collectively creative social heaven

1080 823 In Good Company | Northern Rivers
island-collective-logo-300

Island Collective

1/16 Uki St, Yamba

www.islandcollective.com.au

Visit Clarence Valley Northern Rivers-01
collectively creative social heaven

If you are looking for contemporary artist and stylist Fleur Yorston, you’ll most likely find her among fiddle leaf figs and cane furniture, in her Yamba homewares studio, Island Collective.

Fleur knows a thing or two about island living, having spent most of her life in New Zealand, imbibing Maori and Pacific culture. Eight years ago, after travelling widely, Fleur and her family put down roots in Yamba.

What she couldn’t find, though, were homewares to suit her unique style. A collector and lover of things for the home, Fleur was inspired to start her own business, and sell wares she loved and artwork she’d created.

Now, she also runs workshops in her space, and hosts private functions. Just recently, a group of women from Wauchope indulged in a creative weekend workshop at Island Collective, accompanied by music, champagne and lots of laughter.

Many of Island Collective’s customers are local, or find Fleur while holidaying in Yamba. “When people come into the Island Collective creative space, they walk away inspired,” says Fleur.

While local and holiday traffic are good, about 70% of Fleur’s business is now generated through Instagram and her website. Fleur styles images the way she styles homes, and customers anywhere in the world have access to her studio. Island Collective pieces have found their way as far as Fiji.

Being a small, Yamba-based enterprise means Fleur needs to draw on her vast creative toolbox to make business work. But being small, and coastal, is also an edge lots of other businesses don’t have.

“I think the personalised service I provide sets me aside from bigger online lifestyle brands,” says Fleur. “And people like supporting a small, coastal business. I can offer them a piece of island living for their homes, so they can make that holiday feeling part of their every day lives.”

For Fleur, success is being able to do what you love, and make a living doing it.

“I can’t imagine not doing business from such a beautiful part of world,” says Fleur, “and with social media and the internet, these dreams can become a reality.”

Share this story

Read more stories
glass lab tweed heads 002

riding the wave of success

 1000 661 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

The Glass Lab
Adam Wessel may have worked in surfboard factories since the age of 16, but it was a stint in the luxury yachting industry that sowed the…

A collaborator at heart

 940 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Table Under A Tree
Georgina Inwood credits the evolution of her business, Table Under a Tree, to her ability to “take stock while still running at a million miles an hour”.

an epic adventure into healing honey

 1191 893 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Gather By
Gather By is a closed-loop regenerative agribusiness that works with beekeepers and landholders in NSW and Queensland, and investors around Australia to produce and market rare, pure and potent Australian Manuka honey…

yaru water tweed

building bridges with water

 1600 1067 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Yaru Water
“This unique partnership between an Indigenous family and a non-Indigenous family enabled Yaru Water to start changing the way the procurement…

old-fashioned approach reaps rewards

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Kyogle Country Store
It feels like a brave decision, buying a hardware and rural supplies store in the age of the corporate superstores. Though it was a challenge…

Feeding Pets with a Passion for Purpose

 1947 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Frontier Pets
Diana Scott was more than a bit annoyed at being unable to find a premium quality food for her dogs that was also ethically produced, so she did what all great entrepreneurs do – she created it.

planting natural beauty

 2048 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Biologi
There was a little bit of the “weird spirit of Byron Bay” in the 2017 creation of the natural skincare range, Biologi, says co-owner Lucy Macdougald of her chance meeting with Ross Macdougald, who is now both her business partner and husband…

Cool to be kind and cans it

 957 1277 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

The Kind Coffee Co.
The KIND Coffee Co, reflects its name in everything it does.

spell_designs_byron_bay001

spellbinding growth for a home grown icon

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Spell Designs
The scent, texture and aura of Byron Bay is famous, and well-loved. If that Byron Bay feeling was a fashion brand, it would surely be Spell & The Gypsy Collective….

Casino RSM Club

 1360 906 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Casino RSM Club
The 23 of March 2020 was the hardest day of Neale Genge’s career.

growing community, growing business

 1600 1066 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

The Farm
It’s a typical Saturday morning at The Farm, on the outskirts of Byron Bay. Families line up for freshly made pastry and coffee. Every table in the…

Farmers in the fields

 2048 1366 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Norco Primex
Bruce Wright has made his career by bringing together and supporting many of the region’s farmers and primary producers.

nicholson fine foods yamba

eclectic food innovator shines

 1030 1030 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Nicholson Fine Foods
The small coastal town of Yamba is home to the one of the world’s best eating prawns, the Eastern King Prawn. It’s also home to the highest…

nimbin valley dairy 003

love, peace and artisan cheese

 666 500 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Nimbin Valley Dairy
Not every goat in Australia has its own nutritionist and its own vet. But the goats at Nimbin Valley Dairy definitely do. Bill, the nutritionist…

Evans Head Cabinetry 001

carefully crafted business success

 2000 1041 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Evans Head Cabinet Making
“People often say, ‘They don’t build things like they used to’,” says fine furniture and cabinet maker Justin Crisp. “But I can confidently say…”

gateway finefoods kyogle

local, seasonal, transformative gem hits town

 960 639 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Gateway Fine Foods and Catering
Debbie McQueen has three words of advice for anyone starting a business in Kyogle: flexibility, perseverance and patience. They’re three traits Debbie…

rod n reel woodburn nortrhern rivers

reinventing a special highway town

 1920 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Rod n Reel Hotel
Woodburn NSW is a charming riverside town with which is about to embark on a transformation. When the Pacific Highway bypass is completed…

Nurtured by nature

 2560 1723 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Greenx7
For the past 10 years GreenX7 has been running workshops and retreats internationally and in the Tweed for clients as diverse as McDonald’s, Deloitte, Six Senses, and the Australian Defence Force, to inspire both individuals and teams to tap into the healing power of nature.

Adapting is second nature for first in class

 2560 1709 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Lazuli and Co.
The hairdresser and business owner, after all, has had a lot to adapt to – her salon is in central Lismore and was destroyed by the February 2022 floods, which also completely engulfed her nearby home. Before that were the ravages wrought by the pandemic.

northern_lights _ballina_northern_rivers_001

let there be light

 2000 1333 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Northern Light
“I eat a pot of honey every day and I’ve been stung more than 70,000 times,” says Jeffrey Gibbs, founder of Northern Light, an organic beeswax…

Start Typing

X