For ten years Little Birdie Vintage of Cobargo has brought joy to people's lives but sadly is about to close its doors.
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In 2011 Tess Spicer closed her small business in Tumut to move to the South Coast.
She wanted to start a new business selling a 30-year-old collection of women's vintage clothing she had purchased years earlier.
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"We looked at Bermagui, Tilba and Narooma and decided on Cobargo," Ms Spicer said.
The business was essentially recycling and slow fashion before it was a thing.
"I felt people here didn't need to be educated.
"They are pretty switched on about their footprint and they love frocking up so people are constantly coming in to buy good quality vintage."
Preserving stories
Ms Spicer said when people bring in their beloved treasures to sell, they also tell stories of the clothes such as the dress they saved up for a month to buy when they were 19 in the 1960s.
The shop is replete with history, nostalgia and memories that people entrust with Little Birdie to preserve when their children don't want the items
Ms Spicer also sells vintage furniture and bric-a-brac, anything she finds that is beautiful and can be restored, given a new life and saved from landfill.
People love the tactile experience of walking into a space and being surrounded by pieces that remind them of another time and place. It's called nostalgia.
"I usually have old music playing so people can come in and just lose themselves in the experience," Ms Spicer said.
She buys outright or on consignment which has a flow-on effect into the community, creating a circular economy.
"A lady who recently lost her husband brought in his RM Williams boots and I could give her a wad of money."
Been part of something
Ms Spicer studied creative art and the shop has been her canvas.
"It has been fun and my creative outlet."
After the Black Summer bushfires Ms Spicer questioned if Little Birdie still had a role.
"Who wants to buy these items after they have lost so much but people would come to sit and talk and be surrounded by beautiful things."
Ms Spicer said when people talk about Little Birdie they talk about it being the colour in the heart of the village.
"It is nice to know you have been part of something."
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