Marie-Nicole creates connections with local businesses
Running a business can be tough, let alone running a creative business. For Creators Nest owner Marie-Nicole Roberts it was the isolation of working from her remote farm shed and constant travel to markets outside of Yass that convinced her to buck the trend.
Mrs Roberts thought local artisans like herself should be able to trade in town, if only there was somewhere that could support them.
“I had come across people on my travels from the region who were pursuing their creative endeavours as a profession but not represented in Yass, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to establish a space where they could connect, and have a support network but still do their own thing,” Mrs Roberts said.
Creators Nest began a little over three years ago as a small shop out the back of Trader and Co. where Mrs Roberts made and sold her brand of ten years, By Marie-Nicole, and about four others.
“It was a chance to test the waters to see who else was around,” she said.
By the time Creators Nest moved into the large, bright space inside Oddfellows’ Hall on the main street, Mrs Roberts’ network of creatives had grown and brands were approaching her for commercial space. However, she had a clear vision from the outset about the brands she would agree to take on.
“I did not want it to feel like a cooperative, which can sometimes feel like a mishmash of works. I also wanted brands with a strong identity. Over the three years, people would come in and say they had moved to the region and that they were a creator. What I would do was talk them through starting online and at markets, and then tell them to come back when they were really ready to sell through a commercial space, rather than incubate those brands through the space because they needed to fit in with brands that had been around for fifteen years,” she said.
Mrs Roberts still makes her repurposed blanket guitar covers and bags and kangaroo leather passport wallets and key tags, among other items, at Creators Nest. She said keeping the By Marie-Nicole workshop inside the store had been a point of difference and helped to build a stronger connection with customers.
“Even though I am selling up to about 15 brands now, By Marie-Nicole is still the highest-selling product because customers see it in action. People connect to a product when they connect emotionally to the creator,” Mrs Roberts said.
“I purposefully wanted to have the workshop within the space so people could see things made on-site. I do a lot of customised and bespoke orders, so customers can come in and tweak things as we go.”
Despite the pandemic, Mrs Roberts has been able to keep sales for By Marie-Nicole and other creative brands going, at a time when many in the industry are hurting.
“April and May were really intense, and sales plummeted in one month, but we still had local customers who were not affected by the pandemic and would buy things just to keep their local businesses going. For the makers themselves, without the markets, at least they still have somewhere to send people to, to see their products in the flesh and not just online,” she said.
“People are discovering what is in their local community because they have not been able to travel anywhere. That has been a huge benefit and a chance for them to discover quality-made products in the region.”
Having a supportive husband who happily stands-in for photos modelling By Marie-Nicole clothing also has its benefits and in return, Mrs Roberts is able to help his students.
“He is a business studies and geography teacher at the high school, so he gets to bring the kids in and introduce them to the realities of business; they get to ask questions about starting one and running a business in a regional centre,” Mrs Roberts said.
Earlier this year, Mrs Roberts joined the Yass Valley Business Chamber committee, after being a member for a while.
She is passionate about ensuring the committee reflects the diversity of businesses in the region.
“I thought it was important to join this year because I noticed there was not anyone on the committee who had a shop on the main street. As a business on the main street, I get to talk to a lot of visitors and hear what draws them to the region and their experience in the region; I think it is really important that the chamber has that connection to what is going on, on the ground,” Mrs Roberts said.
“There is a good mix of old and new on the new committee – people who have been here for a long time and people fairly new to the region. Jack Walker, for example, comes from a family of several generations in the region but is also joined by committee members who are new to the region. So we are covering a broader cross-section of what Yass is about as a valley and a town. And the region is evolving quickly, so keeping the committee fresh is important, I think.”
