Nicky Strang has built a life around art and people. She traded the heat and congestion of Queensland for the crisp air and creative energy of the Meander Valley, and she’s never looked back.
At her Humblebee Crafts Studio, inside the Creative Studios in Deloraine, Strang has cultivated more than just a business. She has fostered a vibrant, inclusive space where creativity and community come together. The studio offers everything from art and craft supplies to hands-on workshops in sewing, wire flowers, jelly printing and more. “I do lots of different crafts here, from paper crafts to sewing, wire flowers, jelly printing — you name it,” she says.
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A children’s book author and disability support worker, Strang’s work is as diverse as it is purposeful. Through her studio, she blends therapeutic strategies with art-making, offering meaningful activities for NDIS participants. “I also do diversional therapy work integrating therapeutic strategies into creative activities that are more meaningful,” she explains.
Strang’s affection for Deloraine runs deep. “I love Deloraine. I love Tasmania,” she says, recalling the moment she knew she wouldn’t return to Queensland. It wasn’t just the cooler climate that captured her heart but the spirit of the place. A hub where artists of all kinds are not only welcomed but celebrated.
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“There’s all forms of creativity here,” she says. “We’ve got painters and potters and artists and sewers and lovely Cindy down the road that does the embroidery. I love that this is a real creative space that is accepting and encouraging of that creative spirit. It’s not shunned or ridiculed. It’s celebrated.”
In the studio, inspiration is never far away. “Every day I walk around the studio and I look at other artists’ work and I see something different every day and it inspires me,” she says. “It might be the colour that they’ve used, or it might be a material that they’ve used. And I’ll come back here and off goes my imagination.”
Despite taking over from a well-loved business, Strang embraced the challenge of starting fresh. “People have to get used to the fact that you do things a little differently,” she says.
Word of mouth, Facebook, and the studio’s street presence have helped Humblebee Crafts build its clientele. Strang believes in the value of shopping locally. “When you buy local you’re supporting the local community. The money stays locally,” she says. “It’s not going to a big corporation, it’s going to the local football club, local families feeding their families.”
Her plans for the studio are ambitious and ever-growing. Strang will continue classes in scrapbooking, jelly printing, patchwork, card making and more. “With each month, I expand the craft range,” she says, noting the arrival of new fabric bolts and upcoming workshops.
When asked her favourite spot in the Meander Valley, the answer was immediate. “It has to be Deloraine around the river, doesn’t it?” she says. “I get this feeling here, it’s almost magical.”
