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John B. Fairfax’s mansion, Elaine, still for sale after a reported $75 million offer was rejected last year.
When Pauline Russell first worked on the marketing designs for John B. Fairfax’s Sydney mansion Elaine her instructions were not to name the famous media family, nor to show the inside of the house.
Luckily, Elaine, which has been split on to a number of titles, sits on 7000sq m at Point Piper on Sydney Harbour with manicured grounds rolling down to the harbour. It is still on the market, with reports last year that a $75 million offer was rejected as too low.
The brochures, websites and other marketing props at the heart of selling luxury homes to the well heeled is Russell’s job.
“In my experience, the more beautiful and expensive the feeling of the brochure or the take away pack, the quicker the sale,†says Russell, a director of Yoke Design. “The audience (for a prestige property) wouldn’t respond to a crazy website or a moving hoarding like video or a TV screen at the house.â€
Naming a new development is often part of the brief. The luxury properties usually go for safe choices that lord the location.
Russell has worked on Wallace Residences in Toorak. The five-apartment project is in Wallace Avenue. And while not involved in the name, Russell has been responsible for sale brochures, which were printed on linen with foil and hand stitched at around $30 each.