Hello from Bello+Beyond…
This issue: we asked Danny and Daisy why Bellingen Gelato is closing. We're getting to know Meg's weaving studio at Cloth Paper Clay in Bellingen, and we duck into The Oppy in Dorrigo too — a shop worth getting lost in. Big week for workshops and markets across the Shire — plenty below…
What's On
This weekend enjoy the Bellingen Grower’s Market and Moon & Dust Soul Bread on 10 October, followed by the Urunga Riverside Markets and the Guy Fawkes Heritage Horse Association’s Open Day on Sunday. Don’t miss Et Tu Theatre’s production of Orphans before it closes out its run at Bellingen Memorial Hall this weekend, on Sunday.
Also in October: Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass Festival rolls into the Shire from 23 October, and don’t miss the Taranta Festival 30th October in Bellingen.
This Week's Journal Stories
Bellingen Gelato
The sign in the window says closing, but that's only half the story. Danny and Daisy are stepping back from Bellingen Gelato's day-to-day after this Sunday — twenty years in — to spend time with their young son. The recipes are over forty years in the making, and they're not going anywhere.
Cloth Paper Clay
Meg Wilkinson weaves, sews and dyes in her own shop — Cloth.Paper.Clay — on Hyde Street, working in a Japanese style called SAORI that has no rules and no mistakes. She spent twenty-five years imagining a shop that didn't exist yet; this one, on Bellingen's main street, is what she built to hold it.
The Oppy
The Oppy is laid out with real intent rather than left to chance — natural dividers instead of walls, a place that slowly reveals itself the further you venture in. Think of it as Dorrigo's own department store: clothing, books, records and homewares, plus a low-cost community pantry open to anyone who needs it.
Freshly Added
The listings library keeps growing — this week we've added Bello Osteopathy to Local Life.
Good to Know
Bruno's Mediterranean Kitchen has posted its festive season hours — open for dinner on 23–24 Dec, lunch and dinner on 27 Dec and 2–3 Jan, with regular trading resuming 6 Jan. See the hours →
An 8-day residential Permaculture Design Course runs at Levenvale Farm, Valery, from 8–15 November, hosted by The Patch Organics with Garden Juju Collective. Learn more →
Frets Collective's workshop series kicks off Friday 9 October with Lace & Light, turning reclaimed lace and fabric into a lampshade at Studio 4, Hyde Street. Read more →
One Last Thing
It's been one week since our first edition landed in inboxes across the Shire — thank you to everyone who's subscribed and followed along on socials since. It means a lot, and it's exactly the kind of local support that keeps a project like this going.
If you've been enjoying these letters, the best thing you can do is forward this one to a friend who'd like it too — and if you haven't already, follow us on Instagram for more from around the Shire between letters.
See you in the Shire…
Bello+Beyond