Small Business Love
You might not realise that The Cover Collective is a small business, we’re not one of the ‘big boys’, and by that, I mean, this business of mine is my heart and soul (along with my hubby, preschooler and crazy dog). I have a small team of exceptionally hard working, passionate and talented women working with me, and we’re all completely mad about linen and our customers (whilst juggling the crazy life that is small business and motherhood). We are all big lovers of Australian small businesses and advocates for shopping local. There’s so much you can do to support small businesses, well beyond spending with them...though please, shop up all the linen you love ;)
Here's some tips on how to support your friends, family or even small business brands you follow (even without buying from them right now)
- Follow them on social media
- Engage with their content on social media
- Tell your friends and family about their business
- Post a pic and tag them when you have their products
- Leave a review or testimonial when you have their products
- Sign up to their emails
- Save their products that you would love to buy or that would make great gifts and go back and purchase them when you can
- Give positive feedback (e.g "I read your blog article and loved it" or "that new product you released is amazing.")
We’ve got soooooo many small businesses that we love, but here’s our top 10 to check out!
1. The Panton Store
Stocking a curated collection of pottery, plants, books, and utilitarian home goods Shelley uses her business platform to proactively support and assist other makers and business owners in getting their product to market. Shelley has worked onsite producing her own range of hand thrown studio pottery since 2009, and remains passionate about building a community around her business. We love the Shelley Panton Table Series stoneware range, made by the talented lady herself, right here in Melbourne. These pieces are utilitarian, everyday classics for the dinner table and we are in love!
You can shop in Shelley’s bricks and mortar store at 440 Malvern Road, Prahran, shop online at https://shop.shelleypanton.com/ or check out her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thepantonstore/
Based in the southern suburbs of Sydney, Harper + Wilde is the heart and soul of artist and designer Alisha Rae. Each piece from Harper + Wilde's bespoke range is 100% designed and made in Sydney, Australia. We love that Harper + Wilde pieces are designed as a work of art, and that in a world where mass production has become the norm there is something very special about knowing that no one will ever have the exact same piece as you. A warning, once you start browsing her website, you won’t be able to resist adding some of her pieces to your home.
Using 100 percent natural ingredients from botanical sources, each of the nine scents has its own unique personality. ime Natural Perfume is run by Tonya Walker, she wanted to offer a set of naturals that were usable alone or in conjunction with the rest of the line, a bit like the Jo Malone idea. The difference here being that Tonya wanted to capture the healing benefits of the ingredients and use these fragrances as mood enhancers or diverters. A majority of the commercial perfumes we buy are 100% synthetic, we’ve made the switch to 100% natural with ime (and they are mind blowingly good)!
4. Fomu
Fomu is a Melbourne based design studio with an aim to design and create objects which embody simplicity while using beautifully considered form and details to enhance the overall functionality of the design. Andrew Beveridge and Gabrielle Beswick are the designers and co-founders of Fomu and their creations are all designed and made in Australia. We love their use of natural materials and how the pieces are both minimal and yet statement pieces, quality over quantity, definitely furniture you will love forever!
Located in the heart of the surf coast, Torquay Victoria, Black Salt Co was founded by Amber & Jenny Foster a mother and daughter duo who both share a love for homewares, travelling and an eye for detail. With a passion to source new styles, travel to the unknown and most of all share a business together, a unique coastal luxe homewares & decor brand was born. Black Salt Co. is a to die for collection of coastal luxe homewares and accessories, sourced both locally and globally. Give us ALL the rattan; bedheads, bedside tables, hanging chairs...love it all!
Dollar Hippy Club creates natural skincare that is 100% Australian made and lovingly put together.. While ingredients are at the core of what Dollar Hippy Club represents in the natural skincare market, they are also focused on soul care. Within each and every product a crystal is present, these crystals are intended to power the crystal’s properties into your skincare – a little skin and soul care goes a long way. A stand out, must try is the Miracle Oil. Anti-anxiety, stress relieving and anti-ageing, this oil blend truly works miracles.
7. Saroka
Founded by Melbourne designer Melinda Andaloro; Saroka is recognised for its striking, yet super versatile garments. Beginning with the design process, filtering through to the wearing experience, Saroka aims to empower women to feel incredible no matter what their shape or size. The female figure is always at the forefront of design, taking into account that every woman is unique and celebrating this in each piece. Saroka focuses on slow and sustainable fashion, each garment is hand made to order in Melbourne, eliminating fabric and stock waste. Her collection of dresses, tops & pants are made from the beautiful natural materials such as linen and cotton, quality over quantity is what we love to see!
SOH MELBOURNE is a fragrance house producing bespoke candles and perfumes created and poured in Melbourne. Founded by husband and wife team, Nathan and Kristine Brown, they work together with esteemed perfumer Francois Merle-Baudoin. SOH creates ah-mazing candles that give your home seriously good smelling vibes, they're pure, fresh, simple and feel like home.
If you haven’t got yourself onto preserved flowers, hop on board! We a teeny tiny bit obsessed with August Wildflower’s creations. You gotta love something so beautiful and still so low maintenance. There are so many florists that were so severely impacted (and continue to be) by the COVID-19 pandemic (all the wedding cancellations for a start), so supporting your local florist by purchasing flowers, or preserved floral arrangements goes a long way in helping their small businesses!
10. The Dirt Company
The Dirt Company Laundry Detergent is created from ingredients that are naturally derived, and 100% biodegradable (a perfect match for French linen!). They have formulated a product using pure and powerful ingredients (that actually work!) and bare minimum packaging, to deliver an innovative, useful, and thoughtful product, that's good for the earth, and will sit damn pretty on your washing machine too (the glass reusable dispenser is as good looking as it is useful!) Australian made and operated, this team of legends has created laundry products you can get excited about (and they actually work too) We wouldn’t use anything else on our linen!
