The Start Up Files is a series that aims to find out where good ideas come from and how they happen. Each fortnight we chronicle the journey of someone who brought their idea to life through the Renew Adelaide program. In this article, we chat to Lewin Day from Flaming Arrow, a creative collective specialising in videos, podcasts and performing arts.

Flaming Arrow is the combination of Lewin Day an engineer turned Youtuber, Ry Bowie-Woodham a fire breathing circus performer known as ‘Murderclown the Sane’ and Tegan Woodham who has worked in arts management for everything from festivals to theatre.

Lewin has always been involved in various creative pursuits from playing in a band to running a guitar pedal company, but when he started making video content people really took notice.

“I went out and started reviewing playground slides from the perspective of a 25-year-old man. Then after three or four months I put a big two parter episode. I put out part one and someone commented ‘I can’t wait to see the next episode’. Then I realised people are actually watching this. And so I kept going”

Using his engineering knowledge Lewin began making videos where he’d build gadgets such as electric scooters and a foam machine. For this he enlisted the help of his friends Ry and Teagan. The trio continued to collaborate on creative projects while also working on their own things. Lewin’s videos were helping him gain journalism work and Ry was busy running circus workshops. Eventually they reached the point where they realised they would benefit from having their own space.

“We wanted somewhere where we could work a little bit more seriously. I was having trouble recording late at night because it annoys your housemates and it annoys your neighbours. Meanwhile Ry was having to pay lots of different spaces to operate out of.”

When an office in Frome Street’s Lincoln House became available through the Renew Adelaide program, they knew they had to apply. Knowing their application would be stronger if they were a collective brand, Flaming Arrow was formed. Their application was successful and they got to work making the space their own. They fitted out the space with furniture they built themselves including a stage for video production and a desk for recording podcasts.

“It was big, it was empty, it was plain and it had space. When you want to film 15 different things that’s what you want. The other thing is the 24-hour access and the neighbour situation. We’re in a commercial district and the other tenants aren’t around after hours so we can do Fringe rehearsals, we can make noise and it doesn’t matter. Having the ability to come here and do creative things without having to worry about that, it lets you just focus on the job.”

Since they’ve moved into the space Flaming Arrow have been doing a lot. From shooting a music video to starting a podcast, having a space with less limitations has meant they can create more. Currently they’re rehearsing for their Fringe show ‘The Perfectly Normal Family Circus’ which will be happening at Ancient World from the 27th of February.

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The Start Up Files is a series that aims to find out where good ideas come from and how they happen. Each fortnight we chronicle the journey of someone who brought their idea to life through the Renew Adelaide program. In this article, we chat to Rebecca Coombs from eyewear atelier Coombs + Co.

In the heart of Rundle Street, nestled amongst various fashion boutiques is where you’ll find eyewear atelier Coombs + Co. An intriguing space that functions as a gallery and working studio, if you peer through the front window there’s a good chance you’ll catch Peter Coombs crafting his latest piece.

Peter created his first pair of glasses in 1985 while he was studying a Bachelor of Design. As a jewellery and metalsmithing major, he considers eyewear as ‘jewellery for the face’, using materials such as sterling silver and titanium and occasionally utilising precious jewels.

Peter’s unique designs proved attractive to private collectors across the globe –including the one and only Elton John- as a result, most of his designs are limited or one-off pieces.

Around 5 years ago, Peter’s wife Rebecca came on board the Peter Coombs brand to assist with her marketing expertise. At the time, Peter was working out of his home studio, he purchased the house next door to his home specifically for the purpose. While the space worked well, it was isolated and Peter and Rebecca became curious about the concept of a more public facing space. After waiting for the perfect space to become available, they landed a rent-free retail space in the heart of the East End’s fashion district through the Renew Adelaide program.

When Peter and Rebecca first moved into 249 Rundle St, it was a blank canvas. Their challenge was to transform it into a high end space that reflected the Peter Coombs brand. They opted for a minimalist industrial aesthetic, as Peter’s designs are heavily inspired by architecture. Most of the fit out in the space was provided by their local designer friends such as Yuro Cucor who is behind the space’s unique lighting design and Paul Townsin who designed a lot of the décor found in the space.

More than just a store, the concept of Coombs and Co was to have a gallery showcasing the designs of Peter Coombs as well as other local artists such as Cucor and Townsin. The space also serves as a functional studio, providing customers the opportunity to watch Peter as he worked and chat to him about his process. Interestingly, Rebecca notes that Coombs + Co largest customer base has been tourists as the unique atelier experience makes it an attractive destination.

As such Peter Coomb’s latest collection is titled ‘Coombs + Co’ named for being the first collection created entirely in the Rundle Street space.

 

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Back at the bench – 2020 is the year of #luxuryeyewear. •• #masterjeweller #luxurylifestyle #atelier #eyewearatelier #rundlestreet #rundlestreeteast #maker #customeyewear #eyewearatelier

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The Start Up Files is a series that aims to find out where good ideas come from and how they happen. Each fortnight we chronicle the journey of someone who brought their idea to life through the Renew Adelaide program. In this article, we chat to Benito Carbone and Lucas Binns from youth media outlet postup.

Lucas and Benito were in the car when they first came up with the idea for postup. Carpooling home from their jobs in sports journalism, they got into a conversation about sports media and how it seemed to be exclusively tailored to older men despite there being a large audience of young sports fans.

They came up with an idea for a youth focused media platform, which covered sports and culture from a perspective they felt was lacking in the current landscape.

“It’s a multimedia platform for Australia’s next generation. A place where we can put content of all varieties including videos, podcasts and articles. It’s targeted at the youth demographic while also giving the youth a voice at the same time because we feel like a lot of the media landscape in Australia doesn’t really do that.”

“And if it does it tends to go through a filter,”

After developing the idea for several months, Lucas and Benito realised having their own office space would give them the push they needed to make postup a reality.

“I think that’s a problem when you’re doing something as youth is legitimising it because people don’t take you seriously. When you have a space like this it just helps make the business a lot realer.”

After landing a Renew Adelaide space in the Epworth Building, they were then faced with the big task of building both a website and fitting out an office at the same time. Luckily they had their new team member Michaela McGrath to help get everything up and running as well as point out they were spending a little too much time focusing on where to put the couch when they still had a website to build.

Since their launch, postup have been building at a steady pace and their team has increased to 6 people.  As well as posting articles they’ve launched a number of podcasts covering topics such as sports, movies and current affairs, with plans for more in the future. They also have plans for launching video content in the new year.

“We’re super lucky right now, we’ve got a lot of people who really care about what they’re doing. Our illustrator loves illustrating, I love making podcasts, that’s my thing and Benito loves writing. So we’re in a pretty unique spot where nobody’s doing something they don’t really want to do.”

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The Start Up Files is a series that aims to find out where good ideas come from and how they happen. Each fortnight we chronicle the journey of someone who brought their idea to life through the Renew Adelaide program. In this article, we chat to Robbie & Andy about Nice & Sunny’s, a collaboration between Nice Pickles & Sunny’s Pizza.

“He’s dough boy, I’m pickle boy”

Robbie Mather of Nice Pickles introduces himself and Andy Nowell of Sunny’s Pizza. The pair share a commercial kitchen space located in the basement of Lion Arts Factory, a venture they call ‘Nice & Sunny’s’.

For Robbie, the kitchen is a place for him to develop ideas and work on new products for Nice Pickles. Coming from a background of graphic design and video game design, Andy started Nice Pickles because he wanted to build something of his own.

“I wanted to have complete control over a product of my own and watch it scale up. I wanted to get away from computers and fluoro lights and office space and everything that comes with that.”

In contrast, Andy has been in hospitality since he was 16. For him, Nice & Sunny’s is a place to grow the catering arm of Sunny’s Pizza. While the kitchen space serves as a prep area, its location in Lion Arts Factory has proved to be a valuable source of event catering opportunities.

Robbie and Andy met for the first time at the Renew Adelaide inspection. At the time, Robbie happened to be working in an office in the same building. He’d been researching commercial kitchen spaces so when he discovered there was one downstairs being offered rent-free he decided to investigate. Andy had been following Renew Adelaide for a while, when the kitchen space became available he saw it as his chance to get involved with the program.

“There are people with big ideas but not necessarily big budgets that can’t make those ideas come to fruition because it’s just not possible. I love the model of Renew Adelaide making the city more vibrant by activating disused spaces so I’ve always wanted to be involved in a project because I think it’s such a great great thing.”

After hitting it off straight away, they decided to team up and put in a joint application. It’s now been 6 months since the launch of Nice & Sunny’s and in that time they’ve achieved a lot. However for Robbie and Andy, the real value has been the experiences they’ve gained and the people they’ve met along the way.

For anyone starting a business, Andy advises “Don’t quantify your success based on economical return, there’s a lot of other things you can get from it that aren’t just money based. Enjoy the interactions you have with people and the experiences you get.”

Robbie adds, “On a more selfish level, don’t waste your life doing something you don’t want to do. If you want something just do it and find a way to make it work.”

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The Start Up Files is a series that aims to find out where good ideas come from and how they happen. Each fortnight we chronicle the journey of someone who brought their idea to life through the Renew Adelaide program. In this article, we chat to Libby Parker about Expressions Media, a media organisation specialising in copywriting, publicity and education.

During a particularly busy day in her job as an English and Drama teacher, Libby Parker went on a walk to clear her head. While she was walking she spotted a nursing home.

“It was really beautiful. I thought that’d be a nice place to while away my days. And I thought if I was in there would I be happy with the choices I’ve made in life? The answer was no because I’d always wanted to become a journalist.”

The next day Libby handed in her resignation and applied to study a journalism degree. From there, she began freelancing in journalism while continuing to teach, later moving on to copywriting and publicity and running writing workshops with what came to be known as Expressions Media.

Libby had found the prospect of leasing a commercial property daunting until she started collaborating with a friend who had an office through the Renew Adelaide program.

“A friend of mine was running Yewth Mag from an old bank, and it was such a great space. I ran some workshops from there and I collaborated with them. I was teaching kids to be journalists and then we published the work in the magazine which was such a fantastic collaboration. I thought, this is great, I want to do more of these. So I started looking at Renew properties.”

Coincidentally, the space Expressions Media ended up in was also a former bank. Located on Hutt St, the space serves as a shared working space for Libby and a small community of like-minded people freelancing in media/publicity.

The space is a mix of large open space, perfect for running workshops and meetings, as well as small office spaces that are ideal for working individually. The bank vault is used as a recording studio for podcasts and band rehearsal room.

While everyone in the space works individually in similar fields, Libby says the environment is more supportive than competitive.

“We’re all working in different niches and we all work with different people. We refer constantly to eachother and we all get work through eachother so it’s actually an amazing network.”

“It’s also good because we’re all our own company, we all work independently, but we can meet in the lunch room and gossip about the day’s events. We’re not working together but we can still gather around the water cooler and problem solve and troubleshoot. And that’s the nice thing, we’re a nice community.”

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The Start Up Files is a series that aims to find out where good ideas come from and how they happen. Each fortnight we chronicle the journey of someone who brought their idea to life through the Renew Adelaide program. In this article, we chat to Kathy White about Retro Room, a vintage furniture specialising in mid-century modern design.

For Kathy White, the joy of vintage furniture is the story behind each piece.

“What I love is not only buying a piece and restoring it to its former beauty but also learning about who made it, what it went with, who is the designer, what it’s made of.”

Kathy has always had a passion for design, particularly from the mid-century modern era. When she was in her twenties and working as a flight attendant she attempted to pursue her passion by applying to study interior design. To this day, Kathy can still recall the red skivvy and vest combination the university interviewer was wearing as he shared his unfortunate opinions on flight attendants and their ability to study interior design. She was not offered a place on the course.

While Kathy ended up becoming a psychologist, she never lost her interest in design and she continued to collect and restore vintage furniture in her spare time. She started giving pieces to her family members and did so more and more until she had a realisation.

“One day I gave something to my niece’s cousin and I thought why am I not doing this as a business?”

Retro Room started as a market stall and later as a space in a coffee shop and then moved to selling online through social media. When her following reached over 2000 people, Kathy kept getting asked when she was going to open a store.

She was strongly considering it, but opening a physical store felt like a big risk. It was then she discovered the Renew Adelaide program offering rent free spaces for new businesses.

“With Renew Adelaide I could test it out, that was the beauty of it. I don’t think I would have been game enough to rent a whole place to test it out.”

She kept her eye on Renew Adelaide’s available spaces, waiting for the perfect space to come up until one day a large retail space on East Tce became available. As she was overseas at the time she ended up having to send her daughter to the inspection so she could attend via FaceTime. It was exactly what Kathy was looking for, a large blank canvas with plenty of natural light where she could set up furniture displays that felt like you’d walked into a living room in the 70’s.

Kathy’s application was accepted and she started working on the launch of Retro Room the moment she stepped off the plane.

It’s been three months since the launch and the store has been a big success, so much so that this week Retro Room is graduating from the Renew Adelaide program and signing onto a commercial lease.

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The Start Up Files is a series that aims to find out where good ideas come from and how they happen. Each fortnight we chronicle the journey of someone who brought their idea to life through the Renew Adelaide program. In this article, we chat to Joel Byrne about Part Time Records, a local record label he co-runs with Emma Coyle.

While Joel Byrne has never run a record label before, he’s been in the Australian music industry for a while. As the frontman and guitarist for Wolf & Cub he toured throughout the 2000s, playing festivals such as Big Day Out, Falls Festival and the first ever Laneway Festival. It backstage at a festival where he met Emma Coyle for the first time.

The pair met again years later when they both ended up working together at Music SA. Combining their industry experience and mutual passion for the local music scene, Joel and Emma teamed up to start Sundial Productions, a management label for artists including local band Heaps Good Friends and Sydney producer Wade Keighran.

The push to start a record label came when their friend Chris Panousakis (Timberwolf) sent them some unreleased music he’d recorded with his partner Bree Tranter as Siberian Tiger. Joel and Emma had been considering starting a record label for a while and after hearing those demos they knew they’d found the first artist they wanted to sign.

Part Time Records started its operations in an office in Emma’s house. It was a comfortable setting but working out of a house meant it didn’t quite feel like a real business.

“We were working out of Emma’s house and from her perspective she needed a different space to work in. There’s a psychology that comes with physically going to another space where it legitimises what you are doing.”

Being a new business in an industry notorious for being difficult to make any money, Joel and Emma weren’t in a position where they could afford to lease an office space.

As luck would have it, an office that met all their requirements became available and it was being offered rent-free under the Renew Adelaide program. They put in a successful application and moved their operations to The Block in Hindmarsh Square.

“If we see a space we aesthetically aren’t vibing on, we know straight away it’s not where we want to be. It’s hard getting two people to agree on the same thing but when we saw that office space we were both on the same page. As soon as we walked in we felt really comfortable, it was a place we wanted to be in.”

While Joel and Emma were no longer working from home, they decorated the space so it feels like one. With second hand couches, Persian rugs, a road case for a coffee table and a record player spinning Joel’s prized vinyl collection, they have created a space they enjoy spending time in. While Part Time Records has the legitimacy of an office it still feels like a home.

“There’s something about being able to invite people to come in for meetings. There’s a vibe. It’s becoming a place we want people to be in. We’ve got the best of both worlds at the moment in that it’s centrally located but it’s also really comfortable. That’s essential to me. I don’t want to reluctantly go somewhere.”

Since moving into their office Joel and Emma have been busy. After a sold-out launch gig at the Crown and Anchor, Part Time Records are currently working on numerous projects including the upcoming release of Siberian Tiger’s debut EP.

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Presenting the Renew Adelaide FY18-19 Annual Review.

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The Start Up Files is a series that aims to find out where good ideas come from and how they happen. Each fortnight we chronicle the journey of someone who brought their idea to life through the Renew Adelaide program. In this article, we chat to Bruce Thomson aka Bluey Boronia about Perch, a mindful gift store.

“Is it personal for you?” Bruce Thomson asks as he helps a customer select a greeting card.

For Bruce, it’s important for things to have meaning.

“I think the opposite of a disposable lifestyle is when you buy things because it expresses a personal kind of thing about you.”

9 years ago Bruce lived in Melbourne, working in retail operations in museums and art galleries. Bruce found himself drawn to these places because he loved being surrounded by objects that had stories.

When he moved to Adelaide he decided to challenge himself by doing something completely different. He landed a job as a theatre orderly, transporting people to and from their operations and maintaining hospital supplies. While it was an interesting experience, he soon realised he missed working with people who were conscious.

“I just wanted to be able to do something and interact with the public. To me it’s the ultimate in user generated content in that I actually get to speak to people and find out what they want because that is what’s missing.”

Upon searching for his next adventure, Bruce discovered the Renew Adelaide program which offers rent-free spaces to new business ventures. He decided he wanted to open a space that didn’t exist in Adelaide. A place that would be a reflection of who he was but also somewhere where people could find things that were a reflection of who they were. After landing a retail space in Topham Mall, Bruce opened Perch under his creative persona Bluey Boronia.

“It was an interesting time to open because it was during the marriage equality vote. So, for me, it was a good reflection of me to have an element of visibility in the shop with the rainbow flag. While it’s not a huge part, I think it fits in with the wellness thing. You’ve got to be you, if you’re not being you then people can see that.”

The concept of Perch is about setting yourself free, signified by the image of an open bird cage that covers the entrance. Inside, you can find an assortment of unique items ranging from honest greeting cards, games that spark conversations and a range of small trinkets for self-expression.

Everything in Perch is curated by Bruce, he carefully considers every item to ensure it has a reason for being there. Every item has a purpose, from enamel pins that allow corporate workers to subtly express themselves to greeting cards that express what you really want to say.

While Perch has been applauded for being ‘provocative’ and ‘disrupting retail’, that was never Bruce’s intention.

“Everything is well curated because it’s a reflection of me. It wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want it to be here.”

Today, Perch can be found in its original home at Shop 11 in Topham Mall, currently Bruce is developing a Bluey Boronia online store which he plans to launch later this year.

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The Start Up Files is a series that aims to find out where good ideas come from and how they happen. Each fortnight we chronicle the journey of someone who brought their idea to life through the Renew Adelaide program. In this article, we chat to Amy Read from vintage clothing boutique The Lion the Witch Vintage.

Since she was thirteen, Amy Read has loved vintage shopping. Growing up in the south of England she would catch the train into town and go hunting for treasure in op shops and vintage stores. As she explains, the number one rule of vintage shopping is if you like something you have to get it because once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Years later when she was living in London, her collection of vintage clothing had grown to the point where she had more than she could wear. Not wanting to give up her passion of vintage shopping, she started a stall in London’s thriving vintage market scene.

“It gets to the point where you buy so much stuff because you enjoy doing it, but you can’t hold on to all of it. It’s good to be able to buy and know that it’s going to go to someone else. I don’t have to keep it but it’s too good to leave.”

When Amy moved to Adelaide she found the vintage market scene was different to what she was used to in London. It was a lot smaller which meant she couldn’t do it full time.

She had the idea to start her own store when she discovered the Renew Adelaide program. The perfect retail space was being offered rent-free, the only problem was- applications closed in two days. After a mad dash to the finish line, she managed to submit an application and found out she was successful just a few days later.

“As soon as I got inside here my mind went crazy with all the things I could do. I liked the idea that there could be two different feeling spaces.”

Amy designed The Lion the Witch Vintage’s space to make it comfortable for people who weren’t necessarily familiar with vintage fashion. Inspired by the room divider trend of the 70s, the store is set up in a way where shoppers can browse in privacy and avoid the daunting feeling of being the only person in the store.

When curating her stock, Amy focuses on current fashion and often sells items that are the original versions of today’s trends. Rather than ordering in bulk, she personally selects every item of clothing sold in the store. This means the customer is more likely to find something they like without having to go through the exhausting process of sifting through overstuffed racks.

“Everything you see in here is something that I like and that I think other people might like to actually purchase.”

Amy sources all her vintage clothing from Europe which means making several trips a year. A lot of her clothing comes from vintage wholesalers, purchasing from which is almost like an extreme sport that involves diving into cages filled with thousands of similar t shirts, competing against other buyers to get the good find.

“The whole thing I love about vintage shopping and op shopping is finding the gem”.

The Lion the Witch first opened the door of its Frome Street store in 2016 where it can still be found today.

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