The CBD’s newest retail store Southern Country opened its doors in Liebig Street this week, and for owner Sue Miller it was almost like coming full circle.
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Ms Miller’s first job after leaving school when she was 17 was working for a fashion agent and, after working in the health industry for many years, she has now returned to fashion with a store of her own.
She is also following in the footsteps of her grandfather who was a tailor in Europe. “We’ve always had that clothing industry in the family,” she said.
Her grandfather had his own tailoring business in Romania until World War II broke out. “He went missing in the war,” Ms Miller said. “We don’t know what happened.”
Opening her own store has fulfilled a life-long dream for Ms Miller who only moved to Warrnambool in December last year where her son and daughter-in-law have lived for a number of years.
Ms Miller said she had been heartened by the welcome from neighbouring businesses as well as those who helped her refurbish the store which was only recently vacated when Country Attitude closed. “The people of Warrnambool have been really lovely,” she said. “It’s been fun so far in the shop. We really had a ball yesterday. It is exciting to look at the future. The street’s looking amazing.” The store will stock a range of country-theme clothing such as Ringers Western, Thomas Cook, Wrangler and Akubra.
Meanwhile, Real Deal Memorabilia’s Jan Emonson is bidding farewell to the CBD after eight years in the Target centre. Ms Emonson said a lot of people were disappointed the collectable and memorabilia store was closing next week, but she’d decided it was time to spend more time with family. “I love to shop and I love my customers, meeting different people all the time,” she said. “Family came first and I couldn’t work seven days a week.” However, she said many of her product lines would be taken on by Nanna’s Drawers, where she will also work on a casual basis.
