Magpie Goose is a fashion social enterprise that showcases bright, bold, fabulous textiles designed by Aboriginal artists and hand screen printed in Australia. Co-founded by Maggie McGowan and Laura Egan, the company is named after a bird native to the Northern Territory (NT) that sits in the tops of trees, eating fermented mangoes and squawking all day. Like its namesake, Magpie Goose is loud, proud and unapologetic.
Maggie studied Law and Politics at the University of Melbourne and moved to the NT in 2013. She spent three years working as a Welfare Rights and Civil Lawyer at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) in Darwin and Katherine, travelling to remote communities and working with Aboriginal people on immediate legal needs and larger systemic problems. Through her remote travel, Maggie was introduced to and fell in love with the beautiful textiles that were being designed and hand screen printed at community art centres. The idea for Magpie Goose was born: an opportunity for the world to connect with and celebrate Aboriginal people, stories and culture through fashion, while also creating economic opportunities for Aboriginal people in remote communities.
Laura studied Economics and International Relations at Deakin University and Indigenous Studies at James Cook University. Laura is the CEO and Founder of Enterprise Learning Projects, an incubator that works in partnership with remote Aboriginal communities to explore enterprise as a way to share cultural assets and generate meaningful income. She has more than 10 years experience working alongside communities and fostering engagement in grassroots enterprises in remote Australia. When the idea for Magpie Goose was born, Laura could see the incredible potential of this business to create enterprise learning and micro-business opportunities for Aboriginal people within the fashion industry. Laura is a passionate activist for economic inclusion and believes we all stand to benefit from an economic system in which everyone plays a valued part.
Magpie Goose exists through partnerships with remote art centres, individual artists, textile designers, graphic designers, photographers, manufacturers and screenprinters in remote and urban Australia.
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