For many women, their greatest fan and loudest cheerleader is their mum. In this special Mother's Day series, we meet mother/daughter teams who have turned an intimate personal relationship into a successful business partnership.
Mother-daughter team: Sue and Laura
Business: Featherdale Earrings
Founded: 2018
Location: Oakhampton, NSW
Tell us about your business and how it started?
LAURA: We make ethically sourced feather fashion accessories. It all started when I was walking around the farm and started to notice the beautiful patterns on all our guinea fowl feathers laying around after the seasonal moult.
I collected some and decided to make a pair of earrings. We haven’t stopped making earrings since and have now also started making hat pins and other accessories.
What has surprised you about working together?
LAURA: Not much! Having Mum by my side through this journey has given me more confidence that what we do is worthy and loved by many. She’s given me the confidence to try new ideas and put them out into the public arena.
Describe your individual roles in the business?
LAURA: We both do everything from social marketing, making, collecting and sanitising feathers, packing orders and logistical tasks.
I would say I am more spur of the moment and cluster work, whereas Mum plays a more strategic role; she sees a long term vision for Featherdale and works on longer term designs and ideas for the business.
Has working together changed your relationship?
LAURA: It’s only made us closer than what we were. We really have so much fun doing what we do. It might sound corny but we are more like best friends than mother and daughter. Every chance we get we are creating something unique. We’ve always said, even if it doesn’t sell we’ll still keep doing this because we love creating together so much. .
How would you sum up the experience of working together?
LAURA: Just the best. Having someone you can completely trust and rely on in business is sooo rare and important. It’s made our business stronger and more vibrant bringing both of our ideas together.
We don’t always agree on everything but we respect each others ideas and designs, and that’s what makes us a great team. We pick each other up and keep going. That’s just what we do in every day life and in business.
What is it like working with your daughter?
SUE: I couldn’t be luckier to work with my girl. When she first asked me to help out with the hundreds of Buy From The Bush orders she received back in 2018, I never thought it would lead to our business that is Featherdale today. Working with Laura is fun and exciting and she puts me on the spot all the time which always keeps me on my toes.
What is it like working with your mum?
LAURA: Mum is the joker of the pack but she also has really good ideas and insights; constantly trying to look for ways to improve what we do.
Nothing is ever too much for Mum. She just keeps going no matter what and is willing to lend a hand whenever I ask. She’s literally willing to put her whole life on hold and drop absolutely everything to help me. She’s the best.
Your advice to other mother-daughter teams?
LAURA: If you are best friends in real life, you’ll be the best business partners. You have to respect each other and each other's thoughts and ideas, and give them a go.
What is your Mother's Day message to your mum?
LAURA: You’re the best Mum to James and I, we are so so blessed and you are now the most amazing Mitzi to our little boys. We hit the jackpot when we got you. Love you so much. x
What has been the most rewarding aspect of owning your own business?
LAURA: Seeing ideas come to reality, and then seeing those ideas loved by others... that’s truly the most rewarding part.
Earning enough money to keep doing what you love is pretty special.
Meeting people online who share a love of what we do has been a massive highlight. We’ve made lifelong friends and it’s just super special.
Being 100% responsible for the decisions and outcomes you make and have - it really makes you aware of who you are as a person and makes you a better person.
What do you have planned for your business in the next 12 months?
LAURA: I’m looking forward to getting back into more markets as baby Sidney gets a little bit older. We have a few new products in the works like our cowgirl feather caps so I’m hoping that I am able to take those new products and our existing line into some more western markets.
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Established in 2018, Featherdale was born through a love of the bush, an appreciation of natures beauty and ethical fashion. Every pair of one-of-a-kind earrings, hat pins, hair pins and brooches is handcrafted on the farm by Laura and her Mum. Featherdale is the only feather earring business in NSW that is State Government licensed to sell ethically sourced native Australian feather earrings.