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after ten years, eventually moved the production down to Melbourne.<\/p>\nAFTER over twenty years selling her signature bags and homewares, renowned artist and printmaker Nicola Cerini has finally set shop on Ballarat\u2019s iconic Main Road.<\/p>\n
Having opened in November, Cerini said it\u2019s been great connecting with the store holders and community members in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s really nice, it\u2019s such a lovely community here especially after coming out of lockdown,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith trade fairs and design markets being cancelled this year, I had enough stock to open a shop and I thought why not, this shop became available and I thought this is perfect for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the kind of street I need to be in, it\u2019s more of a destination.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kicking off the business 26 years ago, Cerini initially began manufacturing her signature printed bags in Ballarat, and after ten years, eventually moved the production down to Melbourne.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen my daughter was born, I started licensing my designs to other companies like the floor rugs to be made by someone else and stopped making the bags for five years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was ready for a change after being in production making bags for so many years.\u201d<\/p>\n
After some time off, over this year, Cerini and her family moved to Ballarat and her passion for design and production came rushing back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got re-established and decided I wanted to go back into making bags again, back into what everyone knew me for,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started making them a year ago and business quickly took off again, I even nearly opened a shop on Sturt Street in February this year \u2026 luckily I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout the year, I was just working from home and building the online presence, which really improved before opening up here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Cerini\u2019s prints are as vibrant as ever, the designer said once she returned to manufacturing the bags again, alterations to the production process were necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I went back to make the bags again after the five-year break, I went back to the Melbourne company and they weren\u2019t able to make them for me anymore,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey suggested I think about making the bags offshore \u2026 I wanted to know who was making my stuff so I went to India last September and found a great manufacturer who make my bags who\u2019ve been fantastic to work with.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the leather bags are made in East Ballarat by Kim Ryan who worked for the company who originally made my bags and she does a fantastic job \u2026 I do all the cutting of the materials and she does all the construction.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the core bag line, Cerini also retails a range of other products from clothing to homewares.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also do t-shirts which are all organic cotton, made in Australia and some of them, I screen print myself and aprons and tea towels which I screen print them myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen there\u2019s cards and card sets, all made in Melbourne, then the shopping totes and I also jumped on the bandwagon with face masks which was a really good thing and helped me get through the last six months.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also have samples for my rugs instore and people can take them home and see if they like them\u2026 the rugs are one of the main reasons I opened the store, apart from having all the other things for people to buy, because they sell better instore than online.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AFTER over twenty years selling her signature bags and homewares, renowned artist and printmaker Nicola Cerini has finally set shop on Ballarat\u2019s iconic Main Road. Having opened in November, Cerini said it\u2019s been great connecting with the store holders and community members in the area. \u201cEveryone\u2019s really nice, it\u2019s such a lovely community here especially […]<\/p>\n