Uptown Picture Framing reopens in Alstonville after the Lismore flood

In the days after the February flood hit, Penny Newman was forced to make a difficult decision on whether to keep her business, Uptown Picture Framing, in the Lismore CBD or start again somewhere else.

After enduring the heartbreak of sorting through the mud and debris that remained when floodwater went over the roof of her Keen St shop, she decided she couldn't risk having to do it all again.

"I literally could not leave and go on a holiday and relax. I still feel a bit weird, when Lismore goes on, but I just felt it was right for me," Penny said.

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The loss of her shop meant having to work from her home for six months until a premises became available, and it was difficult.

As was trying to find a flood free place at an affordable price.

But now, Penny and her son Jake Greenhalgh have reopened in Alstonville Plaza, and they are excited by what the new location can offer.

As well as being flood-free and central to their customers, it offers the chance to attract some new customers, with lots of interest from the locals.

"Moving was a fresh start, and somewhere I can grow," Penny said.

The new store means they can expand and order in more materials, without the worry of how to move it all if it should flood again.

Penny said she packed up twice one year when foods threatened, and other times she didn't, and it was always a case of weighing the risks against the enormous task of packing up and moving equipment.

"It's really difficult to move, we need to get specialist removalists, and it's quite nerve wracking - that something could get bumped or wrecked," she said.

Planning for floods was key to getting businesses to reinvest in the Lismore CBD, she said.

"You can't hope for planning though... you need to plan for planning," Penny said.

As seen during the recovery, she said there could be a hub that offered help when it came time to pack up - a place to go to find a removalist truck or helping hands when a flood threatened would be an enormous help for small businesses, who often don't have lots of people they can call on to help pack up.

"I don't have a big team, just the two of us, and sometimes your friends and family just can't get to the CBD because of flooding."

The new shop is back up and running and now is the time to pull out all of those artworks from under the bed that need some love, and drop it in to Penny and Jake to work their magic.

You can find Uptown Picture Framing at Shop 18 in the Alstonville Plaza, or online at uptownpictureframing.com.au.