Studio Visit: Monique Woodward, architect
It’s not often on just hearing a name that you get such a strong sense of the dynamism behind a creative duo, but this is just the case with WOWOWA (implied!) whose co-founders Monique and Scott Woodward forge a next-generation approach to architectural practice with a kind of positive charge often missing in professional creative circles.
In WOWOWA Architecture & Interiors, the pair have created the kind of practice they always wanted to work in, one that prioritises artistic expression, teaching and advocacy as essential to ongoing creativity. Alongside partner Scott, Monique is a vocal advocate for improved living standards and accessibility of quality design as a tenet of modern Australian culture.
From their glittering Tin & Ed business cards to the bold glazed red brick façade of the Finn House, WOWOWA is unafraid of a playful nod to the kitch, and their declaration of a radical postmodernist style is one beautifully tailored to bring a fresh optimism to the architecture of the everyday – the humble family home. We spoke to Monique at WOWOWA’s shopfront studio in Melbourne’s leafy Carlton North about her passion for celebrating Australian culture and why more creatives should embrace the power of marketing.
As an emerging practice, WOWOWA has a strong brand and clear creative directive – what inspired that focus and how has it shaped the way you practice?
One of the biggest challenges we faced initially as a fledgling but ambitious creative practice was acknowledging that even if you were the greatest architect in the world, you need to be able to run a sustainable business to keep up that practice, and to successfully market yourself is a big part of that business’ success.
I undertook a marketing course at the local TAFE and we engaged a business coach, really immersed ourselves in marketing, read a lot of business and marketing literature alongside our favourite design journals.
We quickly realised that what we were saying to the world though our marketing - that we could do anything – was out of touch with the reality of our work at the moment. Whilst we do have a few small civic projects on the go and really enjoy the possibilities of larger scale projects, our current built reality is residential. Luckily, we love residential work, and it’s a big part of who we are as a practice, so it was important to acknowledge those roots and really emphasise its part in our core identity.
From this we developed a strategy that allowed us to focus in on the kind of clients we love working with – those who want to create their ‘forever home’. They’re committed to a place, and are prepared to do some soul searching, and explore what it is that they really want from a home environment.
Putting ourselves out there as a practice for professional families, with the tagline 'life is too short for boring spaces', we’ve found that people that subscribe to that will instantly recognise a kinship, and might know a little more of what to expect from us in the process. We can then work together and really bounce off each other in a super collaborative way. This makes the process a whole lot more enjoyable for both parties.
Image by John Gollings
How has this focus on creating a client’s ‘forever home’ influenced your work?
It gives us license to work with our clients in really rewarding creative depth, to find out what they think about colour, sculpture or pattern, and taking that through to find out how flexible and functional spatial solutions can work for them. I think that's one of our strengths, making small spaces work hard, and that's one of the reasons we love renovations, the challenge of really cranking up an existing space and making it truly multi-purpose.
Focusing on the small scale also allows us to really immerse ourselves in the application of the theory and art of creative practice. One thing is I’m a massive sucker for ornament. Ornament, in its three dimensions, really changes the way you perceive a space, and I think that's when a space really starts to get interesting.
What is your motivates you creatively?
My all-time favourite design inspiration has to be the humble Hills Hoist – there is so much ingenuity and kitsch beauty in perhaps undervalued elements of Australian design history that are ripe to be to explored creatively.
We see ourselves as a radically postmodern practice, propelling ideas forward to a new audience. Current trends suggest people are trying to revert back to modernism, and I find that quite unnatural, to be attempting to wind the clock back, and instead of creating spaces for living now, there is this tendency for blank spaces and miscellaneous design solutions; a blank floating shelf, a picture window to a non-descript view.
Society is always moving forward, and new technologies challenge the idea of the modernist home. We pride ourselves on not getting caught up on finicky modernist details but still having a very deep focus on embedding meaning in the quality of the interiors we create. We don’t necessarily prescribe what kind of curtains you should have, but we demand a high level of client engagement, that is often so rich that at the end of this day you can guide each other to the best solution for that space.
The nature of the construction industry means design and building programs can often stretch out over several years - how do keep up the creative energy between both clients and yourselves throughout that process?
From the very outset, we ask that our clients engage heavily in the design process, usually starting with inspiration scrapbooks, a simple cut and paste! Often in a 50c book or using sites like Pinterest, we get them to collect things from all kinds of sources, not just completed projects in design magazines. We want them to let us in on who they are, and the more information they can give, the greater depth of engagement we can have and the better the project outcome will be.
From a practice point of view - Mel (Bright) spoke at a recent AIA women's day breakfast about how there’s only really been three cycles of work in her ten years of practice, which is I think is an experience shared by many architects. It feels like we're about to hit our second cycle, which makes it exciting to see the development in our work and be proud of what we've achieved so far.
Image of Kooyong apartment by Martina Gemmola
How have you tailored your practice to allow ongoing teaching and community advocacy commitments alongside your design projects?
From the outset we wanted to create the studio that we had always wanted to work in, and one that would allow us to grow into as a practice. A lot of questions arose of what was important to us as a practice; it's collaborative, its deep in discussions, surrounded by plants, and embedded in the local community. We work fairly solidly from 9.30-5.30pm, respecting the workday, but recognise that we while could work till 10pm, it comes back to practicing what you preach - you can’t advocate to increase the standard of living and then work yourself to the bone in the process.
It means we’re able to maintain a lot of energy in the studio throughout the day, which is slightly more optimistic than spending half an hour on The Age website at midday then having to work late into the night. I’m reading managerial books and trying to look beyond being just technically good at what we do, because that doesn’t mean we're necessarily good managers or business owners, but we can be, so it's a skill that needs to be learned side by side with design.
We also implement 'cultural Sunday' which is to make sure we do something that a) recognises it's important to make time to experience new things to keep that fire of creative inspiration burning and b) can be instagrammed, so yes, we’re always looking for the marketing tool!
Keely Malady is a graduate architect living in Melbourne. Keely’s blog, Small Talk & Co. aims to hold a space open for a new conversation on the wonders of work, and all the small things that make up a life well lived. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Five creative workspaces
By Diana Scully
Following my previous post, how to design your own creative workspace, I set myself the task of answering a few questions about creative women's workspaces: What is the ideal workspace? Are there any similarities between the workspaces of creatives in different industries? How do others personalise their work space?
Through The Circle Database, I found five CWC Members from varying industries and asked them to share some details of their own workspaces. Here's what I discovered...
The Photographer
Elizabeth Bull owns and manages One Fine Print, an business that collaborates with talented photographers to bring unique, bold and distinct photographic prints into the home.
Describe your workspace (or spaces) in five words. Industrial - Creative - Light - Productive - Fun
Do you have more than one workspace? Occasionally, just for a change of scenery I'll work from home or if I'm finding I'm getting stuck on something, I'll wander to my local cafe with a note pad and work from there for a while. I usually find the change of scenery and the walk helps get the creativity flowing again.
How have you personalised your own workspace? Many big beautiful bold photographic prints, timber desks, old cameras, greenery and a hammock!
Do you share your space with anyone else? A partner, pet? We are attached to a communal warehouse which houses many photographers and designers. We love being part of a community of creatives.
What are your essential ingredients for a productive but engaging workspace? I've worked from quite a few spaces, and I've learnt that the most important thing for me to look for in a space is natural light and big windows. That combined with great people makes for a place I want to work from every day.
The Florist
Meghan Fletcher, floral designer for weddings and events and director of her own business, Good, Grace and Humour.
Describe your workspace (or spaces) in five words. Homely - transient - innovative - tuneful - fragrant.
Do you have more than one workspace? The majority of my work is completed from home. But, if it counts, I would consider my second workspace or 'workspaces' to be the venues I install into for each event. I take along my tool kit and set up and pack down in some fantastic spaces.
How have you personalised your own workspace? For now, my workspace at home is transient so it's difficult to create a permanent workplace personality. My home needs to be functional for my family at the end of each day, so arrangements and tools need to be stored so they're not eaten by my toddler! If I were to separate my workspace from my home, as is the plan in the near future, I suspect the personalities would be similar - I'm a sucker for colour, abstract art and clean lines.
Do you share your space with anyone else? A partner, pet? Home and work can often be a colourful and collaborative coexistence. I share my space with my husband, our son and our cat. Part of the house is dedicated to storing GG&H items. One room used to be big enough for me to work in and store items, but as GG&H expands, I've had to become more innovative with storage and workspace solutions. Not that my husband or son seem to mind eating their brekky while I bring flowers into the kitchen!
What are your essential ingredients for a productive but engaging workspace? In my case, being able to balance work and home life with storage solutions, comfortable and waterproof (!) workspaces, and efficient and sustainable set-up and pack-down practices, along with a nice place to sit with the laptop and a cuppa. I'm hoping to have a permanent studio space for next season where I can incorporate all of these really practical elements, along with the little personal touches that permanence encourages.
The Furniture Maker
Anne-Claire Petre is a furniture designer and owner of her own business, Anaca Studio, which offers a range of furniture and accessories with a focus on using responsibly sourced timber and other sustainable material and finishes.
Describe your workspace (or spaces) in five words. Light-filled - uncluttered - inspiring - green - zen.
Do you have more than one workspace? I have one studio where I work from when I'm not doing pick-ups or visiting clients. However within this, I have two "workspaces", my main desk where I do most computer work and drawing / sketching and another desk for anything requiring assemblies / cutting / finishing or sewing / "crafting" at times…
How have you personalised your own workspace? I have only recently move into my Collingwood studio, so unfortunately I haven't yet done much in the way of personal decorative arrangement… Except for my little golden hatted gnome from Hunting for George which makes me smile… Walls are in great need of some artwork!! But to make up for that I have brought in quite a few plants and adding to the collection fairly frequently! Never enough green!
Do you share your space with anyone else? A partner, pet? No, it's just me and the gnome! Until recently, I was working from home so my two gorgeous cats were my companions, although quite distracting at times! The studio is part of a complex of other artists and designers so I always bump into other fellow creatives at some point in the day, which is nice. It gets a bit boring being in your own head for too long!
What are your essential ingredients for a productive but engaging workspace? For me, cluttered space = cluttered mind. So I try to keep the space as tidy as possible. Every night before I leave, I do a bit of a tidy up, feels so much better when you get in in the morning. I also turn on the music and plug in my essential oil diffuser. Plenty of natural light is key. That's what got me when I first visited the studio - massive windows and height ceiling… It felt really inspiring. Quirky objects are also essential to light up the mood!
The Lawyer
Yasmin Naghavi is a solicitor at Media Art Lawyers, a boutique entertainment and media law firm.
Describe your workspace (or spaces) in five words. Not - a - corporate - law - firm.
Do you have more than one workspace? I mostly work at my desk but also use the boardroom and meeting areas downstairs when I’m meeting clients. I sometimes meet clients in their workplace, but the majority of my work can be conducted by phone and email. I also get the opportunity to work from our Sydney and Auckland offices from time to time which is always a refreshing change.
How have you personalised your own workspace? Mostly by bringing in plants, records, posters, books and a couple of comfy armchairs – I wanted the space to feel like my living room. Our space was initially just one room, but we added a bookshelf to store our vinyl records as well as act as a bit of a room divider. If I had my way we’d change the lighting, because fluorescents are just plain sad. Luckily we have a huge window above the stairwell which means we get heaps of natural light and a view of the treetops in front of our building.
Do you share your space with anyone else? A partner, pet? Well, there are up to 12 people in the building on most days but the type of work we do is very autonomous so we spend most of the day at our respective desks. I work on the second floor with one of the partners of the firm (who also doubles as my husband) and our dog, Wilco (pictured). Wilco prefers to conduct his business outdoors.
What are your essential ingredients for a productive but engaging workspace? Communication is always key to an effective workspace, but so is working with people you respect and colleagues who have a quick wit (you need a sense of humour in this line of work).
The Writer
Madeleine Dore is an arts writer and editor at ArtsHub by day, and in her free time, runs an online project called Extraordinary Routines, where she interviews creative people about their daily lives - from what time they wake up in the morning, to their views on life and creativity.
Describe your workspace (or spaces) in five words. Filled - with - to-do - lists.
Do you have more than one workspace? For my day job I work in a city based office, but have set up a desk in my share house to work on Extraordinary Routines. I also have a fondness for sitting in cafes – one of my favourite places to work is John Gorilla in West Brunswick. They have this adorable little nook by the window, which is perfect for just one person. Also Moat (below the Wheeler Centre) and £1000 Pound Bend are great places in the city.
How have you personalised your own workspace? I recently got around to framing a watercolour by illustrator Monica Ramos and a beautiful embossed poster created by Maria Popova of Brainpickings - my favourite website. It’s nice to have something beautiful to stare at in those moments of absent-mindedness and distraction! I also like to collect cards from exhibitions and have them dotted on the wall. I’m not very good with plants, but have managed to keep a Sweet Chico alive for a month now, and so it has been nice to have some greenery on my desk. I also have a giant desk planner from Kikki K and I’m addicted to writing to do lists and pinning them around my desk.
Do you share your space with anyone else? A partner, pet? My desk is set up right beside my roommate’s identical IKEA trestle desk, so we often sit side by side in the evening working on our projects. It’s very cosy, and nice to have company when you’re working into the night!
What are your essential ingredients for a productive but engaging workspace? Even though my mind works best when I’m working on something individually, it really helps to have other people around me – if I can see them working, it motivates me to get cracking on something instead of just scanning Facebook! In the absence of people, there’s always Spotify. I really like having my planners, diaries, and lists nearby so I know what tasks I have ahead. Similarly, I don’t like clutter, and often need to neaten my desk before getting onto the task of writing. As I writer, I also think it is really important to make sure your screen is at eye level to avoid hunching – I stack my laptop on books and use a remote keyboard. Natural light never goes astray, too!
Interior Designer, Diana Scully owns and operates her own interior design firm, Spaces by Diana that’s all about designing beautiful, personalised homes to reflect the people who live in it. Diana also has her own lifestyle blog, Spaces + Places, where she regularly writes about inspiring spaces to see and visit from around the world and shares her recent travel adventures. This year she has plans to spend time abroad in the US. Follow Diana on Facebook,
Interview – Amanda Henderson of Gloss Creative
By Andrea McArthur
CWC Member Amanda Henderson is the Founder and Creative Director of Gloss Creative (Melbourne), one of Australia’s leading visual houses specialising in three-dimensional design and custom made brand environments. Everyday Gloss Creative forges the path for the cross over of Visual Merchandising and Design.
Gloss Creative’s client list is impressive and spans many of Australia’s most style conscious companies in the fashion, luxury and travel industries. Their portfolio includes designs commissioned for brand marquees at the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, runways, set and event designs for Myer, Penfolds and Omega as well as fashion window concepts and installations for Kookai, Sportsgirl and Emporium.
Simply put, Amanda and the Gloss Creative Team create environments that dreams are made of, and worlds that envelope you in total sensory experiences.
Thank you Amanda for your time and sharing your story with the Creative Womens Circle. There are so many pieces of wisdom in your writing.
Tell us about your background.
I think my story might be typical of many creative people of my generation. I got through my schooling by connecting with all the ‘extra curricular’ activities our school had to offer – I hung out in the drama group and the art room at a time when they were not considered to be ‘real subjects’ or at least not the beginnings of any kind of sustainable career path. I was lucky enough to have forward thinking parents and teachers that validated and encouraged my interests and was I was free to explore the possibilities that might lie ahead.
After a very short year doing drama and economics subjects at uni, I realized that the working world would provide me with a better structure for learning and experimentation than a university.
I had been working at Sportsgirl while I was at school giving out fitting room discs on the weekends, and it was there tht I had wide exposure to complete retail marketing wizardry and creative growth. It wasn’t long before I had entrenched myself in the creativity that visual merchandising provided.
The process of team-based ideas generation and concept development was a critical learning for me at that time and still is the basis on which my team and I design today.
After the birth our two children I returned to work and held National Visual Merchandising Manager positions and Creative Development roles at Sportsgirl and Country Road.
In 2001 I started my best role to date – Founder and Creative Director of Gloss Creative.
Have you always wanted to be a creative business owner?
Not initially. I could say I was looking for a platform where experimentation and collaboration was the everyday. I also was looking for individual recognition for my work – large companies are amazing to be apart of, but sometimes it’s hard to get credit for what you’ve achieved.
As Gloss Creative grew I realized I enjoyed both the creative and business challenges of a small business. We are proof that high quality small design business can successfully work with large organisations.
My business allows me to immerse myself in all aspects of our projects, designing and working with our team. The freedom in the way we work has meant we have been able to work across many different disciplines.
How do you balance your creative projects with the administration / organisation / planning aspect of creative work?
Luckily, Visual Merchandisers have combined skill sets of creativity and practicality - I think this is because we have to deliver dreams into reality. Planning and organisation come naturally as a part of our process.
I’d like to debunk the often misguided theory that “creative types” can not also have business skill sets. Some of the most visionary professionals I know are brilliant business people!
Our team are highly diverse creative people - no one person can have all the attributes to complete a business. It’s the combined headset that makes the magic.
What have been some of the challenges or blessings of keeping Gloss Creative running since 2001? And how has your business focus changed since the beginning?
Honestly, I can only think of blessings. I’ve been able to run a high quality small business together with an amazing team of people and suppliers who have loved creating installations for all some incredible brands. We have had so much fun while we have worked over the last 14 years.
I guess the only continuing challenge is that you’re only ever as good as your last project. Despite our significant body of work we need to prove ourselves for every project, maybe this is why we put so much into each project, so we keep on our toes, we constantly try to bring newness into our work, we love trying new things on every project, its not always comfortable but it can be rewarding!
Our business focus has always been constant: we create ‘Grand Simplicity'. We create emotion with sophisticated visual impact.
How has your employee base grown or have you chosen to keep creative control of your business?
When I started it was only myself and my niece Kimberley Moore. On any Thursday now you’ll find seven people working in our studio. We are still small enough to act like a tribe, so creative control is no problem within our team.
Creative control beyond you team depends on the brands you are working for and the skill level and stakeholder interest for a particular project. You will have radar for this as you grow in experience. Always trust your gut instinct.
You need enough creative control to ensure that your idea remains strong, some times collaborators influence can make things even better! You don’t have to be a control freak but you do need to stick with your creative intent.
What has been you main form of business marketing to date?
Early on I decided that taking high quality photographs of our work by architectural photographers was useful as a record of our work.
I began by sending these images to the design press and they published them. We have always just ‘put our work out there’. Dianna Snape, Marcel Aucar and Rocket Mattler have been constantly photographing our work over the last decade.
We’ve had a website since 2006 and blog since 2010. We are really enjoying the community that Instagram has created!
Gloss Creative is diverse in its scope of work. Has there been a major project that you are particularly proud to share with us?
Mostly I’m proud that each project our team works on is considered with intelligence that each brand deserves. Diversity has provided us with long term inspiration and has meant we haven’t been type cast - every day is interesting.
There are some projects that stay with you as ‘milestone’ projects, the ones that take you to another level of believing in yourself.
Winning a 2013 Australian Interior Design Award for Installation Design for Myer's ‘Shadowlands' was pretty special. I loved that design for its visual emotion and simplicity, and for visual merchandisers to be considered a part of the design industry was a milestone for us. We are proud that maybe in some way we have widened the scope of Visual Merchandising over the last decade, pushing into design markets normally handled by interior designers or architects.
What advice do you have for others who might be considering a jump into a creative business?
You will know when the time is right - a wave of confidence and momentum will over take you and the fear of not following your dream will become bigger than the doubts you may have.
On a more practical level: get a bookkeeper, and hone your craft. Make relationships with people you trust and have fun with.
Always be close to your client. The further away from your client you are the more risk you take on.
What passions keep you creative?
I’m inspired by originality. I’m inspired by anyone who’s creating beauty. Both locally and globally I love theatre, ballet, set design, art, craft, fashion, accessories, store design, illustration, music, should I go on?
What is a typical day for you at Gloss Creative?
Our day starts with coffee and post Offspring analysis usually – no seriously we talk a lot in our studio! Then we get down to it. We talk about designs, we draw and plan, we come up with some bad ideas then work on them until we love them. Steff Dalberto and I might meet with suppliers, present to clients or install our projects. We spend quite a bit of time going up and back to Sydney.
I’m always on the phone talking about our ideas. It’s my role to manage expectations, which is time consuming and often challenging in an environment where creativity and financial management are both important. We love clients that are strategic thinkers, the results are magic if your clients are collaborators !
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Make sure to check out Gloss Creative’s posts on the studio blog and all of their sneak peeks on Instagram (@theglossarium).
Andrea McArthur (www.andyjane.com) has a passion for all things visual and works as a Senior Graphic Designer in Dubai. Type is her true love and goes weak at the knees over beautiful design. You’ll find her sharing design related musings on Instagram @andyjanemc.
Interview: Carla Hackett
By Andrea McArthur
Carla Hackett has taken her love of type and turned it into a blossoming boutique lettering and design studio called Foxglove Lettering. Foxglove is based in Melbourne at Little Gold Studios, a shared creative space where Carla hand-crafts lettering for a range of clients in creative industries, including fashion, music, food, branding, retail, hospitality, magazines, books, weddings and conferences. Carla established Foxglove Lettering with the aim of bringing a warm, unique, human element to a world dominated by digital fonts and design.
What led you down your current path?
After studying graphic design at university and six years’ working at some of Sydney’s top agencies, I escaped to Berlin to soak up some international inspiration. It was a fantastic city to be based in as the living expenses are a lot lower than Australia and there is lots going on there creatively. Not to mention being on the doorstep of Europe for travel fun times!
I went along to a two-day hand lettering workshop with Ken Barber from House Industries. From that moment I was completely hooked! It was the perfect mix of illustration and typography that really appealed to me. After the workshop, I began feverishly lettering a bunch of personal work. I had a side project called Deutsch Doodles where I illustrated funny German words and it lead to a commission where I illustrated Berlin Bingo, a hipster guide to Berlin.
Once I’d had my ‘Bowie years,’ I decided to move to lovely Melbourne at the end of 2012. I’d always wanted to live here and it really was the best decision as I’ve found there is a great supportive community of creative business owners here. I decided to focus on my lettering and move into Little Gold Studios and start Foxglove Lettering in March this year. It’s been a journey to really take a step back and hit a reset button before finding what I am really passionate about.
Since then it’s been gaining momentum. I had a little boost of inspiration in March, winning a scholarship to go to Clare Bowditch’s Big Hearted Business Conference. Clare saw my chalkboard in my video and asked me to be the first BHB Inspiration Bomb artist. It was that fantastic exposure and going to the conference that really solidified in my mind that I was on the right path to doing what I love and making a living.
Who do you admire in the industry?
There are some amazing letterers who inspire me greatly. They’ve managed to carve a niche career with this specialty skill. Jessica Hische, Erik Marinovich, Mary Kate McDevitt, Jon Contino and Dana Tanamachi. And locally Gemma O’Brien, Dave Foster and Luke Lucas are producing phenomenal work. My studio buddies at Little Gold inspire me everyday with their energy and passion for their creative businesses. It’s amazing to be around.
Do you think hand-lettering is having a resurgence? Why?
Definitely! I think there is a real yearning for hand-crafted things in this digital age. The nostalgia and ephemeral nature of chalk has its own appeal nowadays. My mentor is a former ‘Ticket Writer’. She made a career out of hand lettering signage for department stores in the 1950s and 1960’s. The sign writing courses have cut most of the hand painting part of the course - it’s all done on the computer. I want to learn this skill so that it can live on!
Can you talk about the difference between hand-lettering and other type-related terms?
By definition, lettering is drawing. Lettering is closer friends with illustration than typography. Let’s also just clear up that calligraphy is writing and typography is a predictable and repeatable system of letters - a typeface.
What has been your most favourite project in recent years?
Earlier this year I got to work with my great friend Irena Macri from Eat Drink Paleo who runs Australia’s most popular paleo recipe site. Irena commissioned me to art direct, letter and illustrate the book's cover, chapter introductions and feature pages. All images were chalked by hand and photographed alongside the ingredients and prepared dishes. The best part was getting to eat all of the healthy delicious food once it was photographed!
What does a typical day at work involve for you?
I ride my bike to my studio in Brunswick where I’ll make my Aeropress coffee. Just this short bike ride and sitting down at my desk is a trigger to switch into creative mode. I try to do most of my creative work first up when I have energy and do some business/admin stuff later in the day. My days could be quite varied, some days I could be out on an on-site chalk job, some days I could be lettering on paper or lettering on my chalkboard, or lettering with paint and a brush! It depends on the project. But as long as I have picked up a drawing instrument everyday, I have practiced my craft so I can get better and learn. There’s also emails and business stuff to stay on top of and posting behind the scenes pictures to Instagram and Facebook!
What future plans do you have for your lettering business?
I really want to keep honing my craft and practicing lettering in all forms. This will mean making time for personal work amongst client work. I feel some great momentum happening, and I’m super excited for more great opportunities for collaborating with interesting brands and Creative Directors on some super fun projects. I’m also learning the ways of combining creativity and business so that I can continue to make a living doing what I love.
I’m working on producing a small range of hand lettered greeting cards as a side-product with my soon to be letterpress printing skills. I eventually would like to run workshops to teach people the process of lettering. I’ve had a few enquiries already!
5 Questions in 5 minutes – Getting Personal:
Studio Sounds, what's playing?
We have rdio set up on a mini iPad in the studio so everyone can control the music from their computer so we always listening to our collection on random rotation. But in particular we’ve been loving the new Snakadaktal - Sleep in the Water. We also love 60’s girl band ditties!
What are you currently reading?
Manage Your Day-to-Day by 99U. It has some fantastic interviews with people like Seth Godin and Stephan Sagmeister on how they manage to do great creative work in these times of many distractions.
What are you looking forward to?
I am super excited to be doing a letterpress workshop with Amy from St Gertrude Design. Amy is going to teach a few designers how to use her 100 year-old press ‘Gordon’ (who moved in Little Gold Studios two months ago) so that eventually we can print our own designs. This is an inaugural workshop and will be open to other designers in the future.
I’m also looking forward to getting back to nature in late December down in Tasmania. We’ll be camping at Freycinet National Park with some hiking, relaxing, sampling the local wine and food, and also get over to the amazing Mona for some art inspiration.
Can you share your go to resource for inspiration?
I have some fantastic lettering books from Louise Fili - ‘Scripts’ and ‘Vintage Type and Graphics’ full of her personal collection of vintage lettering and my 1959 Photo Lettering Catalogue full of original hand-lettered typefaces that Don Draper would have used!
I love seeing behind the scenes work of other letterers and artists on Instagram. On the web, I follow Friends of Type and Type Everything blog amongst others. But there is lettering and type all around us everyday that I find really inspiring.
What is your local areas best kept secret?
It’s probably not so secret with the Brunswick hipsters, but when I found Dejour Jeans I was so excited! $50 jeans in lots of colours with free tailoring? Yes please! I must also mention Los Hermanos for great Mexican food and the cute little Save Yourself designer boutique in Sparta Place that sells my favourite Lime Crime lipsticks.
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After reading all of this type and lettering goodness I'm inspired to pull out the brush pens and chalk! If you would like to contact Carla please see all her details below.
Carla Hackett / Foxglove Lettering Website: carlahackett.com Email: carla@carlahackett.com Instagram: @carlahackett Twitter: @canarycarla Facebook: /carla.hackett.lettering
Andrea McArthur has a passion for all things visual. Type is her true love and goes weak at the knees over beautiful design. Andrea works as a freelance graphic designer in Brisbane by day and lectures in graphic design by night. You will find her sharing design related goodness via @andyjane_mc
Interview: Laura Blythman
By Andrea McArthur
This is the story of a creative woman from Melbourne who moved to Geelong and whose design and illustration work has an interesting balance of being commercial and yet quirky and personal all at the same time. One thing is certain though, Laura Blythman's work will make you smile from ear to ear.
Laura is renowned for her vibrant colour palette and cheeky sentiments. Her design and illustration style is instantly recognisable and increasingly sought after, having designed for some of Australia's biggest stationery brands. Laura’s designs can be found nationally through her work with A Skulk of Foxes, Typo, Click On Furniture, Lark, Peachy Gift, Mr.Wolf, Cotton On Kids, T2 teas, Zoo York, Kiitos – Living By Design, Swan Emporium, La De Dah Kids and Stuck On You.
What led you down your current path?
I pretty much spent my whole childhood cutting and pasting and drawing and I was always in awe of everything creative so when it came time to consider careers I just assumed graphic design would be my gig. Of course, as a teenager, my imagined ‘dream world’ of graphic design narrowly involved designing posters and CD covers for my favourite bands and that’s about all. I spent a few years after high school being 'floaty' (and had a short stint as a hairdressing apprentice!) but a friend gently nudged me in the direction of The Australian Academy of Design and three years later I’d scored myself a BA in Graphic Design and a job at Hallmark Cards Australia.
I spent three years at Hallmark designing an unimaginable number of greeting cards as well as gift packaging, stationery and so on. I moved on to designing boutique wedding stationery for Cristina Re and then I teamed up with a friend and we focused on surface and pattern design for papers, stationery and home wares. When an amazing senior design opportunity popped up at the newest stationery brand on the block, I pounced in it! At Typo I got to indulge in everything I love most – range design, illustration and creative direction for a massive scope of stationery and home decor products as well as the design and management of the Cotton On Yardage library, focussing mostly on textile patterns for Cotton On Kids and Body.
During these years I also worked on small, freelance jobs designing branding and collateral for start-up businesses or textile designs and so when I left Typo to have my baby Alexander almost three years ago, I amped up my own brand and I've been freelancing ever since, and LOVING it.
You recently said farewell to the Oh! Hello Geelong blog that you developed and wrote with Penny Phipps. The blog was a great success and was featured on The Design Files. Can you tell us about that?
Yes, sadly it was time to bid farewell to our blog this year. I won’t be writing or contributing content any longer but it has been left in very capable and clever hands. I think readers will love the fresh perspective of the new girls Nat and Jen. I’ll miss it a little but it was one of those side projects that grew huge and life got a bit too busy to fit it all in. I’ll still contribute illustrations as needed and possibly even one day create an updated version of the Geelong Map Poster. I’m moving home to Melbourne very soon so maybe a Melbourne map will be next on the cards. I love creating maps and can’t wait to work on the next one.
What future plans do you have for your creative business?
I’ve had some truly amazing opportunities coming my way of late so the plan is to pretty much stick to the path I’m on. I’m absolutely bursting with ideas and wish lists of things to create and share so I’m keen to find some more time to work on my own projects and become a fully-fledged ‘pie hands’. Variety keeps me very happy. I hope to continue working on more and more collaborative projects, designing and illustrating for fun products and ranges, working with new brands and fab clients and hopefully some high profile clients too! I’d love to work on a new collection of artwork which I will hopefully exhibit somewhere…
Another thing I’m looking forward to once I’m back in Melbourne is making plans to move the ‘studio’ out of my home. I absolutely love working in shared studio spaces as I go a bit crazy on my own sometimes.
Do you have any advice for growing a client base?
I met a lot of great contacts in those first few years of working for other people’s businesses and it has kind of organically grown from there. In many ways your work speaks for itself. If people like what they see the opportunities arise from that. Other than that, be kind but not a pushover and work really, really hard.
Who do you admire in the industry?
Oh, I admire so many clever people, brands and businesses for many different reasons. Internationally I'm loving creatives such as: Ashley Goldberg, Ma + Chr, Jessica Hische, Lab Partners, Dana Tanamachi, Julia Pott, and Lisa Congdon. Locally I'm blown away by the work of so many amazing creatives including: Miranda Skoczek, Bridget Bodenham, Lucas Grogan, Harvest Textiles… Really, there are so many more. Far too many to list.
What has been your most favourite project in recent years?
I really loved the opportunity I was given earlier this year to create a new and huge body of work for my solo exhibition (Love, Lyrics, Neon). So many great things, amazing opportunities and collaborations have stemmed from that mammoth effort and collection of work…
Jobs that have elements of both custom illustration and a high level of involvement in creating the brief and setting the style direction for the job are my faves. Illustrating the Geelong Map for The Design Files was a super proud moment. And I loved part one of my collaboration with A Skulk Of Foxes (wooden iPhone covers) so I’m super excited to release some more products with them soon!
What does a typical day at work involve for you?
I only get a few precious full days of work a week so I squeeze as much as possible into these days. The early hours are consumed with trying to convince my 2-year-old that’s it’s a good idea to get dressed, eat something (that isn't dessert) and hop into the car for a fun day at childcare. Neither of us are morning people at all. After I drop him off I grab a drive-thru coffee on the way back to my studio where I park my butt and pretty much don’t move for the rest of day. I begin with consulting the list of ‘to do’s’ (which I generally create the night before) then I cram in an insane amount of emailing, client correspondence, more list making, drawing, planning, scanning, designing, invoice making and estimate creating as well as a bit of making, packing and posting orders from my online shop.
Every day is different and I tend to share the love between a few clients throughout the day. The day always goes waaaay too fast and I find myself also working into the night once my little boy is asleep. The night sessions are mostly saved for my own projects, drawing, packing orders, making custom orders or just catching up on emails… I love the days when I have to travel for meetings or pop out on client or retail visits as I get a bit of change of scenery.
5 Questions in 5 minutes
Getting Personal:
Studio Sounds, what's playing?
At the moment I'm playing a big mix of inc. Theophilus London, Arcade Fire, Chet Faker, Haim, Alpine, Bat For Lashes, The Smiths, Chvches, Yo La Tengo… I can’t work without music.
What are you currently reading?
I’ve just started to read my late Great Aunty Marion’s ‘memoirs’ for the second time. It’s not a published book – it’s just a massive wad of photocopied typed pages in an big black plastic binder – included are some cheeky ‘note’ pages inserted here and there, written by my Pa, Frank. He doesn’t agree with everything Marion recalls and wrote. It’s such a nice insight into the lives of my grandparents and great grandparents.
What are you looking forward to?
- The release of some fun client and collaborative projects I’ve been working on and also starting work on some new exciting projects, collabs and big fun things. Can’t wait to share.
- ‘Fieldtrip’ Jacky Winters creative conference in Sydney! It will be a nice and mini creative break.
- I’m also starting to plan for my first proper holiday in years – hopefully Bali this time next year with my little guy.
Can you share your go to resource for motivation?
- The usual offenders: Instagram, Pinterest
- Creative blogs like: Design Love Fest, Design For Mankind.
- Also love reading design/freelance advice by: Jessica Hische and Bri Emery/Katie Evans.
What is your local area’s best kept secret?
Hmmm… I’m not sure it’s really a secret anymore, but my favourite place in Geelong for a delicious feed, yum drinks, good music and a nice crowd is ‘There There’ – Bar + Restaurant. Love it. I also love heading down the highway to Melbourne for my city culture fix. I can’t wait to move home (Melbourne) in January and discover some cool new places. It feels like I have been away for a very long time.
To see more of Laura's work or make contact with her please visit: website www.laurablythman.com.au webshop www.laurablythman.bigcartel.com email laura@laurablythman.com.au instagram @laurablythman twitter @hellolaurahere facebook www.facebook.com/LauraBlythmanishere
Andrea McArthur has a passion for all things visual. Type is her true love and goes weak at the knees over beautiful design. Andrea works as a freelance graphic designer in Brisbane by day and lectures in graphic design by night. You will find her sharing design related goodness via @andyjane_mc
Tools of the Trade: Belinda Evans & Alchemy
By Brianna Read The interview for this first chapter in the second volume of Tools of the Trade raised two particularly pertinent topics for the wonderful platform for discussion that is the Creative Women’s Circle: social media and collaboration. I shall return to these topics shortly, but let me introduce the subject who brought these to the fore… Belinda Evans is the creator of Alchemy, a beautiful label and online store which I admired long before I crossed paths with Belinda herself.
My reason for this admiration was that this tiny little nook, in the vast ocean of online stores, managed to cultivate an extraordinary air of calm. As anyone who has lost their way while navigating the information superhighway will understand, calm is not something you happen upon very often. I mention this particular quality because Belinda’s extraordinary talent lies not only in her hands which craft each beautiful, thoughtful product you find in the Alchemy store, but also in her ability to create quiet space and genuine connection in the arena of online shopping and social media.
How, I wondered, has this woman stayed so true to the ethos of her slow, calm, creative practice while building a tiny empire and devoted following in the chaos of online?
Belinda spent her childhood surrounded by a wonderful array of tools: lathes and pottery wheels were both things she was encouraged to try and with a glass blowing studio and furniture making workshop at her fingertips it would seem a natural progression for such a childhood to lead on to a practice such as that displayed at Alchemy. But not without an invaluable step in a different direction…
Belinda also works in the field of project and event management and it is her experiences using social media in this environment which she credits with developing the skills that have proven invaluable in the development and management of the online presence of Alchemy. Take a quick look at the Alchemy blog or her Instagram posts and her genuine enjoyment of this media is wonderfully apparent. Her beautiful blog for Alchemy has a quiet sister in the blog titled Simple Things which Belinda dedicates to displaying images of a wide spectrum of design works which catch her eye and entertain her mind. Belinda says of her sharing ‘I’m not shy about sharing my techniques, how I source my materials, and the beautiful work of other artisans that I love to surround myself with.’.
This leads me to the second topic of collaboration. I recently read an article posted on Li Edelkoort’s Trend Tablet authored by Peter Stitger and to borrow his words ‘We are leaving an individual era behind us.’ This article continued on with a brief treatise on the merits of collaboration and fostering creative environments which work on the premise of camaraderie with the sharing of tools, knowledge and creativity at the center.
Belinda has exactly this approach to her practice, take one look at the beautiful photos of Belinda using indigo dyes for some of her new projects below. Taken by Olga Bennett, these photographs showcase the talents of photographer and subject in equal measure, a perfect example of the beauty of collaboration. This appreciation for the talents of others is one of the defining characteristics which make Belinda’s online voice so pleasant to listen to. In a time which seemed to favour the loudest and most shamelessly self-promoting voices, stumbling across Alchemy and then crossing paths with the quiet collaborator herself was equal parts breath of fresh air and renewal of faith in social media platforms. Belinda, thank you!
Belinda's blogs can be found here and here. Her lovely escape from the world store is here and to find her on Instagram she is known as: @iamalchemy...
Brianna Read is a designer and maker based in Melbourne. Her knitwear label Jack of Diamonds employs traditional hand-made techniques in combination with machine knit technologies. Her multi-faceted creative practice encompasses design, production, works for exhibition and machine knitting workshops.
Tools of the Trade: Fiona McDonald of Ichimu
By Brianna Read The subject of this month’s Tools of the Trade brought up a rather interesting idea in the discussion of creative practice – rules. With every trade comes a history of how the practice has grown and moved with time, there are always long lists of the recognised methods of practice and an equally long list of things which ought not be done. This particular idea was touched upon in an earlier Tools instalment and I was glad for the opportunity to get a little further into the topic – you see I am an advocate of bending and breaking rules… I am making my subject sound rather rebellious which is actually not the case at all.
Fiona McDonald makes objects of porcelain – under the label Ichimu (translated roughly from Japanese meaning a dream, or a fleeting thing). Everything about Fiona’s creative practices are as gentle and light of hand as the name implies. The rule breaking I referred to was from an almost off-hand remark Fiona made about why her ceramic practice brings so much pleasure: ‘Maybe it is because I don’t really know the rules about clay and porcelain that I love it so much.’
I adore these types of honest insights as they reveal so much about why we create. During the interview Fiona made mention of her love of children’s illustrations (those done by children rather than for them) and her appreciation of the honesty they hold. Her remark about not knowing the rules of porcelain and the link this may have to her enjoyment of the process revealed that she found for herself in ceramics what she appreciated in the unfettered and unpretentious expressions of children’s creativity.
Take a look at her work in Ichimu and it is not difficult to see the pleasure taken in creating it. When I asked Fiona to interview for this column I presumed that the effortless beauty in her ceramics had been from years of labored study and crafting with the medium of porcelain. I had no idea Fiona’s background was in fact in graphic design and pattern design for textiles. Indeed, Fiona was introduced to the art of ceramics by a friend relatively recently.
I think it is precisely because of her recent introduction to the medium and an absence of formal training that Fiona’s work stands out. I love that the hand and marks of the tool can be seen in the work – these pieces have a physicality which speaks of their production. Of course, her knowledge of and practice in the visual arts can be seen in her ceramic work. Each piece is hand built using a variety of tools and found objects and the surface treatment and colour sensibility of each collection of pieces clearly displays her talent for design.
While I wholeheartedly appreciate mastery in any medium and understand that rules are made often for very sound reasons; whenever I encounter an artisan who blazes their own trail through a quagmire of dos and don’ts I am reminded of the very reason why creativity exists: because it brings pleasure to those who create and those who behold the results.
Yet another invaluable tool for the kit of any creative: the ability to shirk the rules when they are hampering the enjoyment of the creative process.
More of Fiona’s porcelain work at Ichimu can be seen here and here. Her textile and graphic works have online homes here, here and here.
Brianna Read is a designer/maker based in Melbourne. Her knitwear label Jack of Diamonds employs traditional hand-made techniques in combination with machine knit technologies. Brianna’s multi-faceted creative practice encompasses design, production, works for exhibition and machine knitting workshops.