Summary

Zurlia Istiviani Usman arrived in Australia on a scholarship in 1988, followed soon after by her husband Gofar and daughter. Returning to Indonesia in 1992 after their visas expired they re-returned on temporary visas and obtained permanent residency in 1996. Zurlia opened an Islamic clothes store in Sydney Road Brunswick in 2003 (now EMAAN in Sydney Road Coburg) and since 2018 it has been managed by one of her five daughters Anisa who has evolved and broadened the business. During the 2020 pandemic, the family has adapted the kinds of goods sold, including becoming an international mask supplier using local ethical manufacturing for the first time.

Early Years:

Zurlia Istiviani Usman was born in Malang in east Java, Indonesia in 1962. After completing a degree in agriculture, she lectured at the University of Brawijaya in Malang for three years until deciding that she wanted to extend her qualifications further. In 1988, Zurlia successfully applied for a scholarship offered through the Australian Universities' International Development Program. By this time, Zurlia had married Ghofar Ismail, a fellow student she had met at university.

Temporary then Permanent Migration:

Zurlia arrived in Melbourne on 5 February, 1988, having left behind her husband and young daughter, who both followed six months later. She completed her masters in Agricultural Science at La Trobe University, sharing a university flat with Ghofar and daughter Fauzia. The family returned to Indonesia when their visas expired in 1992 but came back on temporary visas and a desire to stay permanently. In 1996, after two years of waiting, their application for permanent residency was approved.

Opening a Business:

Zurlia has five daughters and in 2004 she opened an Islamic clothing store House of Emaan in Sydney Road Brunswick, which later relocated to Sydney Road Coburg and renamed EMAAN. The store caters for a range of Muslim and non-Muslim customers and Zurlia enjoys the diversity of her clientele and the area. While she and her family return to Indonesia every two years to visit her relatives, the country she first came to for a short stay, is now her permanent home.

Developing the Business:

Zurlia and her husband Ghofar have watched the business evolve over 16 years into an institution for the growing Muslim community in Australia, whilst bringing up their five daughters. Passing the reins of EMAAN to her second daughter, Anisa, the next chapter of EMAAN as a clothing, books and lifestyle business, began in 2018 as she sought to revamp the business to be ethical and environmentally conscious. A mainstay of Sydney Road in Coburg, the Ismail family is, states Zurlia, 'excited to be a part of the ever changing tapestry of Australia.'

Impact of Covid Pandemic:

Zurlia reflects on the 2020 pandemic crisis: 'Small businesses like ours have been hit hard by the lockdown restrictions due to COVID-19. At the same time we're also celebrating our 16th year of business this year, so we're trying to stay positive and grateful for all the success Allah has blessed us with. We've weathered many storms over the years, so we're resilient and optimistic that we'll get through this storm too.

It's important for EMAAN to be adaptable during these challenging times. For example, we're expanding our books collection as our customers are spending more time at home and have more time to read. We never had the time to focus on our books before as our customers mainly know us mainly for our clothes, so this forced us in a good direction for our business.

We also sell face masks since governments around the world have begun enforcing or encouraging them. The restrictions and delays on overseas imports forced us to manufacture them locally. This turned out to be great as we were able to venture into local ethical manufacturing for the first time. We're excited to see if we can ethically manufacture our clothes locally too in the future.'

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