Articles by Susan Skelly

mm

Editor. Writer. Traveller. Keeping tabs on all things fab. susan@excessallareas.com.au

bergdorf goodman holiday windows 2015 swarovski crystals absinthe colour christopher occhicone
0

Christmas windows | iconic department stores | Festive season in the frame

Monroe
Sexy and glamorous. Red carpet ready. Did someone say 'rescue fantasy'?

My imagination is bigger than yours! In department store windows around the world, every picture tells a different Christmas story… Wizard of Oz creator L Frank Baum first imagined his tiny, fantastic worlds in the Christmas windows of department stores. Generations later, they continue to enchant. Michael Stahl and Susan Skelly press noses against the…

Egypt nile adventure cruising luxury travel abercrombie and kent2
0

Have map will travel | safari pioneer | wild frontiers

Brando
Charisma and character - and just a little bit game-changing. Action!

With Abercrombie & Kent, Geoffrey Kent pioneered a style of luxury travel that now takes thousands of trekkers to the planet’s wildest frontiers. In this extract from a new memoir, Safari, he reflects on the journey. When my parents [John and Valerie Kent] and I went into business in 1962, to most people in the…

Maximilian Riedel glassmaker fifth generation
0

Heart of glass | the Riedel reach | champagne tastes

Groucho
Brainy and cheeky. Witty and inventive. Always smoking hot.

The 11th generation of the famous glassmaking family, Maximilian Riedel is already known for introducing stemless wineglasses. Now he is dispensing with the champagne flute. Maximilian Riedel is contemplating a topic close to his heart: shape. It’s a conversation that roams across eggs, flowers, women, chairs – as well as the wineglasses his family is…

Mondial pink diamond atelier Charisse Michael Neuman Robert
0

pink diamond sparkler | million-dollar girl | flashdance

Monroe
Sexy and glamorous. Red carpet ready. Did someone say 'rescue fantasy'?

Hollywood starlet Cyd Charisse was known as “the girl with the million-dollar pins who danced rings around Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire”. So it’s apt that this million-dollar ring by Australian jeweller Mondial Pink Diamond Atelier is named after her (with a happy nod to the colour cerise). The dancer died in 2008, the year…

Fremantle where to eat bread in common bakery and restaurant
1

Fremantle Alfresco: Drink, Dine, and Shop

Groucho
Brainy and cheeky. Witty and inventive. Always smoking hot.

The Port City is the perfect pit stop for those who like food, fun and sun. Susan Skelly had it on her radar when in WA recently. Here’s her hit list. Where to eat & drink in Fremantle Bread in Common 43 Pakenham Street This bakery, cafe and wine bar epitomises the West’s new food culture….

Avaiki pearls cook islands manihiki lagoon starfish in situ
3

Lust and lustre | Cook Islands pearls | Avaiki perfection | Made in Manihiki

Garbo
Cool, understated elegance that belies inner sparkle and sizzle.

The Cook Islands’ pearl industry is turning to fashion to put its lustrous lollies back on the map, reports Susan Skelly.  The Cook Island’s shimmering pearls are about to have their moment in the sun as Italian designer Daniela Cicero works them into the high-end Kalia range for the Style Pasifika Collection destined for Milan and Dubai…

chile-atacama-desert-salt-lake-mountains
0

Atacama Desert | Chile | Once in a lifetime

Garbo
Cool, understated elegance that belies inner sparkle and sizzle.

The Atacama Desert, in the north of Chile, is one of the world’s must-see landscapes, with its compelling colours, contours, wildlife and culture. Susan Skelly reports on a once-in a-lifetime experience. Navigating the compacted, deeply rutted sand of northern Chile’s salt flats in a perky red Jeep calls for a special kind of soundtrack. Pierre…

Eigil Jensen for Anton Michelsen Grass motif necklace c.1955 Denmark Antiques Art Design Potts Point Sydney Christopher Becker
0

Vintage silver jewellery | scandinavian silversmiths | Sydney shopping

Garbo
Cool, understated elegance that belies inner sparkle and sizzle.

A new treasure trove of wearable silver is inspiration for gift hunters, collectors and connoisseurs. Aficionados of vintage Scandinavian silver are making a beeline for Christopher Becker’s shiny new pocket gallery in Sydney’s Potts Point, called Antiques-Art-Design. His seductive display of Danish, Swedish and Norwegian pieces – polished to a mirror shine – includes designs…

Michael Reid Beard Oil enterprise australian bush
1

Taming the beard | Australian bush remedies | campfire couture

Groucho
Brainy and cheeky. Witty and inventive. Always smoking hot.

If you could bottle a bushranger – and his campfire … Enterprising Sydney art dealer Michael Reid has sought inspiration from the Australian bush for a new line of beard oil. Forget your patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood and cedar, to tame the big bushy beard, you need a scent that is more pioneering – bushranger, campfire, cinnamon whiskey, or good…

Fernleigh Upper Hunter regional NSW Monets bridge weekend away short break
0

finding fernleigh | upper hunter valley | unique australia | nsw short breaks |

Garbo
Cool, understated elegance that belies inner sparkle and sizzle.

Seeking solitude and a true blue Australian break? A working farm in the Upper Hunter Valley has it in spades. Along with a unique honeymoon eyrie. Remote is travel’s new black. Out of mobile range, out of sight, out of this world … add to that exclusivity and a quintessential Australian experience, and a long weekend…

Copyright © Susan Skelly 2020.