Vocal About Local

This is a non-hostile takeover - while you're regular podcast hosts are away, Nikki is coming out to play... well, maybe not play, but to host a random little mini-series called the QUICK FIVE - as part of this series Nikki will ask her guests 5 fast questions about business and life. 😎 In this episode Nikki chats with Nadine Brown, founder of the The Ivy Institute. Nadine started her floral journey over 30 years ago and is a seasoned business professional with a background in marketing, busi...

Having grown up on a farm Leila McDougall finished school, and headed straight to the big city lights of Sydney to study fashion design. Home on the farm was never far from her thoughts though with fashion being a pathway brought about from years on the sheep farm and a want to use the Australian Wool she was so familiar with. The Big Smoke charm wore off though and it wasn't long before the country came calling, with Leila settling down with now husband in down in rural NE Victoria.In ...

Having recently collaborated with Grown Not Flown and collected a Bronze Medal at the 2024 Melbourne Flower and Garden Show with a sustainable exhibit that ended with only 1 small piece of plastic from some chicken wire being the only thing to go into waste; we sit down to chat with Ellen Douglas, the tour de force behind Botany Melbourne. Ellen is an apprentice trained florist who in 2020 went solo and created Botany as a alternative to conventional floristry. In Ellen's own word...

In this weeks episode we chat with Lucy Vincent who along with partner Bruce, runs Australian High Country Honey. Lucy's family farm was purchased in 1976 & has been subject to sustainable farming practices in order to improve the landscape health & biodiversity, farm profitability & the ability to cope with natural adversity of drought, fire & flood. With recent succession to the next generation, Lucy is working hard to integrate juniper & bioactive honey production into ...

Jacob Wolki and his namesake Wolki Farm describes itself as the connector between the conscientious consumer and quality produce. Its safe to say that Jacob and his family have been on quite the journey over the last decades, brought about initially by Jacob's health and taking over the counter medications focussed on treating symptoms as opposed to curing whatever it was that wrong with him. Becoming obsessed only to then realise he was finding answers but then having more questio...

Hannah Maloney has perhaps the most enviable job in the world - and she knows it - as a presenter on Gardening Australia which she calls a "dream gig". Hannah's journey to the small screen however started in, inner city Brisbane where her parents had a small herb nursery. Leaving this behind at 18, Hannah travelled the country (and world) ending up right back where she started - working on small scale farms and this led her to the world of permaculture. Hannah now lives in a pink ho...

There are lots of pretty instagram accounts - but one that stands out more than most is Little Lyndoch Flower Farm. But it didn't start instantly with pretty flowers and a landscaped flower farm.In this week's episode we are lucky to speak with Katie Arena who runs Little Lyndoch Flower Farm and The Queens Quarters with her partner Rob. Katie takes us from her lack of enjoyment in the Corporate world in 2016 to going all in and backing herself to create her dream. From renting without a ...

It's not often we get to chat with someone whose website banner includes the words "where to find G.O.D" but here we are. Jodi Clarke and husband Greg run Great Ocean Ducks (G.O.D) from their property situated near one of the most famous driving roads in the world - Victoria's great Ocean Road. They began in 2009 with 30 ducklings and no idea about what they were doing , with the couple choosing to farm the Aylesbury Duck for its historical connections. The Aylesbury is ...

AgriFutures Australia is essentially a Research and Development organisation whose intent is assisting and serving the needs of Australia's rural communities. Their aim is to do this by delivering research and innovation that aims to give Australian farmers and producers real returns, as well as preparing them to thrive into the future. But what industries have AgriFutures Australia been working with to help develop? Current industries include honey bee's and pollination, ginger, tea tree, go...

If you think of a successful multi faceted flower farm business; it's hard to look past the passionate and vivacious Georgie Newbery.Having what she describes as a "portfolio life" Georgie has lived in Paris, previously working for American Vogue under the tutelage of the late Susan Train and Andre Talley before working for John Galliano.Departing the fashion world having set up "Common Farm Flowers" back in April 2010. Georgie now resides on her flower farm in Somerset in England's Wes...

If you think of a successful multi faceted flower farm business; it's hard to look past the passionate and vivacious Georgie Newbery. Having what she describes as a "portfolio life" Georgie has lived in Paris, previously working for American Vogue under the tutelage of the late Susan Train and Andre Talley before working for John Galliano.Departing the fashion world having set up "Common Farm Flowers" back in April 2010. Georgie now resides on her flower farm in Somerset in England's We...

In 2010 there were 10 domestic gins on the market in Australia. Fast forward to today and there are now over 500 independent gin distilleries with Australia having seen an exponential rise in local gin makers.Gin is known as a refreshing spirit which lends itself well to warm climates, so it's somewhat natural that it would appeal to Australian consumers. It's also friendly to those making it as it doesn't take anywhere near as long to make as darker spirits. Additional to that Australia has ...

Sonia and Stu are the husband and wife behind Chin Chin Farm in Chintin, VIC. The award winning farm is a regeneration success story with Sonia and Stu originally realising that they had bought a "capeweed farm".Over the last few years Sonia and Stu have begun a program of improving soil health, making decisions that are best for the land and what's growing on it and trying to transform it into a viable commercial success. They have applied regenerative and natural sequence farming principles...

Developed by a group of local, visionary growers, Nice Rice has evolved to become a leading grower, miller and seller of rice in Australia. With a rich family history in the heartland of Australian rice growing, the New South Wales Riverina region, Nice Rice are led by some of the best growers and operators in the country.Their overarching mission is simple - to grow and produce the best quality rice in the world and to do so with minimal impact on the environment. In this in...

Andre and Tom escaped corporate life in Hong Kong and took ownership of Florage Launceston in early 2022. Which just so happened to come along with a thriving hamper company - The Tasmanian Hamper Co. Covid, lockdowns, separation from family and friends, disruptions to work and life pushed them to fast track their ‘it will happen one-day’ plan, and now they are loving Launceston and Tassie life. Their vision is to deliver happiness, joy and comfort every day to their custome...

It’s no secret that in some parts of the world, fisheries vacuum the seabed to harvest shellfish. Whilst it might be economically efficient, it lacks a sense of connection and thats before we even look into the ethics of it. The folks at Goolwa Pipi Co don't have that issue though as they are harvesting a resource that has been sustainably picked at their location for tens of thousands of years by Australia's first people. Fast Forward to 2023 and Goolwa Pipi Co continue to harvest...

Lard Ass was founded by Monica Cavarsan, a dairy farmer’s daughter who grew up in Western Victoria, Aus surrounded by the creamy goodness of fresh milk and churned butter. Proud of her Italian heritage where food was grown and sourced locally, and growing up with her 6 brothers and sisters helping Mum, Bertilla and Dad, Tony manage the family farm, Lard Ass grew out of a yearning for simple, goodness bringing back great taste in butter.Monica and Lard Ass values the simple, age-old approach t...

Julie Cameron and husband Sandy are the producers behind the famous Meredith Dairy. A household name in Australia, Meredith Dairy has roots in Sheep Farming, but in 1991 the economic climate meant they had to pivot into producing cheeses and other dairy items. The rest as they say... is history. Now, over 30 years later Meredith Dairy is a vertically integrated organisation with both sheep and goats contributing to their success. Their story however now expands worldwide and has seen them win...

Deva Cacao makes one of the only tempered raw chocolates in Australia, and the first that is naturally sweetened with the medicinal powers of 100% raw Australian honey! That's right....no sugar is added other than that from bush honey. Maggie and Ming are the husband and wife team behind Deva Cacao and are based in Tamworth, NSW. They are passionate about creating the best healthy chocolate experience possible and that's why they produce the first tempered raw chocolate in Australia and the o...

The company we now know as the Tasmanian Oyster Company has roots that date back to 1979 and produce sustainable, organic, gold medal winning oysters.A vertically integrated company, Tasmanian Oyster Co oversees every aspect of oyster farming. From the spawning of baby oysters (spat) to looking after them in the hatchery, then the nursery, to finally growing them out to maturity in the wild and unforgiving oceans around Tasmania. Now employing over 100 people across their organisation, 2...

Gamze Smokehouse, is a family owned and operated business in Wangaratta, Victoria that has a passion for good quality and locally made food. Originally from Slovenia, Felix Gamze opened a retail butchers shop back in 1986 where he developed a love for creating small goods - With his Eastern European heritage and being surrounded by the magnificent food bowl that is North East Victoria it was a match made in heaven. Over the past 35+ years Gamze' Smokehouse has gone from ...

With a love for locally sourced produce and years of cooking in Sydney’s restaurants, self proclaimed "crumpet dealer" Merna, combined her love for good ingredients and passion for cooking to create "Crumpets by Merna."Inspired by her breakfast of choice as a child, Merna's crumpets are fermented in small batches, with a focus on using the best local produce. Merna has direct relationships with the producers of her ingredient providers using Pepe Saya Buttermilk, Australian wholemeal flour, A...

Flower Farmer and florist…. a match made in heaven? This week we are joined by two guests; one flower farmer and one florist who have mastered the art of working collaboratively to benefit all parties; themselves; their clients and the environment.Mardi is the dreamer behind Quite Contrary Flower Farm - a micro flower farm on the edge of West Gippsland. At QC Flower Farm they grow good flowers. They do things differently, using organic and regenerative methods, to bring you gorgeous sus...

This week we sit down for a conversation with Dean Smith from Tunnell Hill Mushrooms. Dean is a passionate mushroom grower in the foothills of Mt Rumney, just outside Hobart, Tasmania who has been described by some as “the Russell Coight of mushrooms”! And the best part is… he grows his mushrooms in an old decommissioned railway tunnel that was built back in 1891 and is 12 metres underground!!The railway tunnel is 160 metres long and was built as part of the Bellerive to Sorell railway line t...

Hello and welcome to our very first episode of Vocal About Local, a podcast by Grown Not Flown. Before we kick off our series we thought it might be good to introduce ourselves, share a little bit about the Grown Not Flown journey to date, our farms and where to from here. Grown Not Flown is an online platform (and app) connecting flower farmers and consumers, globally. We have a particular focus on supporting micro and small-scale growers and will soon be expanding our platform to include pr...