B U S I N E S S
S N A P S H O T
MADE BY MARY
Soon after her arrival in Papua New Guinea
in early 2016, Dawn Robinson realised that
the heat dictated a new dress code. She
expressed the need for more simple, cool
A-line summer dresses, and Mary offered
to make them, as in a former job she had
learned how to use a hand-operated sewing
machine. Dawn soon saw the opportunity
to assist Mary by purchasing a machine
for her use as payment for the dresses, and
Dawn was able to bring in some suitable
pieces of bright and beautiful fabric from a
visit to Australia.
Together they drafted patterns for the
first dresses based on ones Dawn currently
owned, and soon both women were
wearing them, and receiving comments
and requests for something similar. And so
the label ‘Made by Mary’ was born.
Dawn has also assisted Mary to find
ways of utilising the off-cuts of material,
and they are now appearing as headbands,
cloth-covered bead necklaces and more.
In February this year Mary held her
first pop-up shop in an office foyer, and
staff were keen to purchase as well as place
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orders for more items. When the pop-up
shop closed for the day, Dawn totalled the
sales, and told Mary the figure. She had
earned the equivalent of $375 in 1.5 hours,
normally a month’s wages, and amongst
tears of surprise and delight Mary said, “I
was a nobody.”
The future holds more plans for the
expansion of Made for Mary, with Mary at
the forefront, ably assisted by her childr en
who get involved in production after school
hours. Ideas are flowing and more products
are planned – girls’ dresses; wide-leg
trousers; quartz necklaces; detailing on
jeans, and more.
Dawn’s family and friends now also
assist Mary and her family by donating
children’s clothes and purchasing some
of the Made by Mary products. The next
major pop-up shop is scheduled for mid-
year and includes a range of resin bracelets
donated by Dawn’s friend who owns ‘Me
and Maggie’ and sells her resin jewellery at
the Eumundi markets in Queensland.
Dawn’s driving force is to enable Mary
to build a sustainable business, and her
H O N E S T LY W O M A N M A G A Z I N E - S U B S C R I B E N O W