Emma Norton-Knight, formerly the manager of the store, upped her stake in the business considerably when she took ownership in early July.

Located at 153 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood and boasting its own mobile decorating department, Material World is well known in the window furnishings sector, as well as being one of the few remaining fabric stores in Sydney.

Having operated for over 15 years, it has a loyal customer following.

“It’s a major step to go from employee to owner,” said Norton-Knight. “There is a great deal of work that goes on behind the scenes and I’m sure a lot of long hours, but this is a challenge that excites me and it’s an industry that I’m passionate about.”

With its own decorating department, dubbed Decorate Your World, the business specialises in window furnishings and a wide range of other home décor products.

“Apart from our extensive range of fabrics we also stock lots of goodies like cut work quilts and organic cotton sheet set, as well as custom and readymade curtains and blinds.”

Armed with a degree in economics from the University of Sydney, Norton-Knight has supplemented her business smarts with widespread travel, taking in the fabric mills and dye houses of India and Thailand, as well as leading interior and design trade fairs.

“When you’re passionate about textiles it’s important to keep abreast of the changing trends,” she said. “It’s important that I know what’s happening in the industry globally and I think this is also important to our customers.”