Women in Business - Bec Thompson from Sandbar Co

The initial idea of the “Sandbar” came to me (Bec - the Founder) in January in 2019. I spend as much time as I can at the beach, and one morning I had walked down for a swim, purchasing a coffee on the way. I put my coffee cup down on the sand, and within a minute it had tipped over. My phone overheated in the scorching Perth sun and every-time I went for a swim, I battled to find a safe place to store my sunnies. Meanwhile, the gorgeous macrame bag I brought with me had completely filled up with sand. First-world problems I know. However, I had these problems every time I went to the beach.

I started googling beach tables or anything that I could buy that was elevated and practical that I could bring with me to the beach. However, I couldn’t find anything that suited all of my needs. I went home that day and started putting together a prototype and designing this perfect beach table to solve all of my problems - The Sandbar.

 

 

Stressful, challenging, time-consuming, expensive… but most of all, rewarding.

I had one goal in mind from the very beginning, it was to provide an experience for my customers. When they received the Sandbar, whether that was in the mail or as a gift, that it would be special. It would be beautifully presented, gift-wrapped, and the packaging would be breath-taking. Then the Sandbar itself would be handcrafted, luxurious and above expectations in quality.

I had high expectations of what this Sandbar was going to look like, so I knew it would be a challenge to find the perfect person to not only design the Sandbar but then the right person to manufacture it.

My Gran introduced me to this beautiful man at her retirement village, Don. Don is a retired engineer who has his little workshop at the retirement village. For a Bunning's gift card (that I forced him to accept) he designed me the Sandbar and made me up my first prototype in less than a week - and we still use this design as the base model of the Sandbar now. Although It wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as I would have liked, it was absolutely perfect for what I needed to show my future manufacturer my vision.

I contacted multiple furniture makers in Perth to see if they would be interested in manufacturing my Sandbars and had zero luck; that was until I met Karl from Saltwood Designs. Karl has a workshop in North Fremantle, and from the very first phone call with him, I knew he was the guy. We had a meeting the following week, and when the words came out of his mouth that he was willing to give this Sandbar beach table a go... it honestly felt like I had won the lotto.

12 months have now passed since I met Karl, and now there are over 120 Sandbars in their new little homes around Australia (and one in the US).

It has been such a huge process, and I don’t think anyone truly understands what goes on behind the scenes of a business unless they’ve done it themselves. I am extremely proud and grateful to get to the position of actually selling my Sandbars, as a lot of people hit a few speed bumps in the early days and put their wonderful ideas in the “too hard basket”, and it’s rare to execute business ideas. I am proud that I never gave up and always found a way to solve the problems that came my way.

 

 

I am so proud that our Sandbars are handcrafted here in Perth, WA. From the beginning of this business venture, it never even crossed my mind to get them made overseas. One of the main reasons I chose local was to have the opportunity to build a positive relationship with the manufacturer and to be able to work closely with them during the whole process - adjusting the design and make changes when needed.

I knew that this choice was going to be an expensive decision. Had I chosen to have them made overseas they would have been significantly cheaper; however, I have peace knowing that they’re ethically handcrafted by two very talented craftsmen who enjoy being part of this process and that the Australian dollar stays in our country.

I was born and raised in Perth and I consider myself extremely lucky to call this city home. I have always loved the ocean and been concerningly obsessed with dolphins; anyone who knows me knows that I love dolphins. Therefore, I have always been drawn to the ocean to look for them (and force anyone who is with me to look for them too haha).

I chose to name the first release of our Sandbars after Trigg beach because there is a view there that is my favourite view in Perth. There is this one hill as you’re travelling north up West Coast Highway that as soon as you reach the peak, you are welcomed with the most stunning views of the ocean. Every-single-time I drive up to it I just get the immediate sense of happiness.

Our second release of Sandbars is called the Leighton, this name was chosen by our amazing Instagram followers in a week full of suggestions and votes in our stories. It was a nail-biting competition between “The Cott” and “The Leighton”. We also had some amazing suggestions for other incredible beaches in Aus: Haven, The Lagoon, The Bondi Bar, Meelup, Ningaloo.

Perhaps our third release will be named after one of them. I can guarantee it will definitely be an Australian beach - I have travelled to many beaches around the world and I strongly believe that we have the best.

 

 

Oh my, this is a tough one. Am I allowed more than one? OK, I’m giving three.

1. Receiving my very first prototype from Don

Although my first prototype from Don wasn’t perfect, it was one step closer to my dream becoming a reality. I drove home so carefully that night with it on the passenger seat and when I got home, I literally sent photos to everyone I knew - I was so proud! That was when I knew I made the right decision pursuing this venture of mine.

 

2. A lady called Abeni coming up to me at the beach in Augusta.

My partner and I had only just sat down at the beach in Augusta (south of Perth), and of course, the first thing I did was set-up my Sandbar. By the time I had it set-up, I looked up, and this lady was standing right above us.

“Where is this table from? I was just telling my friends all we need is a beach table to complete our beach setup”, she said. I couldn’t believe I had only just sat down and had someone come over and ask about my Sandbar in minutes (and this was the not so “aesthetically pleasing” Sandbar from Don). I began explaining it was my invention - and my boyfriend jumped in with my prototype bag for it and said, “it even comes with a matching carry bag”. She left telling all her friends about Sandbar - and insisted as soon as it became available, I let her know. I ended up giving her a Sandbar from our first release; I was just so overwhelmed with her support and compliments that day.

 

3. Sandbar Co’s first-ever photoshoot with one of my best friends, Sunny.

Sunny, my beautiful model friend, and I spontaneously organised Sandbar’s first photoshoot one weekend with an incredible photographer, Jess (Muse Creative). We had zero pressure on the shoot, and it was more a day of fun, practice and for me to work out what I needed to organise for the “proper” and “professional” shoot. I was one of the models in this one. When we finished the shoot Sunny and I went for a coffee and looked at all of the photos. It was then I could have cried with excitement - the shoot was that much fun, and the photos captured the beauty of the Sandbar and what I had envisioned in my mind 18 months prior. Sunny and I always talk about how fun this shoot was!

 

What advice would you impart on the next generation of women? 

 

Do not for a second think you need to be like anyone else, compare yourself to another, or be too hard on yourself - as long as you’re doing the absolute best you can do - you’re doing great.

Also, please don’t judge people; everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about, be kind - always.

 

Are there any words of wisdom you would pass on to anyone who hopes to do more to support small businesses in 2021, especially in the wake of Covid-19?