A mother-daughter duo from Gin Gin are the faces behind jewellery and hair accessory brand Kaloola Creations, crafting unique pieces while raising funds for various organisations.
Kayla McCotter, a student at Gin Gin State High School, established the business with help from her mum Jodie last year after the gift of a sewing machine to make scrunchies had propelled her creative aspirations.
Having previously sewn the scrunchies by hand, the time saved by using the machine allowed Kayla to begin making matching earrings to sell as a set and thus a business idea was born.
“I loved making and wearing my creations and wanted others to enjoy them as well, so after many discussions, I decided to have a go and make a little business out of it as a way of meeting people and bringing a smile to their face,” she said.
“The support we have received from family, friends and people in the community has been amazing and these wonderful people have given us the confidence to keep going.
“We are learning so much and are appreciating all the experiences it is giving us.”
With support behind them, the pair decided to do more for the community by raising funds through the sales of scrunchies and earrings to give back to different charities.
“Our first thoughts went to Walk With me Autism Awareness Acceptance, a Gin Gin based organisation who host many events with the goal of expanding Autism awareness and acceptance and raising much needed funds to donate to schools and other education facilities for the purchase of special needs equipment in our community,” Kayla said.
“We have some very dear friends who have formed this organisation and we wanted to show our support by raising funds to help them keep doing the wonderful things they are doing for our community.
“We decided to make scrunchies and earrings from Autism printed material and donate all our sales from those to Walk With Me.”
Kayla said the business had raised just over $400 so far with scrunchies and earrings still available.
As well as raising money for Autism, Kaloola Creations have made donations to the RSL in Gin Gin, the Starlight Foundation and local cent sales.
The scrunchies and other items can be picked up locally, delivered throughout Bundaberg or posted at a cost of $9.
The duo has also been attending the Bullyard Hall Markets, held on the first Sunday of every month from 7am to 11am, with the hope of supporting more markets in surrounding areas in the future.
Thanking the local community for the support, Kayla said she looked forward to seeing where the business journey would take her and her mum.
“Our little business is bringing us much joy and to donate and help others along the way is very rewarding, “she said.
“As they say, ‘from little things, big things grow’ which is so true, and we are very excited to see where this journey takes us.”
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