Kelly and Gemelli waiting for Melbourne’s restrictions to ease
While restrictions have eased in regional Victoria, a San Remo art gallery is waiting for lockdown to end in Melbourne. Here’s why the owners won’t be opening their store just yet.
Bass Coast News
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There’s no denying that COVID-19 has severely impacted businesses across the Bass Coast but it’s often the art industry we hear less about.
Lynne Kelly and Adrian Gemelli are owners of the San Remo contemporary art gallery Kelly and Gemelli which is currently closed due to the pandemic.
Ms Kelly and Mr Gemelli told the Bass Coast News it had been a hard a few months, since shutting their store in March, as their clientele is based around the seasons and weekends.
“Our customers are mainly people travelling to the area like tourists, visitors coming from Melbourne or people from interstate so it’s been difficult selling our art,” Ms Kelly said.
They have had to adapt their business in ways they haven’t before like setting up an online site to sell their work.
“We have definitely had to become more digital in order to reach our audiences that are not coming down to San Remo,” Ms Kelly said.
“While people can look at the art online, they really do want to see and stand in front of it as people often make their final decision once the see the art in person”.
Mr Gemelli said is he most concerned about Melbourne’s restrictions as it heavily impacts his business.
“It’s tough enough running a business in an area that is very seasonal as we get a huge influx of people over the summer months and than businesses often have to struggle through the winter months to stay open,” he said.
“Now it’s the added burden of the COVID-19 lockdown with less people moving around and less people eating out.
“We are waiting to see how Melbourne’s lockdown pans out but hopefully we can open by Christmas.”
Phillip Island Business Network chairwoman Claire Sawatzky said the island had been severely impacted by COVID-19.
“Phillip Island is the most tourism reliant economy in Victoria and the second most in Australia with tourism generating over 40 per cent of our regional product and over 35 per cent of our employment,” she said.
“We expect Phillip Island to continue to be severely impacted by COVID-19 however we are optimistic … that our community of business owners will be able to adapt to a much stronger domestic tourism market”.
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