Crafty Sydneysiders holidaying in regional NSW in recent weeks have added a Dubbo yarn store to their list of must-see destinations.
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Yummy Yarn and co owner Robyn Hicks reports welcoming city visitors looking to indulge in an array of materials for knitting, crocheting and more.
She says the rising popularity of regional travel during the COVID era, and Buy from the Bush have both contributed to the trend.
The store owner is convinced the social media campaign encouraging metro consumers to buy from businesses in drought-hit communities has had long-lasting positive effects.
Buy from the Bush launched one year ago on October 16, and Yummy Yarn and co was featured in one of its posts within weeks.
Mrs Hicks said the post from the movement created by Grace Brennan had an impact in no time.
"I could see immediately the number of people on the website dramatically increased, I think at one point it was over 100, when normally I might only get four or five people at a time," she said.
Yummy Yarn received new customers in the lead-up to Christmas 2019 because of Buy from the Bush, and in the months since they had become repeat buyers, the retailer said.
"When people have come back to buy for a second or third time, they've put up in the notes section the hashtag, BFTB, or 'I found you through Buy from the Bush'," Mrs Hicks said.
"So you know it's had an on-flow effect as well."
The arrival of COVID-19 had marked a "super busy" period for the yarn store.
Now with overseas borders remaining closed, regional travel was providing more opportunities.
"If I made a connection with a new customer through Buy from the Bush, and they're going to do a regional tour, well they're going to stop by," Mrs Hicks said.
"And that happened in the last two weeks with school holidays, I had so many people from Sydney, I mean I sent a lot of parcels to Sydney anyway, but so many people who were doing regional tours and lots of people doing regional yarn tours, so that may not have come about if it wasn't in that Buy from the Bush feature, all that time ago.
"...it's been great to connect with those people too, personally, rather than just through the website."