They’re bubbly and bright, just like the bird that symbolises their business, and they’re hoping that indigenous artists in Queensland will join their label with a higher purpose.
“They” are Laura Egan and Maggie McGowan and they manage the Magpie Goose clothing label that aims to help the world connect with Aboriginal art, stories and culture, creating jobs and economic opportunities for Aboriginal people in remote Australia at the same time.
Based in Katherine in the Northern Territory, they’ve been cruising the Sunshine State with eight large suitcases filled to the brim with clothing made from textiles that have been screenprinted with designs from both individual artists and four Territory art centres.
As well as showcasing the art and the stories behind them, they hope to explore similar collaborations in Queensland, starting with the Finders Keepers independent art and design market in Brisbane at the end of June.
Since then they’ve been making their way up the coast, to Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville, culminating in the Cairns indigenous art fair, where they expected to see lots of textiles on show.
“Hopevale Art Centre will be exhibiting, Yarrabah was doing some textiles, so we’re quite excited to maybe explore collaborations with Queensland-based indigenous artists,” Maggie said.
Until March last year, when the pair decided to make their Magpie Goose idea a reality, Maggie was a lawyer, working with NAAJA, the NT Aboriginal legal aid centre, while Laura had been and still is, working in partnership with Aboriginal communities on small business enterprise development ideas.
One of those involves setting up an enterprise hub in Katherine, a place where people can go and get business support and be exposed to start-up businesses.
Because the Queensland government supports regional enterprise through hubs, Laura and Maggie are also using their Queensland road trip as a way of visiting the hubs along the way, to network and learn.
”Our social enterprise mission has two goals, to help people living remotely generate an income from their art, and to use their art in a way they haven’t been before,” Maggie explained.
“Some have just been selling the fabric by the metre so our proposition was to take the fabric and make it into clothes and sell that.
“We buy the fabric from the art centres in bulk so it gives them enough money to keep going.
“And artists in small communities, we’re trying to give them access as well.
Magpie Goose's first range showcased textiles from four remote community art centres - Palngun Wurnangat (Wadeye), Injalak Arts (Gunbalanya), Tiwi Design (Wurrumiyanga, Tiwi Islands) and Bábbarra Women’s Centre (Maningrida), some of whom have been making designs on fabric since the 1960s.
The second range, which launched at the beginning of March, featured designs from current art centre partners, as well as designs created by four artists from Borroloola and Urapunga, NT.
Maggie said each design told a story, of people, place and culture.
“They tell stories of bush food and ceremonies and the landscapes,” she said.
All clothing items are manufactured in Sydney.
Maggie said they purchased the fabric in bulk from the art centres, which enabled them to employ screenprinters.
“They run lots of other businesses such as rock art tours or tea rooms. They’re trying to increase employment in community and the artists get paid a price per metre.
“For unaffiliated artists, we licence their designs and pay per metre.
“It’s not-for-profit so everything is invested back in creating opportunities for Aboriginal people, whether that’s enterprise learning – we had a fashion futures initiative in Katherine this year, a self-esteem and confidence building program for young women, exposing them to pathways in the fashion industry.
“We looked at ways we can create opportunities through the business, whether that’s through modelling or story telling and photography, or screen printing.”
Maggie said that as they grew the business, they aimed to also grow lots of enterprise opportunities.
She said it was a full-time business, saying they had a campaign to raise $20,000, which they got within a day.
“We got over $100,000 of orders a month so we knew there was a demand,” she said.
“People are initially attracted to the bright bold prints and then they learn more of the story and they become really interested.
“They learn that Magpie Goose is a platform for Aboriginal artists, and I think more broadly, indigenous textiles are really going off right now.”
They joke about the name, Magpie Goose, a black-and-white bird familiar across northern Australia for sitting on the top of mango trees all day.
“It eats fermented mangoes and gets drunk and just laughs all day,” Maggie joked, adding that some wanted to link the name with her own, to which Laura interjected, “She’s the Magpie and I’m the goose!”
It’s a classic symbol of black and white simplicity, while being quirky and a bit crazy at the same time, the perfect NT recipe for success.