Anyone not convinced eyewear is cool needs to head to Eye Candy Optical. The recently opened store on Lonsdale Street in Braddon, tucked in next door to Debacle, stocks an incredibly cool range of specs, sourced locally and from overseas.
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The beautifully bespectacled Alex Johnson-Davey, Anita Stevenson and Alex Amburger (pictured) run the store, which is owned by local company Langley Pino Eyecare which has been in business for over 20 years.
“We really like eyewear - we all try and stock things we like and would like to buy ourselves,” says Johnson-Davey.
“We get excited when stuff comes in – almost everything that comes through the door I try on.”
One of their standout brands is Vinylize imported from Hungary, an eyewear range created from recycled vinyl records.
“The designers went over to the New York Optical Fair a few months ago and came across them. They’re not a brand generally supplied in Australia,” she says.
“They’re like having music on your face – they’re quite funky and black.”
Johnson-Davey says they’ve had an overwhelming response from customers since they opened their doors five weeks ago.
“Lots of Canberrans wear glasses, and we found a lot of people actually go to Sydney or Melbourne to buy their eyewear, so the response has been overwhelmingly positive,” she says.
Eye Candy Optical is one of the featured local boutiques at the inaugural The Local Fashion Trail at Lucky’s in QT Hotel next week.
The event is set to be held regularly, featuring models clad in the wares of Canberra boutiques wandering the bar, and best of all it’s free. Next week’s event is also set to feature Pink Ink, Gertrude Boutique and Müssen, with hair styling by Axis Hairdressing and makeup by The Canberra Makeup Academy.
The Local Fashion Trail is on June 19 at Lucky’s QT Hotel from 6pm – late. Entry is free.
The Garden Fairy flies to Hampton Court
Local gardener Teresa Miller will swap Canberra gardens for the grounds of Hampton Court Palace in London when she heads to UK to support her daughter Amanda.
Amanda Miller, who moved to London from Canberra three years ago, has been selected to create a show garden at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, which will showcase her designs on an international stage.
Amanda initially joined the navy after school, but her artistic flair saw her follow in her mother Teresa’s footsteps and studied garden design.
“Since she’s been in England, the last couple of years she had the chance to work at Chelsea with other designers,” says Teresa.
“Then she put in a design for the Hampton Court Palace Garden Show for this year and hers was accepted.”
The theme of the designed gardens at this year’s show is the seven sins, and Amanda’s garden will represent pride.
With only two weeks allocated to create the garden ahead of the show, Teresa will fly over with her husband Peter and friends Sian, Bill and Jessica McGhie to help bring Amanda’s design to life.
Proud Mum Teresa is the owner of local garden business The Garden Fairy. She previously worked as a gardener at Parliament House, and when her contract ended and she was unable to find other work, she started her business working on local gardens.
After being made redundant in the weeks before Christmas last year, Teresa’s husband Peter has now also joined The Garden Fairy.
“Peter has 30 odd years’ experience in the building industry so we can branch out and offer more as part of our service,” she says.
Amanda’s garden will be on show at the garden show for a week from 8-13 July.
Thando gearing up to bring it
If you’ve been following The Voice, Monday night will be former Canberran Thando Sikwila’s last chance to wow her coach Ricky Martin and make it through to the finals.
Thando will have to perform her original blind audition song against two of her teammates in the sing-offs, and she says the pressure’s on.
“It’s getting pretty intense because at this stage it’s make or break. The people who’ve made it through get one very, very last chance to perform for the coaches to prove you should go through,” she says.
“It’s pretty full on thinking that it’s left up to just one song to decide.”
Thando will perform the song Mercy by Duffy, and says she knows she just has to “to bring it”.
“I need to just put on a good show – the chances of me making it are only one out of three,” she says.
“They’re going to be looking for something in particular and if I don’t have that, I have to make sure I leave a lasting impression and go out with a bang and not be disappointed.”
The Voice is on WIN Sunday at 6.30pm and Monday at 7.30pm.
Truffle season gets underway
Get excited – truffle season is here. Kicking off this weekend there are lots of events on in Canberra and surrounds where you can get your truffle fix.
This weekend, there are free truffle demonstrations with the Canberra Hyatt’s executive chef Nitin Kumar at Westfield Belconnen on Saturday at 11am and 1pm, and Westfield Woden on Sunday at 11am.
You can also join the hunt at one of the largest truffle farms on Australia’s East Coast, Ruffles Estate on Majura Road. Head out with the adorably named Snuffle The Truffle Dog (pictured) to track down the elusive truffle, and then watch how truffles are cleaned and prepared for market. Tours are on Saturdays at 10am and 1pm and run until August 16. Tickets are $60 for adults and $45 for children. Visit canberratruffles.com.au for more information.
Or if you want to expand your truffle knowledge even more, there are cooking demonstrations with Andrew Haskins from 3seeds at Fyshwick Markets, where you can watch how to make the most of truffles in a variety of dishes, and then taste the creations. Held on Sundays from 11.30am from this weekend until August 10. Visit 3seeds.com.au for bookings.
Local documentary highlights refugees
Ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20, Canberra’s Amnesty Tuggeranong Group has produced a short radio documentary to highlight the issues surrounding refugees.
Amnesty member and producer of the documentary David Jenkins said he hoped the finished product would move people to think differently about refugees.
The six minute documentary features interviews ranging from filmmaker Heather Kirkpatrick, to a class of local year 3 children who were asked for their opinions about refugees.
David worked with fellow locals Sarah Dedman, Nishara Somasundaram and Ellen Shipley amongst others to complete the project.
The final cut will be broadcast next week on 2XX and will also be available online at amnesty.org.au/refugees.
What’s On
Dainere's Rainbow Brain Tumour Research Fund Inaugural Memorial Dinner will be held at Thoroughbred Park at 6.30pm on Saturday June 21. Dainere Anthoney from Gungahlin passed away last year at just 15 years old from a brain tumour. After being diagnosed, she spent the remainder of her life raising money for the Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation Brain Tumour Fund and it was her greatest wish for a cure to be found for the hideous disease. Join her family Stephen, Yvonne, Nalani and Jarrett Anthoney as well as MC Phil Lynch for a great evening. Tickets are $55 per head from daineresrainbow.com.au.
