Haiko & Huna opens its brand new store in Ravenshoe this weekend

With COVID-19 restrictions putting a halt on many outdoor events including rodeos, festivals and markets, small business owners and travelling stores have had to rely on the online market to stay afloat.

Haiko & Huna owner Annie Berg relocated her travelling store to its permanent base in Ravenshoe, two hours south west of Cairns, with her fiance James and two children, newborn son Waylon James and 2.5-year-old daughter Bonnie Mae.

Ms Berg created Haiko & Huna three and a half years ago as an opportunity to fill a gap in the market to create and design affordable, superior quality leather products.

"I was teaching out at Goshen Station on the Atherton Tablelands when I got the idea for Haiko & Huna," she said.

"I would work my Monday to Friday teaching and once Friday three o'clock came around, I had the ute loaded and got myself to any location I could to trade with my shop, as long as I was back for Monday morning school.

"Rural work/life has a massive influence on the type of products I've designed, as well as the market that I'm targeting because you don't necessarily have to be country to be interested in my product, I've got a lot of mainstream customers."

Ms Berg spent her time working on properties in Queensland and the Northern Territory, either as a ringer or a teacher, but it was a trip overseas that inspired her to bring her passion for designing simple and practical yet classy products to fruition.

"There was definitely an opportunity as someone who was interested in those types of products, they weren't easy to source, so I saw that window of opportunity and the fact that I could work with my own designs was a massive advantage," Ms Berg said.

"I could actually work with tailors with my own designs and to do it overseas would mean that it's affordable for me to do, whereas if I tried to do that within Australia, it wouldn't be affordable.

"Leather is something that obviously is a quality product but most of the time it's kind of out of budget, especially if you are a little bit younger or just not on a high income.

"I primarily do basic designs that are affordable for any age, or person, my products aren't specified to a certain age group, I think you could be 16 or 66, and any of my products would be suitable."

Ms Berg said online market sales were fantastic for people who can't make it to events but admitted customers still desired the in-store experience.

"I feel like I have a product that people prefer to smell, pick up, try on, feel and it's a little bit difficult to get the concept for a product like mine online, especially because of the variation in the hide patterns and colors," she said.

"I'm able to come home and bring something new to the community, as well as supporting a lot of local events with donations and sponsorships."

This is the second time the family has relocated Haiko & Huna, with public interest behind the decision to set up a shopfront.

"I'm too big for the house. I've outgrown the house and the kitchen table, so, I needed a space to be able to store my stuff and package my online orders," Ms Berg said.

"Then with the amount of interest from people walking by or asking me if they can pop in and have a look, I decided it would be an idea just to open the doors.

"Because my products are made internationally, I often have the comment that I'm not an Australian made business, but I guess the thing is, I'm Australian, and the business itself is Australian and when you look at spending money on quality product, it's not a throwaway item.

"The short answer would be, you're not supporting a massive company and you're literally putting food on my table."

Haiko & Huna's Ravenshoe store opens this Wednesday, with the grand opening on Saturday from 10am to 2pm.