NSW Is Getting Australia's First Surf Lodge

A huge, $72 million ‘surf lodge’ is being built some 35km from the nearest coastline.

Located 60-minutes from Sydney CBD or 45 minutes by boat from Palm Beach, Wisemans Surf Lodge – in Wisemans Ferry, NSW – will boast a wave pool roughly the size of four football fields powered by US-based wave pool technology, Surfloch. The technology has the ability to generate 2.5-metre waves on the main peak ideal beginner waves on the second peak and everything in between.

As the world’s first surf lodge and Australia’s first resort-style surfing destination, it’s not limited to a luxurious surf experience, with a 9-hole golf course, 54 hotel suites, restaurant, bar, conference facilities also located on the 45-acre grounds.

The scheduled opening comes off the back of other local projects such as UrbnSurf and Aussie Surf Lakes that sees the further commercialisation of the surfing experience.

Co-founder John Du Vernet says, “What we’ll create at Wisemans is a solution to access the types of waves we’d often have to travel overseas for, waves we dream about. We’ve focused on creating a space that thinks about everything beyond the pool, even for the non-surfer, within a resort-like facility in a magical, and somewhat secret part of Sydney.”

Elsewhere, the resort will feature a remodel of a former hotel spearheaded by Sydney’s Kelvin Ho (Akin Atelier), best known for his work across a number of Merivale flagship venues. Ho will bring a nostalgic nod to the Australian surfing culture.

Access to Wisemans Surf Lodge will work on a membership-model, with more information to be revealed in 2021.

www.wisemans.surf

Product launches used to mean a store window and a press release. MAISON de SABRÉ has other ideas.

The Australian-born luxury house, founded in 2017 by brothers Omar and Zane Sabré, has opened a four-day Floral Atelier in the heart of New York City, transforming a stretch of Manhattan into what it calls an “overgrown botanical landscape” of craftsmanship, floristry, hospitality and music.

It’s the brand’s most ambitious physical activation to date, and the setting for the launch of its new Bloom Collection.

At the centre of the collection are three new SABRÉMOJI flower charms, named Wild Daisy, Sunflower and Cherry Blossom, each made entirely from upcycled leather offcuts and finished with ultrasonic embossing and embroidery.

There’s also the Floral Twist Handle, arguably the house’s most technically demanding piece yet, which takes 36 individual hand-tied knots to form six leather flowers, plus another ten structural knots that let it convert from a hand-carry to a shoulder strap.

A new Floral Wristlet debuts a leather-knotting technique developed specifically for the collection.

Between them, the pieces bring the brand’s product ecosystem to more than 10,000 possible styling combinations, all built from what would otherwise be manufacturing waste.

“Bloom is the latest evolution in the MAISON de SABRÉ product ecosystem, reimagining the handbag as a living canvas,” said co-founder and creative director Omar Sabré. He points to the smaller pieces as proof of intent rather than afterthought: “The smallest products demand extraordinary precision.”

It’s a strategy with numbers behind it.

The brand’s connected styling platform, of which Bloom is the latest chapter, has helped push MAISON de SABRÉ past $100 million in annual revenue and lifted average order value by 45 per cent, evidence that designing products to be added to and reinterpreted has become a genuine commercial engine rather than a marketing line.

The SABRÉMOJI charm platform alone has sold more than 500,000 units globally, with sold-out collaborations including Pokémon, Hello Kitty and Mr Men Little Miss.

For co-founder and managing director Zane Sabré, the Atelier is really about where the relationship with a customer begins.

“Retail is no longer just about selling products; there’s been a structural shift toward experience and participation,” he said.

“With Bloom, we wanted to create an environment where clients can experience our craft, understand our styling system and explore what is possible before they think about making a purchase.”

The Floral Atelier runs from July 3-26 in New York. The Bloom Collection launched globally today at maisondesabre.com, before rolling out to stockists including Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Net-a-Porter’s FWRD, Revolve, Farfetch, Le Bon Marché and Ounass.

NSW Is Getting Australia’s First Surf Lodge

A huge, $72 million ‘surf lodge’ is being built some 35km from the nearest coastline.

The Australian leather house has opened an immersive four-day pop-up in Manhattan, unveiling its Bloom Collection and redefining what a product launch can look like.