Find the perfect gift by shopping #LaTrobeAlumni this holiday season.
1. Award-winning and Aussie-made: body, hair and home by denu
It’s been a busy year for Sarah Fisher.
She founded her business, denu - a curated range of Australian-made, natural, and organic body products - back in 2007. But the past 12 months have marked the most significant period of growth in denu’s 17-year history.
This year, Denu made its way into premium Australian restaurants, corporations, stadiums and galleries with custom brand collaborations; and received several accolades including most recently the prestigious Stevie Award for Company of the Year - Consumer Products.
Every denu product—whether for the body, hands, hair, or home—is made in Australia with high-quality natural ingredients and pure essential oils. Now recognized as an international award winner, denu is preparing to take its products global, starting with New York.
“17 years ago, in a hotel bath I was looking for naturally beautiful products that wouldn’t strip the freckles from my skin. Instead, I found chemically-laden, mass-produced and synthetically scented products. By developing the gorgeous denu range, of hair body and home products, I’m proud to say I changed that”.
Sarah holds a Bachelor of Enterprise Management (Tourism)
2. Travel the world with a cooking class from Free to Feed
Loretta Bolotin co-founded Free to Feed with her husband, Daniel Bolotin, nearly a decade ago. The social enterprise provides training and meaningful employment opportunities to refugees and asylum seekers, all through a shared love of food.
Before launching Free to Feed, Loretta worked extensively in resettlement support. Listening to her clients share their experiences of isolation and loneliness after arriving in Melbourne—often over a meal—inspired the idea that became Free to Feed.
What began as small meetups and recipe exchanges has grown into a thriving operation that offers catering (including weddings), immersive cooking experiences, and event and venue hire. To date, Free to Feed has distributed $2.5 million in wages to people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds in Melbourne.
Give the gift of connection through hands-on cooking, heartfelt storytelling, and a shared feast with a Free to Feed cooking experience.
Explore Free to Feed’s cooking experiences here.
Loretta holds a Bachelor of International Development.
3. Treat Your Feet to Bared
Back in 2008, Anna Baird set out to fill a glaring gap in the Australian footwear market: shoes that were not only comfortable and supportive, but also fashionable—shoes she’d be proud to wear herself. Fast-forward 13 years, and Bared Footwear hasn’t just filled that gap; it’s expanded its mission, weaving sustainability into the fabric of its success story.
Proudly B-Corp certified, Bared Footwear offers a broad range of orthotic shoes for women and men, combining style with a unique feature: a biomechanical footbed, expertly engineered for unparalleled support.
But for Anna, success is about more than just innovative and functional design:
“We really do employ only lovely people that genuinely care about looking after our customers. We don’t have sales targets or KPIs and we don’t have policies and procedures. They all know the only thing that matters are happy customers who love their shoes and the experience.” (Anna Baird, speaking to Fashion Journal.)
Explore the latest range from Bared Footwear here.
Anna holds a Bachelor of Podiatry.
4. Tradition and simplicity in every bottle at Lyons Will Estate
At Lyons Will Estate, everything is done by hand by Winemaker and Vigneron Renata Morello, and her husband and business partner Ollie Rapson (also a Winemaker and Vigneron.)
The boutique winery, located in the Macedon Ranges, yields traditional wine-making techniques that are proudly sustainable with minimal modifications for the most natural outcomes. Renata oversees the direction and the winemaking of both the Riesling and Gamay – taking inspiration from recent trips to Beaujolais and Burgundy, with Ollie focusing on the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir - his varietals of passion.
Renata credits her father Joe – a migrant from Calabria - as setting the agenda for her passion for food and wine. But Renata didn’t transform this passion into a career straight away. After completing her Bachelor of Physiotherapy at La Trobe, she spent her time travelling Europe qualified and spending a lot of time in Italy with family. Eventually, she would team up with her now husband Ollie to purchase a vineyard - and the rest is history.
Shop Lyons Will Estate’s full range here.
Renata holds a Bachelor of Physiotherapy from La Trobe University. She has also completed a PhD in public health and still works as a researcher alongside her role at Lyons Will Estate.
Need more inspiration? Check out our 2023 and 2022 gift guides.
