Best of Darby Street Cooks Hill Blog 2014

In Newcastle we all love going to Darby Street Cooks Hill for a break, a bite to eat, and to watch the other people.  Here's our best best blogposts from 2014 - hope you like and share them.

1 - Darby Street Reviews



It's all about the coffee houses in Darby Street, Cooks Hill, and the inner city artisan vibe.  Darby Street is a center for fashion, friends and free time as the people of Newcastle, NSW head for some old school main street retail and dining experiences.  People watching is a great way to while away a few hours as you see all walks of life from tattooed twenty somethings to prematurely grey property investors sipping coffee and folding back the pages on the broadsheets.

Here, I've spent some time putting together a comprehensive guide to Darby Street Cooks Hill so you can get a feel for the place before you arrive.  Having a few local insider tips is always the perfect way to plan your next visit to Newcastle.  Enjoy, and please feel entitled to share your comments and feedback if you feel I have left something out.

2 - Handmade Artisan Australia


Every week we interview new and exciting Australian Handmade Artisans from local markets and stallholders all over the place.  This week, here's an excerpt from findhandmade.com.au a magazine devoted to bespoke and artisan designers and producers in Australia.

I'm talking with Marie-Nicole right next to the finger-picking tunes of a guitar busker - and it all sort of goes together - Marie-Nicole's stall is about re-imagining pure wool blankets into guitar cases.

Marie's hands are busy working whilst we talk, piercing kangaroo leather with a needle and knotting a cuff. And the walls are adorned with the guitar cases - hanging on display in all their subtle multicolour glory - a table littered with leather items and all held up on vintage suit cases.

It's a feel and this stall has all the boxes ticked. The soft guitar cases are made from recycled pure wool blankets - and retired brand names like onkaparinga every Australian will be familiar with - with the original blanket badge a part of the new guitar case. It acts as both a sign of authenticity and a nod to the history and quality of the blanket that has "died" for the guitar case to come to life.

3 - Why I Chose Gourmet Hampers


My husband and I haven't shared Christmas gifts for many years now. It started as "let's spend all the Xmas Present money on the children," way back when we were struggling to get established.

Then as we got older and the kids became a little more independent it moved on to "well we have whatever we need and buy what ever we want so really why focus on the specific day of Christmas, or the Holiday period?".
Christmas Gifts with Meaning and Emotion

And now as we are really even older ( I hate how that happens but it does!) we have moved to we have so much and others are clearly less fortunate than us so we take what we would spend on Christmas Presents and give it to the local Charity Christmas Appeal.


4 - Darby Street Handmade Markets


Looking forward to experiencing the fresh coffee, happening vibe and lively conversation next time we stroll along the Darby Street Markets looking for something handmade and possibly quirky.

 Spring Brings with it the opportunity for new summer markets and getting out and about in the sunshine.

7 comments:

  1. Sharing our best of the year too!

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  2. It's never too early to send a gift basket to an ailing friend or relative. Order today and be #grateful

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  3. Buying a Xmas #hamper isn't as simple as you may think - there are so many other ways to buy instead of just a jumble of products in a box.

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  4. Like your pictures and the way you share your story so well - you are an inspiration and it is so good to see you sharing your story! Keep up the great work, we appreciate it!

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