Outside the emporium: Michelle Gibson at Iddles Lane Emporium in Rochester.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
Michelle Gibson, proprietor of the Iddles Lane Emporium has sought to put Rochester on the tourist map with her popular memorabilia range.
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Ms Gibson, who has been responsible for launching the range since 2015, said she came up with the concept when she realised there was a gap in the market.
“I was getting a lot of customers and tourists through to the store who were asking me whether there is any Rochester memorabilia in town that is available to be purchased,” Ms Gibson said.
“That’s when I did some investigation and realised that there wasn’t.
“There was nothing around that people could take home with them to represent Rochester.”
Iddles Lane Emporium achieved its name because one wall of the shop makes up Iddles Lane.
Her store, which was previously called Rochester Discounts, became the Iddles Lane Emporium after Ron Iddles and his family gave permission for the name to be changed.
Ms Gibson revamped the entire shopfront to celebrate Ron Iddles and Iddles Lane.
It seemed only a natural transition for her to begin creating merchandise of the town that she loves so much.
Rochy tourism keepsakes: Some of the Rochester memorabilia.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
The memorabilia range comes in a number of Rochester-related designs but her most recent collection is of Iddles Lane itself.
She explained that tourists who purchased the memorabilia took home a piece of Rochester with them.
Ms Gibson hopes that it will encourage people who see the memorabilia in other people’s homes to come and visit the town of Rochester too.
“It’s such a great opportunity for Rochester,” Ms Gibson said.
She explained that the items could be used as a way to direct people to the best landmarks the town has to offer.
“Tourists don’t know about the red bridge. They don’t know to go for a walk down to the Campaspe River and have a look at our beautiful river,” Ms Gibson said.
The range promotes the town of Rochester with products such as postcards, mugs, magnets, key rings and coasters.
Ms Gibson said the keepsake souvenirs had proven to be incredibly popular among tourists, particularly during peak holiday seasons.
As to which Rochy landmarks we can expect to see in her next collection, Ms Gibson gave no sneaky hints away, but she did mention that a new line of memorabilia was in the process of being developed.
She explained the items would require a type of licensing approval before they could hit the shelves.
Ms Gibson, who is looking forward to her future endeavours, said “watch this space”.
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