Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Close Up Interview with Jewellery Designer Sophie Cooper from Scoops Design




 Sophie Cooper
From Scoops Design

Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.
I am a jewellery and accessories designer. I started Scoops Design in 2005 as a way of relaxing from a stressful job. My background is in graphic design and art direction and Scoops is an extension of everything I love. All of Scoops Designs are limited edition, hand made and based on characters and an illustrative style that I have developed since early childhood.

Who (or what) inspires you to do what you love in your own creative business?
I love designing and making things and have so many ideas of what I would like to do future wise. I have to keep a book beside my bed as I wake up in the night with lots more ideas! I love travelling and looking at shop windows around the world and have a terrible online shopping habit.


   

Scoops Design Copyright

My favourite fashion designers are: Marc Jacobs, Eley Kishimoto, Tsumori Chisato, Akira Isogawa and Sonia Rykiel. Anything bright and colourful that uses lots of pattern catches my eye. I also have a huge love of retro fabric and have boxes full of Marimekko and cute Japanese fabrics.

Where do you get your inspiration from when you design & create?
I get my inspiration from every day things and life in general. I tend to see everything as a pattern and start making a simplified design in my head as I walk around the neighbourhood and work out how it would look as a piece of jewellery. I also love going to art galleries and looking at artists different points of view and curious ways of seeing the world.
Overseas trips, especially to my favourite places Venice and New York help me relax and come up with new ideas.

Limited Collection for
National Gallery Victoria
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What are the five words that people who know you would use to describe you?
I put this out to some friends and this is what they came back with…Tenacious, focussed, stylish, confident and talented. I love them- they rock (thanks Anna, Kate and Lauren).

Tell us about your very first job and what path have you taken since then?
My first real job after studying Visual Communications at UTS was in the design department at Foxtel, designing graphics for television. I ended up staying there for 5 years and becoming a senior designer mainly designing for Nickelodeon and Fox 8. After that I worked in a post-production house called Zspace for a few years, working mostly on commercials and television branding. I decided to go freelance and had a successful broadcast design business for 5 years under the name of Fifty3 Creative. During this time I designed television show packages and channel branding for The Discovery Channel USA, Channel 9, 10 and 7, Lifestyle Channel and I also re-designed the Channel V and Music Max website. I was approached by a head hunter towards the end of 2004 to start up a new department at Channel 7 and have been Network Art Director ever since. During this time I have managed a group of 9 designers/ compositors and also looked after the on-air branding for all of Channel 7, 7 Two and 7 mate. I started making jewellery and baby clothes as a way of relaxing from this stressful job and Scoops (my nickname) was born. In 2007 my brooches were picked up by the National Gallery of Victoria and I have designed exclusive ranges for major exhibitions such as Salvador Dali, Art Deco 1910–1939 and Rupert Bunny. Scoops Design has been slowly building and I have just resigned from Channel 7 to concentrate on Scoops- wohoo!

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Describe a typical day in your studio space?
I have to have a coffee first thing in the morning and like to look at blogs and check my orders to see if I need to make anything or post some packages. After that, I have a list of things to do and try and do the things that need my concentration the most first. I’m much more of a morning person, so I like to do the creative things in the morning and the ones that require less attention later on in the day.

 
Sophie's Home Studio
 Scoop Design Copyright

I am moving early next year and hope to spend more time with Sally the poodle (my parents dog). I will steal her in the morning and as she is getting old, she can sit and listen to me all day long!

 Sally
   
As an Artist and Designer, what is your biggest frustration?
Not having enough time!
  
Tell us about how you prioritise your studio work.
If I have orders, I try and complete them first, otherwise I like to give myself time to create new things as well as working on the production side of things. I am a list writer, so I follow my list!

 Xmas Limited Edition
Scoops Design Copyright

Tell us more about the PYD market that you will be doing and how it has come about.
The PYD design market is based in Waterloo and is just around the corner from one of my favourite places in Sydney Fratelli Fresh on Dank St. I have been in two markets in the life of Scoops Design; The Young Designers Markets at the Powerhouse Museum and the original Hope Street Markets. I decided it was time to venture out again into the world of markets, gain a different audience and hopefully meet lots of new people.

I have made some cute limited edition Christmas decorations and cards to complement my jewellery and baby clothes for these markets.


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 spend a lot of time chatting to like minded friends and running designs past them. Its great to get different points of view! I also make sure I go to lots of galleries and different shops to see what everyone else is doing out there.

Since I have made the decision to concentrate on Scoops design, I have come into contact with so many amazing and helpful people- it feels like it’s the right thing to do.

What advice can you offer other creative people who are just starting out and following their passions?
Believe in yourself and have a plan! I have been working on my plan for several years now and its great to see it finally coming into place. Don’t listen to people who make you doubt yourself- you can do it.

 Brooches
Scoops Design Copyright

What dreams do you still want to achieve or fulfil in your life?
I’d like for Scoops Design to continue growing and one day open a retail store. My mother and I have been chatting about opening a store called ‘Scoops and Mrs C.’ Mum is fabulous at PR and can talk you into anything, so I hope when she retires as a school principal we can set this up.

What is your proudest moment so far?
Every time I see someone on the street wearing one of my brooches I get really excited. My friends will also text or email me when they see the same- love it.

Who do you most want to meet and why?
I would love to meet Marc Jacobs. I have loved his clothes for years and find his range Marc by Marc Jacobs very inspirational.

Henri Matisse and Gustav Klimt would be up there too!


 Xmas Cards
Scoops Design Copyright

What is the most important lesson in life that you have learned?
After working ,y way up in a corporate job I’ve realised that money isn’t everything and happiness is more important.

What book are you reading right now, and do you have a book you would like to recommend?
I don’t have much time to read books as I have no spare time. I just read Handmade Market- great tips for selling online. I love design books and have about 400 in my collection!

Where do we find you and your products? 
Online you can find Scoops Design at www.scoopsdesign.com.au and my online store at http://scoopsdesign.bigcartel.com/.

Online stockists are  www.hardtofind.com.au and www.georgielove.com

Store wise Scoops Design is stocked in: The National Gallery of Victoria and Antipodes in Victoria, Form in WA, Lellow and the Handmade Market Shop in Canberra, The Collective Store and Anna and Sally in Queensland. The Powerhouse Museum and Published Art stock my brooches in Sydney.

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2 comments:

David Steinhoff said...

Coops rocks

Unknown said...

Now-a-days jewellery designing as a career is flourishing like never before. This profession is not only rewarding but also available for anyone who has a creative bend of mind. People these days have become very image conscious and the want for jewellery is no more a symbol of financial security but a trendy fashionable wear that can go well with different occasions. jewellery designing institute

Pure Leverage

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