Owner Annie O’Keeffe of The Perfect Piece Homewares Store in the Snowy Mountains
It’s been a difficult time for many engaged couples during the COVID-19 pandemic, with restrictions forcing many to cancel the day they’d be waiting so long for. Yet despite health pandemics, droughts, floods and bushfires, it seems more Australians are wanting to support regional and rural businesses, and you can now do this through your wedding gift registry, bringing a much-needed financial injection into their local economy.
Images via Salubrious-Living & Cedar Cicada
A “COVID bride” myself, I embraced this time in lockdown to launch a new gift registry service exclusively featuring over 1,200 products from 43 (and counting!) regional and rural businesses in NSW and QLD offering local homewares, art, furniture, luxury accommodation, experiences and even rural charities. Now your guests’ gift giving can be a meaningful experience knowing they are supporting businesses in the bush that rely predominately on farming. It’s also a chance for Australians to purchase beautiful bespoke products, that you just can’t get from the major retailers.
Image via Bush Registry
Here are just some of the incredible local vendors you can support through your gift registry:
LOCAL HOMEWARES
Image via Harry and Kit
Harry and Kit offers a “coastal style with a country take” situated in Goondiwindi, Southern Queensland. The store brings one-of-a-kind furniture and homewares pieces from Asia to the rural community of Goondiwindi and beyond. Each piece you find at Harry and Kit is personally sourced by owner Lillie and brought over by shipping container to Australia and out to Goondiwindi, Queensland.
Merv & Me is a small online boutique in Taroom, South-West Queensland. They stock a beautiful collection of high-quality gifts for new mamas and bubs from the owners cattle property.
Textile & Twig in Corowa
Image via Textile & Twig
From her country home on the banks of the Murray River in the Eastern Riverina, the owner of Textile & Twig selects & hand crafts with care a range of practical and unique items to offer for your home and family.
Image via Long Lunch Linen
Owner of Long Lunch Linen, Carina Chambers, creates unique, hand-painted tablecloths and napkins that will add a splash of pizzazz to your next luncheon or special occasion. With a luxuriously soft feel that only pre-washed 100% European flax linen can afford, Long Lunch Linen strives to provide you with heirloom quality products at your family will treasure for generations to come.
LOCAL ACCOMODATION
Faraway Domes, Warialda. Image by Krista Eppelstun
Faraway Domes is an ideal destination for those wanting their own exclusive get-away in Northern NSW. Boutique in size and luxurious in style, the Faraway Dome is an exclusive adults only escape for two, offering guests a unique experience of privacy and solitude.
LOCAL ARTWORK
Image via The Moree Gallery
The Moree Gallery is a leading, regional art gallery located in Moree, Northern NSW. Established for over 22 years, the gallery prides itself in the discovery and representation of significant Australian emerging artists.
Kate Owen Art, in North Star
This North Star artist is hard at work in her new studio splashing paint on a canvas and combining line and shape through scratching back or drawing with graphite or oil sticks. Kate is greatly influenced by nature and its patterns, shapes and colours. Her work is an expression of her emotions and memories of things she sees in the landscape around her on a daily basis.
Image by Ken Bass & Kate Cobb via Kate Owen Artwork
LOCAL DONATION
One of Australia’s largest rural charities Rural Aid, well-known for its Buy a Bale campaign, has partnered with Bush Registry, allowing gift-givers to give a charity donation in lieu of a physical gift. The donation items on Bush Registry include counselling for farmers and farmer gift cards. These programs not only benefit the farming family that receives the donation, but the money that they spend in their local town helps to boost the entire economy and has a ripple effect in the community.
Bush Registry founder Kate Munsie
Now is the perfect time to give back to the locals who need us most. With our help and support, I see a bright future for regional and rural businesses.
CEO and founder Kate Munsie saw an opportunity for Bush Registry after wanting to support bush businesses for her own wedding gift registry. She is continually blown away by the amount of beautiful and bespoke homewares, furniture, art, accommodation and experiences provided by regional and rural retailers and saw an opportunity to connect these retailers to the booming gifting market. So if you, or anyone you know are looking to create a gift registry for an upcoming wedding, baby-shower or any other special event, support regional and rural businesses by visiting bushregistry.com.au
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