Interview: Sarah Thornton & Brooke Johnston, founders of The Finders Keepers market

By Tess McCabe Today we interview two ladies whose business I'm sure many of you will be aware of, as either a visitor or stall holder. But how did The Finders Keepers market begin and what have been some of the highs and lows founders Brooke Johnston and Sarah Thornton have encountered along the way? Let's find out...

How did you two meet and what prompted the decision to launch a business together? Brooke and I met in the Summer of 2002 when she moved to Sydney from Lennox Head and started dating my cousin (who she has since then married). She was pursuing a creative career in jewellery design. We hit it off instantly, sharing an equal love of all things creative. At the time I was studying and working in the fashion industry.

It wasn't until a conversation in 2006 about how Brooke was frustrated at trying to launch her contemporary jewellery labe. At the time there was generally a lack of support and good places to sell for small labels. An idea sparked in us! We came up with our 'dream event' that would combine all the things we loved - design, art, music & wine in a friendly market atmosphere. We wanted to create a social atmosphere that supported creativity, community and inspired others. We launched The Finders Keepers just that with only 20 curated stalls, live music and a full bar. We had no idea how to run an event, or curate anything, we just learnt along the way.

We've always worked so well together, both sharing the same passions for creativity and community and we seem to have the perfect blend of patience, kindness and encouragement with each other that has made our partnership truly flourish.

How long has The Finders Keepers market been going now, and how has it changed over the years ? We're six years old now, and we've had our fair share of struggles and hurdles along the way! Finders Keepers we believe has organically grown, from just having a small offering of stalls in Sydney, to expanding interstate to Brisbane & Melbourne, and then improving and growing as the years go by. We've really learnt everything along the way and can credit our strength to learning from mistakes too and never giving up. We also have such an amazing community of supporters that really keep us going, when times have been tough we know how important our role has become for designers and shoppers alike!

It just started with the two of us, running Sydney markets, then when we took on Brisbane and Melbourne, we recruited two more event assistants and now we have a great little team of six part-time workers and a casual team who just do our events. Everyone in the Finders Keepers family has other jobs and creative roles. We love that.

What have been some of the challenges of keeping FK running for this long? Many challenges! Gosh too many to name... I think the biggest one was when we outgrew ourselves. Our markets were getting too big, and too popular (not necessarily a bad thing!), but it just meant the logistics of managing it all was increasing and then came the massive increase of expenses and demands.

Every event we got bigger and had to upgrade, and one point we were just scraping through financially and we couldn't get ahead. We had absolutely no money to invest in our next events. It was at this time we were facing major decisions and at a cross roads of being burnt out and ready to pull the pin. Sometimes those moments have to happen, we re-evaluated, re-worked our planning and asked for help to get us out of a rut.

It was a hard time, but it was also the best time for us to come out of it, and realise how strong we were at the end of it all.

What roles do each of you take on in the running of the business, and do you both work on FK full-time? Our roles have changed over time. Originally Brooke and I did most of all the event work, but we now have the amazing Alischa who helps us with the national event management and logistics (a life saver). This has given us a bit more of a directors role, which lets us oversee all the curation of the markets (which includes us going through all the applications and final approvals), new event concepts, vendors, seasonal artwork, decor, signage and marketing of the event. We still work very closely with Alischa on all the event decisions and direction.

I also work with our little web team and oversee all our website's blog content and social media. Brooke and I also have a retail venture, Follow, that Brooke mainly manages. Between being creative and everything else we do (I'm also a mum to a toddler), we would probably work on Finders Keepers around 3-4 days out of the week, and more in peak times.

What advice do you have for makers and designers who might be considering showcasing their work at a market this year? Give it a go! We always love seeing new designers and makers at the markets and if they are just starting out we have an excellent opportunity called 'debut' for the little guys to give the markets a go for the first time at a discounted rate. For more seasoned designers who are interested we also have a pretty thorough criteria and FAQ section on our website. We encourage people to learn more about what we do at Finders Keepers and what kind of talent we're looking for. We even have our tips and market guides that might help too.

Thank you Sarah and Brooke for sharing your story with us! If you're keen to apply to be a Finders Keepers stall holder, applications for the Spring/Summer markets in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne are open now. And if you'd like to visit and see all the beautiful maker's products Sarah and Brooke curate for you, check out the market dates here!

Interview – Anna Ross of Kester Black

By Andrea McArthur

Recently you may have noticed that there has been an unprecedented rise in the level of interest in nail art and nail polish. You'll find that there’s even a strong nail art blogging community on the rise (take a look on Kester Blacks Pinterest to see a few Bloggers work). If you were asked to describe nail polish in just one word, I would use – fun. Nails are no longer just manicures, they can truly be coordinated to any look and have become the finishing accessory to an outfit.

Launched in August 2012, Kester Black nail polish was borne out of a passion to run a creative business and create an ethical, all-Australian product. In this interview, Anna Ross – CWC member, founder and director of the fabulous Kester Black – tells us about her background and her personal passion for her product.

What led you to starting Kester Black? Kester Black began 4 years ago as a clothing label while I was studying a Bachelor of design, majoring in fashion in the South of New Zealand. When I graduated, my wise mother dearest suggested I broaden my horizons overseas which would bring more opportunities than staying at home and working on my label. I packed my bags and began searching for a job in Melbourne. The experience didn’t quite work out the way I was expecting it to.

After landing myself a job in retail, I thought I’d better get something creative happening to keep my portfolio growing. I began making jewellery and selling it back to New Zealand where that seemed to be quite successful for a few years. After a year in retail, I finally landed my dream job: design assistant for a well known Australian fashion label. I worked in that role for just over a year until I was offered a production manager role for another large company in the industry. The pay they were offering was more than double what I was on, but the catch was that I would have to give up my own little business. I felt like I had worked so hard for the last two and a half years to just give it all up. So I turned down the job, and worked on building my business.

In the mean time, I had decided I was bored of merely working with sterling silver and began researching enamel paints to use on the jewellery I was making. It led me to looking into nail polish, and I really saw a gap in the market. I decided to manufacture and sell my own nail polish line to complement my jewellery. It was a major turning point in my career when, as the jewellery market had become really saturated and my nail polish sales were going through the roof, that I decided to focus solely on the nail polish side of things and lay the jewellery to rest.

How did you go from an idea, to tracking down a manufacturer, to launching your own range of nail polish? It was pretty challenging to begin with. It took me eight months just to do the research, and in the mean time I had to save my pennies to get enough money to invest in the business. It was also a massive risk. I didn’t know how my product would be received, and I’m just lucky people have really supported me and my business. I couldn’t have done it without the constant advice from my friends and family. When I finally found a manufacturer who took me seriously, it was such a relief and things just naturally began flowing. I had my website redesigned, and engaged an amazing photographer (Eve Wilson) whose photographs really brought the presentation of my brand to the next level. I still feel like I have a really long way to go but I am excited about what the next phase is going to bring to my ever growing little business.

How have you managed the carcinogenic-free side of the production process? Did you come across any manufacturers who weren’t flexible enough to develop your ethical product with you? I have actually been working closely along side a chemist who helps me with that side of things. I wanted my product stand out and meet all of my ethical values while still maintaining a durable quality without sacrificing the fun colours. I researched the industry and manufacturing processes in depth and was a little afraid I wouldn’t be able to achieve what I wanted my final product to be. I wasn’t  impressed with what some of the bigger corporate companies manage to get away with these days.

It’s just so silly that consumers should even have to think about it, so I did a lot of research on how to make my formula non toxic. Before choosing a manufacturer I asked every one to supply me with their core company values. It was really easy to narrow the field down when I asked to create a non toxic nail polish base. There were definitely some manufacturers who we not willing to change the way in which they do things.

It appears that you surround yourself with like minded business women. Can you explain how the co-written and self-published book “The Hand Book, A guide to nail art” with Chelsea Bagan come about? When I received the first of my six colours of nail polish from the manufacturer, I was interested to see if my product was as high quality as other brands. So I sent out some sample packs to nail artists I found online. Chelsea happened to be one of them. We were in touch over email for a month or so before I decided I would like to create a book on nail art. I asked her on a bit of a 'blind date' to propose my book idea. After the classic ‘I’ll be wearing light blue jeans and I have dark hair’ line we met up and I pitched my idea to her. From that initial first meeting, it only took us 6 weeks to write, shoot and print the book. Chelsea and I have very similar aesthetics and that made working together on such a big project really easy. We have since become great friends and are in touch almost every day.

Originally described as the “Hipster Mani”, how would you describe the new style of nail art seen in your book? After seeing so many awful manicures trending while I was researching, I was excited when I stumbled across Chelsea’s slick work online. I don’t know if I can give you an exact phrase, but the style of nail art that featured in our book seems to be a little more simple, refined and fun. I love the colour combinations we use. I like the cartoon-style nail art much better than the really realistic palm trees and sunsets you see elsewhere. I also believe the nail art in Melbourne is reflective of our creative and artistic culture.

What does a typical day at work involve for you? Well I’m usually awoken at the first sign of light by my little brown Burmese cat George Von Whiskers, nudging me to let him get under the blankets for a morning cuddle. This is the point in which I grab my laptop from beside my bed and set up shop for the morning. I check my emails, do my accounting and try to clear my inbox before it gets swamped again later in the day. I’m always surprised at how many emails I get overnight. After breakfast and a shower I pop into my home office and pack up all the orders I need to send out for the day. Then depending on what time of year it is, I could be mixing up colours for a new collection, researching photo shoot ideas, updating the website and all the while trying not to move too much as to upset the cat sleeping in my lap.

Being a creative I find that my personal and professional life seems to blur. Do you find that Kester Black is a reflection of who you are as a person? Absolutely. Kester Black’s aesthetic is just a combination of all the things I love. My Pinterest and Instagram accounts are a bit of a reflection of that. I am also a very efficient and fast-working person and I think that reflects in my work. I can often be too hasty in evolving my business and I think that shows sometimes. I’m working on improving that!

The people I surround myself with are often other creatives or professionals. I find myself going out for a glass of wine with friends and instead of talking about holiday plans or what has been happening at home, we are devising ideas for an upcoming photo shoot or a list of people who I can approach for collaborations. I’m constantly picking the brains of my ‘not so creative’ friends about investments, accounting software or website coding, all things which I would love to know more about to better my business. In my experience as a business owner, there is no ‘off switch’ at the end of the day, although I do think it’s important to have balance and I have been working on that a lot over the past year.

What was the best piece of business advice given to you over your journey that you can share? I was once told to begin your business the way you intend to run it. I was lucky enough to get it right the third time round. While my business was in it’s clothing and jewellery stages, I was doing everything myself. When I made the switch to nail polish I really made the effort to refine my procedures. For starters, I upgraded to Xero for accounting which has actually made accounting pretty enjoyable. I created a marketing plan and began thinking long term. Kester Black was officially an after school job no more.

What is your personal favourite Kester Black nail colour?

I’d love to quote my mother and give the democratic answer “I love all of my children equally” but I won’t. Lilac is my current fave, the new winter colour just released this week.

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Thank you Anna! Fall in love with Kester Black at www.kesterblack.com and keep up to date with what Anna is up to by following her adventures on Instagram.

Andrea McArthur has a passion for all things visual and works as a Senior Graphic Designer at a branding agency in Dubai. Type is her true love and goes weak at the knees over beautiful design. You'll find her sharing design related musings via Twitter and Instagram

How to Take a Break from Social Media (Without Your Business Suffering!)

Do you ever feel stressed about taking a break from your social media and losing all your traction with your followers/clients/customers? It can be hard to switch it off, especially when it’s such a great marketing and customer service tool for your creative business. But every once in a while you will need to step away.

Here are some great ways to do it without losing your following:

• Let your readers/clients/customers know before you go, and if possible, how long you’ll be away. Keeping them in the loop is better than just disappearing without a word.
• Ask them to sign up for your blog’s RSS feed and schedule content for the time you are away. Consider organising guest posts where it’s appropriate or re-publish a series of your most read posts.
• Have someone take over your social media accounts for that time. If you’re taking significant time off, like maternity leave, and have a business that mostly works without you there (passive income or a shop with ready made goods), consider taking someone on for that time to post to your social media accounts and pack orders.
• Use a service like Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule your Twitter posts in advance, so you don’t lose your reach. Facebook has recently improved their scheduling service too. Let your readers know that you're doing this and that you might not be there to answer questions a couple of times before you take the break.
• Decide if Instagram will be included in your social media break - it might seem weird to take a break but still use one social network, but if you’re taking a holiday to a great destination, you can keep your followers in the loop with a holiday happy-snap here and there.
• If you’re still working but taking a 'digital sabbatical', let your clients know that you’ll still be available by email or your regular channels. But if you’re closing up shop as well as taking a social media break, consider preparing some great “we’re back” social media content that's ready to go when you are back and working again.

Taking a break from social media, or even from your business, doesn’t have to mean that you’ll be back at the beginning once you log back in. Most people understand that everyone needs a break to recharge their batteries. Having a clear strategy for your social media while you're away - frequency, content - can help you truly relax while you're on that break.

Dannielle is a blogger, serial organiser and passionate traveller. She has a secret love of 90s teen movies and can often be found hanging out on Pinterest. She is on a mission to help people bring happiness (and fun) back into their homes with a dash of organisation and a sprinkle of their own awesome style over at her blog Style for a Happy Home.

Image from © Lime Lane Photography

My Advice: Starting a retail shop

By Lizzie Stafford Venturing into a new retail business is daunting and most small business owners will admit the first few years are a steep learning curve. It’s tough. But having your own shop space can also be hugely rewarding. I asked five successful store owners for their best piece of advice for starting a retail business.

Don’t get caught up in the details.

Alana Langan, Hunt & Bow, online boutique

"Prior to launching Hunt & Bow I found myself spending hours upon hours getting everything *perfect* behind the scenes, when the most important thing for me to do was just get out there and get going. So much can be tweaked along the way and being an online retailer, it's better to be up and running online and interacting with customers than not. That said, there is definitely a place for getting key things right from the beginning (like your business name and logo - the big things!)"

Everything in business can be learnt.

Tiana Vasiljev, Beautiful Pages, Sydney

"Starting up a business can be daunting but it's not rocket science. Most of business is common sense and everything can be learnt with a bit of practise. Experience is the best teacher when it comes to running a business. The longer you do it, the easier it will become.

Hire a business coach. Find good mentors. Surround yourself with successful people. Finding someone who you can talk to regularly and who can offer advice is a huge help. Having a coach will assist you in identifying and reaching your goals. They can provide focus, motivate you and help clarify your goals (in both business and in life). It's also important to find mentors and learn from what they have to offer. A large amount of how successful you are in life comes down to who you surround yourself with.

Never start a business for the money. You need to truly love what you are doing, stand by your values and believe in what you do. It is important to do something meaningful, something that you truly love doing and care about. It will not only feed your soul, but help grow your business and keep you focused during hard times.

Once you get into it, it's important to never quit. Every great leader that I have ever looked up to persevered to make it work and never quit. Many times your business will get tough, but it is important to preserve and stick with it. Change your strategy or approach if need be, but never give up."

There’s no point trying to be all things to all people.

Julia Pound, Dagmar Rousset, Melbourne

"At first I used to worry that some people didn’t seem to “get” Dagmar. Occasionally they would walk in and laugh at the stock, or tell me they were too old for it (despite the fact that some of my most loyal customers are over 60). I told this to my accountant and she suggested I stock a broader range that would appeal to a greater cross section of the population.  I thought about this for a while and then I had an epiphany: does Radiohead worry about how to get in on Justin Bieber’s demographic? Does Opera Australia advertise at AFL games? Why would you worry about not everyone liking you? Just do it for you and all the people who “get” you. There is such a sense of relief in thinking this way – it’s truly life changing, or at least it was for me. Now I just worry about what my customers like. No one else matters."

Invite other people to perform some of the everyday tasks.

Michelle Gillies, Nook, Brisbane

"A lesson that I'm in the process of learning is that as soon as it's possible, I think that it's beneficial to invite other people to perform some of the everyday tasks, to enable you to focus on other creative or developmental aspects of the business. Many of the day-to-day tasks can be time consuming and tiring and leave you with less time to be creative and consider new ways to grow and evolve the business. It is essential to allow time to research new suppliers and products, consider store related events and come up with nice new ways to display stock. This can also ensure that you remain interested, enthusiastic and inspired, which is just as important for you as it is for the business."

Stay true to your vision.

Lyndal Gubbels, The Flower Dispensary, Geelong

"Don't expect others to have the same vision as you; they don't know what's going on inside that creative head of yours. I'm not the best person to explain all the visions I'm having inside my head, and trying to relay this to your staff is not an easy task.

Having staff that have similar visions has been my hardest hurdle since having The Flower Dispensary. Staff need to have a similar style or be willing to adapt their style to suit your business.

I opened The Flower Dispensary to be a feel good place to all, a place to escape and evoke the senses with beautiful smelling blooms and colour and to be greeted with happy staff that are working because they have a passion for their trade.

I thoroughly enjoy working in a creative space with the staff that we employ to continue to grow our business. I learn everyday from them."

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Lizzie Stafford is a writer and soon-to-be retailer in Brisbane. Her magazine and book store Künstler will open in March 2014. She is also organising Brisbane’s first CWC event happening in April, with more details announced soon!

Virtual visit: Page 8 Mornington

Eleesa Howard at Page 8 Mornington contacted me a little while back about stocking Conversations with Creative Women: Volume Two. A little research into this coastal establishment led me to want to find out more about the shop and Eleesa herself!

Tell us about Page 8. It seems like more than a place to buy books, but a hub for the local creative community. How long has it existed in Mornington and what kind of customers does it attract?

You are right, Page 8 is so much more than a place to buy books. I guess you would call us a lifestyle shop. It was started eight years ago by a local couple. They started the business while having three beautiful boys, they did an amazing job. We aim to be the place that customers can come and find something a little fresh, quirky, interesting, creative and inspiring. Our customers are across a range of age groups and backgrounds. One minute, there will be a grandmother looking for an interesting gift for her grandchild. Next, it will be a business man checking out the selection of Architecture books, then a group of teenagers looking out for latest Frankie mag! Such an enthusiastic and wide variety of customers, which I love. I guess we have something for everyone!

What labels do you stock?

We love stocking local designers and crafters along side quality brands from Melbourne and internationally, such as: Polli, pigeonhole, wewood, telegram, make me iconic, pony rider, keep cups, Salus, Elk, Spider & lily, Printspace, Down to the Woods, One Sunday Morning, Gozi & Pop, Once Made, Lascari, to name just a few! We also stock the latest across a range of books, including children's titles, cookbooks, art, photography, graphic design, interiors, architecture, gardening , craft and design…..so many!

What is your background personally? What did you study and how did you find yourself at Page 8? This is a bit of a long story as I have ‘fallen’ into many things. I finished high school and found myself in the real world pretty quickly. I started out in retail and then worked in an amazing place called the Organic Market Café in Stirling, SA. I learned so much about food and life there, I loved that job.

In between, however, I did have two little people come into my life. I had my daughter at 23 and then a few years later had my son. This is where the creative side of me really took hold! Being a stay at home Mum, I felt the need to do ‘something’. So I started to sew clothes for my kids and then quilts, mostly using beautiful vintage fabrics and materials. It was around this time that I was given the oppurtunity to work as part of the visual merchandising team for Country Road. I loved it and realised I had a natural talent for design and display.

After a few years my husband and I moved interstate and I had a fresh start in hosplitalily. This lead to the oppurtunity to opening my own little cafe, which was great fun but a steep learning curve.

Due to the 'surprise' of our youngest son popping into our lives, the café was too much to continue. So again I was home with a new baby and going a little insane! I was itching to do something. This is when I got back into sewing. I started doing markets, making and selling bags, quilts and cushions under the name 'dorothybills'.

We moved to Victoria four years ago and settled on the beautiful Mornington peninsula. I continued on with markets and also stared working at Page 8 in the old cafe. Somehow, I cant even remember, I stated working in the shop helping with the visual merchandising there. Then as time went on I became the Manager. In October 2013 new owners took over the store, and now I am both manager and buyer which I love! I am truly lucky to have an amazing group of wonderful ladies to work with and support me.

What creative things do you enjoy doing outside of work? As my life is so busy, I seem to have a lot of half-finished projects. I'm current making a twine coil basket, painting some plant pots and have managed to sit down with my teenagers and dabble creatively while they are doing their art homework.

I think that’s why I love to surround myself with creative people and their goodies, even though I may not be creating as much as I used to, it makes me happy knowing I'm helping others get their work out there in some small way.

What's on your summer holiday reading list? I just finished, finally, ' Let's pretend this never happened' by Jenny Lawson, which made me laugh out loud with tears rolling down my face!

Also on my bedside table is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Cloudstreet by Tim Winton,which I cant wait to read, and the latest issue of Frankie. I must admit I have a weakness for magazines and interior book such as Beci Orpin's new book Home and  A Place Called Home by Jason Grant. Lots of constant stimulation and inspiration!

Thanks Eleesa! You can find Page 8 on Facebook or visit the store at: 188 Main St, Mornington, Victoria.

{Photos by Danielle Trovato}

Why write a design brief?

Today we welcome guest blogger Nat Carroll to the CWC stage, for her first post in a two-part series about design briefs. Welcome, Nat!

To achieve design that matters, it’s imperative your designer must understand all aspects and the tiny nuances of a project. You may end up, otherwise, with something that looks pretty, but ultimately does not resonate with your target audience. The questions you need to ask yourself of the design, are: Will it increase your brand awareness, increase your sales, or better your other strategic goals? Will it solve the heart of your problem? Design can be strategically valuable, if the project has clear goals and objectives from the outset.

Enter the design brief.

In my opinion, this often over–looked, rushed and/or under–valued part of the design process is vital to the outcome of your project’s success, and most likely, your bottom–line.

A good project briefing thoroughly explores and defines the project, objectives, success criteria, target audience, competition and the scope of work involved.

For the client, a good brief works as:

• A defining of the problem, to which an informed design becomes the solution to;
• A process of clarification and refinement, before moving too hastily ahead with concepts;
• A challenge to existing perceptions, that may have resulted in the design problem initially; and
• An alignment of all the key decision–makers, helping to avoid dead–ends or disagreements later on

And for the designer, a good brief works as:

• The best guide to quoting a project accurately by understanding the total scope involved;
• A directive tool, that the designer can constantly refer back to, to ensure they’re on–track; and
• A reference tool, to design from an informed viewpoint, creating more meaningful design

This part of the process manages the risk involved in investing in the hire of a creative, by creating common goals, with defined issues/restraints, and a structure for solving the problem. It aligns all involved with a reference point, giving the designer the ability to clarify and understand the needs of the client and their problem. Writing a design brief encourages clear communication and collaboration between the two parties.

Collaborating with your designer in a transparent approach, by sharing your most likely, intimate knowledge of your brand – be that a product, service, your own art – will harvest the most innovative project outcomes. Think of your designer almost as if he/she were a business partner – sharing your deepest values and business goals, will allow for insight and new perspectives that may just spark the most creative of solutions, and help tick the goals on your list.

This all begins, with a clear, well–written and informative design brief!

Design briefs can take many forms. In my own design practice, I guide clients toward an informative brief via a questionnaire (you can see an example here). In part two of this series, we'll explore How to Write a Design Brief. Stay tuned!

Nat Carroll is NSW-based creative director, designer & illustrator with an artisan style and strategic approach, working under the moniker, the Seamstress. She carefully crafts visual communication — brands, design & illustration — for the creative, cultural, business & non profit fields.

Interview: Magdalena Franco of Unleash Creative

In March, CWC Member Magdalena Franco is putting on an exciting event in Melbourne (soon to be followed by events in Brisbane and Sydney). It's called Unleash Creative, and in essence it's about getting the time, space, materials and hands-on expert help to take your creativity to a new place (or even just coax it out of its shell!). Magdalena has gathered a bunch of different skills working in various facets of creative industries, and this new venture brings them all together, with an added dose of passion and determination. Let's meet Mags!

Tell us about your background. What creative industries have you worked in and what are you passionate about?

I always find it interesting to hear about people’s journeys and where life has taken them. Where people start out is not generally where they finish up and I love that; knowing that there’s an adventure to be had is all part of the excitement. My career started out in administration. A dry and monotonous career path full of numbers, schedules, word processing, paper-pushing and spreadsheets. Don’t get me wrong, I adore all of those things in an odd way, but they’re not exactly the kind of things that dreams are made of.

A couple of years into working admin I landed a fantastic and gruelling job at a busy PR agency in Brisbane where I worked my way up the ranks and scored major brownie points on my CV. Those brownie points helped me secure some exciting marketing gigs when I relocated to Melbourne in my early twenties. Over the course of 12-odd years I built up my PR, marketing and event skills, knowing that one day they would be of great benefit to something more fulfilling I wanted to do. But I never really knew what I wanted to do, other than I wanted to focus on my creative passions.

Ever since I can remember, I have drawn, scrapbooked, painted, collaged, collected, stitched and made all sorts of things. But I never dreamed that I could turn my passion for making things into money. In 2010 I started sewing and selling my wares at markets. Something that gave me immense pleasure for a short amount of time. I realised that having a day job, a family and an under-paid hobby on the side was taking its toll on my passion, mojo and life. So I stopped. Not the making, just the robotic making-to-sell process. I don’t think I will ever give up making. Albeit for very different reasons than monetary.

What is for the format of Unleash Creative and prompted you to launch it? Unleash Creative is a full day of creative, crafty, colourful madness full to the brim with absorbing new skills in an intimate workshop environment.

I realised that with the popularity of Instagram and Pinterest, many people were and still are admiring things that others have made, hoping to one day make or learn the skills to make similar beautiful things. But those pins seemed to turn into boards full of forgotten projects that “I’ll make one day” and some didn’t even know where to start or didn’t want to commit to a 6 week course to learn sewing if they weren’t sure whether it was really for them.

Then there’s the other side of the creative pool, the people like me who have been making for years either to sell or for family and friends who have lost their creative mojo, have gotten stuck in a creative rut or would like to expand their craft skills, but don’t know what to try or where to start.

Unleash Creative was created as a result. It’s a roundup of four talented creative mentors who will inspire, pass on their skills and give attendees a taste of something they may not have tried before. It’s essentially a day of creative taste testing. I want people to walk away feeling refreshed, inspired and excited with a hunger for making and embracing handmade. And maybe a passion to further one of the new skills they’ve learned.

Who runs the Unleash workshops and what can people expect to learn? Each attendee at Unleash will get to experience all four workshops run throughout the day. The workshops are run by awesome crafter types who are passionate about sharing what they know and helping people to find their own creative groove.

At the Melbourne event, for example, we have Allira of Freckles and Ginger who’ll be showing people how to go crazy with pom poms to create something wearable. Emma van Leest will be helping everyone make their very own layered silhouette paper cutting which can be framed at home. Gemma Patford’s paint and rope-coiled-baskets will be influencing what she shares on the day and Kitiya Palaskas will be throwing a whole bucket of her colourful paper skills at everyone.

I just can’t wait to see what everyone walks away with at the end of the day!

What have been some of the challenges of pulling together an event like this, especially as you will be holding it in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney over the course of 2014? My biggest challenges will definitely be the interstate events. I’ve been lucky so far as 90% of the organisation has been done via email and Skype, but I know that closer to the event dates for Sydney and Brisbane I’m going to be relying on the expertise and assistance of local people to help me out on the ground before I arrive. That in itself is a little daunting for me as I like to be involved in every aspect of managing and setting up events. But I will just have to put those fears aside and have faith that my helpers will do me proud.

Where can people find out more and get along to an Unleash event? There’s plenty of information on the website www.unleashcreative.com.au, people can follow along on Instagram @unleashcreative, or tickets can be purchased through www.unleashcreative.eventbrite.com.