Umbrellas of Bermagui is a new and different event to be held at the 2014 BermaguiSeaside Fair on Saturday 8th March. It is believed that this will be the first time this type ofartistic charity auction is held in Australia.

The concept goes like this: Local businesses sponsor a 3 metre shade umbrella. Each one isthen hand painted by a local or invited artist and auctioned on the day of the Seaside Fair.Choice of artwork is decided between the sponsor and the artist. The decorated umbrellas willbe displayed by the sponsor from Australia Day until the day of the Fair to promote theevent, give support and recognition for the artist and the opportunity for the public to viewthe umbrellas. On the day of the Fair the umbrellas will be displayed on Dickinson Ovalallowing maximum viewing of each before the auction.

The idea is the brainchild of Bermagui resident and ex-pat American, Dennis Olmstead.Dennis had visited Harbert in Michigan USA and was impressed by the innovative way theorganisers of Umbrellas of Harbert had promoted their village which is situated on LakeMichigan, and at the same time had raised many thousands of dollars for local not forprofit groups.

These umbrellas are artistically special. At the Harbert event some have become collectoritems and have sold for hundreds and sometimes over a thousand dollars, resulting insubstantial donations to community organisations and projects. Proceeds from this inauguralevent will go to the long awaited Bermagui Skate Park. Money raised in subsequent yearswill be directed to other nominated youth and community projects in Bermagui. Over thepast 16 years, local organisations have shared more than $37,000 as a result of the BermaguiSeaside Fair’s fundraising activities.

The 15 sponsor businesses participating in the inaugural Umbrellas of Bermagui are:

Bermagui Cellars Bermagui Pharmacy Blue Wave SeafoodCorkies Cafe Cream Patisserie Gilchrist & AssociatesHorse & Camel Winebar Marshall & Tacheci Real Estate Mermaids of BermaguiMiracles By The Sea /Yogatique Neilsons Mitre 10 Stitch ConnectionThe Pineapple House The Sundeck Cafe Zest of Bermagui

Images of the amazing umbrellas completed to date and information about the sponsorsand artists appears on the following pages.

Umbrellas of Bermagui

Umbrellas of BermaguiMark and Marian Manning are the owners of BermaguiPharmacy and have been servicing Bermagui and surroundsfor many years providing prescriptions and professional advice.They are annual supporters of the Bermagui Seaside Fair. Marian is also Secretary of the Bermagui Area Chamber ofCommerce & Tourism and with a small team of helpersruns the Chamber Cafe thar provides a delicious break fromthe hustle and bustle of the Fair in an area outside the SurfClub serving home cooked goodies and refreshments with allproceeds returned to the Seaside Fair.The artist chosen to decorate their umbrella is Ahn ThuStuart who has completed Certificates 3 and 4 in Visual Art atBega TAFE. Ahn Thu's artistic interests lie mainly in landscapesand still life evident in her work on this umbrella which shenamed "Invitation to Dream".Ahn Thu also has a Bachelor of Economics and a GraduateDiploma of Economics. Her cookbook, "Vietnamese Cooking- Recipes My Mother Taught Me", has sold widely in Australia,the UK and USA.

Award winning Blue Wave Seafood of Bermagui Fishermen'sWharf is a locally owned and operated takeaway fish andchips and fresh seafood business. With a 4.5 star rating in theAustralian Good Food and Travel guide, it is no wonder thatBlue Wave is incredibly popular with locals and tourists alike.Owner/manager Rosemary Hamilton regularly supports theannual Seaside Fair and is proud to sponsor the amazing talentedworks of her chosen artist, Louella McPaul, from Bega.Louella is an experimental artist constantly inspired by fusionand layering of pigments and the abstractions that can evolvewhen paints are given their own time to blend. Fascinatedwith light and movement in landscape, she finds each subjectrequires a different technique or medium. For her Blue Wave Seafood umbrella Louella has chosen amarine theme. Louella holds a Certificate 4 with Distinction inVisual Art & Contemporary Craft. Her experience extends asfar afield as the Flinders Ranges and Greece, and she exhibitswidely throughout the Bega Valley, winning many awards.

Steve Crofts and Sandra Hill are the owners of CorkiesCafe in Wallaga Street Bermagui which offers an extensivemenu of good, tasty food that you can eat in, eat alfresco ortake away.On the Corkies umbrella, their good friend and local artist,Paul Fletcher, has depicted the 8 symbols which frequentlyappear in Tibetan Buddhist art – The Royal Parasol, The EightSpoked Wheel, The Endless Knot, The Victory Banner, The TwoFish, The Vase, The Conch Shell and The Eyes of the GreatStupa in Kathmandu Nepal.Paul chose the design to bring peace and happiness to Steveand Sandra and also to remind people of the plight of theoppressed Tibetan people.Paul is a florist by trade and has also studied art and designand worked within the Art Gallery of NSW and AustralianMuseum hanging exhibitions and mingling with some of thetop people in this field.

Umbrellas of BermaguiBecky and Luke Moresi are the owner/operators of CreamPatisserie in Wallaga Street, Bermagui.The Moresi family moved to Bermagui five years ago and havebuilt a hugely successful business with their culinary delightsof an Italian/French/European theme.Luke is a pastry chef with flair but prefers to keep consistencyin his preparations, therefore you will find classic pastries, dailybreads, focaccia, his award winning vanilla slices and goodcoffee all year round.Pauline Balos of Bermagui was invited by Becky to paint herumbrella. A painter in both acrylic and oils, she also workswith small aluminium sculptures.Pauline has exhibited widely in Australia and is represented incollections both in Australia and overseas. Similar to otherumbrella artists, Pauline has chosen a marine theme whichgoes perfectly with the Bermagui Seaside Fair.

Janinka Franki and Bruce Pratley are the proprietors ofthe Horse & Camel Winebar located upstairs at the BermaguiFishermen’s Wharf complex. This small and intimate venue wasaccredited in their first year in Canberra's Winewise Magazineand 3 years running in the Herald’s Good Food Guide. In 2013they were also mentioned in Australia's Lonely Planet Guide.Their daughter, Lauren, is their chosen artist. Born and raisedin Quaama on the NSW far south coast, Lauren has studiedgraphic design at CU Canberra and has exhibited works inCanberra and Bermagui. Lauren now resides in Canberrawhere she works in government. In her spare time she hasenjoyed being part of multiple group exhibitions in Bermagui’sShop 7 Art Space. Her inspiration for this umbrella is drawn from the desire to createsomething truly feminine and beautiful. She has most certainlyachieved that with her amazing art work which is entitled"The Guardians".

Jim Gilchrist, along with his wife Jane, operate Gilchrist& Associates, accountants and taxation agents of Bermagui.Jim's association with local businesses in Bermagui began in2002. With a strong client base, local and across Australia, Jimspecialises in taxation minimisation, compliance work, trustsand superannuation funds and is also a mortgage broker.Beverley Jennings, Jim's very talented sister, lives in Bendigoin Victoria and is the artist of the Gilchrist & Associatesumbrella which is called “Tropical Whirl”.Beverley describes herself as a hobby artist and has attendedart classes in Melbourne and Bendigo. Botanical Illustration isher passion and she has attended workshops conducted byprofessional illustrators.Bev chose acrylic paint for this umbrella and spent many hoursworking with this medium to get just the right effect. Her“Tropical Whirl” is an example of the amazing talent of theartists who have given their time, energy and imagination tocreate an outstanding masterpiece on a 3 metre umbrella.

Umbrellas of Bermagui

Suzette Kendall is proprietor of Mermaids of Bermagui,an exciting lifestyle shop on Wallaga Lake Road which is avisual delight selling coastal clothing, accessories, homewaresand small furniture pieces.

West Australian artist Isobelle Tyson was chosen by Suzetteto decorate her umbrella. Isobelle spent her early years on theSwan River and Cottesloe Beach and has a great love of thecoast which shows in her artwork, using strong blues for thesea and sky and different fish species swirling around theperimeter of this masterpiece.

Robbie Hart from Miracles by the Sea and YogatiqueStudio & Gallery is passionate about the environment whichis evident in her salon's mantra being eco-friendly in everypossible way. Robbie's interest in global food security andtherefore the continued survival of the world's bee population,is the inspiration behind her bee umbrella.Lyndal Jenkins is the very talented artist who brought thebee umbrella to life. Lyndal has a Diploma of Fine Art & Designand is studying a double degree in Visual Art & Visual Culture.A local of 30 years, her work is on display at Yogatique andMudworks Pottery & Cafe in Bermagui.Merrin Cosgrove gave her talents to assist Lyndal to completethe bee umbrella and has also lived in Bermagui for over 30years. She works in a variety of art and craft media and herunique pieces of jewellery are something any lady would beproud to own.

Robert Tacheci of Marshall & Tacheci Real Estate has beenproviding real estate sales, rentals and holiday accommodationfrom his corner business, situated in the centre of Bermagui'smain shopping precinct, for 31 years. Marshall & Tacheci alsosupports the annual Bermagui Seaside Fair by sponsoring andproviding the prizes and judging for the popular sandcastlecompetition on Horseshoe Bay Beach.Helen Morris, visual artist of Bermagui, has painted theMarshall & Tacheci umbrella and has called it "Agapanthus".This is the second umbrella Helen painted for this event andwhen asked why she chose this theme, which is quitedifferent to the umbrella she decorated for The PineappleHouse, she said, "Agapanthus is such a prevalent plant withinthe area and is a noticeable addition and colour contrast to thenatural environment that I so dearly love."

Umbrellas of Bermagui

Michelle Dedlefs from Stitch Connection in the arcade inLamont Street Bermagui, has sponsored and decorated herumbrella.

It is spectacular, unique and takes your breath away consideringthe amount of work and the many hours that she has put intothis masterpiece.

What makes this umbrella so different is that Michelle hassewn every tree and tiny leaf, animal, bird and rock that coversthe 3 metre work of art.

Michelle, who has been sewing since the age of five, said shewas inspired by the spotted gums in Mimosa Rocks NationalPark and loves a challenge when it comes to patchwork,embroidery, cross stitch and tapestry.

Scott Neilson of Neilsons Mitre 10 is proud to say theirs isa family business which has been operating in Bermagui since1994 providing retail, hardware and building supplies to clienteleand tradesmen from the local area including Quaama, Tanjaand Tilba.The artist chosen by the Neilsons Mitre 10 was Di Tarrantfrom Tura Beach. Di's umbrella is a little similar in style toJackson Pollock or Pro Hart, with magnificent use of swirlingcolours and hidden treasures and is called "Under The Sea".Di’s long list of qualifications includes an Undergraduate inStudies in Painting UOL at Curtin University in WA, ExploringPainting UOL at RMIT University Victoria, Foundations of Art atGabrielle Jones Art School in Sydney, Julian Ashton School ofArt Sydney and Peter Griffin Master Class at Charles SturtUniversity in Bathurst. Di has exhibited widely and arrangedmagnificent murals on the walls of a Pambula aged care facilityproviding a calming atmosphere for the residents.

Jane Coates is the owner of The Pineapple House whichoperates from two separate locations in Bermagui – theBermagui Fishermen's Wharf complex and in Wallaga Street.Both stores carry a wide range of wares from clothing, homedécor, gifts and much more.Jane has been in business in Bermagui for the past 14 yearsand is an avid supporter of many local groups. Helen Morris, visual artist and Bermagui resident, was Jane'schoice of artist for her umbrella which presents a number ofbeautiful pelicans which are so lifelike it appears that the largerones are actually taking flight!Helen has lived in Bermagui for over 20 years and is involvedin many art groups in the area. She recently joined the groupexhibiting at Shop 7 Art Space located upstairs at the BermaguiFishermen's Wharf.

Umbrellas of Bermagui

Peter and Sue from Zest of Bermagui on Lamont Street arethe sponsors of this vibrant and delightful umbrella entitled“Our Beautiful Bermagui”. Zest is another enticing eatery inBermagui where you can dine in or alfresco. They make all oftheir own food and Zest juices on site. Accommodation is alsoavailable upstairs which is handy to everything.The business has been proudly owned and operated by Peterand Sue for two years and they have made Bermagui theirhome.Jenny McCabe the artist of this umbrella. She has lived inBermagui since 1991 and has always been interested in art.Jenny had a business named Uglies Originals which specialisedin hand painted and handmade clothing, all one off originals.The panels on this umbrella depict four magical Bermaguiicons, namely Horseshoe Bay, the Blue Pool, Cuttagee Beachand Bridge and Camel Rock. The colours and quirky designpainted by Jenny make this umbrella quite outstanding withsuch strong local content.

Kate Power, proprietor of The Sundeck Cafe at BermaguiFishermen's Wharf, and freelance artist, Joel Tarling, haveteamed up to present a unique and unusual work of art.

Both sponsor and artist have strong ties and are passionateabout Bermagui, having grown up in the area.

Joel studied fine arts at Meadowbank TAFE and graphic designat the Design Centre in Enmore. Over the past decade he hasheld numerous exhibitions in Sydney and Melbourne and hasillustrated a number of children’s publications.

Kate is naturally is very proud of her eatery and invites everyoneto sit and admire the stunning views of Bermagui Harbourwhile enjoying a great coffee and cake or a delicious mealprepared using fresh local produce.