Fused & slumped glass jewellery & platters

Margaret uses words like “addicted” and “obsessed” to describe her love for glassware. Spend five minutes with her in her work space and you’ll be an instant convert as she shows you her collection of dichroic glass, never drawing breath as she explains the intricate techniques of making glass jewellery. It’s hard not to want the lot: it’s all so beautiful.

Like most of us, Margaret found her way through twists and turns. She came to the Bay when she was five. Her parents built the original Great Ocean View Motel, which was then called the Hayley Reef Motel. Margaret has been a trained hairdresser since 1984 and had worked in various other jobs when, in 1999, her mother encouraged her to try making glass platters together. Although they had different ways of working, they shared the same joy of seeing what the kiln had done. Margaret calls it the “surprise factor”. She remembers racing her mother down to the kiln in the garage to see the finished shape. “You look at it glowing red, falling into shape, but you don’t see it as it is until it has cooled in the morning,” she says, recalling times when she would get up early to cool the kiln a bit quicker.

That was fun but cheap imported homewares made her products harder to sell. A standard comment would be, “I love your stuff but I don’t need it for the moment.” Margaret had no intention of making glass jewellery until a day in Melbourne she saw a glass necklace that she almost bought for $140.00. Her sister said, “You could make that yourself”, and she did, starting in the winter of 2004, the kiln warming the house as she experimented and improvised. Margaret survives by a process of continual renewal, by finding new challenges and taking short courses to give her the skill set for the job at hand.

Every piece Margaret makes is unique, part craft, part art, but all hers. Every piece carries her name and the name of Apollo Bay with it. Although she still does hairdressing to pay the bills, Margaret would love to dedicate herself full-time to making glass jewellery. She loves the way it is smooth to touch and how it adjusts to the body temperature. She loves its limitless possibilities. Addicted and obsessed. That’s glass and Glance.

Great Ocean Road Wines

Frank doesn’t muck about. When he does something, he gets stuck right in. Take his property out along the Barham River Road on the way to Paradise. That was bought as a place to park his boat when he was still on the dairy farm at Carlisle River. Then he thought, hang on, this place can do more than that. So it became a winery, and a green tea plantation, and an entertainment venue called Apollo Bay Family Farm, that will give families a first-hand taste of farm life. And that’s just for now, there’ll be more to come; Frank has “tractor thoughts”, the dreams that come to him as he does field work.

It’s hard to fault what Frank is doing. On the one property he is setting up a place for himself and his wife Bebs, and separate houses for his children Andrew and Kate, and scattered around those will be multiple enterprises bringing money to the family and the community. Combining a lifestyle with family and business in a way that promotes and profits the community, “is the logical thing to do, among the many illogical things we’ve done in our lives,” says the man who looks on life as high adventure. He’s no wombat, says Frank, he’s here to stay. “It’s good to be part of this community: growing, vibrant, progressive, but not without its issues.” Frank never shirked an issue; he was a director of Bonlac for years.

After a lifetime on the land, Frank has a sixth sense for bush business. With the overplanting of grapes, he knew there would be a glut in the market. The only way to survive that was to choose your label first and to develop cellar door sales. The community market fits that strategy. Besides, it’s fun for the outgoing Frank to mix business with pleasure. He spreads his particular brand of cheer among the “lovely people making a go of their stalls,” whether it’s their hobby or their sole commercial business. If it’s people and activity, Frank is there amongst it. Where there’s fun, there’s Frank.

Plants, trees, shrubs and ferns

Les was born in Geelong but moved to Warrnambool in 1941 for an apprenticeship to become a bricklayer and stonemason, two years into World War II. In 1944 Les joined the army, remaining there until the war was over, when he resumed his apprenticeship and finished his trade. He worked for the same builder for 10 years before he left in 1951 to begin his own business as a builder in Warrnambool and district.

Les left Warrnambool for Forrest in 1983, where he and his wife bought a small property. His wife had experience in horticulture, so together they opened a plant nursery. There wasn’t much call for plants during the credit squeeze of the early 1990s, so they closed the nursery. They began attending country markets to sell off their remaining stock. When most of the plants were sold, Les retired but his love of plants would remain. Now he still propagates plants, but the only market he attends is at Apollo Bay on most Saturday mornings, which for him is a social event he wouldn’t miss.

These days the Ricketts breed pedigree Jack Russell terriers for showing, which has proved successful for them, having bred, sold and shown many Australian champions.