Stephanie Stamatis (aka Stephanie Somebody) is just an exceptionally clever human. With a background in interior design, Stephanie was an early adopter of Instagram back when the platform first launched in 2010, and before long she had amassed herself a devoted following of over 100,000 people. At a time when the rest of us were still getting our heads around the novelty of this exciting new media platform, Stephanie had become an unlikely social media celebrity.
To her absolute credit, Stephanie has worked incredibly hard to leverage this unlikely windfall, and over the past four years has built an impressive reputation as a stylist and versatile freelance creative, lending her signature aesthetic to a variety of projects for clients including Myer, Brown Brothers, Maxwell Williams and Penguin Australia to name a few. She’s grasped every opportunity with both hands – including launching her events business, Local Gatherings, with likeminded creative Sarah Cooper in 2013. (Fittingly, the pair first met via instagram!)
Stephanie and Sarah’s first collaborative project was a Kinfolk Natural Home Decor workshop at the end of 2013 – since then the pair have been working on all kinds of corporate and private events, dinners, workshops and other community gatherings.
With varied but perfectly complementary skillsets, Stephanie and Sarah share their roles as co-directors of Local Gatherings. There is a natural division of duties in line with their respective strengths – Sarah has a background in events and a brain for logistics, whilst Stephanie brings her distinctive aesthetic to the table (literally!) as Local Gatherings’ creative director.
Never content to rest on their laurels, this winter Stephanie and Sarah add a new facet to their business. WINTER by Local Gatherings is a curated box of essential items for the colder months ahead. It is the first of a series of seasonal offerings, and will be an ongoing project; six items that embody the Local Gatherings’ aesthetic, in both form and function.
‘WINTER is about extending our practice into your own home’ explains Stephanie. ‘We have harboured this concept since the inception of Local Gatherings, and it is a manifestation of items that we believe in. We have visited studios to oversee the design process, we have customised our most essential items – we have selected functional pieces which enhance the everyday’.
The Local Gatherings’ WINTER collection has been created in a very limited edition of just 30 boxes. It includes cosy Japanese Hacu house socks from MINAMI, a handmade beeswax pillar candle from Queen B, linen pillowslips in Dove Grey from IN BED, a handmade ceramic serving plate from local maker Sophie Harle, a personalised leather luggage tag from Kind Sir, and a drawing board + box from Supply Paper Co.
Stephanie and Sarah will be launching their brand new project TONIGHT with an installation and launch event at Enough event space in Prahran. The limited edition boxes for WINTER will be available to purchase, with wintry drinks by Mörk Chocolate, and customisation of the leather luggage tags on the spot. Everyone welcome!
WINTER by Local Gatherings launch
TONIGHT Thursday 12th May, 6.00pm – 9.00pm
Enough
2A/127 Greville Street
Prahran
Exhibition Dates –
Friday 13th May 10am-7pm
Saturday 14th May 10am-5pm
Sunday 15th May 10am-4pm
