger, Instagrammer and photographer Erna from @simplycheeky probably one of my first few followers when I started my blog and she recognised me and asked if I was “see.taste.do” Such a random and unexpected encounter and @simplycheeky showed me around Canberra Centre after the workshop for best places to eat. Erna also showed me a store where I could not resist buying a vegan fruit and vege handbag designed in London! Thank you Erna for making my day!
That’s the wrap for me for this weekend but I have more things to share if you’re looking for something different to do in Canberra.
