Introducing The Antipodean Collection—A New Take on Our Heritage Collection Tartan Blanket
It is with positively electric excitement that I’m able to finally announce the details of our NEW range of bespoke recycled wool picnic blankets—The Antipodean Collection—just in time for the myriad spring picnics and cottage garden parties we’re all aching to experience after a long, dark winter.
With spring rolling around, blossoms springing from the ground and humanity taking a collective exhale after what we’ve all been through the past few years—what we’re still going through—we thought it was time to freshen up our blanket range.
Introducing The Antipodean Collection Picnic Check Blankets; made with recycled wool, these thick plaid blankets are a bold take on our Heritage Collection; their bespoke, contrasting colour combinations symbolising the coexistence of light and dark within nature, and within ourselves.
We selected these colour combinations specifically to create this exclusive designer range, their THICK check pattern honouring our need to go BIG, to stay open to moments of expansion and grandiose adventures, with BIG feels, BIG dreams and BIG ideas.
Perfectly balanced with their muted tones grounding us in reality, inviting us to be at peace with retreat and self-nurture, yet woven in harmony with a POP of colour, a symbol of joy and optimism.
‘Antipodean’... What’s That All About?
The Antipodean Collection celebrates life’s vital opposites; expansion and contraction, yin and yang, chaos and comfort, hope and despair. We’re reminded that where shadow exists, so too does light; an ever-present equipoise bringing about stability, composure, equanimity…
‘Antipodes’ comes from a Greek word meaning ‘with feet opposite (ours)’, and was adopted by Britain to describe Australia and New Zealand, referring to our position on the globe as diametrically opposite theirs.
The Good News Blanket We’ve All Been Waiting For
The Antipodean Collection Check Blankets will bring an air of optimism into any space, whether it’s inside your four walls, or accompanying you on future adventures—dream big and DON’T let the bad news stories from our weary world erode your joy, mute your grand adventure dreaming, or steal your ability to tolerate life’s contradictions.
Despite the endless unknowns stretching out before us right now, we can be sure of some things; the world will keep turning, the seasons will always change, and life’s opposites will always confuse and challenge us. Just a part of this chaotic human experience, right?!
The Antipodean Collection Is Available in Seven Bespoke Colour Combinations
We’ve had our creative caps on to bring you a collection of colour combinations that really speak to the season we’re living in, while also paying homage to the beautiful Grampians region (Gariwerd) that is our namesake.
The Antipodean Collection is available in seven bespoke colour combinations; BELLFIELD, WATTLESEED, SHIRAZ, CYPRESS, FERN, ASH, and TERRA ROSSA, each inspired by the different elements of the rugged grandeur of the Grampians region; the mountains, the waters, the terrain, the landscape, the vineyards, the flora and the fauna.
Get to Know the Colour Combinations
Bellfield
Contrasting the panoramic mountain views of the Grampians National Park (Gariwerd) is Lake Bellfield, resting silently amongst ancient monoliths. The local water supply, Lake Bellfield nourishes thousands of farming communities throughout the region.
For us, her gentle, glassy presence acts as an opportunity for self-reflection, for seizing opportunities to go inwards, to retreat and decelerate... All the while, her powerful vastness reminding us of nature’s many dualities (and our own).
Our Bellfield Antipodean Check Blanket is a deep navy balanced with soft brown, reminding us of that inextricable connection between water and earth.
Wattleseed
‘Wattleseed’, a native superfood that has nourished Australia’s First Peoples for millennia, is harvested from various species of Acacia, of which there are almost one thousand species throughout Australia. Wattleseed plantations are scattered throughout the low areas between our rugged Grampians ranges (Gariwerd), including grassy woodland and the wetter pockets of bush.
For us, wattleseed symbolises patience and resiliency. Wattle seeds need to survive drawn-out periods of dormancy, deep underground, their super hard husks protecting the seeds inside for up to 20 years until they’re able to germinate after bushfires sweep through their home.
Our Wattleseed Antipodean Check Blanket is a balance of muted, grounding light brown, blended with a brilliant shot of gold celebrating the wattle blossom bursting through the region in spring.
Shiraz
‘Shiraz’ is a nod to the Grampians region’s stellar reputation for cool climate Shiraz, as well as the celebrated excellence of our artisan winemakers. With historic wineries such as Seppelt and Bests, and boutique wineries like Grampians Estate & Fallen Giants, the Grampians wine region is a world-class wine destination, and we think that’s worth celebrating!
Our Shiraz Antipodean Check Blanket is a deep, elegant burgundy blended with soft brown to bring a grounding, soul-warming piece of beauty to your home.
Cypress
Cypress pine groves can be discovered by the discerning adventurer visiting the Grampians region, with pockets of Oyster Bay cypress pine (Callitris rhomboidea) nestled in Little Desert National Park. Uniquely adapted to survive fire and drought, native Australian cypress varieties are resilient and self-protective, and thrive in the sandstone ridges of the Grampians region.
To us, ‘Cypress’ represents that self-protective pocket within us all. As humans we have a primal, biological response to challenging times, and it’s different for all of us. Some dream, some fight, some scream, some retreat, some stay frozen in time. But regardless, we adapt to protect ourselves, our families and our communities.
Our Cypress Antipodean Check Blanket is an organic olive tone, paired with soft brown to subtly draw out the natural qualities of the blend.
Fern
Grampians National Park (Gariwerd) is a land of extremes, from the towering mountain monoliths with sweeping vistas to the low lying woodlands, wetlands and fern gullies. Ferns thrive in the most uncommon of situations; where many other plants perish, a fern will flourish.
Our Fern Antipodean Check Blanket is a soft chartreuse, gorgeously blended with light brown to create a statement piece for your home or picnic basket.
Ash
Sometimes, we just need to burn it all down. ‘Ash’ represents the death of the old, the stagnant, the heavy, so that new growth can peek its way through the charred remains of our past. It reminds us to embrace any and all opportunities to throw off invisible shackles, to allow nature’s metamorphosis to propel us forward into new ways of being.
Our Ash Antipodean Check Blanket is a charcoal tone, blended with a soft light brown to bring out the moody, self-reflective parts of oneself… to release, to grow, to shine.
Terra Rossa
‘Terra Rossa’—Italian for ‘red soil’—is a nod towards the unique geological makeup of the Grampians region, where millions of years of storms have painted large pockets of rock faces a rusty red. This iron-rich varnish creates a distinctive desert-like glow that visitors travel from far and wide to witness, here in the Grampians (Gariwerd).
Our Terra Rossa Antipodean Check Blanket is a deep rust blended with a grounding soft brown, reminiscent of this ancient geological phenomenon, a reminder that even if we might not notice it, everything is always changing, evolving… including ourselves.
Made with Recycled Wool
Our Antipodean Check Blankets are made from 75% recycled wool and 25% mixed fibres, rather than being made from virgin wool.
Recycled wool includes used wool garments, blankets and offcuts from the woollen mill that get meticulously sorted into colour groups, shredded into individual fibres, re-spun into yarn and finally rewoven into blankets.
This journey skips the dyeing process, saves water and chemicals, and eliminates the resulting wastewater.
It means that your blankie is no stranger to rough treatment and is, therefore, less precious and more practical – rugged luxury at its best!
Learn more about our sustainability commitments.
Photo credits: Hannah Puechmarin X Albert and Grace
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