Hello everyone!

We are so, so, SO excited to launch this initiative. We have been growing at such an incredible rate since we started 3.5 years ago, some days we pinch ourselves. It doesn't feel real!

We are so grateful that so many of you love us and are so loyal to us that we wanted to give back.

So we gave it some thought. You know we are passionate about helping the Australian fashion industry exist into the future (and I'm being serious when I say it's at risk guys, now more than ever. So where you can, please support it. Please support brands doing great things and small retailers run by great people. They need your support. They have been pummelled by bushfires and Coronavirus on the back of very soft economic activity for many years now). We have seen many great brands and retailers disappear into the ether and with them goes jobs, opportunities and brilliant creative talent that Australia should be so proud of!). So where you can, shop full price, guys. For most retailers, if you're buying at 30-40% off they're not making any money. At 50% off they're losing money. Most retailers can't sustain losses for more than 1-2 years (depending on how big the losses are). After that, they cut staff, or they close down completely. We don't want to see that! We have worked so hard to try to grow this industry and create opportunities for our children into the future, so let's band together and keep it going! It's not about spending more. It's about buying less. Investing in incredible quality and supporting the people behind the garment.

Now you know that's our philosophy and passion when it comes to the Australian fashion industry, and we are doing it well. We support brands run by great people and cut brands that are nasty to deal with and only in it for themselves. We're not about that and we won't tolerate it. And we certainly won't put our dollars behind it no matter how great their product is! (but that being said, generally when a brand has that attitude their quality ends up going out the window as they start to struggle and put their bottom line first because, guess what? They're not very good at business! They don't appreciate everyone who helps them be successful and so eventually, they're not! Kindness, care and respect always wins out in the end, guys.

We're global and we're getting the incredible Australian design talent out to the world, gradually growing their reputations and dedicated followings in other countries.

And now we want to do MORE.

We want to help small communities in the world doing it tough. We want to make sure our money is going straight into their pockets.

This is no small feat. A LOT of time and effort goes into sourcing suppliers in these locations to ensure you're putting the money straight into their pocket and that it's benefiting their local economy and supporting communities of wonderful, wonderful people to keep being exactly the way they are: kind, peaceful, happy,

For our first Global Communities initiative, we looked close to home: Bali.

Courtney did a flying trip over to Bali last week. She was literally there for less than 72 hours and she worked her little butt off! At one point it looked like she may be coming home empty handed. She was upset. She is really passionate about this initiative and about helping people, having a positive impact in the world. She's very passionate about using the opportunity we have as a retailer to support people who deserve it, to help them grow, to help them prosper, especially when they're struggling.

But it wasn't easy what she was trying to do! She was looking for 3 things (in addition to wonderful PEOPLE she wanted to support):

1. Design - she was looking for beautiful, handmade products that suited our aesthetic. That she loved and she knew you'd love. Items we felt passionately about being able to bring you!
2. Craftmanship - the quality had to be there, and
3. Price - we needed to be willing to pay it and you needed to be willing to pay it, otherwise it wouldn't work!

But she got lucky in the end, meeting not one, not two, not three but FOUR incredible Balinese artisans to supply us with incredible items we know you'll love. With our dollars going straight into their pockets! Helping them, their families and their local community. Lovely, warm, kind, beautiful, happy people who deserve it.

And this was just trip one! We are committed to expanding our assistance to this region and finding you more and more beautiful, handmade items for you to treasure. Unique items that nobody else has!

Stay tuned for a full recount of the first Bali trip and the release of our first Bali Artisan Collection!

Lots of love

Courtney, Sally, Lily, Dani and Eb xx