Hope for Ollie and how we can help

How and why did Hope for Ollie begin

HopeforOllie began in 2010 after my son Oliver (Ollie) was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) at 10 weeks of age.

After Ollie’s diagnosis, I felt I needed to do something proactive to help find a cure for my son and other little boys like him. I saw a niche in the market for high quality and modern handmade children’s clothing and decided, with the help of Ollie’s grandmother’s, to sew and sell children’s clothing and accessories and donate the net proceeds to DMD research. I always enjoyed sewing and Ollie’s grandmothers are seamstresses so it seemed like a practical way to raise money.

Over $36,000 has been donated to DMD clinical trials carried out by The Institute of Neuroscience and Muscle Research (INMR) at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

HopeforOllie is officially endorsed by The Children's Hospital at Westmead to act as a fundraising agent on their behalf.

Can you explain in layman's terms what Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is and the impact it has on not just those affected by it, but also the family, friends and overall life style

DMD causes all the muscles of the body to weaken and break down and affects approximately one boy in every 3,500 worldwide. DMD is severe enough to shorten life expectancy as it ultimately affects heart function and breathing. Average life expectancy is 25 to 30 years.

At the moment Ollie has reached many of his milestones and is managing to keep up with his pre-school peers. Ollie has a support person at pre-school to help him master the play equipment and participate in indoor activities to prevent fatigue. 

Having received a diagnosis at such a young age, I’m sure Ollie thinks that all boys wear night splints, do daily stretching exercises, take lots of vitamins, and have medical appointments every few months!

As a family, we have hope. Hope that one day a cure will be found or at least advances made in the quality of life of boys with DMD. At the present time, the only treatment that experts recommend to slow the decline in muscle strength and mobility is steroids.

You have chosen a creative outlet to channel your energies to not just promote awareness but raise much needed funds for research & development for DMD.  How far has this venture taken you to date both practically and more importantly emotionally

Since HopeforOllie began, I have come across so many wonderful and supportive people that genuinely want to do their bit to help. Local business support, fundraising events, donations of fabric and accessories, seamstress’ volunteering their time, photographers, the development of the website, and media attention (see below for the link to a recent TV grab) have all contributed to the success of HopeforOllie.

I am motivated to do whatever I can to find a cure for DMD. The continual positive feedback I receive keeps me going as does the pleasure of knowing that I am making a difference to the lives of all boys with DMD.

Where do you get your inspiration to sew these incredible pieces from, and more importantly, how involved in the selection process is Ollie himself

I let the fabric guide my designs rather than the designs guide my fabric choice. I trust my creative instinct when it comes to designing clothing and accessories. I follow this flow chart:

My clever and talented daughter Emily loves to sketch designs for HopeforOllie and is involved in the fabric selection process alongside Ollie. It is great to get their opinions!


I love being presented with ideas from friends, colleagues, parents and customers.

What can people do to help you on your journey

HopeforOllie’s main aim is to raise much needed funds for DMD clinical trials carried out by The Institute of Neuroscience and Muscle Research (INMR) at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

Raising awareness of DMD is crucial to finding a cure. You can support HopeforOllie by purchasing items online www.hopeforollie.com (click "here") , or in person at our soon to be launched shopfront in the Leichhardt Forum, and at various markets in the inner west (including Orange Grove, the Norton St Festa and the Five Dock Ferragosto). 

To keep up to date with the HopeforOllie journey, you can sign up to the newsletter on the website and follow us on Facebook (click "here")  and Twitter (click "here")

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Now Ollie and his family were featured on TV, so click on the grab "here".  It's definitely worth the watch to help raise that all important awareness of this aggressive disease. Of course there is also another way we can show support!  Buy up some of Patricia's amazing creations at market (or online when she's not there), shake the hand of the little man known as Ollie and show the infamous support that Inner Westies are known for!  

Let's make difference!

Snapshot goings on

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The Farmer's Wife

It's only been in recent times that you have been the "face" of The Farmer's Wife (which we adore!).  How long as The Farmer's Wife been part of the Orange Grove Market community and when did you take over the reins

I've been "The Farmer's Wife" for just over 4 years.  The Farmer's Wife has been part of Organic Food Markets for many years with the original Farmer's Wife being from Mudgee.

Wendy with one of the many loyal The Farmer's Wife fans

What is it about market life that makes it all worthwhile

I love coming to markets and seeing all my lovely customers (young and old) enjoying our produce, especially my jams and chutneys which are all home made by moi!

I love working with other stallholders. Ensuring that the customer is happy with my produce is a fantastic experience and when the sun shines there is no better way to spend a morning!

What has been one of the biggest or bizarre orders of any product you have had to date

I make in total approximately 45 different products and am amazed at the requests for something I don't have/make

Always with a smile and love to share despite/inspite early starts.  From start to finish, how long does it take to stock up/load up and get ready for market day

I try to cook 4 to 5 jams and/or chutneys every day otherwise I can't keep up.  Once a week I collect eggs from the markets and once a month I drive to Mudgee to pick up the best honey you will ever eat! 

It takes approximately 1 hour to drive to Orange Grove Market and 1 hour to set up, but only 30 mins to pack down and then when at home it's time for the ceremonial feet up/cup of tea!

If you could sum up Orange Grove Market in 5 words, what would they be

Great food, atmosphere, customers and happiness!!

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We love the, we know YOU love them so huge thanks to Wendy for spending some time and giving us a little bit of insight in to exactly how that Farmer got the Wife!

we couldn't resist putting this sexy new display for The Farmer's Wife...cause it kind of sums her up to a tee: stylish, old fashioned and a permanent fixture in all our lives!

Snapshot celebrations

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5 questions with Moo & More

How Long have you been at Orange Grove Market?

Moo & More have been at Orange Grove Market since around 2008

We know at times you have had to put up a "gate" made from crates so you can actually finish setting up before trading, but what is the record number of milk/cheese/yoghurt you have sold in one day?

Being predominantly a Jersey dairy stall winter is our busiest time, with the exception of Easter & Christmas market time.  Our record for milk sales is 1076 litres at a single market (and that was just MILK!).

Best cheese day we sold 214 pieces

Best day for our exceptional tomatoes was a quarter of a tonne!

Before becoming a Moo'er, what was your previous life & why the change?

Both of us were in the Hospitality Industry for around 20 years and were/are dedicated foodies who genuinely enjoyed the interaction with people we met along the way.  But Tony is from the Land and was wanting to get back to it somehow, and as we were used to working long hours in hospitality, weekend market life was not an issue.

We wanted the independence of working for ourselves and promoting the things we believed in. The Moo part of Moo & More was born out of our close friendship and association with Malcolm Rose, a Jersey dairy farmer from Wooloomin near Tamworth.

Doing markets allowed us to bring Malcom's premium quality milk to Sydneysiders. Something that he simply could not achieve otherwise.  We love our market life and wouldn't change it for anything, inspite (or even despite) the early mornings & intense workload to ensure all our produce is the freshest you can buy.

(ps: for those who may already know, Malcolm's dairy was featured recently on Matt Moran's "Paddock to Plate" and take it from us, it's beyond sublime! and must buy each market!)

What is the best aspect of market life for the Moo'ers?

Without a doubt, the best aspect of market life are our customers.  Their loyalty and commitment to us has been humbling.  We love that they share their high's and low's with us, as we do with them.

We love the wonderful sense of community that exists between all of us - customers and stallholders.

We especially love the children that we have known since before they were born, who now walk in to our stall and say "Hi Libby!  Hi Tony!"

We know that you are strong supporters of "buy local" and helping to keep those on the Land keep on keeping on.  What more can we (as a community) do to keep this mantra alive and educate others?

We should all maintain integrity in what we do.  We should help our customers to understand their choices.  We should be generous with our knowledge and of our time.

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We would like to thank Libby & Tony for sharing their story with us and you can find them every Saturday, rain, hail or shine, and always but always with a smile. Word to the wise: get in early cause these guys sell out in a blink of an eye!

shouting out time!

Sheridan

www.sheridanrogers.com.au

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make sure you check out Simon's blog on Bowen's "here"

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Rebecca talks Sattwa Skincare

Can you give us a little bit of an overview as to how Sattwa came in to being 

Sattwa originally began as an aromatherapy massage business. From my earliest client dealings, I was aware of a growing interest in locally made skin care which harnessed the potent goodness of essential oils. Sattwa evolved from there. My friends and family love this story – in my previous life I worked in banking – but my passion was always to create and enrich people’s lives. Going from banking to blending helps me do that! 

The very word ‘Sattwa’ defines what I do; it’s a word taken from Sanskrit, the Ancient Indian language, which I learned while attending philosophy classes in 2004. The ancient Indians believed in three energy forces or “Guna” ever present but in varying concentrations. Loosely translated, ‘Sattwa’ means stillness, love, peace, generosity, freedom from disease and good health. Sattwa could be watching the sunrise over a calm ocean for example. The other two forces are ‘Rajas’ (chaos, creativity, you need it for things to happen) and ‘Tamas’ (darkness, lethargy, sickness, you need it to fall asleep at night). 

Naturally I connected with Sattwa and ever since, I’ve been striving to blend the positive properties of the word into magic jars of nature’s goodness, all made here in Lilyfield!

In 2006 when our first child, Jackson was a newborn, I became acutely aware of the ingredients used in baby bath/massage products and sadly found the “natural” nappy rash remedies available just didn’t do the trick. This inspired me to do better and so I applied my knowledge and began blending essential oils into my own shower gels and soothing creams for my family.

Since 2006, the range has expanded and now includes luxurious and potent face creams, eye serum, lip balm, cleansers, shower gels, scrubs, lotions and mists – all this in addition to the kids’ products I was making in the beginning. I’m lucky my husband is creative and clever. He designed the logo which connects my key messages; using 100% pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils and plant ingredients for a locally made skincare range which seeks only benefit, not harm.

Your products are based on essential oils and their therapeutic nature. Was it a difficult process to identify which properties would benefit which type of skin care (eg: is there an essential oil that is better suited to say, your face rather than your hands)

Yes! A lot of knowledge is required and the processes can be quite involved. During my aromatherapy massage and regenerative skincare studies, I learned much about the composition of essential oils; which oils blend well together and how different essential oils can benefit different things. The therapeutic qualities of a particular essential oil can have many applications. Importantly, some are considered unsuitable for use on the face or sensitive areas of the body, also on children, the elderly or conditions such as blood pressure, epilepsy or during pregnancy*. 

When creating a product I have a clear vision of its purpose and who might be using it. I apply my knowledge of the essential oil, including its success and use throughout history and combine this with modern research. I select what I believe is the best essential oil for the need working within the recommended guidelines. I love that it also allows for a little creativity – the final product has to smell good too!

*The use of essential oils during pregnancy is a personal choice. If you are concerned, please seek the approval of your medical provider. After the first trimester, many women have found the use of essential oils to be very beneficial.

Australian made and Australian owned! Five incredibly important words that must be shouted from the rooftops at all times. 

How difficult was it for you when you first began at Orange Grove or was it more a case of it’s here, it’s natural AND it’s Aussie so we must buy immediately!

It was a tricky thing! Absolutely, I want people to know that the Sattwa range is lovingly blended with integrity and knowledge and made locally - right here in Lilyfield! 

The customers at Orange Grove Market seem to appreciate this; they are smart, loyal, hard core, healthy, foodies who know what’s good for them. But to answer the question, marketing can be LOUD and no one likes to be shouted at. Essentially, I believe in my products - and so do many others.

As proof, I’m delighted to pour, spray and indulge my products on any willing participant. The best marketing has always been in letting the products speak for themselves – so come and try!

How long is the process from concept to development of each product

Each product is different although development largely depends on the complexity of the recipe including ratios, absorbency, stability, texture and type of packaging. For the first products (Children’s Soothing Cream and Tub Time bubble bath - both inspired by the needs of my family), the process was quick. These products have been tried and tested since 2006 and the recipes have remained unchanged. Newer products are subject to more thorough testing. Today, Sattwa is expanding – but I’m very serious about maintaining integrity and I won’t let a larger output compromise that. I will not apply a Sattwa label to any product until the recipe has reached my expectations. To do that, it needs to be thoroughly tested. Sattwa products are tested on humans, not animals, and I have a dedicated group of product testers whose feedback is invaluable.

I am not a scientist; I’m a Mum who is passionate about nature’s potent goodness. I use my intuition, knowledge and the latest scientific research from carefully selected individuals and industry respected authors. I care deeply about our planet and the footprints we leave and I make environmentally friendly choices in all aspects of the Sattwa production line – including packaging and production.

Can you sum up the world of Sattwa Skincare in 5 words

Yes, I can do it in four... Every BODY Loves Sattwa! 

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Indeed they do!  All you have to do is find the heavenly essential oil aroma, the lovely smiling face, and you landed (in our humble opinion) on beautiful natural therapy heaven!

Oh!  And in news just in........Sattwa Skincare was requested and used by the make up team of the Back Track film (with a cast of Adrien Brody and Sam Neil) shot in Callan park and around Sydney over this last summer. The team and cast loved it and have promised Sattwa Skincare a credit in the film, due out Dec 2014/Jan 2015....Woohoo!