Interview: Annemarie Duff
By Andrea McArthur
This year we have met a range of creatives from different fields, all who make beautiful items or designs that we can see and feel. Today we meet another creative with a twist, one who makes an intangible product. Meet Annmarie Duff a composer and music producer.
Annemarie describes her work as ethereal and ideas driven. She herself is very driven as can be seen by her involvement in not one but many personal music projects: including three electronica bands Paper Electric, Mmdelai, Pinn'd, an indie band Miniatures and classical albums Shangri-La.
What led you down your current path?
I played piano kind of obsessively from a young age, but only started getting into music production when I was at Otago University. I took a few music technology papers for interest (while studying computer science) and then moved to Christchurch to study audio engineering. After I graduated, I landed a gig working full-time as an in-house composer and sound designer for a gaming company. This contract ended when most of us were made redundant early last year. So I moved to Melbourne for more opportunities and am loving it. I'm still building a contact base over here so am working part time as well.
Who do you admire in the industry?
James Lavelle (founding member of U.N.K.L.E.) - not only is the music he's produced absolutely incredible and moving (no matter what genre), he's also built a scene for himself and built his catalogue on collaboration both in music, film and art. He always works with incredible creatives, whether established or newcomers and doesn't discriminate by genre. He's built this amazing creative business that crosses between industries and has spanned across decades.
What has been your most favourite project in recent years?
I can't pick one – I love the music each of my bands make, they're all very different. If I was to name one moment, getting my special edition marbled silver Mmdelai Vinyls in the mail was pretty amazing, they look so good.
What does a typical day at work involve for you?
I work part time for an IT company, so 4 days a week I get up at 6am and go to the gym, then head back home and do some emails (the bands are each with overseas record labels, so there's a lot of communication online). I get to work for an 8.30am start and finish at 5pm. After work I head straight to band practise/gig/soundtrack work/lesson plans/more emails. On Wednesday afternoons I teach a class at AIE in video game audio which is awesome. I have band practice two nights a week, a gig at least once a week and usually have something to be doing a soundtrack for. I'm always working on new tracks to keep the creativity flowing so I try to make at least one new track a day. I'm still trying to figure out how I can organise it all into a routine, haha.
What future plans do you have for your music?
Building up the work so I can do it full time. Playing more shows and more writing/producing/releasing. It would be awesome to expand on the teaching I've been doing at AIE too, it's so much fun and I've learn a lot just from teaching the basics again.
5 Questions in 5 minutes
Getting Personal:
Studio Sounds, what's playing?
Keep Shelly in Athens, Bonobo, SPC EKO, DJ Lotion's mix for the Lela Jacobs Spring/Summer collection.
What are you currently reading?
"Making ideas happen" by Scott Belsky.
What are you looking forward to?
New opportunities. Gigs over summer and hopefully playing some festivals! Travel/holidays.
Can you share your go to resource for motivation?
My to do list! Have motivated friends!
What is your local areas best kept secret?
I'm not sure if I've been here long enough to count as a knower of local secrets… I do love Annoying Brother Cafe on Nicholson St. They serve amazing coffee and there's a great Salvos store around there too.
To contact Annemarie: Email: duff.annemarie@gmail.com Phone: 0468 452 628 facebook.com/mmdelai
Andrea McArthur has a passion for all things visual. 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
Scenes From Sydney: Women To Watch
By Jaclyn Carlson Taking inspiration from Tess' second book, Conversations With Creative Women: Volume Two, today I want to yet again shine the spotlight on a few local creative women here in Sydney that are shaping their own creative paths and inspiring those around them. I strongly believe that as a community - whether here in Sydney or in Melbourne - we need to support and encourage one other to succeed. When you take a look around you there are so many women doing amazing things that I think its time we give them a round of applause and a bit of recognition. This month please say hello to...
Natalie Hayllar, Eat Read Love
What is your background? After leaving school I completed a Bachelor of Science (Psychology & Nutrition) and then went on to complete a Masters of Science in Nutrition & Dietetics where my love of food began. After a short stint as a clinical dietitian I have spent the most part of the last 15 years in various nutrition communications roles within the food industry. I realised I loved marketing communications and the creative side of this part of my job so I went on to study Marketing Management at MGSM at night school and spent many years working as a Brand Manager. I have been really fortunate to combine my passion for food and nutrition with marketing and continue to work in an awesome marketing job during the day and spend my spare time taking photos and blogging. We are coastal dwellers and never to far from it - My husband Fletch and my two little boys live near Cronulla beach down in Sydney's South and also spend a lot of time on the South Coast.
Tell us about eat read love and how did it get its start? I started blogging after I had my second baby boy about 3 years ago. After very hectic days juggling a corporate marketing job and looking after little ones, I needed a little downtime at the end of the day to to relax and unwind. Some people would say - why not just sleep ?!?!? but for me I enjoyed some 'me time' late at night when the house was quiet, make myself a cup of tea, or pour a glass of wine and start exploring online, and I found a whole new world open up - beautiful food and interior sites. So I decided I would have a go at writing my own bringing my passion for food, books, travel and interiors together. It started as a fun little book club and a place to share inspiration with my friends. I also spend a lot of time on the NSW South Coast and started taking photos and sharing on the blog.
What is the best part about running a creative business and writing your own blog? The ideas continue to roll in. I am never stuck for ideas. My mind is constantly churning new stories, and dreaming of new places to visit and new ways of presenting the stories creatively. I can do it in my own time, no set hours and from home. I love that I get to support and work with some amazing local businesses - I am very passionate about promoting the work of local talent and a few of us have formed a great little creative community down in the Cronulla area.
What are the challenges? After 14-hour days working a corporate job, being a mum, getting dinner, homework, getting the boys ready for bed and then only starting to work on the blog around 9pm at night can start to take its toll. I have so many ideas in my head and so many lists of things I want to do and beautiful things to write about but sometimes there is just not enough hours in the day.
What advice would you give to other women looking to have more creativity in their lives? Just give it a crack - whether its ensuring you allow some time to read a beautiful book, go to an art class or start writing then just do it. The time is now.
What’s next for you? I am very excited to be hosting some of the Kinfolk Magazine events later this year. I will be hosting the launch of The Kinfolk Table cookbook in with Lisa Madigan in October and very exited to be invited to partner with Luisa Brimble and friends to bring theKinfolk Magazine team to Sydney for a series of weekend workshops, dinners and media events. As an avid Kinfolk fan I am just a little excited to be part of this awesome team. I am also working on some more exciting #eatreadlovepopup dinners in 2013/2014. And to keep those creative ideas flowing I am also working on a very secret project with a friend that I hope to kick off next year which will definitely be available to everyone to help people get in touch with their creative flair. Stay tuned on that one. I am also planning a milestone birthday trip to NYC and I cannot wait to return.
Where can people contact you? You can follow me on my blog, follow my adventures on instagram 0r you can email me at eatreadlove@me.com.au. You can also find me over at the ROAR fashion blog
Amanda Fuller, Kaleidoscope
What is your background? After leaving high school I studied a variety of design disciplines including Interior Design, Textile Design, Jewellery Design and more at both The Whitehouse Institute and COFA. I worked in the Interior Design Industry for a while but when I discovered graphic design, it was pure love! Since studying I have worked for a number of small magazines, and then was a designer for Fairfax Media with my work appearing in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers. Now, I have the privilege of being a freelance graphic designer and design and lifestyle blogger.
Tell us about Kaleidoscope... how did it get its start? I have been blogging since 2009 (I just celebrated my 4th blogaversary!) on a variety of blogs, both my own and other's. Kaleidoscope was born out of the process of splitting my original blog into a personal blog, Amanda's Musings, and Kaleidoscope - a blog about the many facets of life and design.
Have you always been a creative person? Yes! From as soon as I could hold a crayon, I loved to colour in. Growing up, I loved to craft with my Grandmother and my love of interior design came from my parents constant home renovations. The seed for my love of graphic design was planted by my Dad who brought home a Mac computer when I was about 9 years old. He used to play around with page layout and clipart in his spare time. I guess it must have rubbed off! I loved art at school and photography too.
What are the challenges? Probably the biggest challenge is trying to get paid for what you do. Blogging is still a relatively new form of media in Australia. It can be difficult to get those bills paid. There can be some great product perks, but unfortunately they don't pay the rent. It can also be a challenge building your audience and getting people to know about your blog. With so much media being thrown at people everyday it is easy to be lost in the crowd. My own personal challenge is my health. There are days when not much gets done as I am just too unwell.
What’s next for you? The dream is to be a full-time blogger "when I grow up". So I will continue to blog about amazing creative people and their work and build up Kaleidoscope to be a "must-read" blog and get it known. Blogging has rekindled my interest in photography and sparked an interest in styling, so you might see more of this from me in the future. Right now I am working on the huge Kaleidoscope Christmas Gift Guide which will launch at the beginning of November. Keep your eyes peeled!
Where can people contact you? You can contact me through Kaleidoscope or find me on Facebook Twitter or Instagram
Hannah DeMilta, The Fetch & Canva
What is your background? I’m originally from Cleveland, Ohio and moved to Sydney three years ago. I studied Public Relations and minored in Deaf Culture and Language while at University. However, most of my work has been in digital roles with start-ups and a couple years of agency life. Currently I look after marketing and community at tech start-up Canva, in Sydney. The other hat I wear is as the Sydney Curator of The Fetch, something I’ve been doing for the last couple years just for fun.
Tell us about Canva how did it get its start? Our CEO at Canva, Melanie had a vision of creating a collaborative online design platform to help make design more accessible. She started on the journey five years ago when she was teaching design part-time at the University of Western Australia. She and her partner Cliff started their first company from her parents’ house and went after the niche market of school yearbooks. Five years later, Mel and Cliff teamed up with their co-founder Cam went decided to take on the world with Canva. They shared their idea with others, raised the funds, built the dream team and here we are now. A few weeks ago was our press launch and public product reveal. I joined them at the start of this year, so pretty excited to be part of their team and along for the ride. It’s just the start.
What is the best part about working for a creative company? The people I work with for sure. We dream big together on a daily basis at Canva. Being surrounded by passionate people inspires you to build, create and think. I find that spark also inspires me across the board.
What are the challenges? I’m someone who constantly bites off more than she can chew. Honestly, it usually works in my favour. It forces me to get massive amounts of work done, and I thrive under that nice extra layer of pressure. However, I’ve had challenging moments where I was in over my head and felt I came up short. I have to remind myself to prioritize constantly. Someone told me that there is no such thing as this idea of being “too busy” for something. It comes down to priorities and if something is important to you, you’ll find the time and make sacrifices. I try to embrace this approach with most of what I do.
What advice would you give to other women looking to have more creativity in their lives? Be proactive and seek out other creative people. You can’t rely on others constantly to make you move, but let their passion inspire you and help fuel your own creative projects. I’m biased obviously, but get your name on The Fetch and find out what’s happening locally in your city each week. Attend events that are interesting to you for creatives, entrepreneurs, designers, developers, writers, etc. one day after work rather than practicing your normal routine. In Sydney, check out ABCD Meetup, Think Act Change and the Idea Bombing series to name a few. There is so much happening, just go seek it out.
What’s next for you? I’m planning on starting a new blogging project with my friend Brooke, a creative thinker, entrepreneur, and fellow expat American here in Sydney. It’s something we’ve been scheming and talking about for a while, so time to make it happen.
Where can people contact you? I’m on the Twitters @HannahDeMilta or happy for people to email me if they want to chat about Canva, The Fetch, or just say hello in general.
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Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, Jaclyn Carlson is the founder of Blog Society, a community for bloggers & creatives as well as the author behind the Sydney-based blog, Little Paper Trees. When not documenting her expat adventures, she can be found working for one of Australia’s top design & homewares trade shows. Passionate and prone to wasting hours on Pinterest, she has years of experience in marketing, advertising and PR and aims to put Sydney’s creative women in the spotlight with her monthly column.
Organise Me: 5 Tips for Turning Big Dreams into Plans
Many creatives are also dreamers. I think it comes with the territory. To be the one who thinks out of the box and comes up with the creative solutions and ideas, you are also likely to have big crazy ideas of your own. But there’s some skill and planning involved, especially when it comes to doing things for ourselves, in making those big dreams a reality.
This is something that I’ve done myself and a topic that’s dear to my heart, so today I want to share my 5 tips for making those big life dreams a priority whilst keeping the planning process fun.
- Buy a notebook just for your big dreams - decorate it, doodle in it, be messy and just let the ideas flow. Don’t think about shoulds and coulds. Think about the possibilities and aim as high as you like.
- Start with the big crazy dream and break it down. Make dot points your friend. Think of five small steps that you’ll need to take to get to the big dream. Pick one step and break it down again into 5 steps and repeat until the prospect of achieving it is not so scary anymore.
- Do something out of your comfort zone. Take a class you’ve been on the fence about; take a drive to somewhere new; order something on the menu you usually wouldn’t; buy something you love, but wouldn’t usually buy for yourself. Doing little things that can make you feel brave or bold and will help you make steps towards your goal.
- Think about timelines and budgets and put a positive spin on them. This is where you can start to feel nervous, but think of timelines as something to keep you on track. Allow it to be as long as it needs to be, and be okay with it changing when it needs to. If you need to save money to get where you need to be, allocate a budget so you know what you’re aiming for and celebrate when you get closer to it. It’s more fun that way.
- Bring the people you love and who support you along for the ride. Share your big dreams, or a part of them with someone you can trust. Blog it, if that’s your style. Find that support network you’ll need when things seem too hard. It’s amazing the help you find when you let people in. Sometimes they’re a great hand holder and sometimes they may just have a short cut that you never considered.
Turning my big dream of travelling across the North America into a reality changed my life. I went from feeling lost, to having a goal, to living that dream and finding more dreams to chase. I truly believe that if I can do it, anyone can. I hope these tips will help you start to look at your dreams as possibilities.
Dannielle is a blogger, serial organiser and passionate traveller. She has a secret love of '90s teen movies and can often be found on Twitter. In 2013, Dannielle packed up her life in Melbourne into one suitcase and moved to Canada to make her crazy dream of a more adventurous life happen. But she quickly found the inspiration she was searching for was in Melbourne and has returned home. She’s recently started a new project on creating a happy (organised) home which you can see here.
Book Review: Not Quite Nigella – My Path To Happiness Through Baking & Blogging by Lorraine Elliott
Food Blogger Lorraine Elliott created the highly successful blog Not Quite Nigella in 2007. In this food-centric book she shares her journey from media strategist to blogger, offering a collection of food memories, amusing anecdotes, and recipes along with a sprinkling of advice to wannabe bloggers.
A food lover from way back Elliott only began blogging at the insistence of her husband, who set up the blog and told her to get writing. When a promised job falls through Elliott focuses more attention on the blog, becoming a fulltime blogger in 2009 and currently enjoying statistics of 250,000 unique readers a month with over 500,000 page views (according to her about me page).
The book is difficult to categorise. Part cookbook, part memoir and part blogging lesson it offers an eclectic mix of information written in an amusing, easy-to-read style.
The stories are entertaining including such adventures as a race around the city trying all the Peking Duck dishes on restaurant menus in one afternoon/evening, or sneaking into a swanky exhibition at the NSW Art Gallery waving just a wine glass and a confident air. Although there are more poignant pieces on offer too, with a tour of the cooking facilities at Long Bay Jail and a visit to old-fashioned eating establishment catering to the pensioner/ex-prisoner clientele with cheap and hardy dishes.
Food lovers will enjoy the book for the variety of recipes offered at the end of many of the chapters: red velvet cake, wontons, pork belly with chilli-caramel sauce and vanilla macarons are just a sample of the delicacies on offer.
Although for this poor excuse of a cook, it was the blogging advice that I found most interesting. There were snippets of information throughout the book ranging from dealing with threats of legal action from large publishing firms to stockpiling blog posts for the times when you are unable to blog (so my day-by-day seat-of-the-pants approach could be hindering my entry into the blogging big league).
The final two chapters are devoted to how to blog and how not to blog. Elliott advises potential bloggers to choose a topic they are passionate about and explains the joy in creating a community and having a positive impact on readers.
The book offers an interesting glimpse into the world of a professional blogger.
Janine Fitzpatrick blogs at Shambolic Living where readers get to feel far happier about their lives when they experience the chaos of hers. She is coming to terms with being the mother of two teenagers, has given up on the dream of a tidy house and still plans to write a book one day.
New website feature: Member-run Events page
Our Full Members are a prolific bunch, and while I'd love to promote every exhibition, event, workshop, market stall and pop-up shop they are involved in, sometimes it's hard to keep up! And not only that, sometimes it's good to just have brief details of what is going on around town in one place.
So in the interest of letting you know about some other non-CWC run events that will inspire and entertain, upcoming Member-run Events will be listed over here on their own special page.
The Member-run Events page will be updated monthly and can be found under the 'Events' menu tab at the top of the website.
If you're a Full Member and have a something to promote, look out for an email with more details about how to submit your event information to be displayed on the website later this week.
Image above from an upcoming Meet the Maker event at Shelley Panton Studio featuring Hot Choccy founders Sarah and Chris Appleford... more details over here!
Interview: Madeleine Burke, freelance web developer and designer
By Andrea McArthur
"I make websites." This is how Madeleine Burke would answer if asked the question "What do you do?". Yes she is a girl and yes she codes. From her own admission she loves computers and has made the transition to focus on web development full time with her own business based in Sydney, Australia.
"I love working with small to medium sized business as well as with other designers on both digital design and development projects including custom Wordpress, Shopify and SquareSpace development, SEO and Google AdWords and social media management."
What led you down your current path? I started learning about web design and development as a hobby when I was 13 and my parents first got dial-up internet. School went on and I started a degree in Psychology (don’t ask me why!). After a few years of, I admit, a pretty boring degree I decided to switch to a design degree and pursue my old after-school (and sometimes into the wee hours of the morning) hobby.
As far as working for myself goes I think thats largely been due to my upbringing. My parents have always had their own business – a nursery – when I was little and now my Mum has two restaurants, accommodation and wedding venues in the Hunter Valley and my Dad a landscaping company (no he isn’t the man behind Jim’s mowing!). For me, working for yourself, doing what you are passionate about has always seemed normal. I had a pretty great upbringing.
Where do you feel most inspired? I’d have to say something boring like on my couch in front of my laptop or iPad. I’m a tech junkie and I love the internet. I can always learn something new just by reading around a bit. I love learning, always have and the fact that there’s so much out there that is changing and evolving that I can learn about is what gets me up in the morning.
Who do you admire? I really admire strong, independent women that run successful, profitable businesses. I love Ita Buttrose. I really admire women that don’t let emotions step in the way of their success. That’s probably been the biggest learning curve for me in starting my own business and whenever I read a blog telling people to stop treating their business like a free clinic I really admire that strength.
What has been your most favourite project in recent years? Probably doing the branding for my Mum’s second restaurant. I was just finishing up my degree and they had just bought the property. I got to be involved in every aspect from soundboarding with Mum about the decor, the logo which was my first experience with trademarking, getting creative with packaging and branding, signage, menus and of course the website. Close second was developing my first responsive website. That was really cool!
What does a typical day at work involve for you? Depending on the day and whether my partner is going for an early morning bike ride I wake up somewhere between 5.30 - 7am. I usually start work shortly after, I’m more of a morning person and starting earlier usually means I can take a longer lunch break if I want to get out of the place for a while.
I usually start by answering any emails that have come in overnight (yes I get a lot of 2am emails from clients!), reconcile any accounts and get to work on that day’s projects. I always do a bit of work on my business every day whether that be social media work, adwords, SEO or some branding collateral or even a blog post. I think it’s important to put as much effort into your own business as you do into everyone else's.
Of course the day is broken up with other emails, Twitter (bit of an addiction to that as well!), quotes and phone calls but I try to tick off a few of my to-do’s every day to make sure I’m actually achieving something. The day usually finishes around 7pm so it’s a longer day than an average full-time job, but I love it.
5 Questions in 5 minutes – Getting Personal:
Studio Sounds, what’s playing? Always something cheerful. We just bought a record player so that’s getting a bit of a workout. The biggest on my Spotify are definitely “How Will I Know” Whitney Houston and “Lights” Ellie Goulding. Anything by Fleetwood Mac ranks pretty highly also!
What are you currently reading? “Work for Money, Design for Love” by David Airey. I love reading business or design books, they make me feel productive but I’m also breaking it up with Alkymisten, The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo in Norwegian.
What are you looking forward to? The weekend? Ha, um learning. I know I’ve said it before but learning, expanding my skillset, maybe teaching one day? I’d love to teach girls how to code, it’s something that I’m really passionate about.
Can you share your go to resource for inspiration? I get a lot of inspiration from my Twitter feed, blogs like mashable, siteinspire, good inc. and fast company. I also love getting out of the house, going to great restaurants, bars and shops.
What is your local areas best kept secret? We live in Erskineville in Sydney’s inner west. There’s so many great spots around here. Probably my favourite is Bloodwood on King St. They have great polenta chips and the best Bloody Mary I’ve ever had.
You can contact Madeleine through the following channels online: hello@madeleineburke.com madeleineburke.com.au Twitter: @minburke
Andrea McArthur has a passion for all things visual. 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
Scenes From Sydney: What's On Your Social Calendar?
By Jaclyn Carlson The Sydney creative scene has been bursting at the seams lately with book launches, birthday events and other celebrations of creativity – it’s enough to keep a girl's social calendar full! I’m here this month to report back on a few events that caught my eye as well as a few upcoming gatherings that you’ll certainly want to keep an eye on…
First up is a collaboration of the best kind – blogger Jodie Wilson, of Che & Fidel fame teams up with talented photographer Tim Coulson to host The Creatives, a full day of creative writing & photography goodness on 3 May - I can't wait to hear all about this one and certainly will be booking myself in for their next workshop.
Up next is an event that I look forward to every year - Vivid Sydney. One of Sydney’s finest gatherings of creative minds and visionaries gathers throughout May & June as part of the Vivid Sydney or more specifically, the Vivid Ideas Exchange. This year I can't wait to check out an event with 3 creative female bloggers entitled - We Blog The City on May 25 - don't miss it!
And finally I couldn't help but share a birthday wish to super stylist Megan Morton as she rings in The School's first birthday with a creative bash to end all others. If you missed this one here in Sydney then I'm sure you would have seen the images & craft goodness that flooded Instagram or watch out soon when The School invades Melbourne, make sure to sign up for a class (or two). Enjoy!
Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, Jaclyn Carlson is the author behind the Sydney-based blog, Little Paper Trees. When not documenting her expat adventures, she can be found working for one of Australia’s top design & homewares trade shows. Passionate and prone to wasting hours on Pinterest, she has years of experience in marketing, advertising and PR and aims to put Sydney’s creative women in the spotlight with her monthly column.