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We have lots of new gifts that have just arrived instore to share with you for Father's Day, and lots more arriving. Whick one is your favourite?

'Spring Cleaning My Business.'

What are the steps you need to take in order to make your business 'fit for sale'? I look at a couple of must do's in the early stages of your business exit strategy that you need to address if you are preparing to sell...

A few more excellent entries in our product review competition! Check out the product pages and see the entries up in lights. Don't be intimidated, enter today for your chance to win $200 worth of free products! It's easy.

Elk Accessories, Red Cluster Beads

Like a mini-galaxy of jostling planets caught in eternal orbit, this set of Elk Red Cluster Beads will make you feel out of this world.              Natalie.

Blik, Sweet 16

Create a spot of difference on your wall, with this set of Blik Sweet 16 Decals. Easy to apply and remove, you can create your own circle of colour. All for $79.95. Now that’s a good round number.           Natalie.

Elk Accessories, Ceramic Teapot Brooch

I was given an Elk necklace for my 30th birthday this year and every time I wear it I get comments.  This little teapot is also quite the conversation starter!  Being small and white it goes with any non-print top and looks great on a big black jacket or pinning together a scarf.  Elk products are great, I love buying Australian made and designed and they are not mass produced so it’s rare to see someone wearing the same piece as you.  So if you’re a tea freak then get yourself a cute little teapot, short and stout!       Hayley.

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I was drawing before I could speak.

As a kid I was constantly leaving drawing materials and scribbled sketches around the house... but then something happened. After completing my formal studies, it took me a while to get back into putting pen to paper because drawing purely for course marks diminishes ones passion and as we all know life has a knack of focusing our attention elsewhere. For me, I found my soulmate whom I married a few short years later, went back to my studies to become a graphic designer, was employed in design studios/magazine publishers/agencies/marketing departments of large companies, moved house, and entered the world of home ownership.

Sometime in the last decade, I'd lost my passion for the art of illustration. I'd come home tired from the daily grind and collapse onto the couch before slinking into bed. Drawing became something I did in long meetings to pass the time.

At the end of last year, my employment contract expired and after the initial looming unemployment panic, my husband and I agreed that I had an opportunity to develop a business of my own from our home studio as well as rediscover my love of illustration. It's been a long but rewarding seven months so far.

Having the freedom to work when I'm most inspired instead of forcing myself to be creative, developing techniques and most of all - illustrating for the pure joy of the process.

My day to day business is Brunky (http://www.brunky.net) through which I complete design projects for clients (and web with the help of my amazingly talented web designer husband, Simon). Aside from my client projects, I keep an illustration blog called Pear of Pants (http://www.pearofpants.com) where I post my personal pieces including everything from completed works to loose sketches and ideas. This is a great resource, not only for me, but for prospective clients and hopefully it'll be useful to generate some interest in my next projects!

Did someone say 'prints' and 'apparel'?

You'll just have to wait and see.

It's difficult for me to know where to start with my story about Mrs Karen Coxon. I still feel her presence in my every day. I could easily say that Karen has left a silent imprint on my life that I believe I will always carry, like a scar you're glad to have because it reminds you of a lesson learnt.

Sometimes when asked the standard question of "How are you?" it takes my breath away. I shoot a look into the eyes of the person and gauge if they are really asking how I am, or if it's the expected greeting version. The door of the vault of my sadness and frustration is rarely opened and shared, let alone understood or supported. As the mother of a child with behavioural disorders, and as yet undiagnosed psychiatric disorders, I carry a ball of sadness and anxiety in my chest always. Our eldest son is ten and a half. He has behavioural and conduct issues and has been seeing Counsellors since pre-school. We are awaiting an initial consultation with a Paediatrician from the Mater Child Development Network in Brisbane. Early indicators show the potential of Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, perhaps Asperger Syndrome.

I know that if it wasn't for the support Karen Coxon gave us last year, as our son's Year 4 teacher, we would not be at this stage now and have the confidence to believe in our fears, and search for a medical diagnosis. I'd like to say to you that Karen was able to completely change our son, but I can't. With every day that passes I realise there's no miracle cure or miracle strategy, just "a long, hard road" as Karen said once. I know how dedicated we are to helping him; finding new ways to teach and communicate to him the importance of doing what is right. Our son is emotionally detached, and he sees no need in trying to do the right thing by his parents, teachers, and friends nor for himself. Our efforts neither have little bearing on him nor change his behaviour, but we keep trying. I am realising that the long term-effect of this on us as parents is similar to abuse. It's like holding out your hand only to be kicked in the stomach, every five minutes of every day, every year.

Karen shared our dedication. She never gave up. She didn't dislike her student, turn off to him because he was difficult to teach, nor fear the unknown problem. And she didn't judge us or question our parenting, our blended family, nor our love for our son. She searched, and I felt her frustration when she failed, but she never gave up.

Karen and I spent a lot of time on the phone together last year. So much so, that whenever I walk out onto our deck I remember it as the place where we used to talk to each other after school, out of earshot. We updated each other regularly with shared information and strategies. When it came time for Parent Teacher interviews we never went. We didn't need to because we were in such close contact.

There are some things that Karen said to me last year that I will remember word for word, always. She taught us to believe in our instincts, to believe in ourselves. There are things that she didn't say that I will always remember too. Like, that she was dying of breast cancer.

Karen loved to teach, and she was an excellent teacher. She was especially patient and dedicated, and embraced the challenge of teaching children with difficulties. Karen died on the 16th of June, 2010 leaving behind a husband and three of her own children. She kept teaching throughout her long illness and treatment, and it was with great sadness that I realised in her last few days that she was dying. She never mentioned her own illness apart from the odd comment when I'd ask about her chemotherapy, and I didn't know that the treatment she was having was for secondary cancer. She had already lost the battle and the whole time kept on giving to our son and our family.

I have wondered many times since Karen's death how I would have handled that situation. Could I have continued working? Could I have continued to be excellent at it, selfless, caring and loving? Hopefully I'll never be in a situation to know the answers to those questions. But what I can tell you is that she was amazing. And I'll love her and be grateful for everything she did for us, forever.

To Karen. Thank you will never be enough.

25th November 1957 - 16th June 2010

(My nomination and entry for the 2010 ASG Inspirational Teaching Awards)

By now I'm sure we're all up to Pussy's Bow with the banter that's followed the release of Sex And The City II.

The reviews have swung from one stand point to another; from satirical destruction of the film, reactions to the physical criticisms dealt to the leading/ageing actresses by some critics, to a demand for all 'lowest common denominator' films (especially those aimed at a predominantely male audience, bachelor party theme) to be viewed across the board under the same criteria.

Fair enough, I agree with all of these. I'm also happy to admit that I like observing such strong reactions to films, whatever they are.

After all, sport shouldn't be the only open subject upon which a society can debate.

For what it's worth, I'm going to throw my hat into the ring as well. I'm a bit selective when it comes to films and TV, as most film and media graduates are.

However, I'm not going to attack the film from the perspective of how insanely bad (shoot me if I ever have to watch it again), long (where are the pins to poke myself in my eyes), or culturally insensitive (lost in translation, WT hell were they thinking???) the film was, as it's a given that it wouldn't be my cup of tea.

One of the most disappointing things about this sequel for me is that there is a veritable army of people who are inspired by the Sex And The City phenomenon; the stilettos, the handbags, the voyeurism of a glamourous life they may never know. These budding Manolo owners could have been guided in a slightly less materialistic and shallow direction, and still ticked enough fashion boxes to have had the ladies clamouring.

Can fashion not be coupled with intelligence, or opinion?

We should be able to have both style and substance, look at Stella McCartney. She's doing it.

A truly modern heroin encompasses beauty in the form of education, power, ethics, and imagination, not just the Spring/Summer collection.

This annoys me. We are at a pivotal point in the world's history and this is what the filmmakers dish up to possibly the largest collective of women to enter cinemas since the first SATC was released. It was a wasted opportunity to add even an afterthought about something other than themselves and their own appearances.

The fashion industry for me has a large element of The Emperors' New Clothes about it, it has to, to keep churning over the next season's ranges, and keep people buying. It's the way the fast paced and fickle industry works.

And, whilst I realise that not every film needs to have a soapbox, and that some are just 'entertainment', I'm not in the habit of watching films that are more two dimensional than a Thai puppet show.

Anyway, must away. I have an empire to build, Fair Trade products to buy, sustainable packaging to design...

Carrie Bradshaw I aint, but if you want to catch my column in womeninbusiness.com.au here it is...

 

 

My latest column for womeninbusiness.com.au deals with ways in which we can learn about our own businesses by learning more about our competitors...