With so many incredible local businesses on the Gold Coast, one begins to wonder: how did they all come to be? In our series, ‘The story behind…’, we chat with local founders and owners about how their business started, their biggest learnings and their tips for other self-starters.
This time, we caught up with Nicole Fairclough, co-founder of Gold Coast clothing brand Olas Supply Co. The Gold Coast clothing brand is celebrating 10 years in business this Saturday, October 31, with a ticketed party at Mo’s Desert Clubhouse headlined by Thundamentals, plus five other local acts.
Where did the idea for Olas Supply Co. come from? What was the lightbulb moment?
Joel (my husband and co-founder) and I were travelling through Central and South America and knew we didn’t want to go back to our regular jobs. I’d always loved the idea of working for myself, and having worked in retail throughout high school, I was really interested in the buying and design side of things.
Once we decided to start a clothing brand, we just needed a name. I remember sitting on a beach while Joel was out surfing, sketching up different ideas, and I kept coming back to Olas, which means waves in Spanish. We’d also spent some time working at a hostel in Nicaragua called Casa de Olas (House of Waves), which was one of the highlights of our trip, so it felt like the perfect fit.
Where did you start?
Where did you start?Joel was a plumber and I was working in insurance, but we knew we wanted to do something different. We just didn’t know what that was yet! We quit our jobs and travelled through Central and South America, and it was on that trip that we came up with the idea of starting a clothing brand that captured the feeling of chasing adventure and not taking life too seriously. We then moved to Bali to explore manufacturers and get things off the ground.
What was the first big obstacle you faced, and how did you overcome it?
One of our first big learning curves was our first bulk order from China. Up until then, we’d been producing in Bali, where things were a lot more casual, and we didn’t have a designer on board to help with the technical side of things. When our first order arrived, which was also the biggest order we’d placed at that point, so much was wrong, from sizing to print placement. It was devastating because so much money and time had gone into it, and there wasn’t enough time to organise replacement hoodies and crews for winter. It was probably our first proper business stuff-up, but it taught us a lot about production and getting the right processes in place as we grew.
What’s one thing you know now that you wish you’d known from day one?
Order everything early! If you think you’ve left enough time, you probably haven’t. Production and shipping timelines have definitely taught us that over the years!
Tell us about the moment things started taking off, or when you realised you’d ‘made it’.
I don’t think we’ve ever really felt like we’ve ‘made it’. We’re always looking at what’s next and where we can take the brand, but it is pretty wild to think that what started as a bit of a hobby, where we were lucky to get a few orders a week, has grown into a business with our own warehouse and a team picking and packing orders every day. Sometimes you get so caught up in what’s next that you forget how far you’ve actually come!
What does a working day in your life look like?
No two days are the same, which I love. One minute I might be working on a collection with our designer, Mel, and the next I’m dealing with the behind-the-scenes stuff that comes with running a business, from accounts and numbers to everything else that needs doing. There’s a bit of everything involved and plenty of juggling, usually trying to get through my to-do list before daycare pickup!
What do you love about the Gold Coast community, especially as a business owner?
We’re so lucky to live where we do. The lifestyle is hard to beat, but it’s also the people and the community that make the Gold Coast such a great place to run a business. There are so many great local businesses around us, and we love being part of that. The Gold Coast has its own personality too. It’s laid-back, ambitious and doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is pretty much Olas in a nutshell. A lot of what we do is inspired by the lifestyle here, so it’s a pretty special place to build a brand like ours.
So, where to next? What are you working towards?
We’ve just moved into our new warehouse and office space in the Burleigh Industrial Estate, which is a pretty exciting milestone for us. We’re looking forward to getting settled in and opening our showroom next month. We’ve come a long way from packing orders in our garage, but there’s still plenty we want to do with Olas. We already have stockists across Australia, and growing our wholesale business internationally is definitely something we’d love to work towards. Southern California is high on the list!
What is one thing you’d tell someone about to start a business on the Gold Coast?
Just go for it! It’s hard work, and there are definitely days when you wonder what you’ve got yourself into, but there’s nothing quite like building something of your own. We’re so lucky to live where we do and have such an amazing community around us. I’m a big believer in supporting other small businesses, and I love seeing people give it a crack, back themselves and grow something of their own. It’s pretty cool seeing other local businesses succeed around you.
