10 science-backed creativity boosters
By Emma Clark Gratton
We’ve all had slumpy days where it’s hard to get out of bed, let alone come up with anything new. Luckily, the scientific world has proven tips and tricks to boost creativity.
- Clench your left hand
Doctor Amantha Imber is a psychologist and the founder of an innovation consultancy. "When we clench our left hand into a fist it activates a region called the extention memory system. So when this is activated it promotes more unique thinking. In studies, the people who were not squeezing or were using their right hand and not their left hand, didn't have as many creative thoughts. So if you clench your left hand you will have more creative thoughts just through that simple action," Dr Imber said.
- Meditate
If you are stuck on a certain issue and can’t move forward, it is easy to feel anxious and stressed. When panic strikes, try meditating: It promotes divergent thinking, a state of mind in which we’re able to generate new ideas.
- Write by hand
Carrie and Alton Barron, the authors of The Creativity Cure, advise us to skip the Word doc and pick up a pen instead. Sometimes the whole experience of writing by hand—the feel of the pen, the smell of a fresh notebook—is all it takes to get creative juices flowing.
- Look at something blue or green
According to the principles of colour therapy, the colours blue and green can promote creativity. Researchers say that’s because we associate blue with the ocean, sky, and openness in general, while green signals growth.
- Sit outside a box
Though it might sound a little strange, in one study, people who sat outside a box (literally) were better at thinking creatively than people who sat in it. No cardboard container handy? Try sitting in the hallway outside a room.
- Exercise
We all know the benefits of regular exercise, but even just a short walk can reset your brain enough to kick-start your creativity. Plus one recent study found regular exercisers performed better on creative tasks than their less active peers did.
- Be psychologically distant
Have you ever noticed that giving advice to a friend is easier than solving your own problems? This is because you are “psychologically distant” from your friend’s problem, meaning that the issue is not occurring in the present and does not affect you. According to a study from Indiana University, increasing the psychological distance between you and a problem boosts your creativity. You may also gain new insights and clarity by thinking about a problem more abstractly.
- Give yourself deadlines
According to a study by MIT Sloan School of Management, setting self-determined deadlines for completing a project improves task performance and decreases procrastination. Simply give yourself a set amount of time to finish a task, and impose on yourself incentives for meeting the deadline and consequences for failure.
- Think like a child
Picasso declared: "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." But a recent study suggests that it's possible to regain the creativity we've lost to maturity. A few hundred subjects were assigned to two different groups. The first was given the following instructions: "You are seven years old, and school is cancelled. You have the entire day to yourself. What would you do? Where would you go? Who would you see?" The second group was given the same instructions, except the first sentence was deleted. After writing for ten minutes, the subjects were then given tests of creativity, such as inventing new uses for a car tyre or a brick. The students who imagined themselves as children scored far higher on the creative tasks, with nearly twice as many ideas as the other group. Picasso would be proud.
- Restrict yourself
Famously, Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs & Ham after betting that he couldn’t produce a story using less than 50 words. The research shows Seuss was on to something. Most people naturally take the path of “least resistance” and build off of older or existing concepts when brainstorming, which can lead to less creative ideas. In order to put the brain in overdrive, you can mimic Dr. Seuss and place restrictions on yourself while creating, which will prevent you from falling back on past successes. If you usually write 1000-word short stories, try to create a story in under 500 words. Only use a small handful of chords in your song or colours in your design. The limiting nature of the task can bring out your most creative side.
Emma Clark Gratton is the Head of Content at Creative Women's Circle, a staff writer at ArtsHub and a podcaster who, alongside her husband Lee, runs GRATTON, a timber furniture and architectural joinery company. She blogs occasionally at Worst House Best Street and posts endless photos of her sons on Instagram at @emmamakesthings.
Later.com for creatives
One of the best assets we have for promoting our work and profile is social media. At a recent The Resolution Project event, this was illuminated when we had the opportunity to pose questions to a panel on any topic of current interest. Social media was a hot topic! The panel members Domini Marshall, Bec Mackey, Tess McCabe and Phoebe Miller (chaired by Madeleine Dore) offered great advice on how to manage social media, especially around content management. Many of the participants were intrigued as to how to best use their time, and how to manage building a profile with specific audiences.
"The best approach is to post two to three times daily to build your audience”
- Domini Marshall
So I thought I would share my adventures into strategic social media management as I begin my new creative business and profile on Instagram. After the panel presentation, I was intrigued to explore platforms that would allow me to populate and schedule content. This is attractive to me as real time generation of content is not always possible. Plus, I’m very much looking towards productive strategies that can assist me in product and profile development planning and delivery. I went on a search, discovered that there are no 100% free platforms with all options available that offer this service for Instagram as yet, but there are plenty for Twitter.
What I did find was the platform Later.com. This is a platform that allows you to upload and schedule your Instagram posts from your mobile or computer. What I like about this platform is that is offers a free sign up option while exploring if it works for you. You can post image and text content 30 times in the month for free. This allows for the flexibility to capture spontaneous moments, as well as scheduled content.
Scheduling content for the week: desktop view
The platform sets up your week in a calendar format. This allows you to visually plan your time, and for you to post at the times that are ideal for your audience. This is where the wisdom of Kylie Lewis and Belinder Langler (of Of Kin fame) comes into play. Their research has indicated that you should be regular and consistent. Their work is also a great reminder to link into the digital patterns of most people’s social media habits of checking the first thing in the morning and in the evening before they go to bed. A great guide to when you can regularly post to build your profile.
A record is maintained of the content you have shared and how many times (stored in the ‘used’ section of the platform). And there is the opportunity to preload images for future content stored in the ‘used’ section of the platform. Once again, another benefit within the platform to support strategic management and smart use of time.
Creating content ahead of time
In planning your post you can add your image and caption. I think this is one of the best features of this platform to assist in content generation. The image and content can be added, then scheduled. This is then saved and ready to ‘pop up’ as a reminder to allow for posting.
Mobile application reminder on phone screen. This is a ‘pop up’ that serves as a reminder to post (transfer) the content already created into Instagram.
I have been approaching my content management by loading the images and captions of a Sunday for the week ahead. I have identified the times I would like the post to appear. By populating the content on the desktop I am dedicating my time to plan and consider how I want to share. This then connects nicely to my app, with an alert coming up on my screen.
Later talking to Instagram to transfer your preloaded content.
Some thoughts in regards to the pros and cons of using a platform such as Later for Instagram as a summary includes:
Pros
- You can populate and schedule your content and pre plan for the week or month ahead.
- Can support you to think about your digital marketing strategy.
- Reminders are sent to your phone (once you have download the app) for the time and date you set the content to be launched.
- Can edit and proof read your populated content before you post. Perfect if you wish to add or change the content based on your thinking.
- An organisation helper.
- The app allows for sharing and posting on the go. Perfect for the creative juggling multiple tasks.
- Time efficient.
- Helps you forward think to align your posting to core values and missions as a creative or creative business.
Cons
- The content is created, however, it does not post it. You still need to transfer the content across to Instagram, however this is easy from the mobile app as it does a direct copy and paste for you with a few directed clicks.
- Must be connected to wifi.
How to open a store
By Jes Egan
Opening up a retail store is really exciting. Selling your product and other supplier's product is a real opportunity and can be lots of fun. There are a number of business related elements to consider when looking to open up your own retail store - here a few just to start.
Location, location, location
Location is key. Consider being in an area where you feel that your key customer segments are but don’t neglect to think about foot traffic as well. You want to be in a position where you may catch people walking past to come in and experience your store and all you have to offer.
Store size
When reviewing a new space for your store, think about the layout, where and how you’re going to set it up. Think about what stock you are planning to have and where you may put it. You need to ensure you have enough space for all of your stock but not too much at the same time. Also, keep in mind that your rent on the space tends to be measured by the square metre so if you don’t over stretch yourself getting space that you don’t need or that you can’t use.
Stock
How much stock do you need? Do you have a storage space that you can use for excess stock that doesn’t fit on the floor? If you have run your business from an online space in the past you may have an idea of the popular items that you need to have more of. If you are selling other business' stock, consider taking items on consignment or only ordering the bare minimum to begin with to see how they go.
Online
Don’t neglect your online store - many people see items in store and go home and order them online, plus it opens up your potential audience base outside of the area where your store is located. It is vital that you keep your store up-to-date with as much stock and information as possible, it can help build your brand awareness as well as reach.
If you don’t already have an online store, you can have a site custom built for you (which can be fairly pricey) or you can use on of the many eCommerce platforms that are already available to use, with templates, shopping cart functionality and check out facilities already built in. There are many out there, I found Shopify really easy to use.
Negotiate your lease
Leasing a commercial shop space will probably be one of your biggest outgoings, so take the time to think it through because if you find yourself unable to pay the rent it can put your business at risk. Review the average rents in the desired area and work out what is an achievable and reasonable amount to pay. Consider the length of your lease - if you are a startup, a shorter lease could be an option to consider. If the unfortunate thing happens and your business doesn’t go well then you’re not left with a long lease to pay or negotiate your way out of. It also will give you some flexibility if your business needs change and you need to consider a different space. A shorter term lease can cost more (monthly) than a longer one but something that should be considered.
Insurance
There are many different types of insurance that is needed such as employees liability insurance, public liability, WorkCover etc. Not all insurance companies offer it, a good place to start looking is GIO, AAMI, Allianz or Shop Insurance, Smart Business Insurance just to name a few! Speak to one of their consultants about what you are planning to do and what you will need. They can advise on the correct packages or if a tailored option is more suited to your needs.
Finance
Opening a shop is a costly thing to do! It isn’t cheap - you’ll need a certain amount of capital upfront to get it started. Consider things like rent, signage, point of sale systems, fit out, stock, staff, insurance, branding etc. Unless you have access to funds, you’ll need either an investor or a small business loan from a bank and you will most likely need some of your own capital to get started. Generally to get a bank’s financial support, you will need a solid business plan to secure the funding. Some banks' small business departments will help you with this plan. Make sure you don’t forget to account for paying back this loan as part of your plan. Also don’t borrow more than you need as you don’t want to be down the track with a big loan that you can’t pay back. Go and see a financial adviser or small business banker to give you the right advice for your business.
Promote
Promote your store! Advertise and market it in the best way that you see fit. Remember social channels are a great way to get your message out there, just remember you don’t need to be on all of them, chose a select few that your customers will relate to and do those ones well. Posters, door drops and offers for the local community are a great way to get your store out there alongside traditional and paid advertising.
There are many fun and exciting aspects to opening a store, the above are just some of the more boring but necessary things to consider on your path to opening something brilliant.
Jes is a ‘practical creative’ and a very busy lady, doing the business in a digital agency, being an artist and an university lecturer. Follow Jes on Instagram.
How to succeed as a multi-passionate creative
By Bec Mackey
Do you find yourself pulled in different directions by your work and your creative projects? Are you easily distracted by a new idea or flash of inspiration, only to abandon it again shortly afterwards? Or maybe you’re trying to juggle working and paying the bills with a creative side project, and finding it hard to manage both at the same time. You may beat yourself up for being fickle, unable to commit, or to make a clear decision. But despite what we’re told by society, not everyone is built to have just one linear career path, and being easily distracted isn’t necessarily a bad sign. If any of the above resonates with you, it may just be that you are multi-passionate.
Being multi-passionate is a gift, so embrace it! There are many people out there who would kill to have your energy, curiosity and ability to see inspiration everywhere. Multi-passionate people can draw connections where others see nothing, and this is a highly valuable skill, particularly if you work in a creative industry – or would like to.
However, having so many interests and ideas can feel like a burden at times, and indecision about which path to take and what to focus on can contribute to a lack of confidence. It may seem like all external messages are telling you to commit and let go of all of your competing ideas – to settle down and choose your niche. If you don’t have just one job, title or simple elevator pitch to sum up what you do, its easy to feel isolated.
Multi-passionate people are almost always highly sensitive and very creative. This sensitivity, although an incredibly valuable trait for artists, communicators and business owners, means you probably pick up on a lot things, both negative and positive, that others don’t. If others have judged you for being changeable, or all your friends and family have solid careers and can’t understand your various interests, you may have taken this to heart and let it stop you from embracing your multi-passionate nature. This can lead to confusion, lack of motivation, and sometimes paralysis about which path to take next.
Here are some tips to help you move forward and thrive as a multi-passionate creative:
- Let go of the need to define yourself by one job title or career path. It may seem that this is a cultural expectation, and that many people you know define themselves by their job title. But if you’re multi-passionate, it won’t help to try and fit yourself into just one defined category. Be true to yourself – own your diverse skill set and know that there is a place for you too.
- Find a tribe of like-minded multi-passionates. Look out for other people who value curiosity and exploration in their career, and are interested in many different areas. It can stimulate your energy levels to be surrounded by others who get excited about new ideas and have a range of projects on the go. And when things get challenging, you’ll have friends and colleagues around that understand where you’re coming from and can support you without judging your hybrid career. You might even discover someone wonderful to partner up with – multi-passionates are great collaborators!
- Read about the profound things multi-passionate people (sometimes referred to as polymaths) have done through the ages. Having a defined, specific ‘thing’ to do for work is a relatively modern phenomenon. Even in more recent times, the revolutionary multi-passionates are there if you look for them. Maya Angelou is a fantastic example of a polymath who defied categorisation in her work. She may be most famous for her poetry, but she was also an accomplished dancer, journalist, editor, teacher and activist (who worked for Martin Luther King, no less!).
- Define your overall ‘why’ and then you will have a long term vision that will help with direction and focus. Watch Simon Sinek’s famous TED Talk ‘Start With Why’ and complete a simple ‘why’ exercise for yourself. Focus on what motivates you in life generally, rather than worrying about defining your why for multiple projects or business ideas. Discovering what motivates you and what is important to you will provide you with a compass of sorts, and help you understand yourself better.
- Resist the urge to do everything at once. Get good at time management or find help from a coach or course to enhance your skills in that area. You’ll feel better once you are taking small steps, even if its simultaneously in a couple of directions.
- Don’t give in to the paralysis that can come with having too many ideas. Choose one of your most dominant ideas– one that hasn’t gone away for a long time, or one of the most viable, and run with it. The upside to this is once you start to see progress, your confidence will increase and you can get out there and impact the world as only a vibrant, multi-passionate person can!
Bec Mackey is a writer, teacher and producer of screen-related things. She uses a decade of experience in the business sides of media and arts to help creative people fund and promote their work in ways that work for them. Bec writes about funding, promotion, creative careers and life on her website, Brightside Creatives.
Small town creative: Tara Pearce, wedding photographer
Tara Pearce is one half of Erin & Tara, a wedding photography business based in Kyneton, in the Victorian Goldfields. Erin & Tara have only been in the photo business for five years, but are in demand to capture the special days of couples all over Australia. You can find them on Instagram and Facebook.
First up, tell me about where you live. Have you always lived 'out of town'?
I live in Kyneton with my husband and two children. It is about a one hour drive from Melbourne. We have been here for eight years now. I spent time living in Kyneton when I was a child and my husband grew up here, so we both have a long term relationship with the place. It's been a great place to raise our two children Yorke and Mak, they are very established and happy here. It is far enough away from the city to be removed from it, but close enough to do business. My husband commutes there for work on a daily basis.
What is your employment background Tara. Can you tell me a bit about that?
Well I initially did a business degree and worked in the public sector. Our photography journey started 5 years ago when Erin & I thought it would be fun to photograph a wedding! This was before we owned a camera let alone knew how to use one. Let’s just say Google is our best friend!
Seriously? How can you have only been in the photo business for five years, that is crazy. You have done so well. How did you go from a city job to self employed creative. What did the transition look like?
Well initially I met a stylist, and I became a styling assistant. That only lasted a few gigs as the whole time I was watching the photographer and realised photography was something I would like to do. I was good friends with Erin and we started talking about it one day saying, this wedding thing, we could do it. We shot our first wedding together 3 months later and it all started from there. The biggest challenge was learning the technical side such as how to use a camera. Each year has had it’s own turning point from personal achievements such as creative growth to learning how to accept rejection gracefully. I believe the key turning point for us was when we started to trust our own judgment and abilities, which lead to more confidence giving us the freedom to express our creative vision.
In our first year we shot 30-40 weddings, the two of us with a camera each, so we could double our chance to achieving our vision and nailing the shot.
So five years on what has changed in how you do business?
After the first year of shooting weddings together we where pretty confident photographers and so we decided to shoot wedding individually. It works really well as that way we can commit to other individual work and family life. For example I generally take destination weddings while Erin prefers local weddings as she has younger children. These days we also have a team of talented assistants and we are about to launch a wedding photographer agency.
Can you tell me what has been your biggest challenge for your business?
Finding a good work/life balance! We are slowing finding a way to switch off from all the emails, but in the first three years of our business, we felt like we had to be 'on call' and sometimes I'd find myself emailing clients back at 2am. Crazy times! Not being photographers from the start meant having to learn all the technical stuff which was very daunting but together we worked it out. To be honest we learn something new every day, it's a pretty exciting industry to be in.
Oh and I nearly forgot…..juggling children and running a full-time business from home has it's challenges ;)
What about Erin & Tara are you most proud of ?
Looking back and remembering the conversation we had in a local cafe about becoming wedding photographers, that was five years ago and seeing where we are today! This is an achievement one we are very proud of.
What do you think has contributed to your success?
A lot of hard work, persistence and support from our amazing husbands! I'm also a massive believer in the Universe providing what you need when you need it.
Jasmine Mansbridge is a painter and mum to five kids. She regularly blogs about the intersection of creative work and family life, as well as her recent projects and travels. You can also find her on Instagram.
Branding basics: Rebrand your brand
By Mirella Marie
Rebranding is changing the image of a business. It focuses on how the business is perceived and how it has developed beyond its original goals and values. Some businesses will rebrand in their early lifecycle once they’ve discovered who they are, what they’re doing and where they’re going, while others will rebrand after having grown (or outgrown) their existing brand.
Your goal when rebranding should be to build upon your existing brand in order to maintain its audience, awareness, recognition and loyalty. If you steer your brand in a completely different direction, you may need to build it up again from scratch.
Reasons to rebrand
- A change in the type of products or services that would attract new customers (or disengage current ones). For example: you changed your product from chemicals in plastic packaging to plant based ingredients in biodegradable packaging.
- Changes to business ownership or structure. For example: hiring staff, bringing on a new management team, sole trader registering as a company.
- Leading the business into a new area. For example: expanding into international markets or other industries.
- Negative publicity. For example: a social media campaign, ad campaign, or brand spokesperson that offended the public; your audience discovering your products and services are not sourced, produced or advertised ethically.
- Staying relevant. For example: incorporating a responsive online store and a complementary app so your customers can place orders straight from their phone.
- Changes in customer needs. For example: offering more eco-friendly and sustainable products and services to a growing socially aware audience.
Reasons not to rebrand
In most cases, the following challenges may be resolved with the redesign of an existing brand identity and design materials without requiring a complete overhaul of the brand itself:
- Professional image. Your logo, branding and marketing materials are DIY, but now your business is up against competitors who have quality, strategic brand identities designed by professionals.
- Lack of consistency. Communication and marketing materials are not consistent in their design and implementation, which can affect brand trust and recognition.
- Outdated logo. It was designed 10 years ago based on what was trending at the time.
Launching a rebrand
- Don’t launch your rebrand until your brand identity and design have been updated and implemented across all touch points (where possible). For example, having a new logo on your website and an old logo on your business card will not only make you look unorganised and unprofessional, it will confuse your customers. If your customers are confused, they will turn to your competitors.
- Launch your rebrand internally first to your employees and educate them on what it means and why it matters. Your employees need to feel excited and emotionally connected to the brand and most importantly, they need to believe in it. If you don’t have employees, ask your friends and family.
- Gradually lead up to launching your rebrand to your audience in order to build anticipation. Engaging your audience and giving subtle hints that something new is coming will excite them and make them feel involved.
Things to consider
- Why do you want to rebrand?
- What do you want to achieve from a rebrand?
- How are you going to achieve it?
- Who do you want to target?
- How will the needs of your new audience meet the needs of your current one?
- Will your customers still identify with your brand?
- Have you conducted any research into your competitors, market, audience and industry to determine if a rebrand is the best decision for the direction you want to take your business?
Rebranding needs to be driven by strategy, vision and research. Before you consider rebranding your business ask yourself if you really need to, because if ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Mirella Marie is the owner and creative director of Vertigo, a Melbourne based graphic design studio specialising in brand identity and design. She is also a contributor for Women of Graphic Design, a project examining the work of female designers around the world. Join her on Instagram @studiovertigo.
Industry insights: independent fashion
By Annette Wagner
Most of us are acutely aware that the mainstream ‘fast fashion’ industry generates mass-produced garments directly to the retail floor in only a few weeks, and consumption comes with a hidden price tag. The ‘slow fashion’ movement has personally made me more conscious of the pieces I seek out and the designers that have a unique approach. Additionally, when Australian fashion is still relatively young compared with UK, European and US markets (despite our recent milestone highlighted in the brilliant exhibition ‘200 years of Australian Fashion’ held at National Gallery of Victoria, Australia) how does a label start, compete and compare in fashion landscape?
Behind the racks, I really don’t know much about the fashion industry at all, so I asked Melbourne-based Australian label Chorus' Cassandra Wheat and Louise Pannell about their experience.
How exactly did two high school textile friends transition into business together? What was the exact point that you both committed and started planning to launch Chorus?
In 2012 Cassandra had just returned from five years of living overseas to take up a position at RMIT, knowing she didn’t want to go back to designing for another brand. I was working at Mimco as their Visual Merchandising Manager and found out I was expecting my first child. We’d discussed starting some kind of label or business on and off for years and when I was on maternity leave it seemed like the right time to take the leap and start something. It really happened quite fast in the end.
What are your roles within Chorus?
Cassandra – Design, toiling, sampling making, fabric sourcing and selection, production management, Marketing and social media.
Lou – Day to day operations and finance. Running the website, email design, customer orders/ relations, PR - managing the relationship with press and stylists. In saying that we each step in and out of many of the above roles, and both do what needs to be done on any given day. Cas can invoice and I can cut out production if need be!
Cassandra, after graduating from RMIT with a BA in Fashion with Honours, then completing a masters in design at Domus Academy before working for Viktor & Rolf, you are now now currently undertaking a PhD in fashion. Have you always been so focused on fashion and pursuing your passion and career?
Yes, since I was very young in fact - there are sketch books of imaginary labels from my primary school years. That does not however mean that I have not doubted this path many, many times. Studying my undergraduate was hard, as was my masters and even more so my time at Viktor and Rolf, and I must say the work just gets harder, but I can’t imagine what else I would do. I have also, as made obvious by your question, been interested in pushing my education, taking that into the research space gives me a perspective not many practicing fashion designers have.
Louise, after studying Visual Merchandising at RMIT, working in the industry here and abroad for over 13 years and consulting at many big name brands, how has your journey directed you into creating a fashion label here in Melbourne?
What I loved about VM was the fact that its very operational and sales focused as well as creative. (I initially I wanted to do fashion design at uni, but when I met Cas in year 11 and saw how passionate she was about becoming a fashion designer and how dedicated a student she was I knew I wasn’t that person! A career advisor at school suggested the VM course at RMIT and the combination of creativity and retail felt right to me). I come from a family who has run businesses so I think wanting to work in sales and for myself is in my blood. Especially after the arrival of my first daughter I knew I wanted to work and work hard, but I wanted to channel my skills, time and energy into building something over the long term that was ours. I knew Cassandra and I would be able to run a business together, having been such close friends for so long, and knew our combined skills would work well. Cassandra has the design and making skills and I have the practical organisational skills that are required to run the business. And I still get to be creative with our shoots and image making, and in the past (and I’m sure again in the future) at our events and retail space.
In such a competitive industry, what sustains both of your interests in building Chorus and continuing in fashion?
We are working in rhythm now that just keeps things moving, having a resolved creative output every month gives us the opportunity to feel like we have achieved something good really often. So celebrating the small things helps. Also working with others in the way we do – collaborating with another creative for every second outfit - is very stimulating creatively, sharing ideas and making the work of others come to life is very sustaining.
Chorus has a unique approach to launching new designs. What inspires your monthly capsule concept?
It was really a response to feeling like the traditional fashion calendar of bi-annual collections was not working for us – on many levels. It was involving continued large investment, leaving us with stock we had to clear, and only providing us with two sets of images per year to promote our work with, so we had to shift. This way we can offer the newness people want from fashion in a manageable way.
Knowing the right people is critical in most industries. How important is networking in your industry?
It is important for sure, but for us it’s more about building relationships with like minded people that encourage us.
What has been harder, getting started or being able to keep going?
Keeping going with out a doubt. Starting was a lot of man hours, but keeping going demands innovation and flexibility.
I think its safe to say that the fashion industry is predominately women. How supportive are women in the industry?
There are actually a lot of men in the industry, particularly at the top, and in the past we have both worked alongside many talented men and women. It depends in what part of the fashion industry you are in, for sure in our sector of independent labels in Melbourne there is a swing towards women. I think there is a perception that the fashion industry is very closed and that brands keep their secrets and don’t support each other, however I feel like the network of Melbourne designers is very supportive of each other.
How important was working OS for you both? And, why?
Cassandra - For me it was pivotal, I think being from Australia we feel we are somehow inferior to countries that have larger industries and longer histories of the discipline. It was important to prove to myself that I could gain employment in a fashion house that showed in Paris. That being said my job there was so similar to those I had had in Australia, it really highlighted that skills are transferable and that my RMIT education was a good one. Travel also gives a great perspective on your own culture, I think its important to keep travelling, and wish I could afford to do it more.
Lou – I agree with Cassandra, it was vital time of learning and discovery for me. Being tested in all the ways a new city and country can test you – not being able to find work, not having your support network around you and literally have no money, to finally getting my ‘dream job’ which was the VM for Mimco when they launched in the UK. Working for an Australian brand trying to establish itself in the UK was a challenge as the UK and Ireland is such a broad, established and saturated retail environment. At the same time it was lovely to work with familiar people (Australian HQ and lots of Aussies in the UK stores) and brand. It was a hard slog, but again I learnt so much about people and communication and working in different cultures and across very distant time zones! The retail environment in the UK, particularly London is so inspirational. I loved nothing more than heading into central London on the weekend and checking out Liberty, Selfridges or Harvey Nichols latest windows and collections.
What is the Australian fashion industry like compared to UK/European industry?
The Australian industry is small and it doesn’t have the hundreds of years of history, which is great in one way as we get to be more innovative as we don’t have the established rules of working. However, because we are not so established and also a relatively small population compared to the other big fashion centers of the world there is not the investment or support for Australian fashion brands as there is in UK, Europe or the US. In saying that the advent of the Australian Fashion Chamber recently has been a positive step for the support and strengthening of the industry both here and overseas.
Where do you often find the most inspiration?
In working with other creative women. Working with our various creative collaborators’ provides us with endless inspiration.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
To always follow your gut and that cash flow is king!
Do you have any recommendations for others wanting to pursue a career in fashion?
Don’t do it unless you mean it and although it’s a cliché, you have to be prepared to give it your all.