On International Women’s Day every year, the voices and stories of women across the world are celebrated, as we address the issues that cause gender inequality and diversity. But despite these issues remaining, such voices and stories take a backseat once the day is done.
We think it’s worth doing the opposite and actively challenging the issues that create these gaps in our industry. So, we’ve launched this weekly series, Wednesday Women, where we’ll profile the stories of the inspiring women in this great and wide industry.
Today we speak with Imogen Murphy, Store Manager at Marrickville-based bottle shop and bar Thirstville.
Almost 12 years ago, Murphy made the move from Lennox Head in northern New South Wales to Syndey, landing a job at Mr. Wong where she quickly became infatuated with wine.
“One of the sommeliers there, the way he spoke about wine was just so beautiful. Straight away, I was intrigued. I wondered, why is there such a history about it? Why is there such a way of serving the wine, like the way you present the label and smell the cork? I decided I needed to find out everything I could about wine,” she recalls.
After several years spent working at Dan Murphy’s and completing her WSET Level Two and Level Three Awards in Wines, Murphy transitioned to independent liquor retail, joining the team at Darlinghurst Fine Wines.
“It wasn’t the same domestic or imported wines that Dan’s were doing, it was small-batch husband and wife teams or passion projects, and my manager at the time, Ciara, spoke about the wines the same way they did at Mr. Wong and straight away I became smitten.”
Building on her passion, Murphy stayed with Darlinghurst Fine Wines for seven years, of which she spent four years looking for her own store with her husband, before finding Thirstville.
“Our first year has been a dream come true. It’s not been the best year for any industry, but we’re adding value anytime it’s quiet. I think where it might have been disheartening otherwise, we’re still really motivated,” Murphy explains.
“One thing I’ve learnt, as generic as it sounds, is that it’s okay to ask for help. It doesn’t make me any less capable of what I’m doing if I ask someone to help me with it, and without family and friends coming to help us, we wouldn’t be where we are. I’m already so happy with my achievements that I don’t need to prove anything else to anyone – it’s about sharing the load.”
A work of art
Although her career in liquor retail spans more than a decade, just one year since launching her own store, Murphy’s achievements were recognised at the 2024 Australian Liquor Industry Awards (ALIAs) where she scooped the inaugural Best Liquor Retail Manager award.
Speaking about the win, Murphy said: “I am absolutely obsessed with the career that I have chosen and find that I am constantly satisfied with the work I put into it, but to gain the acknowledgement from my peers in the industry was unexpected but also so rewarding.”
Elaborating on her passion for the industry, Murphy shared her deep appreciation of the creativity and the story behind each drink, and sharing this with the consumer.
“When I think of the liquor store that we have, it’s an art shop. Every product is created by an artist, and you’ll see when people come in that they want to browse the shelves, they want to dawdle and look at things. People want to turn every label, because everything has a story, and it came from somewhere beautiful,” she explains.
As much as Murphy feels her customers are inspired by the beauty of the products at Thirstville, she also wants them to feel inspired by the staff, and so personality plays a big part in her approach to hiring.
“When we hire, we hire for personality, not knowledge. We can teach people about wine, it’s easy to teach because it’s so fun, but we want our staff to inspire our customers as much as the wine does. We’ve always joked, in liquor retail we’re also like psychologists. There’s got to be room to be sincere when you’re interacting with people.”
At Thirstville, the customer’s enjoyment is at the heart of the experience, which also translates to the vast array of stock you’ll find in-store, designed to cater to each person that walks through the door – and in an area as community driven as Marrickville, it’s been well received.
“We sell what people want, not what we think people want. We’re happy to be told, no, that didn’t fit the community’s desire in product. We’re not biased towards any products, and we just listen to our customers.
“We have made sure we don’t sign contracts with suppliers so that we’re not beholden to anyone. We don’t want to lose the flexibility to offer everybody everything, and Marrickville feels like a breath of fresh air,” Murphy continued.
Jumping onboard
While Murphy is extremely passionate about the retail liquor industry, and sharing her passion with customers, she is equally as passionate about sharing it with other women.
Encouraging other women to pursue careers in liquor retail, she said: “I don’t think there’s a better time than right now. It’s a really fun industry, and there are now so many more women around. It’s been a while getting there, but I think a lot of people want to hear from women, and see other women thrive.
“We sell a lot of wine by saying ‘this is from a fully female winemaking team’, and people are instantly sold. I listen to a lot of podcasts with female wine judges, wine writers, wine makers – there’s a lot of inspiration coming from other women, you’d be silly not to jump onboard and thrive along,” she concluded.