TANYA VAN DER WATER
for mini zine 0.6
The secret tether that connects and inspires so many of us creative folk here in our beloved warehouse is Tanya Van Der Water. She owns and operates one of the Illawarra’s most unique businesses, the Buckaroo Leatherworks in Bellambi. The large warehouse where the artisan Australian leather goods are made is split in two via a pinewood wall. On the other side of the factory lies a huge group of creatives with studios and work spaces: artists, music producers and managers, brewers, and little independent magazines all call ‘Nebula’ home. Talking with Tanya, every word is painted with her unbridled passion for creativity and inspiring purpose. Tanya walks us through her life as a business owner and a mother, her love for the Illawarra’s creative community, her advocacy for the creative industry and her grand plans for 2026.
Who are you, what part of Illawarra are you from and what do you do?
Loaded questions! Well, my main thing is I have five kids, so motherhood dictates everything else that I do. The way I run my business is totally dictated by what’s left over after I’m with my family. I spent too long with it being the other way around… (I am a good example of how to burn out time and time again and ill never do that again…) I’m from Woonona. I grew up in old school Stanwell Park. 35 years ago,... there were probably 25 - 30 families… there was no phone reception.., trains were every four hours… nobody wanted to be (there)… So I find it really funny how people look at Stanwell Park and the northern [Illawarra] suburbs now. We lived in Newtown for a number of years… but had to move back for the business (when my dad got sick)… We looked and found cheap rent in Wonoona. I've not really heard anyone go, “one day, I really want to live in Woonona”. But it's turned out to be quite cool.
I'm really invested in helping others in creative industries actualise their ideas through some commercial lens. Someone recently gave me the title of a ‘catalytic entrepreneur’. I’m good at having vision and coming up with ideas but my [ability] to carry it out is sometimes limited. So I like to surround myself with people who know heaps more than me and can help me bring those ideas to life. (So wanky and cool, I love it.) You can have sustainability in a creative space for a long time by introducing some business elements. I think that's a really important skill for every creative to learn but … it's a scary skill. I hope that I'm a good example of how to make it less scary. I don't think anyone should be afraid of leaving their desk job and starting a creative pursuit. I think everyone should see it's actually totally doable and the rewards are (...) life changing.
This mini zine interviews are about showcasing Wollongong’s vibrant creative community. What do you think attracts so many creatives to this area?
People. Beyond buildings, it's people that make communities and spaces. It's just so energetic, I love the energy. You put half a dozen creatives together and it has such a ripple effect and brings more people in. Council wants to put a heritage and conservation zoning over the strip in Port Kembla. All the business people are like, “This is going to absolutely ruin the area. People (won’t) want to come and invest in Port Kembla. What's that going to mean for our businesses?” And I've been sitting with why I don't agree because I'm not sure why, but I think one of the reasons is because my attraction to Port Kembla is because of its character. And if (there’s) like minded people there that have also been attracted to its character, then I think it's worth preserving. It's people that actually are the heritage. That's what needs to be protected, not the buildings. They aren't the thing that's long lasting and can talk and tell stories and share and whatever.
There are plans to find your new home in PK, many of the creatives that are with you in Nebula are moving with you. What inspires you to help us creative types?
Well, no one helped me, and I feel like it's my responsibility now to be in a position where I can help others. I know in some way or another, that comes back to me and makes me feel really good. There’s a saying I always say which is “you can only keep what you have by giving it away”. And the importance of respecting and honouring what you've got is because you're also willing to share it with others. You're not holding onto it because then it can have this negative, selfish effect. For example, businesses will want to support a charity because they feel that it's their financial responsibility, let's say, or it’s the way they want to participate in the community. So for me, I'm just equally passionate, but more empathetically invested in putting that support into the creative community. I always say to businesses, if you've got surplus space, absolutely use it for this, because it helps both sides. It'll help the business, they can rent it out like we do. But importantly, it helps that (creative) community shape who they are and what they're doing within the confines of some sort of structure.
It’s the blueprint for what other people can do and that’s why it’s bitter sweet… If this was just a big building that was empty and I filled it with 20 creative tenants, it wouldn't have the structure behind it to give it the respect that it deserves. When you put it alongside a business that does have that structure, that has a flow on effect to then what happens in that shared space… Little things like opening and closing times, security system, over usage of water, power, all of that is naturally monitored because of [Buckaroo]. Little things that only come about because there's a business there.
What does 2026 have in store for Buckaroo and yourself?
Haha! Well, we have this major building project to do. The RSL in Port Kembla. [We're not meant to be in the space (at the moment) 'cause the air quality is really poor. ' (There's what's called friable asbestos which means it’s in the air…) I just don't think it's safe.] I know I'm a bit nuts based on people's reactions to what we're doing. They'll be like. "Oh, cool, you bought the RSL, what are you going to turn it into?" And I'd be like, "It's gonna be turned into a factory mostly and some creative space." And they're like, " cool, you're just gonna knock out some walls or whatever”. But, we're doing what's called a complete de-fit, which is where you gut the building to its concrete, brick and rafters. And they're like, "Oh, that sounds like a big job”. And I guess it is a big job, but.. I seem to be the only person who would actually go ahead and do it haha… it gets gutted on the 12th of January.
So, 2026 is going to be busy… I love Buckaroo, but it's very much become a brand synonymous with something, which is tool belts. I spent the last 20 years kind of carving that out, which is amazing, but my real passion now lies in getting us back to being a design studio.. So we’re launching (one) and it’s going to be housed in the RSL. (Buckaroo/Nebula) is probably the only space in the Illawarra that (council) can think, top of mind, is a successful shared space facility. I just think that's such a shame. There's so many empty buildings in the Illawarra… like the old Bunnings in Wollongong … The events you could have in there, the sectioning off of businesses, with studios, with food and drink. You put a building like that in the right people's hands and you could literally change this whole region’s future from one building.