Allara Creative: the local business turning greeting cards into employment for refugees
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If you’ve ever wandered into Pop Canberra or attended a Haig Park Sunday market, chances are you’ve seen Allara Creative’s greeting cards or gift products with their signature monochromatic, hand-drawn style.
What you may not know is that those products are contributing to something extraordinary: every purchase creates employment opportunities for newly arrived refugees in Canberra.
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Turning small business into social impact
Allara Creative (formerly REMO Graphic Design) is a social enterprise co-founded by Ruth Oettle and Jess Wright in 2020, who met while working in the public service. The name ‘Allara Creative’ is a reference to the street where their former office building is located.
Ruth and Jess at their stall at the Finders Keepers Markets in Sydney, 2025.
While the business initially started as a way to channel Ruth’s creative energy and love of drawing, it wasn’t long before the pair began to consider how they could use their business to give back to the community.
The decision to pivot into a social enterprise came after Jess’s experience of volunteering with the Red Cross, where she saw first-hand the difficulties faced by people trying to resettle in Canberra.
“It became really clear to me through volunteering with newly arrived refugees that the biggest challenges were not having a job, not having enough English to get a job, and lacking confidence in the community,” says Jess.
“We had been packing cards and then we realised we could outsource that work to people who could work from their homes, get to know us, and experience the Australian workforce in a really low stress way. And that’s how we started the social enterprise side of things.”
Allara Creative currently provides employment to refugees through their ‘Packing at Home’ and ‘Market Manager’ programs.
Participants in these programs are also supported by volunteers, who provide one-on-one mentorship and support, including through English language practice.
Allara Creative volunteer with ‘Market Manager’ employee Mahgul at the Old Bus Depot Markets, 2024.
“[The mentorship program] is the thing that we realised was missing,” says Jess, “some of the people we work with are lonely and isolated. We’ve observed that refugees can be in the community, but don’t really know any locals.”
“It’s about leaning into the connection side of things,” adds Ruth.
“We provide employment, but it’s also about that broader aspect of how you draw people into the community and help them feel included.”
Since transitioning to a social enterprise in February 2024, Allara Creative has employed ten people from refugee backgrounds, with more than 30 extended beneficiaries.
When asked about the impact of the programs on their participants, Ruth and Jess were adamant that the benefit goes both ways.
“They’re happy to be included and we’re happy with their work,” says Ruth.
“It’s not charity – we need their work, so we employ them: it’s definitely a two-way street – we couldn’t do it without them”
“We went to one of our employees’ houses and her little son opened the door and called out, ‘Dad, it’s mummy’s work people!'” says Ruth, smiling.
“It’s an independence thing for her… [it’s about] showing her kids she’s contributing to the family.”
Allara Drives: a social enterprise driving school
In addition to their employment programs, Ruth and Jess are on the heels of announcing the launch of Allara Drives, a social enterprise driving school.
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While a driving school may seem like an odd choice for a business that specialises in cards and gifts, Ruth and Jess have a clear vision for how it ties into their core mission of supporting Canberra’s refugee community.
Driving lessons will be offered under a two-tiered pricing system: one for people from refugee backgrounds, and another for everyone else.
“[Driving] is such a massive part of being able to get a job and be part of the community,” says Jess, “we’ll be providing highly subsidised lessons to people from refugee backgrounds and lessons to anyone else who wants them. And so in that way, each cross-subsidises the other.”
“People can put their kids through our driving school and know that just by doing that they’re helping someone who really needs it.”
In addition to affordable driving lessons, Allara Drives will support women from refugee backgrounds in becoming accredited driving instructors in the ACT. Not only will this create opportunities for self-employment and a career, but also it enables lessons to be taught in a variety of non-English languages, which can fast-track the process of obtaining a driver’s licence for other refugees.
“Usually, people need to learn English first and then learn to drive because the driving lessons are in English… It has to be a sequential thing, which delays everything,” says Ruth, “With us it can be concurrent.”
“We want to provide confidence, community, and connection… We create our impact work through identifying what the issues are and coming up with ways to solve it.”
Canberra’s thriving refugee support community
Allara Creative is part of a thriving group of organisations in Canberra working to support people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
They work closely with organisations including The Red Cross, Café Stepping Stone, the Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services (MARSS), and Vinnies. Together, these organisations provide the wraparound services required for successful resettlement.
“The important thing through all of this is that we are adding to the ecosystem in Canberra, which is growing in terms of need,” says Ruth.
“The social enterprise community is very collegiate. Everyone wants to share. It’s not competitive… people are just glad for you if you’re doing well.”
Five years on from starting their business, Ruth and Jess show no signs of slowing down. Driven by their desire to give back to the community that they love, they are an example of how a small business can do big things.
Allara Creative staff, employees, and volunteers at their end-of-year event, 2024
For more information visit allaracreative.com.au or check out their Instagram and Linkedin pages.
