marking a milestone

Brave New Eco's John St project. Photograph by Emma Byrnes

It has been two years since I took on the role of in-house creative branding for Brave New Eco - a Melbourne-based sustainable design company. My role includes in-house photography, web design, branding, social media liaison and general visual overseer. And it has been a wonderful ride. When the company director and senior designer, Megan Norgate, first approached me she had been flying solo for three years with her business in the start-up phase and was ready for an outside eye. Her website was in need of an overhaul and she was keen to find a cohesive way to articulate her brand. Alongside that, she wanted to raise her profile within the industry and distil her unique message towards the right demographic. Together we fleshed out her aims and objectives and we went so far as to give her company a personality. I was looking over the description of this personality today and I felt that we have really managed to imbue her company with these qualities and I am sure that anyone who has worked with Megan would agree:

"(My company) is highly articulate and a little bit clarivoyant (can see into the future). Striking looking on first glance with fabulous natural proportions and style. My company is immediately engaging with a broad, warm and disarming smile. Wearing beautifully and timelessly cut clothes in gorgeous woven fabrics, not showy, but when you get close you are likely to admire the stitching or want to rub the fabric in between your fingers...My favourite possession is the one I already had, that I forgot about but moved one day and realised how wonderful it was again. My company drinks tea, because it needs to sit at the kitchen table with many people and come to know who they are, and in the same way my company is a great host, it invites everyone into it's world, and makes them feel at home. You can take my company anywhere from grand homes to modest shacks and it will notice something wonderful about any place."

I encourage you to browse through Megan's website and see how she is able to resolve her renovation and design projects with a deep respect for the inhabitants' values. She has a philosophy that extends beyond mere makeover but applies a rigour and understanding that result in a responsive, functional and resilient outcome.

Megan has become a respected and much-admired expert in the field of sustainable interior design. Her brand has strength and momentum behind it and I look forward to seeing the next chapter of the Brave New Eco journey unfold over the coming years. We certainly have some exciting plans.

Em x

PS - If your brand is looking for an overhaul you may want to get in touch. See more about my services here.

beyond the cloth

Clara Vuletich at her beloved Bondi Beach. Photograph by Emma Byrnes

"I am equally passionate about fashion and textiles as I am about sustainability. My journey has essentially been to try and make sense of how these two concepts can coexist."
- Clara Vuletich, 2016

These are the words of my dear friend and collaborator, Clara Vuletich and lead us into a wonderful in-depth interview recently posted at Intent Journal for which I have supplied the photographic portrait. Clara's journey is one well worth hooking into - she has much depth to her investigation of the environmental damage and misery caused through fashion’s business activity and her conclusion is that the answer to our woes lies in creativity, innovation and collaboration. What a positive approach to a dire situation! You can listen to a recent TED talk that Clara gave to hear more about her ideas around these principles for sustainability and fashion.
Intent Journal is a fantastic new discovery for me. It features wonderful long-form interviews with people who dedicate their lives to exploring the purpose, impact, craftsmanship, longevity and lifecycle in the fashion and textiles industry. There are some wonderful profiles featuring people who value the story behind our clothing. Be sure to carve out a little time for this one - it is not one of those online spaces that caters to the 3 second concentration span. This project has some substance, as do the ideas explored within it!
Em x

exhibitionist

Works on paper with encaustic, oil pastels and oil paint. Photograph by Emma Byrnes

This past year I have started painting classes with a fantastic crew of visually biased folk. My attendance has been sporadic at best - in the fashion that goes with juggling three children, a freelance business, a household, a relationship and a fantastic 3 month family adventure to Vietnam. But in between somewhere I have carved out a little bit of time to paint. I have already written about how good these classes make me feel. Several months ago our teacher, Sarah Tomasetti, proposed that we all work towards a group show. She felt that it would be a worthwhile exercise to: "Go for it! Live dangerously! A little pressure can be a good thing and exhibiting is exciting."
Well I must say that I feel a little apprehensive about this first showing. I wouldn't say that exhibiting is the main drive behind my yearning to paint and I am not sure if I have given the exercise enough time and space. But as someone pointed out to me the other day it is the beginning of "a conversation" that I hope to have for many years to come. And as circumstances have it I don't have much time and space - my work reflects that. It is abstract, it is gestural and has an almost urgent quality to it.  One thing is for sure though. This painting business is getting under my skin - for me it is not really about the outcome but the process. My cohorts in the show have great talent. I blush a little hanging my work beside theirs. But at the same time it feels like I will be overcoming a great hurdle next week when the show opens. I have given myself permission to put brush to canvas and there is no stopping this urge now!
Details of the show listed below.

Em x

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Common Ground at Tacit Contemporary Gallery
Group Show
Galleries 1 & 2
9 - 27 November 2016
Opening Wednesday 9 November, 6.30-8pm

FEATURING: Emma Byrnes, Jason Fitts, Alexandra Irini, Bronni Krieger, Mary Martin, Nicola Reavley, Kim Roberts & Katherine Westfold

"The common ground shared by the artists in this exhibition is the mysterious drive to interpret the intangible through making an image, whatever the obstacles.  This drive is as old as humankind and emerges in unlikely places. 
These artists have come together in two groups to work on the task of finding and teasing out the thread that once woven becomes the fabric and meaning of ones own visual language.    
There are of course, influences and precedents, but each starting point is the artists own, paradoxically found whilst groping in the dark, bringing together the play of materials and gesture until the image finds its resonance with an interior state.
Dialogue with others in the group has been important; considered, critical and supportive, exposing the work to its first audience and taking on the challenge to risk and extend ones working vision.  Bearing witness to the ebb and flow of another’s creative process illuminates the darker recesses of ones own, and therein lies the subtle catalysing effect of the group.  
It has been my pleasure and privilege to work with each and every artist in Common Ground."

- Sarah Tomasetti, 2016

interiors + permaculture design thinking

Photograph by Emma Byrnes

An article featuring some of my photographs appeared in the latest issue of PIP magazine. It features the Merri Creek Passive Solar House project (that happens to be owned by my client Megan Norgate of Brave New Eco) and is an in-depth exploration of how she and her family have designed an urban oasis based on permaculture principles. The story is well worth a read, as is the entire issue. Filled to the brim with resourceful tips and inspiring insights on all things "permie".  You will find an edited version of the article accompanied by more of my photos on the Brave New Eco website. 

heavenly hmong

Photograph by Emma Byrnes

One of the aspects of travelling through Vietnam that I was most looking forward to was visiting the ethnic minority hill tribes. The local textiles traditions have fascinated me from afar - these people who live such incredibly colourful lives through their age-old handicrafts and traditional costumes.
Finally this week I was able to glimpse some of the magic at the Pa Co Sunday market (about 45 minutes from Mai Chau) and was able to watch the Red and Blue Hmong locals come together to trade in textiles, costumes and haberdashery. Endless supplies of extraordinarily coloured appliquéd panels, beads, tassels, fringing - being haggled over by women whose outfits are just out-of-this-world inspiring when it comes to everyday fashion.
There is a new blog post up over at our travel blog that has a few extra pics of the market and also includes information about our time spent in the region.

Em x

lantern lowdown

A lantern hanging in the old town of Hoian. Photograph by Emma Byrnes

Living in the historic town of Hoian for the past month I have definitely seen my fair share of lanterns. Hoian is the UNESCO world heritage former trading village on the coast of central Vietnam and I would have no doubt the town boasts the most lanterns per capita in the nation. Their many shapes and colours mean that at nighttime endless strings of candy-like lights hang above the streetscape, lending the town a wonderful ambience. On arrival in the town I was struck by their exotic presence but after a little while they became part of the everyday streetscape and I didn't think too much about them. But then Pete and I were inadvertently drawn into a lantern buying mission by a neighbour back in Australia and we have written about it on our blog - Lifestyle Traveller. 
Em x

lifestyle travellers

Our daughter Arkie taking in a street scene in Can Tho, Vietnam. Photograph by Emma Byrnes

My husband Pete and I have hatched a collaborative project called Lifestyle Traveller. For six weeks now we have been on the road in Vietnam with our three kids in-tow and the whole "working remotely" gig suits us both down to a tee. We love being free of the constraints of everyday life in Melbourne (read: alarm clocks, school, homework, laundry, dishes) and spending our days with our children, sniffing out wonderful adventures and meeting interesting folk along the way.
And the great thing for us is that our journey has only just begun!
Pete is a journalist who writes about food, travel and lifestyle and if you know me then you are aware that I am interested in visual storytelling on anything related to food, textiles, ethical business and family life. Lifestyle Traveller will bring together all of those interests as well as exploring some ideas around education and unschooling/worldschooling, which I'm particularly interested in (if you'd like to jump right in to that, read this post). Pete and I have been together for twenty years and have never joined our skills for anything vaguely work-related, so it is an exciting occasion for us. If you have a moment, please head on over and have a look around - I'd love to hear what you think. 
Em x