A Day of Elegance, Insights and Inspiration.

Welcome to The Art of Living Well 2024, our annual event focussing on interiors, gardens, entertaining, food. The all-day masterclass, on Friday 29th November 2024, will be spent immersed in the luscious mountain setting of Charlotte's coveted private home and garden, Marnanie.

Charlotte will open the day with an exclusive tour of her home, where she will share insights and stories behind the beautiful designs, as well as some of her hard earned lessons. A cornerstone of our annual event, Paul Bangay will then guide guests through the awe-inspiring gardens of Marnanie, sharing his indelible connection to this garden over many years and his deep knowledge of the local flora and fauna.

Following the garden walk, guests will enjoy the elegant Rameau d'Or Rosé garden lunch with a menu inspired by the freshest seasonal produce, lovingly prepared by Cookes Food.

An Australian legend of the food industry, the much loved chef Annie Smithers will be joining us for the day. She brings boundless expertise in food, classic cooking techniques and the paddock to plate philosophy. Annie will tell honest and inspiring stories of her journey from large, fast paced kitchens to her own dream restaurant, du Fermier in Trentham Victoria. With lessons learned in the different challenges that come with cooking and caring for a family, Annie will enlighten you on how to cook and entertain with simplicity, joy and love.

This year, our international guest speaker is Sophie Conran. Award winning designer of homewares and lifestyle products, she brings a wealth of knowledge from the interiors, fashion and food industries. Sophie will be sharing the story of her diverse career, how her renowned father has left a lasting influence and take you behind the scenes of her beautiful 18th Century English Georgian country home, Salthrop. Sophie will talk about her processes of renovating the grand old home, where she draws inspiration from and how she lives and entertains in its rooms and gardens.

A luscious high tea with Pommery Champagne will be served in the afternoon prior to the final segment of the day, our panel discussion. This will see all four of our speakers, Charlotte, Paul, Annie and Sophie discussing their careers, experience, and insights gained over decades, you will want to bring your notebooks!

Excitingly, Charlotte, Paul and Annie will all have newly published books available for guests with the opportunity for book signing to finish the day.

As always, guests will depart with luxurious gifts from some of our favourite brands and suppliers in this year's gift bag.

We hope you can join us for a special day at Charlotte's home to celebrate beauty with inspiring company.

Meet Our Speakers

Charlotte Coote

Charlotte is a leader in Australian classic contemporary interior design, with an elegance that transcends fleeting trends. Having worked on projects throughout Europe and America, she brings a unique and international approach to her work which showcases her five principles of design - Timelessness, Authenticity, Lifestyle, Scale and Quality. Revered for her sense of style and boldness, Charlotte mixes colours, textures and patterns to achieve rich and layered interiors. She is the author of Colour Is Home and is regularly featured in Australian and international design magazines. She has been a key note speaker at Decor and Design and has produced installations for the National Gallery of Victoria.

Sophie Conran

Sophie's homeware and lifestyle products are cherished the world over, making every day a beautiful day. She started her career working through a variety of different jobs in the fashion, food and interior design industries. She has previously lived in Australia working on projects for Country Road and writing for magazines and newspapers.

Sophie now works with many amazing companies developing exclusive ranges for Arthouse luxury wallpaper, British cutlery manufacture Arthur Price, Portmeirion stoneware and porcelain, where her range has won many awards, Burgon and Ball garden tools and accessories, T&G Woodware and Ulster Weavers developing a range or kitchen textiles. www.sophieconran.com brings all of Sophie's collections together

Sophie also works with charities including Macmillan, The Prince's Teaching Institute and the Museums of Oxford.

Annie Smithers

Annie Smithers has become one of Australia's much loved chefs. A career spanning over forty years has taken her working with Australia's best chefs and in fine restaurants, to her own restaurant, du Fermier. Across the journey she has been led down the garden path to pursue a simpler style of cooking. An early adopter to a paddock to plate philosophy, Annie has been cooking from her own kitchen garden for over fifteen years. Her food is beguilingly simple, built on classic techniques that she has been honing for decades. The food she cooks speaks of love, for both the person being cooked for and the ingredients being used.

Annie has written two cookbooks, 'Annie's Garden To Table' (2012), 'Annie's Farmhouse Kitchen' (2016). And two narrative non-fiction books, 'Recipe For A Kinder Life' (2021) and 'Kitchen Sentimental' (2024). Her writing style is always honest, vulnerable and at times funny as she tells stories of life as it really is. She holds regular cooking classes at the restaurant to impart her knowledge to many who want to learn.

Paul Bangay

Paul Bangay is undoubtedly one of Australia's pre-eminent landscape designers and gardening authorities. The author of eleven books (1996-2021), his work has been featured in a dozen other titles, and in countless magazines over the course of his thirty-year career.

Aside from his professional achievements, Bangay has consistently given his time to charitable, philanthropic, and civic endeavours. He has served as a Foundation Board Member for the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation and as an Ambassador for the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and the Princes Trust Australia. In 2001, Bangay was recognised with the Centenary Medal (General List) and in 2018 he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to landscape architecture.

With thanks to our wonderful sponsors and collaborators who help us bring The Art of Living Well to life.