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Boho
Beginnings
...Who are we and Where did we come from...
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In 1981 the Fox Family opened a
cane gift shop in Batemans Bay on the NSW south coast called Bay Cane
Jungle. The owners interest in the exotic lead them to India and enabled
them to start importing, creating a store with a unique edge. Wanting to
explore this niche further they moved to Sydney in 1989 & opened their first
India Fox
store.
After many years and 8 stores in Sydney, 6 sites were sold in order to get
back to the original India Fox dream out of the city. This manifested itself
in Bohotopia, their
new love child, in Lismore Northern NSW, near Byron Bay and in
Tuggerah on the Central Coast NSW. The idea was to create a "Bohemian
Utopia", that catered for the whole alternative lifestyle by importing &
stocking goods from countries other than just India. Over the years they have
developed strong relationships in these countries with suppliers that they now
count as friends, leading to a constant supply of new and fair priced
exotica.
"We are designers, manufacturers and importers from
India, Thailand, Bali and Nepal. With our new love child we aim to provide a rich
array of goods for the body, the home and the mind, in an other worldly
ambience where you can wander and wonder" Linda Fox
The Design Process
- Where do you import from?
- It depends on the item, as each country has its
strengths, skills and styles in manufacturing and design. We import directly
from India, Nepal, Thailand and Indonesia at the moment. As well as buying
from other wholesalers who import from South America, China, Egypt etc. Not to
mention locally made product, which has its own charm and flair.
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- What do you import?
- This is ever changing with new trends and
customer needs. We always bring in our own clothing, soft furnishing, bags,
jewellery as well as Buddhas, drums and other giftware. Our labels are "Urban
Princess", "Boho Babe" and "Bohotopia" for Clothes, "Indi" for Soft
Furnishings and "India Fox Desirables" for everything else!
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- Who does the designs?
- We buy both 'ready made' and product designed by
ourselves. The design team is made up of family members who live and love the
product. So you know choices are being made by those who actually wear or use
the designs. We travel overseas a couple of times a year so we can keep the
range of goods new and fresh as well as keep on top of what customers want.
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- What are the working conditions for those that you
buy from overseas?
- As we are a small business more often than not we
deal with other small businesses who make the product themselves in their
homes. With the case of larger companies like ones in India, we have dealt
with them for so long that we have come to know them on a personal basis and
get to see behind the scenes. Some products are made in the factory others are
divided out to families who make it at home. We believe in "Trade as Aid" as
without work these people would have no job and their skills would lay unused
and eventually lost. Plus as a previous wholesaler to Oxfam we had to comply
with strict working conditions and this in itself is your guarantee.
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