Back in December 2019 a group of local WeFo makers met at the amazing Footscray Finds and came together to open the Rebel Living Collective Christmas pop up store in the Barkly Theatre. Offering Footscray locals an eclectic mix of local, handmade and sourced products with a gift for literally everyone, they were looking forward to opening their next store in the west in May.
But due to COVID, they had to adapt taking their pop up online. And Kouwi was born – a local marketplace for makers, artisans and small businesses to come together and promote their brands.
With a growing product selection across nine categories including, fashion, home, pets and health & beauty, Kouwi is becoming a destination to #shopsmall and #shoplocal, supporting a thriving west maker community especially leading up to the Christmas season when so many are doing it tough.
For any makers or small business out there who might be interested in selling through the new platform, Kouwi.com is free to join, offers free product listing and promotion, and is only taking a small commission on sales to help keep the site running.
Steve Khoury from Kouwi knows exactly how it feels:
“As a maker myself I know there is no greater joy than when a customer falls in love with something I’ve created. It’s that joy that keeps us makers creating and passionate about our craft. When you shop Australian Makers you’re shopping a dream, you’re shopping a vision and best of all you’re supporting your local community. It’s that simple”.
Check out Kouwi.com to see how it works and find something locally made and interesting.
