Valmae Watson, of Learmonth, joined Glen Anderson of 'Learmonth Antiques', back in July 2016, to take charge of managing the retail store and the accompanying garden spaces. While it may appear at first glance to be a small 3.5m x 3.5m room, this dear little old building has a row of extra rooms and sheds cavalcading off the back of it, creating lots of nooks and crannies to tuck treasures into.

Valmae greatly enjoys sourcing the stock, arranging the shop front displays and doing all of the visual merchandising for the multiple rooms, as well as organising the plants. She's always wanted to have a plant nursery, specialising in rare herbs, so figured she may as well just make a start. For years now, she's being contributing a regular column on 'Seasonal Garden Tips' to the quarterly local newsletter, the Learmonth Thunderer. "You've got to do what you're interested in," says Valmae.

Valmae hopes to make the business "...not just an antique shop and not just a nursery, but something more." Over time, Valmae  also aims to bring more fun and whimsy into the place.  When she looks for things to buy for the store, she likes to think about how old items can be used, to make the most of them creatively. Meanwhile, Glen prefers to roam the state making appearances as a trader at the widest range of market stalls. He still has his dedicated room full of collectibles at 'Learmonth Antiques,' and confidence in the knowledge that Valmae is there. He specialises in coins, trading cards, automobile related goods, paraphanelia and the unusual...

It's a real treasure chest full of vintage goodies. "I'm not sure that we're really an Antiques store though," says Valmae with a gentle smile, "We do have one or two antiques here somewhere out the back. I did a bit of a scan the other day and that's what I worked out. But we have lots of special things, and work very hard to make sure they're affordable, so customers get them for a good price." The community oriented 'Learmonth Antiques' even hosted their inaugural twilight community 'Christmas Fayre' in December. A jolly good time was had by all. Stores like this are the life-blood of small town country Victoria.

Polly Prov Interview # 3
 
Bespoke furniture making business ‘Rough Sawn Wood Design’ has recently celebrated its first birthday. Rough Sawn is based in the Victorian Goldfields and has a business ethos that emphasizes the merits of up-cycling aged timber and hand crafting it for new uses as 'one-of-a-kind' pieces of furniture .

​Yesterday, Polly Prov interviewed the maker, Laurie Brackley, to learn more. 
 
What’s this business of yours all about?
 
It’s about reusing, upcycling and repurposing good old timbers that have been discarded, ready for the firewood pile or even the tip, and using these timbers that are sometimes a century old. I turn them into something new to make sure they will last for another century.
 
When did you first start messing around with wood?
 
When I was living in Sydney, in the 80s and 90s, I would go through dumpster bins with my mates, when people were renovating. That was old Sydney. We were pulling out beautiful Kauri Pine and all manner of unusual and unique things. We also explored old warehouses, foundries and abandoned factories. At the time, I made coffee tables and picture frames, and sold them at the Paddington Markets, in Sydney's inner East.  
 
So you were rummaging through people’s rubbish?
 
We were finding value in what people threw out, and that was just the best feeling. You look at it and you go “No. That is not gonna happen! That’s been around for a hundred years and I can do something good with this. Don’t throw it out. It’s not gonna deteriorate. Give it to someone else, coz it will last!” I also kept some of the pieces for my own use, especially chunky timber from the old wharves around Sydney Harbour.
​
What sort of furniture does rough old timber generally lend itself to?
 
Usually benches, tables and bookshelves. The timber is not symmetrical or perfect, so I have to work with the timber and let it be what it is. It's all totally unique. In the old days’ furniture had the most intricate designs, but for all it's craftsmanship, that type of stuff sells for not much at all now. You look at old chairs especially and go “My God, the amount of work that went into it means I can not do that.” So unfortunately these days, detailed furniture has has to be left to either high end or Chinese mass producers.
 
Tell us about the idea for your business name ‘Rough Sawn Wood Design’
 
It’s from the first cut of the timber, where you can see evidence of the lines of the saw’s blade moving through the timber, before it’s been sanded or worked over. I find that appealing. The best rough sawn comes from the older material from local trees, in a time when the machinery was not as refined as it is now.
 
What type of wood do you use and where does it come from?
 
A lot of hard wood from housing, which usually accounts for the local timber. When homes were built a century or more ago, they didn’t bring the timber in from far away. It was from what was available from local trees, at close range.
 
That’s a good green ethos then, salvaging stuff appropriate to and from the local environment…
 
A lot of it is Victorian Ash, Red Gum and other local timbers. It gets harder and harder to get. It used to be for local fencing and all sorts of things. If you come across it, great! But I'll work with anything really.
 
What do you like about what you’re doing and what gets you up in the morning?
 
Finding a new pile of old timber!  I’ve just managed to salvage some Mountain Ash that was sitting out in the weather and rotting, and it’s coming up beautifully. I’m making benches and outdoor furniture with it. Just the act of saving timber is such a great feeling. I make this stuff personally, by hand.

You think to yourself “This would have been thrown away, but now it can be here for another generation.” People can buy this furniture, and if they tire of it, they can hand it on to the next generation. It’s sturdy, and I make it with care, but it’s not done like the old crafts were… If it was as finicky as that, no-one would get out of bed anymore!

Rough Sawn Wood Design has a display stall at the Daylesford Mill Markets on Help Street, Stall 2027, open seven days a week. Rough Sawn does take custom orders. For more information go to: http://lauriepbrackley.wixsite.com/roughsawn
Or contact Laurie directly on 0400 815 705 or via lauriepbrackley@gmail.com