An artist, designer, small business owner, but most of all, Gemma Leslie is a force for good. In the wake of Covid — and Melbourne’s never-ending lockdowns — Gemma started Food For Everyone; collaborating with renowned chefs to create tasteful posters, and donating the equivalent of 10 meals per poster to SecondBite. To date, that tallies up to about 750,000 meals. kit: visits Gemma’s Italianate-style family home in Melbourne’s inner North for a chat about food, the familiar, and finding time to lose track of it entirely.
Tell us about you and Food For Everyone — how did it start, and what did you do before?
Before 2020, before COVID, I was a marketing manager at [Lucy Folk]. And then COVID hit, I was made redundant, and spent all my time painting. When the Melbourne government locked down the public housing towers and news came out that the food conditions were horrible, I discovered this amazing charity called FareShare that delivered nutritious meals, but they weren't making a thing of it. I wanted to do something to support them and the community, so I got together with four chef friends, and asked them to give me a recipe to paint that I then turned into posters. With each poster sale, I donate the equivalent of ten meals. It's been going for three and a half years, and we've donated over $150,000 to food banks across Melbourne, which is about 750,000 meals.
You have a penchant for beautiful homescapes in your creative pursuits, both in your art and the posters you create, what is it about the familiar that inspires you?
I'm an introvert, I love being at home and having it feel really nice; so, I love creating that warm feeling in my paintings. And I also just love nature’s abundance.
Can you talk to us about the importance of choosing good quality ingredients?
At Food For Everyone, we’re big advocates for seasonal produce. Nature has its own cycle and gives us exactly what we need, when we need it. We’re coming up to winter now and our mandarin tree is blooming, so we’ve got plenty of vitamin C to harvest when the fruits ripen. Having this awareness of seasonality and local resources is so important because it’s healthier, but it also supports the farmers and our community.
Living and creating in Melbourne — what’s your favourite place to go for a really great time, every time?
No question about it, I go straight to Gerald's Bar, a little wine bar on Rathdowne Street in Carlton North that just feels like home. Whether you stay there for an hour or four hours, it's always a good time. We’ve just collaborated on a poster with them and Libby Haines.
You’ve recently renovated your Melbourne home, how would you describe your aesthetic and design personality?
I can't get enough of colour, and I love using a lot of different textures. My home is a bit eclectic; I wouldn’t call it a “normal” style. When I went to Brazil a few years ago, I left with a half-empty suitcase and came back with the other half filled with little objects. I feel like I get more out of finding a treasure at like a market than buying something new from a store.
Can you talk us through the design vision for your bathroom? What do we find here?
I wanted to make it feel pure and have a bit of character. Blue reminds me of water and the sky, so that’s why I painted it blue! The house that I live in is Italianate in style and I wanted to bring in that typical linework by adding a green border through the bathroom. If you’re scared of colour, I think the bathroom is the one place that you have a bit of fun.
Painting, cooking, cleaning up after your young one — you work with your hands so much, how do you like to take care of them?
At every wash station at home, I have good quality hand wash and moisturiser. It’s just second nature for me to look after my hands, to wash and moisturise throughout the seasons.
What’s your take on wellbeing — when do you feel your best? Tell us about the places, smells or habits that ground you.
I think a sign of wellbeing is sort of losing track of time, like on the weekend when you decide what's for dinner at the last minute because you spent all day just being in the moment. I feel my best when I'm in the garden with my family.
