There are some people you look at and wonder - how are you the way you are?

Ambitious, driven, have the ability to juggle a million things in tandem, and is a wonderful person to boot. This is Lisa O’Keefe, co-founder of Koolamon designs, a bespoke jewellery company, and one of the guest speakers at 2024 Hatfield Happening.

Lisa is a wife, and mother to three beautiful children.

She co-founded Koolamon designs with her sister. Lisa was raised in a farming family near Wangaratta.

“When September came, it was time to pray for the rain to stop there, here it is time to pray for rain to start,” Lisa said.

Lisa and her younger sister were into craft long before it became cool. Her maternal grandmother sparked that interest, always sewing, baking and creating something out of nothing.

The pair would often spend the holidays with her.

For her 21st birthday Lisa asked for, and received, a sewing machine.

After school she started a Bachelor of Business majoring in accounting, before changing to Agricultural Science.

Lisa was entering an industry where women were like hen’s teeth; women were only recognised in the Australian Census in 1994, the year after she finished high school.

This change highlighted the shifting landscape for women in agriculture. Her first career role in agriculture was as an agronomist in Forbes. Although there was another female agronomist in Condobolin at the time, Lisa was the first female agronomist in her workplace.

It was a pioneering role in GPS prescription agriculture, and in an area where women were very unrepresented. As she was leaving her job in Forbes, Lisa’s boss admitted he’d never employed a female agronomist before, but he would definitely consider it in the future, perhaps because of, or in spite of memorable moments like the time while loading the four-wheeler in the back of the ute she managed to drive it off the other side, breaking her wrist in the process.

Her journey in agronomy led Lisa to Deniliquin, and eventually Euston, driven by love. She moved to Koolamon on a date she will forever remember; February 2, 2002.

“Anyone here who has married into a farming family will empathise with me the challenges of living on and in the family business,” Lisa laughed.

Life for Lisa has been a blend of managing the family business succession plans and navigating the challenges of living and working with in-laws and husband.

She credits drought and demands of family and family farming as shaping so much about her.

After realising the role of agronomist was not going to be family or pregnancy friendly, she worked as manager at the local TAFE campus.

After her first child was born, Lisa taught agriculture and horticulture programs, and did project work for the local council.

Her next addition arrived soon after, and Lisa began searching for a flexible job to facilitate a better work life balance.

They have since discovered Eliza, her second born is autistic and neurodivergent and as she grew needed lots of assistance in learning. Immensely grateful for the opportunity to receive baby bonus under John Howard’s regime, Lisa and her sister used these funds to launch Koolamon designs.

While they were not the first personalised jewellery company in Australia, they were the first to hand stamp each piece one letter at a time, creating jewellery in their signature, highly polished look. “Working with my sister is the best part of the business,” she said.

“Despite the 450 kilometres between us, we make a great team, with Stacey handling the finer details and me focusing on the big picture.

“We started with eight pieces and one necklace type, and today we have over 150- pieces in our collection, with sterling silver produced overseas and crafted in Australia.” Lisa and Stacey prefer to sell at boutique fairs, field days, and expos around Australia and New Zealand, and online, which they feel allows them to connect with their customers. The original goal in 2007 was to earn enough money to pay for their weekly groceries.

Neither of the sisters thought their idea would turn into a real source of income and neither did their husbands. It created the opportunity to generate income to support through tough times such as droughts, but also as a way to have flexible employment.

“Running your own business is one of the toughest jobs around, whether it is farming or retail,” Lisa said.

“Sometimes I’d wondered if it wouldn’t be so much easier to collect a pay cheque at the end of the week and to walk out of the office at the end of the day and not give it another thought until the next working day.

“However, the rewards have been worth it. The business has provided myself, my sister and the people we hire with employment; flexible employment.

Most of our school holidays have been spent on the farm with our children and extended families.

“We are so proud of how far we have come; Koolamon began with a $7000 investment and grew into a company with a million-dollar turnover and a varied and regular presence in online and print media.

“We’ve proven anyone can achieve success with a unique idea, supportive network and determination.” Lisa’s life has come full circle, something which she loves.

She is highly involved in the farm, and proudly calls herself a farmer. She has her wonderful children who she relishes spending time with, and a weekend on the farm with everyone together is something she finds a real treat. Lisa is a true inspiration on so many levels; she is proof of what you can accomplish on the daily and in the long term if you put your mind to it, and with a friendly disposition.