'I had nothing, but I didn't need anything': a Mudgee business built on hardship
Mudgee local Hannah Olden is creating a community around the experiences that have shaped her life. Picture by Col Boyd Photography. Three times a month, around the back of St John's Anglican Church in Mudgee,. . .
Mudgee local Hannah Olden is creating a community around the experiences that have shaped her life. Picture by Col Boyd Photography. Three times a month, around the back of St John's Anglican Church in Mudgee, local Hannah Olden makes a dollar off the tourists visiting the vineyards. Subscribe now for unlimited access. or signup to continue readingAll articles from our websiteThe digital version ofToday'sPaperAll otherin your areaThey come to the 2850 Markets, forgetting how cold Mudgee gets in a stiff winter, and buy jackets and jumpers from Ms Olden's stall, Kalgold Gear. "It's been a hell of a good bit of business for me," she said. "They can't enough of it, and I love seeing people take a little piece of Mudgee away with him by supporting a brand. "Kalgold Gear is Ms Olden's own brand of clothing, driven to life last year to create comfortablefarm and work wearthat was also durable. What started out as a line of shorts quickly became sweaters, t-shirts and trousers that were waterproof, stretchy and more forgiving with body size, as well as gloves, scarves and footwear. "I sell at the markets in the wintertime, and I'm really happy I started doing that because it's been really profitable, but it's also a place where I have met some incredible people," Ms Olden said. Kalgold Gear has become a staple at Mudgee's 2850 Markets. Picture supplied. At 32, Hannah Olden has become more than a Mudgee entrepreneur in thecountry fashionspace. She drives trucks in the localcoal mineto pay the bills, crediting mining with getting her out of a lot of financial trouble after debt forced her life to go in unexpected directions a decade ago. "I had a business in partnership, but I was really naive," she said. "When it collapsed, there were leases and loans in my name that I either had to keep paying or pay out, which I just couldn't. "I've been in an immense amount of debt my whole life, trying to get out of it, and that's probably the reason I do anything. "Any hobby that I have has to make money, and any job that I have has to pay its way, so when I moved to mining I started earning a lot of money with the goal of paying my debt, which it did. "Ms Olden said her financial calamity was serious for such a young person. She had no family to lean on, having grown up with her single mother first in Kalgoorlie, WA, and then in the regions in the eastern states, and had worked continuously from a young age to survive. She was a seasonal contractor on thoroughbred farms across the Hunter Valley and metropolitan racing stables, and even spent a season in Ireland, but always while she chased down her debts. "The year before COVID, I'd had enough," she said. "I packed my Prado up and kitted it out with a bed and a mini-bar, some bottles of wine and gin, and I went on the road. "It was all I needed for two years, and I worked the yearling sales circuit and then went on a road trip around Australia by myself, without anyone or anything holding me back. "Ms Olden paid her way with 'essential-worker' contracts across the country. She said it was the best thing she has ever done. "I realised I had nothing, but I didn't need anything either," she said. "I didn't have a house. I didn't have a dog or a partner or much money. "But I didn't need any of those things either, and it really opened my eyes to the rest of my life, and from then on I knew I wouldn't need a big TV or a double-door fridge or a huge couch. "It basically changed the way I looked at life. "Amongst this, Ms Olden completed a veterinary nursing diploma at New England TAFE. She had worked extensively across the thoroughbred scene in both hemispheres, but she said racing wasn't for her. "I thought foremen in the cities looked so tired and worn out from getting up so early and never getting out in the sun," she said. "I'm wild and adventurous and I want to do stuff, but I also wanted to come home to Mudgee. "Property prices in Mudgee brought Ms Olden back to her demons around debt, and mining was her answer a few years ago. She said shift work wasn't glorious, but it gave her the financial means and spare time to concentrate on what she loved doing, which was growing Kalgold Gear. Last year, alongside the clothing line, she started producing a seasonal magazine in which she could share some of the community she had experienced during her journeys. "I had a little bit of extra money by then and wanted to create something that might touch other people," she said. "I had stories, but so many other people did too and it was just a way of trying to create a community around the Kalgold brand because if I'd had support back in the way, I think my circumstances would have been different. "Ms Olden started her first business when she was just a teenager, bringing struggling school-leavers into training horses to offer them avenues into work. She had always been a cheerleader for others, and believes, if debt had not interrupted her youth, her path might have been different. "I think everyone becomes an adult and realises they need to be realistic," she said. "I can't be a gypsy, so while Kalgold is paying its way right now, it would be nice to think it might one day pay the rent or the mortgage, or even the utilities. "But, at the end of the day, it's a business I created off nothing, and I'm really proud of that. "As it happensBreaking news alertBe the first to know when news breaks.