Jennaya and Andrew from North/South have sold out their newest piece of Canberra merch, a lamp designed after the iconic ACT Bus Shelters. Photo: Supplied.
Too often, Canberrans hear from outsiders who never truly appreciate the greatness of our nation’s capital that their home is boring.
It’s something that truly frustrates every ACT resident, but perhaps none more so than Jennaya Montgomery and Andrew Ly, who adopted Canberra as their home in 2021 and are now showcasing the hidden gems of Australia’s capital city through some special merch.
Odds are, if you’ve been living in Canberra over the last three to five years, you would have seen the iconic slogan, ‘Canberra Thinks You’re Boring Too’ on a mug, a pair of socks or even a T-shirt.
Perhaps more recently, you have seen some lamps replicating the instantly recognisable shape of the famous Canberra bus stops?
If so, you have uncovered the products created by North/South, a small business with an unintentionally punny name that celebrates all things Canberra.
Jennaya, originally from Sydney’s Northern Beaches, moved to Ottawa for work. There she met Andrew and the two hit it off.
The pair created North/South after moving to Canberra from Canada following the COVID-19 Pandemic. Both Jennaya and Andrew fell in love with Canberra almost instantly, and just as quickly as the romance with the city blossomed, their disdain for people knocking it also grew.
“When living in Canada, we often had people ask the question, ‘Why are you living in Ottawa when you have this whole country to choose from?’ Andrew said.
“It was almost the same question when we moved to Canberra. When I met Jennaya’s family, they said, ‘So you left beautiful Canada to live in Canberra’, and they just couldn’t kind of wrap their heads around it, and we noticed that was a trend.
“One day it just kind of hit us. We found a cheeky way to bite back, and we came up with the slogan, ‘Canberra Thinks You’re Boring Too’.”
Jennyaya said she believes the reason people are so harsh on Canberra links back to something most primary school students are forced to do.
“I blame the Year 6 camps that everyone goes on because it’s ridiculous when you ask someone, ‘Oh, have you spent any time in Canberra?’ and they’ll say, ‘No, I haven’t been there since my Year 6 camp’,” she said.
“I blame everyone’s first experience in Canberra being when they’re like 10 or 11 years old, and they’re forced to go around Parliament House.
“I did when I was in Year 6 as well, and I also didn’t think very highly of Canberra after that experience. But we’ve discovered living here that it’s quite a fun and quirky place, and has lots of distinctive character.”
Since launching North/South in April 2023, the pair have come up with some unique items that are distinctly Canberra, including magnets featuring the iconic ‘Awesome Chips’ slogan, and Christmas ornaments that replicate the infamous Belconnen Owl.
The bus shelter lamp in action! Photo: Supplied.
But perhaps their best is their newest innovation, a handcrafted lamp design replicating the iconic Canberra Bus Shelters.
After initially selling out of their first two hundred lamps, North/South have gone on to sell another 1100.
“We were doing pre-orders up until this week. We closed them because we need to get on top of making the lamps, so we’ve sent out just about 300. We’ve got another 1000 or so to go,” Andrew said.
“It’s been a really cool project, and it’s been so cool to see people really enjoy it. One of the cool things we’ve put on the packaging was that the lamps have been made 100 metres away from one of the actual bus shelters.”
One of the lamps already handed out was to the family of the architect who created the bus shelters, Clem Cummings. Andrew said it was an honour and a privilege to give them a lamp and get their stamp of approval.
“We gifted one of the lamps to Clem Cummings’ wife and got the family’s official endorsement,” he said
“It felt really special knowing we’ve made something distinct to Canberra, which even people overseas have asked for. We had one lady in Germany say she’s from Canberra and feeling homesick and that having the lamp is like having a piece of home.
“To make something like that, which is endorsed by the family of the person who made it, it’s pretty cool.”
To purchase any of the distinctly Canberra merchandise, visit North/South.
