This little Ruby doesn’t often get away out of her beloved Melbourne city to explore Victoria’s regional hamlets, but by golly, she certainly did over the past few days.

With my delightful husband, we visited Daylesford the spa capital of Victoria. The hour and a half trip up the Western Freeway took us to the friendly doorstop of Art Deco classic Hotel at Peppers Hepburn Springs. Welcomed with a hot toddy, I must admit that Melbourne and my Apple Mac Ruby Computer seemed a long way away!

I was surprised and delighted at the ingenuity of the small businesses in Daylesford. Did you know that there is even a Stockdale and Leggo in Daylesford? Perhaps they will be the next addition in the Stockies franchises to begin representation with Ruby Assembly Consultants 🙂

Always handy with the camera and slightly stalkerish, I took a photo of another ye olde world real estate agent in Daylesford, the aptly named ‘Daylesford Real Estate‘. Check out the photo of their motto below. Just makes you want to stop for a scone and a tea, doesn’t it?


Other places we enjoyed on our brief getaway include the award winning Lake House Restaurant, where we ended up finding a bottle of very fine nebbiolo on our table courtesy of our great friends at U-bahn design. That’s an eye for detail this little Ruby appreciates! We also visited Red Star cafe, a must in Hepburn Springs for toasting in front of the pot-belly fireplace whilst enjoying a coffee with friends.

Daylesford is a wonderful example of a geographically isolated small town which has chosen to embrace its ‘smallness’ as a strength. Businesses like Lark which specialize in my kind of uber cute vintage are well known throughout Australia because of their simple yet effective web presence, which includes a blogging programme. An online empire, yet located in the middle of the country. Faboosh!

So make like Daylesford. Embrace the small to enrich your own business for the future, and spread your wings online. Below my last final photo of Daylesford – how’s this for a town hall?