Following a 15-year career with Billabong International as a designer, photographer, and creative director, I, along with Paul, took the plunge to carve our own way and created AW. Through AW I’ve been lucky to work with some amazing clients in the arts and culture, hospitality, fashion and government sectors, with a notable achievement my ongoing consultation with Bleach* Festival. I’ve worked with Bleach* since their inception, and it is now recognized as one of the largest cultural festivals in Australia Supporting the next generation of creatives is also really important to me, and as such I’ve nurtured a career in guest speaking and lecturing, speaking at Semi-Permanent, AgIdeas and The Design Conference, as well as presenting keynote lectures for the Australian Graphic Design Association, Design Institute of Australia, Adobe, and Apple. To me, life’s “one big art show”, with the beach as a constant backdrop. My love for surf and beach culture naturally infuses into my work and I aim to bring positivity to every project and insights from a different perspective.

Art-Work Agency (AW) was founded in 2011 by myself and Managing Director Paul Bow. AW stems from a belief in doing good work with good people and is a fusion of our collective skill sets – a perfect blend of ‘art’ and ‘work’. At the heart, we’re a multidisciplinary creative agency working within the fields of photography, design, art, and consultation. Our industry experience in these areas spans over 20 years, and also extends to production and management. We work across a multitude of industries including arts and culture, fashion, lifestyle, hospitality, and music. Cultural to corporate, our clients are based in both public and private sectors, ranging from SMEs to local councils. We work with people and companies who share our values. We put quality over everything else, believe that well-executed ideas = opportunity and that smiling regularly helps us live longer.

This project was a true collaboration between myself and our creative team, alongside our print house Fast Proof Press. Receiving an award for this piece is a testament for me to how important collaboration is in the creative industries and what is possible when we support each other and work as one.

Learning – we are constantly exposed to new industries and learning about our clients’ businesses. Community – around our area there is a great sense of community and support. It’s awesome seeing people coming together to create great work. Creativity – the fact that we get to create, draw, paint, design, photograph, whatever it may be, for a living. Hard work and perseverance got us here, but we still are very grateful to be able to create for a living.

Australia has its own style, we are literally a big island, so most people are quite laid back so to speak. We are hard workers with a cheeky smile, not afraid to stand out from the crowd. We are focused on nature and our surroundings, which tends to come out organically in our creative process.

Be present, take a leap out of the past, and connect with the future.

Balance.