Life+ with Fiona Della-Sale: From boutiques to bush the incredible journey of Virginie Carbonatto-Fuhrmann

When asking about Virginie’s previous career, she laughs and replies ‘What else would someone from Geneva do? I was a jeweller and designer!’. As stereotypical as it sounds, Virginie’s earlier half of life contrasts considerably to that now. From the Alps to coastal plains, watch design to wildlife, boutiques to bush, Virginie is most at home here now, either in her garden or immersed at work in the Chapman River Regional Park. Virginie grew in the small town of Rolle, on the shore of Lake Geneva, Switzerland, in the French speaking area. Her childhood was filled with mountain hikes up to the family chalet, foraging for mushrooms and snow skiing. With the Alps at her doorstep, she represents the Heidi of Switzerland I used to read and dream about. As fortunate as I was to grow up on a farm, surrounded by open paddocks and bush in which to have many an adventure, it was the lush, verdant mountain scenes with clear flowing streams, enchanting villages and forests painted romantically in European children’s literature and on Christmas cards, I longed to see. However, I was pleased I could at least draw those distant landscapes with the bright green coloured pencil of the standard Staedtler set, that frustratingly never matched the eucalyptus olive hues of Australia. Ironically, it is the latter palette that has become more familiar to Virginie now, in fact, a major part of her life. But, before delving into her Aussie chapter, it is important to journey down her earlier pathway, the formation of her passion now. Amid dreamy lake and mountain life, Virginie was oriented early to rich arts and culture through her godmother who lives in Florence, Italy. Virginie spent a year travelling Scandinavian countries and took the opportunity to work with locals and made products in industrial design and some artistic work with pastel drawing. Recalling that time, she says “I was always fascinated by industrial design, especially Scandinavian design”. This led to her following the path of her great-grandfather studying at the same arts school in Geneva, only 100 years later. For more than five years she trained to be a jeweller, which she loved despite the rest of her family involved in another quintessential Swiss business — chocolate-making. Virginie’s brother became a chocolatier, and it became the family business. Hazelnuts used in some chocolate were imported from across the border, in the Piedmont region of Italy, where her great-grandfather originated. Virginie worked as a designer in the jewellery and the traditional watch industry before starting her own jewellery business. Her work flourished and reputation spread. In the backyard of her renovated Bluff Point home, sitting under an old olive tree near to a restored early settlement stone stable, she flicks through glossy design and fashion magazines through which her jewellery graces the pages. Gem-dripping necklaces and rings, intricate timepieces and heirloom wonders is what Virginie came to be designing for the high-end market. Buyers included the likes of Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Savoy, with some pieces fetching up to 400 000 euros for the designer-brand companies for whom she was designing. Even the household watch name we know here, Swatch, Virginie designed worked for. “And this one,” Virginie points to a bangle of shiny, pebbly appearance, ‘is made of stingray leather. It’s been used for centuries in jewellery making’. Due to its unique appearance and durability, ‘shagreen’ as it’s known, is an exotic leather was used centuries ago by King Louis XV for his wig cases and by Japanese Samurai for sword handles. “Now instead of using the skin of these vulnerable animals, I dive in Abrolhos waters to admire them,” Virginie now draws contrast to her earlier life and continues to explain how despite the idyllic Swiss setting of childhood, the adult Virginie feels more at home in Australian bush, so much so, her work now is as volunteering her days as a nature enthusiast and in local conservation. This shift began when she met her husband to be, Mischa. Of German origin, he had lived in Sydney and this forged the Australian connection. Virginie met Mischa in Geneva who travelled annually between there and Australia as a keen windsurfer. “I fell in love with this country, with nature.” Back home in Switzerland began a new quest in learning, ditching watch design for wilderness learning. She ceased her business and began a new chapter here in Geraldton where they decided to make it home 13 years ago. Initially, life was about ‘nesting’ as Virginie was pregnant with their daughter Eoline and so work began on renovating their newly purchased house, but soon the garden became the focus. Under the shade of the olive tree, we sit as she lists off the botanical names of plants she’s added to her garden. Some are familiar species — fig and citrus — but ‘it’s all the native Australian ones, I had to learn, and there’s so many’. Virginie beckons me over to view her favourite plant. “This is Crotalaria Cunninghamii native to the State’s north’, the scientific name rolling off her tongue ‘or the green bird flower.” Its appearance is an obvious tribute to its common name given the delicate bird-shaped flower produced by the plant. The ‘crotalaria’ is even more enchanting with ‘crotalon’, from Greek, meaning rattle or castanet, referring to the sound made when the pod is shaken. From backyard beginnings, Virginie’s foray into nature expanded to the nearby Chapman River Regional Park. She joined the Chapman River Friends, learning the ropes from others involved and is now the group’s co-ordinator. “I love the community spirit among the volunteers and the different skills people bring to the group.” The Friends work on the rehabilitation of flora and fauna, clean-up days, tree planting and host educational workshops, mainly through guided walks with key being preserving this natural asset for future generations. “It’s a real win, when yet another person can experience the Park’s beauty for the first time.” All her earlier design skills are not lost, as Virginie has brought those to the development of a flora identification app for the park, ‘CRF Wildflowers’. Few people may realise, this remnant bushland with the city, surrounded by six suburbs, is home to more than 300 plant species. Fewer again could probably identify many of these amazing plants, sitting within the internationally listed Southwest Australia Biodiversity Hotspot region. This is where the app comes in handy, especially come June when the park is painted with wildflower colour. “It’s the flowers that attract us, but behind them is another whole world!” exclaims Virginie. Of course, the park also supports fauna, with 123 recorded species of birds, 22 reptile, seven frog, two turtle and many fish species. At the termination point of the Park, the rivermouth forms a coastal wetland with saltmarsh that is a Threatened Ecological Community, protected under Federal Law. To some, it looks little more than a swamp but again it supports vital flora and fauna life, including migratory birds that will eventually fly 13,000km to the Arctic for breeding, annually. It’s also a long flight for Virginie back to her family home, but experiencing the park’s natural treasures through a stroll, trail ride or close-up guided walk, it’s no wonder Virginie was enchanted by nature and feels at home here now.