DORY OVEREND

SMALL BIZ OWNER – BANKSIA BOUTIQUE

Meet Dory – whose nickname, yes, does come from that loveable yet forgetful fish – champion creator who just gets it done, nurturer of a strong community spirit and owner of Banksia Boutique on the sunny north coast of NSW. With her little biz fast approaching its first birthday, we sat down and had a chat about the oft stress-filled early months of launching a passion project, what gets her up and at ‘em each morning, how long she planned for before taking the leap and all the things she’s learned along the way. We touched on the classic – and seemingly felt-worldwide – Insta-fuelled issues, which were joined by how she remains true to her core purpose, her biggest asset when it comes to keeping her store fresh and fun, and what it’s like being the boss (spoiler: it’s good).

Dory, so fab to have you for a chat! Tell us a bit about what you do for work.

I own and run a conscious boutique called Banksia Boutique. We specialise in stocking Australian owned and designed labels, and we have a real mix. We not only choose brands that are sustainably made, we also choose brands that are made from sustainable fabrics – we use a lot of natural fibres, that’s really important for us.

What do you look for when picking a brand?

I’ll hunt for brands that are aligned with our values, or sometimes brands approach us. They find us on Instagram, emails, recommendations from friends of friends in the area. We love small and upcoming brands; small enough that it’s a special piece – instead of some of our other brands (which we adore too) which have more followers, so more people are wearing them.  

What made you want to open up a store?

I’ve always wanted to do my own thing. I like working for myself and I wanted to do things on my own terms.

I like setting my own day and showing things that I like. Banksia is a reflection of me and what I like when shopping – things that are my style.

Before opening Banksia, did you have a clear vision for what you wanted the store to look like aesthetically?

Yeah. Pretty much straight away I was onto Pinterest. Originally we wanted velvet pink change rooms, but we couldn’t get velvet curtains, so instead we got a velvet couch. Literally walked into the op shop, and the couch was there waiting. I was like ‘this is literally perfect’. Cosmic. A lot of the store has come together like that.

The universe provided. Have you found aspects of the business easier or harder than you thought? Or did you just jump in?

Kind of just jumped in. Some stuff is definitely harder, some stuff easier. It’s a real mix – so many lessons learned and we are only 10 months open. Christmas was WILD – I went in blind. I spoke to all the other boutique owners I’m friends with, and they could help…  but all our stores are different, so it’s hard to gauge.

So you have a pretty strong network of small boutiques that do similar things, how did you form those connections?

I’m close with Bek from Salty Collective, she and I have known each other for five years. We talk every day and bounce ideas off each other – being in this industry together… it’s literally been the biggest help. Bek introduced me to Soph, who owns Tallow & Tide, and Clare, who runs Nala & Wild. So it was kind of just everyone connecting through Bek.

What a woman! You guys just support each other, on the business side of things?

All the time, it doesn’t stop – with anything and everything. If you have an issue or you don’t really know how to deal with something, it’s been great to speak to others that have been through it and can help with their experience – for example issues with stock, or shipping delays.

How did you get started in fashion?

I’ve always worked in retail. I started out at Best’n’Less… and I’ve literally worked everywhere else in between. Managed Rubi Shoes, worked at Sportsgirl on Bourke Street, Glue at The Emporium. I’ve done all the horrible fast fashion brands. At those stores, everything comes individually wrapped in plastic. It’s mind blowing. Every small thing is individually wrapped, then wrapped together in a pack of 100. You’re like… why and how is this how we’ve done it? How is this how we’re producing garments?

Coming from a vintage/thrifting background and seeing all of the wastage, coming into owning Banksia gave me a different perspective – I’m trying to be as conscious of that as possible. 

Our swimwear line with Salty Swimwear, for example, was made from reprieve, which is a fabric made from plastic recycled bottles. We also stock Jolie Femme, which is a small upcoming brand that uses recycled bed linen that’s turned into a vintage silhouette. They’re a mother–daughter team and we love them. And at the moment, The Lullaby Club are using lyocell, which is a form of rayon, made from eucalyptus pulp. Also, our Nat V underwear is 80% biodegradable, which is amazing.

Our motto in store is ‘if you do not love it, do not buy it’. It’s wasteful. You shouldn’t have to talk yourself into buying something – you should be buying it cos you LOVE it.

Tell us about your background sourcing vintage pieces?

My partner Tom and I lived in Guatemala on and off for five years, and I used to go through piles of clothing from the States every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

It was literally like digging for treasure. I absolutely loved it, it was like the highlight of my week… digging to find that one piece.

The finds! Vintage Harley Davidson t-shirts, cowboy boots, just the most random and coolest collection of things. My favourite piece is this bright red, reversible Marlborough jacket.

I set up shop over there, and my plan was originally to ferry it all back, but it was going to be too big of a job to get it all home. So, I set up a little table out the front of the backpackers and I would just sell all of this clothing. Then I got a job in one of the bars, and set up shop in there. 

Amazing! Did it go off?

It went off! I had a girl come all the way from Peru, and she was like ‘You’re the girl that sells the clothes!’.

It had gotten all the way down there, which was pretty rad. Following on from that, I came home with a bunch of stuff to sell. We were only back for a year when Covid hit and I lost my job – so then I was like ‘Well, how can I make money?’ And Sunday Best was born. Sunday Best is my vintage store where I sell vintage and pre-loved treasures through Instagram. It was great, I really enjoyed it. There are definitely pros and cons when selling online, but overall good.

Hit us with a pro, hit us with a con.

Pro is definitely seeing your pieces go off to different parts of Australia. Like, that’s really fun. I sent pieces to every state in the first six months. That was really cool and very special.

Con… dealing with people virtually can be really hard.

You’re also fully accessible, it’s not like a brick and mortar shop where you have strict open hours.

Exactly – you’re always on. I was always responding to people, but also…  there wasn’t anything else to do. We were locked down and people wanted to talk, haha.

Dealing with people all the time was frustrating. Did I set myself boundaries? Not really.

Once I started back at work I found it harder, because people were so used to almost immediate responses. It was pretty hard.

How did you grow your follower/customer base?

That’s a great question. I have no idea. It was very organic. I did two virtual markets during Covid, which was great, but I wouldn’t say it was a gold mine for new followers. It’s all sharing and caring and the re-selling/vintage community is really good with that – sharing people’s profiles and promoting other businesses.

I feel like that community spirit is something that you really value, it definitely comes across as a really strong aspect of Sunday Best, but also Banksia.

Yeah definitely. In my first six months of Sunday Best I did a giveaway, but there was another boutique I’d found called Sundays Vintage. So I reached out and said “Hey, I’m doing this thing, did you want to join?” and then she ended up finding somebody else… and then there ended up being four of us – we all had ‘Sunday’ in our store names – a Sunday collective! We did giveaways together and formed a really tight bond. Having these other women and forming a core community, we’re bouncing ideas and all promoting each other all the time. Constant support.

That’s actually quite unique. It’s rare to see brands and stores actively publicising other brands and stores that do the same thing. Especially with online retail. You’re all advertising your direct competitors... it’s really lovely.

Yeah, exactly. Because it’s promo for them and promo for us. We might have followers or customers that are from each other’s areas and then they can come into our store. It’s all really good cross-promotion.

If I sell out of something in our shop, I’ll send our customers to their shops. We do it all the time. We always send each other – ‘Hey what stock do you have in this? I’ll send people to you.’ Or ‘If I sell out of this I’ll send them to you’. We’ve formed a bit of a girl gang! It’s such a good support base and I definitely could not have got through this first stage of the business without them all.

Do you still rely on socials for Banksia? Is it a core part of your business?

Oh yeah. Most definitely. I really want to hire someone to do my socials actually – because it’s a whole other world. I’m so clueless, have just been learning on the fly!

That’s wild, because your ‘gram is SO beautiful and considered!

It’s just so much work.

Yeah, and I guess Instagram is just an accepted necessity in business now, which is amazing as it’s a free resource, but to do it well takes such a huge amount of effort and energy.

The effort and energy, absolutely. And it’s not always free.

If you’ve got something you really want to promote, you’ve gotta boost it. The algorithm can be an absolute living nightmare. When you need it to work, it doesn’t. When you post something random, purely aesthetic, it touches everyone.

We recently launched our first swimwear collaboration and my stories and posts were reaching 100 followers… I was like ‘What do you mean!?’.

A thing that I have recently found, you’ve got to wait for your stories to run out. My engagement last week was really low, so I’ve been waiting for my story from the day before to run out, and then I start posting something new. It seems to work – my numbers are up.

Has anything surprised you in the beginning part of the small biz journey?

I hate the accounting side of it. I use Xero – it makes it all so much easier. And honestly, it’s worth every cent. I have it set up so all I do is input numbers and it works it out for me. I don’t understand how anyone survives without it, but I’m also not a numbers person. 

Also the added logistical hurdles at the beginning. For example, we ordered curtains [for our fitting rooms] and when they arrived, they were just awful. So for the first week we operated with just one fitting room. We ended up just getting a quick fix from Spotlight – one of those ‘you gotta do what ya gotta do’ sitches.

What was opening day like?

I was so nervous.

I have very high expectations for things. I talk myself into an ‘everything is going to be amazing’ mindset. And it was, but sometimes I let myself down because I dream too big.

I feel like, as high as that makes the fall, dreaming big is a beautiful trait, and is something people should try to maintain. Good things don’t happen when you aim low!

Yeah, but the come down from when you think you’re going to do something that doesn’t happen SUCKS. But, if you don’t dream it, what’s the point?

If I said I was going to start a business, what would you tell me to do?

You need to find somewhere that doesn’t have what you have – find the hole in the market. Your niche. There was a huge gap in the market when I opened Banksia. Find the gap, then fill it. I was very lucky with Banksia, I knew I wanted a store, but then stars aligned and it just happened. We had a space within a week.

That is almost unheard of.

Yep. It was the only space we looked at… and it was just perfect from the get-go.

You know when you look at something and
you just immediately get a vibe? That was it.
I could just envision Banksia as soon as I saw it.

When you wake up in the morning and you’re not that keen to go to work, what gets you up and going?

My dog Otto makes me get up! I walk the good boy. If I’m not keen on going into the shop, when I’m just not feeling it, I’ll go in and re-merch the store. When it’s no longer vibing, you just change it all around. Change is as good as a holiday, you know? It makes me excited to be there. 

We recently spoke to Lauren, a florist from Braddon Flowers and she said staff have been her best investment and what she puts the most energy into. How reliant are you on your staff and how important is having people that live and breathe Banksia in there with you?

Oh my God, I’m so reliant on Macey, my other half at the store. If I’m not there, she is me. I have so much trust in her. It’s quality not quantity – I could have three staff members in the store and I could be in there less but Macey just does everything so fantastically and is totally on board with everything I want for Banksia. Couldn’t do it without her.

When you hired Macey, what were you looking for?

When she walked in the door and said “Hey, how’s it going!”... I just picked up her vibe instantly – she wasn’t timid, you could tell she had worked in customer service before, she dressed appropriately, she just nailed it. I was like SOLD! Only person I interviewed – first impression was 10/10.

Run us through your biggest day during the week, from the time you stick the key in the door.

Mondays are our big admin day. It’s massive. So much computer. I do banking, paying staff, emails, I flip the store window – gotta keep it fresh!

There’s nothing more boring than walking past the window and it being the same thing every day. Rotate your stock! Show people what you’ve got going on!

I flip the whole store sometimes, re-jig the tables, do a post run.

Lists are essential to day-to-day life at Banksia. If I think of something, I write it down. My world would stop without lists – I rely on them, they’re crucial, and I’m constantly going back to my diary to check in. If you have a small business, as soon as you think of something: Write. It. Down.

What do you love the most about Banksia?

All the really fun relationships I’ve made – there’s so many amazing connections. It all comes back to that community again. The people behind the brands, the other boutique owners. Even the fit out was relatively stress free. My partner and his boss did the flooring and someone came in to do the painting. A true community effort from the start.

If I didn’t do this I would never have met those people. That’s another Banksia dream come true – I get to work with my friends, and collaborate with them in their fields. Fields! Like that reference I slipped in there?

Ha! Love it. Are there any brands that you’re just absolutely obsessed with?

Cor! Love them, love everything they do. Froth it. Small, independent, they’re local to the Northern Rivers and they really put themselves out there. The quality of their clothing is hands-down the best quality I’ve ever seen from any label. I know that’s a huge call, but it’s incredible. We sold out of their Frankie dress in 24 hours. They are just exceptional – I cannot rave about it enough. And Salty Swimwear!

Yes! Tell us about your line!

So, Bek’s a good friend of mine and pretty much from opening day we were like ‘let’s collab!’. Bek produces swimwear, and I had my vision! It all just pulled together beautifully. I got to work with one of my friends Hannah, who recently started an events and design business, Rye Studio. Covid was
a real bitch – so many setbacks and delays – but the show must go on and it was well worth it. Loved the collaborative process.

Back to the beginning, what was the bump in like? We saw you covered the inside of your windows with vintage Australiana imagery, and it just looked INCRED.

Oh yeah! You know when you see a new store opening and you walk past and there’s just brown paper lining the windows? It is so boring and doesn’t tell you anything about the business. I was just instantly like ‘I know what I want to do’.

I ripped out pages from Australian books and magazines about travel and animals, and lined the windows with everything native. It was funky.

As I was collaging and putting it up, people were stopping to look and chat. There were articles from the 70s and 80s and people were stopping to read it. During the fit out, I was working across the road at a café and I could see people stopping to read it. I just thought it was interesting and
a great talking point.

The essence of what you’ve done with Banksia has been in every single element of the business. Was that conscious?

It’s just because it’s an honest extension of me. I didn’t even really realise it until you just said it. But I think it just shows how authentic this space is. It’s just exactly what I wanted to do and I just did it. I envision it and then I do it.

Do you ever stop and look around at how far you’ve come in such a small amount of time?

Nup. I still don’t think it’s set in. Like, I know Banksia is mine and I know how much I’ve poured into it, but it still just doesn’t really feel real. Our first birthday is coming up in April, that’s the next big hype. We’ve got funky merch coming, and we’ll be throwing a fiesta in store.

Peaks and pits of working at your 9–5, go!

Peak: bringing Otto to work with me. That is all time. He’s our mascot.

And then just curating my own store, that’s huge. I just LOVE it. Discovering new things that I love that I want to put in there, showcasing the brands I want to showcase.

Pit: just anything accounting related. Not my vibe. I’m not a mathematician. As well, theft. We had a bit of a jewellery incident – it was heartbreaking. Right after we’d come out of lockdown, someone helped themselves to a ring. It was just such a shitty feeling. You know theft happens, but it was a kick in the teeth. Cos I’d missed it, you know what I mean? The whole thing was devastating.

Yeah, it must feel so personal, even though it’s not. Cos the store is you, right?

Yes. You absolutely take it personally. We called them out on socials, and nothing ever came of it, but we wanted to be like ‘Yeah, we noticed. Please don’t do that – to us or anyone.’

Also, Instagram doesn’t turn off. Major pit. I’ve now set a boundary – I will not reply to people after 5pm. Business hours. Unless I wake up really early and I want to get Insta cleared. But no night time messaging.

How did you feel in your personal life before you set those boundaries?

Just drained. Constantly checking the store, not properly switching off. I then realised ‘No, I don’t need to be doing this now. This is not important enough for me to be on my phone at 9pm answering your question.’

There’s rarely anything going on on a Tuesday at 9pm, but that is sacred time that you’ve earnt. And when you work for yourself, it’s so easy to think ‘Well, I’ll do it now so I don’t have to do it tomorrow, and so I can stop thinking about it’...  but that actually starts to weigh on you.

It consumes you. All of a sudden you’re not coping. I also find I’ll start going into the store early – and then it just gets earlier and earlier. Cos there’s always things to do. I was mad at myself that I hadn’t done the things I’d wanted to do before we opened – not pressing stuff, it’s just stuff that I feel pressure to do. But customers don’t know what you’re doing. They don’t know if you’ve priced that line of clothing.

When you’re your own boss, no one is keeping you in check. You set the vibe, you set the tone. I’ve worked for retail bosses that are just so rigid about things, and the vibe they brought to the store made it hell. It doesn’t do anything for the business, it just makes it an unpleasant work environment. I strongly believe work doesn’t need to be like that.

No. No, no, no. I’m a fun boss – I’m not a regular boss, I’m a cool boss.

I just love it. I love watching Banksia grow, and I’m excited to see what comes to fruition. I have my plans and dreams, but I just can’t wait to see how it all plays out.

Look at how far you’ve come already! It’s only been 10 months! Look at what you’ve done!

Yeah. And it’s one of those things where it still just hasn’t sunk in. It doesn’t feel real. I guess that’s the feeling when you’re living your dreams.

If you’re smart (which you are), you’ll scoot right to Banksia or Sunday Best to find a few treasures. If you want more of the vibe-heavy, ultra-cool girl, follow Banksia on the ‘gram and check out her recent interview with Chekoh.

Interview & edit Haylee Poppi & Grace MacKenzie