Greetings from rural Australia!Wow! What a world. We’ve crashed into the side of a mountain and set loose an avalanche of unprecedented mayhem. The buzz words are that these are ‘uncharted waters’.
You know what? If you own a smaller business, you regularly travel through uncharted waters, don’t you?
When Victor’s architectural practice collapsed in the ‘recession we had to have’ in 1992, we had no guide to steer us through the aftermath. We sold our house, car and valuable possessions to avoid bankruptcy. And started a new life, from scratch, with nothing.
When we packed a 9 year old Mitsubishi station wagon with a motley collection of personal belongings, including two dogs, two cats and Victor and me, we left the city lights for the rural life without a roadmap.
And so have others.
Patrice Newell’s first book The Olive Grove, recounts her tireless efforts to establish one of the first commercial olive groves in Australia. Plenty of things go awry, yet Patrice performs miracles because of her unwavering mindset and her colossal, passionate commitment.
She crafts her own roadmap.
When living in Sydney, I dined at Berowra Waters Inn.
Listening to Gay Bilson read her book Plenty on ABC Radio National, I never suspected that Diamond Pythons greet wine waiters in the cellar. Goannas share lunch with bemused guests. That bushfires and wild storms are constant companions. And when 40 cases of Rosemount Estate wine fall off the barge into the river, Gay dives in to salvage what she can.
Her roadmap was under constant revision.
These are the real uncharted waters. And business as usual. Right?
Simple solutions for a difficult problem
In 1994, The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover takes over our lives. We cut and make 500 covers on our dining room table, using a small pair of Singer electric scissors, a 20 year old Husqvarna sewing machine and a newer Juki overlocker.
Victor is chief in charge of laying out and cutting and I'm head seamstress. A far cry from our days as architect and market research consultant.
My high flying days as a member of the Board of Directors for The American Chamber of Commerce and other high profile organisations are now a distant memory. I've traded stiletto heels and shoulder pads for jeans and Rossi boots.
Instead of rubbing shoulders with prime ministers and state premiers, I'm now immersed in rolls of fabric, spools of thread and having enough AA batteries on hand to feed the Singer scissors.
Victor and I agree it’s time to move the production off the table and out of the house.
Rebuffed by every sewing company for being too fussy - “this is just an ironing board cover you know” - we knock on one more door in Orange NSW and discover our heroes. The men and women who have a disability, who make all our products with love and care.
They are our second simple solution.
The patented crisscross tension cord on The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover is our first.
Victor’s gift for his mother is now an accidental business.
Roll Call Of Products At http://www.interfaceaustralia.com/index.htm
One hundred thousand customers world wide do put pressure on us to design more products.
Yet the Log Lugger is another accident.
We have cold winters. (-7°C) mornings. Brrr!
A roaring fire in our wood heater keeps us warm.
Living on 54 hectares, we have plenty of seasoned, fallen timber to feed the fire.
Victor cuts, splits and stacks it. The least I can do is bring it inside.
With the logs stacked up to my chin, I kick the back door open because I’ve no free hand to turn a knob. Once inside, I dump the logs into the wood box.
Then survey the mess.
There are wood chips all over the floor and stuck to my clothes. And Victor is concerned about the state of the back door and how soon I’ll kick a hole into it.
And so a Log Lugger is born.
Our first customer is our neighbour. Then his best mate.
The Log Lugger has a diverse clientele. From historic homes to cosy B&B’s, boutique hotels, fancy eateries, and you and me. It has homes in Europe, North America, Scandinavia, The British Isles and Oz.
To find out why, visit the Log Lugger.
The Friendship Factor At Finer Points
Swapping tips and ideas with you is another reason why I love what I do.
Susie Graham, the Presentation Stylist behind Susie Graham Living, swears by The Sweater Stone for renewing the look of your knits and sweaters. It's made of recycled materials and its website says it should last you about ten years.
You can find it at The Knitting Loft. It’s $9.90 plus p&h. Visit them at http://www.knittingloft.com/.
Caitlin O’Connor gives you her secret recipe for Lavender Ironing Water. You combine 2 cups of distilled water, 60 ml of vodka and 15 to 20 drops of 100 percent essential oil of lavender. You can also make Orange Ironing Water using neroli/orange oil.
According to Caitlin, “there is NOTHING in the world as nice as lying down to sleep on a pillowcase ironed with this spray - it's really subtle but soothing. I reckon ironed pillowcases are such an affordable luxury!”
Yes! Yes! Yes!!
Snippets About Us www.interfaceaustralia.com/contactus.htm
On October 9th, we celebrate 16 years in the bush. Our ‘uncharted waters’ are waves of memorable experiences.
We did what everyone said we couldn’t do.
We launched a world wide business from a rural village.
And created a hectare of exquisite garden on poor, rocky soil in a cold winter and hot summer, low rainfall climate, which is now habitat to 90+ species of birds, lizards and snakes (yes, a worry!).
We’ve had 13 years of shocking drought. Yet, in 1998, I drive to Bathurst through torrential rains and miss being swept away by their massive flood by 10 minutes.
I shed tears for starving cattle and sheep desperate for food. My car tangos with kangaroos, foxes and wombats at night. I drive 80 kms for a litre of milk. And delight in the joy of new born lambs, calves, joeys, fledglings and butterflies.
It really is sublime.
I’m an ex-New Yorker who simply loves her rural life!
Take care and I'll see you next month,
CAROL
Carol Jones
Director
