My name’s Tahnee Edwards, I’m a proud Yorta Yorta and Taungurung woman and I have a small fashion brand called Gammin Threads. I also work at Djirra doing comms and community engagement.

Back in the day I studied both graphic design and fashion merchandising, but after working jobs that weren’t fulfilling I started working casually at Djirra. This was my first time working in community, and although it was just meant to be a job between jobs, I’m still here now eight years later. I love working at Djirra and it’s the main reason I haven’t strived to make Gammin my full time work, I just love the work that we do and the people I work with.

I started Gammin threads in 2018. After going through a massive creative block, it was the NAIDOC theme "Because of Her We Can", along with the work I was doing at Djirra that inspired me to create some designs around my love and admiration for the women in our communities holding it down with little to no support.

These first designs were a tee and crewneck with the words "Respect Blak Women’"and "Respect the Blak Matriarchy", because working at Djirra and learning more about gender-based violence taught me that this violence ultimately comes from disrespect. 

I sat on these designs for weeks, showing my friends and mob at work, and although I was getting great feedback I was so scared to put them out into the world. I eventually started a GoFundMe as a pre-order system as I didn't have a website and I needed some help getting the first designs into production. It was a small run of 20 tees and 20 jumpers and they sold really well and made me feel super proud and happy seeing people wear them to the NAIDOC march. 

Although my first designs were political, the name “Gammin” obviously represents much more than that. We can be staunch and political but also take the piss and have a laugh, and that's what I enjoy doing most with Gammin threads. I get to connect with mob around the country with IYKYK humour and themes that resonate with us all, whether that's helping mob feel empowered and deadly, or just to proudly show off our culture.

I definitely never set out to run my own business, I just wanted to work in fashion. But after working in the industry for less than a year I realised it wasn’t what I hoped for, and the kind of work I wanted to do didn’t really exist in Melbourne. Gammin Threads allows me to create the designs and messages that I want to see out there in the world.

For me owning a business is about creating the change you want to see, we can decide how we operate and where our values are. Blak business owners naturally give back to community, offer our time and services to help lift up other mob just as our usual way of doing business. So many of our businesses operate effectively as social enterprises, creating impact that sets us apart from the mainstream.

The Blak Business network is also super supportive - a lot of us work together, sharing opportunities and ideas with each other. The connections I’ve made with other creatives, mob and good allies has been so rewarding and one of the best parts of business.

I don't reflect on this enough but I’m really proud of how far I have come and what’s ahead. I know that my 15 year old self would be so psyched with what I’ve been able to achieve, and the opportunities I’ve had thanks to Gammin have been massive. 

I’ve been in premium runways, travelled overseas for research and inspiration trips, travelled interstate for markets, photoshoots, runways and networking. I would never have had these opportunities if I hadn’t started Gammin and I’m super grateful for all of them and more importantly the connections I’ve made.