A few month’s ago, while it was definitely NOT yet summer, we headed beachside in Victoria for our summer shoot, not quite knowing what we were in for. For a team from Wānaka, swapping alpine views for sea cliffs was a big change of scene, and a first for our brand.
Australia is fast becoming a second home for us. We're proud of our Bowral, NSW, store and the community that's grown around it, and after so many of you asked us to come back, we're returning to Melbourne too (more on that soon). This shoot was our way of celebrating that, and of taking our sheepskin somewhere wild to show what 'The Original Comfort' looks like under a summer sky.
What we found was a coastline that stopped us in our tracks. Sheer cliffs, scrub running right to the edge, wide stretches of sand and that big Australian sky over all of it. It didn't take long for us to fall totally in love.
Behind the scenes
It wasn’t as effortless as it looks. Carrying a couch across a clifftop while picking a path through the scrub was no easy feat, and that was before we went back for the sheepskins, the chair and the Shaggy Bean Bag. (For the extra curious, this behind the scenes reel shows the full extent).
Every frame meant another trip up the rocks or back down to the sand. We definitely got our step quota in, and our arms felt it for days. Then there was the wind. More than once it did its best to blow the sheepskin clean off the cliff.
Luckily for our summer-clad model, we had plenty of sheepskin on hand. The same natural crimp in every wool fibre that lets heat escape on a hot day also traps warmth close when the wind picks up. That's the magic of wool, and why sheepskin belongs outdoors all summer long.
Mountains or coast – it’s the same pull for the outdoors
Aussies and Kiwis are both just as passionate about getting outdoors in summer. Back home in Wānaka, that usually means heading for the mountains and the lake. In Australia, it's the coast. Different landscapes, same instinct, and sheepskin made for both. Because it breathes, it stays comfortable through even an Australian summer, whether it's thrown over a beach chair on a steaming hot day, pulled out of the back of the car for that impromptu picnic by the beach, or laid across the deck for all-summer-long lounging.
Home again
We came home windswept, sore-armed and more than a little bit in love with Australia. The images from those days became The Original Comfort, our summer campaign, and every frame still takes us straight back to that coastline.
If you're in New South Wales, come and see us at our Bowral store's new home in Bong Bong. Find a Shaggy Bean Bag and sink in for a while.
In New Zealand, you'll find the full Original Comfort range in our Wānaka, Christchurch and Arrowtown stores.
