Bec Geoghegan has always had a passion for interior design, studying the subject at university in Sydney before selling stylised homewares at markets in Killalea and Bulli. She was previously working as a personal trainer, but in 2019 decided to take the leap and set up her own brick and mortar store for homewares, lifestyle and kids’ fashion in Woonona called The Native Nest.

Around three weeks ago, Bec took another massive leap by opening a second Native Nest store on Manning Street, Kiama. “I love coming to Kiama myself, and a lot of the brands I stock aren’t down here, so I thought why not take the opportunity to come down here and give it a go,” Bec told The Bugle.

The Kiama store, located at Shop 1/35 Manning Street, looks vastly different since Bec and her team renovated the space. Gone are the carpets and dark lighting in favour of crisp, white walls, brand new wooden floors and plenty of sunlight.

The store is currently stocked with homewares, kids clothing, gifts, and even swimwear and beach accessories for those visiting the nearby Surf Beach. 

“At the moment, it’s quite spacious, we’ll get more larger pieces of furniture and that sort of thing. I definitely want to get more brands in and more gift items, things like that,” Bec said.

Bec says she’s made an effort to ensure all of her suppliers are either based in Australia or design their products here, and that they are typically smaller, ethically sourced brands.

“I like the idea of not having what everyone else has. A lot of the brands we have here will not allow you to stock that brand in the same suburb, so it’s quite nice. I just like the idea of not having products from large manufacturers,” Bec said.

It’s still very early days for The Native Nest, but Bec says the feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I put [our opening] on the local Kiama Facebook page and it got a great response. The number of comments from well-wishers, I was so shocked. It’s quite consistent with foot traffic here, and a lot of people from the coffee shops on Manning Street come in which is nice.”

Looking ahead, Bec is keen to fill out the store with more boutique products, so watch this space.