After three incredible years in our beautiful King Street home, we've made the difficult decision to close the doors to our Magpie Goose flagship store.
This hasn't been an easy decision.
When we opened our doors in Bowen Hills, we dreamed of creating more than just a fashion store. We wanted to build a place where people could experience Aboriginal art and culture in a welcoming, everyday setting. A place where customers could meet artists, hear the stories behind the prints, learn about ethical fashion, and connect with something bigger than clothing.
Over the past three years, that's exactly what happened.
Our little store became a place for conversations, celebrations, collection launches, workshops, school visits, media interviews and countless moments of connection. We welcomed visitors from around Australia and across the world who discovered that every Magpie Goose garment carries an Aboriginal story, and that every purchase helps create meaningful economic opportunities for First Nations artists.
We'll always be incredibly proud of what this space became.
Like many small Australian retailers, we've felt the impact of a changing retail landscape. Rising costs, changing shopping habits and the realities of running an independent retail store have made it increasingly difficult to sustain a physical shopfront.
For Magpie Goose, those challenges are even greater.
We've always chosen to manufacture in Australia. Our garments are made locally in Logan using natural fibres and ethical production methods. We pay licensing fees to every Aboriginal artist whose work appears on our clothing.
These aren't costs we'd ever want to reduce. They're part of who we are.
But they do make it harder to compete in a fashion industry dominated by fast fashion, offshore manufacturing and constant discounting. So we're adapting our model. While we're closing one chapter, this isn't goodbye.
We still have beautiful stories to share.
Over the coming months, we'll release the final two artworks from our Quandamooka Collection, continue collaborating with incredible Aboriginal artists, and keep operating our online store while our collections remain available.
As we prepare to farewell our King Street store, we also want to acknowledge Lendlease, who believed in Magpie Goose and supported us to bring this beautiful space to life. Their support gave us the opportunity to create a store that celebrated Aboriginal design, Australian manufacturing and meaningful connection every single day.
Rather than quietly closing the doors, we'd love to celebrate this chapter with our community.
Join us for our Closing Day Celebration on Saturday 15 August, from 10am to 4pm.
Come and meet Amanda and Troy, chat with some of the artists behind our latest Quandamooka Collection, browse one-off samples and special finds, and help us celebrate everything we've built together over the past three years.
Our team will continue packing and posting online orders from a nearby (not as glamorous) storage space. If you'd like to try on a particular garment before purchasing, we're happy to arrange for styles and sizes to be available at our wonderful stockist, Aboriginal Art Co in West End.
Most of all, we simply want to say thank you.
Thank you to every customer who has walked through our doors. Thank you to every artist who trusted us with their stories. Thank you to every staff member, supplier, collaborator and supporter who has helped shape Magpie Goose over the years.
We look back with gratitude on every conversation shared across the counter, every event attended, every garment purchased and every story worn with pride.
It's been a special part of our journey!