A spotlight on my favourite female creative forces
In design school, the majority of students in my class were female. The best portfolio prize was awarded to a lady and being apart of such a badass cohort of creative women was just what I needed before entering the industry.
Fast forward, I feel blessed to be connected with so many female (and gender non-conforming folks!) designers and business owners. With my online community being made up of so many banging ladies, it’s easy to forget the reality of the industry. I hunted through a few articles- the consensus seems to be around 1/4 of creative departments are staffed by women while under 15% hold senior positions.
While I’m but one small voice, I’m making it a priority in the next few years to try and lift up and highlight the work of other women. I’m a huge advocate for community over competition and it’s one of the easiest ways to get the ball rolling is recognizing all the people that make you go URG WHY DIDN’T I DO THAT?! So, for this year’s International Women’s Day, let me share some of my favourite people in the design/ creative world-
Meg Lewis
Meg is one of those people I’m CONSTANTLY spruking- I adore her. She’s a designer who embraces EXACTLY who she is and puts it into everything she does- podcasts, an amazing course (that I have definitely bought and uh, not completed) and get uniquely her style of visuals and copy. I just love how she approaches pretty much anything and if there’s a recorded talk of hers, I’ll probably watch it.
See more from Meg here.
Danielle Krysa
I have distinct memories of cutting out from a magazine a piece on The Jealous Curator (Danielle’s art and design blog) – safe to say the love runs deep! Between her podcast and multiple books (most of which I own), I’ve always loved Danielle’s down to earth approach when it comes to celebrating art. In a world where it can feel like you need a certain level of arts education to understand anything, The Jealous Curator makes art accessible to the masses which I love. Danielle is a fabulous artist in her own right so be sure to follow her for collage-y snippets.
See Danielle’s work at here and follow The Jealous Curator to find more amazing artists.
Assisterhood
Assisterhood is a Brisbane-based mentorship program (though global domination is on the horizon obvs) for emerging female creatives in the marketing/advertising/ creative industries.
I was apart of the program in 2020 and couldn’t recommend it enough! I was at a point of feeling a little ‘stuck’ and without a clear list of priorities and getting access to the wonderful Tia of Gangplank was a lifesaver (even though I consistently think oh god I should done more!). I could ask ALL the questions of someone whose gone through it and I’m so thankful to be apart of a community of fantastic women (that’s only going to get BIGGER).
Learn more about the Assisterhood program here and feel free to message me if you’ve got questions!
Alex Lawton AKA Lazer Unicorn
I ADORE pretty much every project Alex lays her hands on- from celebrating Brisbane’s coffee culture (on The Monday with her partner Tyler) to building a community around the design, manufacturer and making of acrylic jewelry, she’s a super busy lady. My nerdy strategic mind has always loved her ‘all in’ attitude to projects- every podcast and event she does is flawlessly presented with so much love and care, I’m always watching to see what she does next. When I get through my uh, aforementioned backlog, of courses I’m SUPER interested to learn how to properly design and set-up laser-cut pieces with her Lazer design school.
Jenna Blazevich AKA Vichcraft
Jenna is my GO TO reference for someone who creates in multiple mediums (she’s a designer and letterer, working with textiles, paints, signage- just to name a few) yet still has a clear visual voice. I love her no-holds-barred approach and my heart will ALWAYS be hers for this chain-stitched number she created. Is she also the original inspiration point to my next goal in wanting to learn how the art of stained glass? Definitely.
See more of Jenna’s work here.
Beci Orpin
Since I started following Beci, I’ve been obsessed with how her ‘style’ is in everything she does- there’s such a sweet, graphic energy to her work and her craft-centric practice motivates me to keep ‘playing’ in design. Her background in textiles is documented through amazing craft projects in her books and I love looking at what she’s serving up for dinner just as much as what she’s creating.
Lurk Beci’s work here.
Kitiya Palaskas
The queen of craft-based design, I love following Kit not just for her work BUT how she approaches business. She’s all about the diverse and multiple income streams (a subscription model? Craft Kits? Vintage Store? YAS) and puts her heart and colourful vibe into everything she does. One of my great ambitions for 2021 is to make a piñata which I completely attribute to her genius ways.
See more of Kitiya’s practice here.
Hopefully you’ve found accounts to fawn over, I’d love to hear you’re favourites (shoot me a DM)