At Corban & Blair we encourage partnerships with customers and suppliers. It could be this interview with Amanda, or sharing expertise and resources, supporting new strategies with other businesses, providing gifts and give- a-ways as well as sponsorship. It could be as little as listening to others ideas or charting their risks. To us these collaborations are important and the essence of keeping fresh and relevant for all of us.

Work wise I was reminded about how important authentic story telling is in product design & marketing. We rarely buy with our minds, but rather with our hearts. I saw some stunning examples of emotive story telling by sellers of some very unique wares in far off ‘the beaten track’ places. It was a powerful reminder that ‘real’ works.

Documenting your travels is something that most people do. As I have never travelled in a group before I had no idea how diligent people are about writing up their travel journals everyday. Corban & Blair have many stunning journals for this purpose in our collection – and I plan that we will have many more.

Below is the precious travel journal of my 21 year old son’s latest travels -his month in Ghana volunteering in a hospital, time in Europe and then a journey through Morocco with his mum (and 12 other Australians + a female co-operative making Argan oil)

With our sophisticated fast moving communication, to engage others is something only the talented, authentic and creative do well.

In the past few weeks I have been to several events where I assumed I would learn something or be engaged in new possibilities. Most of these experiences were very HO HUM – nothing interesting that I felt compelled to share with others.

Two events did stand out that I have told lots of people about and are now including in a blog.

1.Johanna Featherstone from THE REDROOM COMPANY (poetry and poets) held an event at KPMG as a fundraiser to take poets and poetry experiences into schools. She and her team set up an old fashioned classroom where we all sat at old desks with lunch boxes and other desk paraphernalia- there was a role call- she certainly had our attention. She then took us through a series of experiences illustrating the power of language. It was lovely and I told masses of people about her vision and what she is trying to achieve. www.redroomcompany.org

2.Michelle Leonard and her team from MOORAMBILLA VOICES (regional choirs for young people) held an auction of hand made chooks (made by a friend) gorgeous, unique and colourful. Michelle and some of the students told stories of singing in regional Australia, and the power of music to change and inspire their lives. www.moorambilla.com

They both created memorable experiences with little money, but with loads of passion, authenticity, good will and generosity using every contact and many creative communication devices to inspire their audiences. They achieved engagement on a personal level and to their causes.

Congratulations.

We are in the midst of our June sale and have been holding mid year clearance sales for the past 20 years.

We do this for several reasons:-

To clean out samples and left over materials ready for the next collection. To sell end of line items and get rid of damaged (not quite perfect stock) as well as sell at reduced prices those items that couriers sometimes play foot ball with. We make available large frames and not standard frames that are too difficult to send by courier. It is also useful cash flow at the end of the financial year.

Our sale is at our work premises and enables everyone who works here to participate and talk to and meet our brand followers. We also watch what interests them and at what price- after all we are product developers.

This used to be why we had sales.

Seeing our sale stock beautifully merchanised is always time for reflection.

In the past we have had some huge sales, usually around Christmas. I think this is now a thing of the past as the major players in the retail environment see markdowns as regular strategy so customers do not see sales as special or an opportunity anymore- just more of the same. This has changed the value of what things appear to cost.

We would miss having our bi annual sales as it is a whole company effort, Amanda and I make the food for the first night drinks, everyone works extra our accountant and family included. It is a diversion and we get to see lots of customers, friends and new clients.

As things change so quickly, I wonder how we will adapt and incorporate this sale mentality into our regular strategy.

I am interested in what other people think of the nature of “THE SALE”. Have we ruined them? If you have other ideas let me know. Thanks.

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?

With so much interesting content around- what makes you stop* read* think* and act? Does anything any more?

Expert fundraising copywriter Jill Ruchel ruminates.

In 2008 I was lucky enough to spend a splendid evening visiting the wonderful Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in Sydney, a display of some 150 sculptures carefully placed along the glorious cliff walk from Tamarama to Bondi.

I had been thinking a good deal about the current world financial crisis and what it meant for fundraising, when I saw the winning sculpture.

Created by Mark McLelland, it was a large block of steel, perhaps two and a half metres high, with a key shaped space in the middle. But the space ran horizontally, creating a fabulous tension between the pressing weight above it and the bulk below, like a roiling emptiness of energy.

In that moment, what struck me was that what was important in dealing with fundraising in a recession or financial crisis is not what is happening – it’s what’s missing.

Tough times are the perfect time to do something innovative, something that hasn’t been done before, or hasn’t been done that way.

It’s like the old adage – if you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always got.

When you think about it, being bold and being fresh is important all the time. Anyone can copy what you do, but if they can’t compete with you for boldness, ideas and initiative, they’ll always be followers and never leaders.

So don’t be afraid to try something new. It might not work. It might turn out to be wrong. But it might succeed fabulously. Either way you get an outcome, you’re sure to learn something. And it’s always better to do something than nothing.

www.praxisfundraising.com.au

This week has been stressful as we put the finishing touches to our new collection, all because we missed the flow on effect of some changes (always for the better) but with implications we did not think through quickly enough.

Flora range- cushions, purses, napkins, journal in a bag

For example- we changed the supplier of our new printed textile (it looks far better) but the fabric was not quite the same weight and when gluedto a board to make an album our regular glue did not work. Experimentation with other glues has fixed it but we have lost time and used up lots of nervous energy. With our large Zoo cushions for children, we wanted a firm cushion inner. Therefore the inner needs to be a down, but down has a very different requirement for customs. This was only discovered as the product was to be freighted on the eve of Chinese New Year (an extremely busy time in China with everyone on deadlines before the holidays.) We needed to change a price of an item. This means a rigorous audit of all master files as one mistake leads to confusion & so it goes on.

When you are in a creative business where ideas evolve, the process of ensuring you capture the implications of all changes are crucial for productivity.

Rain range- cushions, purses, napkins, fabric basket

We are into continuous improvement aiming never to make the same mistake twice. We have red alerts to ensure we learn and remember within the production process. But this is after the event.

We are interested to hear of any suggestions or techniques that could keep us more alert and focused and ahead of the process.

If you have any we would love to hear from you.

The past 18 months have been difficult- sales have been ‘softish’, colleagues & friends have gone out of business, while others have been slow to make the adjustments necessary to keep up in changed circumstances. This made for a challenging work environment.

In order to keep up we have reached higher, kept positive, taken risks, invested in new ways to do things as well as new products and processes. Thank goodness we have lots of passion, energy and commitment.

I recently heard a quote from Li Cunxin- Mao’s Last Dancer, who when asked, how he managed the extraordinary journey of his life (international ballet dancer, defector from China, best selling author, a movie made about his life by one of Australia’s most respected directors, stock broker and father of a profoundly deaf child while supporting his Australian and Chinese families) said if you want to be above the ordinary and stand out it is only possible by pushing just that bit further, it is about vision, will, effort, emotion, commitment and discipline – the road to success is hard and always painful- but worth it.

At Corban & Blair this is what we try to do. Thankfully we do not put sand bags on our legs then jump up stairs for 2 years to strengthen our leg muscles as Li Cunxin did- although sometimes it feels like it.

Good luck – as there is never much comfort or rest when you run a business.

It is always good to start the New Year refreshed and intellectually stimulated.

Our business book club met last weekend and have compiled a list of books to read over the next few months.

Reviews of the following books suggest they should interest our group of creative, intuitive, entrepreneurial business owners.

Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation by Tim Brown

The World Cafe: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter by Juanita Brown

The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All by Tom Atlee

Trade-Off: Why Some Things Catch On, and Others Don’t by Kevin Maney and Jim Collins

Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World by Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu

Changing the Game: How Video Games Are Transforming the Future of Business by David Edery and Ethan Mollick

The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace by John Paul Lederach

I will let you know which are worth the time, effort and money.

Do you have any other suggestions?

Recently I read a book that I just loved (apparently 2.5 million other people did also). The Elegance of The Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. If you enjoy art, culture, psychology, philosophy and ordinary people you will enjoy it.

‘Muriel Barbery . . . commands the sophistication, polish and mental agility that often distinguish French fiction … Barbery has a warm heart and a heart moreover that knows that great art and the best philosophy may (just possibly) possess redemptive qualities, or at least make life bearable in a materialistic and self-indulgent world. Sydney Morning Herald’