Sharing and reviving traditional miso-making in Australia
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News.com.au
18 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Why this $2.3m Melbourne apartment includes Porsche
Melbourne's latest listing throws in leather, horsepower and lake views, and that's just the car. A full-floor residence perched above Albert Park Lake has hit the market with one of the city's most daring incentives: a Porsche Boxster 718 included as part of the sale for any buyer who pays the full $2.359m asking price. The four-bedroom apartment at 801/K1 Union St delivers panoramic views across the Grand Prix circuit, Port Phillip Bay and the CBD skyline, and now comes with a six-figure lifestyle bonus in the basement. Gary Peer & Associates St Kilda director Jeremy Rosens said the decision to include the Porsche was about making a statement. 'Honestly, I'm surprised more people don't offer a Porsche,' Mr Rosens said. 'There's an incredible synergy between the apartment and the car, they both exude style, performance and prestige.' Mr Rosens said the vehicle will be gifted to the buyer as part of the sale, with a sleek, universally appealing model and colour chosen for maximum impact and immediate availability. 'It's a lifestyle statement as much as a marketing hook,' he said. 'We wanted something that would stop the scroll, start a conversation and ultimately deliver real value to the buyer.' It's the first time the Gary Peer & Associates St Kilda director has included a car in a campaign, but he said the move reflects a growing need for creativity in Melbourne's prestige market. 'Buyers are bombarded with options, so your listing has to stand out,' Mr Rosens said. 'A Porsche tends to do that.' The apartment itself spans the entire eighth floor of an architecturally designed building and includes private lift access, a gas fireplace, stone kitchen, timber floors, automated blinds and a designer ensuite with brushed rose gold tapware. Mr Rosens said floor-to-ceiling glazing opens to a vast undercover terrace, while the secure complex features video intercom entry, keypad access and basement parking for two cars, one of which now comes with a very stylish occupant. 'It's ideal for downsizers, professionals, returning expats or even young families who want to be close to the city, great schools and the beach,' he said. 'You're walking distance to Albert Park Lake, Fawkner Park, Chapel St, and minutes from St Kilda Beach, it's one of Melbourne's most liveable locations.'
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Crazy': $100,000 investment that turned into a multi-million dollar empire
A speedy response to an influencer getting her make-up bag confiscated at the airport reveals how much you need to hustle to connect with Gen Z these days. Michael Porter, 34, is a millennial to the core, but as the founder of the skincare brand Skin Control, he makes it his job to understand how to engage with Gen Z. The skincare brand was founded in 2018 and required over a $100,000 investment to get off the ground. It is now stocked in major retailers like Priceline and Chemist Warehouse. According to Mr Porter, a Skin Control product sells every five seconds. Despite the brand's success, Mr Porter is always looking for ways to connect with Gen Z, and they don't want to feel marketed to. They crave authenticity and content, so when former Love Island contestant Phoebe Spiller, 22, amassed hundreds of thousands of views on social media for sharing the chaos that ensured from planning a last-minute trip to Vegas, Mr Porter's interest was piqued. The influencer shared all her dramas, from not being able to find her passport to securing one last minute and getting ready to board her flight. Then, amongst the chaos, she admitted her cosmetics bag got confiscated. 'Umm, all my skincare was confiscated,' she shared on social media. Ms Spiller has over 170,000 followers on Instagram and has millions of likes on TikTok. When Mr Porter and his team saw that she had lost all her skincare at the airport, they decided to pounce. 'We basically saw Phoebe's story about her toiletries being confiscated, and then within 15 minutes, we had someone from our team in an Uber,' he told 'Being a small brand means we can jump on these moments, and we need to move quickly, so we're constantly on the look for viral moments that we can hijack in real time.' It paid off. Ms Spiller posted herself squealing in delight as someone from the Skin Control team arrived with a new cosmetics bag full of the brand's skincare. Mr Porter said that if you're a skincare brand in today's saturated market, you need to 'move quickly' and look beyond a trend. When it comes to Gen Z and Gen Alpha, Mr Porter said they are a 'tough' crowd to please because they don't fit traditional marketing targets. 'They don't want to be marketed towards they want to be part of a community,' he said. 'When we saw Phoebe telling her story, she was getting loads of views and bringing her followers on a journey with her and we want to be part of that conversation.' Mr Porter said at the end of the day that doing that stunt was less about making more sales and more about brand awareness. 'We saw a spike in sales and an influx in followers but it is about creating long-term brand awareness,' he said. The business owner explained that skin control sells really well, but they are focusing on creating a brand that people recognise. The brand is thriving and is now a multimillion-dollar business. Mr Porter said the growth and success have been 'crazy'. What he wants now is to build recognisability, and if that means getting someone in an Uber to save the nearest influencer, he'll do it!
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Developer Dean Montgomery's mission to revive St Albans Stud
One of Geelong finest historic homes, St Albans Homestead, found the ultimate custodian when Geelong businessman Dean Montgomery bought the property 15 years ago. The heritage building enthusiast had long admired the remarkable 1873 estate and former stud best known for producing a direct lineage to 10 Melbourne Cup winners. Mr Montgomery was not only determined to restore the grand 30-room mansion to its former glory but also to reclaim some surrounding land to create the sprawling country garden he felt the property deserved. 'When we bought it, it was on six acres and there was a two-and-a-half acre block next door which had been cut off by the previous owner which we then bought back off a developer who was going to turn it into these two-storey townhouses,' he says. 'We then turned that into a botanic type garden around it. 'It's a real shame to see beautiful old places like that keep getting smaller and smaller so we wanted to do the reverse of that.' He remodelled the grounds of 6-30 Homestead Drive, St Albans Park, added a tennis court and set to work painting and repairing mortar and chimneys to turn the polychromatic brick homestead, designed by Melbourne architect James T Conlan for noted horse breeder James Wilson, into a comfortable family home. Ornate original details have been meticulous maintained throughout the six-bedroom main residence, where an impressive 19th Century skylight towers over an elegant reception area and adjoining circular sitting room. More than 10 open fireplaces are still in working order, while the leadlight is so impressive that an international specialist in the art recently toured the house. A series of separate formal dining and living rooms, featuring high decorative ceilings and bay windows, are complemented by a more relaxed family room and a renovated kitchen and meals area where an old stove sits comfortably alongside modern appliances. There's multiple access points to a large paved central courtyard that links to timber-lined space perfect for a party or billiards. 'As much as I love antiques, it was very important to my wife as well that it wasn't a museum and that it did have modern areas,' Mr Montgomery says. 'It's a big house but it doesn't feel like a mansion that you get lost in. Our children were never far away from us so it's a great family home.' Lighting the open fireplace is always a pleasure in the main bedroom, which has access to a spacious bathroom with a claw foot bath and antique style vanity and a huge dressing room. There's also an ensuite guest bedroom and a dedicated home office. Another self-contained, one-bedroom guesthouse or caretaker's residence is privately positioned behind a stable complex comprising 30 stalls that's perfect for equine enthusiasts. Whitford, Newtown agents John Moran and Peter Fort are handling the sale of 6-30 Homestead Drive, St Albans Park. Price hopes are $7m to $7.5m.
