The story behind Narrabeen’s Ngumpie Weaving is just as beautiful as many of its creations…
For Tegan Murdock, founder of Ngumpie Weaving (pronounced numb-pie), a rejection from a teaching position five years ago led her to build something extraordinary. Today, Tegan has a thriving business that’s been featured in Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire and Women’s Weekly, while staying true to her Aboriginal heritage and cultural traditions.
A proud Aboriginal woman of the Barkindtji tribe originating from Coomealla, Lake Victoria and the Mungo regions on her mother’s side, Tegan also belongs to the Yorta Yorta and Dhudaroah tribes originating from the Shepparton area from her father’s ancestors.
“Ngumpie in Barkindtji means ‘Beautiful,” says Tegan. “This is what my Nanna Shirl used to call me when I was younger. Nan is no longer with us, so I knew my business name had to be this.”
Tegan grew up on Country in Coomealla (25kms north west of Mildura on the NSW and Victorian border of Australia) on the Namatjira Mission. Her early years were rich with creativity – weekends filled with painting, crafting, and watching her father work with wood. “My whole family is very creative,” she recalls. “We were always creating and doing something.”
“My Dad and Pop built our home out of old tin and wood they collected from the local tip,” shares Tegan. “We didn’t have running water, or flushing toilets and we used an open fire place for a kitchen. We didn’t have much and life was simple. I often think back to those days with a sense of pride and happiness.”
After meeting her husband (a Northern Beaches local) when he was visiting Albury, the pair later settled in Narrabeen. Tegan previously worked in education, supporting Aboriginal students at a local school. When a subsequent job application proved unsuccessful, she turned to the weaving skills her mother had taught her.
“I remember feeling something click when I started weaving,” Tegan reflects. “And then it got me thinking – why aren’t more Aboriginal people weaving? Why isn’t this in my community? Because this is medicine. This is healing.” This realisation sparked her to share more about traditional practices on social media.
When a photo of a pair of earrings she’d made unexpectedly “blew up” on Instagram, Tegan took it as a sign to redirect her energy into creating the Ngumpie Weaving brand. Her timing couldn’t have been more perfect. It was the beginning of COVID lockdowns, when people were looking for creative outlets (remember sourdough?). Her at-home weaving kits went gangbusters.
In March of the previous year, Tegan opened her shop in Narrabeen, creating a space to showcase not just her own work but her family’s creations too. “We want everyone in Australia to have a piece of Aboriginal art in their house,” she explains.
The local community embraced her immediately – when she reluctantly announced her shop opening just days before (thinking no one would turn up), Tegan was thrilled to find the space packed with supportive neighbours, many staying late into the night to weave together.
Tegan’s work has since garnered attention far beyond the Northern Beaches. Through Instagram, she’s connected with major publications and brands, leading to features in Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Women’s Weekly and an collaboration with the South Sydney Rabbitohs football team (below).
Today, Tegan balances running her shop, fulfilling online orders, and hosting corporate workshops, all while raising her two daughters – 12-year-old Mia, a budding digital artist, and 10-year-old Emily, who’s already showing entrepreneurial spirit by making bracelets to sell in the shop. Her days often extend into late-night creative sessions when the house is quiet and she can focus uninterrupted on her craft.
Despite her success, Tegan remains grounded in her father’s words of wisdom: “Don’t forget where you come from.” For her, the commercial success is secondary to her mission of keeping culture alive and inspiring the next generation. From her humble beginnings in a tiny hut in Far West NSW to running a successful business on the Northern Beaches, she’s showing her girls that nothing is out of reach.
Looking ahead, Tegan continues to share her knowledge with other Indigenous artists who reach out for guidance, embodying the spirit of communal support she learned from her mother and sister. “The world’s hard enough,” she says, “so why not just share and help everyone?”
Through her work, Tegan is weaving together past and present, creating connections between cultures, and showing that sometimes life’s disappointments turn into our greatest opportunities.
You can follow Tegan’s journey on Instagram, and we think her designs and kits make great Christmas presents too.
Ngumpie Weaving
1483A Pittwater Rd, North Narrabeen
Website: https://ngumpieweaving.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ngumpie_weaving/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ngumpieweaving
