Byron Bay bohemian fashion and lifestyle brand, Spell and the Gypsy Collective, was last week named the 2016 Telstra Australian Business of the Year.
The business also won the Telstra Australian Small Business Award at the national event which was held at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney on Friday night.
Spell and the Gypsy Collective is known for its unique, vintage-inspired designs, and boasts a celebrity following including the likes of Brazilian supermodel, Alessandra Ambrosio and singer, Katy Perry.
Telstra Business Awards Ambassador, Andy Ellis, praised this year’s winners for their sound financial performance, innovative thinking and their dynamic attitude which has the potential to disrupt their industries.
‘I have been inspired and humbled by the high calibre of the 2016 Telstra Australian Business Awards winners,’ Mr Ellis said.
‘These business leaders have all demonstrated a unique and compelling combination of heartfelt passion and impressive business acumen.
‘It was a tough job for our judges to measure these successful businesses against a range of indicators, including innovation, corporate social responsibility, financials and potential for growth.’
‘Spell and the Gypsy Collective is a very exciting business. Not only are they showing significant innovation in the digital space, but they are turning the traditional business model of the fashion industry on its head,’ Mr Ellis said.
Spell and the Gypsy Collective is the creation of sisters Elizabeth Abegg and Isabella Pennefather. Having come from a creative family, Ms Elizabeth Abegg says the sisters started the brand as an artistic outlet for their everyday lives.
‘We’re demonstrating to the fashion industry how a female-centric small business can grow and flourish in regional Australia,’ says Ms Abegg.
The label currently ships to more than 130 countries, and in the six years since its inception, has expanded its categories to include accessories, homewares, children’s wear and bridal, all with the brand’s signature modern-bohemian aesthetic.
Other winners of the 2016 Telstra Australian Business Awards were: NSW business, Jewel Fine Foods, Victorian not-for-profit organisation, Snowdome Foundation (Charity), Queensland high-tech towing company, Tow.com.au (New Business) and ACT business, medical simulation technology provider, iSimulate (Micro Business).
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
