Bits of Australia: A one-stop shop for local gifts

What started with an idea, a spare room, and a passion for locally made gifting has turned into a success story for Micaela Smith, Owner of Bits of Australia.

An avid traveller herself, Micaela had found it challenging to find suitable gifts from Australia when visiting friends overseas. Today, Bits of Australia stands out as a one-stop shop for genuine Australian Made gifts, stocking products from local makers all over the country.

Living overseas for nearly a decade, Micaela says she loved travelling and buying souvenirs and gifts from countries she visited. However, when it came to her home in Australia, she found it challenging to find good-quality gifts that she could trust were locally produced. And so, an idea was born.

Bits of Australia began as an online-only store in 2014 but has since expanded to open two physical stores in Sydney, located in Balmain East and Manly Beach. Over the years, Micaela has been joined by Jess and Vicki, and the team is now supported by local students as well. “People sometimes think we’re larger because we have two locations, but we’re a proud small business,” said Micaela.

“We all live locally and enjoy getting to know our local customer base, as well as learning about our international visitors. We’re always happy to answer questions about Australia and equally enjoy hearing about people’s holidays!”

The stores exclusively stock Australian-made products, supplied by a variety of makers from around the country. Bits of Australia finds their stockists through online research as well as attending markets and trade fairs. “We work hard to find unique items and ensure we’re only sourcing from genuine Australian makers,” said Micaela.

“Buying Australian-made products is so important. It keeps creativity alive and supports local makers to create niche products that you can’t get anywhere else. And the impact it has on local families is undeniable. It really does help a lot of people pay the bills.”

The team also has an in-house range of products, manufactured by the Bits of Australia team and often including original artworks. “Some of our featured products from our in-house ranges feature Indigenous artists' work. We license the artwork directly which means the artists get ongoing royalties from their artwork.”

Since 2014, Bits of Australia has been a part of the Australian Made Campaign as a certified Australian Made Retail Supporter – proudly displaying the green and gold kangaroo. For Micaela, it was the best way to show people that Bits of Australia was serious about its passion for supporting local.

“The logo shows our commitment to creativity and providing opportunities for people in our country. It’s easily recognisable and just makes sense.”

Micaela said that the team is extremely proud to be celebrating and sharing Australian-made products for over a decade. “Since the beginning, our focus has been on only selling Australian Made. Over the years, we’ve been told that we would fail by only stocking Australian Made products, but we are still here and thriving with the same focus!”

“We are a passionate team, and our customers enjoy the service and selection of products we have. People often come in and tell us that we are the best souvenir store not just in Sydney but in Australia.”

The passion for supporting local craftsmanship and manufacturing runs deep and extends beyond a mere feel-good sentiment for the staff.

“Once you lose skills or the capacity to create, it is so hard to start again,” said Micaela. “It’s important to celebrate and innovate. We want to show that we value individual craftspeople as well as manufacturing work.”

“When a product is made in Australia, we can trust that whoever is making it is being paid properly and is protected by Australia’s labour laws. That’s really important to us.”

Find out more at bitsofaustralia.com.au