When the country went into lockdown a year ago, small businesses around Australia braced for the worst. But for local custom furniture maker Will Brennan the past twelve months have seen extraordinary growth and he is working hard to make the most of the situation and further build his business and brand.

When Orange City Life last spoke with Will in September 2019, he was working by himself in rented space in an old apple shed. The following month saw him put on his first employee, but since the pandemic shut down borders, business has boomed.

“Well, this time last, we had myself and one other bloke and now we have myself and five others,” said Will, who will shortly be putting on another apprentice.

“Since Corona, we've had just a heap of growth as there has been a lot more money being spent around homes. We are very busy!”

With people unable to travel and spending more time at home, the past year has seen an incredible increase in money being spent on home improvements.

“I think everyone has been spending money at the moment; upgrading, doing those things they've been putting off, because they are not holidaying. People that were spending money overseas before, now have been putting it back into the local economy,” said Will.

“There was one lady whose money was meant to be spent in Budapest, but she couldn't travel so now has what is known as her Budapest table,” said Will.

The majority of Will’s customers come from the Central West, but a there is a significant and growing number of orders from further afield.

“There is still a good 25 per cent from Sydney and elsewhere — we had some stuff go to Noosa and Brisbane in November last year,” said Will, whose video antics around the workshop posted on Instagram have attracted a following and brought in new business.

But the extra business and growing payroll has also brought with it some extra challenges.

“Like for any business, cash flow is always quite hard predicting and forecasting. Time management is a big one, especially in the custom furniture game, because nothing is the same. One job can be quicker than we thought, and most jobs are slower than what we think!” he said.

“I don’t want to be a small business that's complaining about growth through a pandemic, but there has definitely been growing pains… but I think we are getting on top of them now. I've been working with a business coach for over twelve months and that has been quite a big help.”

While the pandemic sparked the growth, it has also brought about its share of problems.

“Timber was hard to get hold of! Whether that was because everybody wanted it, or they just didn't have enough, and they couldn't import enough, I'm not too sure,” said Will.

“Even drawer runners for kitchen cabinets and things like that, I've still got back orders from a couple of months ago waiting to be filled.”

Will the demand of the past twelve months continue once International borders reopen?

Only time will tell, says Will. But he believes that the events of the past years have also seen a shift in how people spend their money, with people willing to pay more for locally made, quality products.

“Definitely, I think conscious spending is a real thing now,” he said. “I think people are shifting away from Ikea and paying that little bit extra, they are going to put the money back in the local economy, not overseas.

“I'm sure it will back off a little when the borders start opening, and people start travelling overseas again. But we're at a point where, rather than possibly miss the boat on potential growth, we've decided to go for it! While it's there, we are going to make hay while the sun shines... hopefully!”

Anyone interesting in seeing the work of Will and his team, can pop along to his workshop (15 Calton Rd, Orange) on Saturday 10 April, from 9am to 12pm.

“We're going to open up the doors for anyone who is interested to see what we do and see how we work, ask questions, talk timbre… we just wanted to open up to the public to come and see what we do, how we do it and I suppose why we do it.”