Quantum Compass is running workshops and seminars during NSW Small Business September. This is our second year doing the workshops. This year we are doing three additional workshops for creative professionals
If you are interested in finding out more about how to grow and take your business to the next level. We would love to have you in our workshops.
04 Sep 2010 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM
284 Harris Street Pyrmont, 2009
Free of Charge
Want to know more about "Co-Working"; how it operates, and what it's all about? Looking to network with other solo small business operators and creative professionals? It's a workshop / networking event with a real difference!
07 Sep 2010 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM
284 Harris Street Pyrmont, 2009
Free of Charge
Are you: * Working full time but not sure for how much longer? * Wondering how to turn your passion, hobby, or skills into real income? * Ready to be your own boss but not quite sure where's the best place to start?
09 Sep 2010 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM
284 Harris Street Pyrmont, 2009
Free of Charge
Cash Flow - The life blood of any business. Discover the 7 key steps to ensuring the cash flows in your creative art & design practice.
11 Sep 2010 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
284 Harris Street Pyrmont, 2009
Free of Charge
Cash Flow - The life blood of any business. Discover the 7 key steps to ensuring the cash flows in your creative art & design practice.
11 Sep 2010 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
284 Harris Street Pyrmont, 2009
Free of Charge
Are you: * Working full time but not sure for how much longer? * Wondering how to turn your passion, hobby, or skills into real income? * Ready to be your own boss but not quite sure where's the best place to start?
I have been blessed to have been brought up in a family that valued art and craft very highly; my Father was an artist and my Mother is a talented needlewoman, so it was only natural for me to marry both art and sewing together! Currently, I am designing wearable Artdolls mainly based on the Ancient Feminine.
Who (or what) inspires you to do what you love in your own creative business?
This is a hard question as I find that I simply love to create, I love the creative process or the process of creating ... I love how I will get an inspiration “all of a sudden” and have to work on the design until it is finished!
Where do you get your inspiration from when you design/paint?
I am inspired by both natural (such as autumn leaves) and manmade forms (such as the Venus figurines).
Tell us about your very first job and what path have you taken since then?
I worked with my Father every weekend, taking photos of the winning racehorses crossing the finishing line at the races and trots. Dad worked in the photographic tower and I worked down at track level. Dad’s photos were used to confirm the winning horses and mine were printed in the local newspaper.
I was offered an apprenticeship in photography by a family friend, but, it did not come to pass.
Over the years I often used art as a creative outlet, so, did not do “anything” with it until my Mum suggested that we have a market stall in 1992, since then I have been exploring different creative ideas and designing my own work – from country decor to the wearable artdolls that I am currently designing and making!
I find that Fridays are my favourite day to work in my studio, and that I am at my most productive. Typically, I usually have a lot of dolls in various stages of completion, so, if I do not have any doll orders, I will continue to work on these dolls.
If I have a doll order, then I will sit in meditation, thinking about the person and their doll requirements, allowing any ideas to surface – I will either write down words/phrases/colours or sketch the images that come up. Then I will create a template, audition possible fabrics and embellishments and make up the doll. Sometimes, I will also make a prototype to work out any design problems before I commence the doll. I also like to document the process with written instructions and photos as well.
... And if the “Creative Muse” has struck me, then, I will design a new doll very much like creating a custom order!
Studio Space
Whimsigals Copyright
As a Designer/Crafter, what is your biggest frustration?
Probably running out of matching beads/buttons/threads/fabric when I have a new idea!
Tell us about how you prioritise your studio work.
Custom orders, the “meat and potato” artdolls and then new ideas
Since you are working at home, can you please tell us about how do you connect with other artists, and your customers (i.e. how do you network)?
I network with other artists and customers via my Facebook page, my WhimsiGals blog, and DUST (Down Under Street Team) group and in person at markets such as Olive Tree Markets or Art Bazaar.
What advice can you offer other creative people who are just starting out and following their passions?
Trust the process and don’t be afraid to make mistakes (as these “mis-takes” will often lead to wonderful new directions!)
What dreams do you still want to achieve or fulfil in your life?
I would love to travel overseas, especially to the UK and visit Stonehenge, Glastonbury, Cornwall...
What is your proudest moment so far?
This is another hard question as I have many “proud moments” ... but, I would have to say coming first (out of 770 people) in my psychology class was a very proud moment for me!!
Who do you most want to meet and why?
Bon Jovi
.
I love his ballads as they speak to me of hard life lessons learned, yet there is also a message of hope and of being able to overcome the challenges that life throws in our way.
Snake Goddess
Whimsigals Copyright
What is the most important lesson in life that you have learned?
That the only way to overcome fear ... is to meet it face on.
What book are you reading right now, and do you have a book you would like to recommend?
I am reading “Tully” by Paullina Simons
I would like to recommend “Beading with Cabochons” by Jamie Cloud Eakin – this is one of my favourite beading books and it has simple instructions with good diagrams to follow!
Finders Keepers will be taking over the Arcade Project at Gaffa from September to December this year. The Arcade project is a unique opportunity for emerging designers to have their own small retail pop up spaces for a short term, hosted by contemporary art space Gaffa in their amazing Gallery space in Sydney’s CBD.
The Arcade Project will also have some exciting new workshops to help the emerging designers to the next level beyond what Markets can offer.
If you are a designer and looking for a great opportunity to promote and sell your designs at Gaffa. Please click on below link and contact Finders Keepers directly.
Discover the latest ranges of Fashion at Australia's premier fashion trade show
Australasia’s premier trade fashion event, FASHION EXPOSED will be launched again in Melbourne from 29-31 August 2010.
Fashion Exposed is a fantastic starting point for emerging designers who want to launch new labels and doing wholesaling. There will be many cutting edge designers and showcasing the big brands too, the Melbourne 2010 fashion event will be no exception. There will be over 1500+ new ranges in womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, streetwear, active wear and more.
If you are planning to visit the show don't forget to check out the Australian Shoe and the Bags and Accessories Fair. The events are just next door to each other. The Fashion Exposed will be held at The Melbourne Exhibition Centre.
Please leave us a comment if you've been to the show... we'd love to know what you think of the show and what are the highlights of the event.
Welcome to Quantum Compass and the ArtSHINE project.
We'r created the OPIC™ model for creative people just like you.
OPIC is a system to help you create a successful business from doing what you love...Doing what you love passionately...
Firstly, We'd like to share with you how we came to call our business "Quantum Compass.
Our name was inspired by a small little article in a popular science magazine about some research being done into the migration pattern of birds, and how the researchers were reverse engineering the "Quantum Compass" of birds.
This idea of a "Quantum Compass" inspired and captivated us... What it is that's innate in the birds that give them the tools to navigate in their unerring, globe- spanning migrations. We were fascinated with how those birds fly with such an incredible sense of direction, and they instinctively know when's the right time for migration to different part of the globe.
From this amazing ability, we draw an analogy that as human beings, we too can adapt this concept to achieve waht we want in life. We can plan and set goals to achieve our dreams. We can define our Desire, Passion and Purpose.
So that's why our logo is a compass, a "Quantum Compass" inspire by globe-travelling birds.
You'll also see our motto "Make Tomorrow Today"™. It's an inspiration that we live by everyday. It reminds us to take action and take charge of our life. Ir's reminding us to "Do It Now!" It's about holding ourselves accountable in what we do and eliminate the thought of procrastination.
Now is the only time we have. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is just a promise that 's yet to come. With "Make Tomorrow Today" we focus on what we have... THE RIGHT NOW...
Steve Hazael has lived in Murrumbateman for the last two years. Having moved from Sydney he finds the area presents wonderful opportunities and accessibility for landscape photography. A fascination with time, space and man’s “point of view” or reference, dictate that his art and photography centre on a theme of movement and abstraction. The observer can return to the photograph many times and still find fine detail that seems contradictory to the overall motion of the shot.
“I like my landscapes to generate a state of prolonged experience, similar to what I do with paint on canvas, twisting the image and stretching it into the more lively and improbable.
My inspiration comes when travelling through the Australian bush. The colours, life & movement of the bush came alive in the lens, on screen and finally on paper or canvas. It strikes many of us that we take very little time out of our lives to appreciate our surroundings, and tend to fall into the trap of seeing all things in the same way or light. I think these pieces move us away from that perception.
Having recently moved to Murrumbateman NSW, I’ve found an almost infinite variety of locations in the Southern Highlands, SnowyMountains and Victorian High Country where scenes such as these can be found.”
I am a photographic artist and painter who above all likes to experiment.
Having recently renewed an interest in photography I find myself looking for ways to “paint” with the camera.
Someone who travels extensively in Australia once said to me that he never uses filters or post production techniques in his photography because it “distorts” the real subject or scene. i.e. He is always looking for fidelity.
My view is the camera in itself provides the highest level of distortion and is simply a brush or implement for expressing my view, thoughts or abstraction on the subject.
An analogy might be the best audio system doesn’t come even close to reproducing the ‘live’ experience,
So why fight it…?
The result breaks the traditional rules of photography. There is nearly always movement, often a certain lack of focus and a different point of reference in my photographs.
Who (or what) inspires you to do what you love in your own creative business?
I simply love movement or the ‘journey”, the act or sensation of moving in time & space. The motion of an object leaves a ‘trace’ or imaginary line in its wake that is always a curve, simple or complex.
Where do you get your inspiration from when you design/paint?
Watching everyday events, seeing a line or series of lines in a surface interplay and then applying that motion in another context.
What are the five words that people who know you would use to describe you?
Sensitive, kind, funny, thoughtful, shy.
Tell us about your very first job and what path have you taken since then?
I started working life as a cadet draughtsman, was quickly bored so went into audio repairs. I have been a fire alarm technician, I was self employed striping cars (which was once very popular and can be creatively rewarding). I’ve window tinted cars and buildings and worked for the computer industry in mainframes and service delivery.
Describe a typical day in your studio space?
Wait for the weather and the right light. (photography). Same applies for painting i.e. I paint outside because the studio is still on paper.
Drive into the mountains, or walk city streets. For painting I tend to do one work in no more than 2 days, although I’ll sometimes have 2 or 3
As an Artist & Photographer, what is your biggest frustration?
Finding time for art is by far my biggest frustration... everything else comes with determination, time just simply disappears.
Tell us about how you prioritise your studio work
By the weather! (see earlier question) ...and how quickly the paint dries… I’m impatient!
Since you are working at home, can you please tell us about how do you connect with other artists, and your customers (i.e. how do you network)?
I’m currently using Facebook a lot. It’s great for connecting with artists & art lovers the world over. Next project is RedBubble, followed by Twitter.
What advice can you offer other creative people who are just starting out and following their passions?
Never give up… there will always be setbacks. Think in terms of 1 step back, 2 steps forward ..and don’t stop painting or photographing, whatever the case may be.
What dreams do you still want to achieve or fulfill in your life?
Improve my work & abilities; travel more and sell some art.
The power of creative visual merchandising plays a very important role in your design business. In a highly competitive market your customers are savvy as ever. That’s why it’s essential to make your stall, studio, or store experience as appealing and engaging as possible.
Creating a powerful display doesn’t have to cost lots of money either. It’s about knowing what your customer wants and what’s going to grab their attention.
This thinking is just as important for the online side of your design practice too.
Great displays are an art form. For many years they've been the domain of window dressers, merchandisers, company reps and strategic designers. But given the current move to cost cutting, retailers now have to improvise, using their imagination and the tools immediately available.
For many this is less about having enough merchandise, or risers, or stands and racks... and more about creativity. And in all likelihood it's also about leveraging the power of that little thing called social media too...
A display that grabs your client’s attention, be they old or new, and tempts them to take more interest in the rest of the store, is a powerful motivator to get them to stick around. Hopefully to stick around long enough to buy!
Your visual merchandising strategy should encourage “Action “... Action to buy.
Just as a good website encourages users to click and browse, the key merchandise displays in your store are there to grab attention and engage with customers. In some cases, people will often make the journey to a store just to see stand-out visual merchandising. Be it a mountain of teddy bears and tigers in the Disney Stores or an eye-catching seasonal display, a destination or feature merchandising ‘moment' can be the thing that makes your store a must-see. Department stores' Christmas window displays are a good example of this too.
We mentioned social media before. Social media has given good visual merchandising an exponential power boost. People love to take photos and put themselves up on Facebook, whether it's next to a living Statue of Darth Vader on Hollywood Blvd, or beside the logo of the store they just shopped in. They hold up bags, they pose, and they can promote you too.
So, if someone poses with your stock items, with you, with your staff, next to your renowned merchandising display, then post the photos to Facebook! That way you get free advertising shots. If you are lucky they will also tweet about your business and you will get an instant message about your business to hundreds, if not thousands of people in a matter of a seconds.
And it doesn't end there either. Offer to be the photographer for them, take three or four snaps, from which they can create a mini-shopping album, and you get even more photos online. Ask them to add your business to Facebook, and you can tag your store as well!
People are going to take photos of things they like. Now you can let them promote you for free!
So to re-cap:-
• Create a merchandise display people want to be photographed beside and tell their friends about.
• Encourage photos.
•Tag people in photos including your Facebook profile.
• Get creative.
• Have competitions, prizes and offers for all your Facebook and twitter friends
Never forget that the fusion of visual merchandising and social media creates an unbeatable way of driving more business into your store. Good luck with designing that display!
Want to learn more about merchandising for your fashion & design business the Quantum Compass way?
Coaching, and Creating a Sustainable Business LifeStyle.
As a creative professional it’s always hard keeping up with all the changes and pressures in today's fast paced world, let alone finding the time to devote to sales, marketing, systems development, business planning and team management. And all that while working in, and operating, your art practice... all day... every day!
As the world moves faster and faster, becoming ever more demanding and competitive... Having a coach is no longer a luxury... It’s fast becoming a necessity!
Elite athletes have a coach. And now, in this difficult and demanding time for artists and designers around Australia and around the world, it’s the turn of artists, designers, and creative professionals to have a business coach too.
A sporting coach will work with an athlete in establishing training routines and developing habits that mean that the athlete can achieve optimum performance. A sporting coach provides support, motivation, and encouragement. A sporting coach is there when the athlete starts the training day, and is there when the athlete runs across that finish line.
It’s the coach that works with the athlete on the big picture. Works with the athlete on strategies that the athlete needs to earn a place on the winner’s podium. It’s the coach that works with the athlete to keep them going when energies are low and the hurdles seem to high.
In the same way as a sporting coach will work with an elite athlete, we’ll work with you as your Coach and walk alongside you as we create a sustainable business that supports you in your creative practice... Thus creating what we call a “Business LifeStyle”.
Here at ArtSHINE we’re not about growth for growth’s sake. We’re not advocates for “Work / Life Balance”. In fact, it’s just the opposite! For us it’s about getting better, not getting bigger. For us it’s about creating a “whole of life”, or “portfolio” approach to work. It’s about creating a Business LifeStyle, and designing a sustainable art & design practice that supports you the creative professional in life and, supports you in work as well.
Our role as your coach is to guide, support and encourage...
We’re here to work with you to create a change in your life and in your business...
ArtSHINE is a boutique business coaching practice based in Sydney, Australia.
Vinh Van Lam & Stuart Horrex are passionate about small business enterprise.
ArtSHINEs provides business coaching, mentoring, business advisory, & new enterprise facilitation.
Our coach partners and associate catalysts have decades of hands on, real world experience to share.
My name is Nick Fedaeff and I am a full time artist. For a period of time I was a musician/performer but now playing music is something I do for fun when I have the time. I am now a full-time artist and creating art.
Who (or what) inspires you to do what you love in your own creative business?
Nobody really inspires me, I remember myself as a child always drawing and painting. I never dreamed that a fun hobby would turn in to a profession, it’s the perfect job!
Where do you get your inspiration from when you design/paint?
I wake up every morning with a good mood. The feeling of the morning gives me some positive energy and inspiration to paint. My dreams also add a feeling to my paintings; I must say I have very peculiar dreams and they seem to come alive on my canvas.
The Fedaeff Family
What are the five words that people who know you would use to describe you?
Arty, Funny, Mad Russian, Loud and Strange Beard!
Tell us about your very first job and what path have you taken since then?
My first job was being a security guard in a women’s health clinic when I was 19. My previous jobs were creative, like being musician and touring with my band, working with theatres, or creating jingles and radio commercials. I was also a multimedia tutor and a creative director for a marketing company but I began to get bored of looking at a computer all day so now I have a “dirty” job – a full-time artist!
Describe a typical day in your studio space?
I come in early after dropping off my younger daughter at school. My studio is about 15 minutes from my house and is quite private. I normally start just looking around, not really doing anything, but after a couple of minutes I get to work. I have about 10 paintings that are in the making at a time so I decide on which one I want to work on, or if I should start to paint a completely new one. If I have lots of inspiration I finish at 3 in the afternoon. If I have no energy, I finish around midday. Painting in the evening or late afternoon isn’t really my thing.
Nick's Studio
As an Artist, what is your biggest frustration?
A big global disaster! If there will be one everyone will be interested in food and survival, and not artwork!
Tell us about how you prioritise your studio work.
I have deadlines, this is what drives me as an artist to finish my work. Every year, I do about 3 major art shows (Art Sydney, Art Melbourne and The New Zealand Art Show). I also have exhibitions overseas and sometimes I even do solo exhibitions!
Since you are working at home, can you please tell us about how do you connect with other artists, and your customers (i.e. how do you network)?
I have a wide client base now as I’ve been on the art scene for a few years now, also, as I mentioned before I participate in big shows where thousands of customers come to look at my work. I have no problem finding clients as there are always new people who are interested. The only problem is that they do not always agree with my prices!
What advice can you offer other creative people who are just starting out and following their passions?
Practice a lot! Copying your favourite artist is the key to success. After this, you can think about your own ideas and what you can do with them. Skills are the first thing you have to know before you start to be an aspiring creative person.
What dreams do you still want to achieve or fulfil in your life?
I want to create a lasting impression of my art for my children and grandchildren to look at and remember me.
What is your proudest moment so far?
I think my proudest moment is still on the way, I do not think I have fulfilled it yet.
Passingby Nick Fedaeff Copyright
Who do you most want to meet and why?
I always want to meet new and interesting people. Creative people- musicians, artists, dancers, have a similar way of looking at the world and I really connect with them.
What is the most important lesson in life that you have learned?
Don’t borrow money!
What book are you reading right now, and do you have a book you would like to recommend?
I am currently reading a Russian book, Pharmacist by V.Orlov. I recommend it if you can read Russian.
Where do we find you and your products? (list stores & links, websites )
The best option is to go to my website (www.nickfed.com) and look at my gallery list and upcoming events. Other than that I will be at the Sydney Art Show from 11-14th November. My stand is S8, come and check it out if you live nearby!
SUMMER TIME
1000 x1000 mm
mixed media on stretched canvas
Nick Fedaeff Copyright
Nick Fedaeff - EXHIBITIONS
Upcoming: SOLO EXHIBITION - NEW PAINTINGS Remuera Gallery , Remuera, Auckland , New Zealand
12 August - 2 September , opening 12 September, 5.30 PM
AGS ART EXHIBITION Auckland Grammar School , Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand
3 - 5 September
SOLO EXHIBITION - PAINTINGS AND DRAWINGS Platform Sarai, Frankfurt, Germany 18 August, 8 pm - opening
KINGS COLLEGE ART EXHIBITION Kings College , Auckland , New Zealand
1-4 November ART FAIR SYDNEY 2010 Royal Hall of Industries, Moore Park, Sydney, Australia stand - S8
11 - 14 November
Galleries that have some of Nick's paintings:
New Zealand: Remuera Gallery 360 Remuera Rd, Auckland
Monterey Gallery
5 Cook St, Howick, Auckland
Monmo Gallery
350 Hibiscus Coast Highway, Orewa
Parnell Gallery
263 Parnell Rd, Auckland Harrisons Art Gallery
427 Port Rd, Whangamata
Garden Art Studio
1242 Kaipaki Rd, Cambridge
The Artists Room
Level 1, 2 Dowling St, Dunedin
Australia: Brunswick Street Gallery
322 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia
