Meet Our Makers - Part 1
Editor Stefanie Ash at Captain’s Rest, Tasmania
Meet our Editor, Stefanie Ash, Channel 7 Sunrise’s Edwina Bartholomew… and a floating strawberry. All of whom made Volume 02 of Stay Awhile, our Water Issue, pretty damn great.
We’d like to introduce you to a series we’ll be running every now and then called ‘Meet Our Makers’. This is our way of introducing the creators - the amazing writers, photographers, designers and brains who’ve contributed to the Stay Awhile world - continuing to make the magazine what it is (and what it’s gearing up to be)!
Float on Strawberry, Float On…
Meet Stefanie Ash, Editor
(and idiot who decided starting a print magazine in the digital world was a good idea)
Stefanie started the Stay Awhile instagram account sometime during COVID, mostly because she was restless and unemployed. Like most people, she spent the majority of her time buying useless stuff on Amazon, dancing to stupid TikToks and procrastinating from life. Her favourite type of procrastination? Scouring the interwebs for unique airbnbs and small design hotels. She loves doing that, always has.
Although international travel was historically her thing - she has been a freelance travel writer for the likes of CN Traveler and Travel and Leisure, as well as and a brand consultant in tourism for over a decade - COVID nudged her to narrow her search terms to regional gems, desperately hoping to skip a domestic border or two the moment it was humanly possible! Around this time she started the Stay Awhile instagram account and the community grew organically online. The fact remains, when everyone’s wings were clipped, couch-potato-travel was the only way to get a fix.
Even after global travel resumed, Stef still found herself drawn to local stays and adventures. She’d amassed a collection of so many genuinely special airbnbs and small design hotels in Australia and New Zealand on the instagram account, and connected with so many creatives, hosts, business owners and likeminded souls doing some really cool and novel things within the travel space, that all she yearned for was to stay, touch, taste, feel, experience and share those stories with others in a format more akin to the slow and authentic way of exploring so central to our ethos.
Stay Awhile Volume 02 Editor’s Note, Starring a Floating Strawberry
And so, our print baby was born. Volume 01 explored 12 unforgettable slow stays and explored authentic, local experiences. Volume 02 is just as special, with even more slow-stays, feature stories and extra pages.
These days, sitting still(ish) and travelling in a more mindful way suits Stef, and it seems to suit our growing community of conscious, curious travellers as well.
Inside Volume 02: Edwina Bartholomew on Creating An Airbnb
Edwina Bartholomew at the accomodation she created, Warramba
She’s probably welcomed your morning on channel 7’s Sunrise, but more recently she’s become an internet poster girl for sleeping in separate rooms with her husband. I think it’s a genius move to be honest…
Introducing Eddie, the next creative in the Meet Our Makers series. With a no bs policy, loyalty beyond words and a self deprecating humour that’s instantly infectious, she’s also a bit of a powerhouse when it comes to creating short term accomodation - a woman of many (many, many…many) hats.
Alongside her husband, Neil Varcoe (who she maintains is the budding hotelier in the family) they created Warramba, a restored 1890’s farmhouse turned serene retreat for an authentic, peaceful rural experience. There’s been a lot of hubub about their new journey @saltashfarm - and we can’t wait to feature it when it’s open - but let’s take a trip down memory lane and remember where it all began. For Volume 02, Eddie penned the next instalment of our “On Hosting” series. She reminisces about the mishaps, midges and milestones of going in blind and buying a random farm in the middle of beautiful but miles and miles away, Capertree Valley. Amongst her many hats is an earnest mad hatter storyteller, she tells it like it is:
“To me, the most wonderful compliment is ‘you must be from the country.’ It translates to being down to earth and average, in a very positive way. The reality is I grew up overseas in the huge metropolis of Tokyo, Japan . At least, that’s my excuse for not buying fly screens for our property, Warramba….”
Pre-Order Volume 02 and Save on Postage
