Freelancer Unplugged

Hi!
Welcome to my blog and business portal! My name is Kaye and I shall be your guide on this lovely little journey. To your left you shall see design finds, and inspiration bits and bobs, including links to some of my favourite writers and designers, and on the right, you shall see some of my very own creations and foray into the design world. It is my sister blog to another site, where I generally keep a more personal collection of creative ramblings, venting, and adoration.

Well, a little about myself;

I was born and raised in regional Western Australia, moving to Melbourne in 2007 to chase dreams. I’ve since found myself to be one of the many Generation Y’ers who are multi-occupational(!). I combine my study in Interior Design with work for an architecture firm, as well as writing, modelling, and stints in acting. I also have experience hosting media and events, and presenting on dvd productions.

I recently established my own part time creative consulting business, offering interior design and styling advice to small scale post-construction developers and renovators. This baby of mine is a teeny-tiny newborn for me, so I am treading nice and slowly, although it keeps trying to grow up too fast! My intention is to branch into collaborative design work, working with photographers to style interiors & architecture or product shoots, or the design of temporary exhibition spaces for events or galleries.

My personal interests include blogging, home renovation, bargain hunting and way too much online ‘research’ …aka surfing! And to keep my sanity I love travel and exploring… my ultimate weekend away is hiking in country Victoria.
Wow, I hope that doesn’t sound too much like a personal ad! :)

And now… the purpose for my entry today... Freelancer Unplugged. I was introduced to Freelancer Unplugged by two freelancin’ friends of mine, Diesel Laws, a graphic designer, and the writer Flic Manning.
Freelancer Unplugged is a new collaborative online community where Freelancers from various professions (currently mostly creative, hopefully soon to expand to include business-orientated freelancers) can network.

The ‘blurb’ – “We host Freelancer Profiles and Group Forums, allowing freelancers to connect with clients, visitors and other professionals. We also encourage real world networking, hence the “Unplugged”. We run events where you will get to hear from freelancers just like you on how they go about creating an online presence as well as creating an identity for themselves”.

Last night I went to the first ‘real-world’ networking event, where we listened to a discussion panel talk about a range of topics, followed by question time, and some networking. Working in an international and corporate environment, not only is my exposure to the university based networking limited, but I am limited in my exposure to cross-discipline collaboration. Naturally I am exposed to facets of Architecture, Interior Design, Modelling etc as standalone fields, but rarely can I use/expand my skills base by working with other disciplines. I learnt some very interesting things that I didn’t think I would too, including how to raise your web presence, the business side of running a small business, and how to decide to charge or work for free. The people in the room tended to be writers, photographers, graphics based people (ie I was the only Interior Designer) but that was ok. The topics were broad enough to be applicable to my profession too. I will definitely go to the next event. Thanks guys!