Bendigo Bank Coffs Harbour showcase locally made gifts Coffs Coast Coffs Coast News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - December 22, 2020 Lisette Hullman, the owner of ‘Bliss By Lis’. ARE you in search of unique, handmade, gift ideas from local Coffs Harbour businesses? Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au As well as a fresh new look and design, the recently refurbished Bendigo Bank Coffs Harbour ‘branch of the future’ also boasts a dedicated Retail Pop-Up Space – prominently positioned at the front of the bank – in which local businesses and creatives can showcase their work, in a high exposure retail setting. Throughout the month of December, Bendigo Bank Coffs Harbour has hosted a series of Christmas retail pop-ups – weekdays from 9.30am-5.00pm, which will run until Christmas Eve – to showcase locally-made pottery, resin accessories, laser cut homewares and children’s clothing. Since reopening as a new ‘branch of the future’ in July, the Bank has already hosted more than 12 local micro-businesses in its Retail Pop-Up Space and is fully booked until mid-February 2021. As one of the first Coffs Harbour-based businesses to take up residency at Bendigo Bank’s Coffs Harbour Retail Pop-up Space, Lisette Hullman, the owner of ‘Bliss By Lis’ said the experience had been a hugely positive one for her and her business. “I loved the opportunity to have a retail space in which to meet new customers on the high street – it was the push I needed to offer my accessories to wholesale clients and grow my business, which until then, was just limited to weekend market stalls,” Ms Hullman said. Richard Fennell, Executive, Consumer Banking, Bendigo Bank, said the newly redesigned Coffs Harbour branch is an exciting development both for the Bank and the communities of the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. “Our stable of ‘branch of the future’ properties have proven extremely popular ever since we first opened the doors of our pilot branch in Norwood, South Australia in late 2018,” Mr Fennell said. “We chose Coffs Harbour due its strong mix of community-minded residents and innovative small businesses, all of whom we believe will benefit from gaining access to prime retail space, which in turn, can help facilitate creativity and allow local businesses the opportunity to showcase their goods and services – for free. “One of our primary goals for the new Coffs Harbour branch is to help inspire the local community and local businesses to embrace and foster entrepreneurship as a means of stimulating economic recovery in a COVID-19 environment, and supporting the lifestyle aspirations of all those in the Mid North Coast region,” Mr Fennell said.