Kate from Studio Cockatoo is this week's Monday Maker

Studio Cockatoo is a very well known brand around SE QLD, and I'm sure you have seen at least one of their very recognisable prints popping up in a gorgeous boutique somewhere.

Kate Bordessa is the name behind the brand and she was very happy to share some tips with us.

Hi Kate it's so lovely of you to make the time to share your thoughts on creativity with us all today

Can you tell us please, were you creative as a child?

Yes I was a creative child, I pretty much lived in a dream world. I loved beads and crochet, also collecting bits and bobs, pebbles, sea glass, scraps of fabric.

How would you describe your work? 

Modern, geometric and fresh!

And do you think your work has evolved since you started? 

Yes definitely. I have very much let the creation of new designs be guided by customer input and requests. 

Recently I've noticed I'm working with less bright colours and more pastel tones.

How did you start selling online?

I built my own website through shopify, its very easy to use and edit.

Who or what inspires you? 

My friends inspire me, they are a creative bunch of gorgeous and unique women :) 

Are you able to reduce, reuse, recycle as part of your creative process Kate? 

We try to be as environmentally friendly as possible. We do all our own printing and packing in house and use recycled materials wherever we can. We print with water based inks we do not use cartridges.
 

Can you describe your studio for us?

Organised chaos! 

We are lucky enough to work from our home studio in Pomona  (sunshine coast hinterland). 

Our dog Doug likes to supervise operations from under my desk, also serving as the ultimate foot warmer :)  

Do you have a favourite thing to make?

I love doing custom portraits for people, I always feel so humbled when asked to create a piece as a way to remember a four legged friend that has passed away.

Aww, so cute. 

And how did your shop name come about? 

Our studio backs onto parkland and we have lots of trees that attract the native birds. Especially the cockatoos, who are very noisy and lovable.

Where do you see your creative journey taking you in the next 12 months Kate?

It's really hard to say, you never know what opportunities will present themselves, I like to keep my options open.

 

Do you have a top tip to share with others wanting to break into the handmade market?

Firstly figure out if there a demand for your craft. 

Have you found a niche? 

Focus on your point of difference, be unique and create your own style. 

Be confident and passionate about your craft :)

Such good advice, thank you Kate. Can you describe your typical creative day?

First up is coffee then the school run, then more coffee. 

Being self employed I have found self management to be vital. I find it very challenging most days to find balance with work, family and me. 

I'm most creative when I get all the necessary functional parts of running the business out of the way, paperwork, ordering materials etc. 

Although I find inspiration often tends to occurs at unusual times, like 3am... hence the coffee addiction.

And you're not the only creative person I know who gains inspiration at crazy hours of the night. It seems to be a common theme amongst creative geniuses.  

                                                        

Do you have a Favourite quote?

Do what you love, love what you do 

Do you listen to music or podcasts while creating?

Normally I work in silence.

What is your favourite handmade item that you have bought?

I can't possibly choose!!!  

Where can we find you online?

www.studiocockatoo.com.au
www.instagram.com/studiocockatoo

How long have you been a member of brisstyle?

Must be 3 or 4 years now :)

And how did you find out about brisstyle?

Through Friends.

Why did you become a member?

I love the network to creatives, although I don't post on the forum regularly, I have found other peoples post to be really helpful and interesting. 

It's also a great way to keep uptodate with what's going on in creative circles around Brissy.

Why do you craft?

Crafting = happiness 

Thank you so much Kate. X 

Monday Maker - Michelle from Two Plums Designs Designs

Hi Michelle and thank you for participating in the Monday Maker series.

Do you you come from a creative family?

As a child my mum used to sit us down with an old sheet (we owned a motel) and gave us textas to draw until our hearts content.  

My brother and I were often at a loose-end because mum and dad worked all the time. Drawing was our go-to.  

Mum is trained as an old school graphic artist, using Letraset and doing all of her designs free hand.  She didn't get to work much at her art during my childhood years because the business and us kids took up all her time!  

I was quickly engulfed by the world of dance, from my first lesson at 4 years.  From then it was dance lessons, travel and costumes until I left home.  

Creativity is a constant part of my life, whether it's in the kitchen, sewing, decorating, drawing, dancing, writing, sculpting, gardening and now silversmithing!

How would you describe your work?

My work is quite simple and elegant, it is also unique and unusual.  

I do not like overly embelished or tizzy designs.  I simply love the metal, and for now, my work honors that.  

I use basic techniques of forging and fabricating to produce my jewellery and I like the bright polished and matt finishes in comparison to blackened oxidised surfaces.  I don't use stones (although I may decide to in the future).  

How has your work evolved since you started?

I started with the bare minimum of tools and skills and worked with what I had.  

My pieces have become more refined and in some cases more complex, yet still quite simple!  My work evolves as I gain new skills and new tools.  

I'm always learning new techniques and although I now produce some geometric and angular pieces, I think I will always be a botanic artist.  

My imagination is endless and every new piece excites me!

How did you start selling online?

I sell through my website out of necessity more than anything.  It seems every small business and artist needs to have a website for legitimacy. 

Where does your inspiration come from?

The small details in everyday things inspire me.  

Nature inspires me.  

Passionate people inspire me.  

Even a rainy day inspires me! 

My work comes from an ever growing library of ideas in my head.  I see things in my natural environment and they often translate to the basis of a design.  Such as bracket fungi and gumnuts.  

Inspirations may also come from a new delivery of silver.  There is something really moving about holding a clean sheet of silver in my hands! 

Do you reduce, reuse, recycle as part of your creative process?  

Treading lightly on this earth is important to me.  As such I only buy recycled silver.  The silver I buy is recycled in Australia from manufacturing off-cuts, old jewellery and industrial silver.  

I have chosen 100% recycled unbleached packaging for my products and I swap harmful chemicals out of my studio for biodegradable options.  100% of my silver is used.  I even collect my filings.

Describe your studio/workspace?

I am a lucky artist who has a separate studio on our ten acre property in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast.  

It is a little self contained space and my husband has recently built a lovely big deck on the front from reclaimed timber.  It was used as storage space previously so I'm still fighting with stored furniture, but this year the make-over continues, I will be getting new flooring and a front door onto my new deck!  

It will be lovely but at the moment it's a bit of a mess.  I love my huge jewellers desk.  My husband and I drove all the way to Sydney to pick it up.  It was previously used in a manufacturing jewellers in the Strand Arcade.  It can accommodate two working jewellers as it is double sided - and I can spread myself out!

What is your favourite thing to make?

My favorite things tend to be quick things as I love that instant gratification from a finished piece.  A little toe ring or a simple bangle can be the most satisfying.  

How did your business/shop name come about?

In 2013 I decided I needed to start selling my creations and I harvested just two plums from our young tree.  I ate one and a bird got the other.  It was so sweet and juicy, I was in heaven!  

It must be the start of good things I thought to myself.  

Now I am happy to say each year my plum harvest is growing, just like my little business.  

Where do you see your creative journey taking you in the next 12 months?

I think my creative journey is going to take me back to university!  I have just enrolled in my graduate diploma of Fine Arts at the Queensland College of Arts.  It may lead to a Masters in Fine Arts (Jewellery and small objects). 

What’s your top tip to others wanting to break into the handmade/creative market?

Go at your own pace - your business relies on you so you have to be able to keep up.  

Describe your typical creative day?

My waking moments are full of ideas and new designs.  I am always inspired to jump up and get into the studio in the morning!  Sometimes at 6am!  

The beauty of working from home is I can start work in my PJ's.  I have regular breaks as I'm often interrupted by one or both of my two Rhodesian Ridgebacks.  

I also structure my other chores around the property in my breaks.  I work to my own flow and no two days are the same.  I'm often in the studio into the night (particularly when I'm home alone and don't have to stop to cook dinner!)

Do you have a Favourite quote?

"I never waste money, I spend it" Oscar Wilde

What type of music do you listen to while creating?

It's often Brazilian Samba music as I also teach Samba.

What is your favourite handmade item that you have bought?

I used to live in Kenya and while I was there I bought an Ethiopian Coptic Cross.  It's one of my cherished possessions.

Where can we find you online and elsewhere?

You can find me at www.twoplumsdesign.com or at BrisStyle Markets and the Young Designers Market most regularly.  Market dates are announced on my Facebook page Two Plums Design.  

The Caloundra Regional Art Gallery shop and Coastal Artisans Gallery Perigian also stock my work.

How long have you been a member of brisStyle?

Two years.

How did you find out about BrisStyle?

By accident on the net!

Why did you become a member?

What a great idea to have a bunch of creatives sharing ideas, skills and helping to launch small businesses!  It was a no brainer for me.

Why do you craft?

Because it's in my blood - I simply do.

Thank you Michelle.

Monday Maker - Myclectic

I'm pretty good at talking to myself so during a lull in interview participants I've decided to interview myself.

And guess what, some questions are really hard to think about. So here goes.

Anita Gosden is the name behind the label myclectic. 

Hi Anita, thanks for sharing yourself with us and firstly I'd love to know, were you creative as a child and do you come from a creative family?

I remember clearly being creative as a child with both Mum and Dad always encouraging me. 

In fact, I've developed my whacky sense of colour from my father who moved to Australia in the 60's as a German migrant. 

And I vividly remember Mum teaching me how to draw. 

There was no 'bad art' in our house. I'm lucky to have had two parents who loved everything my sister and I made.

How would you describe your work?

I would describe my work like a 6 year old boy. 

It's all over the place. And of course like many other creatives, I lose interest easily and love to move on and try something different. 

How has your work evolved since you started?

Rather than saying my work has 'evolved' I feel that it has actually 'matured' and settled down, just a little. 

It has become ever so slightly, more disciplined in that I am more conscious of perfecting the 'finish'. 

Although I do still love jumping from one thing to the other.

How did you start selling on Etsy?

I started selling my comic book jewelry on Etsy because originally it was a requirement as a BrisStyle member. 

Before BrisStyle I had never even heard of Etsy.

I also found that when at markets interested fans wanted to know where to find me online. 

I do now have a very neglected website but I really love using selling sites such as Etsy and Madeit because there is so much support on them and much more traffic. 

I even remember my first sale on Etsy. It was a brooch made of vintage kimono fabric and silly me had actually put it in a shop over the other side of town.

That sale actually cost me but I was so tickled that someone in San Francisco would be walking around wearing MY handmade brooch.

Who or what inspires you?

Who? I'd have to say I am very inspired by other creatives I know on Instagram (I won't name them, there are too many).

and What? inspires me.

I'm a very visual person so usually I find that pre-loved and second hand materials I use in my work inspires me. 

So much so that I don't use patterns or drawings in my work, just ideas in my head. The pattern comes later.

Indigo dyed preloved leather bowls

Do you reduce, reuse or recycle as part of your creative process?

Yes! to all three.

Most leather I use is pre-loved. I've built up some fabulous connections who are always on the look out for second hand leather for me which I prefer using in my work because it is always unusual and makes the finished product different to others. 

It gives me a 'point of difference' because no one else usually has the same type of leather.

A very small part of my pre-loved leather stash

Can you describe your studio?

I dream of having a real studio one day, but for now my creative corner is actually our small kitchen table. It is next to a big glass window that lets in plenty of light and looks out over our huge backyard. And my stuff is all over the place in our tiny two room unit. 

Do you have a favourite thing to make?

That would have to be a 'make it up as you go' leather bag. Always dependent on the texture, shape, colour and thickness, then the pattern emerges.

Oh how I love working with such a tactile and natural material. 

This suede leather once belonged to Lisa Ho

How did your shop name come about?

The name Myclectic is my own fabrication. 

There is no such word but if you Google it, you will only find references to me. I love that. I wanted a name with eclectic in it but found that this was overused. I then wrote 'eclectic' down on a piece of paper and added 'my' to it. 

My eclectic, still too common. So I took the letter 'e' out and tadah, I discovered 'Myclectic'. My kind of eclectic.

I have also been known in the past and present as MumsCupboard, ButtonBeads, VintageKimono and get_tasseled.

I kind of like making up names.

Where do you see your creative journey taking you in the next 12 months?

I can see myself still creating in the next twelve months, 24 months and so on. Creativity is a journey and is music to the brain. 

I never want to stop.

Indigo shibori dyed leather tassel earrings

What’s your top tip to others wanting to break into the handmade/creative market?

It's a cliche but 'do what you love' and 'love what you do'

Oh and 'don't compare yourself to others', that's disheartening.

Describe your typical creative day?

My typical creative day starts with minimum necessary household chores and then straight into it. I use lists but never seem to tick everything off. 

If something needs doing immediately I skip the housework and get right into creating (still in my PJ's, sorry, not sorry).

Leatherwork tools

Do you have a favourite quote?

'Art is performance - Performance is confidence' ~ Andrew Gosden (my husband)

or in other words 'don't think about creating, just do it'.

Do you prefer to listen to music or watch a movie while creating?

Some days I have silence, but that is because I have gotten so involved in something I have forgotten to play anything.

But mostly I love to listen to our CD collection. Some favourites are; INXS, John Butler Trio, Band of Horses, The Black Keys, Bluebottle Kiss, The Fumes, J.Mascis, anything loud, rhythmic and moody.

What is your favourite handmade item that you have ever bought?

That's a really hard question. I love handmade, especially here in Brisbane. The talent is amazing. 

I'm sorry, I don't have a favourite, I love them all.

Where can we find you online or instore?

I currently stock: 

* The Collective Store in Wynnum

* Retro Metro, Paddington

* Village Creative Studio, Wellington Point

Online stores are:

myclectic

www.madeit.com.au/Myclectic

How long have you been a member of BrisStyle?

I think about 3 years.

How did you find out about brisstyle and why did you join?

Years ago I rented a space at incub8r in the Valley. I met a BrisStyler working there and she recommended joining BrisStyle because of the King George Square markets.

I really wanted to do those markets and have been doing so ever since.

I'm so grateful she suggested it to me because it has opened up a whole new world of creative opportunities for me.

This is my favourite question and I am so glad to be asking myself this one.

Why do YOU craft Anita?

Because I LOVE IT!