General News
6 August, 2024
Grampians Health goes bananas over appealing new look by local designer
Warracknabeal designer Johanna Glennen won a Gorman design contest.
A packet of banana lollies found while on a Queensland holiday sparked inspiration for Warracknabeal jewellery designer Johanna Glennen, and that inspiration earned her $3000 and more than $30,000 worth of scrubs for Wimmera Base Hospital and Rural Northwest Health's Warracknabeal campus.
Ms Glennen entered her banana-inspired design into a competition to design scrubs for Australian fashion label Gorman, deciding to enter only four hours before the contest closed.
She said that for a few years she had been contemplating entry to the annual competition which offered.
"I had been thinking about entering again this year but the holiday was taking priority and I thought it was going to drift by again," she said.
"Then I was buying a newspaper and saw a bag of banana lollies hanging on the counter display, they are my favourite lolly and I just bought a pack and decided that's what my design would be.
"We made a dash to Office Works and grabbed a few essentials then I sat by the pool with scissors and paper, cutting out bananas. I drew the black outlines in then I took a picture of it, turned it into a digital file and uploaded it to the competition.
"When the idea came to me, it just came out perfectly in my brain and I think I had like 30 minutes to spare before the entries closed."
Ms Glennen had a clothing store in Warracknabeal and before she started designing and making earrings under the brand name Pink Nade.
The earrings proved so popular that Pink Nade became her sole focus.
Ms Glennen said she had wanted to enter the competition in previous years but never got there.
"Each year I would 'self sabotage' and miss the deadline and I decided this year I was going to get the entry in, even though it was last minute. If you knew me, that's how I roll," she said.
The competition was decided by followers of the Gorman label and Ms Glennen was thankful knowing that many of her Pink Nade customers had voted in her favour.
As well as the prize money, Ms Glennen was able to ensure 300 sets of scrubs, valued at over $30,000, would be donated to the health service of her choice.
"Living and working in Warracknabeal, I looked to donate to the hospital there but they only needed about 10 sets so I chose Wimmera Base Hospital to receive the rest," Ms Glennen said.
"My first four children were all born in Warrnambool but the last child was born at Wimmera Base Hospital and recently he badly broke his arm. He was taken to WBH and they really looked after him well so I was always going to donate the rest of them to that team.
"I also have a few good friends who work there."
Grampians Health Horsham's acting Site Director Katie Walsgott said her team had been absolutely thrilled to receive the scrubs.
"We've shared them among Grampians Health Horsham acute and emergency nurses as well as our allied health, care communities and medical teams and they look so amazing," said Mrs Walsgott.
"They are bright and fun to wear and the patients have really enjoyed the look of them too.
"They are especially ideal for wearing in the children's ward and the emergency department, it's such a great design."