Who and What is Avalon by Nature?
Avalon by Nature is a soul-focused and heart-centred business owned and run by me, Jo Durand, of Awaba/Lake Macquarie, NSW.
Avalon by Nature has been trading since September 2002, when I first exhibited my handmade capes and cushions at the Magic Happens festival in Sydney’s Newtown.
Since then, I expanded my product range and trade in locations all over NSW:
- Sydney, Central Coast, and Newcastle,
- south to Wollongong and Cootamundra,
- west to Orange, Dubbo, Cobar, and Broken Hill,
- north-west to Glen Innes,
- north to Nimbin and Byron Bay,
And now, Interstate too:
- north over the border to Narang in Queensland’s Gold Coast,
- south over the border to Mildura and Melbourne in Victoria,
- south-west to Whyalla, Port Lincoln and Mt Gambier in South Australia.
I’ve met so many interesting people and everyone has a story to share – I could write a book! Instead, I am recording a series of Jo Avalon’s Cuppa Chats which are housed on my YouTube channel.
On 11 November 2011, I opened a retail store at The Entrance, NSW and operated there until the end of March 2016. During this time, I built great friendships and made connections with other store owners and creative businesses and the Avalon Australian Books Cards and Discs project was born in November 2015.
Since March 2016, I have worked from home, foraying out to the regions to share my range of metaphysical products, readings, and mini-workshops. After four years of attending weekend events and week-long shopping centre popups, I leased a shop for 4 weeks in Swansea, NSW and offered a wide range of workshops alongside my retail space. This was a huge success and since my business was building, I splashed out to rent larger premises in Boolaroo to operate an office, workshop space, and retail Showroom.
In 2024, with the retail landscape ever-changing, I closed the Boolaroo Showroom and returned to working from home. I now focus completely on taking my mobile shop on the road to you, and you can find out more about where I am here.
You can find us at Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.
What is Avalon by Nature’s mission?
My mission is to provide well-priced quality products to accompany your journey to self-knowledge and consciousness.
How did Avalon by Nature get its name?
Avalon by Nature’s name is derived from the Isle of Avalon as described in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s novel ‘The Mists of Avalon‘. The Isle of Avalon was believed to be a mystical place inhabited by Priestesses with skills in herbal healing and other magic. The priestesses there were fabled for their education and networking, it was an honour to send your daughter there for her education. While the jury is still out on whether it physically existed, there are many historical references to Avalon and many people report the influential energy of Avalon can be felt at Glastonbury and other sacred sites around Great Britain.
Avalon by Nature is inspired by the many stories of Avalon and her priestesses and invokes her energy in sharing knowledge of self-knowledge and self-development. The deeper you delve into her mysteries, the more you learn about yourself.