Made in Clunes.
Clunes has a long history of finding creative ways to adapt and thrive. Through social enterprise BOOM Clunes, Clunes Neighbourhood House builds on that spirit, bringing people together to develop skills, test ideas and create opportunities that benefit our community.
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Our BOOM Clunes journey began with a belief that small towns can help shape their own futures. By connecting local creativity, knowledge and enterprise, we can strengthen both our community and our local economy. For more than five years, we operated a co-working space and retail store, providing an experience for visitors to Clunes that showcased locally produced wares.
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Building on the capacity of our town to create products at scale so that we can access markets beyond Clunes is the next stage of our journey.
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Why products?
Developing products creates opportunities to reach customers beyond our town. While locally delivered services often depend on people attending a particular place or activity, products can travel, opening doors to new retail partnerships, broader audiences and additional sources of income.
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For a small community, this matters. It gives us a way to bring income into Clunes, make more of our existing talents and build experience in turning an idea into something people want to buy.
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Our first products: Community-made cooling neckties
Our first product, handmade cooling neckties, is planned for launch at the end of October 2026.
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Community members are contributing their time, fabric and sewing skills to create a simple, practical product for hot weather. The neckties bring together local making, community enterprise and our ongoing work to help people prepare for extreme heat.
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Tea towels and wrapping paper
Alongside this, a group of community members is working with local Rogue Planet Gallery to design and handprint tea towels and wrapping paper.
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The collaboration connects community creativity with professional arts practice, giving participants practical experience in developing designs and producing items for sale.
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Building skills through making
Even a small production run creates valuable opportunities to learn. Design, sourcing materials, costing, quality control, packaging, marketing and sales all require skills that can be shared and developed locally.
People can contribute what they already know, try something new and see how their work fits into the finished product. These experiences build confidence, strengthen relationships and provide a foundation for future enterprise.
We are starting small, with the aim of building a sustainable source of income to support our community work while growing the skills and connections that help Clunes thrive.
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Watch this video to discover the thinking behind our journey.