STORY BY MAHMOOD FAZAL, PHOTOS BY CHRIS TURNER

The French painter Henri Matisse writes, “There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”

Amanda Fontanella doesn’t have a design background—she has a shopping background. In 2012, she founded Daylesford’s home of eclectic couture, Harry and Me. Amanda’s shop blossoms with clothes, jewellery and perfume. As shoppers lose themselves in retail therapy, the jazzy trumpet of a Louis Armstrong tune underscores herbal scents of wood sage and sea salt.

“When I was young, I would run into department stores and spray all the perfumes,” smiles Amanda, her bouncy personality shimmering across the room. “I think it's a sensory experience. Harry and Me is full of little treasures. There's just so much to see in here. And we often get people that will just like linger and browse. And we know what they're doing, they're enjoying it. Which is what I love when I'm shopping.”

Amanda was always drawn to Daylesford. She was even married to her husband John at the LakeHouse. “On the weekend of our wedding, we were driving around and just saw this property and fell in love. It was a straw bale house with gorgeous views. That week we had someone walk into our business and say, Would you like to sell? And we retired.” A year later, Amanda fulfilled her childhood dream of opening her own shop.

“Daylesford is a beautiful community of different people which makes it rich in culture. Especially during COVID, the local community and our loyal customers, have kept us going. It’s really beautiful,” says Amanda. “Daylesford promotes whatever your inner soul hankers for, whatever you really dream of doing I think you can actually dare to do it here.”

Harry and Me is curated and run by Amanda, her daughter Natalie and co-collaborator Danielle. Whether it be John F Kennedy’s cologne by Eight & Bob or Portugese artists designing the labels of luxury soaps, every piece in Harry and Me has a life and story of its own. “I'm not an artist, but I did painting for a while. And I really loved it. I love Matisse. I love painters that you can look at and think I can do that!”

“I really feel that it takes some time for you to get your confidence when you buy because there's lots of beautiful things, but they don't necessarily sit together beautifully,” explains Amanda. “We’re paying for quality labels who pay the right wage overseas and the fabrics are farmed sustainably and things like that. Because what you feel you project and draw to yourself. The linen from Positano, I go to Italy and meet those families.”

Amanda points to various items throughout her shop while expressing with great theatricality their nuanced idiosyncrasies. “We went overseas and discovered a lot of labels,” she says. “We love travelling through France and Italy, because John’s Italian. We love Lucca and John’s family’s from Biella. It's not really a tourist spot. It’s so beautiful. It was so innocent. And the simplicity was just inspiring.”

Behind the opulent perfume counter, Amanda feels at home. “I don’t even have perfume at home, I just use this counter.” She sprays her favourite; Terroni Orto Parisi, a smokey oud scent, combining earthy notes with berries. “My husband and I wear this. The whole journey with the perfume is really interesting.” She sprays Nasomatto’s White China, where delicate white flowers meet powerful woods. “Blend. They blend their favourites. You create your own.” Harry and Me encourages spontaneous and unapologetic individualism in the most fitting and beautiful way.

Harry and Me Daylesford

03 5348 1172

sales@harryandme.com.au

www.harryandme.com.au

83-85 Vincent Street, Daylesford