While there is plenty of accommodation in Healesville itself, in the township, the best healesville accommodations are found nestled into the gorgeous countryside around the town. But out of all the cosy B&B’s, lush day spa retreats and modern hotels there is one accommodation that stands out above the rest.

Strathvea Guest House is one of those rare and unique experiences in the Yarra Valley. This original, heritage listed, 1920’s Guest House is surrounded by magnificent gardens with each room set away from the main building. A full country breakfast is included with every booking and rooms range from full modern ensuite to historic.

Just up the road from Strathvea is another great Yarra Valley Secret, it’s the Toolangi Tavern a country pub that is quickly getting a reputation for excellent hearty meals and extremely affordable prices. Great food in a picturesque setting.

The accommodation in the township of Healesville is plentiful but most lacks the true Yarra Valley experience that you get at Strathvea. The splendid colour of native birds that entertain you in the trees and birdbaths outside the original 1920’s Guest House dining room. The lush forest air that greats you each morning and superb Bed and breakfast hospitality without feeling like you just slept in someones spare room.

The room prices are on par with any Healesville accommodation but most of those don’t fuel your day trips with a full organic country breakfast on the house. So whether you off to the world renown Healesville Sanctuary or one of the many wine tasting circuits, you’ll be ready to take on it all.

If you looking for a accommodation that gives you access to the whole Yarra Valley experience we highly recommend that you look no further than Strathvea » Our best pick for Healesville Accommodation.

Technorati Tags: accommodation, Healesville, Healesville accommodation, Healesville Sanctuary, hotels, Shop, Strathvea Guest House, Toolangi Tavern, wineries, Yarra Valley

Artisan books is currently having its ninth annual beanie festival and this year it is more popular than ever with lots of cheerful and colourful mini works of wearable art enlivening Gertrude streets winter streetscape.

The winning beanie this year is a mermaid on an island complete with palm trees by textile artist Penny O’Neill. You can also try on the beanies and buy one for yourself but you had better hurry as it ends on the 27^th of June.

If you miss that one there is an exhibition of artists’ books coming up in August.

Artisan Books stocks all sorts of books and magazines relating to art, craft, design and culture. These include books on such subjects as costume, fashion, knitting, felting, jewellery making, tattooing, quilting, fabric, vintage furniture and corsets. I bought a book on the costumes of Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe and a gorgeous one on Amulets; a world of secret powers, charms and magic, by Sheila Paine. I also bought a $50 gift voucher for an artistic friend.

If there is something in particular you are looking for you can call Dan Ablethorpe on the number below or ask the knowledgeable staff and they may be able to get it in for you.

Artisan Books is at 159 Gertrude St, Fitzroy.

03 94164805 www.artisan.com.au

Tatiana Bistrin

But first a small snack. One can’t look at art on an empty stomach. At the gallery café I ordered the vegetarian frittata and a hot chocolate. When the frittata arrived it had been warmed but was still cold in the middle. The hot chocolate was thick and very hot. Meanwhile a Russian group at the next table who had arrived before me, kept asking where their frittatas were, and were assured that they were coming, After a while it turned out that their docket had been lost but they would now warm their frittatas. As I finished my snack and paid my bill, the Russians were still waiting. I decided not to complain about my cold in the middle frittata. Perhaps the staff were having a bad day. And anyway, I was there for the art.

I made my way up to the Myer Fashion and Textiles galleries to see

Persuasion: Fashion in the Age of Jane Austen

Fashion always says a lot about the ideas, technology, politics and moral codes of it’s time, and this is why looking at a bunch of old dresses can be so interesting. The first thing that I noted was how small the waists were. People were generally much smaller two hundred years ago. But the most characteristic feature of the period is not the smallness of the waistlines but their height. During the Regency period in England the Empire line ruled.

Empire refers to the period of the First French Empire when Napoleon Bonaparte also ruled. The highly decorative Rococo was passing out of mode and Neo classicism was coming in. Bonaparte saw himself as a modern Roman Emperor, even adopting the eagle as his symbol.

People in France were looking back to the architecture, sculpture, ideals and even fashion of the Classical Greco Roman period. Woman wore their hair up in an imitation of ancient Greek styles, and wore long dresses falling straight to the ground cinched in under the bust.
Some women at the French court went to the extreme of wearing sheer muslin dresses which were wetted over their breasts so they were quite clearly on display.

Besides the fact that English women lived in a colder climate, I’m sure they were far too sensible to follow their French sisters in this display, but they did follow the trend even though the two countries were at war. There was some military influence in the decoration of jackets and dresses and sleeves were so long they covered the hands. A Spencer was worn over the dress. This was a short fitted bolero style garment apparently named after Earl Spencer after he singed his tails in a fire place, and had them cut off starting a new trend.

Kashmir shawls became so popular for women that a new industry started in Scotland reproducing them, especially paisley designs.

There is a man’s outfit on display complete with riding boots and top hat that Mr Darcy would have worn rather dashingly. There are also items of furniture and personal items.

Go and have a look for yourself.

The exhibition runs till 8 Nov 2009
NGV International St Kilda Rd Melbourne

While you are there you might like to see:
The Satirical Eye: comedy and critique from Hogarth to Daumier.
An exhibition of satirical prints and drawings focusing on the period 1730-1870till 26 July 2009

• Where is the Ice Bar in Melbourne?
  
• How much does it cost?
• And everything you need to know before planning your trips to Melbourne’s only Ice Bar.

Let me first explain that the Melbourne Ice Bar is not just a bar its an event/attraction akin to going up to the Skydeck on top of the Eureka Tower… there is an entry fee and it is a unique experience. It’s for that very reason that we file this article under three categories; Melbourne Bars | See » Galleries | Do.

What’s an Ice Bar?

Ice Bar Stockholm (photo_by_andreasmisera)

Ice bar’s are a recent spin-off from the original ice bars and ice hotels in Scandinavia where the entire building is made of ice and each year the massive constructions melt and get recreated next season.

The Ice Hotel Sweden is now in its 20th year (2009/10) and has grown from what was originally, Arctic Hall and igloo-style exhibition space for a french ice artist in 1990. Today the ice hotel is a mammoth series of rooms from hotel suites, a great hall, an ice church and an ice bar, open to visitors from December to April each year.

Ice Bars can now be found in London, Milano, Helsinki, Chicago, Tokyo, Singapore, Bangalore and Queensland (just to name a few).

The first permanent ice bar in the world was the Absolut Icebar in Stockholm and it set the benchmark for the business model that most of the worlds ice bars now follow:

• Only the interior including furniture, sculptures and glasses is made of ice.
• The temperature is kept at a constant -5°C or -10°C.
• There is an entry fee which included your first drink/cocktail.
• Each group admitted is limited to approximately 30 to 60 people per session.
• Each ice bar session is timed and restricted to 30 to 40 minutes.
• The ice bar provides ski jackets, gloves and warm boots.
• Ice sculptures are often themed and changed seasonally.

So essentially you buy your ticket at reception, put on the winter gear provided and get admitted into a small refrigerated room/freezer which has been decorated internally to look like an igloo/ice cave. You are served your first drink in an ice glass and then spend 30 minutes, dancing, sitting on ice lounges with animal hide covers or posing for the awesome photo opportunities as coloured lights reflect off the sculptures from within.

Is there an Ice Bar in Melbourne?

Yes!

The Melbourne Ice Bar is independent from the Absolut Ice Bar Franchise and goes under the name “Chill On” Melbourne’s Ice Bar.

Where: 1st Floor, 296 Russell Street. Melbourne CBD

“Chill On” Ice Bar, Melbourne CBD

It’s on the eastern side of Russell St, near Little Lonsdale St, on the other side of the street is the back of the State Library.

The Melbourne Ice Bar lies hidden inside a narrow, 3 story red brick building with a big blue door marked ICE BAR!

How Much: $30 for Adults and $15 for children.

This includes clothing hire (ski jacket, boots and gloves), a free cocktail with unique names like; an Arctic Baboon, a Chilly Billy, a Frozen Mexican or a frosty fruity mocktail for the kids. Children accompanied by an adult are welcome before 6pm and the venue – including the regular bar and function center – can be booked for kids birthday parties, special events and product launches… fully supported by a state of the art audio visual system.

“The Ice Bar experience would be a great start to a very special night out where you’re trying to impress or mark the date as something unforgettable and the $60 (for two) is just a small part of a bigger budget spread over a romantic evening of fine dining and entertainment around the Melbourne CBD.”

When: 12 noon until late depending on the day
(11pm except Friday/Saturday 1am and Sunday it closes at 6pm)

The upstairs, ‘Ski Lodge’ (formally known as the funk bar) does operate as a regular cocktail bar in its own right, which is great considering visitors are restricted to spending only 30 minutes inside the actual Ice Bar. The Ski Lodge has no cover charge or entrance fee and contrasts the igloo experience wonderfully with its warm and charming atmosphere.

Finally… The Melbourne Ice Bar is an incredible photo opportunity for you and your family or friends and it’s a true Melbourne Secret that most Melbournians do not even realize they have, right on their own doorstep.

It is an unique experience that every resident of and visitor to Melbourne should undertake at least once in their lifetime.

—-

Official website » Ice Bar Melbourne

Several years ago I bought The Artist’s Way books by Julia Cameron. She talked of using regular walks as a kind of creative tool to fill one’s eyes and mind with images, to work things through, and to stay in touch with nature.

She also talked of discovering great travel bookshops in New York, or Art supply shops or galleries. Random walking can lead you to find unexpected treasures.

“It is good to collect things, but it is better to go on walks.” – Anatole France

Then a year ago I acquired a large white fluffy Labradoodle called Bo, and my walks have become a daily and often a nightly habit. It’s boring to walk the same path every day so Bo and I have taken to exploring different paths along the Yarra River and the Merri and Darebin creeks.

Melbourne is criss-crossed with these river and bike paths and I have found myself slowly becoming a keen observer of birdlife and nature as the seasons change and I watch the small changes every day. There is a family of ring tailed possums that live in a tree outside my house and I follow their progress through the seasons. Last year there were three; a mother and two babies who would leave together every night silhouetted along the telephone wire. Later there was only one. Then last week I saw that one had had a new family with mum and dad helping two new babies along that wire.

One of our favourite walks starts at Dight’s Falls in Collingwood, and travels towards the city alongside Trenerry Crescent, past the Collingwood Children’s Farm and the Abbotsford Convent. This is a great walk because there is so much going on there now, in what was once a poor industrial working class area where factories were built along the river and waste was poured into it. Water birds on stilts love Dight’s Falls now that it is relatively clean, and long legged Ibis and Cormorants hang out in the shallows looking for tasty titbits. I’ve seen black swans there, ducks and a big white lone Goose who is quite a character and squawks noisily at me and my dog as we pass. If you walk this path at twilight on a summer night, you will see a profusion of bats (flying foxes) passing just above your head. You can almost feel the wind from their wings whoosh past your cheek. You can certainly hear them. Their wings flap up and down and make a different sound from bird’s wings.

Pass a giant Oak tree surrounded by huge boulders looking like the site is waiting for a pagan get together, and you’ll find the Collingwood Children’s Farm further along. It is open daily to provide a farm experience for city children. There are markets and a monthly family day and you can see Nubian goats, pigs, sheep, horses, chickens and a cow being milked. Children can hold small soft furry animals and stroke them. Dogs are allowed in on a lead but mine barks at the farm cat. There is an excellent farm café as well with very good coffee.

The Abbottsford Convent a bit further along, is where I usually end this walk, and you’ll find a plethora of things to do here as well. Formerly the Convent of the Good Shepherd, it is now a thriving and popular arts, cultural and educational hub with heritage buildings and a heritage garden, cafes, bars, a bakery, exhibitions and also craft markets such as the Shirt and skirt market on the third Sunday of every month. There is a slow food farmers market on the fourth Saturday of every month where you can browse and purchase fresh seasonal fruit, vegetables and herbs as well as olive oil, cheeses and other yummy things.

Yarra Bend Park around Studley park boathouse is another good walking spot with lots to do. You can have a picnic, hire a boat or have a game of golf. There are cafes and a restaurant too. Or you can just walk around looking at nature. On one hot night recently as the sun was going down I was crossing Kane’s bridge when I saw a Tawny Frog Mouth perched in the branch of a tree just above my face and intently ignoring me which I was glad about as they have the disturbing air of a bird of prey about them. It was getting dark and I could see it was time for the night creatures to emerge as we day dwellers left the park. Four Brush tailed Possums crashed about in another tree. I found a dead Flying fox on the ground, it’s red fluffy head peeping out from the black wings that made it’s own personal shroud. As Bo and I left the park the sky was turning a hot pink colour and a mass of Flying Foxes flew overhead and some flew under the bridge skimming the river water with their wings. Finally I heard a very familiar sound; the loud raucous laughter of the Kookaburra. It was time to go home and let the animals have their park back.

“Keep your sense of proportion by regularly, preferably daily, visiting the natural world.”- Caitlin Matthews

—-

Further reading we recommend…

Walking Melbourne by Helen Duffy and Ingrid Ohlsson (City walks) (Paperback)

The Artist’s Way books by Julia Cameron

Watch this space.

Like many a modern Melbourne woman with a discerning eye, I love a bargain and I love to browse and graze at the shelves of the multitude of vintage stores in Melbourne.

I think shopping and especially vintage shopping, satisfies a deep and primal urge in women. It is foraging combined with hunting and the “Ah Ha!” feeling when you track down, capture and bag that object of desire is pretty darn good. Plus we all know by now that recycling is good for the environment.

Most of these shops are small businesses run by one operator, usually a woman with a fine eye for good fabric and period detail, who does all the selecting and buying and are well worth supporting.

The following is a small sample of what is out there…

Flashback at 79 High St Westgarth, specialises in vintage fabric for furnishings as well as clothing, wallpaper and lampshades. There are also imported designer fabrics with a vintage look. Some favourites of mine were the cowgirl prints and the Frida Kahlo fabric. These were around $35 per meter but they were pretty damn cute.

Further along the street is Things Second Hand, probably the messiest most disorganised of vintage shops anywhere. There is furniture on the footpath and it’s quite hard to actually get into the store there is so much stuff in the way all piled on top of other stuff. This is for that valiant type of vintage junkie or serious collector who doesn’t mind sorting through the plastic beads and toys and old shoes to get to the good stuff. Also you sometimes have to wonder “Is this something?” I found some lovely silk scarves there including one from the 1950s with ballerinas on it.

Set slightly behind High st on the corner looking a bit like an ex corner milk bar is Know Your Product. They specialise in home wares and furniture from the mid 1950s to 1970s Lots of stuff from one’s childhood with clean lines and blonde wood and orange plastic. I saw some cute and affordable plastic brooches which I liked.

Top Hat at 873 High st. Thornbury has antiques, vintage clothing and collectables. Michelle from Top Hat has been collecting for many years but says she’s going to finish up at the end of the year. She says she’s getting on, all her babies have grown up, and she has to get up at 6 30 to cook breakfast for the old man. She has a good selection of all sorts of authentic and older vintage including two gorgeous black silk velvet long coats one lined in gold, jewellery, ladies compacts, evening purses, shoes, glassware and more. Her stock looks well chosen and well cared for and there is a selection of men’s wear as well.

Old Hat is worth a look as well and she has a shop on e Bay as well. I found some clip on 1950s sparkly earrings for only $6.

Sally’s Hats is one of the longest standing stores and has great jewellery and lots of affordable clothing, plus they give student discounts.

Lost and Found Market This store recently relocated from the old Club in Collingwood to the fast becoming groovy end of Smith st just around the corner from Gertrude st. It is more like a vintage super store really as there are dozens of stalls all under the same roof. It has too many things to list but includes furniture, jewellery, toys, crockery, pictures, top hats, 50s style petticoats, ball gowns and more. Allow plenty of time for this one.

Smart Alec is a new shop and though not strictly vintage it looks as though it is and has the nice olde worlde 50’s feel of a gentleman’s hatter. You can also buy switch sticks which are adjustable walking sticks, bow ties and bags, plus many other gift items for the stylish man.

Things Second Hand – Vintage Stores Melbourne
115 High st Northcote

Old Hat – Vintage eBay Store
226 High st Northcote

Top Hat – Vintage Clothing Store
873 High st Thornbury
94844003
Wed – Fri 10 30am to 5pm Sat 10am to 1pm

Know Your Product – Vintage Furniture Stores
1 Timmins st Northcote
94861116

Lost and Found Market – Vintage Stores (under 1 roof)
12 Smith st Collingwood
7 days 10am to 6pm

Sallys Hats – Vintage Clothing Store
291 Smith st Fitzroy
9415 8182

Smart Alec – Vintage Menswear
71 Smith st Fitzroy

PHOTO: Gertrude Street, originally uploaded by AhIzMeh.

In our search for the best secrets in Melbourne, we start our journey not in the Melbourne CBD but just a very short tram ride north in the a joining suburb of Fitzroy.


#86 Tram from Bourke Street

Gertrude Street

Gertrude street has a dark history and has long been know as one of the most notorious streets in Melbourne and for 100 years (1890 to 1990) this area was steeped in poverty and crime. But cheap rent close to Melbourne also made it attractive to immigrants, musicians and artists (Tom Roberts, Charles Gilbert and Arthur Boyd all lived in the area).

In 1980 Brunswick Street became the fashionable place to be seen having coffee. Theatre, art and culture thrived as Melbourne’s creativity was hatched from the scribblings around the coffee tables. Businesses of passion were created and this street certainly overshadowed its darker sister Gertrude.

Gertrude Street Today

“If I only had 1 recommendation for a day out in Melbourne I think I would suggest a trip to Gertrude st, Fitzroy. Such a great collection of small boutiques, breakfast, lunch and dinner spots and small galleries… a truly eclectic mix.” Lucy from Design Files

Fast forward to 2009 and those ‘businesses of passion’ have been sold on, all that creative passion has moved to a new street …Gertrude Street has persevered and is now the new home to groovy cafes, fashion outlets, tapas bars, restaurants, galleries, art supplies and book stores. The passion is alive and you get that exciting feeling of being part of something filled with potential.

The goal of MelbourneOnMelbourne.com is uncover the secrets, those real gems that lay hidden to a three day traveler to Melbourne. As we uncover these gems for YOU, each one will lead us on to another as we keep posing the same question to each creative entrepreneur that we discover.

“What Is The Most Exciting Business You Have Discovered In Melbourne?”

So this site is a conversation of exciting people talking about exciting places in Melbourne. We are always looking to talk to the creator of an exciting shop or business and we are overwhelmed with great places to start our journey just in Gertrude Street alone. So we are starting our journey with one of the most creative identities in the street.

201 Gertrude Street

Tatiana Bistrin of Bistrins Emporium
Fashion, Gifts and much more.
PH: (03) 9416 0095

Tania grew up on Gertrude Street right next to the (then notorious) Builders Arms Hotel, stepping over the drunken underbelly of Melbourne on her way to school each morning. Tania’s father, George Bistrin had arrived in Melbourne with nothing but a suitcase and a passion for people and music. George would work hard by day, compose during his breaks and conduct a band by night. His commitment to hard work saw the Bistrin family running many ‘businesses of passion’ along Gertrude Street at various times through the 20th century including a music store, a record label and a European news agency. Tania has kept her fathers spirit alive in Gertrude Street with her very own business of passion.

Bistrins Emporium is a shop that is hard to label and it certainly qualifies as a Melbourne Secret, there is no fancy sign out the front and yet her shop has been in Gertrude Street well before it started becoming groovy. To understand this shop you need to first understand the owner…

“Tatiana Bistrin is a trained artist, musician, designer, theater manager, flamenco dancer, teacher and a student of fashion.”

Every item of stock inside Bistrins Emporium has been hand picked by an extremely creative person with a keen eye for style and usefulness. Tania is a seasoned expert a dressing people and her shop on Gertrude Street, although dominated by woman’s fashions, has something for everyone. Clothes, gifts, cards, soaps, jewelry, books and her store is one of the few places in Melbourne that you can buy a piano accordion.

Bistrins Emporium is directly opposite ‘Deans Art Supplies’ and situated between the Builders Arms Hotel and the Indian Restaurant (just up from that old fashioned barber).

We interviewed Tania and will soon share that recording with you as she uncovers some real Gertrude Street secrets:

• The Gertrude Gallery
• The best restaurant in Gertrude Street
• Best bar, Gertrude Street
• Tapas in Gertrude Street

Subscribe to our email list for updates and we look forward to finding out of you too have discovered a true ‘Business of Passion’ in Melbourne.

Gertrude Street History

Gertrude Street and Brunswick Street were both created in the 1840’s when the land was subdivided by its then owners, Captain Brunswick Smythe and Benjamin Baxter. Getrude Street was named after the captains daughter, Gertrude Smythe. Prior to the ‘moving on’ of the Wurundjeri people during the colonial settlement, the Fitzroy area was steeped in indigenous history and continues to be to this day.

Migration and the Gold Rush quickly turns Fitzroy into a well populated area of land ownership, subdivision and profit for landlords. Living there translated to over-crowding, tent cities, poverty, no police, illegal grog shops, unlicensed pubs, and dust.

In the 1850’s conditions improve and the iconic Melbourne terrace houses are being built. The oldest of these surviving terrace houses in Melbourne is the ‘Glass Terrace’ running from 64-78 Gertrude Street. The three landmark hotels of this area were also built during this decade; the Rob Roy, the Builder’s Arms and the Renown Tavern (later the Leviathan, now the Gertrude).

In the 1880’s the Melbourne Exhibition Building brings visitors to the area, the shanties and temporary shacks are demolished and the area becomes famous for its brothels. In 1888 the Exhibition Building is host to the Centenary Exhibition, bringing with it better access via Cable Trams and their Engine House situated at the corner of Nicholson and Gertrude Streets. The exhibitions encourage trade as retail, commerce and manufacturing businesses transform the area into a village of shopkeepers and small industry, followed by meeting places, schools, churches and Hotels. Property prices boom, large properties get converted into boarding houses mainly catering for the single men flocking to Melbourne.

In 1890 a depression hits Fitzroy hard and the majority of the residents rely on charities for food, shelter and clothes

By the end of the 19th century Gertrude Street is home to a number of village type businesses servicing the working class locals:
- Photography Studio (#10)
- Tanners (#12)
- Tobacconist (#32)
- Dressmaker (#34)
- Confectioner (#36)
- Boot Maker (#52-60)
- Wood Yard (#52-60)
- Blacksmith (#52-60)
- Tailor (#52-60)
- Baker (#62)
- Cabinet Maker
- Laundry
- Fruiterer
- Upholster (#51-#61)
- Confectioner (#51-#61)
- Furniture Shop (#51-#61)
- Greengrocer (#51-#61)
- Butcher (#51-#61)

…But the area does not shed its reputation for over-crowding, poverty, sly grog, prostitution, rival gangs and criminal activities for 100 years, until 1990.

1918 and the First World War ends with many of the ex-soldiers moving into the local boarding houses. Cocaine becomes popular and drives rival gangs into localized drug wars culminating in ‘The Fitzroy Vendetta’ of 1919, a major shoot-out between gangs from Collingwood, Fitzroy and Richmond.

In the 1920’s traffic still flows from Melbourne to the Exhibition Building and Gertrude Street becomes the gateway to the larger retail shops on Brunswick and Smith Streets, the later being home to Foy & Gibson’s Department Store and building. This variety of clothing factories, furniture warehouses and clothing stores draws visitors along Gertrude Street which remains dotted with factories creating; iron works, carpets, cloth, textile, chocolate and confectionery. Smith Streets becomes the main thoroughfare out towards the rural farmlands around Heidelberg.

In 1929 the Wall Street Crash sparks a world wide economic depression. In 1931 the ‘Great Depression’ hits Melbourne, some sections of Gertrude Street becomes slums as the buildings fall into disrepair and the residents into debt and poverty. During the 1930’s many indigenous people start moving back to the area.

In the 1940’s Gertrude Street becomes well know for its furniture and drapery outlets. Johnston’s department Store (Deans Art Supplies today) becomes a mecca for lounge suites and wardrobes.

During the 1950’s the government begins aggressive programs to clear the slums by demolishing forcible acquired buildings and constructing the high-rise Housing Commission estates (corner of Brunswick and Gertrude Street).

It is around this time that the Bistrin family businesses becomes a local landmark in Gertrude Street and plants the seed for what is now Bistrins Emporium at 201Gertrude Street, Melbourne.

MelbourneOnMelbourne.com exists to meet that shift head on, but we are going to take that one step further and only feature the very best Melbourne has to offer based on actual recommendations from real people.

“If your a Melbourne business owner you will discover below to profit from this shift”

Yellow Pages Melbourne

If your prefer to do your searching online you could just go to the official Yellow Pages Melbourne website, but you will still have to do the work to find what you want and even then you are not going to be able to distinguish the good from the bad or the best from the mediocre.

The Yellow Pages directory Melbourne is just a directory and the business that spends the most money gets your attention with a bigger more expensive ad.

So what do YOU do?

If you found this website, then your like most people, you just use Google. If you are looking for a Hairdresser in Melbourne, you do a Google search for Hairdresser Melbourne and the Telstra Yellow Pages (Melbourne) stays in the cupboard under the phone.

But there’s a problem!

The Yellow Pages never really worked… you generally had to ring a number of the many, many businesses listed to find what you need and that’s a flaw that carry’s across to the internet.

Google only works when you are an expert at doing Google searches… Most of us will just type in “Hairdresser Melbourne” and then have to wade through a number of the top ranked websites listed to find one that points us in the right direction.

What do you want?

Let’s take the example of ‘Looking for a Hairdresser’, what you want is to quickly be pointed to a Hair Salon and Hairdresser that comes highly recommended by real people. You need to hear from real customers that have recently experienced great benefits from that business or location.

If you live in Melbourne you can ask friends and family, but if your visiting Melbourne or need to know right now, your going to miss those Melbourne secrets that are hidden and can only be found by talking to people who have discovered them.

This alone is the best feature when comparing ‘Yellow Pages Online’ and ‘Google Maps Online’, the later allows customers to add reviews. The pictured featured with this article is a screenshot of the decline in the number of people doing online searches for the term “yellow pages’, while in 2007 searches for ‘Google Maps’ overtook ‘yellow pages’ and continued to climb.

But lets get a reality check because those stats are global and lets face it… Australia is slightly behind when it comes to the internet. Here’s a screenshot of the same comparison but restricted to searches conducted in Victoria, Australia.

…As you can see, in Melbourne we are right on the brink of this predictable change.

What to do now?

We take Google Maps one step further, because lets face it… It takes a lot of effort for a satisfied customer to come back and leave a review on Google Maps. We hit the streets of Melbourne every week annd ask real people to recommend the best discovery they have made in and around Melbourne.

Do you need more money, customers or time off?

Let this be your gateway towards a better way to do things because we have 4 solutions for you based on our own experiences and success in marketing online.

1. Interact
   Start by simply bookmarking our website because we ONLY feature Melbourne experiences and businesses recommended by actual customer testimonials that we gather and verify independently.
   If you have discovered something fabulous in or around Melbourne… If you think you have uncovered a real Melbourne secret (other than your own business), you can let us know or send in your testimonial using the Melbourne Secrets page. If we publish your recommendation it will include a link or plug to your business if you provide one.
2. Learn
   Grab our free video series on “How to Promote your Local Business Online”
   With this easy to follow resource you will quickly become and expert at using the internet to bring free traffic to your website and business every day.

   Did you miss that?

   “Your website is NO LONGER an online brochure, to send your customers to once they call. Your free report will teach you how to Turn Your Website into a Customer Magnet!“

3. Evolve
   If your employed, unemployed or looking for a second income stream we are creating a step-by-step course that shows you how you can start creating a second income stream online using a simple blog style website that can grow into a real business earning more money than your current wage. You choose the market, niche and business model we will guide you through numerous ways you can earn real money by applying yourself productively online a few hours every week. Its not ‘Get Rich Quick’ or ‘Amway’ we simply teach you how to design a real business online that will be Exciting, Automated, Scalable and still earn an income while you take time off. Best of all your start-up costs will be $0 and your overheads will be insanely low.
4. Advance
   If you already have a small business we have developed proven systems to tap into all these people switching over from offline resources like the Yellow Pages and on to the internet. We offer over the phone coaching and walkthroughs as we journey together to get your business 100% online and get your website ranked on the first page of Google for search terms that will convert into a steady stream of brand new customers.