Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2015 | Page 45

INTERVIEW
These days, Oasis is shipping in a 40ft
container every couple of weeks, expertly
handled from the Southampton Docks
end by Steve Porter Transport.
The import side of things continues
to grow, and at the last count, the
Southwells were buying from 178
suppliers, compared to 54 when they
began the Bali trade.

Dark days
A sobering time for Alan and Bridget
came in October 2005, with the horrific
Bali bombings by terrorists. They had
been on the island just before, and
missed the bomb only by a few days.
“It was a bad time for everyone and
knowing lots of people there made us
feel very involved” said Alan.
The bombings naturally hit the island’s
tourism business very hard, and Alan was
told by one grandfather that his family
was glad to be in the cottage craft industry
because it was continuing to keep them
in work despite the devastation.
At the UK end of things, Alan and
Bridget continuously aim to come up
with new product ideas to feed back to
their makers.
They visit trade fairs at home and
abroad, as well as other businesses all
over the UK to keep a finger on trends
and look out for their next ‘big thing’.
Their furniture range has done
especially well, with pieces designed
on the Isle of Wight being made up by
makers on the Island of Bali, 16,000
miles away.
Buyers love the pieces in whitewashed,
shellac and natural teak, the quirky
designs made from huge teak roots, and
more recently the reclaimed items made
from boat wood.
Not surprisingly, Islanders are
especially drawn to furniture made from
the wrecks of sailing boats – in this case,
Japanese ones.
“One wrecked boat will make a lot of
furniture” says Alan, “and it’s a great way
of recycling!”

Looking forward
So where do Alan and Bridget see Oasis
going next? Well it certainly won’t be off
the Isle of Wight, despite business offers
that have tried to lure them to other
locations.
“A Thai company wanted to buy us out

“We did make some
mistakes at first,
because it takes time to
understand a different
culture. But you can’t
be scared of making a
mistake, or you’d never do
anything”
and roll the business model out to a
number of locations” said Alan. “Then
we were offered a place in Jersey which
could have been very lucrative, but
running a business can be very hard if
you’re not there. After a lot of long hard
thought we decided it was too much to
take on.
“We like this business and enjoy what
we are doing – talking to customers all
the time, designing our own products,

travelling around. We are away for about
four months of the year”.
But they say they’ll continue to develop
and grow - because there’s no standing
still in this business.
It now employs 37 people including
their son Neil, who brings a different
generational approach. As a
photographer and designer, he is
responsible for a range of popular art
canvases featuring Island events and
scenes, including the V-Dub Festival and
Scooter Rally.
Their daughter Sharon was also
involved in the business until recently
when she moved with her husband to his
native Canada.
For Alan and Bridget, who married
at the age of 18 and have grown up
together to form a formidable team,
Oasis will continue to be a passion.
“We don’t have any hobbies so we’ve
tended to pour all our energies into the
business.
It’s given us a really enjoyable way of life
- and we like to think that we have been
able to put something back”.
www.goilife.co.uk

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