Central Queensland's Remy Streeter keeps regional entrepreneurial spirit alive

The 22-year-old co-runs Palmvale red Brahmans and Droughtmasters with her mum Beth Streeter, stepping up to help run the stud operation after her father passed away in 2016 from a lung condition.

She launched her online jewellery business in March 2020, but her entrepreneurial spirit goes back earlier- selling beaded jewellery and cupcakes at the local show when she was just eight-years-old.

Remy said her creative spark likely came from her grandmothers who were both talented seamstresses, as well as her aunty who loved jewellery making.

While the first iteration of her business Dust & Hide, soon to be re-named RJ Silver, focused mainly on leather and pearl jewellery pieces, a cattle orientated trip to the US in early 2023 inspired her to learn silversmithing.

It was jewellery makers across Arizona who inspired her to lean into working with silver and start experimenting with turquoise and shattuckite stones.

Remy could have let the tyranny of distance get to her, seeing as though most silversmithing workshops were held in Brisbane, but like many regional Australians she turned to YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram to teach herself.

"I was getting pretty impatient and I didn't want to wait to do a course so I just thought bugger it - I'll just do it," she said.

Remy said her first silver piece was finished in a couple of days, and although it "didn't turn out great" she used it as a learning curve.

"I just researched more and learned from my mistakes - if you do something and it doesn't work out you don't do it again," she said.

After a couple of months of trial and error she dispatched her first silver pieces and has since gone on to create necklaces, earrings, rings, hat pins and picks that have been sent all around the country.

Remy said she spends around 20 hours per week fulfilling jewellery orders, usually dedicating evenings or weekends after cattle handling duties were done.

This time of year was always particularly busy for the Streeter women of Palmvale who were preparing 15 bulls to sell at Rockhampton Brahman Week and two Droughtmaster bulls at the National Sale in Gracemere.

They also had around 300 females of both breeds about to start calving.

In addition to helping her mum run Palmvale, Remy has also launched Palmvale R, where she runs about 20 - 30 breeders of her own and will be putting one of her own bulls up at the Brahman Week sale this year.

She said she was feeling a bit nervous coming into bull sale season, but said despite sales being a bit back she thought they had still been relatively strong and nothing "too shocking".

It wasn't the first time selling bulls into the sale for this young gun though, she sold her first bull when she was just eight-years-old and has been selling bulls fairly consistently ever since.

She put those profits into purchasing her first car and now continually re-invests back into her stud herd by buying heifers to improve genetics.

Another business venture worth mentioning was Remy's AI business, RJS Repro, where she travels through Queensland, usually inseminating around 1000 - 1500 head per year from September through to March and sometimes into April.

She learnt from Central Queensland AI specialist Greg Fawcett when she was just 15.

In terms of what was on the cards next for this driven young business-owner, Remy was working on re-branding her silversmith business to make it more personal to her, continuing to work on her online and social media marketing, and launching an entire line of jewellery for one big drop.

Additionally she said she would like to one day like to launch her own line of apparel with t-shirts and hats.

"I'll get to that in the future I guess, I just want to perfect what I'm doing now," she said.