Corporate to country: How PHYLLi Designs’ founder gave her career a tree change

When things fall apart

In March 2020, Laura Hall was in Melbourne waiting for her hats to be walked down the runway at the Melbourne Fashion Festival. The Sydneysider had launched PHYLLi Designs, a range of custom-designed and ready-to-wear hats, six months ago and this was the business’ big moment in the spotlight. 

One hour before the show began, the entire festival was cancelled because of rapidly rising COVID-19 numbers. Then Laura received an email from the Department of Health in New South Wales instructing her to isolate for two weeks after being a close contact at an earlier event in Sydney. 

Laura’s isolation ended two days before the borders between New South Wales and Victoria shut. She made it home in the nick of time to find that her housemate had moved out and the co-working space she was keeping her tools in was locked up. 

Then Sydney went into lockdown for seven weeks. 

Laura says, “I had no online presence and no access to my hat-making tools so there was no way of earning an income. I applied for Jobkeeper but I still had to pay the rent for my apartment and the co-working space.”

Unable to make either rental for much longer, Laura used the little Upper money she had left to secure a house in her hometown of Scone in the Hunter Valley. 

“At the time, it felt like everything was falling apart,” she says. “I had to figure out how to put my life back together but what I didn’t realise was that I was already doing that by moving back to Scone.” 

From country to city and back again

Laura grew up in Scone, left for Melbourne as a child and then pursued a corporate career in Sydney. Eight years on, she felt a rumble of discontent and yearned to reconnect with her creativity. 

“As a child, I loved playing with colour and was most excited when it involved fashion,” she says. “One of my first jobs was at a major Australian fashion accessories brand where I helped style customers. And I have always loved hats.”

“I saw a gap in the market for fashionable and colourful hats that could go from an event to everyday wear. Or as I like to say, from paddock to party! Accessories that translate well to different parts of your life are the ultimate in sustainable fashion.” 

Laura turned to YouTube and taught herself to make good hats. After extensive experimenting and crafting, she was ready to show them off and PHYLLi Designs was born. 

Armed with a peg board and marquee, she set up shop at Bondi Market. The first person to buy one of her hats was an AFL player, whom she says, still wears it for special occasions. 

A few weeks later she rocked up to Paddington Market where Australian singer, Delta Goodrem, became a new customer. From then on, PHYLLi Designs was on its way to trailblazing its own path in hat making.  

Then the pandemic hit and Laura retraced her steps back to Scone. 

The benefits of a tree change for a small business 

Scone, which is a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Sydney, is known for its rolling hills, cattle stations and being the horse capital of Australia.

For someone who has always harboured a connection to the country and life in the bush, Laura very quickly fell back in love with Scone as she slowly rebuilt PHYLLi. 

“If it wasn’t for the pandemic, a move back to country would have sparked fear and anxiety,” she says. “But instead it was the opposite. Being in Scone has given me a deep sense of home and community.”

“I cut my teeth at the Sydney markets but I really hit my stride here. The regional landscape has enabled me to create from a place of joy, excitement and true artistry.”

“I’ve also had the most incredible opportunities. This town of 5,000 people has welcomed me with open arms and my business has grown entirely through word of mouth and the stories people tell about their hats.”

Living in regional; going much furtherIn the first few months, Laura ran PHYLLi from her dining room table and then from the spare bedroom and any available surface in her home. 

Two years ago, she launched PHYLLi’s flagship store and production studio which she describes as “the perfect space for daily inspiration, for people to explore designing their own hat and to host hat parties!” 

PHYLLi hats are now handcrafted from premium European felt and lined with designer silk. The luxurious finishing touches are sustainably sourced from around the world and include Japanese grosgrain and distressed sari silks from India.

The hats have graced Hollywood heads the likes of Elsa Pataky and Matt Damon. But the most precious hats belong in Laura’s personal collection, a gift from her father. 

“There’s my grandfather’s hat covered in paint splatters and squashed with beautiful stitching from barn twine,” she says. “There’s dad’s hat which he wore on the movie set when he met mum.”

“When you make a hat that tells the story of a lifetime, it becomes an heirloom piece that’s passed down through generations. My goal is to have a PHYLLi hat in every Australian home.”

Partnering with the local Post Office

Being at the markets in Sydney had helped Laura nail down the PHYLLi customer and create social media content that resonated with them. During the pandemic, she steadily built an online presence through her website and social media channels. 

Soon orders began flowing in from across Australia and internationally. To fulfil them, she needed a delivery provider with a reputation for reach and reliability. 

“When freight is your third biggest business expense, you need a trustworthy delivery provider to get your product to its destination on time and in one piece,” Laura says. “I know that Australia Post has our back."

“The team at our local Post Office is incredible. If we didn’t have a connection with them, I don’t think we’d be able to meet our customer needs. It would have just been too hard.” 

“Too hard” was what Virginia Reynolds, the Scone Post Office Manager, thought when she first saw Laura trying to pack her hats in brown paper and recycled sticky tape - and then handwriting each label. 

“Virginia couldn’t understand why I wasn’t printing the labels and using the MyPost Business app so I could just drop off the parcels, scan the barcode and be off,” Laura laughs. “And she spent months convincing me to get a set of scales!”

Under Virginia’s expert guidance, Laura learnt different and more efficient ways of business packaging and how to save on sending costs. Virginia and her team also helped troubleshoot any issues with the parcels even before Laura realised something had gone awry. 

“It’s so good knowing we have people taking care of us this way,” Laura says. “Without that personal element, we’re just sending hats on a truck and hoping for the best. That’s the beauty of running a business in the country – the relationships between customer and supplier are so much stronger.” 

In 2022, Virginia suggested Laura apply for Australia Post’s Local Business Heroes program. The two had a giggle over the prizes which included a label printer and a set of scales. Laura sent in her application and won. 

“Since using MyPost Business – and the label printer and scales - we’ve been able to speed up the time it takes to ship our products,” she says. “Every parcel has a trackable link and we get the best shipping rates.”

“With a good bit of business savvy and a fantastic freight partner, you can now do anything and send it anywhere in the world.” 

Making a tree change work 

Trading cosmopolitan for country isn’t for everyone - or every business. But new doors tend to open when you make a change that feels right for you. Laura’s tree change opened her business to the world. And today she can’t imagine running it from anywhere else. 

“Starting PHYLLi wasn’t about building a massive brand,” she says. “I wanted to build something just for me that felt authentic and better aligned to my creativity. Moving to Scone made that possible.”

“If there’s someone out there thinking about building something of your own, this is your sign to do it. It doesn’t matter what you’re creating. There’s a way and a community that will help you do that.”

“And it doesn’t matter where you are, either. There are small businesses within your community - and big ones like Australia Post - that are willing to support you. All you need is a little hope and faith to started.”