Vanessa Hooper outside her shop Nourish and Glow Holistic Beauty, in Barham.
Photo by
Louie Cina
Barham’s newest Australian citizen and owner of Nourish and Glow Holistic Beauty, Vanessa Hooper, has had quite the journey to taking the pledge.
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Originally from Canada, Ms Hooper, driven by wanting a change of scenery, arrived in Australia with no plans, a single friend and a working-holiday visa.
“I think everyone gets that feeling in their 20s,” Ms Hooper said.
“You want to go do something, and I was like ‘oh well, I’m not tied down, so I might as well’.’’
For Ms Hooper, that meant leaving her job with Sephora and moving to the Gold Coast.
Vanessa Hooper came to Australia with no solid plans and knowing just one person.
Photo by
Louie Cina
She quickly found work at Mecca, meeting her future husband – whose family lived in Barham – a few months later.
The pair spent six years living in Queensland together, making frequent trips back to south-west NSW.
“We used to come (to Barham) on long weekends,” she said.
“I tacked a couple of extra days on (every trip), and every time we’d leave, we be like ‘Oh, we don’t want to go’.”
In 2018, Ms Hooper travelled back to Canada to marry her husband, relocating to Warrnambool for his job shortly after they returned, and moving again, to Barham, in December 2021.
Using a spare room in her mother-in-law’s shop, she brought her dream of opening a low-tox make-up and product store to life eight months later.
What started as a pop-up store in her mother-in-law’s spare room has grown into a well-stocked hub for low-tox beauty products.
Photo by
Louie Cina
“We are very lucky (in Barham),” Ms Hooper said.
“Everyone is very supportive and super welcoming.
“We’ve got such a great community here.”
Eager to give back to the community where she’s building her forever home, Ms Hooper joined Barham Inc, a collective supporting business, growth, and innovation in the area.
Just as she’s supported Barham, Barham has supported her, with the town’s residents overwhelming her with kindness after she received her citizenship on July 21.
“It’s very exciting,” Ms Hooper said.
“Everyone’s sending me text messages, ringing me, sending me cards.
“Just walking the dog around the block, people are pulling their window down and yelling ‘congratulations Aussie’.
“I just didn’t expect it to be as exciting for other people as it is for me.”
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