Christmas shopping and good karma: where do you sign up? The Gourmet Traveller x Sorry Thanks I Love You Christmas Boutique.
Allie Webb‘s graphic linocut prints can be spotted at Restaurant Hubert, Shady Pines Saloon and Pino’s Vino e Cucina, and soon, there could be one in your home.
Webb is the artist in residence at this year’s Gourmet Traveller x Sorry Thanks I Love You (STILY) Christmas Boutique. Her work, Il Caffè 2017, was created especially for the pop-up shop, and is the first release in a new series exploring Australian-Italo dining, and the delicious spoils likely to hit the table around the entertaining season. “My husband Anton [Forte] has Italian heritage and our visits to his Mum’s house in Carlton involve lots of Bialetti coffee – always with a splash of brandy – huge platters of panettone and crostoli, and boxes of treats from Brunetti,” says Webb. It’s that spirit that has inspired the one-off print.
But Christmas isn’t just a time for feasting, it’s for giving, too: which is why as part of this year’s pop-up, Il Caffè 2017 has been printed onto gift cards in an effort to raise money for Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, an integrated cancer clinic in Sydney’s inner west. By purchasing a gift card – either online or from either of the two Sorry Thanks I Love You boutiques – shoppers will go in the running to win the framed original artwork.
One of the team members at STILY was treated at Chris O’Brien last year and was blown away by the level of care. “They combine every element of cancer treatment under the one roof,” says STILY co-owner Caroline Ball. “And by ‘every element,’ I mean everything: surgery, radiation, chemo, psychology, yoga, relaxation, massage. It’s epic.” All funds from the sales of the cards will go to the psycho-oncology services at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, where free counselling treatment is provided to patients and their families. “In our experience, having a strong mind is one of the most important aspects of dealing with cancer,” says Ball. “What the Lifehouse offers isn’t yet the standard, and not everyone in Australia has the opportunity to be treated this way, which is why we want to help them continue their work and eventually expand.”
Webb’s framed artwork, currently on display in the Martin Place Boutique, measures a metre in length and took more than 20 hours to cut and print. The winner, along with the total amount of money raised, will be announced at a Champagne shopping night at Martin Place on Tuesday 19 December.
For your chance to go into the draw you can buy an Allie Webb greeting card online, or at either of the two GT x STILY Christmas Boutiques in Sydney: Ground Floor, No 1 Martin Pl, Sydney or 140 George St, The Rocks.