Owner Naomi Campbell says her community venture and business provides her with the opportunity to share her love of fabric and sewing with others.

The motto of her enterprise is to “sit, sew, ask and share”.

At least six local women regularly take part in an informal quilting and sewing session each Sunday.

A session is also run each Thursday evening.

Campbell, who is also Bank SA’s Waikerie manager, started her venture nine years ago when she set up a shop in her shed at Taylorville, a ferry ride north of Waikerie.

She also had a regular stall at the Waikerie market until six years ago, when she was invited by local property owner Carolyn Kleemann to open an Easter pop-up-shop in one of her premises in the centre of town.

Kleemann was keen to have more businesses open over this holiday period, to coincide with the opening of a new holiday park.

The strong support Campbell received from customers from inside and outside the area convinced her to make it a permanent fixture.

The McCoy Street venue enables townspeople to learn to sew or seek advice on their quilting, knitting or crochet projects over a cuppa, usually accompanied by chocolate and cake and lots of laughter.

“I love seeing what people create,” she says.

“The cups of coffee and tea help people feel at ease and gives them assurance that there are no ‘quilt police’ in attendance.

“We have a wealth of knowledge here and a lot of people come in and ask questions, it is just fantastic.”

One of the regulars, Jan McPherson from Taylorville, used to visit Campbell in her shed. When she relocated her business to Waikerie, McPherson was still eager to make the ferry trip to town to visit Campbell each Sunday.

McPherson enjoys embroidery and quilting.

“To be really honest, I just like the banter,” she says.

Another Waikerie regular Lyn Wilson says working with others provides her with inspiration.

Nays Place also encourages locals to donate their family’s leftover scraps of material, wool, buttons and zips.

People can purchase this fabric and items for a small donation and some of it is also donated to local schools, community groups, and the local daycare centre for the elderly.

Campbell says the group also makes lap size quilts, toiletry bags, bibs, and Santa sacks for Backpacks 4 SA Kids, an organisation that supports children who need to be placed in “out of home care” due to experiencing abuse, domestic violence, neglect or homelessness.

The money raised from the donated fabric and haberdashery items are also used to purchase backpacks for this charity.

The women also help Waikerie’s Scouts by sewing badges on their uniforms and making their scarves.

Campbell says during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the sessions had to be put on hold for about 18 months due to social distancing restrictions.

She says although they have a Facebook chat group to keep in touch, not having the weekly gatherings was “disappointing and depressing”.

“I used to say that if our town’s local businesses can survive Covid-19, then we can survive anything,” Campbell says.

“Then we got hit with the River Murray flood, and it was extremely quiet.”

Campbell was rapt during the Easter break when tourists returned to the town, with many visiting her shop for her annual sale that coincided with the sixth anniversary of the its opening.

Being open every Sunday also provides a place for tourists to source information about Waikerie.

Campbell also has a degree in tourism and often uses her business and her social media pages to promote the Riverland region.

Waikerie was one of the 10 town finalists for the South Australian Agricultural Town of The Year Award.

The winner will be announced at the Regional Showcase Awards on November 9.