‘Filling a gap in the market’: My Vibe Homewares opens in Ayr
A former real estate agent has channelled her love of design into a new homeware store - and she's hoping the boutique range will attract customers from as far as Townsville and Bowen.
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A former real estate agent has channelled her love of design into a new homeware store - and she's hoping the boutique range and children’s play corner will attract customers from as far as Townsville and Bowen.
Sue Perry launched herself back into the world of business ownership in June 2025 with her Queen St shop ‘My Vibe Homewares’.
“I always loved design and often found myself being asked for advice on how to style a space,” Mrs Perry said.
“Opening My Vibe Homewares was about filling a gap in the market - there just wasn’t a dedicated store in the Burdekin offering this kind of range.”
Mrs Perry said she’s received amazing support from Burdekin residents, but she’s also hoping to attract customers from Townsville, Bowen and Collinsville.
“Ayr does attract customers from Townsville who are after a boutique shopping experience and different items to buy,” she said.
“For example, LShu has a lot of Townsville clients because she stocks some hard-to-fine shoes.”
With Townsville and Bowen Basin residents in mind, Mrs Perry is experimenting with keeping her store open from 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday, instead of adopting the normal Ayr closing time of midday.
“My husband and I have renovated over 10 houses together, and I did all the design work for those homes,” Mrs Perry said.
“I really enjoy design, and I’m happy to help anyone who comes in.”
The majority of homeware customers tend to be busy mums and new families moving home. With these women in mind, Mrs Perry has created her own ‘childrens corner’ inside the store for mums to leave their children at and enjoy a more relaxed shopping experience.
“My Vibe is very much a browsing shop, we have ladies who go for coffees together then come here to look at everything,” Mrs Perry said.
“The children’s corner has worked really well.”
My Vibe is just one of many businesses that have been popping up on Queen St - six months ago the deli ‘Slice of Europe’ opened up across the road, and a chemist is due to take over the lease next to My Vibe.
“It’s a vibrant street and I love the location,” Mrs Perry said.
“There is a lot of movement at the moment.”
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Originally published as ‘Filling a gap in the market’: My Vibe Homewares opens in Ayr
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