Newcastle gets ready to celebrate Pride
Get ready to paint the town rainbow as Newcastle’s annual pride festival rolls around again this October. Swell gets the lowdown on the truly fabulous events you can expect this year.
People
The longest breath
There is a good chance Michaela Werner was in fact a mermaid in a previous life. The New Lambton professional freediver and mum of three, recently added Guinness World Record holder to her list of impressive breath-holding accomplishments but for Michaela, freediving isn’t just about reaching greater depths in the water, it’s about deep diving into life’s endless potential.
Stop and smell the wildflowers
The Awabakal Wildflower Walk only happens once a year, and it takes you deep into the secret world of plants.
A (nordic) true north
It was an ‘adult gap year’ that sparked Libby Helinski’s love of all things Nordic. After spending a year living in Sweden, in a small town right on the Arctic Circle, she returned home to Newcastle brimming with ideas – and Pappa Sven was born.
Magic market
It takes a special kind of person to feel so passionate about supporting small businesses and their community that they’d drop what they’re doing, quit their day jobs and dedicate every last minute of their spare time to doing just that. Welcome to the stage – Lauren Curtis and Lewis Kearney, founders of the Homegrown Markets.
An artist’s craft
What does a piece of art tell you about its creator? The art in question here is jewellery, and its creator is art teacher turned jewellery designer, self-taught business woman and lover of the lyrical line – Michelle Smith.
Making Mustard
It’s no secret that here at Swell we’re big fans of Mustard lockers. Let’s face it – we’re also big fans of basically everything they do. We first caught up with founders Becca and Jess back in issue 6, so we were well overdue for a catch up on all things lockers, life and running an international business.
A punch of colour
For Pi Williams, life is joyfully bursting at the seams. For this unique Central Coast artist with three young sons and an increasing demand for her stunning textile artworks, each day is a busy bundle of wool, fabric, nature adventures and kids.
A labour of literary love
Amy Lovat is no stranger to Swell. Her work has graced the pages of this magazine many times before as one of our regular writers. This time around though, instead of being the one asking the questions, Amy’s the one answering them. Strange as this may feel for her, it might just be a position Amy needs to get accustomed to following the recent launch of her highly anticipated debut novel, Mistakes and Other Lovers. Swell chats to Amy to find out more.
A beacon of creativity
Sitting on top of Nobbys-Whibayganba Headland, is Nobbys Lighthouse, one of the most iconic landmarks in Newcastle – but it’s not just ships it’s guiding in. These days the lighthouse is home to Hunter Writers’ Centre initiative, Lighthouse Arts, and its artist-in-residence program. Swell speaks to Katherine McLean, Hunter Writers Centre and Lighthouse Arts director, to find out more.
