Australia may have fallen into recession but some regional West Australian businesses are emerging as the surprise winners from the pandemic.
They are experiencing strong sales despite the economy shrinking amid a slump in household spending.
Albany plant nursery owner Grant Regan said his sales doubled from what they were this time last year.
"People have had more time in their gardens," he said.
"Some also were looking at food security and decided they need to kick their gardens along and prepare — maybe that's the basis of it."
At one point, demand was so high the centre sold out of seedlings and it had to grow its own to supply customers.
Since then the spike has subsided, but Mr Regan says he expects his sales to remain strong for the foreseeable future.
"It has definitely got people into their gardens … a lot more people are into growing veggies now," he said.
"This reignition of gardening in Albany, I think it's here to stay."
People 'staying home', going surfing
Across town in the Albany CBD, musical instrument retailer Colin France experienced one of his biggest months in 17 years of business.
COVID-19 restrictions meant many people found they had more time on their hands and some decided to spend it learning a musical instrument.
"It's been very good … [I'm] probably up 30 to 40 percent [in sales] on last year; that's not bad, I'm happy," Mr France said.
"I'm surprised, I thought it would go the other way.
"Apparently people are staying home playing musical instruments."
Mr France has also experienced supply issues as many of the products he sells are manufactured in Wuhan, China.
But he was confident his new customers would become long-term repeat customers.
"We're going to have these people coming back, buying strings, books, accessories, maybe upgrading," Mr France said.
"I don't think it will die off; we'll probably have a brighter future."
It is a similar story for Wayne Winchester who is a surfboard restorer and seller based between Albany and Denmark.
The contactless nature of surfing has seen a growth in the sport during the pandemic and that is good news for Mr Winchester.
"More people in the water means more damage to surfboards — that's where the repair side of the business has picked up a fair bit," he said.
"There's a lot more people getting into surfing as well … so there's an uptake of new boards for beginners."
Uncertain future but 'cautiously optimistic'
Mr Winchester said there had been an influx of work since WA's regional borders opened and he expected summer to be busy due to high numbers of tourists.
He also runs a short stay accommodation business which, in the last two or three months, has "never been busier".
Albany Chamber of Commerce chief executive Benita Catalini said the state's hard border and lack of community transmission of COVID-19 had bolstered business confidence.
However, the winding back of JobKeeper and JobSeeper assistance meant the long-term future was uncertain.
"I still remain cautiously optimistic because we have seen businesses respond, recognise we're in a new environment, adapt … and be resilient," she said.
"It's just not in our nature to give up."
