Spotlight | Anna Sillett, Alabasta Doll
How to slow down the fashion industry
Published on 13 November 2019
Photography by Morgan Smith
As the owner of Ivy Designer Collections, Anna Sillett is already known for her innate style. Her new venture, Alabasta Doll, applies a social enterprise lens to her fashion savviness. Selling vintage and secondhand clothes, the online marketplace also donates 51% of profits to charities that protect workers in developing countries. The fashion industry contributes around 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon towards greenhouse gas emissions each year, but is also a prime culprit for exploitation of vulnerable garment makers.
We sat down with Anna to learn more about Alabasta Doll 2.0, how she spends her weekends, and what brought her to Toowoomba in the first place.
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First things first: why Toowoomba?
I lived in Brisbane before moving here and before Brisbane, lived a chunk of my life on the Sunshine Coast. We moved to Toowoomba almost 3 years ago when my husband Harry got a promotion. We weren’t sure what to expect at first and to be honest, I originally was soooo off moving here but we have grown to absolutely love living here. There is such deep community spirit here, and an amazing group of young people willing to have a crack, which we love. Everyone is so supportive of each other and want nothing but to see each other grow. So many creatives here too, it’s awesome. I feel very settled here.
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What is Alabasta Doll?
Alabasta Doll was created in 2012, when I decided to sell my pre-loved clothing via Instagram. I thought, if people are doing it on Facebook, why can’t I do it on Insty? I saw it as an easy and instant way of doing things. My first upload was when I was visiting my Mama up in Gympie for the weekend. She took all my photos. I sold everything and thought — this is great! Then as things progressed, I became increasingly conscious of the waste I was producing, and the impact my purchasing habits were having on the world. Moving forward to today, Harry and I have launched Alabasta Doll online with its own website. With Harry’s background in social enterprise and inspired by our volunteering trips to Cambodia, we wanted to do something purpose driven, so we turned AD into a social enterprise that will donate 51% of profits to charities that protect workers in developing countries from exploitation.
Alabasta Doll is not only helping to reduce the waste within the fashion industry but also helping those at the starting point of the production process. It’s also my way of saying sorry to our environment for contributing heavily to the fast fashion industry when I was younger and more naive, when I felt the need to buy a new outfit every time I went out partying! Really bad!
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What have you learned about running a business in Toowoomba?
I’d say, overall, it’s been a blessing to open my first businesses here in Toowoomba. The community of businesswomen willing to pitch in and offer support, advice and mentoring is truly amazing. Without that tight knit support network, I never could have dreamed about being where I am today. That said, like every regional centre, Toowoomba faces challenges. The decline of the CBD and the drought are just a couple of issues we have faced to our foot traffic and cash flow. This has made us think outside the box. We’ve built strong relationships with our customer base and had to put lots of work into our online and social media channels.
What does an average day look like for you?
Busy. I love getting up early so I can ease into my morning… Betty is usually our alarm clock with her wiggly tail hitting the wall beside our bed! Then Harry or I make us some coffee followed by a walk with Betty around the neighbourhood. I usually get into work (Ivy Designer Collections) around 8.00am so I can do a little morning prep before opening the doors.
Then lots of social media work, paying invoices, sending out parcels, re-merchandising the store, replying to emails or sometimes I’m off to showings in Brisbane or the Gold Coast for the day. Throughout the day, I’m juggling between the two businesses.
I like to end the day with a doggy park session for Betty. I try to keep everything after 5.00pm as “my home time” to zone out from work and reset — lately this hasn’t been the case!
I like to try and throw a reformer pilates session at Zama in the mix too -- it’s so good. I swear by it!
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What does your ideal Toowoomba weekend look like?
At the moment, a quiet weekend at home to be honest, haha! It’s been pedal to the metal lately and I don’t see things slowing down at all until the new year. So being home and getting house stuff done would be ideal.
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Only a Toowoomba local would know…
That ‘Fibbers’ meant Fitzy’s. When friends would say “let’s meet at Fibbers”, I was like - what/where the hell is Fibbers?!
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FAVOURITE WEEKEND SPOT TO:
PERK UP: Getting a cheeky little take away coffee from Banter or Sweet Talk before work. Not only for the coffee but the morning chats with everyone are always nice. I also love starting the day with a reformer pilates class at Zama. That always makes me feel good and set for the rest of the day.
RELAX: I absolutely adore Sudore & Co. It’s amazing, especially if you’ve been having a crazy week. I love going there to zone out and to just be present with myself with no distractions. My go-to is an early morning 50min sesh to kick start my day. I also love watching Betty (my dog) run free at the Queens Park doggy park.
EAT: Sweet Talk for breaky and Original Saigon for dinner (soooo yummy). I’m also a sucker for Guzman and of course, James Street Grocer for their muffins!
INDULGE: Having a massage at The Fours Day Spa at Grand Central, sipping back on a Recovery Smoothie from Flannery’s or a cheeky cocktail at George Banks.
SHOP: LOVE a good oppy sesh with the hubby when we can… and Ivy Designer Collections, hehe (slightly biased…)
CATCH UP: Love catching up over a drink (preferably a coffee at Sweet Talk or Banter or an alcoholic bevy at George Banks or local pub) but my fave place is at home, having friends over for dinner.
BE INSPIRED: I’m inspired by the incredible businesswomen/friends I have around me.
