Winter is here, the VIVID lights have been switched on (and off) and there is a whole new range of products starting to hit our virtual and real world shelves. We are kicking off the season with a few show-stoppers!
Blunt Umbrellas new Parks & Puddles range with rain jackets for pups!
They say that BLUNT is a human-centred product design company. Nooooo – it’s now a fur baby design company too. We fell in love with their windproof umbrellas, sustainability focus and how every element can be repaired. Now they go ‘beyond the umbrella’ and have launched Parks & Puddles, dog rain jackets with matching hooman umbrellas. WOOT! Now our doggos can swagger around in style. Our green and blue fleece lined (large) coats arrived. They are a little short in the back for our greyhounds; Georgia and Maggie, but fitted nicely around their tummies. They are used to stylish outfits. Design touches like easy on/off velcro adjustable chest strapa and tip pockets to store for poop bags, like, seriously how smart is that? Pair these rain jackets with a matching umbrella and we are more fashion co-ordinated than the Beckhams! Parks & Puddles Range from $79 at Blunt
Stay cozy this winter – Feel Perfect Sherpa Fleece Heated Throw Blanket
I remember the first time I discovered an electric blanket. Sheer heaven. This is the first time I have tried a blanket which I can throw over me – working from home at my desk or to have snuggly cuddle moments on the sofa. It is light weight (similar to the thickness of a towel) with six heat settings. Setting six its nicely toasty but not ‘OMG I need a bikini’ hot. The Secure Sleep Protection mechanism and safety auto off is fantastic at shutting down the blanket after 1, 3, or 9 hours. It’s tried an tested as I did fall asleep on the sofa to wake up to it being off. Check it out here and where to buy RRP $119
Meet Blu Cookware for conscious cooks
Meet Blu. It’s challenging Greenpan with it’s non toxic, non-stick cookware collection that is 100% free of all PFAS chemicals including PFOS, PFOA and PTFE. Blu’s journey started over 7 years ago collaborating with chefs to come up with a new range which could withstand commercial cooking. Our 28cm fry pan arrives impressively boxed, the cardboard packaging is void of plastic and they repurpose energy resulting from production and use 100% recycled forged aluminim. It’s a big collection ranging from fry, saute, grill, casserole, stock and woks all designed for the conscious cook and tested by George Calombaris. I have been cooking with mine for over a week. It doesn’t need much energy to heat it up, conducting energy evenly and beautifully. My pancakes are evenly cooked, it’s a doddle to do a quick stir fry of Asian veggies without sticking and cleans beautifully. It’s quite heavy for its size, but is very stable on my gas hob. So far, so, so in love! Plus it’s not releasing nasty chemicals into my body like other pans…from $119 see Blu for more
The range features 10 products including fry pans (in three different sizes); a wok; a roaster; two saucepans; a grill pan; and stock pots. The collection ranges from $119.95 for a 20cm frying pan to $229.95 for an 8-litre stock pot, and is available online at blucookware.com.
NEW Beverage Innovation! ‘The NON Stopper’ – World-first long-lasting drinks stopper launches!
You may already have a champage ‘stopper’ to keep that expensive champagne or carbonated drink fizzy and fresh. Some are clunky to work, hard to remove and many don’t work well at all.
Melbourne-based non alch beverage company, NON teamed up with fellow Aussies at Vert Industrial Design House taking the design of the standard drinks stopper into their own hands and have released a world-first stopper that promises that your bottle stays fully carbonated for up to 7 days. I have to say it took a little trial and error to slide the top section onto the neck of the bottle and some muscle power to use my finger to slide between the stopper and the bottle to ease it off but it has worked really well and after 3 days my NON. #1 is still fizzy and bright with salted raspberry and chamomile flavours. Get your exclusive stopper when you buy a NON STOPPER SET on offer $120
Kind Collective launches its new High Achievers range
We at DA adore The KIND Collectives (kind to the earth, animals, people and no nasties) plus they are B Corp too. The new High Achievers range is a collection of 11 high performing makeup products which are fun, sustainable, innovative and easy on the pocket. We first fell in love with their Miracle Glo serum, but we have some favourites in this new line up which include – Just Wing it eyeliner (Liquid liner and stamp just $14 yes!), Plump it up lip oil (it tingles!) and Hydrating Lip Oil RRP: $14. Glow up sticks in Skin adaptive and holographic highlighter RRP: $16, Universal brow kit laminate & mini brush RRP: $15. Don’t miss the fab eyeshadow sets which are perfect for your handbag. Check out the whole range here
Elijah Craig, The Grandfather of Bourbon, launches Straight Rye Whiske
Reverend Elijah Craig was a Baptist preacher and in 1789 founded a distillery in Kentucky. Some say an accidental fire charred his barrels, transforming the whiskey. Others claim he stored his spirit in former sugar barrels, discovering how charring amplified flavor. Regardless, he refined the process of Bourbon. This is the first extra-aged Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey to join Elijah Craig’s award-winning family of Bourbons. It’s a colourful combination of 51% spicy rye grains rather than corn, its buttery smooth with butterscotch aromas and lots of lovely spice. Great for an old fashioned but even better neat. Available for purchase through boozebud.com at RRP $93.90.
Let the fun Be-Gin – Garden Street Club
It is an Australian-owned and made, online subscription-based service, providing gin enthusiasts the chance to indulge in new premium craft gins delivered to the doorstep. My subscription box arrived. It’s a beauty with a full size bottle of Green St Gin from South Australia. It is a
classic London Dry style, thanks to a vapor-infused copper pot still where each botanical is individually distilled. It’s heavy on the juniper but spices like ginger, lemon myrtle come through. The box includes a curated selection of mixers (Pina Pcante), dried citrus slices, Harvest Box dipped chocolate almonds, Sesh campfire mix nibbles, garnishes, and a super full colour collection recipe book. No need to go out – I have everything I need to entertain in style at home or just look after me! Subscriptions from $99.
Tasmania’s Turner Stillhouse – Three Cuts Vodka first ever premium vodka
Turner Stillhouse is an acclaimed distillery in northern Tasmania’s beuTamar Valley. Founder Justin Turner was born into a family of winemakers based in northern California, and worked as a finance executive in New York before meeting his Tasmanian wife. Famed for its award winning Three Cuts Gins. Their first vodka has its debut this month at Sydney’s Opera Bar during Vivid. The new vodka is distilled from a premium grape base, Tasmanian water and a unique blend of three cuts of rose. See here to buy RRP $42.99 – $69.99
Heaps Normal x Who Gives a Crap – Drops a Cheeky new IPA
Bums n’ Beer! Who Gives A Crap, the world’s cheekiest eco-friendly toilet paper brand, has teamed up with Aussie non-alc brewers Heaps Normal, to create something special – Cheeky IPA. We love that fifty per cent of profits from all Cheeky IPA sales will be flushing into the pockets of not-for-profits that help build toilet. Plus Heaps Normal are pledging to donate an additional $1.50 per can to WaterAid, one of Who Gives A Crap’s long-term partners.The IPA is actually my favourite (behind their awesome dark breakfast beer last year). It’s hoppy, full flavoured and the best in the market for non alch beers right now. Buy Grog and Bog (RRP A$77) – 48 rolls and a 4-pack of Cheeky IPA or Tinnies and Towels (RRP A$37) – Who Gives A Crap’s Forest Friendly Paper Towels and a 4-pack of Cheeky IPA. You’ll be bummed if you miss it. Buy here
Cape Byron Distillery – Brookie’s Barrel Aged Mac Liqueur 2024
‘Brookies’ is a distillery on the Brook family’s macadamia farm, 15 minutes from Byron Bay and surrounded by lush subtropical rainforest nurtured by the family for over 35 years. It has just released its 2024 Barrel Aged Mac. Liqueur. The casks are filled with Macadamia liqueur to season the whisky maturation – it has created a wonderful new liquor as part of the whisky making process. After several months of maturation, the flavours are suberb! We tasted a sample, its creamy, nutty, aromaticaly sweet with soft oaky tones. Available at select retailers, premium bars and online only 300 available. $85 its a bargain! 30% ABV, 700ml rpp $85
