But, she stressed, that was not necessarily a bad thing.

After seven years at the helm, Ms Phillips last month wound-up long-standing Orange retail business Cinnabar in Kite Street and while she said it was tough decision, it has been a long-time coming.

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"COVID has had something to do with it but I think it's been a conglomerate of things that have happened over the past two years that have brought me to this point," she said.

"Corona was just the straw that broke the camel's back literally."

Camels are something dear to Ms Phillips' heart and it was time spent with them, not only at her Spring Terrace bed and breakfast, but in Central Australia, that made her question her commitment to a full-time retail business.

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She said in that respect, the time away from the shop while in lockdown, led to her reassessing her commitment to Cinnabar in preference to building a niche bed and breakfast experience at her Spring Terrace home.

"I've got a niche sitting out there," she said, explaining her plans to expand the business to a destination experience.

"Retail's not a niche anymore, I'm not online savvy, I don't really wish to be," she said.

"And when corona came back around and we had to lock up, I just said that's enough. I don't want to do it anymore."

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The financial burden of lockdowns also helped sway her.

"That's a lot of dead rent, dead electricity, dead bills, insurance and all those things that go absolutely nowhere and you can't get any of it back. You can't make anything out of it. So it was just a case of righto, now's the time."

President of Business Orange Jack Evans believes this year's Christmas trade will decide the future of a number of retail and hospitality businesses in Orange.

He said "high-street" retail and hospitality businesses took risks when restocking and needed that risk to pay off during Christmas this year.

January and February would also be critical and he urged residents to considering spending their money locally.

"Make sure you really think about shopping locally," he said.

"When you spend your money here your helping your mates and your family."

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