If you’ve ordered from Magpie Goose lately, you may have noticed that things are moving a little slower behind the scenes. So, before we tell you about what’s changing, I thought it was probably time to reintroduce myself.
Hi, I’m Amanda Hayman - a Wakka Wakka and Kalkadoon woman living in Magandjin/Meeanjin (Brisbane). My partner, Troy Casey, and I have owned Magpie Goose for the last six years, and these days, I’m the person behind the label.
I do have some very important help. I work with a great production assistant who supports me with the fashion and logistics side of the business - which is essential because I have absolutely no fashion background! My expertise is in arts and business. We also outsource our digital advertising because, despite my best efforts, I still have no idea how Meta ads actually work. And of course our makers.
Otherwise, it’s me. I’m the one packing your parcels, responding to emails, updating the website, sorting stock, working with artists and doing pretty much everything in between.
Troy and I also have a cheeky six-year-old son who is demanding more and more of our attention every day.
And then there are the other businesses.
Together, we are co-owners/directors of Blaklash, Willie Weston and Elements by Blaklash. Thankfully, each of these businesses is well-resourced with great teams of talented people who keep things moving.
Troy and I are also the founders the not-for-profit Aboriginal Art Co, where I am currently the Executive Director. This is my day job and where the majority of my time and attention goes.
So saying we have busy lives is an understatement!
Magpie Goose is different because, for the past three months, I haven’t had any staff assistance with the day-to-day operations. There isn’t a team sitting behind the scenes processing orders and answering emails. For the most part, there’s just me fitting Magpie Goose around everything else.
Our work also takes us away from Brisbane throughout the year too. When we head off to art fairs like CIAF and DAAF, Tarnanthi and Desert Mob, we try our absolute best to stay on top of Magpie Goose orders while we’re away, but the reality is that sometimes it’s very difficult.
For a long time, I’ve tried to keep all the plates spinning and it gets very overwhelming at times.
So, Magpie Goose is going exclusively online
As many of you know, we’ve made the difficult decision to close our bricks-and-mortar retail store and move Magpie Goose to an online-only model.
And there is a nice little personal upside to our new set-up.
Our stock will be stored in a warehouse within walking distance of home. That means I’ll be able to walk our Grade 1er to school in the morning, head over to the warehouse, pack and post orders for an hour or so, and then continue on to the gallery for the day. All whilst lowering our carbon footprint!
For a business that has always been deeply connected to family, community and real life, that rhythm actually feels pretty good.
A little more time, please
One other change you’ll notice is that our dispatch timeframe is moving to up to seven business days. Most of the time, I hope it will be much quicker than that. But I also want to be upfront about what is realistic.
Our schedule changes from week to week. Sometimes I’m at the gallery, sometimes we’re delivering a project, sometimes we’re travelling for an art fair, and sometimes family life just needs to come first.
Allowing seven business days gives me enough breathing room to keep orders moving without promising something that, occasionally, I just can’t deliver.
So if your order doesn’t head out the door the next day, please know there is a real person at the other end of it - trying to juggle life.
What happens next?
This transition is about being sustainable - both as a business and for us as a family.
We’re thinking carefully about what we make, how much we produce and how we make the most of what we already have. At the heart of Magpie Goose are the artists, stories and communities we have been lucky enough to collaborate with over the years. That hasn’t changed.
What is changing is the scale and mechanisms around it. And the time we take to develop new prints, garments and products. We have two beautiful Quandamooka prints to launch and a suite of accessories and products by the end of the year. After that, we will take a bit of a break from production.
This next version of Magpie Goose will be smaller, more flexible and more manageable. It might take us a little while to find our groove, and I’m sure we’ll learn a few things along the way.
Thank you for sticking with us while we make the transition, and thank you especially for continuing to order, wear, share and love Magpie Goose.
Your patience really means a lot.
Amanda x