An Interview with Founder of 'Love Local' Stephanie
Above: Image courtesy of The Brown Fox Collective
Above: Little Paper Lane
Above: Piccolo Studio
Above: Piccolo Studio (@piccolostudio)
It's a wonderful thing to support the 'little fish' - the makers, crafters, dreamers, and talented people behind local small businesses. Stephanie is one such individual who whole-heartedly gets behind these talented individuals, and her desire to promote local small businesses in Sydney even prompted her to create her own website - Love Local.
Whim was lucky to recently ask the inspirational soul some questions about Love Local, as well as her hopes and dreams for the near future. We hope you find her answers as insightful and wonderful as we did!
Q: For those of our readers who may not be familiar with Love Local, how would you describe it to them?
A: Love local is a blog dedicated to showcasing small businesses in Sydney and anything Australian made.
Q: How and when did the idea for Love Local first come about?
A: I own a small business called veg out sydney (www.vegoutsydney.com.au) which has been running for around two years now. Since its launch, I was constantly trying to connect with other business owners and consumers and found there was a real lack of support sites for small businesses. I wanted to connect and engage with people who love supporting small local businesses rather than retail giants. This is how love local was born.
Q: Many of the small businesses you showcase on Love Local are incredible - Do you discover these local gems yourself, or do you find them through other methods (i.e. submissions / recommendations etc.)?
A: With the exception of maybe one or two businesses, I have discovered or am familiar with all the small business that i've featured on love local. For as long as I can remember I have always been on a search for hidden little gems and I am excited to be sharing them on love local and helping out as many people / business that I can.
Q: Please describe an average day in the life of Stephanie?
A: I have two young kids so my day mainly revolves around them at this stage (one is 6 and the other has just turned 1). We are expecting our third in eight weeks time so things are about to get even busier in our household! My first priority is always the kids and my very supportive husband. But every chance I get, I am working hard on either Veg Out Sydney or love local. I get most of my work done at night when the kids go to sleep - its the only time I get to really focus without any distractions. I'm also lucky enough to have a business that I run from home which fits into our lifestyle (veg out sydney). It means that for the most part I have quite a lot of flexibility in my work/life balance which has been amazing. I'm always looking for inspiration so at least a few times every week I'm out searching for new ideas and businesses to feature.
Q: What do you hope the not-too-distant future holds for Love Local; Do you have any exciting, upcoming plans that you would like to share with us?
A: At the moment I just hope to grow the community and awareness of what amazing creative people/small businesses there are here right in our own backyard. I hope I can help steer people towards buying from these small businesses and local artisans. I've had such a positive response to love local and it is so wonderful to know that there are people out there like me who really do care how and where their money is spent. I also have a couple of really big projects I've been working on for a while now, which will be revealed next year.
We highly recommend that you visit the Love Local website, and why not show Stephanie some love by liking the Love Local Facebook page or following the venture on Instagram (@love_local). Enjoy!