Journal

If Sydney has a current fixation with pared-back minimalism, Superfreak politely ignores it. Located on Enmore Road in Marrickville, the café – designed by the Sydney-based architecture and interior design firm YSG Studio and housed in the former (famed) Serendipity ice-cream factory – leans into texture, colour and a certain 70s-inflected sociability. Think cork underfoot, yellow walls and glossy green datums – a “soulful sanctuary” spinning plates of “nourishing eats from sunup to mid-afternoon,” describes YSG’s Founding Director Yasmine Ghoniem. It’s confident, nostalgic, slightly surreal, and – importantly – entirely committed to mood.

A partner venue of LEIF, Superfreak and YSG reflect our shared sensibility, grounded in tactility, atmosphere, and the emotional resonance of well-considered spaces. We caught up with Ghoniem and the venue’s co-owner Mike Ico to talk about how the future classic came to be, and why looking backwards can sometimes be the most progressive move forward.

Photography by Phillip Huyhn. 

If you’ve ever wondered where Sydney’s most beautiful bouquets actually begin, the answer is: very early.

Ed West, director of POHO Flowers in Sydney’s Double Bay, starts most days at the flower markets before sunrise – a fast-paced, high-stakes environment where instinct, experience, and a good eye matter more than anything else. By the time the rest of us are deciding whether we need coffee or tea, West’s already secured the stems that will shape the day’s order and event arrangements.

POHO has cultivated a reputation for florals that feel directional without trying too hard – structured, but never stiff. In the lead-up to Mother’s Day, we asked Ed to walk us through a typical day, from pre-dawn market runs to the personal habits that happen once the flowers are finally put to bed.

Photography by Ryan Cullen.

Creative projects rarely begin in the same place — sometimes it starts with a concept, other times with a collaboration. Natural Order — published by Formist Editions and documenting 20 residential Australian gardens by Sydney and Byron Bay-based landscape practice Dangar Barin Smith  — is the latter: the result of a longstanding creative relationship between landscape creative William Dangar, writer Karen McCartney, designer and publisher Evi Oetomo, and photographer Prue Ruscoe.

A book we picked up for our shared perspective on nature and design — and quickly became one we couldn’t put down.

Versatile and practical, the LIFE Tote becomes a record of daily practice. Here we document the tools, essentials and small personal constants that make up the day — captured by the Australian creatives who carry them.

The motel is back — and it's better than ever. We’ve compiled a shortlist of understated stays doing the simple things exceptionally well.

Forget the grand lobby and the room service menu. The stays worth remembering are usually smaller, simpler and somewhere unexpected — a sun-warmed motel off the highway or converted retreat tucked into a town.

Here’s our shortlist of partner stays bringing that spirit back with fresh eyes.

A warm-up for the cooler months. This is your shortlist of places bringing steam, heat and calm to the everyday.

From bathhouses to saunas and contrast therapy spaces, communal bathing and heat-led rituals are some of the oldest wellness practices we know, shared across cultures, landscapes and centuries. Today, Australia’s growing network of recovery spaces is reimagining these traditions through thoughtful design and sensory detail.

As part of our amenities offering, LEIF partners with some of the country’s most considered spaces, each shaped by calm interiors and restorative experiences. Below, discover a shortlist of places worth sinking into as the mercury starts to dip.

A well-tended candle rewards you with a cleaner burn and a fuller, more expressive scent. Consider this your guide to getting the most from every LEIF fragrance.

At LEIF we’ve long believed that a candle can do more than scent a room – it sets the tone, working in harmony with light, furnishings and other surrounding elements. And whether your preference is the grounding smokiness of cult favourite Buddha Wood or the dewy grassiness of Flannel Flower, each of our hand-poured soy blend wax formulas is designed to shape a mood through fragrance – and burn best when treated with a little care.

Below, discover the essential steps to help your candle last longer, burn more evenly and fill your space with its full aromatic profile.

Yamba was the final stop on our Northern Rivers tour, and after several days visiting amenity partners and the region, the town marked a natural point for us to pause and look back on the trip.

Set at the mouth of the Clarence River, Yamba sits between river and ocean, shaped as much by water as by town life; a fitting place to close out the journey.

For the second leg of our Northern Rivers visit we followed the coast south, from Brunswick’s calm into Byron Bay’s brighter, more expansive register.

We travelled with photographer Ming Nomchong to visit several of our key partner venues, capturing vibrant moments between each shoot — cliffs and coves, still, bright mornings, and spaces designed to hold both rest and momentum.

For our recent Northern Rivers shoot — guided by local photographer Ming Nomchong — Brunswick Heads became our base. It’s easy to understand why: this town that balances salt, sunlight and an easygoing pace shaped, in ways small and large, the entire series.

From here, we moved between beaches, stays and the local institutions we love, capturing the textures and tones that define this part of the coast.

Some creatives arrive at their practice through discipline. Others, through instinct. For the Sydney-raised, Northern Rivers-based photographer Ming Nomchong, her calling has always been the latter: a pull towards light, open space, water and the quiet frequency of coastal life.

Moments of togetherness ebb and flow throughout the year, and what follows often calls for a gentler, more unhurried rhythm. Here, we’ve gathered a selection of partner stays — ocean-facing, mountain-bound, deep in the bush, or tucked into rolling countryside — to inspire your own summer retreat.

Image credit: Natalie McComas