Profile: Soft Constructions

We would like to introduce our new 'profiles blogger', Alira Callaghan. Alira has a strong interest in supporting local artists, designers and creatives and she will be bringing you articles on talented local creatives. The subject of her first profile is Seonaidh Murphy’s Soft Constructions.

What sort of things does Soft Constructions encompass? 
Soft Constructions is a Perth based illustration and design studio focused on creating unique, original and playful designs and products for their customers and clients. I use popular culture as inspiration and then utilise both hand worked and digital techniques (combined with a twist of humour) to create designs that can find themselves on any number of products.  There is a retail side to the business as well as a design side that is more focused on creating custom designs and products for clients such as menus, uniforms, logos etc.

I know you have a background in both art and design, what was it that attracted you to the textile side of design?I had always been involved in working with textiles.  Even at art school I did a lot of experimentation with textiles and sculpture.  I guess there is something about the tactility of it being able to be used to create 2d and 3d shapes.  I enjoy working between the two spheres of art and design because it gives me a creative outlet but I can still be business focused.

Can you briefly explain what is involved in your design process?
I do a bit of trend research and come up with some ideas.  Then I collect imagery and after that I start piecing together my designs.  From there I start incorporating puns and drawing them and painting them as I see fit.  Next I scan the design in and do any digital alterations and edits to it and it gets made into whichever product it needs to be.
 

Images courtesy of Soft Constructions

Does Soft Constructions offer you a creative outlet that is different to when you have done work in the fashion industry?
Definitely.  Soft Constructions allows me to utilize more of my skills and gives me the freedom to cross over into multiple disciplines.  I also get to indulge in my illustration skills, which is great!

A lot of your designs incorporate humour, have you always enjoyed the pun game or did that come through developing your practice?
I’ve always had a bit of a sense of humour.  Some people enjoy it and some people don’t, it wasn’t always very well received when I was in art school.  I feel like I have the ability to switch between serious and funny though and know the circumstances in which to use my comedic devices. 

What is your favourite aspect of your work for Soft Constructions? 
My favourite aspect is constantly growing the business into new and exciting places.  As I grow more opportunities come up and I really enjoy the challenge of being faced with new problems to solve.

Do you try to source your materials and services locally?
I try to source as much locally as I can and if I can’t source it locally I use Australian suppliers.  It can be hard but I seem to be able to make it work at the moment.

Images courtesy of Soft Constructions

How important has it been to the success of Soft Constructions to have support from the community and likeminded people?
It has been really important.  Being able to be inspired by the people around you gives you the strength to grow and flourish as a business.  I love being around people that are as excited as I am to make a difference and create unique and successful businesses.

What project/s are you currently working on?
I have lots of little things in the works.  I have a few custom products with local businesses that I’ll be able to let you in on soon.  I also have plans to grow the business into a very exciting place next year but I can’t say too much.

Where can we find your designs and products?
You can find our products at www.softconstructions.com and in:
Sugar and Nice, Inglewood        The Little Cheese Shop, Bayswater
Common Ground, Fremantle      Kakulas Sister, Fremantle
The Tenth State, Nedlands         Perth Upmarket

And soon to be in: 
Compendium, Fremantle       Addison and Steele, North Perth
Beehive, Fremantle


Alira Callaghan

Q & A with Lucie from "Magpie House"

Tell us a bit about your business.Magpie House is an eclectic mix of jewellery made by me, Lucie Basinger, using new and recycled pieces. The name Magpie House came about as I have always had a fascination with Magpies after being told as a child that if you see one alone you must greet it by saying “Good afternoon your Lordship”. Also they are cheeky and like to collect shiny things, which I think is great!

What inspires you?I am often inspired by my friends and by travel. I find odd combinations of shapes and textures intriguing and love animals and the outdoors.

What do you love most about selling at markets?I love the atmosphere; right from the set up it is an exciting energy. I love seeing all the other stalls and the fantastic outfits of all the shoppers!

What materials do you use?I use brass, copper, plastic, recycled bits and bobs found in op shops, all sorts really. I also use paper, card, old books and felt for my card making

What is your favourite part of the creative process?I love coming up with an idea and getting lost in doing trials and making mistakes, making mistakes often takes the idea on a totally new track. I like making a mess and the whole practical element. And then of course the feeling of selling something that you have made for someone else to enjoy is just awesome.

What’s been your most popular item or line to date?My brass triangle necklace or my mint green bead necklace has probably been the most popular.

What new products are you working on?I am working on a few new necklaces and bracelets using a lot of geometric shapes and bright beads. I am also making a lot of collaged postcards and gift tags, using old travel books and cat pictures. I really like to manipulate the old images using patterns, and painting back into them.

Where can we find you? www.etsy.com/shop/lucie2427

www.magpiehouse.tumblr.com
housemagpie@gmail.com

Q&A with "Marina's Ambrosia"

Tell us a bit about your business?

My name is Marina Herlihy and my business is Marina's Ambrosia. Marina's Ambrosia started out in 2002. I had been suffering for a long while with bad skin. Irritation, break outs, blotchy skin and small rashes and burning on the skin and it was very upsetting having to go to different doctors and trying different types of prescription creams. By accident when I was studying my Natural Therapies certificate I realized that it must of been one of the 100 different things i had been trying and using over the past 2 years. I made the primrose moisturizer in my determination to do it myself and create something that was comletely non toxic. Within a year the range grew and the customers came.

Since then the range has expanded to include 100% pure mineral make up and close to 100 eye shadow colours using the purest of mineral powders mined in Europe without titanium dioxide. Raw shampoo, conditioner and body wash are manufacturered by hand and sold in large 1 litre pump packs, 100% herbal hair colours and hair treatments have also been put together and we are now exporting these to the USA and Canada. The Cancer Support Assocation in Cottesloe have since gone through the products and approved them for use on people with Cancer and those whom are chemical sensitive. We also are very proud to have a 24K gold range also which is only avaliable to salons.

What inspires you?
What inspires me are the people that come to me in desperation and as a last resort and follow up with me a week later telling me how grateful they are to have found me. Helping people to get off the chemical roller coaster gives me a tremendous sense of achievement. I have parents whom bring their teenage daughters to me saying “if you want to wear makeup this is the only type of makeup you are allowed to wear” and the teenagers are so grateful that they can safely use the products with mums blessing because it is good for their skin and isn’t going to harm their skin.

As I am also a mum of 4 children and 3 of them happen to be girls, I can relax with the fact that when they are in at the age where they want to wear makeup and are starting to take a little interest in what they put on their faces, I have peace of mind that I have that covered and I am not challenged like a lot of other mothers whom are at their wits ends and cant find what they need unless they research for a long time.

What do you love most about selling at markets?
I am very much a people person and the one on one contact with customers is what I thrive on. Selling at the markets is a real buzz for me because I am taking my products directly to the people and they can get up close and personal with the products and speak directly with the manufacturer (being me) and I can answer all the questions that they have.

What new products are you working on?

I am always working on new product development. For the past 7 years I had been doing private manufacturing for many private labels and people wanting to start their own business label and they have a recipe without the knowhow of product making and I have been responsible for starting up over 20 new brands and many of which are now bigger brands and I have since moved them on.

The new product that I am currently working on is MR. Natural. Which is a mens range of products and I am aiming to make it a 3 step system so that it is quick, no fuss and easy to use.



What is your favourite product and why?

My favourite product has to be the primrose moisturizer because it was the first product in the range. The very first product which still is made using the original recipe from all those years ago. When I first made it and used it, I went to bed that night without the itchy feeling on my cheeks and that was when I knew I was onto a good thing. After a week of using my primrose moisturizer which I also used it as a cleanser too and added walnut shell to it to exfoliate and also used it again as a moisturizer, my skin started clearing up so very quickly that 2 weeks later I had perfect skin and you wouldn’t have thought I had any problems at all with my skin.

So for this reason I love my primrose moisturizer. It’s my baby and my favourite!

Stallholder Profile: Spotlight on "Osmosis Designs"

Today's stallholder profile is Annie of Osmosis Designs. Annie has been a stallholder at Made on the Left markets since the third one. Let's go behind the scenes!

Tell us a bit about yourself
I came from a creative family so making is in my DNA! In my time I’ve sold paintings, mixed media work, freehand machine embroidery, hand drawn embossed cards. Now, with osmosis designs, I’ve taught myself vector graphics so I can design pieces for laser cutting and etching. Each piece I make is hand finished, embroidered and assembled.

What inspires you to create?
Anything and everything, but most ideas have a basis in science – the natural world and geometric shapes

What materials do you use?
I use coloured acrylics and bamboo ply for my laser cut pieces and some of these have cross-stitch embroidery on them in either wool or cotton threads.

What’s your number one market tip?
My best market tip is to start as soon as possible and write lists. Tick things off as you go – list stock you need to make, things you need to buy, items you need to take with you etc. Plus be inventive in your display. You need something, either a product or a prop that people will notice and make them look longer at your stall.

What is your favourite part of the creative process?
The design stage – I work hard to make each design idea really work in reality.

What’s been your most popular item or line to date?
My positive/negative shape earrings where one earring is the bit cut out of the other (see picture) They have become my signature piece.

What is the most exciting thing that has come out of selling your designs through markets?
Meeting a wonderful group of like-minded people. There is something quite special about the craft community. They are so supportive and generous.

What advice would you give someone who wants to sell their crafts?
Try to develop your own style with whatever it is you make. That style can be a theme, a colour scheme or a variation of something that nobody else has done. Be original.

What goals do you have in store for the future?
No specific goals – just to keep making and developing my ideas.

Thanks Annie!
xxx MOTL

Q&A with "A Story Of"

Tell us a bit about your business

Everything you buy has a story.  Whether it has come from a factory or handmade; if it's recycled or completely new; the people who have made it.  All these things make up the story of an item, and that's what A Story Of is about.  I create a little over half of the products on my website myself in WA, using things like vintage plates, recycled leather and local wool.  I also collaborate with some fair trade artisans in Thailand on designs and source yet more that have been designed and made by groups working with women at risk.  I try to make the stories of my products accessible and help people to feel the heart in what they are buying. 

What inspires you?

All sorts of things - a good book, movies, architecture... I get most inspired, though, when I travel and get to know different people, cultures, and the arts that are a part of them. 

What do you love most about selling at markets?

I love meeting new people - sellers and customers - finding out what they're upto and what they love about handmade items.  I also love to see the huge range of work on display.  WA has some amazing creativity to offer!!

What new products are you working on?

I'm just starting work on our first clothing collection, actually!! I want to collaborate with artisans in Thai hill tribes and use their traditional fabrics in modern designs.

Apart from that, I'm always working on new jewellery ideas, playing with different bits and pieces I can recycle. My most recent thing is using leather from belt offcuts, and I'm starting to get into cutting wood from naturally fallen branches.

What is your favourite product and why?

I do love working on my necklaces made from pieces of vintage plates. Finding the plates in op shops or receiving broken ones from friends which I can give new life to. They already have such a history, I can only imagine what their stories are!! I love being able to add my own paintings to make them into something new people can enjoy and feel good wearing. Each one is so unique with different pictures and character.

Business name/your name/website

Candice Tout from A Story Of

www.astoryof.com