norsu celebrating 10 Years
It's our tenth birthday, and we couldn't have made it here without you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for joining us on this incredible journey. Never did we think, ten years ago when we were launching a little website while still working in the corporate world, that norsu would evolve into what it is today.
The truth is, we wouldn't be standing here holding our blush balloons if it wasn't for you. Without your visits to our store, your online orders, your messages on social media and your genuine friendship, norsu simply wouldn't exist — and for that we are eternally grateful.
Together we've shared a love of beautiful homewares, and of making our houses feel like home. Our mission has always been to love where you live, and we're proud to say it's just as strong today as it was ten years ago.
We also need to thank our team and our families, because we couldn't have done this without you. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a team — and in our case, a family — to run a business.
We're so excited to share the next decade with you. Let's take a walk down memory lane.
Big love, Nat, Kristy & team norsu
Three friends. Many of you may not know that while we were dreaming up norsu, we were a trio. Our dear friend Treah joined us for several months, before family commitments and her nursing career meant she could no longer juggle all three. We have so much appreciation for the time Treah spent on this journey, and love that she's still one of our norsu besties.
Fun fact: norsu is the Finnish word for elephant. The idea was born after Nat gifted Kristy a piece of beautiful fabric from the Finnish company Marimekko. Printed on it was an aqua elephant, which Kristy stretched and framed for Lachy's nursery. That artwork drew so much attention from every guest who walked into Kristy's home that it sparked the first idea for norsu.
After a chance meeting at mother's group and discovering our mutual love of interiors and design (especially Scandinavian), norsu began as a passion project and a way to channel some creative energy. We started importing unique homewares from Scandinavia and set up a website to bring them to Australia. We ran norsu like this for a full year while still working full time in our corporate roles — packing orders after hours and on weekends, and answering emails on our lunch breaks.
- We create our brand. What was with our love of aqua?
- We sneak out of work to deliver products to Ruth Welsby for our first media mention in The Age
- A coffee with mentor Julia Green connects us with Inside Out mag and we feature in their Christmas campaign
- Our first photoshoot with Greenhouse Interiors, in Nat's home
- Bec Judd shares our shoot photos and the website hits skyrocket
With our homes overflowing with stock — seriously, Nat couldn't shower in her spare bathroom because it was filled with boxes — two fresh-faced corporate girls thought it would be a fun idea to open a shop. After multiple requests from customers to see the product in person, we took the plunge and left our real jobs. With newborn Harvey in a rocker behind the counter and absolutely no retail experience, we opened the doors to our first bricks-and-mortar store in Malvern East.
- Nat's on parental leave with Harvey, so it's the perfect time to open a shop — said no new mum ever
- First store opens. Kristy decides she's not missing the fun and quits her corporate life
- Nat's first home renovation finishes and hits the media
- Our second photoshoot, painting Nat's living room pink. Sorry Dan
- We appear on Reno Rumble
- We recruit our first norsu employee — Lena, congratulations on your new baby
We had well and truly outgrown our little store, and hit the jackpot when we secured the space next door. Within days we'd knocked a hole through the wall and launched our first clearance sale. We also secured a warehouse across the road (an apartment, really — if you ever collected furniture from there, you know what we mean). We had the incredible opportunity of being featured on The Block with Shay & Dean, with cameos from Nat in our own store. And the most rewarding part of all: our team started growing. There were nine of us at the Christmas party that year.
- We take over the space next door and open the artLAB
- We host our first warehouse sale — where did you all come from?
- Dulux converts our warehouse into a shoot location for their Colour Forecast
- The Block accelerates norsu to searing heights. Thanks Shay and Dean
With one store under our belt, we took the leap and opened another. We secured the keys to norsu Hawthorn, with a vision to transform the upstairs into a fully styled norsu home.
- Another epic clearance sale — we wished we'd hired security
- We rode the gallery wall craze, stocking more prints than you could imagine
- We flew our friend Michelle Halford of The Design Chaser over from NZ to style a shoot with Lisa Cohen
- We hosted a huge event at Nat's house with our industry friends
- The Block happens again with Ronnie & Georgia
- We feature on the Channel 9 series My Dream Job
Just when we thought we were done opening stores, an opportunity to pop up in Brighton came along that we couldn't refuse — so we did it again.
- We launch our own bespoke norsu cushion collection — our very first product range
- We style the campaigns for Carrie's Beanies 4 Brain Cancer
- We fall in love with locally handmade wall hangings and leather balloons by Honey Honey Creations
- Nat sells her house, buys a new one, and the ideas for norsuHOME begin brewing
We dove into this year with the renovation of Nat's norsuHOME, partnering with incredible suppliers (now lifelong friends) and capturing every step on film. It led us to launching our interior design studio, and we began transforming the homes of our lucky clients. We also learned that good things come to those who wait: we signed a lease on our dream store in Malvern East and began consolidating three stores into one concept store.
- Opened the styling lab in our new Malvern East store
- We launch a second Instagram account, because one just wasn't enough
- We participate in the Feast Watson Relove project
- We drink champagne at breakfast for the In Bed with Eadie Lifestyle campaign
This one was special — one of the most precious initiatives we've ever undertaken: Project Seven. We placed a tiny home by SoulSpace Studios in the backyard of a dear norsu friend, so her eldest son could live in it and make way for two delicious foster children in the family home. While we were at it, we renovated the family kitchen too. Words cannot describe how special this project was. We still gasp at the memory of that tiny home being craned over the house while we all held our breath.
- We partnered with realestate.com.au on the series Upsize with norsu
- We styled Carrie Bickmore's daughter's nursery
- We visited Satellite Island for Kristy's birthday and never wanted to leave
- We all fell head over heels for Mustard Made lockers — still best sellers today
This year started rocky with the devastating bushfires, and with your help we raised over $15,000 for bushfire relief. It didn't end there. To use a term from our corporate days: when covid hit, pivot is exactly what we had to do. Being forced to close our doors and return to our grass roots of online trading was a challenge, as was leading our team through the most uncertain of times from afar. But we kept it real, and fun along the way.
- The Puzzle desk became our best seller
- We made masks from our cushion scraps and raised money for mental health awareness
- Friday night team drinks became zoom drinks
- We found our groove in Nat's styling videos, spreading joy in the place we needed it most — our own homes
After a false start believing we were returning to normal, we were back in lockdown, trading for almost an entire year with the doors closed to our retail store. We kept focusing on spreading joy inside your homes, while running the business from our own.
- Styling product for Instagram in our living rooms while homeschooling our children
- Stock became hard to come by — you sold us out of Robert Gordon fruit bowls more times than we can remember
- Packing shifts in the warehouse, day and night, as we socially distanced
- We launched virtual styling services
- Despite all odds, our team grew to the largest it had ever been
- We bought a blush pink van — and in a full circle moment, employed Oscar, the owner of the tiny home, to drive it
- We outgrew our tiny warehouse and moved somewhere far bigger
- We opened another pop-up store in Hampton with our friends at Lowe Living
Believe it or not, five years had passed since we renovated the norsuHOME, and with our children growing into their next phase it was time to extend. With the help of our design team, we designed Nat's dream forever home.
- We donated the entire contents of our home to the Lighthouse Foundation
- Began the enormous task of renovating — fifteen months in and still going
- We embarked on our next chapter: the norsu Cabin. A dream from the beginning, we've always wanted to share a space with our community
