The latest ABS Household Impacts of Covid-19 Survey conducted from 12 to 21 February 2021 shows two in five people with a job (41 per cent) worked from home at least once a week in February 2021, compared with 24 per cent at least once a week before March 2020.
While many people are enjoying the fact they can work from home and don’t have to commute to work, for many small businesses it is not that easy to move everything and set up shop in their own home.
“We sell canvas prints, art prints, wallpaper and decals and we manufacture them ourselves,” says I Heart Wall Art owner, Edwina Cameron.
“We sell only online and we saw a very rapid increase in sales at the start of the pandemic as people started turning more to online businesses. That meant rapidly ramping up our manufacturing operations. But, with children suddenly requiring home-schooling and huge uncertainty around what was to come, we had to scale up those operations from home.
“At the end of last year, we decided to bring our manufacturing in-house. Now, my husband Gerry and a couple of employees run that from our home here on the Sunshine Coast which definitely has its challenges―we have kids, employees, my father-in-law and a couple of dogs all getting under each other’s feet. The highlights of getting to work from home in a business we both are passionate about mostly outweigh the challenges though (in a good week),” she says.
Cameron’s husband does most of the canvas stretching and framing from a converted garage and newly-built shed, which doubles as a studio for people to come and see samples. Their rumpus room now houses a large format printer and cutting machine as well as the tables and equipment for their art print framing.
“I’ve had to move my desk back into my bedroom. We’re all constantly tripping over each other―staff, kids, in-laws, visitors to the studio―so it’s definitely been an exercise in patience for everyone.”
Cameron adds that the rewards of building a business together (with her husband) mostly outweigh any of the negatives. They’d never considered working together as they thought it would be too difficult.
“But here we are, making it work. You just have to give yourself time to adjust to a new normal, I think. And try and keep the lines of communication open even when you’re feeling exhausted and overwhelmed with it all. We’ve tried to divide up the business clearly―he runs the production side of things, I do the rest―but it’s not always that clear-cut in reality.”
The daughter of an art creator, Cameron started creating art pieces for her own home digitally a few years ago because she just couldn’t find what she wanted at a price she could afford.
“I now use a range of techniques, which I describe as digital collage, to create new pieces in a range of styles and have the help of a team of designers and artists to help me.
“I grew up in a house full of fine art, so I was always exposed to the art world, but I have to admit I was never that interested though. I always had an interest in interiors and art pieces that helped create a certain feeling or mood, but that was as far as my interest went.”
Living in a little patch of rainforest on the Sunshine Coast, she finds inspiration anywhere and everywhere. “I’m often snapping photos of colours I see out and about―a street sign, a couple of crayons at my daughter’s kindy. It’s amazing where inspiration can come from.
“I find myself waking up with ideas often. Some of those work out, some don’t. I try to design more for a certain style. So, what would someone who likes, say, a modern country look like on their walls and how can I put a unique twist on that and make it our own? I’m also on Pinterest a lot. Pinterest is key.”
Being an online business has been the saving grace for I Hear Wall Art during the pandemic, with consumers turning to online in droves to do their shopping.
“It has definitely been a good time to be an online business. We’d hope to see that continue to grow as people are now more comfortable with shopping online in the future.
“We’ve considered doing a brick and mortar shop once the worst of the pandemic has passed, but I think we’ll just wait and see. At the end of the day, if we can continue to make it work online only we’ll keep doing that as it has so many benefits for us as a regional-living family with young kids.”
