Corban & Blair - Blog

The sale starts out like this – boxes and  boxes that all need to be opened up and merchandised.

Lots of fun and lots of work.

There are many bargains in these boxes

( Remember it is on-line as well use Coupon No 1524 for 15% discount)

It ends up looking gorgeous like this.

All welcome.

Amanda and I have just visited Tokyo.

Why? Because we love Japanese design, food and paper products.

Our aim was to visit the Ambiente Tokyo Gift fair at Big Site and see as many shops – large and small, art spaces and galleries. We were very busy, a lot of it decoding the train system which we became very efficient.

What stood out for me was the range of quirky styles the Japanese express themselves with – from Goth to Alice in Wonderland. These sit along side mainstream global trends from various other cultures. The current summer fashion season is very floral, lots of lace and layered.

People were very polite, helpful and do not speak all the time on their mobile phones (such a relief unlike China where people seem to have at least 2 phones each) although the Japanese are doing all sorts of other things on them. There is no rubbish and they move people around in an amazing way- wish we could do that here.

Amanda having dinner with her nephew Jake who is teaching english in Tokyo.

It was a successful trip- we feel inspired, refreshed and well exercised.

SATURDAY – My son’s 21^st. The ritual of coming of age celebration.

SUNDAY

My friend’s wedding. The ritual of family, relationships and love.

MONDAY

Work. The chore of being economically viable while enjoying the process.

TUESDAY

Yoga class the necessity to keep fit while working long hours.

WEDNESDAY

Website up date. The constant chore to keep relevant.

THURSDAY

On-line breakfast. Ideas and experiences, the necessity to keep up.

FRIDAY

The Redroom Company Writers Festival event. Poems to Share that were shared by poets and audience. An inspiring experience. An essential activity.

SATURDAY

Missed TEDx but visited The Biennale on Cookatoo Island. Question. What is the meaning of art today? Has the role of the artist and their audience changed? The role between producer and customer has. What does this mean?

SUNDAY

Still getting over son’s 21^st last weekend! Relaxation and reflection. How do we make time?

For a treat visit Jason, Clare and staff at their new store,

Level 2 in the Queen Victoria Building.

Bristol & Brooks. Also have a store at Chifley Plaza, 2 Chifley Square Sydney NSW 2000

Browse or purchase on line www.bristolandbrooks.com.au

There is much enjoyment working with people in different fields to come up with something new and different that you are proud of. We have just launched a new product called Poems to Share. This was a collaboration with The Red Room Poetry Company.

Poems to Share is a pack of cards featuring poems by Australian poets of all generations. Included are lines of verse along with activities to explore the poems for more enjoyment. There are 40 colourful cards to choose from. They can be read silently or explored by using the activities on each card.

The cards could be used at home, work, schools, training or universities.

We have plans to create a similar set using the poems and artwork of school children. We are always interested in contributions from others. If you have and ideas please contact Gillian at Corban & Blair or Johanna at The Red Room Company www.redroomcompany.org

On a recent trip to Hong Kong & China to check on products we have made here, Amanda and I were yet again astounded by the size and scale of China. Checking samples with the production manager

This becomes obvious in the hours spent getting from place to place, exhaustion and lots of road and train travel. It is nothing to drive 2 hours through fast heavy traffic to go to a meeting and spend another 2 hours going in another direction to a half hour meeting etc. . . . . Stressful at times especially the traffic density but always interesting. There is so much to see and learn from this energetic nation.

Visiting the Guangzhou fabric Market to select fabric to print on

This season we changed from one supplier to another mid production. This was a big risk (it may have even been a bigger risk not to). Fortunately we decided to do this with the support of our Chinese business associate who managers our production in China. So far this decision seems to have been the right one.

View from the roof of the new factory where we are having our lifestyle products made

When reflecting on the challenges of manufacturing in China (or else where for that matter) it comes down to good relationships, trust, honesty, fairness, transparency, clear communication and having something in the transaction for everyone.

We are very grateful for the 3 major relationships with have developed in Hong Kong and China. We could not even attempt to work in this part of the world without the mutual understanding that has developed working with people who all share in the outcome.

Last night I attended an event of THE RED ROOM COMPANY to celebrate the conclusion of their SEA THINGS project.

Imagine five poems making a journey from five Australian ports; a poetic sea cargo carried by private, commercial and naval vessels. Imagine those five poems being opened up on board, and their readers jotting down an observation or illustration that happened as they read.

SEA THINGS has seen four new poems commissioned from poets in Hobart, Melbourne, Brisbane and Darwin, and from secondary school students in Perth, Darwin and Thursday Island, as the project charted a seafaring odyssey up the East and West coasts of Australia.
What Johanna and her team do is truly creative.

If you are interested in poetry or experiencing very high levels of creativity across many disciplines.

Click here to learn more

Cleverly written, attractive, even funny email communication can of interest to our clients (potential clients) and efficient for us.

This week I went to EMSA an Email Marketing Summit at Darling harbour. Masses of people attended from around Australia and New Zealand. The sessions were thoughtful and well presented with lots of ideas and case studies. It was certainly worth attending.

Above is an example of an email we sent out recently. We will enhance the layout and words for future campaigns to hopefully capture a wider audience.

Current research and testing indicates that if you have genuine contacts, say who you are, where you are from, with a few words about what is in the email in a ‘clear” way, people will more often than not, open the email to read its contents- after that of course that are many more communication devices we all need to use.
For more information on Vision 6 and further summits see below
http://www.emsaustralia.com.au/2009/index.html

Our Christmas sale always looks gorgeous, but is hard work. We reorganise our studio and shop to accommodate large special frames, end of lines, samples, experiments, damaged stock and other bits and pieces.
It is also a team building exercise which all ‘enjoy’. The accounts person is a brilliant merchandiser, sales staff are great at carrying boxes to cars, designers are terrific blowing up balloons and we all contribute to the food (drinks and nibbles for the customers.) We can only manage this and keep the business still running with loyal cooperation from our staff.
It is also a wonderful opportunity for us to come face to face with our customers, see what they buy and hear what they say. This is valuable as all who work at Corban & Blair get to interface with real customers.

A big thanks to our loyal customers many of whom come every year.

As usual we are having our Christmas sale at our shop/studio at 2 Victoria Street, Lewisham, (near Leichhardt) Starts Thursday 5th November at 8.00am and finishes Sunday 8th November at 5.00pm For people out of town or who are busy we have a sale in our online store 1-9th November use Coupon No 1523 for the 15% sale discount. Let us know if you would like more information. All welcome.