Elite Event: State Buildings

I was so happy to receive an invite to this lovely event! This was also my first Elite/​Yelp event and I really loved it. It was great to meet some of you lovely Unilocalers.
Petition Wine bar — lovely atmosphere, great wine options to have in or take-​away. We enjoyed glass or two of La Prova Prosecco which was light, not so sweet and very easy to drink.
Flowers by Aneura — Angela — the owner who is very passionate about her business offers a beautiful and unique selection of flowers/​arrangements.
Ginger B — This cute gift shop offers range of gift hampers for everyone (think baby, coffee, wine, tea, food lovers etc)! If you are ever stuck for a gift, head to Ginger B and you will be sorted. Bianca mentioned all the products that Ginger B offers, are the product that she uses/​or would use. Lots of local, eco-​conscious and organic products.
Clean Slate — absolutely love the shop space. Nice range of natural/​vegan candles and skincare products. So many amazing scents — you can easily get carried away with purchasing all the products here!
Sugarplum Sweets — so much sweetness! Flavia welcomed us with a spread of delicious treats. I tried the snickers slice and lemon meringue which was so yummy. On the menu, you can find macaroons, cupcakes, brownies and larger cakes.
The Honeycake — I don’t know how I haven’t heard of the Honeycake before! It was nice to hear about how the cake is made and where it comes from. The cake was delightful!
Sue Lewis Chocolatier — It was so nice to have Sue show us how to temper with chocolate! It was so fun to watch and to taste. We got to taste some of the yummy treats — I had so dark chocolate and raspberry truffle. The truffle taste so good — I had to buy some to take home. Sue mentioned that they offer range of (chocolate) classes, which I will definitely be interested in attending in the future.
Halford Bar — Great way to finish the night. I was really looking forward to checking out of the new bar which I heard great things about. The place is exactly what Perth needs — cozy, vibrant
Overall — excellent experience! Thank you so much for a lovely evening Laura.

The majestic architecture of the State Buildings juxtaposed with new shops and bars made for one of my favourite events of all time! I love that they kept the old buildings intact and filled them with new inviting spots.
The Petition Wine bar, our first stop was all class and 2015 Kings Valley prosecco was enjoyed by my fellow Unilocalers. You can order reasonably priced to more expensive bottles of wine and pair it with oysters and other canapes. Being surrounded by wine bottles with inviting tags and tables made it a unique space in the Perth CBD.
Aneura who does the flowers for the hotel, was the next pit stop where we learnt how to incorporate native vegetation and flora with foreign flowers such as peonies. I adored the white peonies and I can see how having native Australian floral touches in your bridal bouquet can be both different and unique. I look forward to their store opening and being able to purchase flowers.
Ginger B was one of my stand out favourites, a shop where you can purchase hampers as an individual but they also take corporate orders. Including hampers for all your favourite occassions– high tea, babies, etc. They even let you individually purchase items. We were all given goodie bags filled to the brim with delights! I will totally be returning!
Clean Slate had a glorious fireplace inlaid into its shop and old bricks and mortor. It looked just like what a candleshop should look like but with modern outfits and appliances where we watched the owner making beautiful pristine candles. We were all told we could choose a candle to squeals of delight! After much deliberation I chose peach because it had the sweetest most aromatic smell, but all the candles smelled delightful– vanilla, coconut and lime, black tea and lychee et cetera.
Sugarplum Sweets reminded me of the cupcake shop from 2 Broke Girls that everyone dreams of owning! It was filled with sweet delights, a chandelier, frilly pink aprons and mountains of cupcakes, desserts and large cakes to order. We all got to try a handmade snickers bar, popcorn clusters and choose a cupcake– I chose caramel mudcake. Everything was really well presented and tasted excessively scrumptious!
We then visited Sue Lewis Chocolatier whose chocolate I was already familiar with from her Subiaco markets and for a family friend’s wedding truffle cake. We watched in delight as chocolate was poured and tempered and taste tested it all. Sue even made us all mini reindeer on the spot and let us choose our own truffles, I choose lime which was covered in edible sparkly glitter but another favourite of mine is definitely salted caramel. I love that the chocolate is made with real cocoa butter and real beans.
At the new Honeycake shop we all got to sample a slice of Honeycake. Made to Czech recipe and handrolled with layers upon layers and covered in specially sourced walnuts. They also have a gluten free option. I have always been a big fan of honeycake and it’s unique taste. This shop will even make you large made to order birthday or wedding cakes so plan ahead for something truly different!
Halford Bar was where the tour ended with beautiful cocktails and mocktails full of fresh fruit and garnished with even more fruit and flowers. They also sell food to go with your drinks and stay open late! The owners are also responsible for one of my most favourite bars in Perth– The Standard. Slightly hidden you will find it to the right of the building, underground with a street entrance just behind the new City of Perth library. It had a great vibe and I will most definitely be hitting it up in future!

The State Buildings night was an elite event of epic proportions. The evening offered a select group of elites a tour of the newly opened State Buildings and the bars and shops housed within.
The night started at 6pm sharp at The Petition Wine Bar and Merchant. As soon as I stepped in, I was impressed. This was my kinda place. A wine bar featuring an excellent selection of wines and alcohol to be purchased at bottle shop prices and then you can consume your selected bottle on site, enjoying the surrounds and vibe of The Petition. Excellent. We were treated to a delicious glass of prosecco and this started the generous tour for the evening.
For the next three hours we visited the following businesses:
— Aneura Flowers — the fllorist located within the State Buildings
— Ginger Bee gifts — a gorgeous, bespoke gift shop and hamper supplier with a focus on creating gifts and hampers that tell a story through their unique prooducts.
— Sugarplum Sweets — an exceptional cupcake and handmade sweet treats supplier.
— Clean Slate — handmade candles, soaps, lotions, room sprays and more. This little shop makes everything on site and smells amazing.
— The Honeycake — say no more. You want Honeycake? You need to try THE Honeycake. This layered cake takes four hours to make and was to die for.
— Sue Lewis Chocolatier — Seriously, who doesn’t like chocolate? And when THE Sue Lewis shows you how to temper chocolate and makes you a delicious little chocolate reindeer to taste on the spot, life couldn’t get much better…
Until we were invited for cocktails at The Halford bar to top off the evening! A groovy, plush, discoteque style lounge where I’m pretty sure Austin powers was hiding in the corner.
All of the businesses were unique and local to WA. And all of the businesses were extremely generous in giving away little gifts of their products at each stop. I felt so spoilt on the evening and raved about the night to so many friends. Thanks Unilocal and all the business involved in such a great event.

When one building opens with many businesses inside, what’s the best way to get to know them? With a guided tour to each vendor, starting with bubbles and finishing with a cocktail, that’s how!
The latest Unilocal Elite Event was such a delight, exploring the new businesses in the refurbished State Building in the CBD. We started with a glass of a delightful Prosecco at Petition Wine Bar and Merchant where we were welcomed to the tour. The drinks for the three Petition venues are curated by the same people, with a slightly different slant in each. In the Wine Bar, you can either just purchase wine to takeaway, or sit and leisurely drink any bottle in the store for an extra $ 15 (the takeaway/​drink-​in prices are written on the bottles). They also have a decent sized by the glass list. Snacks to go along is limited to charcuterie and cheese, but it’s a wine bar, so I see nothing wrong with that! Great place to catch up with a few girlfriends.
Flowers by Aneura was the next stop. A gorgeous little florist with a strong WA slant, lots of local leaves and flowers that you wouldn’t see in a lot of traditional florists, as well as some more traditional flowers. Her peonies were huge and so beautiful! We were told a few tips to keep flowers longer and ideas for decorating and weddings. Flowers by Aneura provide all of the flower displays for the State Buildings if you wanted to check out some ideas of how she puts the individual blooms together.
Ginger B Gifts is run by the infectiously bubbly Bianca and is a gift-​box style store with themed gifts for the various people in your life. Bespoke gift baskets and corporate gifts are also available. The gift items are locally sourced artisanal items, things like Bahen and Co chocolate, natural soaps, local crafts. The shop itself is tiny, but she’s managed to use the space well, with so many delightful items to peruse. We were all so stoked with our little gift bag of samples to take away! Can’t wait to try the nougat. Definitely a return visit is required for Christmas Shopping!
Outside and downstairs there is the second store of Clean Slate — a locally made naturally sourced candle and body care items. The lychee and black tea candle smelled divine, and was my pick of mini-​candle we were gifted. I’ve been a fan of the Clean Slate range in the MANY 6160 building, so it’s nice to have one in the city as well.
Then we hit Sugar Street! An area downstairs that is home to Sugarplum Sweets, The Honeycake and Sue Lewis Chocolatier. Sugarplum Sweets make a large array of sweet baked goods such as macarons, cupcakes and tarts. From personal experience, I can tell you her little Lemon Meringue Tart was divine. This is the second Sugarplum Sweets store, the other being in Wembley. The Honeycake is as delicious as ever, and along with a slice of the traditional honeycake we all know and love in Perth, we were given some of the gluten free version to try. I must admit, I think I might like the gluten free version more. Using a combination of rice and maize flours, this cake has a richer flavour, almost gingerbready and less sweet than the original. Sue Lewis walked us through a tempering lesson, and made us little chocolate reindeer to take-​away. Her down-​to-​earth and humorous approach to the usually serious and scary world of chocolateiring makes me keen to sign up to one of her classes next year. The lime curd and Belgian ale truffles were delightful (and I’m sure that means the rest were too), and I’m a big fan of the fennel milk chocolate bark.
We finished up at Halford Bar and my feelings of the venue haven’t really changed from the first visit. It’s so well decked out and sexy, the staff are lovely and the cocktails are well-​made — just not up my alley. I’m not a sweet and fruity drink kinda girl, and these cocktails were sweet and fruity. I think I’ll still stick to wine on my next visit here. It was nice getting more of the story behind the space that Halford Bar was built in too, being shown the original elements being kept (the heavy shutters and steel door!).
This was such a wonderful way to explore the new businesses opening up in the State Building. It’s a great addition to the city, in terms of dining and retail. Will definitely be adding it to spots to go Christmas Shopping (and then, you know, refreshments afterwards!) Thanks to Laura and all the business owners for so graciously giving your time, your passion and your samples to us!

The Elite event to celebrate the opening of the State Buildings was a brilliant, five star affair which had us enthralled from start to finish! The buildings themselves are majestic, high ceilings and amazing architecture throughout. I love the fact that these historic buildings are being used to showcase fresh, new enterprises. It is like a beautiful handshake between the past and the present!
We started the evening off on a high note with a glass of chilled La Prova prosseco and a welcoming speech from our gracious host, Paul at the Petition Wine Bar. He proved informative yet witty and as fresh and as effervescent as the prosseco he described.
We then proceeded to visit the in house florist Angela whose floral creations make bold yet beautiful statements. Flowers by Aneura will provide you with bouquets, posies or potted plants which are akin to works of art.
Our next stop was at the gorgeous Bianca’s shop, aptly named Ginger B’s! I was truly amazed by this beautiful shop. It is so aesthetically pleasing and Bianca is so welcoming and friendly, time seems to stand still. As you gaze in awe at the gorgeous and unique items, you thank your lucky stars that brought you to this fine establishment. Bianca has such a lovely presence and her dulcet tones are music to your ears. You can be assured that any gift you purchase here will bring much joy to the recipient. The hampers are all prepared for you and ready to go or you may choose to customize your own. The operative word here is ‘quality’ and it is nice to see the goods are all sourced locally. There was a large welcoming bowl of delicious nuts and we were all given a goodie bag filled with amazing treats.
At Clean Slate, we were impressed by the founder Katrina Snowden and her ethical approach to making her products. This back to nature method means that everything is pure and natural and not animal tested. The fresh subtle fragrances at Clean Slate was a crowd pleaser! We watched open mouthed as Katrina expertly poured some candles and squealed with delight when we got to take home a candle of our choice! In addition to candles there are also scrubs and small batch soaps on offer.
Our group was then whisked into the fairytale world of Sugarplum Sweets where the fabulous Flavia kept us entertained with princely tales! We were spoilt as we indulged in a cupcake or two, caramel popcorn and a lovely Snickers bar.
At Honeycake, the lovely Simona served us a generous slice of the many layered Honeycake and gave us a brief history of the origins of this Eastern European treat. Making it is a laborious procedure as each layer is baked separately and then assembled. The honey is sourced from down South and it is heartening to see the local producers supported in this way.
At our next stop we watched with childlike fascination as Sue Lewis, chocolatier extraordinaire poured and tempered chocolate. The smell of the chocolate was intoxicating and after sampling a chocolate of our choice, we were given a sweet little reindeer as a gift from Sue!
Our last stop for the evening was at the wonderful Halford! Certainly pushing the envelope with this place. Fell in love the moment I stepped through the door. The lighting and décor is sexy and sophisticated, the ambiance is subtly elegant and the cocktails are out of this world. John Parker is the genius we have to thank for bringing a world class cocktail lounge to the heart of Perth!
Lastly we have to thank our shining star Laura and all the retailers involved for an unforgettable evening! It was an outstanding event and the highlight of our social calendar!

This was my most favourite event so far!
Anyone that knows me knows that anything sweet is right up my alley and this was a sugar overloaded event that I loved every single minute of.
I hadn’t been to any of these places before so I was in awe of every boutique we went into, I can’t even pick a favourite place because they were all so amazing in their own way.
Thank you so so much Laura for inviting me to such a great event with so many lovely ladies, this was the perfect way to lead into my birthday celebrations today :)

This was my first event as an Elite Unilocaler and all I can say is wow! I had a fantastic evening and it was great to meet some like-​minded ladies. The new State Building has so much to offer in the way of food, drink and lovely things to buy.
We started with a glass of Prosecco at Petition Wine Bar and it is a great venue that I am definitely keen to head back to. The venue is divided into 3 parts and there is even a wine store!
Next stop was the florist in the building and she gave us a few good tips on how to maintain our cut flowers at home. Who knew a capful of bleach could help to keep your flowers fresh?
We then visited Ginger B which is a cute gift store that makes lovely hampers that can be tailored to anyone, and they do corporate gifts too. At this store we also received a goodie bag which held some delightful treats.
After this was Clean Slate which was the stop I was looking most forward to. The woman who owns this store makes all her own skin care products, soaps and candles that don’t contain any nasty ingredients. The store smelled delicious and she is bringing new items to her range all the time. Definitely worth a look and they don’t test on animals, which is something that is very important to me.
The next portion of the evening involved cake, more cake and then chocolates! First up in the sugar-​coma inducing extravaganza was Sugarplum Sweets. This gorgeous woman makes amazing cupcakes that taste as good as they look. As a cake baker myself, I am pretty fussy when it comes to cake, and these cakes were perfect. They are made with love and beautifully decorated.
Next up was Honeycake which is something I had only ever tried once before at a food and wine show. It was interesting to learn about where Honeycake cake from and how the different European countries make their cake differently. It was delicious and very rich!
Sue Lewis Chocolatier was the next stop and she is another passionate foodie too. He chocolates are all made with love and I found the demonstration on how to temper chocolate fascinating. I tried a salted caramel chocolate and it was delicious.
The final stop on our adventure was Halford Bar. It is a gorgeous bar with plush carpets and furnishings and they make spectacular cocktails. I enjoyed a Charlie Chaplin made by a very charismatic barman and it was a perfect way to wind down after all that exploring.
Thanks Laura for a wonderful night and I enjoyed meeting all the other ladies. Looking forward to the next one!

What an amazing night! Checking out all the retailers at the amazing refurbished State Building and Cathedral square. Meeting and Learning about the passionate chocolate makers, dessert delighters, wine connoisseurs, florists and gift artisans and beauty producers. and going home with such a generous gift bag. It was all too much fun. Did not want the night to end.

Awesome Girls Night Elite event! All the business we got to see were so generous with their time (and merchandise) I am still coming down from the sugar high! Even stopped back at Petition on the way home to buy the Prosecco!

Gawd. I’m still having sugar overload after the excess of last night’s event at the fabulous shiny restored State Buildings (recently christened by Chuck, the Prince of Wales, no less). My favourite part was the passion and enthusiasm expressed by all the business owners that we visited. And the free stuff. I just adore the free stuff. I was a bit frazzled after an unexpected insane day at work so would have appreciated more of a sit down along the way, perhaps. Oh, and maybe something savoury squeaked in there somewhere. That said, I’m still truly appreciative of all the opportunities and experiences Unilocal (& Laura) continue to bring me.
The end.

I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to attend this Unilocal Elite ladies progressive evening at the State Buildings. It wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing organisational and innovative skills of Laura, our Perth Unilocal Manager, and without the participation of the amazing retailers located in the State Building and Cathedral Square.
The State Buildings re-​opened with a theme in mind — in order to keep the history intact of the iconic government building the concept was to have unique local retailers only within its premises. Each local retailer comes with a story and there are around 13 retailers in total. Some of these retailers started out in small towns, or as small businesses, run by innovative, bright, and motivated entrepreneurship with a unique story. Highlights from the night are described below
1. Petition Bar
We started off with a glass of Prosecco at the Petition Wine Bar. Now, the Petition is massive and encompasses a restaurant, a wine store, and a bar. Only one of a kind. You can sample wine and then purchase the one you desire and have it at dinner. No need for you to go to the bottle-​o down the corner! I’m not a fan of sparkling wine as it is a dreadful reminder of unsavoury moments after a night out; however, this Prosecco was so easy to drink. It is the La Prova (2015 King Valley) Prosecco — not too tangy, not too alcoholic-​tasting, not too bitter — just easy drinking. I could drink a bottle on a hot summer’s day and even better it supports the local WA winemakers. :) Win win I say. Now, this wine bar and bottle shop concept is new to Perth and the Petition is looking to introduce this concept in other areas too. They have wine tasting nights every Tuesday where a local winemaker comes over and provides wine samplings. They are also looking at holding food and wine pairing events from next year.
2. Flowers by Aneura
Aneura is a type of mulberry tree growing in the West Australian bush. It is not a flowering tree that is pretty like peonies, but the owner of Flowers by Aneura wished once that it would turn into a pretty little tree. The owner is deeply connected to Aneura as it holds childhood memories for her and she redeveloped her style after 25 years to come up with something personal.
Her flower arrangements include lots of foliage, gumnuts, drying out Christmas weeds, and organic bush flowers.
She never has more than ten different flowers and her peonies are MASSIVE.
Her tips for flower arrangement are as follows:
1) After you purchase flowers, cut their stems by 3−4cm.
2) Remove most of the leaves to take the energy off the flower head. This adds days to the flower’s life
3) Add a capful of bleach and some Flourish (comes in a bottle) to extend the life of the flower.
4) When you swap the flower vase, make sure you rinse it out.
3. Ginger B — Green and gorgeous
Ginger B is the brainchild of qualified naturopath Bianca. She combined her love for food and wine with naturopathy to come up with Ginger B. Bianca always had a knack for buying personalised and interesting presents for friends and family. She has always loved preparing gifts and cards and was prompted by a friend to start her own business. She started designing gift hamper boxes. Now, Bianca has numerous clients. All her products are of high quality and every product has a story to it as its ingredients are sourced from local producers. She has used all the products in the baby range on her own children and can vouch for their natural ingredients. Her brand signature is a nice curated gift with each having a story and a personalised card.
And Bianca gave us a gift bag containing some nougat, tomato relish, a candle, a gift voucher, and so much more.
4. Clean Slate
Clean Slate’s owner is a young woman who started making products ten years ago to cure her own eczema. She has her own experimental kitchen on site in the State Building and makes everything on site. Nothing is tested on animals, she uses all natural ingredients and makes things on site to promote her brand signature which is transparency (clean slate — how cool). The open plan workshop epitomizes transparency. She sells unique products like black tea and lychee candle, perfume oils, beard oil and sleep oil. She will soon be holding a make your own perfume workshop. Watch this space. #cleanslate
5. Sugarplum sweets
This place smells so nice and sugary — I think I got a sugar high just from stepping inside. Using couverture chocolate and the finest of ingredients, Sugarplum Sweets operates in two locations. It opens at 7am everyday for 7 days and sells around 12 flavours of cupcakes and 12 flavours of macarons. Sugarplum sweets does two kinds of cupcakes: 1) basic — traditional sponge and buttercream and 2) gourmet — which includes lemon meringue cupcake, decadent salted caramel popcorn, snickers slice, hazelnut nutella ferrero cupcake, and a carrot walnut with cream cheese icing cupcake. Snickers slice is definitely the winner.

I felt like Carrie from Sex and the City last night at the State Buildings event with all my girlfriends! We wined, oo’ed and ahh’d and indulged on all the best things.
We started off with a glass of the 2015 Kings Valley Prosecco at the Petition which hit the spot, then learnt a thing or two about flowers and up coming trends from Angela from Aneura.
Third stop was a delight to experience the warm personality of trained naturopath Bianca and her love child Ginger B giftware shop sourcing high end local products. We then moved on to see a candle making demonstration by Clean Slate in a fragrant store and then the eating: yummy cupcakes by Sugarplum sweets, the Honey Cake and Sue Lewis Chocolatier who gave as another mouth watering demonstration of tempered chocolate. Last stop was cheeky cocktails at Halford Bar by an energetic Italian sever.
All in all, this was a five star, VIP event. Laura you have outdone yourself! Thanks to everyone at the State Buildings for making it a fabulous night.