For the love of study

I gained a place in the Diploma of Arts (Studio Textiles & Design) at RMIT University Melbourne. This course emcompasses all aspects of textiles from weaving & knitting to design & screen printing. I was undertaking the program part time.

Freelancing from home

After the birth of our baby boy I took a break for a while from working for about 6 months. I returned to freelancing with my creative agency Artisan for 3 days a week & also took on jobs via my small business Funkfink electro-design. I was briefed on this job for a client of mine (from New Zealand) who lives in Melbourne. She wanted a 6 page brochure (297 x 210mm) produced incorporating the Koru an icon from New Zealand. To cut costs on printing we decided to go for a 2 colour job in metallic gold & red on a medium weight card stock.

And now for some illustration

In the studio of Oswald Sealy we were briefed to design a concept for a range of toys. And I came up with a storybook theme for the Oswald Toys Collection. So each 'toy story' has their own theme. For example these 2 pages - the 'Bedtime Bears' in their bedroom with their family and the 'Carnaby Fair' bears set in the streets of London. The bear photographs were all shot at the in-house studio. The catalogue was a short run digital print job & was spiral bound. Not long after these catalogues were released I left the position of designer with this company. I wanted to try something different - so I took a dive into freelance work & haven't looked back.

Catalogue design & the fun of Photoshop...

...some spreads from one of the accessories brands, that was sold for a limited time via Oswald Sealy - Colorique (a brand out of Holland). I designed the catalogue and shot the images at the in-house photographic studio. These catalogues were a short run & I sourced quotes from local digital print shops for a fast turnaround.

In May 2004 it was time to do something different in the world of print graphic design. I gained a full time position with the company Oswald Sealy located in inner city Melbourne, who focussed on the retail sector with product ranges from home decor to christmas decorations. I produced their 76 page Christmas catalogue from design to print ready stage.

My initial environmental brief

Here is the front page of a 6 page A4 flyer I created for The Wilderness Society. This was my first brief & I worked directly with the Victorian Campaign Coordinator. I was responsible for the concept right through to the print ready stage.

Volunteering for the environment

For something different I joined The Wilderness Society as a volunteer. I wanted to use my graphic design skills in contribution to something that I cared for. I assisted at rallys in the CBD in my early days as a volunteer, it was awesome meeting people who love the environment. As I wanted to see these amazing forests with my own eyes, I went for a week long adventure with The Wilderness Society to the north west of Tasmania - the Tarkine region, it is a fairytale world. From this inspiring journey, on our return back to Melbourne we collaborated on a Tarkine calendar. I was responsible for production & design of the calendar printed on recycled stock & using environmentally friendly printing processes - it was an absolute success!

Following a fashion path

As I love sewing & designing I thought I would make some clothes & create my own label. It was a mammoth job to launch (& of course quite a bit of money was required). In the end, the idea was put to the wayside & I decided I would try a market first. I made some skirts & accessories & sold them at the Rose Street Market in Fitzroy, Melbourne in 2003. It was so much fun to create & talk to folks about your work, I will have to pursue that dream again in the future!

An exhibition opening...

...while working full time other creative endeavours were bubbling away. I have always enjoyed working with textiles - sewing & designing clothes & accessories. So my sister, some friends & I organised a group exhibition at a local bar in Melbourne. It was a lovely night & I sold a few of the cocktail bags I had designed. Oh & I also designed the invitation & poster for the show.

From publishing to travel - yay!

I found my next full time job through the best creative agency in Melbourne (Artisan). I worked in the marketing department as the Graphic designer of Choice Hotels Australasia (part of Choice Hotels International) where I stayed for 3 years. It was a fantastic team of people & we worked on a variety of projects from the smallest postcard flyer to large format presentation material for trade shows. I managed the studio workflow each week, kept the photo archive up to date & attended marketing briefs for projects.

In the beginning - pursuing a love of publishing!

From July 2000 to April 2001, my graphic design career began in the exciting world of publishing! I was the layout artist for a monthly 76 page magazine. This was a fantastic job but unfortunately due to the dot com crash - the magazine went into voluntary administration, so bye, bye :(