What did I learn at Semi-Permanent?

Designers like lollies

I thought it was just my work, but turns out designers like lollies. Period. Our design studio has a tin that is usually always brimming with jelly lollies, redskins, clinkers, pineapple lumps and lollipops. As I walked through the bustling hipster crowd and tried to poke my nose through the stalls at the conference, I noticed they all had one thing in common: lollies. Each stall had their own version of the work lolly-tin. Plastic plates full of party favourites, plastic cups brimming with fruit-flavoured lollipops, one stall was even making fairy floss!
What is it with designers and their sweet teeth?

Jessica Hische is my new girl crush

Anyone who is obsessed with design enough to have the CMYK colours and the word type tattooed on themselves is indeed worthy of cyber-stalking.
Jessica made me want to move to New York with her dreamy stories of struggling and working the man, or the woman, in her case: Louise Fili.
She’s completely focussed on all the different ways in which the alphabet can be written. She’s even designed her own font called ‘buttermilk’, too sweet. She babbled away at an enthusiastic pace that was so endearing, some bright young things which even proposed marraige through the text question line. Check out her divine designs at: http://jessicahische.com

Frankie was meant to be called Laced

That is until the drug associations with the word Laced were pointed out to Louise and Lara, co-creators of Frankie. As to be expected, Frankie was one of my favourite talks, anything to do with that magazine and I’m smitten. It’s a sweet story, two girlfriends, hating on their lame teenmag job, propose a fresh new magazine for ladies with brains, taste and cravings for nostalgia. Frankie, you had me at 'hello'. To end with, Louise doshed out some great advice: ‘Everything’s been done before, but it hasn’t been done by you.’

Craig Schufton didn’t even finish high school!

This was the most intriguing piece of his talk for me, and he didn’t even delve into it. It totally smashed all my preconceptions of Schufton being a complete nerd in high school, then getting dux, moving onto scholarships and being fought over by the many unis of NSW. Instead, a rare insight, he revealed he spent most of high school drawing perspective, eons and eons of never-ending grids. This gives me much hope for my future – look how smart and successful he is and he didn’t even do the H.S.C. Amazing.

I think I have an arrogant, nonchalant film director inside of me, dying to get out.

David Michod was the speaker I connected with most. Who is he? See above. I loved how he went through his career development with us: ‘I finished my arts degree and fell into a job with the education system … a few years later I thought I have to choose a career before a career chooses me and I end up in the same thing I fell into 15 years ago. What am I interested in? Movies are alright.’ Guess I’ll go to film school.’ And that was it. Literally. It was so refreshing to hear someone diss the word ‘passion’. To see a successful person who wasn’t fulfilling a life-long vocation. He’s not the guy who’s been directing mini-films since he was 8, he’s just a guy who decided on the right path and worked really, really hard. Instead of passion driving him, fear of failure, embarrassment or inertia did. David said ‘I hate everything’ and I felt like I knew him all at once. I remember watching his short film ‘Crossbow’ a few years ago when an agent friend wanted my opinion on a hot up-and-coming director. I remember loving it then, and it still having the same affect years later when he showed it during his talk. All I can say is bring on June 3rd, ‘Animal Kingdom’ here I come.


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