Walt Design | Email | Website

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Apprenticeship in Cabinet making and Joinery, 1995, SFZ Fohnsdorf Education Centre, Austria.

Where did you head after graduating?
I revived a deceased cabinet work shop in 1995 and employed two cabinetmakers. I designed and built interiors for commercial and residential clients. I then started to prototype my own designs and build small series which I later displayed in a showroom in the CBD of my hometown in Austria.

When did you launch your own business?
I launched Raumdesign Rauchenwald in Graz in Austria in 1995. In 2005 I began my current business, Roomdesign Rauchenwald in Brisbane and then registered the trade mark Walt Design in 2007.

What motivated you to start your own business?
The confidence that I can run my own business, the current demand in the building and interior design industry and the belief in my product.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
Roomdesign produces a range of designer furniture, lighting and other diverse designs under the trademark Walt design.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
Depending on what I design, some of my designs are beautiful to look at, some are innovative, some are focused on sustainability, some are just for fun and some of them are sexy.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
The hardest part is to get your product out there .

What inspires your design projects?
Most of my inspiration comes from my environment and the mood I am in.

What are the next steps for you?
Short term would be to get my product on display and sold! I am considering taking part in an international trade fair and also want to get my products into the media. Long term I am playing with the idea of getting a dozen designers that are at a similar stage in their careers and seeing if they would be interested in combining forces.

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Flaming Chimp Design | Email

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Bachelor of Interior Design, 2001, Queensland University of Technology.
Bachelor of Design Studies (Architecture), 2000, University of Queensland.

Where did you head after graduating?
I have worked in the interior design industry full time since graduating.

When did you launch your own business?
In March 2008.

What motivated you to start your own business?
I wanted to focus on my real passion of inventing and product design and also running my own business and finally getting it off the ground!

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
It is still a young business and is currently developing its identity, although within a year it will be fully operational. The essence behind the business is all about products and inventions that are used in everyday life and are still affordable!

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
I am working on a whole heap of inventions that are currently being prototyped and are going through the process of being legally protected. They are automotive products, household products, sun smart products, travel products, furniture, educational products and children’s products.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
Being organised, being business minded and not taking it too personally.

What inspires your design projects?
Knowing that there are products out there that are logical and still missing and should be in the market place!

What are the next steps for you?
I am aiming to be producing more and more inventions, protecting them legally and then finding the right client to purchase them. I want to produce some of these inventions myself and sell them to retailers and take on some high end residential, hospitality and boutique interior design projects.

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Kaffee Studio | Email | Website

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Master of Arts (Visual Arts), 2006, Queensland College of Arts, Griffith University.
Diploma in Fine Arts, 2003, TAFE NSW.
Bachelor of Arts Honours (Textile Design), 1994, Central St. Martins College of Art and Design, London.

Where did you head after graduating?
I worked as a freelance textile designer for British Airways and Designers Guild and as a community artist in East London. Here in Australia, I have continued working as a community artist and art teacher for various organisations. I am also involved in public art projects and I exhibit my own work as a visual artist.

When did you launch your own business?
In early 2007.

What motivated you to start your own business?
I missed working with yarns, colours, looms, constructing and the dying, finishing and enjoying beautiful fabrics. I had also noticed a lack of woven, eco-friendly fabrics here in Australia. I studied and experimented intensely with natural dyes back in England, long before it all became fashion. It was a pure necessity as I was suffering from eczema after working with chemical dyes.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
I set up my small studio office at home, with a loom, big table and computer. At the moment I am working on sampling a range of fabrics for interior use using untreated cotton and wool yarns made in Australia.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
I find a lack of time to produce and refine my product that is the core challenge!

What inspires your design projects?
Life experiences, nature, fashion, holistic lifestyle, parenthood and travels around the world are my main inspirations.

What are the next steps for you?
I see my business growing into a large studio, showroom or store, and the employment of specialised staff. As one of my next steps I am planning to relocate to Melbourne for the obvious reasons of the climate, wool is more appropriate there, culture and opportunities within the design, fashion and art scene.

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sharka designs | Email | Website

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Bachelor of Visual Arts, 1992, James Cook University.

Where did you head after graduating?
After graduating I worked as a contracted graphic designer and completed private art commissions.

When did you launch your own business?
In 1998.

What motivated you to start your own business?
I wanted the control and flexibility that owning your own business allows and also to create my own destiny.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
I’m an artist specialising in corporate art and private 2D based commissions.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
My art style ranges from abstract to realism depending on the brief. Mediums vary from oils, acrylics, charcoal, ink across to print media. The aim is to capture the visual essence the client is trying to convey in a piece of art.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
At first, I was listening to too many other peoples opinions instead of sticking to my own path, being very clear, doing everything on my own and making my own decisions.

What are the next steps for you?
I am at crossroads where I am chosing between creating my own brief as an artist and exhibiting further, or creating art for private commissions. My target market wont change its how I sell my service and product.

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Maker | Email

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Bachelor of Architecture, 2005, University of South Australia.

Where did you head after graduating?
I have worked in architecture practices both in Adelaide and Brisbane since graduating.

When did you launch your own business?
Maker was launched in 2007.

What motivated you to start your own business?
Maker was the result of a passionate architecture student being thrust into the real world of architectural practice. Maker developed for me to produce and test my ideas both in the realms of creativity and business.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
Maker is a design brand. It facilitates the process of taking design ideas and making them products in the market place.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
My designs are about transforming creative ideas into products for the mass market. Although I have only released lighting designs to the market, my work ranges from textile designs to architecture and everything in between.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
As a small business, Maker struggles with the fact that its director is also its chief designer and that I also work for an architecture firm full time. Getting the time to deal with manufacturers, distributors etcetera is difficult.

What inspires your design projects?
Maker’s ideology is inspired by all the other design companies that aim to produce a quality design object that everyone can afford.

What are the next steps for you?
Maker sees a future where the company’s beautiful yet affordable designs are stocked not only by the likes of Space Furniture but just as easily accessed through your local Target or Kmart store.

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Nancy Brown | Email

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Certificate of Art, Higher Certificate in Painting, 1989, National Art School.
Digital photography, ceramics, 2005, Brisbane Institute of Art.

Where did you head after graduating?
In 1992 I received a community arts traineeship from the Australia Council for the Arts. Since then I have been involved with many community arts projects. I moved into textile design originally because I found it is a very simple way for groups to produce highly effective printed patterns in a short space of time.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
I’m an artist who branches out into textiles. I love to use screenprinting and repeat patterning in my work. The textile design and printing extends my creative horizons and makes my artistic life very interesting and absorbing. I also work on paper and canvas, some sculpture and ceramics. I travel around Queensland working with groups of people on projects helping them to create patterns and designs that express themselves.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
The product includes work and prints on paper and canvas, textile panels, ceremonial banners and lengths of hand printed fabric, laser cut sculpture and etched metal, tea towels, dyed and printed scarves and silk material, shirts, ceramics with decals and thousands of calico printed shopping bags.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
The paperwork!

What inspires your design projects?
A niche, a gap that I could work with.

What are the next steps for you?
Springboard has made me think about where I’m headed. My most satisfying work at the moment are the larger funded projects. I also have an interest in patterns and decals in metal, ceramic and lighting that I’d like to indulge more in the future. Springboard has made me more aware of how to bring that about, more committed in my belief in what is possible.

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Meghann Jones | Email

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
In 2000, I completed first year studies in a Bachelor of Applied Arts (Metals & Jewellery) at Monash University.
From 2000 to 2002, I worked for Candy Spender a Melbourne based costume and fashion jewellery maker. In 2004, I moved to Adelaide to hire a bench at the Gray Street Workshop and then in 2006 became an associate at the JamFactory in Adelaide.

When did you launch your own business?
I launched own business in 2004 when moved to Adelaide and wanted to sell work through galleries and retail stores.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
I’d describe it as an experimental branch of my arts practise.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
I would start by saying they are not all ‘products’. But the ones that are, are wearable or functional in some way but the function may have an element of disfunction within it.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
Trying to be a business person.

What inspires your design projects?
Systems, thoughts and process.

What are the next steps for you?
I am currently trying to arrange a mentorship with an established Australian designer to work on some more product based objects. Concurrently, I’m developing the profile of my existing jewellery work both overseas and here in Australia. My plan for the business over the next two to five years… Crank it up and let it rip!

Meghann Jones received a scholarship from Arts SA and CraftSouth to participate in Springboard Stage One.

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Intergration Studio
Wambamboo by Kent Gration | Email | Website

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Masters of Design (Product Design), 2005 , Queensland College of Arts, Griffith University.

Where did you head after graduating?
In mid-2006 I initiated designs for the Wambamboo range and was invited to exhibit in Milan at the Salone Satellite in 2007. At the end of 2006, I was involved in trials for shark repelling devices at the Bimini Biological Field Station in the Bahamas. This developed after I had researched eco-friendly product design alternatives to Queensland’s sharknets and drumlines for my Masters of Design.

When did you launch your own business?
In 2004.

What motivated you to start your own business?
I had a keen interest to explore materials and technologies and how these can be applied to social and environmental issues.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
Integration Studio is a multidisciplinary design company working in the areas of graphic, product and furniture design.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
My products aren’t designed to be quirky or keep up with the latest trends but to fulfill a necessity. Many of the self-initiated projects I’ve undertaken have required me to learn an entirely different field of study.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
The most challenging part is realising that time is worth more than money in many instances.

What inspires your design projects?
My projects are inspired by a need to address social and environmental issues through design using a multifaceted approach.

What are the next steps for you?
I’ll be structuring my business to meet environmental certifications and standards, establishing more direct relationships with people at the beginning of the supply chain, to ensure better quality, reinvestment back into communities and to reduce the risk of assumed or secondhand knowldege.

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Karina Jean | Email | Website

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Bachelor of Design (Industrial Design), 2002, Monash University.
Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical), 2002, Monash University.

Where did you head after graduating?
I spent over two years at the design consultancy, Bayly Design as a product design engineer then several years at Uno Australia as a 3D design engineer.

When did you launch your own business?
In September 2006.

What motivated you to start your own business?
After working and designing for other people for five years and building up a solid skillset, I wanted to design for myself and reignite my passion for design.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
Karina Jean is a design business devoted to creating beautiful jewellery and objects often utilising digital design methods, advanced technology and mixed media. Karina Jean releases collections seasonally and can also be commissioned for bespoke designs.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
The most challenging aspect of being a designer running a small business is to maintain a genuine balance between commercialisation and artist integrity.

What inspires your design projects?
My design projects are inspired by nature, botanicals, animals and nostalgia.

What are the next steps for you?
Over the next two to five years my most significant goals are to develop my artistic practise to be more free, make it based more on my imagination and desires rather than finances and technical limitations. I also want to broaden my brand awareness through increased retail exposure, media promotions and online commentary and commerce.

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Karen Cunningham | Email

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Bachelor of Visual Arts Honours, 2005, South Australian School of Art, University of South Australia.

Where did you head after graduating?
From 2006 to 2007 I was an associate in the glass studio at the JamFactory in Adelaide. I have also undertaken glass technical and design workshops in Turkey, Germany, Seattle and attended many conducted by international artists in Adelaide. I was also very fortunate to attend and participate in a masterclass taught by Droog Design cofounder Gijs Bakker, as part of the Xperiment Design Symposium in 2007.

When did you launch your own business?
In April 2008.

What motivated you to start your own business?
At the JamFactory I designed and created both my own product lines as well a range of objects for various clients. Since graduating my product lines remain in high demand. This convinced me that there is a market for thoughtfully designed and well crafted glass objects.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
I am focused on the design and making of blown glass objects. These range from functional tableware to lighting and sculptural pieces.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
Spreading your focus to include the business side while continuing to produce to a high standard plus dedicate time for new designs.

What inspires your design projects?
The process of working with molten glass. It’s wild. I love the fluidity and physicality of it. I always try to exploit the qualities, movement and versatility of the material.

What are the next steps for you?
I plan to put in to practice what I’ve learned in Springboard – create a brand, develop marketing tools, contact retailers and getting my work out there. I would like to establish an international market and perhaps outsource some of the making. I also want to broaden my design base to include more material.

Karen Cunningham received a scholarship from Arts SA and CraftSouth to participate in Springboard Stage One.

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Jenni Baxter Design | Email

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Bachelor of Built Environment (Interior Design), 2007, Queensland University of Technology.

Where did you head after graduating?
My professional experience is diverse including projects with a number of design studios and architectural firms, collaborations with artists and creative professionals, exhibitions and a range of freelance projects.I was also the awarded the Artisan Mentorship Grant for Emerging Designer 2006 resulting in the design and development of my most recent work.

When did you launch your own business?
I first started designing under my own name in 2006.

What motivated you to start your own business?
The freedom to create my own path.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
I operate a multidisciplinary design practice encompassing design in all forms including furniture, interiors, graphic, product, set, lighting, animation, sound and installations.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
My approach to design employs the notion of disturbance – ‘A disengagement from tradition, inviting progression and engagement not only with the modus of contemporary society, but also with an alternate, tomorrow.’

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
Deciding what to focus on next!

What inspires your design projects?
Each project is distinctly different and inspired by a number of unique influences… Each piece has its own story.

What are the next steps for you?
The focus for the next few years is to consistently release exciting, innovative, environmentally responsible design into both the domestic and international market place.

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Jaime Beattie Accessories | Email | Website

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Bachelor of Laws, 2000, Queensland University of Technology.
Bachelor of Business (International Business), 2000, Queensland University of Technology.
I have also studied some fashion design subjects at Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE in Brisbane.

What did you head after graduating?
After leaving university I pursued a career as a property lawyer until I left a few years later to start Jaime Beattie Accessories.

When did you launch your own business?
In July 2004.

What motivated you to start your own business?
I was desperate to do something creative and it seemed like a better lifestyle choice than working in a law firm 60 plus hours a week.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
My team and I design and create limited edition fashion accessories which are handmade in our Brisbane studio.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
The current range consists of fabric bags, purses, hair accessories and jewellery. Bright colours and bold prints have featured heavily in collections to date. Rather than follow particular trends our accessories are designed to allow the wearer to express their personality or stand out in a crowd.

What inspires your design projects?
It varies depending on the collection. Mostly, childhood memories, fabrics and materials, found objects, traditional arts and crafts.

What are the next steps for you?
I’m always working on new products and the next collection. We’d like to establish a real presence in the Australian fashion accessories market as a label who offers something a bit different to the mainstream.

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red DESIGN | Email | Website

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Master Industrial Design, Domus Academy, Milan.
Bachelor Built Environment (Interior Design), Queensland University of Technology.
Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Tasmania.

Where did you head after graduating?
In 1988 I began the design practice ASG design in Hobart with two other graduate designers. Then in 1993, after returning from studying in Italy I established red DESIGN in Brisbane and had various lecturing gigs through to 1998. In 2000, I became the head of the furniture studio at the JamFactory in Adelaide and two years later I became a Senior Research Fellow at the Queensland University of Technology’s School of Design.

What motivated you to start your own business?
A lack of inspirational design work opportunities in Australia.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
The business focuses on research into design materials applications, design related projects in the government and corporate sector and also the design of products for the bespoke, medium or mass market.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
I think capital and exposure and quality workmanship.

What are the next steps for you?
I plan to move the business into profitability and sustainability.

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Eva Wanganeen | Email

What work experience have you had?
I have worked as an arts practitioner and had a wholesale business and a gallery.

When did you launch your own business?
I launched my own business in 2004.

What motivated you to start your own business?
I was motivated by my love for what I do.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
I am a designer, producer and wholesaler of silk accessories and homewares.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
Functional art on silk.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
I find brand awareness and finding the right market the most challenging parts.

What are the next steps for you?
I want to create a recognisable brand both in Australia and overseas and expand my range.

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blossom creations | Email | Website

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Diploma of Graphic Design, 2006, Brisbane North Institute of TAFE.
Bachelor of Professional Communication (Advertising and Marketing Communication), 2001, University of Canberra.

Where did you head after graduating?
I did an internship at an advertising agency while I studied at university. After graduating I travelled and lived in Japan for two and a half years. I came back to Australia, did some more study and started my business.

When did you launch your own business?
January 2007.

What motivated you to start your own business?
I had always designed my own stationery and wanted to be able to make a business out of it. The idea of working for myself has always appealed to me. I also wanted to create a range of products that were made with the environment in mind.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
We design and manufacture stationery and homewares products made from recycled and environmentally sustainable materials.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
Our products are well designed, kind to the environment, contemporary, fun, beautiful, natural…

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
The usual time and money. Having to do everything yourself or finding the money to get someone to help is always a challenge.

What inspires your design projects?
I’m inspired by so many different things when it comes to my designs.I keep scrapbooks full of bits and pieces I collect that inspire me. I also take a lot of photos and have sketchbooks full of ideas.

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Hemp Horizons | Email

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Bachelor of Arts Honours (First class), 2003, James Cook University.

Where did you head after graduating?
I attended university as a mature age student because I wanted to study the environment. My previous work experience had been diverse – hospitality, advertising, and tutoring, as well as taking time off to raise three children.
After exploring environmental science, I completed Honours in English in 2002 and was offered a scholarship to do a PhD. However, at the same time I had the chance to distribute for an environmental company making high quality, organic hemp products.

When did you launch your own business?
In 2002.

What motivated you to start your own business?
I wanted to promote hemp in Australia. I knew that if I could educate the market about the environmental benefits of hemp I could help to create a market in Australia.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
My business revolves around the promotion and education of hemp textile products through ethical and fair trade business practices. At the moment it is mainly a distribution and wholesale business which is transforming into a design and manufacture business.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
My products are functional and visually appealing natural hemp textile products that draw on the vast amount of creative energy that makes up our community.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
Finance and being responsible for so many aspects of the business.

What inspires your design projects?
The passion to promote hemp as a preferable alternative to growing cotton in Australia because of its amazing qualities.

What are the next steps for you?
I would like to be able to update the equipment and the production of products that we create. I would also like to employ local people for work outside of the current work opportunities.

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i & i design | Email

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Diploma Furniture Designer/Maker, 2006, TAFE South Australia.
Timber Veneer Moulding Workshop, 2005, Melbourne University.

Where did you head after graduating?
From 2005 to 2007 I was at the JamFactory Contemporary Craft & Design in Adelaide working as an associate furniture designer and maker.

When did you launch your own business?
In 2007.

What motivated you to start your own business?
I wanted to work for myself and to be in control of my future.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
I undertake commissions and small production run work, designing and making objects that give a sense of wellbeing to daily life.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
My products are simple, effective and functional products that have a sense of humour which appeals to young and old.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
The main challenge running a small business is that I am the designer, maker, accountant, marketer…

What inspires your design projects?
Inspiration for me comes from everywhere – memories, my friends, magazines, buildings and urban life. Ideas come to me at the times when I least expect them.

What are the next steps for you?
In two to five years I would like to have built a successful career in the product design market in Australia and overseas. I hope to also have a number of designs in production and to be supplying a number of stores. Creating a design hub of like-minded individuals from all areas of design is another of my goals. I want to combine all styles to create a business that can supply diverse, contemporary products for any type of client.

David Potts received a scholarship from Arts SA and CraftSouth to participate in Springboard Stage One.

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Christina Waterson

Email

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Bachelor of Architecture Honours, 2005, University of Queensland.
I also studied Visual Arts at Queensland University of Technology from 2000 to 2001 and graduated with a Bachelor of Design Studies in 1996.

Where did you head after graduating?
While maintaining my own creative practice I have worked for a number of companies and organisations in a variety of creative roles. This includes working as a graduate architect at Cox Rayner Architects, an exhibition designer at the Queensland Art Gallery and a designer with Urban Art Projects.

What motivated you to start your own business?
The professional feedback I received at the 2007 Design Island and the Bay of Fires workshop in Tasmania encouraged me to take the final leap of faith and commit full time to my multidisciplinary creative practice.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
My business is to create meaningful places of experience that engage the imagination and challenge the individual whether it be in exhibition design, product design, event interventions and installations or architectural projects.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
My series of products are beautiful and engage the imagination. They include sculptural forms and screens, lighting and jewellery, as well as commissioned site-specific installations. Many of my products have interlocking modules that allow them to be reassembled and the overall arrangement personalised.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
Saying no to great projects because the calendar is full.

What inspires your design projects?
Natural forms, structures and geometries that stem from the simple qualities and properties of materials.

What are the next steps for you?
I plan to establish relationships with major clients and organisations, continue to time the release of new work series and having the flexibility to collaborate with other professionals across all areas of art and design.

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Cuttpaste | Email

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Kirsti: Bachelor of Design Studies (Three-Dimensional Design), 2005, Queensland College of Art,
Griffith University.
Cara: Currently undertaking a Masters of Industrial Design, Queensland University of Technology.
Bachelor of Industrial Design, 2006, Queensland University of Technology.
Bachelor of Design Studies (Three-Dimensional Design), 2006, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University.

Where did you head after graduating?
Since graduating Kirsti has become an interior designer for a Brisbane based interior design firm and is creatively involved in a wide range of commercial projects. Cara began a Bachelor of Industrial Design and is currently completing her Masters by research part time while lecturing in industrial design.

When did you launch your own business?
In February 2007.

What motivated you to start your own business?
We set up Cuttpaste to start designing for ourselves. As young designers we want to enter the design industry as professionals. A year ago we registered our company. This has made us re-think who we are and what we really want to do.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
Our dream is to get our ideas off the paper, out of prototype and into everyday life. We would love our products to be described as beautiful, functional, accessible and desirable.

What inspires your design projects?
Originally it was simply scissors and glue. They are basic tools that introduced us to the world of design. We are inspired by each others ideas and friendship and our design is inspired by wanting to surround ourselves with beautiful things, but mostly we want to create a better way of doing things.

What are the next steps for you?
We want to launch our brand and products in the field of furniture, lighting and homewares. We are not stopping until we have designed one of everything! Our dream is to have a successful small design business with creative freedom and the opportunity to make our dreams a reality.

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Lyssy May | Email | Website

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Bachelor of Business, 1996, University of Southern Queensland.

Where did you head after graduating?
I worked in marketing roles for both government and private enterprise in Australia and the United Kingdom until 2004. During this time I pursued my passion for needlework and handmade crafts and sold my own wares at local craft markets as a hobby based business which eventually led me moving into accessory design.

When did you launch your own business?
Lyssy May was officially launched in 2003.

What motivated you to start your own business?
I have always had a dream to create my own business built around handmade crafts and designs. The reaction I received to my first range of handbags provided the motivation to undertake a serious approach to starting Lyssy May.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
Lyssy May is all about unique and handmade designs and currently specialises in the creation of handbags. The aim of the business is to nurture traditional crafts and to reflect an era when time and expertise underpinned the creation of products that were treasured and made to last.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
As my first passion is needlework and crafts, it is the use of different forms of fabrics and trims that define a typical Lyssy May handbag.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
The challenge is having enough hours in the day! It has also been challenging to educate consumers as to the value of buying local and handmade products.

What inspires your design projects?
Lyssy May designs are inspired by the fabrics that I have sourced over many years. I also look to traditional handcrafts like knitting to create different textures and new ways to incorporate them into accessory design.

What are the next steps for you?
I aim to build Lyssy May as a brand that is synonymous with quality Australian accessory design both domestically and overseas and to expand the product range.

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Haasch | Email | Website

Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Certificate IV Furniture Design, 2004, Lidcombe TAFE.
Bachelor of Applied Science (Environmental Health), 1995, Queensland University of Technology.

When did you launch your own business?
The business was launched in 2001.

What motivated you to start your own business?
We were motivated by our idea and the product which we wanted to sell.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
We design and manufacture lighting.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
The PCB Lamps take industrial discards and make them a useful resource in the production of 21st century contemporary design. The lamps are representative of the electronic and synthetic era and also a move to sustainable living.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
The most challenging parts are sourcing local manufacturers and multi-tasking.

What inspires your design projects?
We are inspired by strong environmental ethics, Cyberdog London and industrial discards.

What are the next steps for you?
In the next two years, we hope to launch two new products nationally and internationally and to further develop new products in sustainable lighting which are currently concepts. We also want to relocate from a residence to a commercial location and plan to increase our participation in commercial and domestic projects with industry partners such as architects and interior designers both in Australia and overseas.

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“Meet the antipreneurs… A few thousand business owners who have won both notice and profits by being overtly or covertly anti-big business and anti-advertising. Antipreneurs frequently choose each other as suppliers because they share similar philosophies. Their marketing strategy is targeted toward consumers who have grown cynical about buying products and services from larger companies, whose methods they deem irresponsible.” Read on

Jeremy Quittner BusinessWeek

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