Professionals Tamborine Mountain 
There are few places in Canungra as outwardly unassuming and yet as rich and beloved as the literally-named The Blue House. From the outside, it might resemble nothing more than, well, a blue house, but within it contains gifts from across the world and a beautiful yard filled with a surprising array of delights. Angela Baker owns and runs this fascinating fixture and her daughter Stacey Baker assists by operating Cuppa Hot, the backyard coffee stand with treats to delight. Today we were lucky enough to sit down with the Bakers, who elaborate on the truly incredible history behind this local treasure trove and their desire to share it with the community.
by Kyle Hitchmough
For those who might not understand, can you explain what it is The Blue House offers?
We have authentic Mexican products, made in Mexico, there’s several families that make them. We also carry general giftware, smaller items. We’ve got a few plants, and we also sell local products. We have quite a few skilled and talented people in town, so this is an outlet for them as well. We then morphed into selling tea and coffee because we had the nice little cottage with the big yard so we turned a container into a little kitchen and snack shack here in the backyard, Cuppa Hot. We provide snack-type things, toasties, scones, cakes, not café food, we leave that to the cafes in town. We might get a few little things from Flesser’s Bakery down the road, a couple of cakes, but mostly Stacey makes it all herself. We get a lot of locals, it’s a local escape.
How did you get started here?
We used to have a little gift shop in town called Flutterbys, and then that closed down. We had a beautiful little cottage here, it was something that I always wanted to do, and that basically was it. To have something in a unique little location.
The Mexican gift theme is very interesting. What was the inspiration behind that?
It was a bit of a risk. I like bright colours, and I like the Mexican style. When you’ve got a little town like this you don’t want to be selling the same things that people can buy on the Gold Coast. You need one little brightly coloured thing in your house, a standout piece, so we have a room dedicated to that, and another room dedicated to the more general stuff, and all the local products. And the kitchen, that’s going to be turned into a little craft space to run workshops in. We’ll make wooden signs, furniture painting, jewellery making, garden pots, chimes, knitting, crocheting, and whatever people ask for. It’s going to be a busy little hop!
You also have a massage room, correct?
Jane from Feeling Groovy Massage does massages here Monday through Thursday by appointment. She specialises in remedial deep tissue massage. She gets right in there. She’s the person to see if you’ve got aches and pains.
Are there any particular trends in your customers?
You’d be surprised. Old, young, mums, grandmas, there’s no particular trend. I guess when you have a bit of everything you attract everyone. And people are curious, when they first come, they’ll have a look and say “Oh, we’re definitely coming back here.” There’s all these interesting spots in the yard, and the coffee, so they find something different every time. We change it up, too. We’ve got a magnificent mango tree; you don’t see those in yards anymore.
Are you locals? What’s your opinion on the Canungra area and community?
We’ve been here 27 years. I love it. When we came, it was so quiet. Probably in the last 5 years it’s really grown. It’s just progress. If you love the place, why not share it with other people? Look at your backdrop, you’ve got the mountains, that’s never going to be taken away. It’s got everything that you need, really. Even though it’s busy, it’s still got that old town look.
Do you have any personal favourite places to go in the area?
We go to all of them! We share it around. We go to all the cafes. Sometimes I might go into town to another gift shop like My Country Escape. We try to give back to the locals and they give back to us. We look out for each other.
What do you think The Blue House really provides to the area?
A lot of the locals do like it because there’s somewhere to come when it does get busy, especially on the weekends. It’s not noisy, we’ve got the big yard, parents come and let their kids run around a little bit, it’s pet-friendly as long as the dogs are on a leash and with the customer… You usually hear lots of people laughing. It’s a nice and relaxed vibe. The house is 100 years old, it’s an original worker’s cottage from when this was a logging town. Lots of older locals come in and tell us stories about the house, which I can then pass on to other people. The kids that used to live here, they’re in their 70s and 80s now, they still come now and again and bring their grandchildren. We named the shed out the back here Milton after the guy that built the house, Milton Duncan.
What do you enjoy most about doing this?
I like all of it! I’m a social person, so I like it when people come in and have a chat. I’ve always got things going on, lots of different projects… it’s like a second home. And I get good coffee, best coffee in town! It’s the communal vibe.
What’s been your most memorable moment from your time here?
We had a wedding! And a lot of baby showers, that’s our main one. Then the mums come back with the babies! We’ve got a 16th birthday coming up, we’re doing a workshop making crystal misting spray, so Stacey’s organising that. It’s nice when people love this space too, and you can share in somebody else’s special day.
Is there anything else you’d like to go on the record?
Come and check us out! You might be pleasantly surprised.
We are always looking for new topics for our blog. If there’s something you like to see more of, email your suggestions to: social@professionalsserendipity.com.au, or email the writer at kyle.hitchmough@hotmail.com.
