Q&A: Jason Minty

Born and raised in Hobart, a long-time Sydney-based business owner still calls Tasmania home.

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(image: Helena Dolby)

You’ve been based in Sydney for almost 20 years, and travelled the world for more than a decade before that. Why do you still call Hobart home?

I was born and raised in the northern suburbs of Hobart, and got my first taste of travel when I went on a student exchange to Malaysia in my late teens. Soon after I returned to Australia, I was offered a university scholarship to study Mandarin language in China, and spent a further year there.

I ended up moving to Brisbane to study International Relations and Chinese, and then relocated to Sydney straight after I graduated. Apart from a year in Hobart in the early 2000s, I’ve been based in Sydney ever since.

But I’ve always been a regular visitor back to Hobart, and have had a house in Mount Stuart since 2002. To me - despite the many years spending more time elsewhere - Hobart has always been home, and always will be.

As someone who travels frequently between the Australian mainland and Tasmania, what do you notice is different about life at the bottom of the world?

The difference is obvious from the second I step off the plane in Hobart. I can’t help but take a big deep breath, and I find myself naturally slowing down - even just walking through the airport.

Then there’s the pace of life. It’s easy to drive around town, nothing is manic, and you rarely hear a horn.

And everyone is friendly here. People smile and say hello. I never want it to lose that.

You founded Becker Minty in Potts Point in 2007. What inspired you to launch an interior design and home decor store?

After I graduated, I worked as a flight attendant with Qantas for more than a decade. I worked, and then I shopped - all over the world. I would buy things for friends and family, for flatmates, and for myself. I loved - and still love - finding products that you can’t find anywhere else in the world.

I had a casual conversation with Christopher Becker, a fashion designer friend in Sydney, and we started to think about opening a store where we could channel our passion for design into a really unique shopping experience. When the perfect space came up in Potts Point, we took a huge risk and dove in.

At the time, there was nothing like it in Australia. We travelled internationally on regular buying trips and had product flowing through the store that nobody had seen before.

The landscape has changed a lot since then, with the rise of e-commerce and globalisation. But, in the almost 20 years that Becker Minty has been open, my focus has continued to be on discovering and curating collections that are beautiful, premium, and really special.

More recently, you opened a Becker Minty store on Salamanca Place in Hobart. What brought you home to do that?

It was a post-Covid thing. I came down to visit and got stuck - in the best way - for about six weeks. During that time, my eyes were really opened to how far Hobart had come since I last spent a lot of time there in 2003. Mona had completely transformed the state, tourism was up, great restaurants were everywhere … I knew that there had to be something here for Becker Minty.

We opened at the end of 2022, and have since helped to launch a number of local fashion brands, and stocked lots of Tasmanian designers and artists, along with some of my most loved products from around the world.

Outside of coming in-store, how else can Tasmanians and visitors to the state experience your style?

I’ve created three apartment accommodation experiences near North Hobart: The Rupert, The Arthur, and The Brutus. I’ve personally curated them with beautiful artwork and furniture, so they have a similar aesthetic to the Becker Minty stores.

It’s a specific look and feel, without doubt, but the only way I can really describe it is to expect the unexpected. I love putting unrelated things next to each other, and erring on the maximal side. It’s all about colour, texture, shape, size, and how put things are put together. 

What are three must-dos for every visitor to Lutruwita/Tasmania?

You must do Pennicott’s Tasman Island Cruise. I’ve done it four times, and it’s just magnificent. Last time I was out there, we were surrounded by about 40 whales.

Mona is also on the list - how could it not be? I love the fact that it pushes the boundaries, and it’s fantastic in its shock value.

And, of course, just go restaurant- and bar-hopping, particularly all over Hobart and surrounds.

Which Hobart restaurants and bars can’t be missed?

I love Ogee, Institut Polaire, Restaurant MARIA, and a drink at Mary Mary. We’re also really spoilt with breakfast options - Marla Singer on the eastern shore is one of my favourites.

What does the perfect day off at the bottom of the world look like for you?

That’s easy. I’d head to Seven Mile Beach with a baguette, some great Tasmanian cheeses, and a bottle of Pressing Matters Riesling. You can lay there and sunbake, take a long beach walk, and watch the planes come in. You just won’t find a beach like that anywhere else in Australia.

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