BORN and bred in the Mallee, Teale Mott grew up with the Mallee Machinery Field Days almost in her backyard.
Ms Mott, who grew up with three sisters on her family farm in Gama, says agriculture and the field days have played an important role throughout her life.
“I’ve grown up around agriculture,” she says, loving the freedom and the opportunity to ride her motorbike around the farm.
Ms Mott says the field days are more than an agricultural event, and she has fond memories of skipping school to attend them each year.
“It’s a social gathering,” she says. “My friends and I would wag school on the Wednesday to go to the field days. I loved them, I still do – collecting all the freebies and having fun with my friends was definitely a highlight.”
Having celebrated her 21st birthday last week, Ms Mott will again attend the field days this year, but this time as an exhibitor, having opened her Mallee Blooms business last year.
The peak of the COVID-19 pandemic did little to deter Ms Mott from achieving her dream, and she’s accomplished a lot in a few short years.
In 2020, the year after graduating from high school, Ms Mott moved to Bendigo to start her beauty therapy course at TAFE.
She was only a few months in when the COVD-19 pandemic forced much of Australia into lockdown.
With her classes moving to an online platform, Ms Mott returned home, finished her course and secured work in Swan Hill.
However, it didn’t take long for the daily commute to take its toll and, after 12 months, Ms Mott began to reassess her future.
A conversation at a friend’s house prompted her to look into the possibility of opening a shop in Sea Lake.
“I always knew I wanted to run my own business one day but it all happened very quickly,” she says.
By September last year the idea had become reality.
“I took over the shop at the start of September and renovated for a month and opened up on October 18.”
Mallee Blooms specialises in homewares and gifts and offers a range of beauty services.
“It’s been amazing, everything I’ve ever dreamed of,” Ms Mott says.
“I hoped and prayed there would be no more lockdowns or anything else to hold me back.”
Nine months in, Mallee Blooms continues to blossom and is well supported by locals and tourists.
And while it’s not every day a 20-year-old decides to take the plunge and launch a business, Ms Mott wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Sometimes I forget I’m so young,” she says.
“Sometimes I do have to pinch myself when I think about it – I actually work for myself, I am the boss.”
Looking forward to exhibiting at this year’s Mallee Machinery Field Days, Ms Mott will showcase Mallee Blooms on a larger scale.
Located in the craft and interest pavilion, Ms Mott’s stall will feature a range of homewares and gifts including mugs, candles, earrings and baby goods.
