New podcasts & event recordings
There's quite a collection of podcast interviews and past event recordings on the blog now, did you know? Access is just one of the many benefits of signing up to the CWC as a Full Member, and some are open to all. Check out the podcasts page and listen while you work...
Interviews:
- Karishma Kasabia, creative director and graphic designer of Kish & Co: 3-part series with advice for small business owners, new graduates and those looking for a mentor
- Emily Green, accessory designer discusses her career and creative path
- Aimee McCallum, visual merchandiser and stylist and owner of boutique Tiger & Peacock discusses her career and creative path
Missed an event? Listen to the recordings:
- Chrissie Feagins, November 2012
- Julia Pound, September 2012
- Julie Paterson, October 2012
- Fiona Sweet, June 2012
- Northcity4, August 2012
- Shelley Panton, September 2011
Organise Me: How to Get Organised for a Conference Like Alt
By Dannielle Cresp
Since I was fortunate enough to attend the design and blogging conference Altitude Design Summit in Salt Lake City, Utah in January, I thought I'd start this new column off with some tips on how to get organised for a conference like Alt.
Get Ready
- Look at the schedule as soon as it's released and choose the sessions that are the best fit for you
- If you're looking to talk with sponsors: know who they are ahead of time and choose a couple to make time to speak with
- Go with an open mind. A conference like Alt is a great place learn about things you hadn't considered for your creative business or blog
- Pack your business cards and your smile. Business card exchange is a big part of Alt. It's a great way to start a conversation with other creatives and to make some new friends
- Have your elevator pitch for your creative business or blog ready. The question you will get asked most after 'Do you blog?' is 'What's your blog about?' If you're not a blogger you can read this as 'Tell me a bit about your creative business'. Have something that can get a conversation going.
When You're There
- Even if you don't know anyone, take a deep breath, smile and say hello to someone new. Ask if they've been before and about what they do.
- Take a breather when you need it. Not all conferences are the same as Alt where they have a lounge for you to take a break, but if it's getting too much, allow yourself some space.
- Take a notepad, pens or the electronic device of your choice to the sessions and take all the notes and photos that you want to. There's so much going on you'll want a memory trigger later, to remember what you saw and heard.
- Put your hand up. If you have a question for the speaker or the panel, ask it during the Q&A at the end of the session. It's your chance to ask them and there's probably someone else who wants to ask it, but hasn't found the right words.
- Go to the parties or evening events, even just for a short time. If you're shy like me, you might not want to, but the networking that comes from them makes it worth feeling a little out of your comfort zone.
- Keep non-attendees in the loop. If you're on social media share a photo or a quote from your favourite speaker. Ask your followers if they have a question that they'd love for you to ask on their behalf.
After it's Over
- Take a day or two to come down from it. It can be a really heavy feeling after a big conference, and you don't want to let the inspiration slip away, but you don't want to get burnt out either. Take some time to chill after and you will be able to turn that inspiration into something awesome easier than if you'd forced it.
- Follow up. Email that sponsor you had a great conversation with. Add your new friends to your Twitter or follow them on your preferred social media network. Email them for a catch up.
- Share your experience with others. In person, on your blog or website, on Flickr or social media. Attendees, the organisers of the conference and non-attendees alike would love to hear/see how you found the conference from your point of view
Most of all remember that being ready for a conference like Alt allows you time to have fun and soak it all in. After all, you went there for the whole experience. I hope this helps you enjoy your conferences like I enjoyed Alt.
Dannielle is a blogger, web designer, serial organiser and passionate traveller. She has a secret love of 90s teen movies and can often be found on Twitter. In 2013, Dannielle is packing up her life in Melbourne into one suitcase and moving to Canada to make her crazy dream of a more adventurous life happen. You can find out more on her blog.
Interview: Marnie Goding of Elk Accessories
Elk Accessories has to be one of Australia's number one independent design success stories. From humble beginnings (and no formal training in jewellery or fashion design), Marnie Goding and partner Adam have built the business to release two collections each year covering clothing, footwear, accessories and a men's range in their unmistakably sophisticated style. I spoke to Marnie Goding, creative director and the driving force behind the Elk look...
Marnie Goding in Elk's Preston, Victoria store
What were some of the highlights for Elk in 2012? 2012 was a great year for Elk in general. The highlight was our launch into the US market in August which was received with an incredible response. We confirmed representation with a well regarded agency and opened a show room in LA. We have been preparing for this launch for a few years now so to finally have it behind us and to have garnered such great results we are thrilled. It does mean that 2013 is going to be even busier!
How big is your team at Elk and what is your main role? The team is 28 - made up mostly of full time. We have a reliable crew of casuals to call on in peak times which sees the numbers swell to 35. I am the Creative Director so am responsible for all brand and design direction covering creative, PR, marketing and advertising.
You started and continue to direct Elk with your husband Adam. What are some of the pros and cons of running a business with your partner? We are lucky to be able to work so well together and to really love doing so…we are quite blessed. Being so busy we often don’t get to see each other much. I travel often too so sometimes it feels like we actually don’t work together! We do make sure that we don’t allow conversations at home to stray into work territory - there needs to be an off switch where work is left at the office and we actually enjoy time together as a family.
The challenge now as the business is bigger and busier to find time to reconnect or to remember how we used to work together when we first started. We are both pulled in so many directions and that problem of not seeing each other much can cause additional stresses. We have agreed that in 2013 we must make some time away from the office together to make sure we are "steering the Elk ship" in the same direction. Overall though neither of us could ever imagine not working together.
The Elk range started with jewellery and accessories but now has a clothing and footwear range as well. How do you know when the time is right to expand into a new area of design? We have always tried to be proactive with our business but often it is a reactive process where customers requests will lead us in a new direction. We really feel our way too - meeting new suppliers and travelling to source raw materials often exposes us to new product lines.
There is always a temptation to do more, more, more however we always try to keep ranges tight and want them to "make sense". We design as a collection where every part fits like a jigsaw. It is easier to sell when you have a complete picture rather than a random selection of bits and pieces.
Which other Australian designers and labels do you love to wear? We are so lucky in Australia - and especially in Melbourne to have so many great labels to admire. Life With Bird, Gorman, Alpha 60, Zimmerman and Nique for casual basics are on the top of my list.
We love it when businesses are affiliated with not-for-profits. Can you tell us a bit about your involvement with UNICEF as a Champion for Children and what it means to you personally to support them? We have always personally and professionally had charities which we support. Travelling opens your eyes to different situations and opens your heart to experiences - many outside of your comfort zone. All of our suppliers are small family owned manufacturers and provide their workers with excellent working conditions. While their efforts make a great difference outside of their business' we see so many people in need. Children especially not only need the opportunity for education but even simpler needs for shelter, food, clean water and health care. We are so fortunate in Australia to live peacefully, freely and cleanly.
When we decided to align Elk with a charitable organisation it was a tough decision. Unicef is active in the main regions we work - India and the Philippines. Unfortunately corruption is rife in these countries and our suppliers give us first hand accounts of how much needs to be done to improve living standards. There are so many small charitable foundations in these areas but its so hard to administer where your money goes and how its used so we decided that it was best to work with a larger organisation such as Unicef.
To date we have donated around $26,000 dollars. Contributions from Elk customers are consistent and we are looking at new ways in 2013 to improve the campaign.
Any exciting plans for the label or new products that we can look forward to seeing this year? 2013 for us will be a year to "put our heads down". The US market is already growing at a fast rate and our presence in Scandinavia is also gaining momentum. We have always maintained a preference to do everything as best we can. So to ensure we look after our domestic market whilst growing the International will mean we need to keep operations moving at a manageable pace.
The collections will feature some new materials and digital printed leather which is lovely. I have also found some time to sketch some prints too which will feature for Winter 2013 - its been nice to get back to basics and actually draw again!
All products shown here are available online at Elk Accessories.
We're running a Membership Drive at the moment, and Elk have generously donated a $200 gift voucher for one lucky new member to spend in their Preston or online store! Find out more here.
Women Who Write - Michelle de Kretser
By Sandra Todorov Michelle de Kretser is back with her new novel Questions of Travel. The beauty and tragedy of life is explored through the eyes of two women: Ravi, a Sri Lankan born IT specialist and aura, a middle class Australian travel writer.
De Kretser (herself Sri Lankan born) explores the idea of what travel means to society, criticising some of the commercial aspects of it. I asked Michelle about her writing life and her start in the industry.
How many words do you write per day? Do you listen to the radio or music while you do it?
When I’m writing the first draft of a novel I write a minimum of 500 words a day. That handy little word count function on my word-processor gets a lot of use. `Still 417 to go….’.
I sometimes listen to classical music while working. Anything with words interferes with writing.
Describe your workspace.
I work at home, in a room that has a lovely Federation-era moulded plaster ceiling with lyrebirds and waratahs. There are, unsurprisingly, several bookcases filled with books. The ironing board also lives here. The mantelpiece holds photographs of my dogs and also five rather creepy little plastic doll masks that I found about thirty years ago in an op shop. There is also a standard lamp with a pink satin shade like a little girl’s party skirt; it used to belong to my mother.
What is the best thing about being a writer?
Autonomy in your work: no meetings! The great satisfaction of making something, and the joy of being able to spend time thinking about words.
What is the worst thing about being a writer?
The insecurity and self-doubt.
How did you get your first book deal?
I had met a few literary agents while working in publishing. I sent the manuscript of my first novel to one of them, a woman I liked very much and who struck me as being very good at what she did, and things went on from there.
How important is it for writers to be part of a network of creative people?
I don’t know. I have dear friends who are writers but we rarely talk about the nitty-gritty of our writing with each other. I have many friends who are readers, and that’s wonderful. We share our enthusiasms with each other, and that can lead to marvellous discoveries.
Sandra Todorov’s writing has appeared in The Seminal, The Lowy Institute ‘Interpreter’, Kill Your Darlings and Miranda Literary Magazine. She runs a consultancy from Melbourne CBD and her first novel will be out in 2013.
Women from History: Margaret Preston's Rules
By Julia Ritson Magaret Preston was a formidable artist and an inspiring teacher who was interested in everything.
I'm drawn to her domestic scenes from the 1910s. Scenes played out in a modern world within a landscape of war.
A device she used in many of her flower paintings was the table cloth. The cloth enabled the artist to emphasise the shallow space, pushing all to the front of the picture plane. An abstraction.
Red, white, blue and black plaid in this painting. Preston is starting to experiment with the flattening of space. When you see these paintings in the flesh, you get a better idea of her use of empty areas to provide light to the overall design.
Margaret Preston, Holiday still life, 1913
In this painting she uses an indoor/outdoor concept with the cloth playing a large part.
Preston said "why there are so many tables of still life in modern paintings is because they are really laboratory tables on which aesthetic problems can be isolated."
Margaret Preston, Still life sunshine indoors, 1914
The red and white gingham in this painting adds an unpretentious element to the complexity of the picture plane.
A wonderful use of black in the lacquer tray alongside the black border pushes the composition into edgy territory.
Margaret Preston, Still life, 1915
In this painting you get to experience Preston's love of white paint in all its chalkiness.
The pink and white striped cloth is reflected charmingly in the shiny tea pot.
Margaret Preson, Still life with teapot and daisies, 1915
Preston was also a prolific writer. One of her quirkier works was a piece she wrote for The Home in 1926 with instructions for furnishing a bedroom.
Mrs Margaret Preston makes some practical suggestions for arranging a bedroom, keeping in mind that it is the most intimate room in the house.
WALLS Painted in a pale colour, preferably cream or pink.
WOODWORK Light in colour, matt in surface work.
CEILING Plain white, small decorated line separating walls from ceiling.
FLOOR Seagrass mat, not too big, so that it can be taken up each week. Outside borders of boards stained or painted. Grey soft mats for the bedside etc.
MANTEL If made of wood, stained a bright colour to match mats and curtains.
ON THE MANTEL No draperies; a few intimate possessions and a few pet books; coloured line mats. Needlework (samples) framed, or a water colour painting - a gaily coloured print would do. No oil paintings in a bedroom.
CURTAINS Washing material, something with a bright stripe. Keep rather short.
FURNITURE Single beds of wood and cane; two or three chairs, one an easy chair with a slip-on cretonne cover, one with a straight back for the dressing table; a low, wide dressing table - all straight lines except the oval mirror. The woodwork to be of a very highly polished and the dressing table effects glittering silver or glass.
PICTURE Water colours or prints.
ORNAMENTS, LAMPS, ETC No ornaments. No top lights; they make shadows in the mirror.
The world according to Mrs Preston.
Julia Ritson is a Melbourne artist. Her paintings investigate colour, abstraction and a long-standing fascination with the grid. Julia has enriched and extended her studio practice with a series of limited edition art scarves. She also produces an online journal dedicated to art and scarves and architecture.
What's she up to now? Tess Lloyd & Maja Rose of Polli
You might remember we interviewed Tess Lloyd and Maja Rose in Conversations with Creative Women. In the book, they detailed how they met, why they began Polli, and how they built the company to be a family-friendly business with an international reputation for Australian-made, eco-friendly jewellery and accessories. Since 2011 a few things have changed around the Polli office, but their creative output continues to be colourful and on-trend. I spoke to Tess and Maja to find out what they've been up to...
Tess Lloyd (left) and Maja Rose of Polli
What was Polli's biggest achievement in 2012? {Tess} 2012 was a really difficult year, I think our biggest achievement is staying positive, pushing ourselves to try new things and still keeping that love of what we do.
Maja, you have been living in the United States for the last few months. How has your business adapted to this change? Any tips for sustaining creative partnerships across oceans? {Maja} Everyone tells you long distant relationships are hard, and it’s true! The first months of setting up life here were really challenging, especially with a demanding 18-month old. We’re now in a good routine where Jasper goes to ‘school’ and I have dedicated Polli time. The time zone from Sydney to Pittsburgh PA is the exact opposite. There are no crossover work hours. When I’m awake Tess is sleeping and vice versa. This means we have to be good communicators through email and I’ll regularly work after Jasper is in bed to get some hours online with Tess.
These days it’s much easier to stay connected, we use screen-sharing technology to see what each other is working on, this was great with the catalogue so Tess could see on her screen the images as they were being placed in the catalogue. We also have online documents which we can both access and modify, such as a calendar with all our important dates. 'Facetime' is our favourite meeting medium, as often we get to see each other’s kids which is a bonus.
The best tips would be to keep the lines of communication wide open, be planned and use technology to help as much as possible.
Maja, given that Polli's products are largely influenced by flora, fauna and architecture, how has the change in environment from Sydney to Pittsburgh affected your creative output? {Maja} Living in Pittsburgh has different sources of inspiration to Sydney, the one that has caught me by surprise is the seasons. We arrived at the beginning of Spring where the trees were in full bloom. I’d never seen trees lining the streets in bloom like that before (closest thing in Sydney would be the Jacaranda trees in November). Then Summer was so hot, the only respite was the shade of our local park which is basically woods with paths through it. Then Autumn came - 'Wow' is the one word that comes to mind! There were reds, oranges, yellows, and greens making the hills look like they were on fire. We had squirrels in our garden collecting acorns for the winter and mountains of leaves. Now we are in winter with a blanket of white snow covering the ground. I’ve never lived with snow before and it’s truly magical, making grey cold miserable days feel wondrous and light.
In saying all this, being away has also giving me a greater appreciation of Australian flora and fauna. I loved working on some of the new Australiana designs coming out in our next release. You can take the girl out of Australia but you can’t take Australia out of the girl!
You shared some pics on Instagram recently and alluded to a 'colour-bombing' project in collaboration with designer Beattie Lanser. They looked intriguing! Can you let us in on what it's all about? {Tess} Inspired by Holi, the Indian colour festival, we set to work to recreate the colourful clouds in a photography studio in Sydney’s Inner West. After lots of testing (and mess) in local lanes we perfected the process using powdered water colour paints and trampoline style propulsions were used to create the clouds which we hoped to use in our upcoming catalogue.
Our friendship with the fashion designer Beattie Lanser has grown through Instagram and after sneak peeks of our project she agreed to make a custom white jump suit and lend a hand for the shoot. The project was a lot of fun.
Tess, you attended our first CWC in Sydney last October. What did you think of the event? Do you see the CWC 'fitting in' to the creative landscape in Sydney? {Tess} It was such a great afternoon. The event had a very communal feel and Julie Paterson, the speaker, was so honest it was really refreshing. The accessibility of the event through its casual nature, affordability, central location and openness made it unlike any other creative session I’ve attended. Definitely keen for more events in Sydney with the CWC.
Polli introduced some bold geometric accessories to the range in 2012 - which are your favourites and why? {Tess}The Flag series are such a great collection of abstract geometric segmentation; offsetting natural timber against pops of bold neon or metallic colours. We love colour and it’s great to play with different finishes and combinations after 10 years of working almost solely in stainless steel.
{Maja} I love the rainbow hexagon beads, they are my staple piece at the moment and they go with everything.
These sweet flower presses are a new addition to the Polli range this year. What was the inspiration behind them? {Tess} The sweet Polli flower presses was a project we were both passionate about. Having young children of our own we were keen to expand our sweet Polli range for the young / young at heart. We wanted the flower press to be unique, sustainable and Australian. The circular design features original sketches of Australian natives and water colours. Naturally it’s made in Australia from plantation grown hoop pine ply and all paper and card is recycled.
What are you both looking forward to this year, personally and for the business?
{Tess} I’m excited to see the end of 2012, a fresh start sounds filled with possibilities and positivity. On a personal note we’re excited to be visiting Maja in Pittsburgh in June. {Maja} I’m looking forward to working on new products in new mediums for Polli. We’re very excited that Tess + family are coming to see us in Pittsburgh.
All products shown here are available online at Polli.
We're running a Membership Drive at the moment, and the ladies of Polli have generously donated a $150 gift voucher for one lucky new member to spend in their online store! Find out more here.
You're invited to our next event!
You're invited to our next event!
It's likely you've read stories of local designers facing copyright infringements of their work by other companies, and since the rise of blogs and image-sharing websites such as Pinterest, protecting your designs is now more important than ever.
Intellectual property lawyer Sharon Givoni has established a reputation for being an entertaining speaker and explaining the law in 'plain English'. At this special CWC event, she will discuss a range of IP-related topics and will answer your questions. Recommended for anyone who makes or designs their own products to sell, particularly if you display them online. More info & tickets here.
{Full Members can enter coupon code CWCFM at checkout to receive a discounted ticket. Read more about Full Membership and our current giveaway here!}