Eco-Friendly Practice: Northcity4
At our most recent CWC event, we heard from the group of talented and inspiring women who run Northcity4: an Artist Run Initiative encompassing a shared jewellery and object based design workspace in Brunswick, Melbourne. In addition to providing a workspace and innovative learning environment, Northcity4 is committed to promoting and supporting the integration of sustainability into all aspects of jewellery and object based practice.
During the talk, we heard from Ali Limb, one of NC4's founders and Board Members, about the group's sustainability measures. For those who couldn't make the event, and those who did and want to know more, I caught up with Ali to find out more about NC4's impressive approach to sustainability.
What led to your strong focus on sustainability as a group in the development of Northcity4?
From the start, Northcity4 was determined to create a healthy workplace with an environmentally aware approach. Because we were starting from scratch we saw this as a great opportunity to put steps in place to support this vision.
Through Sustainability Victoria we learnt that 80% of the footprint is locked in with the fit-out so this has informed our process from day one. The concept of the space is open plan and wherever possible the materials used are reclaimed such as our big white moveable wall which was kindly donated by ACCA.
Moveable wall donated by ACCA
Jewellery in particular has many negative impacts on the environment due to mining of metal and stones and chemicals used to clean and finish metal. We wanted to start by making ourselves aware of the issues and to gradually change the way we do things with the aim to reduce our environmental impact and potentially inspire and influence others.
What research and background work did you do to develop your sustainability policy and initiatives?
NC4 has begun a process of mapping the organisations life cycle. The first steps were to understand our potential impact and then begin to develop a policy, which addresses each area of concern. There are many steps needed to reach our ultimate goal but we see this as a journey.
To get started, NC4 signed up for 100% green gas, 25% green electricity (with the aim to increase this steadily), implemented a visible waste system using eco bins, a worm farm to convert our organic waste, plants for air cleaning and a microcline air filter for specific dust and fume extraction.The UBC donated a veggie box so we also grow our own rocket and herbs out the front.
From here we hope to eventually install solar panels, more insulation and begin to build a strong database of ethical suppliers with the plan to influence many of our piers and existing suppliers. We are continuing to research and collate information as we go.
Eco bin waste system at Northcity4
Were there any particularly useful resources you would recommend to other collectives or individuals looking to make their creative practice more environmentally sustainable?
We have been fortunate to receive support and advice from Sustainability Victoria with the initial Life Cycle mapping. NC4 has also signed up for Zero Carbon Moreland through Moreland Energy Foundation Ltd - another great resource.
We also recently signed up to Grow Me The Money, a program run by VECCI designed to help businesses reduce waste and use less resources.
As a jeweler I also often refer to ethical metal-smiths.
Can you tell me a little bit about the "plant pledge" and the reasoning behind it?
When we first started looking at ways to create a green workplace, an obvious option was to introduce plants to help with the air quality and also to create an uplifting environment. Katherine came across this great clip from the TED talks, which inspired us to introduce a plant pledge to our Opening Launch in March.
We had three examples of air cleaning plants and invited people to pledge between $5-$20 towards these plants. We then ordered the plants through CERES and potted them up in pots donated to NC4 or purchased through the tip shop. We are well on our way to greening our space with plants.
Plants purchased with the funds from NC4 plant pledge
Microclene air filter for more specific extraction
I love the sound of your community lunches - how do these contribute to your sustainability focus?
NC4 monthly lunches are an opportunity for the NC4 tenants and board members to invite guests to the studio to share a delicious simple lunch and conversation. The food is all organic and usually purchased at Ceres Saturday market. These lunches often lead to new connections between friends of NC4 and the wider community.
What has been the biggest challenge in addressing sustainability as a collective?
Trying to achieve our goals on a small budget and with limited time is the biggest challenge. We are also working with a large space and an old building; this has presents challenges in regard to insulation and maintaining heat during winter. Our first investment in the building was to insulate the roof with air-cell insulation and install light boxes in the ceiling to give good natural light.
What other projects and opportunities do you have in place to promote sustainability?
As a way of making a more public statement and also creating opportunities for artists working in recycled/reclaimed materials with an environmental message we have a project which involves inviting artists to create and installation on our front window and gate to engage the passing community.
Recent artists involved were Pennie Jagiello and Claire McArdle.
Pennie with her "Speech Bubble" installation in the NC4 front window
Pennie's Speech Bubble piece (above), made from reclaimed trawling net, plastic bags & plastic milk bottles, addressed the issue of ghost nets and raised our awareness about the marine life that is unintentionally caught in these stray nets.
Big Blue Jellyfish (below) was made from plastic bags often mistaken at sea for jellyfish. Pennie also made us aware of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch a giant garbage dump of 44 million kilos of plastic waste floating in the Pacific Ocean.
"Big Blue Jellyfish" by Pennie Jagiello
For her installation, Claire McArdle used recycled "green" bags. Find out more in Claire's NC4 guest blog post.
Claire installing her piece at NC4
Claire's gate adornment
As an individual jeweller who works with precious metals, how are you approaching the desire to make your work more environmentally sustainable?
My jewellery practice has been affected by the research and actions we are taking through NC4. At first the information brought my jewellery to a bit of a standstill, but having begun to work through the issues that have been raised, I am beginning to look at my jewellery differently and finding ways I can reuse materials from previous collections.
I have also set myself the goal to limit myself to work with materials (stones & beads) I have collected over the past 20 years whilst I work toward sourcing my materials via more ethically methods.
Recently Anna Davern (another NC4 Board Member) and I were asked to be involved in an exhibition called Once More With Love. This project involves working with a bag of preloved jewellery and making a piece of contemporary jewellery. The results are great but it was a seriously challenging brief.
Phoebe Miller is a Brisbane-bred, Sydney-fled, Melbourne-embedded gal who enjoys making, spruiking, collecting, exploring, telling her friends where to eat and posting photos of doors on instagram. After several years working in corporate marketing and communications, Phoebe followed the urge to explore her creative side. These days she divides her time between her sustainable fashion accessories label, Simply Phoebe, and freelance PR consulting.
CWC Member Feature - Prue Aja
Today I welcome Prue Aja to the CWC blog as our featured member. Prue is a photographer whose love of imagery began as a teenager growing up in Byron Bay. She worked for several years as a stylist in Sydney and London, but stepped back behind the camera when she was pregnant with her daughter. Prue is now finishing her formal photography studies and has been enjoying working as an assistant to other successful Melbourne based photographers as well as expanding her own portfolio.
What do you create?
Imagery – I am a photographer, working with many different subjects from buildings to children to food and fashion. I am still in the process of defining exactly what style of photographer I am, and enjoying the challenge of trying new things to shoot.
Have you done training in your field or has it come about informally? I am currently studying Diploma of Photoimaging part time at RMIT, I do however come from a fashion background as a stylist working in Sydney and London and wanted to have more of a creative direction in the images. I actually enjoyed landscape and architectural photography from when I was a child, and since studying it has opened me up to working in studio, portraiture, and post-production with photoshop.
What are your main creative inspirations? My partner Nick, who is an artist and always pushing me to test my limits, and my 2 year old daughter who shows another perspective at looking at things. People, and pictures – I love meeting new people and being inspired by their stories or who they are (imagining how I would take their portrait), and flicking through magazines trying to work out how photos where taken using lighting or cameras/ lens.
How do you balance your creative projects with the administration aspect of creative work? To be honest I have a bit of a business/entrepreneurial head, so I enjoy the admin and marketing side of my business’s, but also I try not to mix them, as in I put away a day or so a month to look after tax/invoicing, maintenance, marketing and PR plans. By the end of that day I feel I really have, ticked a lot of boxes, the weight is off my shoulders and can get stuck into being creative again without worrying about logistics. Photography in itself I feel has a big admin side and only a small percentage is in preparing for a shoot, setting everything up, then the post of sorting and editing photos, so you need to be logistical and well organised.
What do you do when you experience a creative block? If I am working from home, I’ll go get in the veggie garden as there is always something that needs doing, even if its 10 minutes pulling out weeds, it clears my head to start again (I also catch myself using it as a form of procrastination). I have also started running this year and found it amazing for clearing your head and stimulating new ideas, and I’m always psyched when I get home. And if it is on a job I just have to remember to stop and breathe and everything begins to fall into place.
What future goals do you have for your creative pursuits? Over the next couple of years while I am studying I want to try out as many different forms of photography while I still have the teachers as mentors (happy to do jobs at a special student rate for any CWC members) and also to build up my portfolio and begin to define the direction I want to go in. I am happy about the position I am currently in my life, and would like to be a really strengthen my skills as a photographer, but also never stop learning new techniques and ways of being creative. Constantly evolve….
Thank you so much Prue for sharing your creativity with us today.
If you would like to find out more about Prue and her work, you can visit her website.
Roslyn Russell is a sewist, blogger and teacher. Her blog, Sew Delicious, is where she showcases her latest projects, designs and sewing tutorials. Roslyn also enjoys cake baking and decorating, exploring Melbourne cafes and restaurants, and hunting through op-shops for vintage sewing and kitchen treasures.
Organise Me: Creating Order from Chaos
By Andy (Andrea) McArthur
Are you looking to start a small business? Are you naturally organised? Are you good with people and have a desire to help others? Do challenges light up your eyes allowing you to engage your problem solving skills? Are you already naturally organised and lead an uncluttered life? Do you currently have Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop in your RSS feed for online tips? If you answered mostly yes, well read on, because in this post we interview Angela Esnouf of Creating Order from Chaos in Melbourne.
Angela is an accredited Professional Organiser and runs 5 day training programs for others to also become Professional Organisers. Her program may very well be, right up your "well organised" alley.
Your business motto speaks about chaos and order. Generally have you found that disorganisation and clutter equals chaos? Angela: Chaos and Order are subjective terms and mean something different for nearly everyone. I do believe that clutter and disorganisation limit potential, and may even lead to a feeling of chaos.
What motivated you to become a professional organiser? I love that I can use my organising skills to help people make a real difference to their daily lives.
What are some of the qualities of a potential professional organiser? It does help to be organised, but that’s not the most important skill required to a great PO. Being respectful, discreet, a good listener, communicator and problem-solver are essential.
Specifically in your training program what areas would a potential student have training in? My students get a realistic peak into the world of a Professional Organiser, learn about ethical practices, how to create strong connections with clients, essential tools and systems to use with clients as well as in their own business, how to find their place in the market among all the many options, and how to market a PO business. We also look at case studies and have a real-life client experience day.
Do you specialise in any areas yourself? As well as training, I still enjoy working with clients who struggle with the overwhelming feeling being disorganised brings on.
Are there clear groups of clients who you work with? (e.g. families, business owners, hoarders). As well as working with women (and some men) who are totally overwhelmed by clutter and disorder, my previous life in childcare means I connect with families as well. I love to get families working together as a team with organised processes and ideas to keep family clutter at bay.
Over your 7 years in business what has been your most challenging situation with a previous client and how were you able to solve their issues? I can’t give specific details (whatever my clients tell me is totally confidential) but one thing I get asked often is “Am I the worst you’ve ever seen?” And I don’t answer, because really how a client measures up against others is irrelevant. What matters is only how they are affected by their situation. One thing in general which can be a barrier to success for a client is when they are not truly ready to make changes. I’m going to say something controversial – some people want things to be different but are not prepared to change anything. But that’s ok, a time will come when they are ready, and I’ll be ready for them too.
Above: Angela Esnouf and her tidy office space.
You are certified in Chronic Disorganisation. Is this a common problem and can it be corrected? Everyone has periods in their life when they become disorganised, like having a new baby, working on a big project that takes up all your time, or when moving house. For some people, disorganisation dogs them their whole life and it is more common than you’d think. Whether it can be overcome really depends on the reasons for it in the first place. If someone has never been taught how to be organised, there’s room for improvement. But for someone who is disorganised because of a medical condition or similar, they may have to live with disorganisation all their lives. Even then, there are some techniques which will help them cope.
You are an expert member of the Australasian Association of Professional Organisers Inc (AAPO). The AAPO has some interesting articles on their blog. For those unaware approximately how many members are there in the organisation. There are over 170 AAPO members now. If anyone is thinking of becoming an organiser, I recommend joining AAPO. There are so many benefits.
National Organising Week is coming up 3-9 September 2012, this is exciting news for the organisation industry. Is there anything you are looking forward to during this week. I’m so excited about NOW. Lots of AAPO members will be getting together to celebrate. There are some great activities going on all around the country. I’ll be offering my newsletter subscribers and Facebook “likers” daily tips.
It seems that organisation is gaining momentum at the moment, many lifestyle shows have featured organisers and advice on de-cluttering. Are there any organisations or articles that you find inspiring or educational? I find inspiration in everyday occurrences, like watching people who are really good at what they do. I notice the efficiencies they use or the way they’ve stored something so it’s easily accessible. And I read anything I can get my hands on about getting organised.
Lastly, can you leave us with your number one tip for getting organised? Stop clutter from coming in the door. Don’t buy it, collect it or acquire it.
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If reading this has made you want to rush off and organise your desk or want to help others you may have found your next career as a Professional Organiser. Helping clients achieve an organised and balanced life can be a very real and rewarding experience. For help getting started Angela can be found through her website at www.creatingorder.com.au, the next Creating Order from Chaos training program is scheduled from October 29th to November 2nd.
Andrea McArthur has a passion for all things visual and a soft spot for organisation. Type is her true love and goes weak at the knees over beautiful design. Andrea works as a freelance graphic designer in Brisbane by day and lectures in graphic design by night. You will find her sharing design related goodness via @andyjane_mc www.andyjane.com
Stress & Wellbeing: Putting a Spring in your step
By Emily Harrison As the daffodils start to bloom and snippets of sunshine begin to peak through there’s a chirp in the air that can only mean springtime is around the corner.
While winter is traditionally the time to conserve energy (think hibernation), springtime symbolises new beginnings, renewal and rejuvenation.
But what if we don’t feel like busting forward out of the cocoon? Maybe we’d rather pull the doona up some more…or sometimes we can feel downright stuck – in the middle of a motivational muddle that is in danger becoming a puddle.
We all know the feeling of a slump, feeling stuck, overwhelmed or we start a project with such gusto but then hope if we close our eyes it might just go away…
So to help put a spring in your step and harness the energies of the season, I had a chat with CWC member Alex Kingsmill from Upstairs Coaching to look at ways to keep us all winning gold and maintain the momentum long in to the next round of Olympics.
Hello Alex, tell me a little about yourself… you run Upstairs Coaching – what’s that all about? Upstairs is a little business I established a few years ago, to help women design and build lives that are rich and fulfilling and that make them happy.
I originally trained as a lawyer and then I worked in a whole heap of policy jobs in the city that made me miserable. Slowly, slowly I worked out that I was better suited to people than computers and I started to re-design my own life: I went back to uni; I quit those soul-destroying jobs; and I established my own business.
Tell us about the work you do? I work with women who are ridiculously lovely and inspiring and thoughtful. Curiously, most of the women I work with are in a creative field or are trying to introduce more creativity into their lives.
The coaching I do is informed by Positive Psychology so it’s strengths-based and goal-oriented.
This means that instead of focusing on what’s wrong and trying to fix it, we focus on what you do have and try to build more of it. I love this way of working because it is hopeful and motivating and sustainable.
Most of the people I work with have great lives but there is something that’s not quite right, something they want to change to improve their day-to-day and longer-term experience. The questions they bring to coaching vary but they often involve issues relating to balance, motivation, fear, courage, connection and happiness.
People often talk about a ‘drive to succeed’… but what is motivation exactly? Clients often say to me that they feel like there is something wrong with them because they can’t get motivated. I take a completely different approach! In my view, a lack of motivation is much more likely to be about the goal than it is to be about the person pursuing it.
I find that the easiest way to understand motivation is as an equation:
Motivation = Interest in the Goal x Faith in Your Ability to Achieve
This means that motivation requires a focus on two important factors:
- The Goal must be important to you. The goal you’re working towards needs to mean something to you; it needs to connect with your values. There is no way you’re going to be able to sustain motivation over something you think you should be doing but aren’t really that committed to.
- You must believe that you can achieve it. That doesn’t mean the goal can’t be challenging, it should be. But if you think you can’t get there, your motivation will diminish.
We all know about the motivation slump …why is it that this happens? A motivation slump is often related to that tricky question of self belief.
We often start to slump in the middle of a project because we lose confidence in our own ability to finish. It is especially likely to happen when we’ve been working on something for ages and we’ve started to feel like we’re not making that much progress.
Can you share some ways to get the momentum started, or back on track? A great way to reignite motivation is to make a few small gains that will re-fire your confidence and recover your faith in success. Chunk down your goal and accomplish one small thing in relation to it: contact three galleries that might feature your work, for example.
The gains don’t even need to be related to the project you’re stuck on: you might choose to commit to swimming 20 laps non-stop at the pool. Any sort of achievement will help to reignite your self-belief, which will in turn help to refuel your motivation.
And how do you stay motivated yourself? I try to make sure that the things I’m working on are things that I really love doing (although that’s not always possible, especially around tax time..)
When I find myself feeling unmotivated I look at what I’m doing and more often than not the activity I’m stuck on is something I think I should be doing rather than something that really connects. If that’s the case, I either drop the goal or tweak it, to make it more intrinsically motivating.
A great example is Twitter. I found myself dreading it; I was feeling so unmotivated to Tweet. I realised that I was doing it because other business do and so I thought I should. I was also comparing myself to others and thinking that I should tweet the way they do. What a mess! When I reconnected with what I liked about Twitter (hearing from interesting thinkers and doers, sharing great ideas) and when I found my own voice, I was much more motivated.
And if all that theory fails...I take a break and restore my energy, because a lack of motivation can simply be a symptom of tiredness. I go for a walk or drink coffee!
Thank you for your time Alex, it’s been a motivating interview! You can find out more about Alex and Upstairs Coaching at upstairs.net.au or connect on twitter or facebook.
Emily Harrison is a writer and yoga teacher with an interest in what makes us healthy, thriving creative beings. She also knows that one's motivation can flow (or topple) like an olympic hurdler. Emily is excited about stepping in to spring. You can read more at iamem.com
Women in the World: A bit of theory
By Joanna Francis So today in the Women in the World column, I’m going to get a bit theoretical. Because it’s easy when writing about women in other countries - particularly developing ones - to become a bit clichéd. There’s a romantic notion associated with working overseas in developing countries… a connotation of selfless altruism, beautiful children, women in colourful fabrics and exotic landscapes. I was caught up in it myself, I must admit.
From seeing celebrities on World Vision television advertisements at an early age, I was taken with the romanticism and adventure of it all and wanted to be a part of it.
The reality of course, is very different. And well-meaning foreigners going in to countries with dreams of saving the world can actually have a negative impact if care is not taken. Projects that work with women, particularly on creative enterprise, can be particularly vulnerable.
In the past, gender issues have been addressed by international organisations as a bit of an “add on”. Issues faced by women were stereotyped and simplified and the root causes of inequality were often ignored. All too often, programs for income generation were introduced without taking into consideration the already huge workloads that women undertook within their families and communities. The ‘triple role theory’ describes women in the developing world as doing reproductive work (raising children), productive work (paid and volunteer labour) and community managing work (such as managing water resources, health care and education).
Looking at women’s work within such a framework, helps to avoid seeing women’s issues in isolation and instead focus on gender relations, the way they interact with all aspects of community life and helps to ensure they are included in all stages of developmental processes.
It also helps organisations which aim to introduce creative enterprise to ensure that they are not adding to the existing workload of women, and not complicating their lives and relationships further. There can easily be unintended consequences such as family tensions, neglect of other duties, community upheaval etc that need considering. And it sounds silly to say it, but women need to be not only included but to lead the planning of any development projects. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen.
Now my apologies if that’s all sounding a bit dry. But I think it’s important when talking about these issues and looking at examples of women in the world doing creative things, that we think a little about the politics behind it. And now on to the fun stuff… next month! We’ll look at a few great examples of when such projects are done well and when they are led and run by the women involved. See you then!
Photos by Vincent Puech
Joanna Francis spends most of her time hanging out with her 18 month old son. But she also works for a children’s foundation and has recently started her own little business making baby quilts. It goes without saying that her house is a mess. In the past, Joanna has worked as an aid worker in several developing countries, and is passionate about the rights of women and children. You can visit her and her blog at www.miettehandmade.com
Scenes from Sydney
By Jaclyn Carlson It wasn't until recently, when I was finally able to put the finishing touches on my first quilt did I truly appreciate the passion and hard work that goes into working with your hands to create something. There is an enormous amount of work that goes into creating something from scratch but the hours and hours of work all disappear when you see the final product, complete. It's an amazing feeling and one I wanted to learn more about. This month I'm speaking to my friend, Monique Plunkett, founder of homewares and accessories brand - Elkhorn, to learn more about how she created a business from making beautiful handmade products. The timing couldn't be more perfect as Monique is leaving Sydney this week to begin a new creative adventure in Melbourne - hopefully the CWC community will give her a big welcome!
Have you always been a creative person?
I have always been up to something creative since I was young. I remember getting a real buzz when I started working on a new project and seeing the end result. They were never amazing pieces of art but I loved the process and working with my hands.
What is your background?
Like most creative people I have a back ground in Graphic Design. I initially studied Visual Arts majoring in photography when I first left school then went on to study Graphic Design. Working in advertising never quite felt right for me. I found the work very regimented and not much room to be creative. I soon moved on and perhaps got a little side tracked working in many retail positions while freelancing in graphic design. I then studied and worked in Horticulture for a few years... Yes a very mixed back ground. Somehow all these skills came together to create Elkhorn. I have always been interested in the arts and creative people, so I guess on a subconscious level I’ve picked up skills and inspiration from people I spent time with and admired along the way.
How did Elkhorn get its start?
I was living in Sydney and working part-time. I hadn't been well for a while so decided to take some time out. With extra time on my hands I picked up screen printing again and started making clothing and cushions for myself and friends. I had such a great response from my forever encouraging friends that it felt like the perfect time to start something for myself. So that's when Elkhorn began.
What is the best part about running a creative business?
Working for yourself and the freedom to plan your own day. Starting the day a little later, heading out for a run or walk along the beach, sets me off to the perfect start. It can mean I finish later in the day but that's the compromise I make with myself and I'm more productive for it. It's also really satisfying taking a design from concept to a finished product, then taking it to the markets and seeing the response the design has on people. Knowing you did it all yourself is a wonderful feeling!
What are the challenges?
Working by yourself (yes it goes both ways). Although I love the creative freedom, it can be hard doing it alone and being accountable for every aspect of the business. Facing things you don't like doing can be daunting, especially when you don't know how to do them it can be a challenge.
What advice would you give to others looking to start a handmade business?
Follow your heart and do what you love! I know it’s cliché, but it’s true. I’m not saying quit your day job straight away, but as long as you allow yourself the time to slow down and take time out to be creative, I think that’s a great place to start. You’ll get a feel for what you’re making and whether your happy to continue it as a hobby or think about selling your work for a living.
Tools of the Trade: Pamela Cupit & The Maker's Journal
by Brianna Read Tools of the Trade visited with Pamela Cupit of The Maker's Journal this month to discover the creative tools in a contemporary pattern studio. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of boutique cut and sew pattern houses many of which have growing numbers of devotees.
I was fortunate enough to have a mother who passed on her sewing knowledge to me in my youth and I have never been without a sewing machine in my own ever growing tool kit. In my opinion the growth of boutique pattern labels has been in answer to a dramatic gap in the commercial pattern market. Until recently, almost all patterns readily available to the average seamstress were decidedly lacking in, well, style.
It only takes a quick look at The Maker's Journal to get a sense of The Maker's style. There is a wonderful synthesis of youth and classic taste in each of the patterns released so far. The design of the patterns themselves continues this blend of classic and contemporary, the instructions use plain language and the diagrams are so clear. Using one of The Maker’s Journal patterns is a little like having a good teacher just over your shoulder. Everything is outlined, from the techniques you will need to the types of fabric best suited for the style.
If you get a little lost though, there are beautiful technique tutorials on the website which are fantastic for a little skills brush up. The clever how-to tutorials show how simple dressmaking can be, but what I am interested in is all of the blood, sweat and chalk powder that happens in order to create these easy to use patterns.
When I ask Pamela what it was that prompted her to begin The Maker’s Journal she recalls contemplating the designs in a Japanese pattern book and thinking it might be something she would like to try. Now, there is more to this of course. Pamela studied fashion, worked for several fashion designers and then shifted her career path into the realm of buying. Her experience in fashion design combined with a wonderful understanding of online retail experiences made the venture of The Maker’s Journal quite a perfect fit.
This particular interview left me feeling as though I had peeked inside the tool kit of a creative business woman… Pamela made mention of many character attributes which make The Maker’s Journal possible: Fearlessness and her ability to take educated risks; discipline, organisation and her wonderful methodical approach to the tasks at hand and on the list; patience and her ability to wait to see the fruits of her labour.
Then Pamela revealed she often dreams the solution to design problems , intrigued, I asked her to elaborate and she recalled that the final range in her graduate year of study was dreamt in entirety before it was produced. This detail of her creative practice might be one of the most valuable tools any creative can have; it is this sort of connection with the creative subconscious which makes it possible to continue to find inspiration while also spinning all the other plates it takes to keep a small business moving along.
The Maker’s Journal has several new patterns eager to see the light of her website here.
Following the success of the first workshop, Pamela Cupit herself will be running second Freddie Vest Workshop at Tessuti Fabrics in Melbourne on September 1st, for bookings go here.
Current patterns are available from several stockists and through The Maker's Journal on Etsy.
Brianna Read is a designer/maker based in Melbourne. Her knitwear label Jack of Diamonds employs traditional hand-made techniques in combination with machine knit technologies. Brianna’s multi-faceted creative practice encompasses design, production, works for exhibition and machine knitting workshops.