My Mum - by the St Barts Team

Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday and we here at St Barts are taking the time to reflect on the special things that made our mothers unique, unrepeatable and the most important female role models in our lives. 

Originally conceived as a public holiday in America in 1914 through the campaigning efforts of Anna Jarvis, Mother's Day is about honoring the place of the mother in our society, and more personally, our lives.

It is interesting to note however, that celebrations of mothers and motherhood have occurred throughout history for thousands of years and we are particularly intrigued by the flamboyant figure of Cybele (or Mountain Mother) in Greek mythology. 

She was a wild woman by all accounts, a protector of cities and towns - arriving in a carriage led by lions, to raucous music, ecstatic dancing and much wine. Her mastery of the natural world and her vivid forceful nature are strong and powerful reminders that motherhood can mean much more than being a mere attachment to apron strings...feisty, funny, tough, cuddly, determined, tired, driven, rebellious, soft and more - she may be mum, but she is a woman too. 

Here, in the memories and reflections of our own mothers' is proof of the mighty feminine! 

Olivia Squillari - Marketing & Graphic Design 

Mum -  Kim Squillari

Kim Squillari

In her 20’s my mum was...partying till the a.m in Kings Cross

My mum’s style is...bohemian Byron style or everything black!

She taught me...that there is a big world out there and food is the way to a man's heart.

I love the way she...dances with her arms in the air.

Everyone who knows her says she...has a huge heart and loves a boogie!

Priya Gravesting - Brisbane Store
Mum - Audrey Bowie

Audrey Bowie with Priya and family

In her 20’s my mum was... a missionary in India before marrying my father in her mid 20’s.  They went on to have 4 children, 3 girls and a then my brother who was severely handicapped all his life.

My mum’s style is...Classic, loves black, white, lace and pearls!

She taught me...That a Princess is not here to be served but to serve others.

I love the way she...has our whole extended family over for amazing Indian lunch every Sunday.  It’s a long standing tradition.

I’ll never forget the time she...gave the Eulogy at my brother’s funeral.

Nicole Grimsdale - Marketing & Southport Store

Mum - Annette Grimsdale

Annette Grimsdale, end right, with family at her sister Vicki's wedding (second left).

In her 20’s my mum was...young and beautiful but struggling emotionally and financially as a single mother with my brother. She met the love of her life, my dad, in her late 20's (he was 29 years older than her and a successful film and TV director) and never looked back.

She taught me...to grow up! My mum doesn't believe in blaming others for things they may or may not have done but to take responsibility for your own life, however hard that may be sometimes.

I love the way she...entertains. My mum was and still is a great hostess. She holds lots of dinner parties. Back in the 70's and 80's they included many empty bottles and guests lingering to the wee hours. These days it's more sedate but she still plans her meals with imagination and sets the table with real panache.

She cooked the best...Beef Rendang. Dry, spicy, flaky.

I wish I could live with courage, loyalty and pragmatism like she does.

Fiona Allan - Office Manager
Mum - Valerie Bailey

Valerie Bailey, graceful globe trotter

My mum's style was...classic, tailored and elegant

She taught me...how to entertain, shop and laugh!

I love the way she...made our childhoods so special. I have such warm, loving memories of home cooking, horse-riding, holidays, shopping, parties and picnics...and lots of love.

She cooked threw the best...dinner parties.

She loved to...travel the globe.

Happy Mother's Day 

Mid-Week Meditation - Ageing Gracefully

Image: blog.annavedeneeva.com

Working in St-Barts we are privledged to meet many beautiful and spirited women every day. What we find encouraging and uplifting in particular is the style and grace we see across the spectrum of ages - we are lucky to have as customers women in their 20's through to their 80's and even 90's. Charming, irreverent, quirky, classic, understated, flamboyant, vivacious, serene - but always authentic and carrying themselves with great good style. 

Radiant Orchid - Pantone Colour of The Year 2014

Purple is a vegemite of a colour, dividing people into camps of love or hate, but with this year's Pantone colour being revealed as Radiant Orchid  - a warm brew of fuchsia, rose and purple - a universal appeal just may have been found.

Love Never Ends - A Valentine's Story

This story has got us all weepy. We had to share. Happy Valentine's Day friends, may love guide your days.

Special Delivery

"My sweet husband, John, and I were married for 46 years. Each Valentine's Day, he'd send me the most beautiful flowers containing a note with five simple words: "My love for you grows."

Four children, 46 bouquets and a lifetime of love were his legacy to me when he passed away two years ago.

On my first Valentine's Day alone, 10 months after I lost him, I was shocked to receive a gorgeous bouquet addressed to me...from John.Angry and heartbroken, I called the florist to say there had been a mistake. The florist replied, 'No, ma'am, it's not a mistake. Before he passed away, your husband pre-paid for many years and asked us to guarantee that you'd continue getting bouquets every Vaneltine's Day.' With my heart in my throat, I hung up the phone and read the attatched card. It said, 'My love for you is eternal'."

-Sue Johnston, 68, Houston, TX

image: House Beautiful

Fossilised Wood - Geologic Time Travellers

A home filled with treasures of travel, sustainable organic materials, artisan crafts, things from this earth that remind us of the great adventure we are all on - this is the essence of our ideal St Barts home. And nothing quite resonates with the sacred journey of nature and time like fossilised wood.

We currently have some stunning logs and carved sculptures instore and they never fail to surprise with their intense heaviness, glossiness, smooth tactility and rare beauty. As a piece of art or furniture, they have a unique poetry.

When you look at a piece of fossilised wood what you are seeing is not actually wood but stone imitating wood, and very well indeed. They are the perfectly preserved, mineralised echo of a tree that may have existed up to 100 million years ago.

It is astounding to realise that there is no wood left in the tree form you are looking at - that the details of bark and wood, the rings, the cellular structure is in fact minerals such as calcite and silica that have infiltrated the cells of a fallen tree and have formed a rock that has taken the shape of the original, preserving its beauty for us to appreciate millions of years later. Now, how do you put a value to that?

How Wood Is Petrified - A Simple Guide

1: When a tree falls to the ground in some rare cases it will be covered in mud before it has a chance to decay.

2: If it is covered quickly enough it will retain its shape under the mud.

3: The tree cells start to become hollow as the cells deteriorate or break down. As they hollow, water seeps into the cells, the water is full of minerals like calcite and silicon.

4: As water evaporates it leaves the minerals behind, filling up the cells creating a petrified tree. The minerals have replaced the tree to make a rock. In the case of calcium the tree will turn white.

(Reference www.yourgeomologist.com) 

Mid-week Meditation - Gratitude

Recently Jasmine and Leanne - head honchos of St Barts and Gallery One - were kayaking on the Kingscliff creek and were caught in a king tide. Their kayaks were swept far out to sea in the extreme current and it is fair to say they feared for their lives. They were guided to safety by an older gent - one of those hardy and remarkable all-season-swimmers. It was high drama to say the least - utter panic turning to icy calm as the resolve to survive kicked in.

Letter To My Family At Christmas

Dear Family,

From across this country and over oceans and continents you have traveled here to be together at this time of year. You have come home.

I hope you do feel at home as you enter this old house - the place you grew up in, grew from childhood into adulthood and fled to find your own paths. I haven't kept your rooms the same - times change, but I hope that when you enter through the door wreathed with native flowers that the spirit of love and joyfulness creeps into your hearts and you feel welcome here.

I have so many memories of our lives, of the tears and triumphs of your school years that felt like the best and hardest of times as we all raced and rushed through our days from drop off to pick up to homework and football and ballet. It seemed we never stopped until I tucked you in and told stories to your imaginations. The days when fairies were real and Santa was watching.

Welcome home, I have set the table with clean white linen and polished the silver. I know you think this old fashioned but the traditions of Christmas keep the magic alive. 

Welcome home my children, the spare beds are made up and your children now sleep here too. Tiny hands again are holding mine. I will teach them to make shortbreads shaped like stars and you can open the wine as we put the angel on top of the tree.
I am lucky to have you all here, that we can be a family under the same roof for this brief time. Don't forget that love is what Christmas is all about, what life is really all about. Merry Christmas dear family,

love your mum, wife and grandmother
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