In the lead up to International Women’s Day 2023, we sat down with the founder of Few & Far, Tara Solberg. Founders everyday are creatively problem solving and constantly innovating - which is core to the IWD 2023 theme Cracking The Code: Innovation for a Gender Equal Future.
Few & Far was founded back in 2009 (over 14 years ago) by Tara and her partner Danny. Tara is a true creative - leading the creative direction and innovation at Few & Far which achieved global recognition receiving the prestigious Global Honouree Award at the Global Innovator Awards (gia).
As you may already know, Few & Far is a furniture and homewares brand that is based on the South Coast of NSW. Few & Far has stores in Berry, Bowral, Thirroul and Huskisson, as well as an online store servicing those across Australia.
So without further ado - let’s hear from Tara!
What were you like as a kid? What did you want to be when you grew up?
I was always a very determined and passionate child. I always set big goals for myself and worked really hard to achieve them. I really believed in the value of hard work.
I remember I wanted to be the swimming champion (and beat a particular girl in my year), so I dragged mum to the Huskisson pool every morning at 5:30am so I could swim laps. This paid off and I was awarded the junior girls swimming champion (I think I may actually still hold the district record for 9 year old girls breaststroke? Or maybe it was 12 year old girls… I can’t remember).
I also learnt the flute when I was younger, and was quite good at it, so I used this to my advantage and decided to start busking every Saturday morning right outside the local bottle shop where everyone had so much loose change, with mum keeping a watchful eye behind the pages of her book close by…
In addition to that, I started teaching the flute (I had 12 students at $20 for half an hour!), which meant I never really had to find a ‘real’ job and have pretty much always been self employed!
Growing up, I had always wanted to be a hairdresser, but after work experience in Year 10, I quickly decided that it wasn't for me! Otherwise, I had no clear idea on what I wanted to do. I just knew I wanted to pursue something creative because it 'sounded like fun'.
What did you do in your career before founding your business?
Both Danny and I were graphic designers in the surf industry before starting Few & Far. We worked together at Ocean and Earth, a local surf company based in Sussex Inlet on the South Coast of NSW. I was the ladies designer and he was the men's designer (and also my boss - how things have changed!). We were responsible for the creation of the entire mens and ladies ranges of clothing, accessories and surf accessories, as well as the design of advertising and printed material. It was a demanding role but I loved it. Coming straight out of university and into this role was my dream job! I mean what more could a young, beach-loving, girl from the South Coast ever want?
Why did you want to start this business?
Now don’t get me wrong. I loved my job at the time - I loved the people I worked with, I had the opportunity to travel the world and I absolutely loved working on the South Coast… but I felt I had more to give.
As the years went by, the novelty slowly wore off and I felt stifled by being told how to be creative or what it was I had to design when I felt so strongly opposed to it. I felt trapped with nowhere to go. I distinctly remember standing in the shower each night knowing I was destined for something, but I just hadn’t quite worked out what that was just yet.
One thing I did know was that I couldn’t keep going on like this. I wasn’t happy and I needed to take control of that. When I thought about going out in business for myself and following a passion I’d held for such a long time, it gave me an enormous sense of energy, excitement and a feeling of fulfilment. I’d always loved homewares and interiors, but had always thought owning a homewares store could only be a hobby.
Before doing any research, I relied on the fact that I believed I was the typical customer – someone who’d go out for lunch, followed by a ‘browse’ around the stores, wishing I could buy everything but leaving without actually purchasing anything. Surely you couldn’t make money from owning a retail store? But wouldn’t it be nice if you could?
I didn’t ponder on that idea for too long and redirected my energy to look into buying the local pizza shop. But after sitting back and thinking about what it was about that opportunity that excited me, I realised I was looking at it for all the wrong reasons. I just wanted to re-decorate the pizza shop and plan the fit out!
The vision of it excited me and I dreamt about how I could make it look and feel, but the thought of coming in each morning to light a fire, chop up veggies and knead dough just wasn’t floating my boat! Let alone the fact that the long days and late nights weren’t very accommodating when the pitter-patter of tiny feet came calling.
And so, I decided to go with my gut and to follow my passion for interiors… which is when Few & Far was born.
What was the journey like in founding your business? How did you land on the name? Where did you find your first customer?
Both Danny and I travelled the world twice a year on buying trips while working at Ocean and Earth. It may sound glamorous but it was far from it! 5 countries in 2 weeks - the jet lag was insane!!!
But it was on one of these trips, in Melrose, California, that we stumbled across a huge store full of unique and one-of-a-kind items from all over the world... and sitting at his desk at the back of the store was the owner, on his laptop, making it look like life was perfect. Danny looked at me and said 'I want to be him'...
I'd always loved Anthropologie and would drag Danny into every single one of their stores on any of our trips. I loved the experience of their stores - the theatrical storytelling, the way I felt when I was inside... So I was all in - let's create our own version of 'how we felt' when we were in both of these stores...
How has your business evolved and how has your role in it changed? What does a day in your life look like now? Do you still offer the same products you did when you first started?
Gosh, where do I start? I could never have imagined we would be where we are today. While we have grown significantly over the last 14 years (what started out as one small store in Huskisson is now a multi million dollar business complete with a wholesale arm and a handful of stores) the core of our business is essentially the same - to bring the world home. We still bring in unique one-of-a-kind pieces from all over the world but complement these pieces with modern pieces for that combination of 'old and new'.
Danny and I (and my Mum and Dad) have pretty much done everything in our business - we've packed and unpacked boxes, we've paid bills, we've bought and sold product, we've worked in the stores and we've just 'figured the rest out'. My role has changed a lot over the years. While I 'wish' I was just chief of creative concepts and buying, unfortunately, I'm still in the trenches dealing with lots of things like HR and people management which is now the majority of my role. But I make time (and dream about!) the creative aspects, as that's what brings me the most joy and what we started this business to do.
Life is busy! Both Danny and I still do all of the buying and product development, which I love and don't think I will ever completely let go of - because that's us, and this is what our business has been built on.
What advice would you have for someone starting a business? What do you wish you knew before you started?
Sooooo many things!!!! We've made a tonne of mistakes. I was having a conversation with another store owner the other day who was asking for my advice on something, and after speaking to her for a while she asked 'how do you know all of this?'... I thought about it, and could only answer with 'because I've been through it all and I've learnt the hard way'.
There's not one thing I could pinpoint, but I will always say I wish I'd had a really great mentor when we started out - someone who could guide me through the process to make better decisions and understand the reasoning behind them...
For this reason, I created the online course TRADE WINS for anyone wanting to start a retail business or is at the beginning of their retail business’ journey and needs some help and guidance. In TRADE WINS I have compiled everything I've learnt in my 14 years of running Few & Far. There are 8 modules that cover topics like buying, sourcing and managing inventory, finding the right store location, merchandising, financing, marketing and more.
Is there anything exciting coming up for your business we should know about?
Later this year we will be launching The Retail Academy, a monthly membership for existing retail business owners who want to grow and scale their business. Each month I will be running a masterclass and a live Q&A session that steps through key essentials of scaling a retail business. I made the Retail Academy for business owners who are at that stage where they want to optimise their current retail space and earn more, expand their team and schedule more time off, or open another location to widen their sphere of impact. I am so excited to share this very soon.
What else? Well, you never know! Danny and I run our business on a lot of gut instinct, and don't shy from opportunities, so if something arises and it feels right, we may just consider it! Watch this space!
Quick 5 Questions:
Favourite Product You Sell
That's like choosing a favourite child. I don't have one. Although some of the one off pieces of furniture are hard to look past...
I have a number of them I’ve reserved and stored in our warehouse and get into trouble because they're 'taking up space!'... but one day I'll find room for them!
Favourite Travel Destination
So far, Turkey - we spent our honeymoon there (sourcing rugs!), but I've booked a bucket list trip to Italy for my 40th this year, so that may top it!
Favourite Food
Mango
Favourite Quote
All things beautiful belong to the same age - Oscar Wilde
Go To Business Tip
Follow your instincts - they're usually right!
