Next Stage of BOOM Journey

Five years ago, BOOM Clunes was launched as an experiment, a social enterprise designed to help a town think and act differently about its future. At that time, retail activation and a co-worker space offered a practical way to strengthen the local economy, provide opportunities for skill development, and demonstrate how community-led enterprise could contribute to resilience.

Since then, the landscape in Clunes has changed for the better. There are now more retail shops operating in town than there have been since before BOOM opened its doors, a new Early Learning Centre has been built to capitalise on expected growth and land developments have opened up, creating new options for people living in or drawn to Clunes.

As a result, the BOOM journey is entering its next stage.

In April 2026 the BOOM retail outlet will close, while the co-worker space will continue under new ownership. This transition means the impact of BOOM will still be felt in the street, but allows the enterprise to evolve, shifting our focus away from operating a retail shopfront and toward the next layer of what BOOM was always intended to explore.

“We are now turning more deliberately toward productisation, skill development and the creation of pathways that support aspiration, entrepreneurship and local leadership,” explained Lana de Kort, Manager of Clunes Neighbourhood House, the parent company of BOOM Clunes. 

BOOM has always been about experimentation, about asking what happens when a community chooses to think differently, act differently and test new ideas together. Retail and a co-worker space were important early chapters in that story. They helped activate a space, nurture enterprise and contribute to the local economy at a time when it was needed.

“Now BOOM is exploring how we can strengthen opportunities locally, by linking to wider markets.”

“Up until now we’ve dipped our toe in productisation, supporting local makers and authors publishing books or co-designing our Self-Care Journal, developing the Escape Room and launching the Rural Study Hub, but we are keen to dig deeper into this, to fully realise the potential that thinking and acting differently offers.”

“We are excited that existing makers who’ve been retailing with us via the shop have now found new outlets in the new stores in our town, as well as a neighbouring towns. Being a part of that process was really important for us, it felt like we were all going full circle.”

“We’ve been very fortunate in the support we’ve had throughout this part of our journey, especially from the landlord who has worked closely with us to help make a physical presence possible for the last five years.  It’s really exciting that she will be continuing to offer the co-worker space, demonstrating the importance of places for people to be able to work remotely and in a shared environment, when they live and work in regional areas.”

To find out more follow our story by subscribing to www.boomclunes.org