00:00:03
Speaker 1: Kyoto Koto, Welcome to this very special episode of Shared Lunch where we are sitting down with the creator and founder of you May, Jesse Wong. We're going to talk a bit about the formation of you May, how the business has evolved over the last ten years, and then we're going to dive into a real special project close to Jesse's heart, which is a Wellington Biennial coming up this weekend.
00:00:23
Speaker 2: So let's get into it.
00:00:24
Speaker 3: Investing and involves a risk you might lose the money you start with. We recommend talking to a licensed financial advisor. We also recommend reading product disclosure documents before deciding to invest. Everything you're about to see and here is current at the time of recording.
00:00:38
Speaker 1: Thanks so much for joining us today, Jesse, Can you tell us a little bit about why you started you May, what problem you're solving, and the journey you've been on since.
00:00:47
Speaker 4: So I started you May ten years ago when I couldn't find a bag that would carry everything for everything I needed to carry in a day. So that was my laptop, lunch box, visual diary charger, and makeup bag, you know, the kitchen sink. And I think that that was a pretty common story at the time for students. I was a student in Dunedin. I had a canvas tote with all of my twals and bits and pieces for my design degree, and I really just wanted something that reflected my design aesthetic value and materials and just functioned really well and had that utility to it. So that's why I started making bags.
00:01:22
Speaker 1: And you know a lot of people have had ideas, but you went and executed it. What was around you to go, yep, I'm going to make this happen. And how did you go about that? And then how did it turn in from you know, creating a bag for yourself to you know, creating bags.
00:01:34
Speaker 2: For people right around the world to be using.
00:01:36
Speaker 4: Now, I'd always wanted to have my own business somehow, but I don't know if it was that I just loved making, and then I loved making for myself. I worked in a fashion boutique when I was a student, and I remember walking in one day with one of my bags and my boss Amy said what's that and where did you get it? And I said I made it and she's like, okay, well, when you make them for real, bring them to me. I want the exclusive. So that was sort of the first push into the commercial realm. But I suppose in New Zealand, especially in the fashion industry, if you want to be able to build a brand and craft things, you have to be able to do almost the full breadth of tasks within that yourself, everything from the construction of the bags, to procuring materials, to photo shoots, to sales to you know, opening stores, et cetera. You have to be able to kind of do it all yourself.
00:02:25
Speaker 1: I've known you for a long time now, but I remember I knew you before I met you, because I'd see you May Bags everywhere where? Does you May come from the name? And why did you choose that? And what does that mean to you?
00:02:36
Speaker 4: So it's my name, Jessica, you may want it's my middle name. Every girl on my dad's side of the family has something may ling, May May May or may you. May You means kind of like beautiful, jade, pretty, and then may means little sister, young girl, And so it just made sense for that to become the brand.
00:02:57
Speaker 1: Every product you create in every you know, leather goods that you have created, and now that incredible recyclable nylon you're using.
00:03:06
Speaker 2: It all has like real a lot of depth to it.
00:03:08
Speaker 1: Can you tell us a bit about your design process, like how you come up with your concepts, what they mean?
00:03:14
Speaker 2: Often named after somebody you know.
00:03:16
Speaker 4: So the genesis of each bag is the personality of someone close to me that had a need that wasn't being met. So we have the Brook bag, we have you know, the Claudiatote, we have the Brady bag, and these are all, you know, people close to me in my life that you know, sort of saw a bit of a caring problem. And usually if you're solving a problem and a design, there'll be other people who gravitate towards it on the other side of the coin. I was down in Dnedin and that area around central Otago is where New Zealand deer are farmed, and so I was introduced to the material, which actually is an incredible regenerative material from our land which will otherwise be land filled. And there were luxury houses using it the time, so it was lucky to be introduced in that context. It was perfect for these larger laptop turning bags because it was buttery soft like a lambskin, but strong like a cow hide. So it just sort of worked and that really became the center of you know, the core of the product, and that's what all of our key styles made out of, and then everything that followed, you know, just kind of had to have that common sense around regeneration, around provenance, around how we run a business. So that's sort of, you know, been the guiding ethos.
00:04:31
Speaker 1: Something that's maybe more behind the scenes with you may is just how much thought goes into how you're having a positive impact. And you know, we're a Bee Corp, which you know, we think quite a lot about our business being a force for good and I know you may are too, so tell us a bit more about what being a Bee Corp means to you.
00:04:49
Speaker 4: So within you May, we're Bee Corp. You know, it spent quite a long time on that certification to really kind of make sure that we were putting in place the best things we could in our production line. We're toytoo, carbon zero, we offset positivity. But we also have some programs in house that you know, allow the customer to actually engage with the product in a circular way, because if I think the onus is on the business really to make sure that you know, these things can be done. So we have a care and repair program and a Carried Again program where you can bring bags back to us and we will refurbish them in house and you know, sell them on because the end of your journey with the bag is not the end of the bag's journey. I mean I used to make every single bag myself, and it sort of would break my heart if they're just sitting in the back of a wardrobe or not being used. I think that these things are integral to how you do business, and I don't know that's just it should how it should be done, and business.
00:05:48
Speaker 2: Should be a force for good.
00:05:49
Speaker 1: A You've always really focused on luxury leather goods, but more recently, in the last year or two, you've gone into this recycled nylon.
00:05:57
Speaker 4: Can you tell us why that came about. So we do the workshops with Club you May, who are you know, our community. Anyone can sign up to that, right, anyone can sign up to that. And we do these workshops in our you May lounges where we give a very raw preview of new twals, the new season, new things that are coming. We see how people interact with them, and we get feedback in real time. And one workshop, you know, it was really hearing from everybody in the group that they were out of the house for ten twelve hours a day. They were taking their Brady bags to you know, the gym, the beach, the swimming pool, just places that you maybe leather was not the optimal material and so really that kind of stacked me, Well, there's another use case here, and so we need to create something that's in a more technical, engineered like hardwearing fabric that is a little bit less precious than maybe your leather goods, but sort of speaks the same language and does the same job. And so we worked for three years to have a direct partnership with Aquafil, which are a Milan based company who produce a connel which is a regenerated nylon. They are a global project. So the project here into funer Tata Wellington is Ghostabs, New Zealand. They go into Wellington Harbor, pull out all of the old plastic waste, Eastgooters, all of this rubbish that gets thrown in the ocean, and you know, the part that is the nylon six polymer gets sent back to Aquafil, broken down into that polymer, remade into new nylon and the impact is like ninety percent less than any any new nylon and it can be recycled infinitely, So it is a genuine story around that product. And I guess that's why, you know, we didn't just set off for any kind of fabric hit. It took a long time, but you know, it instantly became quite a large percentage of our revenue.
00:07:54
Speaker 1: So and you know, growing it from an idea in dunedinto now having stores across to you also in Australia often in a really strong online presence too, even being in New York too. So tell us about how how you've intentionally gone from I love designing and making the entrepreneurial spirit to now I'm a fully fledged businesswoman with you know, a team and I'm running this internationally. Like, how how have you scaled yourself and thought about, you know, learning more in the business world over.
00:08:27
Speaker 2: The last ten years.
00:08:29
Speaker 4: I think it's all happened kind of one step at a time, right, you know, you just sort of learn a new thing, you push the envelope a little bit further. I know that every time I'm feeling a little bit out of my comfort zone, that to interpret that as you know, that is you learning something new and kind of challenging yourself. If you're feeling too comfort it's probably not a good thing. I mean, we just you know, started making bags, and then we got to a point where it wasn't going to be possible to make everything totally ourselves anywhere. I mean, I still have the callouses from that, you know, those first design you know, I remember there was two years that I was just doing commercial leasing for retail stores and learning a lot about that, and then you know, going offshore, going into the Australian market. It takes a long time to feel like this is your place and people know you and you have a reputation and you know, you're not sort of like cold calling anymore. So everything just takes time. So just kind of learn by doing.
00:09:24
Speaker 1: Really Yeah, I really like how all of those things that seem really unscalable at the start really do compound, and that it does take time. You know.
00:09:33
Speaker 2: I think some people think Cheesies is you know, it's just all of a sudden happened.
00:09:37
Speaker 1: We've got a million users, but it's been like nine and a bit years, you know, and talking about gross you've made a really big call in the last year or so around how.
00:09:48
Speaker 2: You grow you May.
00:09:49
Speaker 1: So you have bootstrapped this yourself, you know, for the for about nine years of creating you May, and then you decided to take on some capital. Can you tell us a bit about what may you decide to bring on an investor, how that's going for you, and any lessons learned.
00:10:05
Speaker 4: Yes, totally.
00:10:06
Speaker 1: So.
00:10:06
Speaker 4: I mean, end of twenty twenty four, we brought on some capital into the business and that was really to help the growth in Australia. And it had always been my goal to grow over there. And you know, I think every time you kind of clock something, it's like, what's something challenge? And so I think I just, you know, once i'd had a little bit of time and market, realized that we're going to need more capital to actually make a go of it and grow over there in a sustainable way. And so the thing that actually took the most amount of time in that process was deciding what type of capital and who we wanted to bring on. And it had to be you know, investors who had a very long term vision for what the brand could be and you know, willing to back at the distance. I don't have any co founders, but I don't necessarily like just you know, I like having sounding boards and I like figuring things out with other people. So it's fun and we've got, you know, great shareholders, are very supportive, and it's been really excellent experience. But I think also spending that time on the alignment of what we both wanted is probably the valuable partn in that.
00:11:15
Speaker 1: It really is a like making sure you get those people that are on board, who are just so aligned with where you're going and really.
00:11:21
Speaker 2: Want to back you.
00:11:22
Speaker 1: So what I know about you is when you've got an idea, you're relentlessly focused on making it come to life, but at a standard that is like second to none. You think deeply through all the details of anything that you create, the experience from another person's point of view. You've got an incredible design mind along with your business mind, and you're very civically driven, like if that is a word, But you think deeply about Fuitar Wellington.
00:11:52
Speaker 2: You're born and raised here. You have quite a deep affinity.
00:11:55
Speaker 1: He came back here after university and continue to grow, you may hear along with the family. Why do you care so much about Wellington? I guess, And what do you want to what do you want to see Wellington be.
00:12:08
Speaker 4: You know, I grew up here. I care a lot about Wellington. I love New Zealand. I love this city. We are not too big, not too small. We're sort of perfectly right sized to be the creative capital of our hero and I think that I have. You know, over the last ten years and especially building, you may observed so much incredible talent being born of Wellington. You know, Wellingtonians have gone on to do incredible things on the world stage, and we don't necessarily celebrated enough because we're a very modest breed here.
00:12:36
Speaker 1: You've thought so deeply about what Wellington needs and how important creativity is in Wellington, and it's always been the essence of what makes this city really special on a global stage, let alone here in our hero. How can we re own that creative technology capital.
00:12:54
Speaker 4: That we're have? So I think it goes back one step right, like how do you make Wellington a place that people want to live, raise their families, build businesses? You know, how do you make it just a fun, beautiful, exciting, vibrant place to be? And that probably is a combination of several things that allows you know, creativity to thrive. So there's probably you know, those links for students who are coming out of their degrees. I remember, you know, when I finished my degree, there was you know, not heaps of resource and no super clear ways to get into the industry. It was all like a little bit figure it out and so being able to you know, put some of those frameworks in place, more investment and capital infrastructure around creative industries. But I think in order for that to come, we have to have an event or a cultural anchor or something that really exemplifies the design and the excellence and not excellence in the sense of being best excellence in the sense of you know, we are a very collegial city. We don't you know, often speak about how we know punch on the world stage, but we really do. People like Sabine Marcellas studied here. We have people like our friend sib Hunt from Entire Studios building an incredible brand over in la which has absolutely gone global. You know, lots of people don't know that these people are from Wellington, and I think we need to really show the kind of value that that creativity can have in the economy and the ecosystem that we live in and build that infrastructure for the next generations to come up and for it to thrive here. Yeah.
00:14:36
Speaker 1: I remember when I was deciding what university to go to and I came here to Wellington. I remember on Marion Street Creative HQs to be there and it literally was creators and makers. There were sewing machines in there and it was quite funny full circle. When we started Cheesy's were in Creative HQ as a teach company and it pivoted obviously quite a bit. But you talked about the an event that's coming up. Tell us a little bit about common materials and what's co Of.
00:15:00
Speaker 4: Course, we had an ambition to build, you know, a flagship event for Wellington which is attended and anticipated and something that is not only you know, just for the public and for the city, but also for the industry to get around and work together on and actually build some of those relationships. And so the long term vision is to do something that will you know, really position Wellington as the creative capital of the Pacific and have other cities coming in and a Wellington Biennial which will exhibit a breadth of designers and pavilions and disciplines so architecture, furniture, fashion, jewelry, ceramics, you know, anything, anything that is crafted and designed, I think is a really important thing to showcase. But in order to get there, you kind of have to start somewhere, and so this year what we're doing is a pilot event called Common Material, the nucleus of which was very much in the fashion industry because you know, that's what I know and design and got involved and so we are going to be at the City Gallery for three days starting this Friday. Charlotte Davy, who's the new director there, definitely kind of she's got on board with the vision and got the gallery ready ish for this event, will be taking over the ground for it will be the first time that the City Gallery is open to the public again after years of renovation. It's looking beautiful. A lot of the old architecture, original architecture has been uncovered and we will we essentially have a an exhibition or a showcase which is being installed at the moment, which is a very It's not like a traditional fashion week where you're looking at the new season. It's a deep dive into the material vernacular of design. What makes Wellington design Wellington. You know the history of some of these brands, so j Palm, Koto, twenty seven Names in you May are all involved, and then we've all bought in plus one to plus three's of other collaborators. So for you May it's droughout Dombrovski and we've done a chair collaboration and a button collaboration with him. And for other brands like twenty seven Names, they've got Chloe Hill coming in to help start their collection. And the wonderful thing is, you know, it's the twenty year anniversary this year they have a full I don't want to give too much away, but a full sort of look back through their archives into all of their campaigns and it's all Wellingtonians who have you know, put those together over the years. There's an open to public exhibition which kind of traverses all of those so anyone can come to the city now one can, actually everybody should come. We would love you to all We there.
00:17:38
Speaker 2: Free being the family, come and check it out totally.
00:17:41
Speaker 4: And then we have a few runway shows. So that is the more I guess. You know, fashion is a very dynamic thing, so it does need to be shown in a live setting, so we have a couple of those and then we've got an amazing talks program on the Sunday, so a lot of creators just having chats. We're doing a talk with Shares's which we're very excited about, on the value of artistry, and it's going to be a great weekend.
00:18:03
Speaker 2: What would you hope it would spark for people that attend.
00:18:05
Speaker 4: I hope that it's a moment of inspiration and a catalyst for the city to kind of get involved. And you know, it's no secret that Wellington's been through a bit of a rough time. We've had a lot of construction happening, but you know that is starting to wrap up. Our civic buildings are opening. We have the library, we have the City Gallery, town Hall, you know, rotunda. These things are opening back up and I just hope that it inspires the community to you know, start getting involved in their own initiatives and bringing some of that you know flavor back to Wellington, which I'm excited about.
00:18:36
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:18:36
Speaker 1: Well, you know, we're really thankful, We really stoked to be a partner and you know sponsor of this. Also really thankful for you to be putting so much effort. We're going to be chatting again on well obviously probably before Sunday, but at least on Sunday at ten am we're going to have the Value of Artistry panel, which tickets is still available. If anyone would like to come along, please do, and we're going to be talking to you the two Crises who are artists here in Tang and Tata, and also Peggy who has got her own gallery so galerist, and we'll talk quite a lot about the what is the value of artistry? What is art these days? Where does AI play in terms of people's creativity and the creative process, and what does it mean to be based here and growing creatively and having an impact around the world and also locally, and how do we.
00:19:27
Speaker 4: Lay the infrastructure for that as well? You know, like I think that's something that I have been pondering a lot, So I'm excited to talk about that nice.
00:19:35
Speaker 2: I can't wait.
00:19:35
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Jesse, and thanks so much for tuning in if you're interested in coming along here in Wellington this weekend from the fifth or seventh of June is the Wellington Viennial we talked about on Sunday at around ten am. There is a Value of Artistry, which are still tickets for it's a really cool panel discussion, so if you'd like to get a ticket, go to Common Material, dot code or n Z. But until then you have a lovely week ahead.
00:19:59
Speaker 4: You got it, Hey,
Speaker 1: Kyoto Koto, Welcome to this very special episode of Shared Lunch where we are sitting down with the creator and founder of you May, Jesse Wong. We're going to talk a bit about the formation of you May, how the business has evolved over the last ten years, and then we're going to dive into a real special project close to Jesse's heart, which is a Wellington Biennial coming up this weekend.
00:00:23
Speaker 2: So let's get into it.
00:00:24
Speaker 3: Investing and involves a risk you might lose the money you start with. We recommend talking to a licensed financial advisor. We also recommend reading product disclosure documents before deciding to invest. Everything you're about to see and here is current at the time of recording.
00:00:38
Speaker 1: Thanks so much for joining us today, Jesse, Can you tell us a little bit about why you started you May, what problem you're solving, and the journey you've been on since.
00:00:47
Speaker 4: So I started you May ten years ago when I couldn't find a bag that would carry everything for everything I needed to carry in a day. So that was my laptop, lunch box, visual diary charger, and makeup bag, you know, the kitchen sink. And I think that that was a pretty common story at the time for students. I was a student in Dunedin. I had a canvas tote with all of my twals and bits and pieces for my design degree, and I really just wanted something that reflected my design aesthetic value and materials and just functioned really well and had that utility to it. So that's why I started making bags.
00:01:22
Speaker 1: And you know a lot of people have had ideas, but you went and executed it. What was around you to go, yep, I'm going to make this happen. And how did you go about that? And then how did it turn in from you know, creating a bag for yourself to you know, creating bags.
00:01:34
Speaker 2: For people right around the world to be using.
00:01:36
Speaker 4: Now, I'd always wanted to have my own business somehow, but I don't know if it was that I just loved making, and then I loved making for myself. I worked in a fashion boutique when I was a student, and I remember walking in one day with one of my bags and my boss Amy said what's that and where did you get it? And I said I made it and she's like, okay, well, when you make them for real, bring them to me. I want the exclusive. So that was sort of the first push into the commercial realm. But I suppose in New Zealand, especially in the fashion industry, if you want to be able to build a brand and craft things, you have to be able to do almost the full breadth of tasks within that yourself, everything from the construction of the bags, to procuring materials, to photo shoots, to sales to you know, opening stores, et cetera. You have to be able to kind of do it all yourself.
00:02:25
Speaker 1: I've known you for a long time now, but I remember I knew you before I met you, because I'd see you May Bags everywhere where? Does you May come from the name? And why did you choose that? And what does that mean to you?
00:02:36
Speaker 4: So it's my name, Jessica, you may want it's my middle name. Every girl on my dad's side of the family has something may ling, May May May or may you. May You means kind of like beautiful, jade, pretty, and then may means little sister, young girl, And so it just made sense for that to become the brand.
00:02:57
Speaker 1: Every product you create in every you know, leather goods that you have created, and now that incredible recyclable nylon you're using.
00:03:06
Speaker 2: It all has like real a lot of depth to it.
00:03:08
Speaker 1: Can you tell us a bit about your design process, like how you come up with your concepts, what they mean?
00:03:14
Speaker 2: Often named after somebody you know.
00:03:16
Speaker 4: So the genesis of each bag is the personality of someone close to me that had a need that wasn't being met. So we have the Brook bag, we have you know, the Claudiatote, we have the Brady bag, and these are all, you know, people close to me in my life that you know, sort of saw a bit of a caring problem. And usually if you're solving a problem and a design, there'll be other people who gravitate towards it on the other side of the coin. I was down in Dnedin and that area around central Otago is where New Zealand deer are farmed, and so I was introduced to the material, which actually is an incredible regenerative material from our land which will otherwise be land filled. And there were luxury houses using it the time, so it was lucky to be introduced in that context. It was perfect for these larger laptop turning bags because it was buttery soft like a lambskin, but strong like a cow hide. So it just sort of worked and that really became the center of you know, the core of the product, and that's what all of our key styles made out of, and then everything that followed, you know, just kind of had to have that common sense around regeneration, around provenance, around how we run a business. So that's sort of, you know, been the guiding ethos.
00:04:31
Speaker 1: Something that's maybe more behind the scenes with you may is just how much thought goes into how you're having a positive impact. And you know, we're a Bee Corp, which you know, we think quite a lot about our business being a force for good and I know you may are too, so tell us a bit more about what being a Bee Corp means to you.
00:04:49
Speaker 4: So within you May, we're Bee Corp. You know, it spent quite a long time on that certification to really kind of make sure that we were putting in place the best things we could in our production line. We're toytoo, carbon zero, we offset positivity. But we also have some programs in house that you know, allow the customer to actually engage with the product in a circular way, because if I think the onus is on the business really to make sure that you know, these things can be done. So we have a care and repair program and a Carried Again program where you can bring bags back to us and we will refurbish them in house and you know, sell them on because the end of your journey with the bag is not the end of the bag's journey. I mean I used to make every single bag myself, and it sort of would break my heart if they're just sitting in the back of a wardrobe or not being used. I think that these things are integral to how you do business, and I don't know that's just it should how it should be done, and business.
00:05:48
Speaker 2: Should be a force for good.
00:05:49
Speaker 1: A You've always really focused on luxury leather goods, but more recently, in the last year or two, you've gone into this recycled nylon.
00:05:57
Speaker 4: Can you tell us why that came about. So we do the workshops with Club you May, who are you know, our community. Anyone can sign up to that, right, anyone can sign up to that. And we do these workshops in our you May lounges where we give a very raw preview of new twals, the new season, new things that are coming. We see how people interact with them, and we get feedback in real time. And one workshop, you know, it was really hearing from everybody in the group that they were out of the house for ten twelve hours a day. They were taking their Brady bags to you know, the gym, the beach, the swimming pool, just places that you maybe leather was not the optimal material and so really that kind of stacked me, Well, there's another use case here, and so we need to create something that's in a more technical, engineered like hardwearing fabric that is a little bit less precious than maybe your leather goods, but sort of speaks the same language and does the same job. And so we worked for three years to have a direct partnership with Aquafil, which are a Milan based company who produce a connel which is a regenerated nylon. They are a global project. So the project here into funer Tata Wellington is Ghostabs, New Zealand. They go into Wellington Harbor, pull out all of the old plastic waste, Eastgooters, all of this rubbish that gets thrown in the ocean, and you know, the part that is the nylon six polymer gets sent back to Aquafil, broken down into that polymer, remade into new nylon and the impact is like ninety percent less than any any new nylon and it can be recycled infinitely, So it is a genuine story around that product. And I guess that's why, you know, we didn't just set off for any kind of fabric hit. It took a long time, but you know, it instantly became quite a large percentage of our revenue.
00:07:54
Speaker 1: So and you know, growing it from an idea in dunedinto now having stores across to you also in Australia often in a really strong online presence too, even being in New York too. So tell us about how how you've intentionally gone from I love designing and making the entrepreneurial spirit to now I'm a fully fledged businesswoman with you know, a team and I'm running this internationally. Like, how how have you scaled yourself and thought about, you know, learning more in the business world over.
00:08:27
Speaker 2: The last ten years.
00:08:29
Speaker 4: I think it's all happened kind of one step at a time, right, you know, you just sort of learn a new thing, you push the envelope a little bit further. I know that every time I'm feeling a little bit out of my comfort zone, that to interpret that as you know, that is you learning something new and kind of challenging yourself. If you're feeling too comfort it's probably not a good thing. I mean, we just you know, started making bags, and then we got to a point where it wasn't going to be possible to make everything totally ourselves anywhere. I mean, I still have the callouses from that, you know, those first design you know, I remember there was two years that I was just doing commercial leasing for retail stores and learning a lot about that, and then you know, going offshore, going into the Australian market. It takes a long time to feel like this is your place and people know you and you have a reputation and you know, you're not sort of like cold calling anymore. So everything just takes time. So just kind of learn by doing.
00:09:24
Speaker 1: Really Yeah, I really like how all of those things that seem really unscalable at the start really do compound, and that it does take time. You know.
00:09:33
Speaker 2: I think some people think Cheesies is you know, it's just all of a sudden happened.
00:09:37
Speaker 1: We've got a million users, but it's been like nine and a bit years, you know, and talking about gross you've made a really big call in the last year or so around how.
00:09:48
Speaker 2: You grow you May.
00:09:49
Speaker 1: So you have bootstrapped this yourself, you know, for the for about nine years of creating you May, and then you decided to take on some capital. Can you tell us a bit about what may you decide to bring on an investor, how that's going for you, and any lessons learned.
00:10:05
Speaker 4: Yes, totally.
00:10:06
Speaker 1: So.
00:10:06
Speaker 4: I mean, end of twenty twenty four, we brought on some capital into the business and that was really to help the growth in Australia. And it had always been my goal to grow over there. And you know, I think every time you kind of clock something, it's like, what's something challenge? And so I think I just, you know, once i'd had a little bit of time and market, realized that we're going to need more capital to actually make a go of it and grow over there in a sustainable way. And so the thing that actually took the most amount of time in that process was deciding what type of capital and who we wanted to bring on. And it had to be you know, investors who had a very long term vision for what the brand could be and you know, willing to back at the distance. I don't have any co founders, but I don't necessarily like just you know, I like having sounding boards and I like figuring things out with other people. So it's fun and we've got, you know, great shareholders, are very supportive, and it's been really excellent experience. But I think also spending that time on the alignment of what we both wanted is probably the valuable partn in that.
00:11:15
Speaker 1: It really is a like making sure you get those people that are on board, who are just so aligned with where you're going and really.
00:11:21
Speaker 2: Want to back you.
00:11:22
Speaker 1: So what I know about you is when you've got an idea, you're relentlessly focused on making it come to life, but at a standard that is like second to none. You think deeply through all the details of anything that you create, the experience from another person's point of view. You've got an incredible design mind along with your business mind, and you're very civically driven, like if that is a word, But you think deeply about Fuitar Wellington.
00:11:52
Speaker 2: You're born and raised here. You have quite a deep affinity.
00:11:55
Speaker 1: He came back here after university and continue to grow, you may hear along with the family. Why do you care so much about Wellington? I guess, And what do you want to what do you want to see Wellington be.
00:12:08
Speaker 4: You know, I grew up here. I care a lot about Wellington. I love New Zealand. I love this city. We are not too big, not too small. We're sort of perfectly right sized to be the creative capital of our hero and I think that I have. You know, over the last ten years and especially building, you may observed so much incredible talent being born of Wellington. You know, Wellingtonians have gone on to do incredible things on the world stage, and we don't necessarily celebrated enough because we're a very modest breed here.
00:12:36
Speaker 1: You've thought so deeply about what Wellington needs and how important creativity is in Wellington, and it's always been the essence of what makes this city really special on a global stage, let alone here in our hero. How can we re own that creative technology capital.
00:12:54
Speaker 4: That we're have? So I think it goes back one step right, like how do you make Wellington a place that people want to live, raise their families, build businesses? You know, how do you make it just a fun, beautiful, exciting, vibrant place to be? And that probably is a combination of several things that allows you know, creativity to thrive. So there's probably you know, those links for students who are coming out of their degrees. I remember, you know, when I finished my degree, there was you know, not heaps of resource and no super clear ways to get into the industry. It was all like a little bit figure it out and so being able to you know, put some of those frameworks in place, more investment and capital infrastructure around creative industries. But I think in order for that to come, we have to have an event or a cultural anchor or something that really exemplifies the design and the excellence and not excellence in the sense of being best excellence in the sense of you know, we are a very collegial city. We don't you know, often speak about how we know punch on the world stage, but we really do. People like Sabine Marcellas studied here. We have people like our friend sib Hunt from Entire Studios building an incredible brand over in la which has absolutely gone global. You know, lots of people don't know that these people are from Wellington, and I think we need to really show the kind of value that that creativity can have in the economy and the ecosystem that we live in and build that infrastructure for the next generations to come up and for it to thrive here. Yeah.
00:14:36
Speaker 1: I remember when I was deciding what university to go to and I came here to Wellington. I remember on Marion Street Creative HQs to be there and it literally was creators and makers. There were sewing machines in there and it was quite funny full circle. When we started Cheesy's were in Creative HQ as a teach company and it pivoted obviously quite a bit. But you talked about the an event that's coming up. Tell us a little bit about common materials and what's co Of.
00:15:00
Speaker 4: Course, we had an ambition to build, you know, a flagship event for Wellington which is attended and anticipated and something that is not only you know, just for the public and for the city, but also for the industry to get around and work together on and actually build some of those relationships. And so the long term vision is to do something that will you know, really position Wellington as the creative capital of the Pacific and have other cities coming in and a Wellington Biennial which will exhibit a breadth of designers and pavilions and disciplines so architecture, furniture, fashion, jewelry, ceramics, you know, anything, anything that is crafted and designed, I think is a really important thing to showcase. But in order to get there, you kind of have to start somewhere, and so this year what we're doing is a pilot event called Common Material, the nucleus of which was very much in the fashion industry because you know, that's what I know and design and got involved and so we are going to be at the City Gallery for three days starting this Friday. Charlotte Davy, who's the new director there, definitely kind of she's got on board with the vision and got the gallery ready ish for this event, will be taking over the ground for it will be the first time that the City Gallery is open to the public again after years of renovation. It's looking beautiful. A lot of the old architecture, original architecture has been uncovered and we will we essentially have a an exhibition or a showcase which is being installed at the moment, which is a very It's not like a traditional fashion week where you're looking at the new season. It's a deep dive into the material vernacular of design. What makes Wellington design Wellington. You know the history of some of these brands, so j Palm, Koto, twenty seven Names in you May are all involved, and then we've all bought in plus one to plus three's of other collaborators. So for you May it's droughout Dombrovski and we've done a chair collaboration and a button collaboration with him. And for other brands like twenty seven Names, they've got Chloe Hill coming in to help start their collection. And the wonderful thing is, you know, it's the twenty year anniversary this year they have a full I don't want to give too much away, but a full sort of look back through their archives into all of their campaigns and it's all Wellingtonians who have you know, put those together over the years. There's an open to public exhibition which kind of traverses all of those so anyone can come to the city now one can, actually everybody should come. We would love you to all We there.
00:17:38
Speaker 2: Free being the family, come and check it out totally.
00:17:41
Speaker 4: And then we have a few runway shows. So that is the more I guess. You know, fashion is a very dynamic thing, so it does need to be shown in a live setting, so we have a couple of those and then we've got an amazing talks program on the Sunday, so a lot of creators just having chats. We're doing a talk with Shares's which we're very excited about, on the value of artistry, and it's going to be a great weekend.
00:18:03
Speaker 2: What would you hope it would spark for people that attend.
00:18:05
Speaker 4: I hope that it's a moment of inspiration and a catalyst for the city to kind of get involved. And you know, it's no secret that Wellington's been through a bit of a rough time. We've had a lot of construction happening, but you know that is starting to wrap up. Our civic buildings are opening. We have the library, we have the City Gallery, town Hall, you know, rotunda. These things are opening back up and I just hope that it inspires the community to you know, start getting involved in their own initiatives and bringing some of that you know flavor back to Wellington, which I'm excited about.
00:18:36
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:18:36
Speaker 1: Well, you know, we're really thankful, We really stoked to be a partner and you know sponsor of this. Also really thankful for you to be putting so much effort. We're going to be chatting again on well obviously probably before Sunday, but at least on Sunday at ten am we're going to have the Value of Artistry panel, which tickets is still available. If anyone would like to come along, please do, and we're going to be talking to you the two Crises who are artists here in Tang and Tata, and also Peggy who has got her own gallery so galerist, and we'll talk quite a lot about the what is the value of artistry? What is art these days? Where does AI play in terms of people's creativity and the creative process, and what does it mean to be based here and growing creatively and having an impact around the world and also locally, and how do we.
00:19:27
Speaker 4: Lay the infrastructure for that as well? You know, like I think that's something that I have been pondering a lot, So I'm excited to talk about that nice.
00:19:35
Speaker 2: I can't wait.
00:19:35
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Jesse, and thanks so much for tuning in if you're interested in coming along here in Wellington this weekend from the fifth or seventh of June is the Wellington Viennial we talked about on Sunday at around ten am. There is a Value of Artistry, which are still tickets for it's a really cool panel discussion, so if you'd like to get a ticket, go to Common Material, dot code or n Z. But until then you have a lovely week ahead.
00:19:59
Speaker 4: You got it, Hey,
