Let's Back Our Own!

I couldn’t be prouder to be Australian. Having travelled the world and manufactured products worldwide, I’ve seen all sides of product, people and offerings.

And what we have here in Australia, particularly in fashion and beauty, is world-class. I’ve tried every brand out there and, when I wanted to start Holme, I knew the level of quality I wanted to create and offer.

Whilst I will admit that Australians, over the past decade or so, have become far less patriotic about supporting and celebrating Aussie businesses, and as a founder in beauty, watching our country become obsessed with international brands over our own can be frustrating, I do know there are so many everyday Australians who understand the impact of supporting local.

And I’m not just talking about “doing a good thing” or “giving us a go”, because there are no businesses on home soil that want pity (especially when they know the level of what they are producing). It's because when you invest in and buy from Australian brands, you're keeping your mates employed and strengthening the very economy that hasn't been the kindest to us over the past few years.

I sometimes hold back from being vocal about how frustrating it is to watch retailers and people in influential positions choose the short-term wins of a brand's repost or selling a few products made by a celebrity over the long-term wins of creating an industry, let's say Australian Beauty, that has the potential to become HUGE worldwide.

If we got off our high horses and saw other brands, businesses and Australians as people who can help us rise, then maybe we could be so much more successful and financially stable as a nation.

So yeah, this is a shop local, shop Australian push, at a time of year when we spend huge amounts on sales and gifts heading into the end of the year. BUT in no way am I saying this because, by doing so, you're doing small, medium and growing businesses a favour. I'm doing this so we do EVERYONE a favour.

And doing that favour still means you get the best brands and the best quality in return. I mean, what a win for all.

This end of year, our family is consciously only buying from Aussie brands and businesses, and I'm proud of that. Because I am proud to be Australian and don't want to see any more businesses close and people lose their jobs.