After completing my degree, I looked around at what avenues there were to sell my creations. Commission, wholesale and consignment all didn’t work in my favour, so I invented my own cube and space rental business model (now widely used throughout Australia) where 100% of every dollar went back into the artist's pocket.

Artists could rent a space in the form of a class cube, 2D partition, large wall area, shelf space or clothes rack at in.cube8r Gallery 321 Smith Street, Fitzroy and no commission was taken on their sales.

I opened in.cube8r in 2007 as a NEIS participant.

I had my own purpose built online software created in 2008 to itemise and account for the 5,000 handmade items in store.

I franchised it in 2010, sold 3 franchises in one year, ran a 3 day franchisee conference in Byron Bay in 2012 and sold it all in February 2016 - the Smith Street bricks and mortar gallery, the software, the franchised company and all rights to IP and website.

Over these 9 years I grew a strong and well-known Australian brand.

I mentored over 800 of Australia's most amazing crafters and handmakers.

All of this amounts to a solid knowledge of Art and handmade through daily market research in a retail environment as well as a solid understanding of START UP principles.

Many of my artists now earn a full time living from their craft; some have opened their own boutiques and all through having done their homework at in.cube8r. You can read about their journey on our testimonials page.

The reason I now mentor and coach is to give back and because 90% of my 9 year journey through in.cube8r was flying by the seat of my pants… mostly learning through mistakes and also learning from the many mistakes my artists made. I felt alone quite often and found it hard to find mentors who understood the sheer scope of what my role entailed so I’d like to hold space for others and help them break up the overwhelm into planned bite size chunks.

The other thing I witnessed was that artists often undersell themselves, don’t know where to start and take a long time to find their feet in trusting not only their product but the price they dare to charge.

Creatives often set unobtainable goals and I know how to break those down into much smaller steps so they are manageable and not quite so daunting.

I am currently employed by the NEIS program as mentor and trainer. I also run the Explore Being My Own Boss (EBMOB) program which I co-wrote.

I’m finding this incredibly rewarding and love the class discussions and intense stripping down to the core of what it really means to own and be fully present in your own small business.

Would you like someone to walk beside you?

Send me a message with your details, lets chat… see my resume for more detail, work experience & what others say.

My areas of knowledge are;

Branding, IP, copyright/TM/patents, start-ups, co-operatives, retail, social media, art and handmade, marketing, franchising, networking, finding your point of quirk (what makes you different), approaching galleries and retail outlets, trade fairs, markets stalls, vision boards and goal planning, contract writing, setting clear boundaries, hiring and managing staff, time management, inventory, creating a range, negotiating with landlords/leasing agents, trusting your gut instinct, market research, day to day running of a retail space, collaborations and writing agreements, shop fitting, advertising and targeting, wording and layout for artwork/flyers/ads, creating policies and procedures… and thinking outside the square… and just getting started (as in not just thinking about it…)!