For six years, this collection sat quietly in the background of our minds as something we deeply wanted to do, but knew we had to approach with care, respect, and the right timing.
Now, the Magpie Goose Quandamooka collection is finally here, we'd love to share about this Country, culture and community that is close to our hearts and our home in south east Queensland.
In 2020, when the business transitioned to Aboriginal ownership, we were invited by Aunty Sonja Carmichael to develop a collection with Quandamooka artists. It was an easy yes - we felt the importance of it straight away. But as much as we wanted to begin, we couldn't.
At the time, we were already deeply committed to other communities. We were in the middle of releasing the Kalumburu collection and had begun developing designs for the Ardyaloon collection, both in Western Australia. These projects carried their own responsibilities and relationships, and it was important that we gave them the time and focus they deserved.
For us, each collection is more than a release. It represents a relationship with artists, with community, and with Country. It takes time to build trust, to develop designs together, and to ensure that stories are shared in the right way. These are not fast fashion timelines - they are long-term collaborations grounded in respect.
It’s also important to us that we reflect the diversity of Aboriginal Australia. That diversity comes from Country; from the vastly different environments, languages, and cultural practices that shape each community’s stories. After working with saltwater communities, we made a conscious decision not to move straight into another coastal collection. Instead, we shifted our focus inland to desert Country.
With encouragement from our friends at Tangentyere Artists, we began working with artists from Ewyenper Atwatye (Hidden Valley) a town camp in Alice Springs. That collaboration became deeply meaningful and needed its own time and space to unfold. It was only after this work that we felt like the right timing.
Quandamooka Country has always been close to our hearts. We spend time on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) often, and over the years we’ve built strong relationships with artists, families, and community there. It’s a regional community we feel connected to, not just through work, but through lived experience.
The Quandamooka region includes both Minjerribah and Mulgumpin (Moreton Island), a coastal landscape defined by beaches, freshwater lakes, towering sand dunes, and abundant marine life. It is home to the Ngugi, Noonuccal and Goenpul peoples, whose cultural and spiritual connections to land, sea and sky are distinct yet deeply interconnected.
This is living culture - not something held in the past, but something that continues through everyday practice, knowledge sharing, and care for Country. That is what shapes this collection. It is not simply inspired by place, but created through the voices and experiences of the people who belong to it.
In a world that moves quickly, this collection is a reminder that things take time and some things are worth waiting for. We are incredibly proud of the artists we’ve worked with - people we know, respect, and care deeply about and honoured to share their stories through this work. We hope you feel that connection too, and carry these stories with the same appreciation as we do.