Meet Talya Goding

Our creative people series has unearthed all sort of creative talents which you can check out in our Interviews section. Today’s feature, Tayla Goding. is one of those young, energetic, creative entrepreneurs that make you wonder what took you so long to start a business!

At the ripe old age of 21, and from the seaside town of Coffs Harbour, she started ‘Made With Love‘ in 2011 on Valentines Day. Three years later she says she is loving where Made With Love has taken her both personally, creatively and professionally.

Meet…card designer & all-round creative lady Talya Goding

Tayla says that over the years she’s faced many adversities and the light at the end of her long and dark tunnel,was through expressing herself creatively.

She now loves the challenge of custom orders as she says “every customer’s enquiry is unique and special”!

She also says:

“Not only do I have a passion for paper crafts but also have a love of music, poetry writing, song writing, story writing, art and other areas. You will find my passion of poetry on every invitation order as a short verse or poem related to the theme of party, which adds that extra personalised touch to the invitations, a unique verse can also be found on my unique Santa Key.

For two consecutive Christmases, Made with Love has developed and released the ‘Made with Love Santa Key’, which has become a popular Christmas Eve tradition the whole family has grown to love! In 2013 through the purchases of each Santa Key, 50 gifts were purchased and placed under the Kmart Wishing Tree for disadvantaged Teens. From August 2014, keep an eye out for the 2014 edition of the MWL Santa Key.

I have met some amazing customers and business friends along the way and look forward to where the future will take both me and made with love.”

My style icon is… I wouldn’t say an icon but an iconic era! I love the fashion from the 1950’s particularly dresses or tops that really accentuate women’s curves.

I collect books about… I love reading books that express a personal journey or overcome adversities as I have always found these to be inspirational and motivational- not only non-fictional but also fictional. I have the entire set of the John Marsden ‘Tomorrow’ series along with the Ellie Chronicles. I also have the entire sets/series of twilight, house of night, fallen and harry potter. I love the worl ds these books allow me to escape to!

I feel most creative when… when I am upset. I don’t know what it is about when I am angry or emotional but I find that is when I am most creative. It’s funny that I can draw really well when I am emotional but when I am happy I find it harder to draw.

If I had a different career I’d be… working with youth or young adults who need some help. I am currently studying a social work/counselling degree where I would love to be able to help young people dealing with emotions to know that you don’t have to be identified by what has happened to you or that you are defined by your past. I found that expressing myself creatively has really helped me to cope and deal with things going on, and I used my mental health as a strength in building a business when most see it as a weakness. I can empathise and help through my own life experiences and lessons learnt.

The best way to make a statement is… to truly be yourself. With my business and designs I focus on creating the ‘WOW’ factor and creating each piece to be unique and individual to the last, which has really become my way of my business standing out from the crowd.

Happiness is… when I am creating. No matter how down I feel or facing massive adversities. Due to some extensive health issues I am often spending time in and out of hospital, which is when I am most feeling down. But once I get home and start creating again I am instantly feeling my spirits lifting. I absolutely love creating and designing, but most happy when customers love and rave about my work or tell me how much their guests love my work too. Made With Love has given me the most self worth and acknowledgement, and I really do love creating and working closely with clients.

The best money I’ve ever spent was… certainly a laptop I purchased back in 2009, which was sold to me by an incredibly handsome computer salesmen who now is my husband! Yes, we met when he sold my my laptop and we instantly got along so well that we exchanged numbers and later that week went on our first date and just celebrated 5 amazing years! We married one year later and he is an incredible support and my rock. I don’t know how I could have gotten through the last 5 years without him and so grateful for that fateful day when I purchased a $2500 laptop.. so definitely money well spent!

My uniform is… most days it is my pyjamas. I work from home in my craft studio, and as I don’t have a store front or customers visiting it is so much more comfortable working in what I feel is comfortable! One of the perks of working from home!

My favourite day of the year is…. Christmas! Ther e is something so magical about Christmas day for children. Which is one of the reasons why I love creating the unique Made With Love Santa Key! Children get so inquisitive about how Santa gets in, how his reindeer fly, how does he deliver all the presents, so I feel that through creating the Santa Key it helps parents to answer those questions through my unique personal poem. The MWL Santa Key also becomes an exciting family Christmas tradition.

My next adventure is… I am planning on writing a book about my journey so far. I would like to share my personal experiences and adversities in hopes of empowering and supporting someone going through the same experience. Until then I have been blogging through my site www.feelingostomistic.com.au. I have also recently started a second business ‘Goding Consulting’ which is to help businesses tackle the tasks they need to delegate or need assistance with such as social media management, freelan ce graphic design, blogging, content and more!

Working Creatives: Meet Stephanie Doyle

Creativity is a huge field, with ‘creatives’ work in all sorts of pursuits. So far in our Working Creatives series we’ve met designer and photographer Clint Sutherland and radio personality Carly Portch.

This week we’re featuring marketer turned entrepreneur Stephanie Doyle. Stephanie has taken an idea, turned it a key product, designed it stylishly, manufactured locally and now it’s found in the most personal of spaces across Australia: bedrooms.

Meet…bedroom design entrepreneur Stephanie Doyle

Stephanie Doyle was a career marketer of more than 20 years. A little over a year ago she decided it was time to shake things up. She took a chance and moved in a different direction to start her own ‘bespoke bedroom design’ business, Tuft and Buttons.

Whilst her background is marketing communications, at the beginning of her career she also studied product design.

She is inspired by a passion for beautiful bedroom furniture and was disappointed by the mass market imports that have flooded the market. So she decided to fill this gap by creating Tuft and Buttons. She started with a bang too, with one of her bedheads featured on the huge home renovation show, The Block.

One year on, her goal remains the same – to design and manufacture exceptional furniture that is locally made.

Everyone should own… a beautiful, comfortable bed that is your sanctuary.

Happiness is… spending time with loved ones and listening to the happy laughter of shared memories and new adventures that are being planned.

I collect books about… travel destinations. Planning my next adventure is always exciting and turning the pages of a glossy picture book is so much more inspiring than browsing online.

I feel most creative when… I’m relaxed and spending time with my friends. I love bouncing ideas around and bringing a concept to life.

My cheap thrill is… having crispy bacon when I’m out for breakfast. This doesn’t make me a very good vegetarian, but I can’t help it. I just love it and it puts a smile on my face!

My next adventure is… to France and Italy, to explore the country-side and be inspired by traditional manufacturing methods.

Right now, I’m inspired by…. Jeffrey Alan Marks. An established, US-based interior designer, I love the way his style is fresh and contemporary yet timeless. Each project is entirely different and clearly demonstrates the personality of the client

The best gift I’ve ever given was… last week – it was a booklet of 70 love notes to my mother on her 70th birthday. Each note was handwritten and designed by different members of our family and we recounted all the quirks and traits we love about mum. She loved this gift of precious memories.

The best money I’ve ever spent was… my ticket home to Melbourne. After living in London for five years I was ready to come home and be enveloped by all my favourite things and places. It marked a defining moment in my life and the start of my next chapter as a business owner.

The best way to make a statement is... to be confident and articulate. Know yourself and back yourself – you won’t regret it!

• Visit Tuft and Buttons website
• Visit Tuft and Buttons blog

 

 

Working creatives: Meet Clint Sutherland

The world is full of all types of ‘working creatives’ – people earning their living through their creative pursuits. Whilst we’ve featured some creative entrepreneurs on DailyInkling (like Robelen Bajar or Michelle Matthews) in the past, we thought we’d step it up and share from a wider pool of creative people.

To commence the series, we’re starting in Melbourne with a young designer and photographer that we think has the energy, talent and enthusiasm to ensure a bright creative future!

Meet…designer Clint Sutherland

Originally from Perth, Clint is fascinated by the ‘constant convergence of creative story-telling with technology, design and photography’. Since moving to Melbourne he’s worked in two design studio environments in Melbourne.

He is currently working at one of Melbourne’s most ambitious and fastest growing creative agencies, Yoke, where he’s tackled a wide variety of projects ranging from branding and print design through to user interface design and environmental graphics.

His professional training and background in photography has also opened doors for him to photograph some of Melbourne’s most prestigious homes, take on various studio shoots and a lifestyle shoot. Even though his primary focus is design, he says photography and mixed media creation have always played a major role in his working life.

Right now, I’m inspired by….The speed at which the internet is growing and progressing. As the fastest moving design medium, user interface design is constantly changing, and there is always stacks of inspiration from galleries such as SiteInspire, Awwwards and mind sparkle to keep you on your toes.

Everyone should own…A good camera. So many people now only use their phones to take photos of the best moments in their life, which is really sad because at this stage the cameras in phones are still really average, no matter what the marketing is.

You can’t print them any bigger than A4 without them pixelating heavily, and it becomes especially difficult to get a good shot in low light conditions. Even a small portable camera like a Fuji X10 will take really beautiful images that you can easily print large format without any issues and shoot crisp 1080p movies.

My cheap thrill is…Cyclocross cycling, although it’s not really all that cheap sometimes. But the quick transitions between tarmac and mud are always a major thrill.

I collect books about…Adventuring, photography, design, cooking… it’s hard to pigeon hole myself in a specific category really. Every time I go travelling I love to get the Wallpaper guide to the city – they are compact and written for the design conscious traveller, and so include awesome maps and the best guide to restaurants, shops and landmarks that are likely not included in the lonely planet.

Being a print design nerd, I often also fall in love with expensive books with beautiful paper stocks and embellishments. One of my favourite books is Quay by Peter Gilmore. Although every attempt I’ve made at making one of his outrageous dishes has been a disaster.

If I had a different career I’d be…A tour guide in rural Australia somewhere, maybe Margaret River in WA or something. It’s an awesome feeling getting to know the country really well and taking small groups through remote and isolated trails they would never find without you. Plus putting on a really ocker accent and entertaining tourists with extravagant stories of the outback would also be a lot of fun.

Photo: Abandoned Pool KohSamui by Clint Sutherland

My favourite way to spend a day off is…Getting out of the city. I’ll usually go for a long ride or a hike somewhere. Melbourne is amazing for this because you only need to travel an hour from the city to get to some really beautiful places, Ferntree Gu lly is my latest obsession for mountain biking and hiking.

On my playlist…The Knife, Shlohmo, Kendrick Lamar, Future Islands, Kathryn Rollins, Ta-Ku, Hudson Mohawk, Curtis Mayfield and Howling Wolf.

The best money I’ve ever spent was…Travelling on exchange through Canada where I studied at Ryerson University in Toronto for the fall semester. Took a lot of savings to cover the 6 months I was away, but I met so many incredible people from all over the world. I think experiences will always be the best thing money can buy.

Photo: Singer-Songwriter Kathryn Rollins by Clint Sutherland.

My favourite character is….The Dude from The Big Lebowski. Absolute legend, I often try to channel the dude if I get stressed out about something. It’s a very comical/ calming voice to have in your head.

The best gift I’ve ever given was…I gave my dad a 1.5L Magnum of Penfolds 389 for his 50th. We all lusted after it while it sat on display for 10 years until we re cently drank it on his 60th birthday. It was glorious.

My next adventure is…I’m going to Japan in October with my girlfriend for just over a few weeks. We are travelling all over, but I am mostly excited about a 3-day hike we are doing through the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Routes, which are south of Osaka and stretched across the mountainous Kii Peninsula.

We booked the accommodation, but recently heard back from one of the owners of a small lodge we were staying in to say it wasn’t available, so instead we are going to stay with him. He sent us a picture of where we would be staying and it looks incredible, very traditional with a view over the mountains, so I think we lucked out there.

Connect with Clint here:

Twitter: @Tweet_Clint

Website: www.clintsutherland.com.au

 

Happy Birthday to us! Top ten posts from the last year

Today Daily Inkling turns one- it’s been a year since we first started posting regularly. Let the frivolities begin! Here are ten of our favourite posts from the last twelve months.

Top ten favourite posts

1. Creative entrepreneur interview: Michelle Matthews, Deck of Secrets

Our first interview with a powerhouse of publishing. Michelle started with one simple (but brilliant) idea. From that first Deck of Secrets box grew an empire. The Deck of Secrets series has now spread all over the world.

2. How to get a book published by a major publisher (series of three)

Kimberly and I first cemented our creative partnership in a book project. From concept, to content, to market analysis and publishing – our little project was picked up by Penguin and now sits proudly on our shelves.

3. 52 ways to generate ideas on demand – Tips from 14 creative people

At the heart of this blog is understanding creativity. To get to that great idea you first need a spark; so with the help of fellow creatives, here are some tips to get you started.

4. Eight trends, themes and observations from SXSW 2014 – The Wrap

Kimberly went along to SXSW this year and all of her posts on the sessions she attended are worth a read – here’s the wrap-up of her experience along with lots of great pics.

5. Great book cover designs and designers

I love a great book cover as much as I love a great book – and yes, I do judge. But is it as simple as great books deserve great covers?

6. What’s the best soundtrack for creativity? 10 ways music can impact your creativity

I know I have specific playlists for different projects I’m working on. For some it has to be silence. What works to bring out your creative best?

7. How to evaluate ideas? For a new business, concept or novel

A great checklist to help you separate the truly great from the maybe mediocre.

8. How to pick the perfect colour for your brand or business

Colour options leap out at us at every turn – from the colour of our underwear to what we put on our walls; what packaging we prefer to remembering our parking level. Picking the perfect colour for your brand or business is one that has to be right.

9. Books that changed our lives

Both Kimberly and I shared our lists of books that have had an impact on us, and I feel like it made me evaluate what it was about these stories that stuck with me (as well as spending hours agonising about which ones to include or leave out. Talk about killing your darlings).

10. Idioms – how many ways can you kick the bucket?

We’ve done a lot of wordy posts, but this one is my favourite – one day we’ll all park our slippers.

Top five popular crafty posts

Our most popular posts have usually been the crafty ones – so here are the five most popular for makers and doers everywhere

1. How to make cute reversible placemats using an A4 template

2. Weekend creative project – Colourful and simple giant granny square baby blanket

3. DIY Washi tape Christmas baubles

4. Great gift idea – teacup succulents with Washi tape

5. Make you own re-usable shopping bag from an A4 template

 

 

Creative entrepreneur interview – Robelen Bajar of Woman.com.au

Do you ever find business magazines a bit boring? Suspect you could do better? That was the thought that got Robelen Bajar motivated enough to ‘stop planning and start doing’ with the launch of her online magazine, Woman.com.au. Since its launch in late 2012 she’s built an audience of 10,000+ reader and followers – an impressive feat in the crowded online publishing space! Not only that, she got it off the ground with energy, creativity and the huge investment of…$24!

Woman.com.au also has an impressive scorecard in other areas. For example, they’ve: Appointed 36 woman.com.au ambassadors in Australia and New Zealand (Robelen says they are ‘the engine that keep our community alive’); curated 600+ fabulous events for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth that ‘get women meeting, moving and making things happen’; published 500+ articles; Interviewed 50+ of the country’s most influential women ; launched three online newspapers that showcase their community – Female Founders, Boss Lady, I Tweet You, and; launched the highly successful ‘Gen Y Female Founder Diaries’.

Personally Robelen is also ‘all about creativity’ in all aspects of her life. We love her philosophy: ‘You can’t use up creativity – the more you use, the more you have.’

We’re so pleased Robelen has agreed to share her entrepreneurship story with us today at DailyInkling.com. We trust you’ll get some inspiration and insight from this energetic online publisher and business woman!

What a story without an epiphany…or three!

Robelen says journey towards her current business started when she found herself jobless after graduating from university in Brisbane.

‘There weren’t a lot of job opportunities at the time so I got a group of friends who were in the same boat and formed a networking group of young graduates who were looking for their first big career break. We found mentors, attended industry events, went to seminars and short courses and put together a career plan. We also made each other accountable ensuring that we stayed the course and followed our career plan. It was through this process that I realised the value of communities and genuine connections – my first epiphany. It was also through this process that led me to move to Melbourne where I landed a job in media/PR within 2 weeks of arriving.

A big part of my job was devouring business publications where I had a second epiphany – business publications are so bloody boring I have to do something about it. I wanted to start a business magazine written for women. And so I started learning all about print publishing while working as media adviser for a boutique media communications agency.

Meanwhile, I noticed an opportunity emerging in digital marketing, and having always had an interest in tech, decided I wanted to be part of it, so I switched from PR/media comms to digital marketing and worked for a tech company who at the time was leading the space. It was here I had my third epiphany. Forget print, digital publishing is the future!’

Robelen’s path to blogging

Robelen started blogging in 2004. Her personal blog (Chickwisdom) was created around a theme of relationships and largely documented her experiences as a single woman looking for Mr Right. She says it was her ‘creative outlet’ at the time.

‘I found myself not having time to really do the things I love and it took a while to get going on my women’s business magazine – work got in the way and for a time I actually enjoyed climbing the corporate ladder – as they say. It wasn’t until I left a corporate career to work as a digital consultant for tech startups that I got my passion back and got to work on this idea of creating a business news website for women. I started by testing the market, initially launching mygirlfriends.com.au – a place where women could discuss issues that are important to them and seek advice from a panel of experts and the community. What I found is that although it was a great idea, for the site to be sustainable and for the audience to be constantly engaged, I needed content.

After a few months of planning and getting nowhere and feeling extremely frustrated, I decided to lock myself in the house for one week during the Christmas/NY of 2012/2013 and built version 1 of woman.com.au on wordpress. I spent $24. The rest as they say is history.’

Where does Robelen get her ideas for articles for Woman.com.au?

Robelen reads – a lot.

‘I subscribe to a gazillion newsletters, you name it, I’ve got it in my inbox – from the biggest publishers like Forbes, Entrepreneur, Huffington Post to others like Pandodaily, Quibb, medium, springwise.’

She’s also committed to creativity across all aspects of her life.

‘I pursue other creative interests – ballroom dancing, music, interior design, cooking, crafts. I believe the more active and interested you are in various subjects, the more inspired you become. You can’t use up creativity – the more you use, the more you have.

I look at what people are doing in other industries, not just my own, especially those involved in emerging technologies and ask myself “how can I use this in my business?”

I’m interested in many things -things that are not necessarily related to what I do for a living but they sustain my thirst for knowledge, like science, engineering, technology, design. I am eternally curious.’

What’s behind those compelling Woman.com.au headlines that make you want to click?

Robelen says her key goals when she created woman.com.au was to ‘make business news interesting’. She didn’t want ‘corporate speak’ because it didn’t sound genuine or interesting.

‘I want to make a connection and create a conversation with our community so we write with attitude and personality, or at least we try to. Headlines play a key part and we use it to challenge readers. It’s also great for longtail keywords and stands out from others when it does appear on a search query on Google.

From time to time we use a different SEO title when we want to focus on a keyword. But for the most part, we weave the keyword into our headlines.’

Her creative process

Robelen doesn’t think she follows a specific creative process. She does find she’s most creative late at night or early morning when it’s really really quiet and that’s when she does most of her writing. She can’t work with background music or chatter, saying: ‘I need to hear my brain speak’.

‘I also talk to myself. I find I’m better at solving a problem when I talk through the issues and possible solutions. I usually come up with an answer. I find that my head is full of ideas screaming at me, crashing and bumping into one another that the best way to home in on a few good ones is to verbalise them. Thank goodness I mostly work from home!

The best ideas come to me when I’m not thinking about coming up with one – in the shower, when I’m out shopping or going for my daily run, watching TV or relaxing in the sun or having a wine with friends. Hence I carry a notepad all the time and find every opportunity to write ideas down as soon as I think of them, because they quickly disappear. While I love my apps, there’s something sentimental and creative about writing your ideas down in a notepad

When I’m really stuck for content ideas, I look to people I admire and use what I call a channeling technique. I would approach a subject matter that’s topical and ask “what would Audrey Hepburn say about this?”. Depending on who you’re channeling, you’ll get a different perspective. It could be an old boss, your mum or dad or a business leader you admire.’

Tips for building an audience for an online publication

It started with social media and online communities.

‘Since then our traffic source has expanded since then. Google is now the main source of our traffic, followed by Facebook. When it comes to generating user traffic, the focus is online and at the heart is our content.

Our ambassador program played a pivotal role in helping us build our community and there are more things planned to develop this further and transform our online community into genuine offline connections.’

As a digital strategist, what does she see/identify being done WRONG online

She says: ‘We are now connecting in a very personal way through blogs and social media, yet marketers still apply the b2c and b2b model when they create a comms strategy. In my view, the distinction, if there ever was one, no longer exists. It is now a person-to-person communication model and we need to recognise that.’

Five blogs/sites you are inspired by?

• Brit.co
• Quibb.com
• Medium.com
• Brainpickings.org
• Houzz.com

So what’s next for Robelen?

Taking her online publication to it’s third iteration.

‘In October last year, we launched version 2 of woman.com.au which gave it a magazine feel. We’re planning version 3 and it’s going to be different. It’s going to have the same content and will continue to be a great resource for professional/entrepreneurial women but it will become true online platform for women to showcase their achievements, share their stories and make connections.’

Any advice for others on how to leave a ‘job’ and live their creative dream?

Robelen says: ‘Stop planning, start doing!’

‘That means ensuring you have enough money saved up to get you through the first year. Ideally, you should already be working on it now while you have a regular pay cheque.

You definitely need a plan but don’t overdo it. Your plan is just a guide to give you some direction and focus. However when you start getting your hands dirty and your feet wet, you’ll uncover new opportunities that may take you in a slightly different direction, and in some cases a complete pivot, so you need to be flexible.

But the key thing is to start doing the little things. Register your domain name. Build a simple wordpress site and publish your first post.

Start talking to the right people who can and able to help you. Hang around people who are further ahead than you – they know what it’s like and are mostly happy to share their learnings.

Don’t wait for tomorrow.

You simply need to put one foot in front of the other and in no time, you’ll be running.’

Finally, we asked Robelen to finish these thoughts….

I can’t go a day without…. coffee!

What I find hard about business is…… working alone.

I am always inspired by….music and dance.

What I really wish existed was…. a comfortable pair of stilettos!

Deadlines make me feel…productive.

I never leave home without…..my iphone and note pad.

A moment that changed my life was… when I walked on fire, literally.

My favourite drink is…… coconut water.

My current favourite app or website is….JumpCam.

A woman that always inspires me is….my mother.

Robelen Bajar & publishing legend Nene King

__________________________________________________

If you enjoyed this article, why not check out other other Creative Entrepreneur interviews with:

• Michelle Matthews of Deck of Secrets
• Vanessa Johnson of Emu Plains Market
• Bronny Fallens of My Super Family Books

Why creativity is the new literacy. (And ten steps towards being more creative)

The shared feature of so many of the SXSW presenters is passion. They are passionate about what they’re speaking about, or what they’re doing, or what they’re trying to achieve.

One of the most passionate I’ve seen was Chase Jarvis – a renowned photographer and director turned digital entrepreneur. He co-founded creativeLIVE in 2010 to share free creative education with the world. Since that time creativeLIVE has delivered more than 1 billion minutes of free online education to 2 million people across every country in the world.

His talk thesis centered around the fact that the most valued skill among a survey of 1500 top CEOs was creativity. Yet our school system, especially after about grade 5-6, crushes creativity. It uses a ‘factory model’ to churn out students. And the first programs cut are always in areas like art or music. (He made the very good point that art class doesn’t exist to churn out artists – it exists to help nurture creativity skills.)

So rather than just rail against this, he did put forward his ‘ten steps’ for how to be more creative – or how to nurture creativity in your children. I’m sharing this today as it really resonated with me because I, too, share his passion for creativity.

10. Pursue a creative craft. Take a picture every day, knit, sew – anything. If you do something creative every day you’ll become more creative.
9. Space. Creativity doesn’t happen “in the mayhem”. Give yourself space to be creative, even if it’s just take a walk every morning or doing yoga.
8. Play. Set aside 30 minutes of ‘surprise and delight’ for yourself.
7. Find your tribe. Have other people like you, who ‘get’ what you’re into. Basically, some like-minded people.
6. Show your work. Because when you get feedback, your work gets better.
5. Imperfection & iteration. Don’t expect your creative pursuits to appear perfect and finished. Allow yourself time to experiment. (He showed a striking example of this: He is friends with Macklemore of Thriftshop fame. The video was of him at a party at his studio in 2009, working through a song that was on the current Grammy award winning album. Macklemore was a little nervous, had his words written down, sang it totally differently than it sounds today. What a great way to demonstrate this point!).
4. Put more of you into your work. You find your voice by USING it.
3. If you are not doubting yourself, you’re not doing it right. You need to push yourself and feel uncomfortable about what you’re putting out there, or you’re not taking any risks.
2. Make something every day. Creative activities create more creativity.
1. You have nothing to lose. You are here such a short a time – in fact, in the grand scheme of things, you’ll be ‘dead soon’. So what do you really have to lose?

Check out my other SXSW posts here:

• People want to pick what they like, not be told what to like
• Business insight from Trip Advisor, Shutterfly and The Knot
• Ten random but fascinating facts from SXSW that you’d never guess were true

Creative entrepreneur interview (and great inspiration for those last Christmas gifts) – Vanessa Johnson from Emu Plains Market

Markets can be a dime-a-dozen at this time of year, but there is one that I would keep going back to- the Emu Plains Market. Showcasing local craft, produce and vintage finds every 3rd Sat of the month (October-April), it is full of unexpected gems from a very talented bunch of Mornington Peninsula-ites. And for those looking for crafty unique Christmas gifts- there’s a market on tomorrow, and it’s their first birthday extravaganza!

Vanessa Johnson and her husband Joel set up Emu Plains in 2012. There had previously been a market run by the Westernport Rotary Group in the same spot, and when it closed earlier that year, Vanessa and Joel decided to reinvent it; ‘It was our favourite market on the Peninsula and we missed it! So, we thought to ourselves – why don’t we bring it back – it was a purely selfish decision!  We adore being able to shop in our local area from local producers – it’s a dream come true!’

With the focus on their stallholders as their best advertisement (‘…if they are happy, we are happy!’ says Vanessa), Emu Plains has grown into an eclectic and exciting mix of gourmet food, artists and artisans, activities for kids and live music. The very talented Kym Munro from Succulence is a regular stallholder.

On building their audience, Vanessa says; ‘We always need to be thinking of fresh new ideas and better ways we can engage with the community.’ Social media has been a major part of their marketing to date. Vanessa credits great management for making work a pleasure and their market site as providing the perfect backdrop. Surrounded by stringybark trees nodding over the stalls, it’s easy to see why Emu Plains can claim the most picturesque market setting.

And her biggest challenge? ‘Getting up at 5am on market day to set up!’

Top five and advice

So where does this creative entrepreneur get her inspiration from? Her family is her biggest source, which explains why Emu Plains is such a great family day out.

Her top five books/blogs:

1. Anything by Jack Kerouac
2. Ditto for Tim Winton
3. The magic far away series by Enid Blyton (voted by the kids!!)
4. bleubird vintage
5. ohhappyday.com (one of our faves as well)

And her advice for those looking to live their creative dream:

‘If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely – this is actually one from Roald Dahl but I love it and think it’s a great motto to have and if your passionate and believe (and work hard!!) these sunny sunbeams will shine into your dreams and beyond!’

So what’s next for Vanessa? ‘I would love to open our own retail space having home made amazingness available 24/7 on the Peninsula…watch this space!’

Finally- we asked Vanessa to finish these sentences:

I can’t go a day without…Kisses and cuddles

What I find hard about being in business is…Not always having time to play one more puzzle with the kids

What I really wish existed was…That you were born old and got younger so you could know all of life’s lessons before it’s too late!

Deadlines make me feel…Excited!

I never leave home without…Wet wipes (you never know when you will need them – in my case every second of every day!!)

A book that changed my life was…Catch 22 by Joseph Heller – when I worked out how crazy and pointless war is!

My favourite drink is…Beer (I donate all my bottles to the supremely talented Kym from Succulence to make into amazing pieces of art, so I feel like I am drinking for a worthy cause!)

My favourite app is…Gardenate (another great tip from my friend Kym!) I drool over all the amazing seeds/seedlings I should be propagating each month but have yet to find the time to actually do it – one day soon…

My favourite trend for Christmas is…Wrapping up 24 Christmas books and opening one a day with the kids until Christmas – its sort of like our advent calendar.

Where and when for the Emu Plains Market:

The 3rd Saturday of the month + a very special New Year’s Twilight Market!
On tomorrow- Saturday 21 December 2013, 9am till 2pm

Emu Plains Reserve, Coolart Rd, Balnarring (Balnarring Racecourse)

Located only 50 mins, easily accessible via the Monash Freeway/Westernport Highway, Eastlink, Peninsula Link and Nepean Highway.
Melways Reference: 163 J9

(Excellent onsite parking is available for $4, which goes towards community projects of the Westernport Rotary Group and the Emu Plains Reserve Committee for upkeep of the grounds)

Visit the Emu Plains Market website here

Beautiful pictures by Love the Pen

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If you enjoyed this interview, check out our previous creative entrepreneur interview with Michelle Matthews from Deck of Secrets.

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