CWC Spotlight: Georgia Cannon, Interior Designer

This week we’re back with another profile of one of our members: Georgia Cannon, director of her own interior design studio, which focuses on small-to-medium-scale boutique residential and commercial fit-outs. Enjoy reading about Georgia’s story and swooning over her lovely work!

What path did you follow to what you do now? 

I remember designing geometric houses for friends and family on graph paper in Year 5, so I guess this path was somewhat predestined!

After faffing about for a bit post-school with a gap year and some indecision between studying architecture and interior design, I completed a Bachelor of Built Environment (Interior Design) in 2007. From there I worked in a couple of formative roles: one based in Brisbane for a multi-national, multi-disciplinary studio, with a quick stint in their Bangkok office, and another in a Melbourne-based studio that also involved a bit of time spent in their Sydney office. It was whilst I was living in Melbourne that I realised I would love to head home to Brisbane and do my own thing. That was at the end of 2012 and it's been a steep but ultimately rewarding learning curve since then!

What does a typical day involve for you? 

Clients often think the life of an interior designer is all about glamorous shopping trips, but in reality there’s a lot of sitting in front of the computer! A typical day starts with going through my weekly to-do list and prioritising action items for that day. From there, it could be meeting with clients or reps; visiting showrooms or work sites; sketching, drafting, scheduling or responding to emails; bookkeeping or updating social media (which usually falls to the bottom of the list!).

What have been one or two favourite recent projects or commissions?

Pitch and Fork café is a recent project that was small but wonderful to be a part of. The tenancy is situated within a beautiful new building on a site that has great local history. My clients were fun to work with and really trusted in the design process.

Pitch and Fork café (image by Cathy Schusler)

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your work? 

Interestingly, when I first started out, all of the advice I received was to say ‘yes’ to everything. But as I’ve moved through the teething part of starting a business, I’ve really learned the value of saying ‘no’ when you need to. It can be nerve-wracking the first few times you do it, but if you say no to that project that doesn't quite fit with your ethos, it means you’re ready, available and enthusiastic when the right one does come along.

What are your plans for the future?

Mid-year we’ll be moving into a beautiful new studio space with some of our favourite Brisbane creative, so that will be super exciting! On the project front, I would love to have the opportunity to design a boutique hotel.

Church House (image by Cathy Schusler)

What are you or have you recently enjoyed… 
…watching?

We don’t have a television in our home but we do watch a bit of Netflix on the iPad and I tend to gravitate towards embarrassingly trashy TV for a bit of escapism.

…reading?

I currently have three books on the go: Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell; Insomniac City, by Bill Hayes; and The Win Without Pitching Manifesto, by Blair Enns.

…listening to?

I listen to a broad range of music. If you were to take a snapshot from the last twenty-four hours, you would have heard the Internet, Tina Turner, Justin Timberlake, Diana Krall, Masego, Elder Island, Jose Gonzalez, Oddisee and Miles Davis, but in the car I usually listen to ABC Classic FM.

M2 House (image by Toby Scott)

Can you list for us your top resources across any media that you turn to when you’re in need of creative inspiration?

I love Nowness [an online video channel], in particular the In Residence and Great Gardens series. I also love looking through old design magazines and books. Everything old is eventually new again!

What drew you to becoming a member of CWC?

I had recently returned to Brisbane to start my own business and CWC seemed like a lovely, supportive community of like-minded women that it would be a privilege to be part of.

What do you enjoy or value most about being a member?

I really enjoy checking in to the members-only Facebook group to see what other members are up to, hear about their triumphs and challenges and, most importantly, how other women have tackled those challenges in their own practice.

What is the best advice you have ever received, and what is the one piece of advice you would offer to a young artist, maker or designer?

Trust your instincts. Sometimes in the creative realm it can be difficult to explain to a client why what you’re proposing to make or do is right for them, but if you’ve fully engaged in the briefing process and done your research, sometimes you just have to have the confidence to ask them to trust you.

To find out more about Georgia, visit her website and follow her on Instagram (@georgia_cannon).

Opening photo: M4 House (image by Cathy Schusler)

Phoebe Miller is a member of the CWC Board. Her professional background covers experience in marketing and communications for the corporate, arts and not-for-profit sectors. She also ran her own creative side project, designing and making accessories under the moniker Simply Phoebe. Follow her on Instagram (@simplyphoebe).

Tips for applying for a residency

So you have found one or even a few residencies that you would like to apply for. Now you have to stand out from the crowd. You need a way to make your application prominent — which has nothing to do with how pretty the font is. Here are some ideas that might help.

1. Research artists who have previously been to that residency.
Look at as many as you can. What is similar about these artists? Do they all create new, very unique work? Do they focus on conceptual ideas? Is the work large or small? Do they focus on technique?

Why do this? Because you want to present work that is in keeping with or is a good fit for this residency. By that I don’t mean that you should change what you do, but you want to carefully select images of your work that relate to the residency. Since you were attracted to a specific residency, it probably already suits what you do. But be strategic about the images you include in your application.

Ceramic work by Sally Walk

2. Have professional photos taken.
I can’t stress this enough. If you are not able to take them yourself, get a photographer to help. If your work is two-dimensional, make sure the images are square and no frames are in the image. Take the photographs in natural light for the best effect. If your work is three-dimensional, use a plain neutral background and make sure the work is well lit. You'll also want a good headshot with your work in the background, and an image of you at work. Some residencies, especially in Asia, do require a headshot. If the added expense is an issue, get creative. For example, I swapped an artwork for a photo shoot and we were both happy. Now I have learnt how to take great photos and can do it myself. Aim to have 5 to 10 great images.

3. Write an artist statement.
Many of us (myself included) hate writing these, but they are usually required for residency applications. An artist statement is basically just a general introduction to your work: a couple paragraphs about your work's basic concept and how those concepts are presented in the artwork. Be genuine and don’t use too much over-the-top art talk. (You all know what I mean.) Look up the statements of some of your favourite artists to get ideas for how you might approach your own.

4. Write a proposal.
Almost all residency applications want to know what you plan to do. This is where you can stand out. Be sure to check if there is a theme or idea that you are required to address. These are usually very broad and can easily be adapted to any artwork you create.

Your proposal should be realistic about what you can achieve in the time you have. You are not expected to work 24/7. Stick with what you know, as materials and equipment can be quite different in a foreign country. Always factor in time for exploration and design. Experience has taught me to allow the place I am in to influence my creative process, so my work at each residency has changed and evolved over time. This has been such a valuable way to avoid stagnating as an artist.

Be specific in your proposal. Instead of saying 'I want to create a new body of work', say 'I want to create three large sculptures (approx. 50 cm each) and a range of smaller sculptures inspired by the textural qualities of French architecture.' This is vague enough to allow you to create anything, but specific enough to give you focus.

Packing the kiln with artists from India, China and the United States

5. Check your application for consistency.
For example, your images should relate to your artist statement and your proposal.

6. Include a resume.
Your resume should be concise and clearly organised, with subheadings like:

Personal details (including website and social media links)
Education
Group exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
Juried exhibitions
Publications
Awards
Professional Activity
Collections

7. Clarify any questions.
If you are not sure about anything on the application, email the residency and ask questions.

8. Proofread.
Proofread, proofread and then proofread again. Then get someone else to proofread your application.

Sally Walk is a ceramic artist. She holds a Bachelor of Art (Ceramic Design) and a Post Grad Diploma of Education. She has been working in clay for more than thirty years and creates sculptural work in stoneware and porcelain clays. Sally has attended twelve ceramic art residencies all over the world and has held six solo exhibitions and more than thirty group exhibitions. She was selected to exhibit at the Tokyo Art Fair in Japan, Art Melbourne, and the Florence Biennale in Italy, where she was awarded the ‘Lorenzo il Magnifico’ first prize for ceramics. For more about Sally, visit her website or follow her on Instagram (@sally_walk).

Photograph at top: Workshop in the streets of Wanju, South Korea

Interview with Claire Harris, Filmmaker

When we heard about a recently released independent film called Zelos, made by a majority female crew, we were intrigued. We figured our members and followers would be too, so we had a chat to the woman behind it all, Claire Harris.

Like many creative pursuits, the career path of a filmmaker never seems straightforward. Tell us a little about the journey that led to where you are now?

My journey was particularly unusual - prior to making Zelos I'd never worked in the industry, never made a short film and never even set foot on a film set. After finishing my degree in film, I went travelling for ten years, working in various odd jobs in different countries and backpacking in between. I 've written travel articles and short stories but I wanted to write a screenplay. I returned to Australia to study at the Australian Film Television and Radio School where I met the director. It was never my intention to produce a film, but we just decided to go ahead and make it ourselves. 

Without giving away any spoilers, what is your film, Zelos, is about?

In a nutshell, it explores the aftermath of an affair and the corrosive effect of jealousy on a relationship. It's about a couple in their thirties - the girlfriend Sarah returns from an overseas holiday, and her boyfriend Bernard finds out she has been unfaithful while she was away. To save the relationship, she insists that he also sleep with someone else. He has to decide whether to go through with the infidelity - and if he does, then with who?

What was the inspiration behind the film?

I get asked a lot if it's based on a true story... The events didn't unfold in my life the way they do in the film, but when I started writing it I was in a long term relationship and I was thinking about the way that every couple has to navigate jealousy one way or another. It doesn't mean that there's always infidelity, but when you've been with someone a long time, you'd be lying if you said you didn't at least think about the possibilities. The more I talked to other people about this, especially couples in their thirties who are thinking seriously about their future with their partner, the more I realised that everyone had a story to tell on this theme.

The film is written and directed by women, but centres around a male protagonist. How do you think this impacts the story and the way it is told?

The approach to the main character's journey and even the look and feel of the film would probably be quite different (our cinematographer is also a woman). But I find it very hard to generalise, as no two people would write, direct or shoot this film in the same way - no matter what gender they are. I'm often asked why I wrote a male protagonist, and it makes me wonder whether men who write female protagonists get asked about it to the same extent. But I'm keen to write more female-centred stories in the future, because I realise the importance of redressing the imbalance.

Zelos film still

In addition to the writer and director, most of the crew were also women. Is this unusual in the industry and if so, how do you think it impacted the filmmaking process?

I've never really worked in the industry, but from what I've heard this is very unusual! We didn't necessarily set out to have a majority-female crew, but starting with a female writer/director/producing team, we found that the project naturally seemed to attract other women. I think this created a pretty unique dynamic on the set, working with a mostly-female team.

What is the best advice you have ever received, and what is the one piece of advice you would offer to a young female filmmaker?

I'm fortunate enough to have a mentor in the industry who gives me ongoing encouragement, support and advice. One of the most important things I've learned is to keep things in perspective and remember that your first film is for making mistakes and growing from the experience... The advice I always give is to be extremely careful who you work with. Filmmaking is a very intense and stressful process, it's a lot of hard work and it takes a long time. Trust your gut instincts and choose people who are in it for the long haul because the last thing you want is to be left doing all the work by yourself. And for god's sake, don't listen to the people who tear you down.

What project are you working on or do you hope to work on next?

Now that my producing role on Zelos is winding down, I'm excited about having more time just to focus on writing again. I'm working on a bunch of writing projects : including developing my next screenplay with a producer, and finishing up some prose writing that I had to put on hold for the film.

Claire Harris

What are you or have you recently enjoyed…

• Watching? Lovesong - written & directed by So Yong Kim

• Reading? Half of a Yellow Sun - by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

• Listening to? Anything by Mercedes Sosa

Which female creatives inspire you right now?

When I grow up, I want to be Miranda July. I love that she writes across various forms: films, novels, short stories, and always stays true to her own wacky style. 

Closer to home, I recently met Melbourne-based actor/writer/director Saara Lamberg and am absolutely in awe of her tenacity.

How can people find out more about the film and where to see it?

For a sneak peek, catch the trailer here. For details of our upcoming digital release, check our
website or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Show off your work: Why your local art gallery needs you

Do you regularly visit your local public art gallery? Studies of the past decade indicate that women are more likely than men to visit art galleries and have formal art training, yet less likely to have their work exhibited or acquired for a public art gallery’s permanent collection. The gender pay gap happens to be larger in the arts than in other industries, too.

Not that I raise such a topic to criticize our male counterparts or create division within our community — quite the opposite, in fact! We are all part of the solution, and the legacies of the past offer us a baseline for launching into new directions.

To be sure, the art gallery arena is certainly changing. These spaces are no longer the domain of gilt-edged oil paintings, marble statues and awkward whispers. Instead, they are evolving into vibrant and inclusive community hubs, particularly in regional areas where they are more likely to meet an even broader variety of the community’s creative and cultural needs.

It’s an exciting time, as renewed interest in the arts and crafts has fostered a growing appreciation for the creative contributions of women, both past and present. More than ever, you will find art galleries filled with textiles, ceramics and fashion sitting comfortably alongside newer media such as digital works and graphic arts — all by an increasingly diverse mix of artists. There is an expanded vision for what a public art gallery can (and should) display.

So, why not get involved and show the world what you make? You do not need to be a full-time professional artist working in traditional media. While opportunities for exhibitions by emerging artists may be greater in regional public art galleries, larger metropolitan institutions should also offer options. This may include display cabinets within the art gallery or CBD areas, opportunities for pop-up creative events and partnership projects with library gallery spaces and community centres. Most public galleries are happy to chat about what they are looking for, the likely timelines and what you’d need you to provide for them.

Some reasons you should consider submitting an exhibition proposal?

• It’s in the interest of public art galleries to exhibit works from broad cross-sections of their communities, and gender balance is important. It’s about more than just what’s being made; it’s also about who is making it and why.

• Visibility is a key factor in career growth.

• It will challenge you to create (or gather) a body of works suitable for display.

• It offers the potential to expand your audience base.

Chaos (detail) 2017, by Liz Payne

If the idea of a dedicated solo exhibition or display in an art gallery doesn’t seem to be a good fit for you, why not try one of these ideas instead?

• Pitch a themed group exhibition to the gallery with like-minded colleagues, or offer an inventive concept of your own choosing, such as a pop-up event within the gallery spaces in conjunction with creative theme days (for example, ‘World Wide Knit in Public Day’).

• Offer to run some talks or workshops that complement their programming.

• Enquire at gallery gift shops about stocking your work for sale.

• Approach a local café or business to exhibit your work.

• Contact councils, shopping centres or commercial real estate agents about ‘borrowing’ space temporarily for curated displays in vacant window frontages (not always possible, but worth enquiring about and great fun).

• Collaborate with another creative to deliver a project that is visual and public-facing, such as a painted mural in a local community garden or other urban area. There may even be grants available to cover material costs.

Always remember: the world needs to see what you have to offer, and you need to be your own biggest fan in promoting it. There are plenty of traditional and unusual opportunities to get yourself out there, meet new people and have some fun along the way. So…what are you waiting for?

Drawing from diverse backgrounds in health, science and the public art gallery sector, Liesl Harvey’s passion lies where the creative industries intersect with business and audience development. She explores a variety of relevant topics and shares inspiration from around the globe via her Instagram account, @thedailyculturepreneur.

Opening image: "Mutual Abstraction" exhibition works by Hannah Fox and Bec Smith. Photo by Martina Gemmola.

What you need to know to host a workshop

Running a workshop or short course is a great opportunity for creatives to diversify income while sharing their skills, knowledge and passions. But before you run a workshop of your own, it pays to do a little research to ensure there is demand, a venue and that you have the time and skills for marketing to ensure your event is a success.

What can you offer?

I believe we’re seeing an increase in the number of self-hosted workshops as education becomes more democratized: learning by the people, for the people! Many creatives have mastered processes and adapted techniques to make them more easily shareable with others. Ask yourself: what can you offer? What will participants specifically gain from undertaking a workshop with you?

Does someone else already offer it? Do people want it?

Dig around the Internet and you’ll see a whole bunch of workshops being offered by retailers, artist collectives and practicing designers. As you browse what’s available, here are some questions to guide your research.

• Does anyone else currently offer workshops in your field of expertise?

• If you have competitors, great! It means there is genuine interest from others wanting to learn this set of skills. How do your competitors run their workshops? Can you do it better?

• If you don’t have competitors, ask your friends, colleagues and even strangers whether they or someone they know would be interested in taking one of your workshops.

• Find out where your competitors are located. Can you find alternate regions or locations to attract another demographic?

Outline the purpose of your workshop.

The more clearly you define the purpose of your workshop, the easier it will be to hone in on your target market.

• Does your workshop require prior skills or knowledge, or is it introductory and inclusive?

• Are you offering professional development or sharing knowledge or artisan skills?

• Will there be something physical to take home afterwards, either a handmade object or a set of reference materials?

• How long will the session go for? Can you condense it into one day or will you need to stretch it out over a weekend or multiple evening sessions?

• Define the aims and goals of your workshop so participants know what to expect. Tell them specifically what prior knowledge or skills they’ll need, what to bring, what’s supplied and what you’ll provide.

Find a space.

Venue rentals can easily eat away workshop profits and the ability to pay yourself after costs, so it’s worth considering other options. Could you run your workshop from your home or studio? Could you find a venue partner who will benefit from you bringing in new customers? Consider linking with a food and beverage or retail business to boost sales in exchange for free space. You could also consider profit-share so there’s a mutual benefit from cross-promotion and marketing. Make sure your venue is easy to get to, accessible to public transport and has parking options.

All images: Surface Art Symposium, run by Emily Wills

Sell tickets. Promote and share. Sell more tickets!

Give yourself six to eight weeks lead-time to book a space or find a collaborator or host. You’ll want to have the event information up with a minimum of four weeks to market and promote. If you don’t have an existing online shop, consider using a third-party booking system such as Stickytickets, Eventbrite or WeTeachme to manage sales.

To promote your event, create a flyer or image that effectively communicates your workshop outcomes. If you don’t have graphic design skills, an edited photo or simple graphic designed on Canva.com can be really effective.

Share your workshop visuals, information and booking link across social media channels. Encourage others to share the event details. Link with your target market via Facebook groups and send emails to your database, friends and family. Get the workshop information out there! Promote and share! Keep going right up until launch time.

Do a great job. Get feedback. Build a tribe!

Finally, you’re running a workshop! Give it your all to make it special and memorable. Follow up with an email to let people know you appreciated their time and interest, and ask if there’s anything you could do to make it better next time.

Building an audience takes time. Sometimes the people who would most love to come to your workshop are unavailable or simply forgot to book tickets. Have a second date ready to gauge interest and send through to any enquiries that come through.

Emily Wills is the creative director of SURFACE 1°22, a surface pattern design studio. In her various manifestations, she has worked as a fashion designer, illustrator, curator, arts educator and printed textile designer. Emily founded the SURFACE 1°22 Design School in Melbourne, offering hands-on workshops and short courses in surface and textile design. For more information, visit her Facebook page and Instagram feeds (@surface122designschool and @surface122).

Photography credits: Tendai Hatendi

One eye open (or, how I learnt to squint and survive online)

I have a confession to make. I manage four Facebook pages, three Instagram accounts, three Pinterest accounts, a Twitter account and a YouTube channel and you know what? I still love being online. So, when I read yet another (ironically online) think-piece about how creatives need to wind their anxiety back by getting offline I am often the dissenting voice in the room.

As creatives it is impossible to not have an online life. But it can be a force for good, rather than something that forces you into a fetal position. Not that I recommend becoming part cyborg like me. Instead, I’d like to advocate for a One Eye Open policy. Essentially, this means to take in what you need and avoid what you don’t. Sometimes you may have to squint at the screen, but with a few strategies and outlook adjustments you can absorb all the online world has to offer but in a mindful and positive way. This way, there’s no need to go off the grid just to escape yet another Instagram post detailing someone’s breakfast/book launch/homewares line.

If I had heeded all the well-intentioned advice and walked out on my online life, what would I have missed out on? The week I wrote this post, I learnt the Home-Work design team had a book launch coming up, Kit Palaskas (whose web page is shown above) was offering piñata workshops and Beci Orpin was delivering four events during Melbourne Design Week. I watched the latest Chanel show, learnt about a new exhibition space, saw a controversial film that had its funding pulled but went ahead and screened anyway and attended a free lecture series at the NGV. I saw there was an ARI gallery putting a call out for applications and that a high-profile magazine had some new opportunities for content providers.

I choose to take only what I need from this content (information, inspiration, opportunity) and close myself off to things that don’t help (envy, overwhelm and self-doubt).

I also assert mindful consumption of social media. Here are some strategies that have helped me reclaim some much-needed work hours that would otherwise be lost to viral cat clips and Busy Phillips’ Insta stories.

Pinterest

Think of Pinterest as a library rather than a gallery. Decide what you are ‘looking up’ before you get in there, make yourself a dedicated board, search and get out. Those who scroll endlessly are doomed to suffer image fatigue with the added bonus of insomnia.

Facebook

Notifications — while deemed a danger by many — ultimately save me a lot of time. Just because you get a ‘ping’ doesn’t mean you need to react to it. I can see if my business boosts are working, if workshop tickets are selling or if a student or client has a query. I don’t have to respond straight away, but my phone acts like my little silent secretary, keeping me informed. I only look at my personal page once a day because, really, how many Guardian articles on Meghan Markle can I justify reading in any twenty-four-hour period?

Instagram

Beci Orpin's Instagram page

You love it. I love it. We all love it. But the recent shifts in algorithms and added functionality mean that looking and posting require far more babysitting than it used to. That little square is the most curated gallery on the planet, and is the most effective means of reaching your audience — or even just learning who they are in the first place. Dedicate two sessions a day and trust me, in fifteen minutes you can see your feed, comment and even post without coming to any undue harm or image exhaustion.

Twitter

Content providers of all walks are on here, but wordsmiths (for obvious reasons) use it in the same way visual creatives use Instagram. Find your tribe and define your voice. If it’s not for you, don’t add it to your already crowded alphabet soup of social media commitments.

YouTube

Stay off it unless you need to learn something or you’re there just for LOLs. (This is where the cat/hedgehog/film trailer lives.) It’s like brain sugar: addictive and no good! YouTube is an amazing learning tool but it’s also riddled with distractions and fake news. Buyers beware!

It can be easy to think that creatives with high profiles and beautiful online content have all their ducks in a row while the rest of us are floundering around trying to wrangle Snapchat filters. You’ve heard the term ‘curated’ content and you may believe successful content is hard work. But in all honesty, fellow creatives don’t put things online with the express purpose of making you feel badly about yourself or igniting your imposter syndrome. Sometimes it’s there to entertain, advertise, inform or inspire, so put your defences down a little and let it do all that for you. Take the time to share, comment and applaud people’s online efforts, even if they are creative superheroes. They aren’t stealing your oxygen. Those lucky enough to have made it to the top of the pyramid are more often than not the most generous with their knowledge and content.

Jess Wright and Lara Davies from Home-Work

Creatives with successful online profiles have worked out their voices and who they are pitching to, but that doesn’t make what they present any less authentic. Jess and Lara from Home-Work really do like each other and celebrate each other’s creativity. Kitiya Palaskas is as colourful and expressive as her work implies. And Beci Orpin, while now at superstar status, only got there by being her generous (albeit genius) self.

Online life can be a force for good, change, inspiration, networking and all-round motivation. But it’s important to recognise that the One Eye Open policy also means one eye closed.  Rest and reflection will always be an important part of the creative process; your mental and even your physical health will suffer if you run at it 100 percent of the time. If online content is coming at you as a wave of blue-light midnight anxiety rather than morning coffee happiness, your mind and body are telling you to back away from the devices. Every now and then we all need to turn down the volume no matter how great the music.

Ramona Barry is a writer, curator and maker based in Melbourne. She is currently coordinating the Art, Craft and Cookery Competition and the Makers’ Pavilion for the Royal Melbourne Show; curating a series of workshops, design field trips and public conversations for RMIT University; and running a creativity course in partnership with the Bundoora Homestead Art Centre. Ramona is also co-author of The Craft Companion (Thames & Hudson).

Collaboration story: A fresh dining space on a tight budget

Yvonne Meng and Amber Laing of Circle Studio Architects in their completed interior fitout for Melbourne social enterprise Free to Feed.

Our most recent Melbourne Members' Morning Tea was held in the brand new Free to Feed dining space in Northcote. It was a unique event for our event host and Board member Yvonne Meng, as her architecture firm, Circle Studio - that she runs with fellow CWC Member Amber Laing - was the creative force behind the design of the interior fitout!

We spoke to Yvonne about the project, the challenges of working on a tight budget for a social enterprise, and what they learned through the process.

What’s your architecture specialty and why were you drawn to work with Free to Feed?
We aren't bound to a particular typology but we try to take a collaborative approach to design. Amber and I like to work closely with people to make sure their project reflects them well. I was drawn to Free to Feed because Loretta and Dan have such a passion for their work, and it's really infectious. What attracted me most were the initiatives do with refugees and new migrants. Being the child of migrants myself, I remember seeing how difficult it was for my parents in the 80's to make sense of a new country and navigate work. I love that an organisation like Free to Feed exists to empower, provide entrepreneurial support and help people have agency in what they do within a community. 

Before: What the space looked like when the lease was signed

Installation begins

What was the brief for the fitout and what mood/vibe were you aiming for?
The brief was to create a space which could be used in a variety of ways from sit down dinners, casual lunches, displaying and selling spices, presentations, workshops, cooking classes and more. It also had to be able to be packed away when needed, and there needed to be enough flexibility for the space to evolve as Free to Feed grows. For this, we designed modular trestle-style benches and fold-down tables which can be cleared out of the way or re-arranged as needed. Keeping the cooking classes in mind, we needed to bring power to the centre of the space. To do this neatly we adapted some light fittings to hold power points instead of globes so they were practical as well as decorative. When we sat down to discuss the mood and vibes we were hoping to achieve, we were drawn to this one particular image on our shared Pinterest board of a spice market with lovely earthy tones, pinks, and terracottas. This became the basis for the palette which ran through the interior and the aim was to create a workspace which was warm, bright and also a bit playful. 

The mural goes up!

What strategies did you employ to get the most out of a social enterprise budget?
Free to Feed were lucky to have received some very generous donations from people who believed in their work. Anchor Ceramics provided 10 terracotta pendant fittings, and Spencer Harrison painted the mural on the wall. Without these, the space as it is would not have been possible. We needed bang for buck for this project and paint is such a great cost-effective way to transform a space, so to help differentiate zones we used blocks of colour on the walls which picked up on the colours in the mural and light fittings. The benches are cut from full off-the-shelf sheets of ply and dimensioned so that there was minimal cutting required and no offcuts. Unless it was absolutely necessary, we tried not to move any plumbing, gas, and electrical and we repaired the wall linings instead of ripping them off. Luckily for us, underneath the laminated floor of the original shop was a fabulous terrazzo flooring which was still in good nick. 

Were there any special considerations/challenges?
Time was a challenge on this one. There was a very short period to get the design and drawings done, appoint builders and then get the thing actually built. The builders, Ampson Developments, programmed the works really well and kept things going at lightning speed to hit the completion date. From our side, we issued general drawings at the beginning - enough to get a quote on and get started - and then developed details simultaneously as construction occurred to save on time. Projects like these really make you appreciate the value of having a good collaborative team who are communicative and on the same page. The finished space did differ a little from the original concept as things had to fall away or change, but that's normal for any project! It reached completion just in the nick of time - the day after the builders moved out was the first dinner event. 

What did you learn through the process?
You don't need need to make drastic structural changes to make a statement when working with existing buildings. Work with the bones that you've got - do little, but do it well. You can achieve a lot with a small budget that way!

The final space!

'Before' photos by Yvonne. 'After' photos by fellow CWC Member, Jade Cantwell.