When Sydney based parents Olivia and Patrick Rudomino launched their small business during the pandemic, they knew they were creating something special.
They weren’t the only ones that thought so as they were recently awarded a Gold Award at the 2021 Good Design Awards.
The My Nook founders spent a significant period refining and prototyping the design of their My NooK modular play sofa.
“We felt we had created something functional and versatile, as well as beautiful, that was completely unique on the market,” they enthuse.
“It has been wonderful to have our design recognised by such a prestigious judging panel. Winning a Gold Award in the Good Design Awards 2021 will give our customers yet another reason to purchase our original Australian play sofa.
“They can gain confidence knowing our original design is leading the way in this Play Sofa category and that we are recognised as being at the forefront of design ideas, and having created a product that is supremely versatile with a quality to match with our commitment to Australian Made manufacturing.”
Indeed, Olivia and Patrick made the conscious decision to manufacture in Australia when they launched My NooK.
“Supply challenges have been exacerbated during the pandemic, but by ensuring the majority of our components were made in Australia we were able to insulate our business from these pressures. Managing our supply chain carefully has certainly been more crucial during this period but that discipline has also been important in ensuring our business was working most efficiently.
“We were extremely lucky to be located outside of a hard lockdown LGA here in Sydney and we have a workforce where 90 per cent of our staff lives within a 5km radius. There have still been many challenges and changes to how we operated over this period, but we were extremely fortunate to be able to manage our production, albeit at a lower level for a number of weeks.”
With many people thinking about changing jobs in the next year or starting their own business, does the husband and wife team have any advice for budding entrepreneurs?
“Plan for every contingency. We have started a business at a time when there have been so many variables and challenges―costs have increased significantly and we have needed to work with constraints in terms of lockdowns, freight delays and a shifting local economy.
“We have always worked hard to model and plan for different events, and while much of what we have faced has been unprecedented, the discipline of planning and working through different factors has been crucial to our adaptability and business success.”
