SUMMER STORIES Q&A

30 August 2020

Inspired by iconic holiday destinations in Queensland, Summer Stories all-natural shower essentials line celebrates our stunning array of Australian native botanicals. We chatted to founders Felicity Loughrey and Tim Dwyer to hear more about Summer Stories, and their go-to holiday destinations in the Sunshine State!

Hello Felicity! Your background is in creative communications - when did you first decide to pursue Summer Stories? What inspired you?

I used to sit next to my business partner Tim Dwyer at a Brisbane corporate. And after work, we would brainstorm business ideas. We were both interested in quality Australian household products that could be sold to the world. Summer Stories kind of grew from there.

Organic and natural ingredients are integral to Summer Stories. Why is this important to you?

Yes, we love our organic and natural ingredients. But more than that, we’re very passionate about Australian ingredients. We have incredible native plants in Australia that have incredible properties and we’re actually astonished we don’t see them used more widely. Summer Stories products feature quandong, kangaroo apple, finger lime caviar extract and lemon myrtle among others. I think it’s a really exciting time for Australian grown ingredients.

Tell us about the process you go through to bring each Summer Stories product to life?

We’re really committed to making products that are useful and have a purpose and that we would want to use. And that we’d want our friends and family to use and enjoy. That’s really our starting point.

The Summer Stories line is named after iconic holiday destinations in Queensland. What’s your go-to holiday spot in the Sunshine State?

Felicity: Before Covid, I travelled to Dalby, west of Brisbane and went to the historic estate of Jimbour - it’s where tv mini-series East of Eden was filmed in the `80s. I absolutely loved it and would love to visit again.

Tim: I love the variety in Queensland - from the red dirt of Kalkadoon Country (Mt Isa) to the white sand of Fraser! My wife and I love our country drives and can’t wait to get back to Stanthorpe again.

How does living in Brisbane influence your creative process?

Brisbane is a very easy city to live in. The winters are glorious. In summer, I absolutely love a thunderous, evening storm. I love the city’s tin-and-timber architecture. And I adore how it is very much its own thing.

Do you have any exciting projects coming up with Summer Stories?

Yes! We have a hand sanitiser made with lemon myrtle and eucalyptus that should be arriving any day now. We called it Brisbane after the grittiest city in the Sunshine State. And we’re very excited to share it with museum-goers. And again, it’s the kind of product we would want to use ourselves and for our friends and family to keep handy.

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