Innehållsförteckning för Spring 2017 från Peppermint Magazine

ISSUE 35 SPRING 2017 I guess, looking back, I have always been a maker. The dusty, museum-like shelves of my mother’s house are still dotted with the barely preserved artefacts of my lifelong obsession with making. Paper mache-covered goblets filled with now 30-year-old potpourri, handpainted planter pots, glitterencrusted picture frames alongside illustrations, artworks and other curious creations – every birthday or celebration my family and friends were the ‘lucky’ recipients of something I would conjure up and then set about creating. To me, making something was the physical manifestation of my love, the ultimate gift I could give – my skills, my time, my efforts and my steadfast belief that everyone needed a paper mache-decorated goblet in their life. In my later years, I went on to study fashion design,…

“We’re so desensitised from horrifying imagery that fantasy allows people to talk about the topic in a novel, engaging way” He was particularly horrified by one statistic: by the year 2050, it’s forecast there’ll be more plastic than fish in the sea. Benjamin knew he wanted to do something to help raise awareness of this “ordinary, ugly and boring” topic and change people’s habits. But what? Inspiration struck after stumbling across a designer who created beautiful, otherworldly mermaid tails – and from there, his powerful photography series Mermaids Hate Plastic was born. The images, which were released at the end of 2016 and quickly shared online around the world, are certainly compelling: in one, a mermaid lies lifeless on a beach, washed up by a shimmering sea of plastic bottles;…

ETHIQUE These solid beauty bars – including shampoo, cleansers and more – come wrapped in compostable cardboard. OATY DELICIOUS BABY SHAMPOO BAR NZ$22 ethiquebeauty.com LUSH FRESH HANDMADE COSMETICS Leaders in packaging-free products, Lush also use plastic-free glitter for their bubble bars and bombs. SUNNYSIDE $8.95 au.lush.com DIRTY HIPPIE COSMETICS Organic, vegan skincare and cosmetics in compostable cardboard, glass and aluminium for happy hippies. LIP PLUMPING BALM AND SCRUB $14ea dirtyhippiecosmetics.etsy.com SAFIX BODY SCRUB PAD Say goodbye to microbeads and packaged scrubs – this biodegradable coconut fibre pad exfoliates naturally. FOOT AND BODY SCRUB PAD $3.95 floraandfauna.com.au EARTHS PURITIES Australian-made organic deodorants for men and women, neatly packaged in 100% recycled paper. MEN’S NATURAL DEODORANT $14.95 earthspurities.com.au THE ROGUE GINGER / DIY MASCARA Reduce waste by making your own cosmetics. The Rogue Ginger has recipes for…

1/ OOB ORGANIC SMOOTHIE MIX Oob’s handy organic smoothie mixes make it easier than ever to get your daily antioxidant hit. Each pouch contains berries grown on Oob’s organic farm in Omaha, New Zealand, snap-frozen and combined with kiwifruit and banana for a perfectly balanced, blender-ready treat. oob.co.nz 2/ HANDSOME DEVILS CO HOT SAUCE The strapping Sydney chaps behind Handsome Devils Co want to spice things up in your kitchen. Their range of hot sauces is made with all-natural ingredients and is free from added sugar and preservatives. Choose from BBQ, tomato, chipotle – or if you dare, the award-winning De Arbol Hot Sauce. handsomedevilsco.com 3/ FAIR ACAI LIQUEUR For cocktails with a difference, try FAIR’s Acai Liqueur. Using organic, sustainably sourced Fairtrade Certified ingredients that are rich in antioxidants…

“You sculpt and mould and push the clay into the form you want, and then it is solidified, turned to stone - a relic of the exact moment it was made” In that time, her fine-art photography, interior styling and handthrown ceramics have earned her cult status. No matter the materials she chooses or the final form her creative expression takes, Nicolette’s work is about fleeting moments, ephemeral beauty and evolving notions of home – ideas intimately tied to her own life experience. On any given weekday you’re likely to find Nicolette bent elegantly over a potter’s wheel – overalls slicked with wet clay; hair pulled back in a loose bun. A cast of wooden tools are laid out on a clayflecked workbench, and alongside them, spheres of soft, yielding…

WE LOVE HEARING FROM YOU, DEAR READERS. All writers published in this issue’s Letterbox will receive an organic, cruelty-free, Australian-made haircare pack from EverEscents – including Cinnamon & Patchouli Moisture Shampoo, Conditioner and Deep Treatment, plus a Universal Styling Cream – worth $115. Enjoy! everescents.com.au GET IN TOUCH AT HELLO@PEPPERMINTMAG.COM dear peppermint Dear Peppermint, Oh hey! So I feel like we are old friends, but truly we only met last month. I found you, you changed my world and now we get along like kindred spirits. You are the first magazine I’ve enjoyed reading from cover to cover – the substance, comfort, joy and truth I find on every page honestly makes me feel soothed and connected because of how it all resonates with my soul. I really love you…

The Brisbane-based novelist, theatre director and youth arts worker – who describes herself as ‘a sparkly lady on a quest to change the way the world feels about itself’ – spreads her self-love message through her joy-filled, rainbow-bright ‘Claire and Pearl’ Instagram feed, inspiring others to love themselves exactly as they are. “I wish that my 15-year-old self knew that she was OK, that her body was OK, exactly as it was” I have spent the last 13 years of my career working with teenagers, which means I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about my teenage self and all of the things I wish she knew. Important things, such as: twisting your hair and securing it with a plastic butterfly clip is not really the kind of fashion statement…

“Knowing I can create something that will be handed down through generations makes me feel that I can pass on a little slice of the legacy my father gave to me.” Tell us about your work... I’m a trained cabinet maker who specialises in designing and manufacturing fine custom furniture. My work varies from retail fitouts to freestanding pieces and art installations. How has your upbringing influenced your career? I work where I grew up – in a small town called Billinudgel, just 15 minutes north of Byron Bay. My father’s a highly respected carpenter–joiner, and I’d spend hours in his beautiful workshop in between the cow paddocks. I met talented architects and builders and inspiring clients who helped open my eyes to quality, how to approach a project with…

“We want you to wear them. We want you to love them. Most of all, we want you to talk about them. When that happens, the impact of one person purchasing a pair of jeans can be massive.” That was until a series of fortuitous events and an eye-opening trip to Thailand and Cambodia started him on the path of wanting to assist victims of human trafficking and sex slavery. Big-hearted by nature, James’ determination to help vulnerable women and girls didn’t come as much of a surprise to those who know him best. But he did turn a few heads when he looked to denim jeans as the way to achieve his goal. At Outland Denim, ‘Made different’ isn’t just a tagline – it’s a mantra that has guided…

“Movement, breathwork, creativity, dance, play - these are the meaning-making aspects of who we are” The Sydney-based yoga teacher and artist walked away from a successful media career to follow her passion for creative expression through movement, and now spends her days practising yoga, sharing its benefits with others through her dynamic classes, and hand-forming clay objects and large-scale paintings – a process that helps her forge a deep connection with herself, others and the natural world. What is your background? For many years my full-time profession was in the world of food magazines. I held senior editorial positions at delicious magazine, and prior to that at Masterchef, Good Taste and Gourmet Traveller – which meant mornings, nights and weekends I would study and teach yoga. It was after several…

It’s tools down at 5pm at the Pactics factory in Siem Reap, Cambodia. As the sun melts over the horizon, turning the rice paddies gold and throwing shadows on the nearby temples of Angkor, it’s a cue for Pactics’ 350 staff to finish up for the day. Unlike most of Cambodia’s 700,000-plus garment factory workers, who often toil well into the night, Pactics staff work a standard eight-hour day. The company only recruits from the local area so that staff can easily commute home to their families. This is in contrast to other factory workers who either live in overcrowded dormitories or are forced to travel long distances on dangerous roads. These may sound like small measures (and they are just the tip of the iceberg); but when Pactics launched…

“The Kogi do spiritual work on the coffee. They believe there are specific places where the guardians of things live.” With their own language, customs and belief system, the 20,000-strong Kogi community live according to their traditions, with very little influence from the outside world. Leading an almost entirely self-sufficient existence in small farming communities, they’re guided by their spiritual values and connection to nature, believing they’re the ‘elder brothers’ of humanity, charged with taking care of the planet. It’s worlds away from Australia, but these two places are linked by a small green coffee bean – harvested by the Kogi people in the Colombian wilderness and then transported to Sydney to be roasted and sold by the packet. Grown and collected using ancestral practices, this unique, wild-harvested Arabica coffee…

“The kids could throw mud on the walls, build cubby houses out of the straw bales. It was a very family-friendly building material.” The very first house that Oscar and Rosie built together was finished just in the nick of time: Rosie went into labour with the couple’s second child as Oscar hurriedly moved in their belongings between contractions. Luckily, precious few things were needed to fill that ‘house’. It was actually a tiny one-room shed, just 15 square metres with a couple of beds, a pot-bellied stove, 12-volt power only and no running water. “We thought the shed would be a temporary thing to live in, but one year turned into four and a half,” Oscar recalls. The pair had tried to enter the housing market in a more…

“Extending the average life of a garment by just three months would lead to a 5-10% reduction in the carbon, water and waste created over its entire lifecycle” What’s the Love Your Clothes campaign all about? We aim to help people make more sustainable choices around clothes by buying smarter, extending the life of clothes through better laundry-care and repair, and disposing of them in the right way. Research has found that every year an estimated 300,000 tonnes of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK – and there’s absolutely no need for any item of clothing or textiles to make its way into a bin. Extending the average life of a garment by just three months would lead to a 5-10% reduction in the carbon, water and waste…

EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIBER PRIZE! The Gift of Asking KEMI NEKVAPIL Life coach and wellness expert Kemi Nekvapil knows a thing or two about what women want. More specifically, she’s figured out why so many women – from CEOs to students – have difficulty asking for it. In this eye-opening book, Kemi reveals the fifteen costs of not asking (which include everything from lower wages to a lack of personal fulfilment), the practical steps women can take towards articulating their desires and what to do when the answer is ‘no’. An empowering blend of self-help, psychology and feminism, The Gift of Asking could be the book to change your life. Subscriber exclusive! If you’re a current subscriber, email us at yesplease@peppermintmag.com with ‘Kemi’ in the subject line by 30 October 2017 to…

fighting for rights Eleanor Roosevelt famously said that human rights begin in the small places that cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Working as a lawyer I’ve seen some of those small places – the inside of a secure mental health ward, the home of a young woman who has had her baby taken from her because of her violent relationship, the classroom that a kid with autism has been excluded from. Human rights should begin in the small places. They should not be abused there. The concept of human rights arose from the atrocities of the Second World War. The international community recognised what could happen when government power is unrestrained. They came up with a list of basic rights that governments should respect, protect and…

WIN! WOOL AND THE GANG If spring’s got you feeling crafty, we recommend checking out Wool and the Gang’s Tina Tape range – custom yarn and DIY knitting and crochet kits featuring butter-soft, vegan-friendly Tencel made from sustainably sourced eucalyptus tree fibres. The kits guide you through the process of making everything from bags to tank tops, so with a little time and a whole lotta fun your entire wardrobe can be a #memade extravaganza. woolandthegang.com We have two Wool and the Gang Summer Love Bag kits to give away! Email your details to yesplease@peppermintmag.com by 30 October 2017 with the subject line ‘Wool and the Gang’. furniture with flair Forget the flat pack – Flitch & Rasp’s custom furniture is so full of character you’ll want to hold onto…

The ingredients in many mainstream lipsticks can read like a roll-call of Things We Really Shouldn’t Put Near Our Mouths. From hazardous chemicals and heavy metals to fish scales and insects (YEP), they can contain a cocktail of nasties that leave more than a sour taste in the mouth. Hurrah, then, for their natural competitors, who’ve created lippies that claim to be beautiful both inside and out. To see which really do give us a perfectly painted pout, we put six of the best through the challenge of surviving coffee, dinner and even the unpredictable affections of a puppy. Mwah! NOYAH EMPIRE RED This little beauty is positively bursting with coconut oil, shea butter and vitamin E – all of which keep your lips hydrated and happily make the dreaded…

“I’m fascinated by following everything back from the product itself - can we somehow trace the actual farmer that grew the tomatoes that became the sauce that got into this tin and got put on that ship?” If you ask Sydney-based chutney connoisseur Ankit Chopra, he’ll tell you: many things indeed. In 2011, he and his mum Jaya founded Eat Me Chutneys, a savvy business and social enterprise that churns out tasty, tangy chutneys made from salvaged produce. “It all goes back to Mum’s tamarind chutney,” recalls Ankit. “I don’t think we ever had the notion that we’d launch a business. It was just an idea: ‘Hey, why don’t you take your chutney to the farmers’ market?’” Jaya’s chutney was an heirloom recipe that had been passed down through generations…

“When there was war, there was no waste. There was no such thing as something ‘imperfect’ because they had so little. As a species, we have never been this wasteful.” In the past decade, the Stanford Business graduate has spearheaded no fewer than three major startups, all united under the common vision of diverting one of our most precious resources, food, from landfill. Look at the stats, and you can understand why this issue has captured Katy’s attention. A whopping 9.5 million tonnes of food get sent to landfill every year in Australia alone. This has a massive environmental impact: if food waste was a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of methane gas. It also takes a financial toll to the tune of about 3.8 billion dollars annually,…

Whether it’s creating something practical for another person to use, creating meaningful art that touches someone’s spirit, or simply choosing to create because of the personal pleasure it brings, a day making something with your own two hands is a day well-spent. We spoke to a few makers from around the country to discover more about their processes, and how making has helped create positive change – both in their own lives and the world around them. I started my Apomogy project after making up with my old best friend with whom I’d previously had a terrible falling out. We hadn’t spoken for almost three years until finally we decided to sit down, have a coffee together and chat things out. As cliché as it sounds, that day I felt…

“Eight out of ten councils in Australia say that residents putting recyclables inside plastic bags is actually the biggest contaminant” How many of us really know what happens to our recycling after it leaves the kerbside? Even if we think we have a good grasp on the dos and don’ts, the recycling process and its convoluted mechanics can baffle even the most well-informed. While anguishing over the soft plastic wrapper around your tampons or the moulded-aluminiumand- plastic packaging of your veggie chips might seem like an enormous amount of mental energy spent on such a small thing, every extra moment invested in accurately sorting our waste means we’re showing respect for and protecting our environment and its limited natural resources. Recycling is a relatively new concept, and with the immense…

“Biodynamic farming doesn’t just stop with the living soil. It also takes into account the forces of growth and life that originate from outside the earth, using the naturally occurring rhythms and processes that plants are very attuned to.” The Fern Verrow farm lies quite a bit off the beaten track, in British terms of distance at least. The train journey from London takes three hours, through a landscape that steadily empties of urban hustle, the rush replaced by quiet-looking towns and fields dotted with fat sheep. Even once the train dumps me at the small cathedral city of Hereford, I rely on Fern Verrow founder Jane Scotter to collect me in her battered four-wheel drive; public transport’s thin out here beside the foothills of the Black Mountains, not far…

“Our motivation was to stock food that creates conversation and a lasting memory” owner RACHEL RUSSO AND MINDY GRUMLEY address SHOP 2, 3535 BASS HWY, KILCUNDA VIC 3995 • UDDERANDHOE.COM.AU wares GIPPSLAND FRUIT AND VEGETABLES, DAIRY, PRESERVES, GRAINS, OILS AND NUTS How would you describe your store? Udder & Hoe is a welcoming local food hub where the community and visitors gather to connect and swap ideas, recipes and garden tips while collecting dinner ingredients and picnic supplies. Mindy and I place a strong focus on local, seasonal produce – so there’s never goji berries, Bolivian quinoa or even bananas in store; instead we showcase Gippsland-grown macadamias, Victorian pumpkin seeds and oats you can roll yourself from Victorian-grown groats. All fruit and vegetables are grown within the Gippsland region with sustainable farming methods…

Perched on a north–south peninsula on the traditional lands of the Yawuru people, Broome’s two seasons see its population leap from 15,000 in the wet season to 45,000 per month at its dry peak. With bountiful local wildlife, sweeping white beaches and a culture that blends an Asian influence with rich Indigenous history, a visit to the area is a feast for all the senses. SHOP RAINSONG Offering a multitude of goodies, including ethically made clothing and gifts, beautiful batik purses, fair trade Western Australiaproduced coffee and tea and ridiculously tasty, locally made Omm Nom Nom raw cakes, this little treasure of a store is the ideal place to pick up a treat or 10 for the folks back home. The raw cakes in particular are legendary around Broome –…

DUCKFEET Danish footwear gems Duckfeet have released the Mando – a new summer sandal that’s a sculptural take on the classic thong, and is destined to become your new favourite! duckfeet.com.au WOOLERINA Woolerina’s classic crew t-shirt has a scooped hem, contrast capped sleeves and is made of a lightweight Australian Merino and lycra jersey blend – perfect for spring! woolerina.com.au SMITTEN MERINO Looking for the perfect trans-seasonal coverup? This lightweight poncho is made from superfine Merino wool that can be rolled up and popped in your bag. smittenmerino.com BAABUK These 100% wool trainers are ethically crafted in Portugal and make the most of wool’s breathability, comfort and durability. They’re also washable at 30 degrees! baabuk.com.au PERKII These lactose- and gluten-free beverages are packed with over one billion gut-loving probiotics –…

It can be so easy, in these hectic times, to forget about the simple pleasure of making. When all manner of things can be instantly ordered with a click or two, it’s tempting to dismiss the idea of sitting down and creating something from scratch as too time-consuming. Too difficult. And too distracting from the very busy Netflix-binging schedule we have planned. But in the midst of all this convenience, are we forgetting about joy? Not the joy that comes from a brand-new Game of Thrones episode, but the joy that comes from the process of making something by hand – sitting down and being present, and taking time to focus on a single task. Are we forgetting about the joy of completing a project – of holding a creation…