Thursday 28 May 2009

Where does inspiration come from?



While at Manic Organic, I get to eat super yummy Australian grown & organically certified produce. (The pineapples wins hands down for taste!) Chat with customers doing amazing things and generally enjoying my job. Pretty fantastic set-up. Both jobs nurture and inspire the other. Kind of keeps things in the round, and keeps it simple! Locally grown produce tastes beautiful and it's only in the shop if it's in season.

So basically, if you're supporting local enterprise, it ends up supporting you. we should try to apply this to all aspects of our lives. This definitely applies to the creative community too. There's something to be said about the awesome projects going on across the nation, so look around locally first before checking out goods manufactured offshore.

enjoy!

Wednesday 20 May 2009

Our parcels take public transport

(Thanks Ale, for permission to use your "Post Truck on Bruce Highway Aug.2008. For more of Ale's work on Flickr check it out...Australia Aug./Sept. 2008)
That's right. Every parcel, package, bundle we send out goes by public transport. Lucky for us, the local Australia post office is only just up the street. That means that all our postal goodies get their moment in the sun (by me walking them up the street) before being shipped off to the far reaches. Couriers don't make sense for our business structure.
Why (essentially) send your goods off in private transportation, taking up all that extra space and using all that extra energy to get there? We have a fantastic 'bus stop' just up the road, with a 100% success rate. A little forward planning saves everyone and we can all breathe a little deeper.

We even send some of our goods off in the nude. On of our products, the Tuff Tub, is super tough, so we only bound the handles using off-cuts of other stuff for easier handling.

We put a lot of thought into how we dress our goods for their maiden voyages. Most, will be bundled into reclaimed boxes, some bubble wrapped first (reused - naturally) to make sure they reach their destination in pristine condition. Any bundles we wrap, are done so using Australia's finest 100% post - consumer recycled paper. And tied with string purchased at a 2nd hand market stall.

I do feel a little guilty when I print labels out now and again to go on the larger parcels. But I rest assured that the local Australia post delivery person can clearly read delivery address.

Travel safely and travel smart, little ones.

Wednesday 13 May 2009

Disposable culture....


Just landed.
(Image taken just past council clean up pile just up the road from my house.


Disposable Culture




You know when council clean up time is approaching. Slowly but ever so surely piles of stuff start appearing out the front of peoples homes, units, villas. the thing is, they usually start a good month before the trucks come rolling by.

I'm beyond being disturbed by this - just gob smacked, as there are often perfectly fine articles just being abandoned. In this pile looked like a perfectly good double bed frame - new it would cost a few hundred bucks.  Maybe the lawn mover needs a service. But the thing is, some of these bits could have been donated to a local charity. Some bits in these piles need to be put in peoples regular waste collection.

The up side of this embarrassment, is that treasure lies in those piles for bower birds like me (see the red bag above) and my treasure -hunting, scrap -metal -collecting- for- cash neighbour down the road.
I've seen mums trawling the piles too, looking for things they can turn into ready cash. Great for those with the initiative and the time.

For a developed nation, I do find it a bit embarrassing that we see so many of our goods as readily disposable (how many TVs, monitors, keyboards lie down your street at council clean up?)and even then, we believe someone else should clean it up.

Luckily, councils step up to the plate but what do they do with the mountains of stuff? 
Just remember kids, look after your toys. If it's worth putting your hard earned cash into, then it's worth looking after.



Tuesday 5 May 2009

Autumn....




AAhhh... Autumn. My favourite thing about autumn is the light. Long saturated afternoons and fantastic shadowplay in the mornings. (Illustrated above - noticed only by diverting my gaze from the depths of accounting.)
The morning has been a little all over the shop for me.
Early morning (5.30) to drink espresso and indulge in design mags before the children arise. ("Mummy - it's getting daylight" 3yr old son). Then there's the obligatory looking at photos/ reading, breakfasting, lunch making marathon, craft session, husband making 15minute stopover from surf - flurry of tea making and whirlwind off to work, dressing children ("Mummy I hate my uniform - you can't run in it" spoken by Miss 6 - 5 minutes before departure, dropping children to respective school/ care facilites, drive home and time for cereal (aahh breakfast) and email checking. Thank goodness for sunshine!
Anyway, I always know that my trusty O'Bon 2B (wriring implement of choice) will be there for me and my list making. Quite amazing what can be done with waste newsprint, graphite and a bit of ingenuity. They do a fantastic artists set (2H to 8B) available here.
Happy autumn days everyone. Enjoy the clear days and deep breathing!