Meet the small business owners and entrepreneurs at the heart of Providence. Located in the lush surrounds of Ripley Valley in Ipswich, this thriving community is making its mark south of the Queensland capital.

In April this year, local resident and small business owner, Peta, launched Quibble, a pre-loved clothing market at Providence’s local comuniy space.

Starting out as a single stall, selling a beautifully curated selection of pre-loved and vintage clothing, Quibble has since grown into dedicated pre-loved market event all its own, with local community members now booking out stalls months in advance. And all in just six months.

A qualified nurse and mum of two, Peta didn’t initially start Quibble as a way for people to come together, rather, she was seeking greater flexibility in her working life – and wanted to find her own connection to her local community.

“I wanted to do something that I love, and something that would work around the kids,” said Peta. “I was brainstorming what I like to do in my spare time; I love preloved and vintage clothing. I love markets, and I love attending them – but they're always in Brisbane. So, I thought, okay, why not? I'll start up my own market here.”

As a local resident, Peta had visited Providence’s community space with her young family. And, while there was already a burgeoning community and lifestyle amenities (such as the Ripley Markets and local cafe), she noticed that there wasn’t anywhere to source or buy pre-loved items in the region.

She decided to contact Courtney, Stockland’s Community Engagement Manager at Providence’s Sales and Information Centre, to investigate using the centre’s community space to launch what would become Quibble.

“It just seemed like a great start-up location, the space felt like a perfect place to test the waters and to also just meet people in the community” she said. “Courtney was really lovely, she showed me around and walked me through the process. I'm like, “yep, this can work.”

“We held our first market in April 2023 and the team at Providence just made everything easy. There was nothing hard about it. The communication was easy, and the location was awesome. I knew from day one we’d chosen the right place to launch Quibble.”

Fast-forward six months, and Quibble has gone from strength to strength. Having not only leveraged her business with the exposure from Providence’s community space, Peta has also established and nurtured a growing community of pre-loved clothing and sustainability enthusiasts.

“There was just nothing like it in Ipswich,” Peta said, noting the lack of vendors and availability of preloved items. “And yeah, it's just completely taken off.”

So, what’s next for Quibble? Due to the sheer number of locals and market goers that have expressed interest in holding their own Quibble market stall, Peta has launched a monthly Quibble market at the Ipswich Showgrounds, where she’ll manage 27 stallholders all selling prelove clothing under the Quibble name.

“It's not just a market ‘op shop’” says Peta of Quibble’s success, “it's a whole community experience where everyone's welcome. It’s about the people connection.”

Joining the upcoming Ipswich City Council’s Sustainability Festival in October as well as making plans for more immersive events in the near future (including ‘sip and thrift’ afternoons and dedicated market for pre-loved children’s clothing) Peta reflects on how far she, and Quibble, have come in under a year.

“Providence gave me the ability to grow Quibble. It’s where we started,” Peta reflects. “Courtney and the Providence team were so supportive with things like marketing collateral, promoting our launch at the markets – it really helped bring my vision to life.”

Her advice to anyone wanting to give their own business or side hustle a go? “Just start. Don’t think to yourself, “I’ll wait.” I literally just woke up one morning and I told myself I'm going to make the logo; I'm going to just start plugging away and it’ll sort of work out. If you don't start, you'll get nowhere. Just and start up small and get out in the community.”