The mother and daughter duo behind a “steampunk Art Deco”-style new venue say they hope it will become a focal point for a town’s growing live music scene.
Rusty and Cherry Nyman have turned some former office space on Ann Street, Nambour, into The Presynct, which opened in October.
They have since welcomed an array of bands and DJs to the venue, which has the capacity for 100 people.
“We’ve had nearly every genre except country music, which we do want to do but just haven’t had the opportunity to book that yet,” said Rusty, who is Cherry’s mother.
“We’re not pigeonholing to one particular genre.”
The decision to open the venue came in the aftermath of the pandemic.
“We’ve had music in our life forever. So, I guess it was just a natural progression,” Rusty said. “We were running events up in Noosa before Covid and then we were like, ‘Oh, we should open our own venue’.
“Nambour had put the SEP (Special Entertainment Precinct) in place. So, we started looking and we started up at what’s going to be The Vogue in Curry Street.
“We were there for nine months or something. It was a beautiful old historical building but it was just really expensive and we didn’t own it.
“We found this place for sale and kind of restructured our whole business model and bought the space. So, we own it and we’re not having to worry about landlords. That allowed us to be a lot more creative with how we made the space, because when you own it, you feel like you can put your heart into a little bit more.”
Rusty said she deconstructed the original core shell with help from her son and mostly designed the space herself, helping with the fit-out with a team of builder friends.
“Everyone on the team had previous knowledge of sound and music, which made it a lot easier for me to convey my vision,” she said.
It includes some intricate touches, such as a ceiling designed to look like a guitar neck, wood around the DJ decks representing equalisers and the bar itself resembling the basket of a hot-air balloon.
“It’s got a steampunk Art Deco kind of vibe,” she said.
“The stage we built like a little mini theatre with a Moulin Rouge kind of feel.
“I was going for a retro regal kind of look with everything. I wanted people to feel like when they leave home, they’re actually coming somewhere that’s going to be not just for music, but it’s a visual experience and a sensory experience.
“The feedback we keep receiving is people love the feeling in here of stepping into this little world.”
Cherry said running the venue with her mother was a thrill.
“We’ve always been very close,” she said.
“I left home for eight years to go to uni in Brisbane, then came back for family reasons and ended up staying.
“We’ve always had a really strong relationship and I think just naturally we complement each other. I can do the things she’s not good at; she can do the things I’m not good at.
“As a team, it just really works well together.”
Rusty added: “I was sort of like the creative side getting it to this point, and now she’s the business side.
“We never get on each other’s nerves, ever.”
The duo said they were “starting to find our feet” since opening but, as owners, were taking their time.
“The locals aren’t too sure that we’re here yet, which is partially our fault,” Rusty said.
“We’re both working full-time jobs as well. So, we haven’t actually had time to put into the marketing that we should be doing.”
The venue currently serves drinks, including cocktails, but patrons can bring food in from elsewhere.
“We do encourage people to check out local food venues, and we’ve got menus (for local businesses) as well,” Rusty said.
“Down the track, it would be nice to be able to have some food. We just don’t really have a lot of room. We’d have to do some sort of food truck outside.”
Cherry added: “We’re also supporting local business as well, because Nambour’s a community and we’ve all really got to work together to make the town work.”
As for the name, the duo said it has several layers of meaning.
“We chose the name ‘The Presynct’ as a play on the Special Entertainment Precinct, but also by spelling it differently, it’s like we’re in sync with community and also syncopation with music,” Rusty said.
Cherry added: “We had a few people know us already and following us, so why change it?”
For more details on the venue click here.
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