Company

Introducing: Paddock To Paris a Manson Podcasting Podcast celebrating rural and regionlal athletes on their way to the Paris Olympics. Search Paddock to Paris in your podcast app and follow or subscribe to make sure you don't miss an episode. Today we give you a taste of Skye Manson's conversation with Narrabri born and bred Laura Gourley who's going to Paris to row in the Womens Quad Scull. Of the 37 athletes on Australia's Rowing team, at least 6 of them are from rural Australia. This ratio of country to city people is high and so it's fitting that we kick off this podcast - which is all about elevating the stories of rural and regional Australian atheletes heading to Paris - with a sport that's seen a high representation from farm kids over the years. And 24 year old Laura who'll be rowing in the Women's Quad Skull is no different. She grew up on a cropping farm at Edgeroi, 20 mins outside of Narrabri. In fact she tributes some of her success: to the kindness of her fellow farming friends. One neighbour lent her a skull - as in a single rowing boat - to train in During Covid. And another neighbour lent her their 2km long irrigation channel - to train on. Laura and her family have always been sports mad - Her grandfather left farming to play Rugby League and went on to win two premierships with St George Dragon's in the mid-60's. But Laura's journey as a rower didn't start until she went to boarding school. She was approached to give rowing a try because of her physique - and things went from there. She was the youngest person in her Rowing 8 and top of the charts on the Urg; The electronic rowing machine. This is a Manson Podcasting production in partnership with Rabobank Australia. Production support by Alice Moffitt.

Carmen Quade lives with her husband on a cropping farm at Tallimba near West Wyalong in central west New South Wales. They have five children and two businesses.   Carmen is a total office geek; she LOVES it, and she's good at it.   And when she realised this was the case, after studying her Masters of Accounting she decided that she'd like to help others become a boss in the office too and started Agrifocused a business training men and women to get the most from all their 'inside' or office jobs.   This conversation moves all over the place, but is still delightful and I stepped up from the recording with a bag full of new things to try in family and business life…… such is the nuance wisdom of Carmen Quade. More goodness from Carmen Quade can be found on our Daily Routines podcast. This podcast is produced by Manson Podcasting in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

Have you noticed a boom in rural fashion designers?  Last September, Holly Goodman and I sat down to record this interview.  Holly lives in Tamworth with her husband and three young children and is a fashion designer with her own label, Peter Bill, which has morphed from young boys clothing into a really impressive womens range.  In Spring last year, Holly put on The Rural Runway, a fashion runway and show of some of her favourite rural designers.  I really loved this - as I suppose I just hope that someone picks up this idea and runs with it. I'd love nothing more than to attend a full blown fashion show made up of designers from all our local towns and communities. So the interview may be dated but I'm still celebrating the premise of it; creating a platform in which to celebrate and showcase the work of fashion designers in rural Australia. This podcast is produced in partnership with Rabobank Australia Find more lifestyle podcasts from rural Australia at mansonpodcasting.com Sign up to our free weekly newsletter here

This is the story of a unique coming together of a molecular scientist, a farmer and a PR and marketing executive in the beauty industry (all within one family). Annoyingly; the latter, the marketing and PR exec had experienced dry, cracked lips for the better part of 10 years.  Fed up; and driven by memories of childhood holidays spent in the family shearing shed, turned to the most natural, (and foolproof product she could think of; Lanolin. Kirsten Carriol is the founder, creator and CEO of Lanolips Australia a global company that's been running for 15 years now and has a product that's been voted the World's Best Lip Balm. Kirsten is a city girl at heart, but this story I think shows the importance of gifting on-farm experiences to young minds - who can go on to do anything with their lives and you never know what brilliance, they might create from that. You can find Kirsten's products at lanolips.com If you'd like to hear more lifestyle stories from rural Australia we have more podcasts at mansonpodcasting.com Or read our free weekly newsletter. Sign up on the website mansonpodcasting.com

I've never met a farmer like Carly Baker Burnham before. She is SO in touch with herself.  She listens to her intuition, works out what she wants and then gains confidence to push forward in that area - no matter how unconventional it may seem to the often traditional mindset of those in agriculture.  So, how exactly does a large ecological organic beef farmer, who's also a funeral celebrant, popular BNB owner and manager, with a masters degree in Leadership and Management, who's deeply connected to the land she owns - oh and mother to four children - get the mix right?  She listens to herself. mansonpodcasting.com With thanks to rabobankaustralia.com And Carly can be found @bloodwoodcabin and @bonniedoonebeef

Claire Mactaggart amongst other things; has been a contributing writer for - one of Australia's most loved publications - Country Style magazine for 19 years. She's been a lynchpin in opening the eyes of everyday Australians to the the way of life, homes, gardens and businesses of rural and regional people and families - through countless beautiful stories. In this sense I think she's a trail blazer. She also a great example of quiet leadership. Claire is the most lovely person to meet. she's gently spoken, warm and polite - and these trails have not held her back - she's been able to achieve most of the things she has desired all while living 170-odd kms from the supermarket. She is mother to four girls, a beef producer with her husband Andrew, a board director for Beef Australia, the organisation behind, Beef Week, she's transported a disused church to her farm for renovation and her latest project was the six week transformation of a block of units and an old Queenslander at Cooee Bay near Yeppoon, QLD. This is a Manson Podcasting production brought to you with thanks to Rabobank Australia.

If I was going to be in QLD there was one woman I just had to interview. Georgie Somerset But it wasn't the titles to her name that pushed me to tie her down at one of the busiest weeks of her life, Beef Week in Rockhampton, QLD, it was her endless championing of young people in agriculture that most had me intriguied. Why is she so tireless? How does she manage the time to champion so many from the sidelines? And what's in it for her? This podcast is brought to you by Rabobank Australia and was recorded in the committee room at Beef Week in Rockhampton in May 2025.

In a bit over a week, in May 2024, Sarah Wheeler and her horses - Shifty and Sally - will set out on The Outback Long Ride, a 5,500km journey through Outback NSW and QLD honouring the lives of her late parents and raising funds and awareness for upper GI cancers through the Pancare Foundation and for her own charity, A Daughter's Way which will support families and individuals suffering tragic loss and grief. Sarah is one of four girls in the Wheeler family who've suffered through incredible heartache and grief after losing both their parents. Their mother Terri died from biliary cancer and their father Gavin died in 2010 suddenly and unexpectedly from an enlarged heart. Sarah says feeling broken and lost in the wake of losing two parents in such a short time and so young that, she just knew she wanted to do 'something meaningful and something that would help her to find focus and healing' while helping and inspiring others to do the same. For her, The Outback Long Ride is the answer to that soul searching and will spread awareness far and wide for her future endeavours of her own charity 'A Daughter's Way'; where she aims to create all expenses paid weekend to 7 day retreats, group camps or group expeditions run by trained mental health professionals, and developed by clinical psychologists and so much more for rural and regional families experiencing grief and loss in Australia. Sarah's looking forward to hopefully meeting lots of people along the way over the next 9-12 months as well as documenting her travels through photography that she's aiming to turn into a coffee table book, an exhibition and maybe even a documentary. You can Donate to The Long Outback Ride's page at the Pancare Foundation here. You can follow The Outback Long Ride at @_beneaththebrim on Instagram Or here on Facebook The Outback Long Ride; YouTube To support low survival Upper GI Cancers go to pancare.org.au  

I first met Cara Spreadborough when we started talking about a sponsorship for our newsletter Company on Sunday's. (So full disclosure, Cara's label Sorority Clothing has been paying for a sponsorship of our newsletter for the last six weeks. ) I knew not much about Cara's high end fashion boutique Inky and Moss in Roma QLD and nothing about her second online label Sorority Clothing. So we got chatting and I learned that most of the shirts in Sorority Clothing are made from Liberty Prints - big tick, huge tick for me.  We started exchanging Liberty stories …… and then she told me the story of how the business came to be. She's lost her identical twin sister years ago - and this was Cara's Ode to her sister - and is a venture in which she feels a strong sense of spiritual guidance and good luck And then she started telling me about all the one-on-one attention and conversations she has with the people of Liberty in London.  This is what this podcast is all about. A new clothing label born in Roma Queensland with a direct line to the people in charge of Liberty in London and with shirts manufactured at Lake Como in Italy.  It happens, but not just in the cities. And we're here to celebrate it. Thankyou to Rabobank Australia for its support of this series of Company. You can sign up to our free weekly newsletter here.

Jodie Goldsworthy is a co-founder and director of Beechworth Honey based in Beechworth, Vic. When Jodie and her husband Steven decided - out of the blue* - to take on a beekeeping venture of their own they had not a bee hive to thier name. It was starting from scratch. What they did have was four generations of heritage of family knowledge on how to manage bees and produce honey. Beechworth Honey is a first generation business with a fourth generation heritage.  30 years on their business is the second largest brand in the Australian Honey market - and the biggest family owned Honey company in Australia.  Their ascent to this lofty high is built on hard work and a determined integrity to treat all aspects and people within the business how they would like to be treated themselves. Simple mantra. Big results. *There was never any encouragement nor plan for Jodie to follow in her family's beekeeping footsteps. For all she knew she was set to be a teacher. Thank you to Rabobank Australia for its support of this Series of the Company podcast.

When you go to a stadium in Australia or even just a local footy match - singing, chanting and war cries are not uncommon. We've all been there - and experienced the power, that feeling, of people coming together and singing.  In Britain is also the case for live orchestra events. But in Australia, this is unheard of.  Enter Bourby Webster a pom from rural UK, who trained in classical live music at Oxford University and is now determined to change the zeitgeist around live orchestral performances in rural and regional Australia.  When Bourby moved to Perth - it was for love. There was no thought, nor ambition to change the culture of music in Australia.  But when her relationship failed…She looked around her and noticed a huge gaping hole in the culture of Australian orchestra.  Her idea was to try and recreate the British model of touring a symphony orchestra to regional communities and so she created the Perth Symphony Orchestra; music for everyone, anywhere.  People laughed. Asked if she was joking? ‘This is impossible, people won't travel to come to an event like this' They don't need it, they don't want it. There's no doubt she's been up against it. There's a huge cultural ‘cringe' to overcome. To add - Western Australia already had a symphony orchestra, WASO which is longstanding, respected and well known.  This is a Manson Podcast Network production in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

From Ayr to Mt Isa to Melbourne to New York; entreprenuer Kim McDonnell's social enterprise, Thankful is an example of how to successfully outgrow your boots, and roots, in regional Australia. Years ago Kim and her partner sold *everything* chasing a feeling of fulfilment in the creation of her social enterprise Thankful. When no-one in Australia would invest nor take her seriously, she uprooted her family - and a very comfortable life in Melbourne - and took them to a lesser life in New York. We talk about 'ambition' and 'innovation' on this podcast and Kim is a shining example of what can be achieved if you are courageous enough to go for it, and keep going and going and going. Cliched I know. But Kim's persistence has seen her glean support and recognition from the United Nations, members of the Rockerfeller family and the Ford Motor Group family. SafeFul App: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/saveful/id6460647948 Thankful Podcast Thankful4Soil Film Thankful4Farmers initiative

Sleep, Eat, Work, Rest, Play, Mess about, Sing, Read, Eat, Bath, Read, Sleep - Rinse and Repeat. This is the life of Channel 7's Sunrise presenter Edwina Bartholomew and also of you, and me and anyone with children.  When it comes to Edwina, sure there are a few extra's thrown in there like a nanny and invitations to fancy shows and opening nights - but ultimately she's a mother, who's very successful in her high profile job, but who also spends hours scrolling interiors on Instagram and naps during the days. When I watch Edwina on Sunrise. I just wonder how she does it all? Like really, 3am alarms and two young children and a high profile and extra business ventures: it's a lot. But I also really admire the path that she has carved for herself as a self proclaimed ‘devotee' to country life.  And we need people like Edwina in our corner - someone who's happy to champion our causes, projects, challenges, the special people. Today we talk about her TV presenter life, her daily routine and we get excited about her latest venture Saltash Farm at Carcoar near Orange in central west NSW. This podcast is produced by Manson Podcasting Network in partnership with Rabobank Australia.

Bec Bignell is a West Australian film maker on the road to big things, her biggest project to-date, her film HOMESPUN was picked up by streaming giant STAN last year after being acquired by ABC Commercial.  Bec's main mission in her film making is to challenge stereotypes everywhere. She's pushing boundaries in her narratives, her characters and in the way she produces film. In many ways this film is based on a lifetime of observation and for that Rural Australia is lucky to have her - because her perspective as someone who grew up in WA's wheatbelt runs deep, drawing on her experiences and observations of childhood, community, stereotypes, expectations, hard times, good times - its endless.  HOMESPUN was was financed in large part by Bec personally. It was shot in just two-weeks with locals - who had no acting experience - featured as many of the main characters. I've watched it a few times now and there are so many relatable moments, that hit deep in parts and just make you laugh in others. It's refreshing to see how humorous and engaging these kind of characters can be on screen - because really, we've never seen rural Australia depicted in this way before. You have to make time to see this film.  Here's the trailer - https://youtu.be/IGBMaGS3G_s And here's the film on Stan - https://www.stan.com.au/watch/homespun-2021 Thank you to Rabobank for sponsoring this season of Company. To fully immerse yourself in what we do, sign up to our free weekly newsletter at mansonpodcasting.com

Annabelle Hickson talks about the idea of feeling ideas running through her blood like some ind of addict. But when it comes to her print magazine and modern media business Galah  Press - she IS an addict, a women possessed, to flip the narrative on life in rural Australia. As an original outsider to rural Australia (she grew up in Sydney's north shore) the mirror that she holds up to people and projects in the bush - is flattering -  and it reverberates light deep into the corners of our communities - into the lives of people that sometimes even we ignore - musicians, artists, creatives, artisans - painting a full, diverse and awesome picture of where we live;  Don't be deterred if you think you have heard Annabelle's story before, today we discuss the behind the scenes business mentality of her venture. How does Annabelle single-handedly manage and grow this business with no large scale advertisers, a 160,000 dollar printing bill three times a year and contract staff that need to be paid.  Galah Press consists of a thrice annually print magazine, two newsletters, multiple events, a new hard cover book - and more things to come, like a podcast and a writers course.   Explore it all at digital.galahpress.com Company is Manson Podcasting Network's flagship show alongside, Daily Routines, Women Behind Wool and Garden.  We're online at mansonpodcasting.com if you want to catch-up or share any of these shows.   To fully embed yourself in our community use the website to sign up to our FREE weekly newsletter - it lands on Sunday mornings - and I like to think of it the weekend magazine but in digital format, and curated especially for people like you and me!  substack.companyonsundays.com This Season of Company is sponsored by Rabobank. We've been talking about its Client Councils and Community Fund today - if you have a community initiative that will help your community thrive the Rabobank team would love to know about it. rabobank.com.au

Growing up as one of four children on a sheep farm in southern New South Wales, I think I always knew that it would not be me that was coming home to work as the 'farmer'. This was never implicity suggested, it was just a feeling. For females who've grown up on a farm, I'll bet many of you had the same feeling. Today's guest Jess Howard certainly did. She grew up on a farm in western Queensland and a career or life in agriculture didn't quite feel 'right' to her - but with such a strong attachment to the land and place where she grew up, this has always been an uncomfortable feeling. As she carved her path in jobs and vocations internationally, there was always a yearning to return home, to be able to 'contribute' to agriculture and her family's long held love of life on the land. Is this a feeling you've ever had? I most certainly had. Here are my musings on this - Just because you don't want to be a 'farmer' does not mean you don't want to be a part of the life on the land, to help build up the industry at large, the communities that live there and do something with your talents that honour your family's values and business direction. Up until now, it's been hard for families to recognise, support and celebrate the multitude of skills that could be put to good use in an agricultural operation. Don't get me wrong - this is definitely changing now, but it's a quandary that's been felt by women all over, and at a very deep level. If you're not a 'farmer' then your not really involved. I'm not sure if this is making sense, so I'll let you listen on this conversation with Jess Howard, editor of Bush Journal and one of the women of the Bush Collective - an instagram platform celebrating the beauty of bush life through incredible photography, seriously there's nothing second grade about this account. You can pre-order the Beauty in the Bush Collective's hard cover book - Bush Life here.

There's no deny-ing it today's guest is infatuated with routines, systems and being organised. Bridget Johns lives on a broad-acre cropping, sheep and goat farm on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia with her husband and two children She's a mother, organisational expert and a grants writer and founder of Be Simply Free. Bridget teaches women to go from being time poor to time rich by decluttering their homes, phones, calendars and minds. What I have found fascinating is that Bridget is also driven by data and as you will hear in this interview, many of the things she does in her life are formulated with reference to data - the time she get's up for example of 4.44am. But please don't let this turn you off. It's true, I don't think I have ever met anyone so organised but I am very glad Bridget Johns has come into my life and I most certainly am taking heed from her approach to managing her farm household. You can find Bridget and her courses at besimplyfree.com.au or @be.simplyfree on Instagram.

Today's guest Sophie Weeding is rural girl born and bred making her make as a mark as super talent bed and breakfast creator in Tasmania. Born of late nights scrolling on Pinterest while breastfeeding her babies – Soph realised she could channel her skills in design and branding in a venture recreating old homes near her farm in Tasmania. To-date she has three super gorgeous accommodation options under her belt, The Bruny Boathouse, Raffah House and a new addition - a beach shack on the east coast of Tasmania Sophie is a full time mum, secretary of the local Agricultural Show and her love project is the renovation and management of these three Bed and Breakfasts. Sophie lives in Oatlands in Tasmania with her husband Nick and her two children Willie and Archie Soph actually great up in the lush landscape of Western Victoria, so I wondered how on earth she ended up in Tassie in the first place. Instagram @raffahhouse @brunyboathouse @mansonpodcasting Or sign up to our newsletter at companyonsundays.substack.com

Today we head to north, and then West, to the main street of Tambo in Queensland. To meet the current co-owner of Tambo Teddies – a beautiful bush business born of adversity – as in when the price for wool was taking a pounding in 1992, over 40 years ago now. “A brain storming session during a workshop developed the idea that Tambo could assist the wool industry, encourage tourists and create employment by making unique teddy bears from wool pelts and stuff them with wool.” 40 years later, Tambo Teddies remains. Its current owners are Tammy Johnson and Alison Shaw who I speak with today.

The first is The Suite Set, a business making and manufacturing hospital packing bags, and the second is Sally Branson Consulting, a crisis management advisory business. She is a mum to two young kiddos aged four and five. I feel a tad embarrassed to say I've never come across Sally before, but I should have as she's a bit of a big deal, having previously been the State Director of the National Party, Senior Advisor to Federal Minster for Small Business and Press Sec to Prime Minister Tony Abbott.   You can find out about the minute of Sally's day-to-day routine on our Daily Routines podcast too.   The best way for you to stay across the growing swag of podcasts coming from the Manson Podcasting Network is to sign up to our newsletter companyonsundays.substack.com Or via @mansonpodcasting on Instagram and mansonpodcasting.com. It's a total bargain $49/year of $4.99 a month. Thanks for tuning in – I'll be back next week when we speak with wonderful bush business Tambo Teddies.

Rosie is a photographer, videographer, and creative director based in Esperance on the south coast of Western Australia. Having spent her childhood in the bush and the beach, Rosie works as a freelancer specialising in these areas - shooting everything from farmers and machinery, to ocean-side fashion and lifestyle campaigns. With a background in journalism and a passion for creativity and storytelling, Rosie does everything from shooting photo and video, to styling, production and creative direction, and writing. Every day is different. When she isn't shooting and creating, she's often out exploring her backyard with her trusty side-kick Nelson (of the red Kelpie kind) by her side, ever in search of adventures and inspiration. Her passions are rural and regional Australia, storytelling, mental health, psychology, creativity, design, regional development, swimming, skating, adventuring and exploring. Thank you to Bec Bignell who suggested I interview Rosie for Company! You can hear the interview we did with Bec for Graziher's Life on the Land' here.

The older I get, the more I fall in love with England and its gardens and landscapes. And today's guest speaks to that and another of my loves, magazines and publishing. Skye O'Neill is an Aussie now living in the UK. Last year she and a friend started Fieldfare Press a print journal about landscape, gardens and most of all place. I forever interested in how these project blossom from an idea to the real deal, and this publication in particular is interesting as it's run across three continents. Australia, the UK and the USA.

My guest today really is living the life I would love to live as a rural content maker. Kimberley Furness is the editor and founder of Oak Magazine in Victoria and the A Friend of Mine Podcast. This year she was the Victorian winner of the Agrifutures Rural Women's Award, which will see her creating an audio version of her popular magazine and I learnt she's just bought a van that she's fitting out so she can travel to rural areas and record more stories. To me THAT is the dream. I love magazines, like really I cannot get enough of them and its beyond exciting to see so many of them flourishing in regional Australia – Oak is no exception and it was a delight for me to steal and hour with Kimberley to record this conversation. Manson's Daily Routines podcast is weeks away from launching. If you want to know more, you can find the trailer episode at mansonposting.com or wherever you find your podcasts OR the easiest and funnest way is to subscribe to our newsletter which you can do via the shownotes, our website or via @mansonpodcasting on Instagram. Sign up to our newsletter here.

Today's guest is Dimity Brassil from A Lasting Tale a professional interview service for people with a lifetime of stories to share.Family History especially in the spoken word has the ability to deeply touch those who consume it – can you imagine listening to your loved ones speak, years after they have left this earth?What a treasured gift, heirloom and a legacy that could be.Well, this is the work of Dimity Brassil and her business A Lasting Tale. Dimity spends her time interviewing and record personal oral histories of people all over Australia.She lives in Albury and most of her work is centered about this location, but not all of it and one day Dimity hopes A Lasting Tale will have people working and recording in communities all over Australia.

I think today guest has one of the coolest jobs. Melinda O'Donohue makes wedding dresses, not from a swanky studio in city but from her farm near Gurley in north west NSW.Isn't that just so fabulous?!Melinda's Instagram profile reads, 'Soon to be retired bespoke wedding dress maker doing up an 1860/1900 Australian homestead in North West NSW with her clever husband, Des.'I think she's trying to retire, but the brides keep coming and coming and coming.

Today's guest Louise FitzRoy is a good friend, and a total wonder woman – she lives her life between her family farm at Guyra in the NSW New England and the Cayman Islands.She's successfully infiltrating schools all over Australia with her paddock to plate curriculum, she's a published author, owns and runs an online yoga platform and to boot, she's won a Walkley.Total overachiever – but sweet as pie at the same time and good fun too.

Bec Fing from House Paddock Consulting, is a master of routines. She is a professional get things done person, get systems in place, your shop in order, life organised – the whole bit. Bec lives on the outskirts of Goondowindi with her husband, and three children and has built her business from nothing to something that consults all over Australia, almost daily. To add she has a side business Bec Fing Designs. House Paddock Consulting started as a consultancy in the Work Health and Safety space and has evolved to become one, that's focused on helping women, mostly in rural areas, better manage all the balls, and juggle all the things.I think you're going to find this chat really helpful. You will actually learn some tips to help you manage your time better because Bec is so generous with what she does so get your pens ready. It's like a mini house paddock consulting session.

Hay, Hell and Booligal are words made famous by much loved Australian poet Banjo Patterson and today I'll take you to the so-called 'Hell' (which isn't really hell at all, in fact it's buzzing with movie stars at the moment)It's the One Tree Plain, on the Cobb Highway between Hay and Booligal and it's home now to the also in-famous One Tree Hotel – which might be familiar to you without you even knowing – its façade, a timber building, with an iron roof on a flat plain that stretched forever is quintessentially Australian.Sally Smith, from Hay is the owner of the One Tree Hotel – which has quite a story – and the reason I wanted to speak with was because right now the multi million dollar film Max Max is being rehearsed and later filmed there.

In the Association's one hundred year long history, its women have become known as the reliable, just-get-stuff-done kinda people and it rings true to this day.In part two of my conversation with Liz Harfull, the author commissioned to write 'Women who Changed Country Australia' for the CWA of NSW's 100th birthday. Liz introduces us to some of the trailblazers of the NSW CWA – the women who she wishes she's been able to share a scone and a tea with.

The legend of the iconic Country Women Association makes up the threads of the cloth that is worn (and honoured and respected) by many, if not all the women in rural Australia.As a rural journalist, some of the stories told to me by women of the CWA reflect what I consider to be ‘real acts of kindness and camaraderie' in some of the most isolated communities in Australia. They are my favourites.And for my guest today, author Liz Harfull there's a similar pull to explore and celebrate the mighty women of the CWA.This series of Company is kindly sponsored by the CWA of NSW. This year, it's celebrating its 100 year anniversary in NSW.To honour all that has been and gone within the organisation Liz Harfull has been commissioned to write the book – 'Women Who Changed Country Australia.'Liz spoke to me from her lovely old cottage in the Adelaide Hills, where we started our conversation reliving her childhood as the daughter of a dairy farmer in south east South Australia.

Today's guest has rural roots that keep her sane, especially at the moment.Stephanie is the Senior Editor for the Asia Pacific at a group called Storyful: A News and Intelligence Agency.Each day from her home in Sydney, she verifies content on social media before distributing it to news organisations all over the world. It's a media role that would not have existed 10 years ago, and as you will learn, her task of fact checking grass roots content is so important in the process of getting stories of things like – the war in Ukraine – to air in an accurate manner.I've been thinking of her, in the last few weeks, it would have been so intense.Outside of her work with Storyful, Steph has led an extraordinary career which has taken her from her home town of Gunnedah to the newsrooms of Prime News initially then the BBC, SkyNews London, Al Jazeera English and she's been a supervising producer with Channel 7's Sunrise. She's worked with TV teams in Mongolia and Bangladesh for World Vision and Solomon Islands with Unicef.Steph is a TedX talker - and now she has a podcast of her own – And We're Rolling – which interviews some of the best female correspondents, presenters and reporters in the world.Thank you to the CWA of NSW – Celebrating 100 years in 2022 for supporting this series of Company.You can get more Company goodness by signing up to the newsletter at mansonandcompany.com

I'm really chuffed to be bringing you this very special live recording of the Company podcast from regional co-working space, The Collective, Grenfell run by Belinda Mahwinney and Ant Dixon. Jane Cay grew up in Cooma, she went away to boarding school in Mittagong, her first ‘big girl' job was at IBM in Sydney, then she fell in love, with Oli, quit her job and moved her life to Cooma. In a way it was the beginning of the rest of her life as the Big Bird of BirdsNest, and it was a path she never envisaged.She moved her life to Cooma. Bought retail clothing shop, High Country Outfitters.In 2008 she took the business Online, everyone said she was crazy. Online wasn't a thing back then. The business grew and grew and grew, Jane and Oli had three children and life was busy. At some point Jane googled ‘How do I calm down?' and alongside a survey of staff, Jane was set off on a new trajectory of self awareness, that ultimately has seen her family owned business and Jane's leadership journey, go from strength to strength to strength.In 2017 BirdsNest came 4th in the BRW Great Places to Work Awards and then nest year Jane was awarded number one in the Top 50 People in E-commerce in Internet Retailing. Today we're going to delve into this journey, with a particular focus on Jane's journey of leadership and self awareness.

My guest today interior designer Sheila Smith is a glowing example that a childhood in rural Australia is no hinderance to development of a world-class business in the bush in later life.Sheila's career path is fascinating and completely left-field. She worked alongside designers in Melbourne, in the underground mines of the Pilbara, WA, she found herself cooking on super yachts and drinking Imperial bottles of Dom Perignon in the Caribbean and finally landed back in the main street of her hometown, running her own interiors business and BnB from a historic bank that's been in the family for generations.Sign-up to the Company on Sunday newsletter to see Sheila's personal podcast and interior magazine recommendations. mansonandcompany.com

Apparently Beef Snacking is a thing - and bringing it to the fore is the mission of Emma Williams who, alongside her mother, is the brains behind Impact Meat – an ag start-up selling good looking beef jerky and biltong using Australian beef.Emma grew up in Sydney's north shore, but the biggest influence on her life, her stock and station agent grandfather, lived thousands of kilometres away in Tamworth. And there was no doubt about it, despite not living on a farm, Emma was always going to study Ag at University.She's worked at grain company Manildra, is the marketing manager at global digital grain management company AgriDigital and is driving Impact Meat in her spare time.This series of Company would not be possible without support from the CWA of NSW - Celebrating 100 years in 2022.

Today's guest is the epitome of no-fuss go-getterism! Kate Hufton is the former co-owner of The Sir George pub and restaurant (and now accomodation) in Jugiong, NSW.A Sunday walk with her mother, landscape designer, Liz Prater,Six years ago, after Kate's engagement party, she and her mother took a walk around the ground of the derelict pub at Jugiong, flippantly throwing around the dreamy idea of one-day making it their own renovation project. With no real intent the conversation was let go - but when the pub come up for sale, they ended up as the owners.A rural road trip ensued after a google search of the 'best beer gardens in NSW' - and as a result the pair learnt there was a real demand for big, bold and beautiful beer gardens and set about creating their own under the mantra, 'build it and they will come'.The end product was a world class pub unlike any other in rural Australia, that put the small village of Jugiong on the map and kick started many other small businesses and on-farm accomodation venues in the area.The Sir George was sold in late 2021 and Kate now works in a local sheep stud.

Breaking into normal transmission today to bring you my Pitch for the Buy From The Bush x PayPalAu Big Break Competition.Thank you for listening! Skye xx

Kate Greenwood has always had an itch.An itch to make and create. But as is often the case, it took a while for her to take her urge to make things seriously.From her home near Molong in Central New South Wales, Kate cuts, rolls and bakes, fabulously colourful earrings and accessories, under her label Greenwood Designs which now boasts more than 14,000 followers on Instagram – and can be found in almost any groovy and fun shop in any country town!You can find Kate here on Instagram. Thank you to Lindner Quality Socks our generous sponsor for this Series.

Kristy McGregor was born on a 1 acre block in Camden now on the outskirts of Sydney. She's the lady behind New Zealand's, Shepherdess the rural womens brand including a magazine, events, live social media get-togethers and more. If this isn't enough to pique your interest, let me tell you that although Kristy now lives in NZ, a huge part of her heart in Australia's outback. She helped pioneer the awesome, Channel Country Ladies Lunch as well as studying social work at CSU in Wagga Wagga. There's a whole lot going on - but once you know her story it all makes sense. You can find Shepherdess at shepherdess.co.nz or @shepherdess.nz on Instagram. Thank you to our Sponsor for this series Lindner Quality Socks in Crookwell, NSW.

Today's guest, Denise McClelland Yates from Grenfell in central west New South Wales, rings true precisely the sort of women I want to tap into: ambitious women living in rural Australia. Denise has never let the fact that she lives in a small – yet strong – rural community hold her back. She's worked so many careers - and after this chat –and most things she turns her hand to she becomes a master at! She's also a perfectionist, and a fellow Virgo. Denise's latest business is as a holistic health coach for integrative nutrition. Her business Lorien Well encompasses all facets of health, physical, mental, hormonal, sexual, relationships - the whole bit! I hope you love this chat as much as I did. Thank you to our Winter Series sponsor Linder Quality Socks.

Today's guest is someone you want to put on your online shopping list. Even if you don't put anything in the cart, the wonders that Lucinda Newton works with her hands are just beautiful.Her brand is Luone, a handcrafted jewellery business with pieces that are timeless and 100% stunning.Lou says she always been obsessed with jewellery. Since childhood, she's eyed off the jewellery of every woman that's crossed her path. Although she didn't initially choose this vocation, all her tendencies pulled her towards where she is now, from a childhood growing up on a farm at Bellata to her own open and airy studio shop front in Port Fairy in Victoria.Thank you to Lindner Quality Socks the sponsor for this season of the podcast.

The Bread Tag Project started when Shani Nottingham's boys were hungry and devouring tonnes of bread a week and leaving the bread tags all over the kitchen. Shani's creative mind naturally took over - and she decided this was going to be her point of difference as an artist. That was almost four years ago and now The Bread Tag project has become a huge beast, fuelled by bread tags send to Shani, in Cowra in central west NSW from all over the world and not just envelopes full, huge bags and boxes full. Today you will learn of what's become of Shani's idea - which is a ever evolving project with 7 main aims. If you know of anyone who would be interested please forward this podcast to them and listen in for Shani's best contact details so you can take part too.

This is a story about taking a rundown building in the main street of a country town – and being bold with it to create a beautiful space that people will travel hours to experience.I can think of many country towns that have spaces like this – all they need is someone creative to take hold – and I can also think of many women living in rural towns with the style, nous and grit to do this.Elise Croker wanted to create an accommodation option in Crookwell, NSW that made you feel like you were in London, with old books, artwork and pieces made with love. But she also wanted the space to have a boho feel and be fun and exciting at the same time. The result is her beautiful BnB, Mister Munro in the main street of Crookwell. It's clever and creative and cosy and I love it.If you're thinking about taking the plunge with an old house or building in your town or on your farm then I hope this story can be an inspiration to you.Thank you to Lindner Quality Socks the sponsor for this Series of Company. Incidentally, Lindner is just across the road from Mister Munro in Crookwell. Get yourselves some cosy socks, walk across the road, pour a red wine and read a book or watch a movie while settling into Elise's Mister Munro.

In the main street of the southern NSW town of Crookwell you'll find a small building stocked with rows and rows of colourful socks, some are thick and fluffy, others are thin and refined. Out the back green machines plug away, to make the heritage socks, sewing, shaping and creating some of the most beautiful feet warmers in the country.The Linder Family of Lindner Quality Socks has been making socks for 10 generations and today you'll hear their incredible story which includes moving a young family from Germany to Goulburn, Australia without any English speaking skills, starting up a factory in Crookwell, sourcing wool from local farmers, venturing into tourism and spending a lifetime trying to create the perfect sock. Thank you to Andrew, Linda and Gisela Lindner for sharing their time and their story with me today.Thank you to Lindner Socks who are the Series Sponsor for Company.You can follow them @lindnersocks on Instagram.

Today I’ve decided to bring you a little bonus episode for two reasons. I think today’s guest is a pretty cool chick and someone you need to know and I thought it was a good chance to tell you about the Women Behind Wool initiative that myself and my very good friend Penny Ashby are running right now. For the next six weeks of so – we want you follow our @womenbehindwool on Instagram – and then take a look, and a listen – at the short films and podcasts telling you the stories of some of the most impressive women behind the Australian wool industry.As we are in the initial stages of building this community – we need all the help we can get – as well as following us on instagram, the community will reach further and grow faster is you can take 2 minutes to subscribe to our podcast. Rate it and then tap out a small review. Thank you.For today's podcast, I want to meet Atty Mitchell, she was one of the Women to first take the stage for our Women Behind Wool project. Atty is a catwalk model, in fact- she used the face of Louis Vuitton but she’s also a farm girl – who loves nothing more than being in the sheep yards with a drenching gun in hand. To me, her story is just fascinating and goes to show that anyone can become anything and that farm life really is the best!If you want to hear more from Atty and her mother Caroline and her grandmother Tink you can watch their film and/or podcast below. Short Film - Watch Here Podcast - Listen Here

As you know this Series of Company has been brought to you with support from Amanda at the The Grampians Goods Co and this interview was her idea and I’m so glad she alerted me to these two women. Former journalist Kirsten Diprose and founder of Rural Women’s Day Jackie Elliot sound they are - in their own rights - busy women beyond belief, with heads that bubble with ideas that later somehow see the light of day!Their latest venture a new podcast. It’s called Ducks on the Pond and it will feature discussions with women all Australian around hand picked themes that important to women living in the country.You all know how I love a new podcast so it was with great excitement that I wanted to learn more about Jackie and Kirsten, what this is all about and how they came to be working together.

My guest today is the co-owner of The Grenfell Collective.A beautiful co-working space in Grenfell in central west New South Wales.Dr Belinda Mahwinney and her partner Ant Dixon took on this venture – to solve a personal problem, Belinda wanted a space where she could work in town, and they both wanted to create a modern, stylish environment to number one: hold client meetings but also to inspire the other sole workers in the small town.

The crazy lovely artist Zoe Young is my guest today. As a child – Zoe and her family moved around with the seasons – this meant a circuit of 3 primary schools, one in Sydney, one at Crackenback near the Snowy Mountains and one in the NSW Southern Highlands. All came with their separate cultures, surroundings and group of friends and colourful community characters.As a result the spectrum of childhood influences for Zoe is hugely diverse – and can be seen in her growth as a professional artist.I really loved this chat as we get lost on tangents with Zoe educating me about what it’s like to be a professional artist – she’s also quiet hilarious – for example she was certain she would make a living as a supermodel like Naomi Campbell when she grew up and she used to ‘lose’ her ski school group wandering the streets of Prague while training to be a pro racing skiier.

Victoria McGrane of the Scenic Route is a daydreamer with a big imagination and she's at her best when she's surrounded by nature, so it makes perfect sense that she runs her textile business The Scenic Route from the road in 'Daisy' her converted 1990 Toyota Coaster.

Today’s guest is total sunshine and I cannot believe the size of the empire she has built from regional Australia. Kristy Withers is the founder of Incy Interiors, a multi-million dollar designer kids furniture business based Orange. Kristy grew up as one of four children on a sheep farm in Oberon. She took the skills gained from working St George Bank and in marketing and advertising for EBay before the days of online and took the plunge into sourcing, designing and manufacturing her own kids beds without any experience in the field.This year Incy Interiors is celebrating it’s 10th Birthday and there are some seriously exciting collaborations happening this year to coincide with this.It's not surprising really as Kristy is another one of those human energiser bunnies who're now popping up all over regional Australia. We chat about Sundays at home, growing up in a big family, her stylish Mum, how she built her business, collaborations and dreams for the future. This Series of Company is produced in partnership another awesome rural business, The Grampians Goods Co. Just enter the code MANSON10 at the checkout for a 10% discount for a limited time.

Welcome back! After a long hiatus here I'm pleased to tell you that the next 6 episodes will be brought to you in partnership with the Grampians Goods Co. I’ve been lucky enough to get to know the women behind this brand Amanda Cochran as a part of this partnership – and when you hear her story I know that you’ll be on board with her too. While she didn't grow up in the country, she has grown to love the majesty of the Grampians, and through many - rather large- up’s and down’s has build her brand around her love of the her home and its surrounds.

Today’s guest is a 15 year old business entrepreneur from Greenethrope in central west New South Wales. Sienna Capra has just launched her own brand of Tea for teenagers, called Spill The Tea Co. She launched it from the comfort of her room at boarding school, winged by a gang of girls cheerleading her on, and helping to taste test, critique and perfect the taste and feel of her product – which is designed to fill a gap in the market – tea to help sooth issues faced by teens and early adults.