We're thrilled to share our latest collaboration.

Saddler & Co recently used Simpson Cottage and our local coastline as the backdrop for their beautiful 2022 release.

Jemima from Saddler & Co got in touch to see if she could use Simpson Cottage to shoot their new collection; Its was the perfect match; the theme was country to coast, Saddler and Co is based in Dubbo, but their leather goods are at home on the coast, just as much as they are in the country. read on to see why it was a perfect match.

I grew up in the bush on a beef cattle farm and stock horse stud, so trips to town often required a visit to the saddlery. My dad's saddler mate would always greet him with "G'day mate, what brings you town, had any rain out your way?" Once the reason for the visit was out of the way, the conversation would take the usual direction, weather, cattle prices, and all things related to life on the land. It was always the same, my dad perched on the stool reserved for customers, the saddler, leather in hand, behind his workbench on a weary old leather chair that creaked when he reclined or swivelled to reach a tool, and there, they'd put the world in order as he continued with whatever he was working on at the time. It was the epitome of slow living. Sometimes I wonder if the saddler wasn't a kind of therapist to his customers.

At the time, I recall being bored and wandering around the shop intrigued by what the various good and chattels might be used for. All the while blissfully unaware the scents of that poky little shop were seeping into my being and that come adulthood I'd yearn for more of these slow and carefree days. To this day I'm still drawn to saddleries and new leather.

Perhaps that can be explained by the fact smell is the one sense you can remember and recall; do you remember the scent of a favourite grandparent or the place where you made a happy discovery or fell in love? If that scent is on the breeze, you'll be transported back to that time and place. It's also my excuse for being that crazy lady in shops who picks up new leather handbags and shoes to sniff and admire the dreamy new leather scent...