Ash Pengelly, who started Little Black Duck Aboriginal Teapots, said the idea came about when she was helping other local artists develop their craft. 

“In my day job, I run an Aboriginal arts program called Join the Dots, and part of that program is creating a market stall,” she said.

“It really kicked off when I was on maternity leave last year, and now they’ve gone all over the world – I’ve sold some in Ireland, Switzerland, and America.” 

Ms Pengelly has since expanded her line to include all sorts of colourful homewares, including candles and chopping boards.

But her work does not end there; a true advocate for Wagga’s Aboriginal community, Ms Pengelly has since set up an Aboriginal book club to create a unique support network for local women.

“I was reading an Aboriginal book called Blood on the Wattle, which is a really intense book about Aboriginal history, and I just thought that everyone should know about it,” Ms Pengelly said.

“So I started the program, and it’s now funded by FACS, because I think they really related to what it was all about.

For the people involved, Ms Pengelly said the book club is now about a lot more than reading. 

“Now, the women are saying that it’s more turned into therapy for them,” she said.

“The conversations they’re having can be really intense, because the books are so diverse in genre, but they’ve kind of created a great little support system for themselves.” 

You can find her teapots online, in markets around town, and at the Visitor Information Centre. 

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