There is a particular kind of energy that comes from a young ambitious woman. One that’s infectious and hard not to be drawn to, and you don’t have to spend much time with Lil Scolari to know it’s something she personifies. Lil’s unmarred vision for what is possible comes in many forms but the creation of her brand, Ivy & Gus, might be its crown jewel.

WORDS AND IMAGES BY JEM HAWKER

Lil Scolari makes leather crafted to be worn. As each piece is touched by the sun, grazed by its surrounds, imperfections emerge that make each unique. Not that long ago, on a complete whim, Lil bought a hide and decided she wanted to make something from it. Three months later she launched Ivy & Gus and now, just two years on, Lil has produced over 300 pieces.

Growing up in the depths of western NSW, 50 odd kms out of Narromine, Lil called a sheep and cultivation property home and was never lacking space. It’s something that might have shaped her earthy nature, sense of adventure and subtly inspired her maybe still kind of happening gap year. Lil is quick to admit that she was tempted never to return, like many others before her who ventured up north when school came to an end. Searching for something unknown, unnameable that seems to have been found up there in the northern country. Lil fell completely in love with the remoteness of Northern Australia. The community, the land and the lifestyle. And although Lil has now ventured a little closer to home, you don’t need to spend much time with her to know that her stint up in the never never has shaped her for the better.

In 2019, after a few adventures, Lil found herself in Sydney having accepted a place at the University of Technology Sydney studying product design, and giving the big city life a crack. But it wasn’t long before she started yearning for the warmer climate and the carefree culture of the North. Packing up and trekking over to Camooweal, then to Julia Creek for another ‘gap’ year. Lil put the life she thought she should be living on the back burner. Instead deciding just to live a little.

When COVID gallantly rode in on its work-from-home horse, Lil took the opportunity to get back to studying and to work part time [read - she was not going back to Sydney anytime soon], which also gave her the freedom to explore her other love, creating. Something that might also have been driven by the desire to make a little money for a very obvious reason. To buy a horse. Lil has since moved down to Dalby in Southeast Queensland where she has cultivated a space to grow Ivy & Gus to become a fair bit more than a side gig. With only a few months left of her product design degree to finish off and a few ponies in the paddock, Lil is kicking some seriously impressive goals.

While working with leather is where she ended up, Lil had been toying with the idea of creating something of her own for a while before she really landed on what it was she wanted. Something many of us creatively minded folk often wrangle with. “I’ve always loved making things. I loved Lego, I loved art, I loved photography. And after working in Northern Australia I wanted to marry those two loves. I wanted to create and promote Australian agriculture in a positive light. That’s why I chose leather, as a by-product of cattle production. In a way it seemed like the obvious way for me to be able to highlight how such a remote part of Australia was so beautiful. I’ve tried to carry that through my work, even though I’m based a little closer to civilization now.”

But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a fair bit of too and froing before Lil really landed on what we now know as Ivy & Gus. “I needed to play around with some ideas before I really settled into what I wanted to do and what I thought was really going to work for me. I started with a platform where I could promote Australian Labels but I couldn’t quite work out a business model for that. I didn’t really have an interest in journalism or that sort of thing, so creating my own product seemed like the right fit for me. I happened to be in Sydney, I went out to the tannery and bought two or three hides. While I was out there, I had a chat with the people who worked there, they’d all been working in the industry for such a long time and gave me lots of support in terms of advice on how to get started and what to buy. Then I just had a go. Started playing around, you know, it was a bit of fun.”

A clutch and a cardholder were the first things Lil decided to test the waters with and it’s all it took for the idea to gain enough momentum for Lil to realise that she could really make a go of this. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, but Lil’s dynamic approach to each element of this venture has seen Ivy & Gus grow from strength to strength. Settling on a made-to-order model, Lil has seeded in her desire to build a business based on sustainability and one that suits her lifestyle. Something even the most seasoned of operators struggle to balance. It’s a testament to Lil’s thoughtful approach, combined with a youthfulness that can only foster a reimagining of the rules. “I’ve found that making a very small number of things works best. It’s been a necessity for me to be really considerate about the amount of time and money that goes into each piece. I think it is quite a personable experience to be able to buy from a person directly, to speak with them about what you really want. I hope to be able to keep that experience a core part of what it means to buy from Ivy & Gus.”

With each piece being highly customisable and from nurturing a personal relationship with each person who orders through the business, Lil has cultivated a purchasing experience that’s hard not to fall in love with. And this individualised approach also flows through to the materials Lil chooses to work with. Each hide that Lil selects is different, coming with its own unique imperfections, bringing another dimension to the uniqueness of each Ivy & Gus piece. “The imperfections tell a story. Pair that with a quality hide and you’ve got a piece in your collection you can do anything with. I don’t want people to be precious with their items, I want them to use them and live life with them. Leather wears beautifully over time so I’m encouraged by the timelessness of each individual piece I create.” Which is reflected in the little number stamped on each product crafted by Lil, a small signature of its uniqueness as well as a running tally for the number of creations Lil has crafted.

Lil has achieved a huge deal in such a short amount of time, but the fire of ambition is burning hot and Lil has many plans for the future of her growing empire. With short term plans to expand her team to build out a dynamic support system to help keep on top of the ever growing demand for her unique leather goods, we’re certain this isn’t the last you’ll hear about Lil Scolari.

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