After sharing three pregnancies together and a combined collective of 10 kids, local sisters-in-law Tenille Perceval and Naomi Bartak are trying their hand at business.
The duo have recently opened up not one but two stores in Penrith, Poppy’s Little Treasures and The Sister Collective, to bring sought after brands to the local area.
“I come from a family that built and ran a family-run business, so it makes me happy that we can do the same sort of thing,” Ms Bartak said.
Family support is key, with the pair saying their closeness has helped encourage them to give the business world a shot after previously making and selling things at markets for a hobby.
“We had the demand for it from the markets with so many people asking us why we didn’t open a shop,” Ms Bartak said.
“But with a bundle of kids, how do we do that and how do we afford it?
“I was just passing by, I saw this shop up for lease and I was the first one to enquire about it, so I grabbed it and thought, let’s just do this.”
The pair are so close that they gave birth just three days apart to children easily mistaken for twins, sharing the same birthmarks and eye colour.
Poppy’s Little Treasures, located on York Road in Jamisontown, opened last year to provide unique, quality kids brands from clothing to furniture in one place.
“There’s a lot of people here, like myself and Naomi, that would go to Rouse Hill to go to one shop because they had the brands that I wanted or things like that,” Ms Perceval said.
“A lot of customers are saying a very similar thing, that the closest place used to be Wetherill Park, which has closed down.
“Everything in here we found ourselves buying for all of our kids. There’s nothing quite like it around.”
The business was named in honour of their late grandfather, who always inspired them.
Their other venture, The Sister Collective, located in Skiptons Arcade, is a ladies and men’s fashion boutique that opened just before Christmas.
When asked how they find the balance between their families, their businesses and their personal lives, the women looked at one another with a smile.
“We’re just winging it at the moment,” Ms Perceval laughed.
Emily Newton is the Weekender’s police and political reporter. Emily is also the Weekender’s Senior Journalist.
