The post Local Love Project – Cabin & Co Living – Warburton Homewares Shop appeared first on Chapter & Song Photography.
Cabin & Co Living
Local Love Project
Jul, 2023
Lilydale
If you’re looking for a stunning homewares store with a curated range that has a little something for everyone, then this might just be the shop for you.
Located in the beautiful Warburton township, Cabin & Co Living is the brainchild of Louise, who after raising 5 kids needed to pursue something that would be a creative outlet and a space to be herself, away from the demands of motherhood.
As part of my local love project I popped out to Cabin & Co Living (a lovely drive from Lilydale by the way) and chatted with her about all things business, motherhood and interiors.
Louise has a beautiful vision for her shop and shares more about it in our little interview below.
Pop over to her instagram to follow along on her journey.
3412 Warburton Highway, Warburton
Open Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Tell me about what your business is/does.
Cabin and Co. is a little lifestyle store located in the beautiful snowy mountain town of Warburton.
We have curated a beautiful space for our customers to come in and spend time taking in the lovely lifestyle pieces we have selected from Yarra Valley and beyond. We have a modern country feel and a beautiful little fireplace to make it extra cozy in the winter months.
When did you start your business and what made you want to start it?
Over the last 13 years, I have had the blessing of being able to stay at home with my 5 young children, and now that my youngest is starting school I wanted to explore work options for me, but ensuring I could balance family life and additional needs children. I needed something that worked for us and our family but also incorporated things that bought me joy and allowed me to use my creativity and my love of interiors and styling. Through the Melbourne lockdown, I came up with the idea of opening a little lifestyle store and it just came together slowly from there.
What has been your biggest achievement in your business? And what challenges did you have to overcome to reach it?
My biggest achievement and challenge was bringing my dream of Cabin and Co. to life. It is fun to plan and dream and to put mood boards together, look at beautiful product I might sell, but making it a reality and finally seeing it come to life has been a lot of hard work. Sourcing the right products, curating a beautiful space for our customers to enjoy takes time, but I think the end result has turned out just right.
What do you love most about running your business?
I love curating a space that people enjoy, even though it’s a small little space. I love that people come in and stay for a while, have a chat, stand by the fireplace, look at the beautiful views of the mountains, and browse the products that i love sourcing for our customers i love the extra little touches i can spoil my coustmoers with like beutiful gift wrapping.
How has having a business changed you?
It has been good for me to be able to have something just for me. I have loved being at home with my kids but i do like having a place to go.
What traits do you possess that have helped you in your business journey?
Having an easy going attitude, and being able to be creative in different aspects of my life, and the perspective that I see things from. Focussing on the fact that this is a creative outlet for me, and want to welcome people rather than be too business focused.
What are some thing you LOVE?
There are numerous things that I love, but some of them are my family and friends, sleeping in, and the season of Autumn. I also love cows, how they look and sound, I see a lot on my drive to work, and am always fascinated. Love also blessing people with unexpected gifts, and just out for walks in nature.
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
It would either be movie choc-tops or scrambled eggs, bacon and avocado. I think breakfast at a cafe is my favourite meal.
Favourite book/s?
Magazines are my favourite. I’m not much of a reader, but a good magazine or coffee table book filled with beautiful homes and creative spaces is so relaxing for me. I love just flicking through all the pages and taking in all the creativity.
Current (or recent) Netflix binge?
The Night Agent and Citadel are my top Netflix binge at the moment. Lots of action, oh i do love Virgin River too.
Describe your perfect house.
A country farmhouse with big beautiful trees, a tree swing, sheep and chickens and kids running around.
What superpower would you like to have?
Invisibility I think is the superpower I would like. I love being in the background and not being noticed.
What’s your ideal weekend?
Our weekends are pretty hectic with sports, church and running our own business including Cabin + Co and our BnB in Healesville. The perfect weekend for me would start with a sleep-in on Saturday. I love sleeping in, it’s my most favourite thing, then Saturday sport I do netball with our daughter, then a quiet afternoon pottering around at home and maybe a roast dinner. Sunday morning church, and I do love a local market, whether it’s a farmer’s market or a craft market. Wandering around with a hot chocolate, then maybe a bush walk or a mumma date with one of my kids or a sneaky movie is fun too.
Could you tell me about one of the most difficult times in your business? Was there any helpful lessons learnt from this?
At first it was hard to find staff due to covid. When we first opened, we were coming out of the really hard lockdown stage, and trying to find a new normal with covid and trying to balance family life too, there were some days we couldn’t open, which was ok, as I want a business that works in with our life and sometimes life just gets in the way. We don’t have that worry anymore, as I have a beautiful team of girls working instore.
Has there been a particular influence, person or otherwise, that has significantly helped you? And in what way?
My husband has always been my cheerleader, and has always been open to my creative, sometimes crazy ideas. So when i brought this idea to him, he was ok “so what does it look like?”. From there we just walked through the process and here we are running our little lifestyle store. I have very supportive and creative friends who i can chat things through, and they always encourage me and cheer me on.
What does success mean to you?
Success for me is balancing having time for my family and my friends, spending time with my kids and my husband, doing the Saturday sports thing, the school pickups, plus working in a job I love, and areas that bring me joy and where I can be creative.
What future plans do you have for your business?
My future plans are just to keep creating a space where people like to come whether it’s to buy a gift or something for their home or just to have a chat or just wander around the store I want to create a space where people love to come and feel welcomed.
If you could give your past self one piece of advice about starting or running this business what would it be?
The piece of advice I would give myself is it’s okay if it fails, I w much rather be known for having a go following my dreams than not trying at all.
As a child what did you want to grow up to be?
As a child I loved kids and wanted to be a kinder teacher, and in my teens I was always very creative. Ii did every creative class I could in high school, so I think about my life now, and i have the best of both those things. With having 5 kids and a beautiful creative space to work in and to use all my creative talents.
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