Sophie Hansen is a food blogger and social media influencer from Orange, NSW, Australia. She runs the blog "Local is Lovely" featuring beautiful photos of food and the local landscape. Hansen received the award for NSW Rural Woman of the Year in 2022 for her work connecting people through food and social media. She hopes to inspire others to support local farmers through her blog and online courses teaching social media skills for food businesses. Hansen also works on her family's venison farm and sees social media as a valuable way to promote their products and make connections with customers.

1. LOVELY, LOVELY SOPHIE
Scrolling through Sophie Hansen’s blog, Local is
Lovely, or her instagram of the same moniker, it’s
apparent this chick digs beautiful food. Chargrilled
peppers nestle on leafy green beds next to bowls of
richly coloured herbs and spices, a tumble of red and
yellow home grown tomatoes artfully scattered next
to plump figs. Dotted between the snaps of intricate
pasteries, blueberry goodness spilling from within,
are moments caught of the Orange landscape – softly
misted, blue skied, sunsets spilt like treacle over
rolling hills. It’s a feast for the senses and everything
that’s good about social media – interesting,
gorgeous, inspiring.
Warm, effusive and considered, Sophie Hansen is a
dream interview subject. Passionate about the country,
food, and connecting others, her words tumble out in
an eloquent torrent. She also knows what she’s talking
about. In March this year, Sophie travelled to Sydney’s
Parliament House where she received the illustrious
New South Wales Rural Woman of the Year. The award
directly acknowledges ‘women’s leadership capacity
in effecting change and influence through connecting
and collaborating,’ creating the opportunity for
women ‘to drive innovation and build resilience’.
All of which perfectly sums up Sophie’s positive
mindset and boundary changing ideas.
“The day of the award we got together with about 25
previouswinnersandfinalists,sowehadinthisroomall
thesewomenwhoarejustsoincredibleandsoinspiring,”
Sophie enthuses.
Australian Woman of the Year
{ photography (this page): SETH BUCHANAN }

2. # 037
“When you work for yourself in the country, it can be
a bit isolating sometimes. It was great to meet this
sisterhood of kick-ass country women who are doing
really cool things and are really collaborative.”
Born and raised in Sydney, Sophie ‘never in a
million years’ thought she’d be living in the country.
After studying print journalism at the University of
Canberra, the writer backpacked through Europe
for several years before settling in the world of
magazines on home soil, working for the, now out
of print publication, Australian Table Magazine.
“That was a really great experience and started my
whole love of writing about food, cooking and
producers,” she says.
“I then applied for an internship with Slow Food over
in Italy, which is an international movement dedicated
to clean, fair food. I spent three years working on their
English language publication which was pretty much
my dream job.” Here, the holistic movement of food
settled in her bones.
“It was there that really got me excited about simple,
fresh, seasonal food, and celebrating the story behind
it. Not just what happens on the plate but the whole
process behind it; sourcing the produce, cooking,
sharing it around a convivial table.”
Moving home, it was at a simple PR event that Sophie’s
life-course veered sideways. There she met a young
venison farmer, Tim Hansen, holding the publicity
event in Sydney.
“Three months later, I was living in Orange, engaged,”
Sophie says.
“It all happened really quickly, but it felt right.
That’s now 11 years ago.”
The transition to country living was almost seamless.
“MovingtoatownlikeOrangeisnohardship,”shesays.
“There’s great coffee, great restaurants, lots of great
people doing interesting things, plus we were doing
farmers markets most weekends so were back in
Sydney a lot.”
However, after having daughter Alice, now eight,
and six year-old son Tom, Sophie’s creative urges
started to re-awaken.
“I missed working in magazines,” she says.
“I love being part of a creative team, I like bringing
words and photos together. I was talking to my old
editor who was then at Country Style Magazine, and
she suggested starting a blog. And so I did, and from
the moment I hit publish I was hooked.”
So Local is Lovely was borne; a collection of
recipes and ideas, regional treasures and delicious
wanderlusting through rural profferings, all ‘for the
love of fresh, seasonal produce and nice farmers’.
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3. Nearly five years later, the blog and its various social
media offshoots has attracted quite the following and
offered Sophie a unique platform from which to launch
her freelance career.
“I like to think it’s because it’s a really positive, cheerful
and inspiring place,” Sophie muses.
“There’s so much doom and gloom about ag around the
place, it hasn’t rained and I get all of that. But it’s also
good to be excited about what we do. Hopefully people
can click on, see some nice photos, read a beautiful
recipe and someone’s story and feel good about that.
I want people to be excited to go out and seek those
products and cook that food and share it with their
friends and family.
“Hopefully that’s one small way of getting people to shop
locally and support their farmers.”
Thanks to her recent award, Sophie now has financial
assistance to roll out her online vision. Dubbed My
Open Kitchen, the online course is for anyone in food
productiontolearnthenutsandboltsofsocialmediaand
howbesttoshowcasetheirproducethroughphotography
andwriting.Thevirtualplatformshaveprovedinvaluable
fortheHansen’sfarm,MandageryCreekVenison.
“Obviously it depends on the business you have but,
for us, it’s really important,” Sophie says.
“Venisonisameatthatpeopleneedalittlehandholdingto
becomecomfortablewith,andweusedtodothatthrough
farmers markets every weekend for 10-years. But since
we’ve had the kids and other commitments, we’ve had to
have a break from the markets. Social media, I’ve found,
has stepped in to fill that void. It’s allowing us to keep
connecting with customers. I think it’s a really powerful
way to sell a product and make business connections.”
The wide world of web can be a scary place but, when
harnessed properly, Sophie is adamant the positives
have a spill-over effect.
“It’snotaboutego,it’saboutconnectionsandsupporting
each other. The negatives will always be there, but I
keepcomingbacktothisideaofsocialcapital,building
a network of people online who share these ideas and
valueswithyou.Findingthoseconnectionsandtheflow
on effects of that can be really big and positive.”
Underhermanyhats;author,photographer,entrepreneur,
mother, wife, businesswoman, Sophie’s plate is often
full.Butwheninherhappyplace,sittingaroundabonfire
with her family, a glass of chilled local wine in hand, she
can relish all the wonder and joy of wide spaces, taking
opportunities and venturing down new paths.
“Like anyone who is working and on a farm and with kids,
it’s a constant juggle,” she says.
“You don’t always get it right, but you just have to do
your best, keep breathing and keep smiling!”
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{ words: EMILY HERBERT photography: SOPHIE HANSEN }