For way too much of my childhood, adults would scold and pester me..."Pay attention" go find your shoes' 'You are so forgetful!!' 'Off with the fairies again'.
If only they bothered to get into my world, and help me find ways to do the things I wanted to do, that seemed easy to them, but I didn't know how to do.
Now I've got a sentence I throw back at people like that...'Inspire me!"
Finding the work of Bill Mollison was like finding a liferaft. Bill's Permaculture framework was a way to use eco-system thinking to go with, not against my nature, and the nature of the people and creatures around me. I don't have a brain like a sieve after all. Bill helped me use observation to see things clearly. I have an over-eager mind janitor! I managed to learn Japanese, and have a whole lot more, using his design stragagies.
On a Tuesday afternoon in June, I'm holding a creative workshop, and I would love you to be there, and share these ideas that have taken the forcing and failing away for me.
Its on how to create a clear, user-friendly home and life, for creatives with better things to do than tidy up.
If you are someone who gets inspired by the simple elegance found in Japanese culture, Aikido, Apple design or Muji, you should be there.
If you get uninspired by the overwhelming list of things to do, objects to manage, and no time to do them, you should be there too.
Our special guest is Ben Crothers, former Lead Design Strategist of Atlassian. Ben will share stories of the basic values that make teams so innovative and productive at this 'Workplace of the Year', year after year.
I will be presenting favourite stories and case-studies from my projects, here and in Japan, but mostly sharing do-able, take-home design principles that will come to mind right when you need them, and help you make good decisions. These design principles are borrowed from Australia's Bill Mollison, the maverick biologist-philosopher, a visionary designer of almost-magical natural systems and eco-systems.
'The only effort should be in the maintaining of effortlessness'
The event is interactive, so you can meet new friends and collaborators. There are give-aways, prizes and a chance to enroll in my upcoming 2-day design intensive.
The event will be held at the Glamorous Musem of Contemporary Art, overlooking the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. Vivid Lights festival turns on at dusk, turing the harbor into creative wonderland. Tuesday afternoon its a good time to meet friends for a stimulating, joyful Vivid experiance, without the crowds.
Go home with a clear, do-able vision, and the desire to carry it though, with results that surprise and delight.
