Alison Poke, owner of Indigo House, has been part of Burnie’s retail community for 28 years.
Born into a business- and retail-orientated family, Alison comes from a long line of Burnie retailers. Her grandfather, Les Clark, started Les Clark and Sons Hardware (later Clark’s Home Hardware) in Cooee in 1946 and ran it for 17 years before Alison’s father, Bruce Clark, and uncle, John Clark, took on ownership in 1964 after Les passed away in 1963. Upon John’s passing in 2001, Alison’s brother, Paul, became part-owner with Bruce until the hardware store closed in 2007.
After high school, Alison completed a Bachelor of Business with a major in marketing and a minor in accounting with the University of Tasmania, after which she went on to work for The Advocate Newspaper for two years and another newspaper in Queensland for six months. It was in Queensland that Alison heard a radio segment with well-known Australian financial analyst and advisor Paul Clitheroe about controlling your own destiny through business ownership, which prompted Alison to give the business world a crack.
Alison’s retail journey began in January 1998 when, in her twenties, she bought a dried flowers and gifts business called ‘Cottage Collectables’ at 18 Mount St. Her mum, Marie Clark, partnered with Alison as quarter owner. Alison renamed the business ‘Indigo House’ and leaned into the gift-store aspect, offering a range of gifts, homewares and home décor.
After six years of business, Marie retired in 2004, and Alison continued running the business on her own. After 12 years at 18 Mount St, her landlord offered her the premises next-door – on the corner of Mount and Wilmot Streets – where, 16 years later, Indigo House remains today.
In 2026, Indigo House continues to grow and thrive. Going from hand-made gift vouchers in the early days to now stocking several major brands, the shop’s large, high-quality range is a testament to Alison’s hard work. Indigo House offers a variety of modern contemporary gifts, homewares and décor, and even has a baby section. Alison changes her stock regularly to keep everything looking fresh and interesting.
Alison was engaged when she bought the business, and in the time since 1998, she has married and has had two children. Passing down her family’s retail legacy, her boys have grown up in the retail space – playing out the back of the shop on Saturdays, and, as they grew older, serving customers on weekends.
Alison now employs four staff and has pared back her own working hours. She still enjoys it after 28 years and feels privileged to have had a career that she’s really enjoyed.
Alison believes several factors are key to her success: being present in her business, staying current, engaging with her customers and valuing them, and being present in the local community. Alison continues to make sure Indigo House is a welcoming space for her customers – whether they simply want to have a browse or come in for a chat. She takes the time to build connections with her clientele and, incredibly, knows most of her customers by name.
Throughout the years, Alison has been busy in the Burnie community. Notably, she was involved in the now-closed Burnie-business-promotions group City Link for about 10 years, and she was part of the group of retailers who set up ‘Local Loyalties’ in 2012, a loyalty-card system between Burnie businesses.
Indigo House won two City Link awards: the Social Media & Online Presence award and the Best Small Business award.
Find Indigo House on Facebook here.
