and company and me

As I move further towards establishing myself in the creative industry I am encountering topics of all kinds which have previously been words, thoughts or actions I have bypassed. 

For me, the course was unintentionally summed up before it even began by Annalise (the founder of &company), "knowledge is power". The course and the topics that will be discussed over the four weeks are vital to any company, but as a designer they are often things you do not wish to occupy your time with. We just want to use our hands and be creative, instead of being caught between pen and paper. 

&company is a design studio made up of emerging designers and their products. They focus their efforts on giving designers a jump start as they develop into capable and confident professionals.

A new initiative by &company falls under their workshop header. The workshop entitled, Designing your day job, recognises the contemporary importance of being a mini entrepreneur for one's self as well as a designer. 

Over four weeks the course covers Intellectual Property with David Hughes from Griffith Hack, the retail sector with Terri Winter of Top3 by Design, tax and bookkeeping with Catherine McMurtie and finally the legal sector with Chris Chow. 

Last night began the first of the four sessions with David Hughes. The session was a small group of 6 eager creative types accompanied by the lovely Annalise of &company. 

We listened and together discussed; the basic concepts relating to intellectual property (IP) (the who, what, when and how), the components of IP, their strengths limitations and uses and discussed in depth the purpose of trademarks, business names, copyright, registered designs and patents. 

David Hughes described intellectually property as "the intangibles". They are those things you are not able to touch, hold or feel, but they are the real value sources. 

I cannot wait to hear Terri Winter next week!

A sneaky picture from last night's session...

That's a little of chatter for a blog that enjoys images so here are some images of &company's work.

Melbourne design weekend

What a weekend! Melbourne was amazing! The weather delivered blue skies and warm winter weather, the design fairs were informative and inspirational and the company was the irreplaceable.

Seth and I really enjoyed getting lost in the city. The architecture is just unbelievable. I found myself taking pictures of different building features at every corner. We were both amazed by the (not so) little (unncessary) features Melbourne has created to otherwise ordinary spaces.

 

 

The 3 design fairs were spread across opposite sides of the city and it was fun finding our way on and off different trams attempting to get there.

On Friday morning we hit Furnitex and Decoration + Design. I was anxious taking Seth with me to the fairs as I was worried he would become bored very quickly, however this was not the case. Furnitex turned out to be better for Seth than it was for me. We spoke to wooden flooring specialists and LED down light suppliers and many construction suppliers in between.

Saturday afternoon we went to Design, Made, Trade which supported up and coming designers to the industry. This fair was my main reasons for the trip to Melbourne and it definitely delivered. The stand that stood out the most was CAJA by Georgia Ezra. With CAJA you can mix and match the lids of the perspex box to create the setting you desire or require in your home. You can check out CAJA's designs here.
The advice Georgie happily offered was exactly what I was hoping to get (I think). I believe I achieved more from the fair than I thought possible with Georgia's brief guidance.

 

Seth and I really enjoyed the sunshine over the weekend and spent all day Sunday lying on the grass at St Kilda beach. We sat there for hours watching the runners, bike riders and dog walkers going past us.
We drank pints of coffee from 95 Espresso on Acland St and dined at Rococo for delicious Italian.

It was quite exciting to meet Interior Design Blogger Jen Bishop, here is my little feature on her blog.

"I was only slightly nervous to see belle’s editor in chief Neale Whitaker in the front row as Darren and I talked about how to approach magazine editors!After the talk, many people who I’ve known only on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, came up to say hi and even have their photo taken with me! Now that was a funny experience! But not as surreal as being out at a Melbourne bar with my girlfriends that night and having a fan of the blog come over and ask if I was Jen the blogger? You see, despite what Google Analytics says, I still sometimes find it hard to believe that so many of you read this! It is so nice to know you do and that you are inspired by the blog and such a pleasure to meet people with the same passion for interiors!
Once the speaking was over, I took the chance to walk the trade fair and there were a fantastic variety of exhibitors taking part. I have to say, the entire fair was really well organised."

You can find the rest of her article here.

Thank you for a wonderful weekend Melbourne and Seth for spoiling me rotten and happy one year anniversary!