Sam Davis and Angie Moore are the creative forces behind Bermagui's long-running vintage store Strangers in Paradise.
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They met in the 1980s when both of them played in bands in Sydney.
"Sam babysat my son and then we were in a big band together," Ms Moore said.
Ms Moore has been in the arts all her life.
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She was a presenter and toured with Play School in the 1990s.
In 2011 she started writing for the show, shortly after moving to Bermagui in 2009.
Ms Davis moved to the area in 1997 and worked with a local architect for a few years.
"He retired and I kept on going," Ms Davis said.
Shared passion becomes a business
They both love vintage things and "the thrill of the hunt".
They saw an opportunity to turn it into a business when the premises at 36 Lamont Street became available.
"Neither of us had much work at the time and the shop came up for lease and we thought we would give it a go," Ms Moore said.
"We have worked out now what will sell and what will sit here for three years taking up valuable real estate," Ms Davis said.
In the shop's early days they held fashion shows with Ms Moore behind the microphone as locals modelled retro outfits and guests performed music.
The original shop constantly flooded so they relocated to 30 Lamont Street five years ago.
The premises was once the Village Store, among other things, and is one of Bermagui's original buildings beneath the brick veneer.
Ms Moore spends considerable time online sourcing vintage wares but continues to write while Ms Davis still does drafting and exhibits her photography in the shop.
The shop reflects their eye for good design, creative flair and quirky sense of fun.
During the early days of the pandemic when people were hoarding certain household staples, they displayed a solitary roll of toilet paper in the shop window with a price tag of $700. It didn't sell.
Easy place to be
Over the years Ms Davis has seen the community become far more mixed rather than weighted somewhat towards fishing.
"That is the great thing about small communities.
"You have different groups of people with different ways of thinking but everyone gets on."
She said she has always felt very welcome.
"I arrived here and knew one person and a year later I knew 200.
"People smile and talk to you so it was a very easy place to slip into."
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