Last month, under a blue sky and the shade of jacarandas, a 500-strong crowd danced to the global grooves of DJ Coco Maria in an open-air Bangalow courtyard. The soiree was a highlight in the inaugural Dingo Festival, a four-day celebration of jazz, funk, soul and dance music held across the NSW Northern Rivers.
Usually a car park, the courtyard belongs to The Lumber Yard, a micro-village of fashion boutiques, Woods Café and Flo Records. For Gary Ashton, that afternoon was the manifestation of what he’d always dreamed his record store could become.
“The ambition was never just to sell records, but create a place where people of different ages, interests and backgrounds can connect through live music and DJs,” Gary tells Club 77. “I’m biased of course, but when the sun is shining, I don't think there is a better venue in New South Wales. It’s the kind of experience I hope we can create many more times.”
In just three years, Flo Records has become a fixture of the region’s creative community - a hub for DJs, collectors and the musically curious. Its roots, however, stretch back to Gary’s teenage years growing up in 1990s Blackpool.
“I've always been a passionate record collector. I inherited my parents' collection and got my first turntables when I was sixteen, which later led to DJ gigs around Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds. I never imagined that my passion for music would one day lead to a business.”
Moving to Australia in 2013, Gary settled in Newtown working as a contract manager. Seven years later, he and his young family joined the COVID-era migration to northern NSW. Gary kept his corporate job, working remotely, but the region’s entrepreneurial spirit soon had him dreaming of a creative venture of his own.
“Everybody who lives here are either building houses, working for themselves or doing something creative. I’d always hoped to get off the corporate hamster wheel one day, so I decided to take money out of my super and spent it on lots of record collections which I started selling at local markets.”
As business gathered momentum, Gary began making bi-weekly road trips up and down the coast between Brisbane and Coffs Harbour in search of records, squeezing in work calls between rummaging through second-hand vinyl hauls.
“The resurgence in record collecting was crazy back then. And because everyone was locked up at home, it meant less competition for me to source them,” Gary recalls. “Growing up in England, I didn’t know much about Australian music culture, but that time gave me a better understanding of Aussie music and which classic records the public wanted.”
The vinyl-slinging side hustle soon became a brick-and-mortar reality. In September 2023, Gary opened his first store - a modest 18sqm space in The Lumber Yard. He named it Flo, in tribute to his late daughter, Florence. Twelve months later, the store moved a few doors down into its current home, a space twice the size. If the sharp symmetry and white walls of the original Flo took its cues from the likes of Rush Hour and Phonica, the new store has a more rustic feel, its recycled timber interiors lending a lived-in charm. A little less European chic, a little more Northern Rivers.
Gary says two of Flo’s biggest customers in its first year were instrumental in shaping its design.
“Miles [Doughman] built the custom sound system and Spencer [Lambourn-Hull] did the vintage wood install. Spencer makes custom furniture that he sells for a lot of money in local boutiques, but he did the store fit out for next to nothing because he wanted to contribute to what I was trying to build. People love it.”
Flo’s musical identity is similarly a reflection of its environment. Connections with Byron Bay restaurants, listening bars and local DJs has broadened store selections beyond 1970s-80s classics and trending indie bands. Electronic LPs and house 12-inches now share the racks with Afro, Latin, funk and disco, united by rhythm and what gets people moving.
“We’re less interested in whether a record is electronic and more in what it can do on a dance floor,” says Gary. “Our store manager Zac grew up in the area and has been instrumental in our music curation. He’s out at parties every weekend, hearing what’s being played and talking to people about what they’re into.”
“During the week, apart from the diggers coming through, we’ll sell more of the mainstream stuff. And on the weekends, it’s the DJs coming in prepping for their gigs.”
Some weekends, digging gives way to in-store events and listening sessions, with the DJ booth, custom sound system and thoughtfully considered acoustics coming into their own.
“The events are a natural extension of the shop,” says Gary. “It was important to make the space work both as a shop and as a place for people to gather and listen to music together.”
Byron’s festival fields may have fallen silent with the loss of Splendour in the Grass, Falls and Bluesfest, but local dance floors tell another story. Between Mahico’s open-air gatherings, massive parties at The Beachy, curated nights at Paradiso Music Room and the much-loved Nudge Nudge Wink Wink soirees, there’s still plenty competing for space in the event calendar.
“The weekend we hosted Francois K at Paradiso, The Great Northern had dub godfather Mad Professor, while Eris Drew and Octa Octa were playing at Coorabell Hall. It was crazy,” says Gary.
Flo has slowly been finding its place in the local scene. Hosting dub reggae icon Pachyman marked a turning point for the business, establishing the Lumber Yard courtyard as a home for Flo-curated events. By the time Coco Maria stepped up to close Dingo Festival, it had become an intimate alfresco dance floor.
“The goal isn’t to recreate a city nightclub in Bangalow,” insists Gary. “It’s to build something that makes sense for our community and location. I think some locals were unsure of us at first, but after our third birthday and Dingo, I hope they see we’re about music, community and the celebration that comes with that.”
Next up is another collaboration with Paradiso Music Room to host celebrated house luminary Move D - a dream booking for Gary.
“Move D is an artist I’ve followed for years. I’ve probably spent more time listening to his mixes than any other DJ. His musicality and the way he moves between sounds really resonates with me. To share that with our community is such a great opportunity.”
Flo’s reach, meanwhile, is stretching well beyond Bangalow. Online orders now account for around 30% of sales, with DJ-oriented records making up roughly 90% of that trade.
“I’m sending more records to Melbourne and Western Australia than anywhere else, which is surprising,” says Gary.
He’ll also have more time to pack them. After years balancing contracts with crates, Gary’s corporate career has come to an end, leaving him free to devote himself to the business.
“I’d secretly been hoping to be made redundant for a while so I could concentrate on Flo full-time. But now that it’s happened,” he chuckles, “you’ve got to be careful what you wish for!”