At the end of August I came up with a hair-brain idea to open my own little giftware/homewares/handmade shop in my closest town Coolamon. I put the idea past my sister Lisa who thought it was a fab idea but only if she could come in on the venture! So here we are 3 months down the track with our own little business together!
We've been open 3 weeks now and the response has been phenomenal with so many people coming in to have a look and buy things. There have been lots of positive comments about how pretty the shop looks and "it's just what Coolamon needed" comments!
You can "like" us on Facebook to check out all the photos of our stock and the hard work we've put in getting the shop ready. We are having a website built at the moment, but we're not sure when it will be up and running. I designed the logo with the help of a graphic designer. All I knew was I wanted red, aqua and white as the colour scheme, and then I thought about 2 little birds who would represent Lisa and I as family like the birds from the Partridge family tv show!
This is a photo of our opening night window - we had a champagne and nibblies opening for our friends and family, and also other business owners in Coolamon. The old "Speedwell" bike belongs to my mother-in-law who rode it to school everyday back in the 1950's. It's in original condition (rusty!!!) but it still had air in it's tyres when I pulled it out of the back shed!
The "dandelion" lights are from IKEA and we get about half a dozen comments everyday we're open about them - they're a real talking point! The local "Men's Shed" made the pigeonhole shelving for us, the oval table was a $40 Vinnies find which I painted, and the old meat safe in the back corner had been sitting in a shed on the farm for the last 50 years with junk in it. I pressure-washed it and re-gauzed the sides and door, but basically left it in original condition.
It's a really beautiful shop to walk into with it's amazing pressed metal ceiling, timber floor, and one wall is all mini-orb corrugated iron! We've stocked it with beautiful things from all over the world as well as Australia. We've sourced handmade jewellery from Australian artists, beautiful porcelain bowls from the USA, timber jewellery and homewares from Germany, and our Aunty Jenny Newbound has supplied us with some of her amazing artwork.
We pride ourselves on the fact that nothing in the shop (other than Aunty Jenny's paintings) is over $50 and we're going to try very hard to keep it that way!! Anyway, Lisa and I are having a lot of fun so far and we hope to continue having fun!!
3 comments:
That's fantastic news Donna! I must have been living in a bubble not to notice a new shop in Coolamon. Look forward to popping in before Christmas!!
Donna, congratulations. Be sure to let us know when the website's up and running.
Well done Donna!! It looks fabulous.
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