Australia Day thoughts from a small business owner.

Australia Day thoughts from a small business owner.

I didn’t want to try and explain this in a soundbite. It deserves more care than that.

Every Australia Day, someone suggests the same thing…

“You should do Aboriginal art Luckies.”

And every year, my answer is the same.

No.

When I was first sampling Luckies, I went to Spotlight and bought a stack of fabrics to send to my seamstress. Among them were Indigenous prints. Those very first samples - saggy, baggy, still doing their job - are still in my knicker drawer. And honestly? The prints would look incredible as the Luckies “party gusset”.

But here’s the thing.

I don’t feel comfortable making money from Indigenous art while I benefit from a system that has caused so much harm.

So I’ve made myself a rule.

I will not do a run of Indigenous print Luckies unless I can donate 100% of the proceeds back to First Nations communities. Not a portion. Not a percentage. All of it.

Until I can do that properly — with care, respect, and real impact — those prints will stay in my drawer.

Some things aren’t for leveraging.
Some things are for protecting.
And some things can wait until you can do them right.