sewing love for a lifetime

1232 816 In Good Company | Northern Rivers
patches kyogle logo

Patches of Kyogle
13 Geneva St, Kyogle, NSW 2474

www.patchesofkyogle.com.au

Visit Kyogle Northern Rivers-01
sewing love for a lifetime

Jeannine Smith grew up under her mother’s sewing machine in Western Samoa. “My mother was a professional dressmaker,” says Jeannine. “She made dresses to sell, and taught villagers how to sew.”

Years later, with five adult children of her own, Jeannine decided it was her turn. In 2013, she and her husband left Brisbane for Kyogle, a small town of around 3000 people nestled into the base of Fairy Mountain and known as the gateway to the rainforests, to set up Jeannine’s fabric and sewing business, Patches of Kyogle.

Right in the heart of town, Patches is more than a fabric store. “It’s a community hub. A support group. A group of friends,” says Jeannine.

Three times a week, eight ladies gather at Patches for coffee and sewing. Jeannine also runs a weekly dressmaking class, and invites other sewing teachers to run workshops in the shop.

Jeannine’s passion for fabric reaches beyond the walls of her shop, and into the community. The not-for-profit Kyogle Quilt Group, who meet monthly at the local hall, donate quilts for Northern Rivers’ kids who’ve been unwell, or in hospital.

Most quilts take months to make. But Jeannine says you are not counting hours. “Making a quilt is about process,” says Jeannine. “You are literally sewing love into every quilt. .”

patches kyogle 001

“Every quilt is steeped with love, because you are making it for someone in mind”

Patches is a place where sewers share time and passion. Visitors make friends, hone their skills and use their brain. “Sewing helps our older customers stay mentally young,” says Jeannine.

Her younger customers also benefit from the creativity and manual skills Patches of Kyogle inspires. “I’ve noticed lots of younger women making their own clothes again,” says Jeannine. “I can help, and YouTube helps too. I believe this trend of making your own clothes will continue.”

Patches of Kyogle customers aren’t just local. Over 400 people visited Kyogle’s Quilt & Craft Exhibition this year to admire each other’s handiwork, and learn from each other. Like Jeannine, they are drawn to Kyogle’s relaxed, friendly spirit.

“Kyogle’s motto is ‘Come for a day. Stay for a lifetime,’” says Jeannine. “My motto is ‘Come for a day. Sew for a lifetime.’”

patches kyogle 002

Share this story

Read more stories

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.

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…”

A walk on the wild side

 1245 933 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Vision Walks Eco Tours
Wendy Bithell has built her multi-award-winning eco-tourism business, Vision Walks – Eco Tours, by combining her two areas of expertise: ecology and technology. Her Byron hinterland adventures are as diverse as nature walks with night vision goggles, Indigenous bush tucker tours, and three-day women’s indulgence escapes.

Mount Warning Tours Tweed

a natural business adventure

 1920 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Mount Warning Tours
Despite only existing for four years, Mount Warning Tours’ short life has been eventful: from purchasing the ex-Murray River ferry Spirit of Wollumbin…

Osteria Casaurina Tweed Coast

overtures of romance and style

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Osteria
Mark Wilson, Lia Mason and Lee Middendorf all met when the three of them were working in hospitality jobs at The Sandbar …

A fighting spirit … and great networks

 768 1024 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Five Sixty Farms
Stranded on the roof of his house with his wife and their eight children, Pepe Fassos watched helplessly as his beloved greenhouses smashed and floated away in a tsunami of floodwater.

Generational innovation

 1440 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Australian Bay Lobster Producers
Thenus australiensis. Moreton Bay bugs. The Bay Lobster. Whatever nomenclature you want to use, there is no doubt that these crustaceans are a much-loved staple of Australian seafood menus.

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…

It was time the level the paying field

 1500 562 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Zepto
What do you do next after more than a decade building up a Byron Bay skydiving business to become a national success and then stepping back after listing it on the Australian Stock Exchange?

harwood marine clarence

‘can do’ marine

 1920 1182 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Harwood Marine
About half way between Yamba and Maclean is the tiny village of Harwood, which sits on the peaceful banks of the Clarence River with its population…

Alstonville quality meats image 1

main street royalty reigns

 2000 1333 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Alstonville Quality Meats
There’s a giggle in the undertone of conversation when Ashley and Tina Thomson share their claim to fame as being the multi-award winning Sausage Kings…

Talking together for 50 years

 1440 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Jumbunna Community Preschool and Early Intervention Centre
The early childhood sector has played a vital role in supporting communities and families in the Northern Rivers amid the onslaught of challenges in the last three years.

Clean green superfood team

 768 1024 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Foods That Love You Back
Health activist Erle Astrup founded Foods That Love You Back in January 2021, and her business – which has created the world’s first affordable, alkaline shot of concentrated microgreens – is infused with the passion she has for driving it.

grafton to yamba houseboats clarence

take me to the river

 2048 1536 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Grafton to Yamba Houseboats
The Clarence River, at the southern end of the Northern Rivers, is known colloquially as the ‘Big River’, while its Aboriginal name is ‘Breimbah’ or…

patches kyogle 001

sewing love for a lifetime

 1232 816 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Patches of Kyogle
Jeannine Smith grew up under her mother’s sewing machine in Western Samoa. “My mother was a professional dressmaker,” says Jeannine…

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.

The Natural Rice Co.

 940 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

The Natural Rice Co.
The Natural Rice Co. (NRC) is a unique enterprise not just in the Northern Rivers, but in a national context too.

mara_seeds_northern_rivers_business_feature_image_001

organic, sustainable and a local legend

 800 800 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Mara Seeds
The farmer and owner of Mara Seeds knows what can happen when you don’t – his 8000-acre station 50km to the west of Casino has seen worse…

lights, camera, action in ballina shire

 2560 1750 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Byron Studios
Northern Rivers has long been a hub for film makers and a popular backdrop for film and television productions. But there has been one thing missing to tie it all together…

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.

Start Typing

X