Tara Murray
Keilor Park’s Sandra Mizzi is a broken woman.
Her business, Events on Paper which she has run for 13 years, is on the brink of collapsing as Victoria goes through a fourth lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I don’t think the government understands what lockdown does to events,” she said.
“It’s heartbreaking for all the suppliers associated with it, it’s our livelihood. It’s what puts the food on the table, it’s what puts the kids through school.“
Ms Mizzi said making invitations for weddings and events was already hard before the past 12 months, with a number of online alternatives popping up.
She said she was left with the fallout of people needing to cancel their weddings and parties.
“People put down a deposit and then the event is cancelled after I’ve done my order, so I’ve got a large amount of stocks just sitting there, place cards, seating charts, invitations.
“Some brides have paid for their orders and decided not to collect them. Others haven’t been in contact at all.
“I spent yesterday doing a massive stocktake, looking to sell off a lot of stock that is no longer required.”
Ms Mizzi said she wasn’t alone in the industry, with friends who work at event venues, photographers and wedding car hire companies all impacted.
She said people were hesitant to book anything in case they then had to cancel it down the track and it was causing stress for the industry and brides and grooms alike.
“Because of the per square metre rule, people who were having 300, 400, 500 people, are now are having smaller weddings.
“Having 300 invite bookings was quite profitable. Now it’s 35 to 40 invites and by the time you order the stock, pay for delivery and make them, there’s not much profit.”
Having lost confidence in the market, Ms Mizzi said she was looking at downsizing her business. She said that her accountant and the council told her she wasn’t eligible for any business grants.
She said she can’t afford to have it as her full-time wage anymore.
“I want to keep going, but I don’t know if I can,” she said.
“I found other work last year and now that has finished I’ve kept putting in applications. Heaps of people are out of work, so there are 400 applications for each job.
“I might just keep it going adhoc. My house is set up as a showroom and I have thousands of dollars worth of equipment.”
