Creatives at Home: Naturopath Genna Pyewacket's Botanical Shrubs
Naturopath and nutritionist Genna Pyewacket whips up delicious botanical drinks in her ’50s-styled Lismore kitchen
Genna Pyewacket is helping revive the art of using botanical shrubs by mixing these delicious drinks in the kitchen of her Lismore, NSW, home, planted among all the things she holds near and dear.
That means displaying – on walls, floors, in cabinets and on door knobs – the hundreds of vintage collectables she has been gathering for more than 20 years. And, as is natural for someone with a passion for objects from the Great Depression and World War II, she doesn’t simply display these collectables, she uses them too. “They may be less efficient [than modern appliances] but they make up for it in beauty,” she says.
Sitting on top of this cabinet at the end of the kitchen is a chalkware statue, similar to the type that were once awarded at country shows as prizes for the best pumpkin or prize rooster. Genna bought the starburst clock at Sydney’s Glebe markets.
Sitting on top of this cabinet at the end of the kitchen is a chalkware statue, similar to the type that were once awarded at country shows as prizes for the best pumpkin or prize rooster. Genna bought the starburst clock at Sydney’s Glebe markets.
As a single parent, Genna also relates to the way these retro objects were made at a time when a lack of raw materials meant people were creative with their possessions and decor. “I love that no matter what was going on at the time, people always found a way to make things beautiful with that they had,” she says.
Among other things, Genna collects folk art, costume jewellery made out of wood, cork, early plastics and Depression-era glass, baskets, pottery and textiles.
Among other things, Genna collects folk art, costume jewellery made out of wood, cork, early plastics and Depression-era glass, baskets, pottery and textiles.
Genna’s kitchen, which is also a display area for her collection of copper moulds, is also the heart of her burgeoning business, Pyewacket’s Traditional Shrubs: a shrub being a fruit and herb-infused vinegar that can be a cordial or acid base for sauces or dressings, but is most often used in cocktail mixing and for botanical sodas.
“Shrubs are a traditional method of preserving fruit and herbs in apple cider vinegar. The technique originated in the Middle East; the word ‘shrub’ comes from ‘sharab’, which means ‘drink’,” says Genna.
One of Genna’s big ‘aha’ moments as a teenager was going to a cool restaurant called Rebar in her hometown of Victoria in Canada’s British Columbia. It had a collection of copper moulds and was decked out in ’50s kitsch and Mexicana. “It felt like ‘This is me!’ I didn’t start collecting them until I moved in to this place though. Nowadays they come to me, as friends find them in op shops or inherit them from family and send them my way.”
“Shrubs are a traditional method of preserving fruit and herbs in apple cider vinegar. The technique originated in the Middle East; the word ‘shrub’ comes from ‘sharab’, which means ‘drink’,” says Genna.
One of Genna’s big ‘aha’ moments as a teenager was going to a cool restaurant called Rebar in her hometown of Victoria in Canada’s British Columbia. It had a collection of copper moulds and was decked out in ’50s kitsch and Mexicana. “It felt like ‘This is me!’ I didn’t start collecting them until I moved in to this place though. Nowadays they come to me, as friends find them in op shops or inherit them from family and send them my way.”
During the Middle Ages, English explorers brought shrubs to what is now the UK, where they were used as medicines and nutritional supplements; the vitamins they preserved prevented diseases such as scurvy during long sea crossings. They were so tasty that shrubs were combined with spirits to make early cocktails from the colonial American times through to Prohibition, when they were served in bars in lieu of alcohol. It was only the advent of refrigeration that put them out of favour.
Recently, along with many things healthy and handmade, shrubs have experienced a revival, particularly in the USA. And in Australia, small-batch makers such as Genna are beginning to win over the thirsty among us.
Fittingly, Genna begins the shrub-making process with raw produce. “I go out and source directly from producers,” she says. “That means driving out to pick lemon and orange trees on people’s properties. I also grow a lot of the herbs in my garden,” she says.
Fittingly, Genna begins the shrub-making process with raw produce. “I go out and source directly from producers,” she says. “That means driving out to pick lemon and orange trees on people’s properties. I also grow a lot of the herbs in my garden,” she says.
She begins with fruit, which she either macerates, juices or purees. She then combines this with apple cider vinegar, raw sugar and herbs, and ferments the mixture. The mother culture of the apple cider vinegar preserves and fortifies the mixture; the shrub drink is essentially a probiotic cordial full of vitamins and whatever benefits each of its ingredients impart.
“My shrubs are heavy on fruit and herbs, heavy on flavour. I don’t put out any flavour unless it’s really distinctive and impressive,” says Genna. “They’re not just infused vinegars – they have depth and panache as botanical sodas or in cocktail mixing.”
“My shrubs are heavy on fruit and herbs, heavy on flavour. I don’t put out any flavour unless it’s really distinctive and impressive,” says Genna. “They’re not just infused vinegars – they have depth and panache as botanical sodas or in cocktail mixing.”
From her first bottle in August 2017, she now produces hundreds of litres a month. And, like many budding entrepreneurs, she mixes regular paid work in her chosen field with many after-dark hours so she can spend quality time with her two children, Jet, 14 and Roxanne, 10. “Some days, after working and getting my kids to bed, I’m at it until 11pm. At the moment, production at home is essential as I’m juggling being a mum and working as a naturopath during the day,” she says.
But the real star of the show is a portrait of Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. “She was a force of nature. Everything she did was art. The way she dressed, the way she wrote, painted, lived. She broke conventions and rules. She was both ahead of her time and radical while totally reclaiming, reviving and celebrating the traditional and the old ways,” says Genna. “She made no apologies and she fought to live life on her terms as a woman against a backward society and a broken body. Her story is all about being courageous and finding beauty.”
Genna’s family has Romanian roots and she was raised by her grandmother in Canada, in a home with heavy religious iconography and bold patterns. This continues to influence her style today. On top of the drawers in her bedroom is her grandmother’s pink quartz perfume bottle. Inside is the remains of her signature scent, “a not particularly posh fragrance called White Shoulders,” says Genna. Her grandmother is pictured in the black and white photograph in the middle shelf on the left.
And the family bathroom – which Genna describes as “beige central” – has been livened up with artwork, ceramics and native kangaroo paw flowers. “I do my best to bring colour and fun in here too,” she says. And it works.
Tell us
Have you ever tried a shrub? We’d love to hear your thoughts about the revival of these interesting and medicinal beverages so share your experiences in the Comments below, like this story and join the conversation.
More
Check out the story of another creative who set up a business from home: Julia Denes of Woodfolk
Tell us
Have you ever tried a shrub? We’d love to hear your thoughts about the revival of these interesting and medicinal beverages so share your experiences in the Comments below, like this story and join the conversation.
More
Check out the story of another creative who set up a business from home: Julia Denes of Woodfolk
Creative Space at a Glance
Name: Genna Pyewacket of Pyewacket’s Traditional
Occupation: Naturopath and maker of botanical shrub drinks
Location: Lismore, NSW
What’s made here: Botanical shrubs
When Genna Pyewacket moved from Sydney to Lismore, NSW, 10 years ago she was searching for a sense of home. A practising naturopath, she wanted her two children to grow up somewhere with a backyard large enough to grow lots of healthy vegetables and herbs. “Somewhere that would be a home they would not have to leave for a very long time,” she says. She found that in a circa-1940s weatherboard home in East Lismore with high ceilings, large windows and a huge lawn. But like many rentals, it has its downsides. “It’s freezing in winter and boiling in summer,” says Genna. “The kitchen is late-70s and, like the bathroom, leaves a lot to be desired. I dream of the renovations I would do if I owned this place but for now, I work with what I have.”