Reimagine Souvenirs

There’s a famous quote about travel being the only thing you can buy that makes you richer. I think about this every day surrounded by traveling trinkets at home, each reminding me of a trip taken, memories encapsulated in the object. Souvenirs are magical things - talismans and personal treasures.

When we launched four years ago, our tagline was ‘Souvenirs from Planet Earth’ because we wanted to create souvenirs inspired by the earth that wouldn’t harm it - products made in Australia from natural or recyclable materials.

Our motivation came from trying to find well-designed lightweight Australian souvenirs actually made in Australia, but our inspiration came directly from our own love of exploring and souvenirs. Amy and I share a joint passion for traveling and collecting.

As a fine artist and designer duo, we went back and forth on the idea of calling our work ‘souvenirs’ when we launched. The word itself is not something an artist or designer wants their work associated with. Souvenirs conjure up inexpensive plastic, objects bad for the environment and no art or design thought whatsoever. We worried about degrading our own work with the term. But then we had our big AHA.

Instead of degrading our own art and design work by applying it to souvenirs, our work could elevate the category. Lift it up. Make souvenirs not so terrible, not so cheap and not so awful for our planet. We are an alternative to mass-produced plastic-laden souvenirs made overseas.

Also, Australian souvenirs also often represent the idea the rest of the world has about Australia instead of the actual experience of visiting or living here (think plastic crocodile crossing signs sold in Sydney). We wanted to change that and create products that represent the experience more authentically with a focus on quality and detail, designing products to last a lifetime.

For us, Outer Island is a state of mind; the realization that paradise is everywhere if only we pay attention. It's a place where time stands still as you experience the joy of reconnecting with nature and wildlife. It’s the exotic bird that greets you when you sip your morning cup of coffee or the plant you brush up against that you've never seen before.

Someone asked me once what I thought Outer Island would be like if it was a real place. I told them it would be like a sunset I saw once on a ferry in Sydney Harbour, where the water looked like it was touching the sky and everything else around me faded away like I was in a painting. I forgot where I was because I only needed to be in the present - not just watching the sunset, but part of it, part of this world.

That’s what we hope our souvenirs do - make you feel connected to the beautiful world around us.

Our souvenirs are gifts representing a state of mind, a step toward conscientiousness and thoughtful buying and even though it’s taken us a little while to realize exactly where we need to go next with Outer Island, we’re excited to share with you our new tagline, Reimagine Souvenirs.

Over the next few months we’ll be bringing you more inspiration, more enrichment and more thoughtful buying. In the meantime, please join our movement to reimagine souvenirs and sign up to our free newsletter for monthly goodies.

Until then, I leave you with a quote that has resonated for me my entire life from Roald Dahl: “Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.”

Cheers,
Stephanie + Amy

PS: We love traveling, here are some of our favorite photos from travels below