CreativeMornings/AKL 4th Birthday Party!
Thursday 22 October, 6pm-10pm
LOT23

What were you doing in the spring of 2011?

It’s hard to believe it’s been so long, but way back in October 2011 Auckland launched it’s own CreativeMornings chapter, becoming the 9th city in the world to join the fast growing global community. Now, four years later we’re super proud to be a part of a global conversation that shines a light on the talented creative individuals that can be found in our city.

With the global theme for October, SHOCK, aligning tidily with our celebration, we thought it’d be a great opportunity to turn our normal set up on it’s head, and shock everyone by putting on a evening party, full to the brim of surprises and fun.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?
For our party we have a few surprises up our sleeve. As per usual we’ll be listening to the experiences of a local creative, but this time we’ll be kicking off proceedings in the evening!

Alongside our guest speaker, expect raucous live music, creative engagements, tasty treats thanks to our wonderful partners and a fabulous exhibition, inspired by the wise words of our past speakers and brought to life by a hand picked collection of local artists and designers.

WHO’S SPEAKING?
Our mystery speaker is perhaps best known for his tenure as the most handsome man on Downton Abbey, but sadly since his untimely death, he has let himself go somewhat and is the Entertainment Manager at Ponsonby’s black sheep venue The Golden Dawn.

His career (a word he’s reluctant to use to describe whatever it is he’s doing) has spanned everything from writing the famous 95bFM ads, to touring bands from overseas, to darker corners like Georgie Pie and Christian television. This SHOCKtober, our speaker has promised to spill the beans on the highs and lows of being a high-functioning high school drop out!

WHEN IS IT?
Join us for drinks, nibbles, hangs and mysterious fun times from 6pm on Thursday 22nd October, with our speaker kicking off at 8pm, followed by some LOUD MUSIC and more fun.

We look forward to celebrating our fourth year of being a thing in Auckland with you! Registrations open at 11am Monday 19 October.

SAVE THE DATE!

CreativeMornings/AKL is celebrating it’s fourth year of existence! With the global theme for October, SHOCK, aligning tidily with our celebration, we thought it’d be a great opportunity to turn our normal set up on it’s head, and shock everyone by putting on an evening party, full to the brim of surprises and fun. Call it CreativeEvenings if you will!

We’ve got so much fun coming your way, so keep your eyes peeled for more details soon, and block out Thursday the 22nd of October, from 6pm, for and evening of celebration and inspiration.

CreativeMornings w/ Oliver Driver
Friday 21 August, 8:00am - 9.30am
Q Theatre

The CreativeMornings community is all about doing. Making, learning, loving, innovating, creating, sharing, living — each its own form of action. Action manifests itself in practices like urban planning, interactive design, filmmaking, choreography, and on the list goes, ever inspiring us to get up and do something.

To tackle the theme of Action this month we have prolific slashie Oliver Driver to tell us all about his incredibly diverse, action-packed career.

To say the Actor/Director/Host/Writer/bar-owner has his fingers in many pies is an understatement. Starting out in improv and film, Oliver gained awards and recognition through his television acting work on the shows ‘City Life’ and ‘Shortland Street’, while training as a theatre director. This training took him to the Auckland Theatre Company where he shouldered the role of Associate Director, and Acting Artistic Director. In his role as Associate Director he established a whole slew of innovative education and audience development programmes, striving to make the art form more accessible to the masses.

Oliver then went on to host current affairs arts show ‘Frontseat’ where for over eighty episodes he interviewed many of New Zealand’s leading artists and politicians around the country and overseas. He then went on to run the independent music channel 'ALT TV’ before becoming the host of breakfast news show Sunrise and Newstalk ZB’s Sunday nights, all while continuing to both direct and star in a whole heap of theatre, tv and film productions, taking on hosting duties at almost every other Awards night in the country and writting a bunch of stuff for different publications.

Recently his focus has switched to television and he’s stepped into directing roles on old favourite 'Shortland Street’, popular newbie 'Step Dave’ and upcoming drama 'Filthy Rich’. His most recent theatre work includes the critically acclaimed ‘Belleville’ for Silo Theatre and the sell out production of 'Jesus Christ Superstar’ for Auckland Theatre Company. Not one to sit on his laurels, he’s also working on a couple of secret projects, a feature film and owns a bar called Harry. He is a proud member of Equity and a responsible dog owner.

Join us on Friday 21 August at Q Lounge, where we’ll get to hear all about Oliver’s incredible career.Tickets are available Monday 17th August from 11am.

Join us for…CreativeMornings with Shine Ltd

Friday 24 July, 8:00am - 9.30am
Seafarers Members Club

Simon Curran and Lucien Law, the principal partners of Shine Ltd, differ from most agency founders in that they have also founded multiple brands and businesses outside of the advertising industry.

Not content only to come up with good ideas for others, they concentrate on creating IP and finding the best way to realise and monetise.

They have not only built an agency from scratch, but also created a string of hospitality and restaurant brands, and collaborated with others to develop launch new business and product ideas in categories from on-line wine sales to hair-colouring.

Their hospitality portfolio includes Tyler Street Garage, Ebisu, Fukoku, as well as Ostro Brasserie in the Seafarers building - an ambitious development that now includes their new Seafarers Private Members Club, and innovation space Spark Lab. Together these ventures employ around 200 people.

Simon and Lucien have been responsible for 3 world first innovations for Becks, Family Time for Hyundai, and the restage of Mac’s for Lion Nathan. They have developed and launched new products for Fonterra, Goodman Fielder, Lion and are awarded across a diverse range creative disciplines, from architecture and interior design to packaging, advertising to innovation.

Their latest project, The Seafarers Members Club came out of a desire to provide a place to connect and inspire creative and entrepreneurial Aucklanders - people with a similar mindset to them.

Join us on Friday 24 July for a intimate gathering in the Seafarers Members Club, where we’ll get to hear about the journey to Shine Ltd.Grab tickets here on Monday 20th July from 11am.

Semi-Permanent is back, returning to Auckland on 3-4 July 2015 at Victory Convention Centre. With a legendary line up including such luminaries as Michael Bierut, Jessica Walsh, Christopher Doyle, Andrew Gordon of Pixar and many more this is one gathering you don't want to miss! 

To get us in the swing of things we had a chat with MASH studio and ‘micronation’ leader, James Brown, a renowned art director for hospitality, wine, food and interior design (AKA ARTchitecture™).

James will be kicking off Semi-Permanent on July 3 and after talking with him we’re certain he’ll serve up some fascinating perspectives and learnings. For the full speaker & workshop lineup, and to grab yourself a ticket, head over to the Semi-Permanent website.

Who are you?
I’m James Nathan Brown VIII (that’s 8th in Roman) and I was put on earth to help with the evolution of the human race through making the place that we are temporarily living on, a little bit more fun, less serious, and to add a serious amount of colour. That being said I’d really like to make the colour beige aspirational. I’m also here to contradict myself.

But yep I’m James. I was born on the Kuarna nation in Australia but I’d prefer not to be known as an Australian. How do I become a Kiwi?

What gets you up in the morning?
The sun, bird music, the need to pee, a boner, ideas - they are my true alarm clock. Most of the good ideas I have happen between the point of deep sleep and waking point. If the surf is good I am up in the dark. I like getting up, I’m happy you know. I clap my hands like that guy from Jerry Maguire. I shave to Bill Withers “Lovely Day” after I saw a guy do it in a fishing village I was staying at in the North of Colombia. Only sometimes though.

Explain what you do in five words or less…
Love consume create fart happy.

What’s a surprising fact about you?
I’m James Brown the 8th, I used to be a woman (not). I was a Ninja when I was 6. My gravestone will read “pardon me for not getting up”, its in my will but I stole it from a famous writer. I would to play prince buster’s “hard man fe dead” when people walk over my grave, essentially it will make people dance. I’d like to design a really sweet tomb and it won’t be among other dead folks, it will be atop a mountain in the Basket Range so when you visit you feel good, clean air. Imagine building your own tomb. Self dedication! Love thyself. Because you are worth it.

Tell us about your creative community: 
The peoples make the commune. I collect mentors. One mentor is Gerry Wedd, he is a 60yr old grouch ex Mambo artist, slash potter. We make ceramics and we surf. He abuses me and I like it. 

Kaspar Schmidt-Mumm is like my little brother best mate and energetic lunatic we lose our marbles on a regular basis and make really bad rap in the car. Then Carlo and Andy from Mash are part of the regular gang of inspo freaks. Fruitcake is my Knowledge Shepard. The list goes on. There’s a lot. 

I wouldn’t change anything other than perhaps being somewhere where it was warm all year round and you wouldn’t need cars, just horses and bikes and foots.

Best piece of advice you’ve received?
Early yrs: my dad said to me “humility - look it up”, I was 5.

Career: Rocky said “your work isn’t very diverse”, it inspired me to embrace diversity in all facets of life

Fruitcake: Lennon was right “all you need is love”

Me: “if you love everything, you will never be unhappy” 

Jim/Tom: “Fast, Cheap, and Good… pick two. If it’s fast and cheap, it won’t be good. If it’s cheap and good, it won’t be fast. If it’s fast and good, it won’t be cheap.” Fast, cheap and good… pick (2) words to live by.   

Who would you love to hear speak, alive or dead?
Wade Davis ultimately, My grandfather James Brown the 6th, my friend’s dog Marley (she tries so hard!), Zapatista Subcomandante Marcos, David Holmgren, Fruitcake, Brasilians, Sixto Rodriguez, The Irish, Gil Scot Heron, Che Guevara, Mandela, Pele, Jamaicans, myself (to be able to remove yourself from your body and watch yourself live! Outer body experience).

When you get stuck creatively, what is the first thing you do to get unstuck?  
Share my problem with as many people as I need to. Or go to the mentors. Or anyone really.

What’s your Secret Superpower?
Manifestation. Its the magic of the earth, that everyone has. Some just haven’t unlocked it. Everything I think will come true. The only reason I truly believe it because I had this incredible journey once and I said at the start ‘I want to believe in magic’. And a series of events allowed that to become a reality. See I told you things come true. 

Peyote was one thing that has changed me forever. Its a long story.

What’s the most recent thing you learned?
I just learned that Steiner education system shares a lot of my belief systems. I also just learned the Koji tribe keep their children in a cave until they are 18yrs and they take them out on their 1st sun rise and they have an immense appreciation of the world (beyond what we have) how wild. I’d probably get reported to the animal welfare if I did it with my future children. Oh well. 

What would you lead a revolution on?
My heart wants me to be stupid here but I won’t. I would say “DEATH TO CLOTHES and SADNESS” but I’m going to be a 35yr old grown up. For once.

 A revolution to make humans respect each other, and realise we are all cousins, religion in the long term is pointless when we are destroying our home, there is no saviour but the earth, worship the earth, we are all part of it, love it, it made us, it keeps us living. Indigenous cultures were far smarter than advanced civilisation. But that is far too airy fairy for the modern human. I’m going to focus on something more current and now. 

“DEATH TO CONSUMPTION and BORDERS”. The world is about to face the world’s worst refugee crisis beyond what we can ever imagine. The African population is set to double by 2050. We wont have to go looking for poor/sick people, they’ll be everywhere, on the doorstep, they’re already banging on the gates right? Boats in the Indian Ocean, in the South China sea, in the Med. 11 billion people on the planet by 2050. 11 billion!!!! We’re 7 billion now, so more than half what we have again.  

We are buried beneath the weight of information, it is being confused with knowledge; mass quantity of shit is being confused with abundance, and wealth has forever been confused with happiness. 

Keiko the Killer Whale earned $36 million for Free Willy… and Graham and Anne-Marie, organic farmers in Gawler, made $40,000 (before tax). There is a madness that grows in every one of our stupid heads. We are apes with cash, guns and iPhones. Destroying more than we realise. I’ll just grab that $99 Chinese Ikea bed thanks. 

OPEN THE BORDERS, STOP CONSUMING. EDUCATION FOR ALL (it is more important that we know).  

What is the one question we haven’t asked that you want to answer?

Q: What’s hard for you?

A: I ride the great pegasus on the border of reality and the imagination. The reality of James Brown needs imagination like pavlova needs kiwi fruit. The imagination of James Brown needs reality like a blind man needs a seeing eye dog. 

And then just the general things like being on time, following orders, behaving, to stop eating, threading a needle, winning the lottery, getting things done on time, dealing with time in general, not being retired, not being on hiatus more.

SEMI-PERMANENT AUCKLAND 2015
3-4 July 2015, Victory Convention Centre, Auckland

Thanks to good folk at Semi-Permanent we have a few tickets to give away to the CreativeMornings community! Sign up to our newsletter, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and get yourself to our June talk to be in to win!

CreativeMornings with Jimi Hunt
Friday 19 June, 8.00am - 9.30am
Studio One Toi Tū 

We all want to change the world. We may not always admit it, but there’s a part of everyone that wants to leave the world in a better shape then it was when we entered it. To enact positive change. To be a part of a revolution.

Creative communities often play an important role in revolutions. Made up of passionate individuals that are more then happy to break rules, challenge stereotypes, fight passionately for their convictions and make change, they also have the skills to capture the minds and hearts of the greater public and inspire them to take action.

For June’s CreativeMornings talk we’ve shoulder tapped one such individual. Jimi Hunt. You may know Jimi from such adventures as Lilo The Waikato, the World’s Biggest Waterslide, or a charity called Live More Awesome.

Jimi has, over the past few years, been leading his own revolution, tackling the way we talk about and handle mental health. It’s a growing problem, with the WHO estimating that by the year 2025 over 80% of people on the planet will suffer from a mental health condition.

Jimi is passionate about inspiring everyone to take control & increase their mental health, and through his work with Live More Awesome, hopes to contribute to that not becoming reality.

Join us on Friday 19th June at Studio One Toi Tū, to hear Jimi’s take on starting a revolution by branding something nobody wants to talk about. 

Tickets go live here at 11am Monday 15th June.

CreativeMornings with Michelle Dickinson
Friday 22 May, 8.00-9.30am
Sir Paul Reeves Building, AUT University 

Robots, as viewed through the lens of popular culture, seem to epitomise a bright future, where technological wonders abound. From Star Wars to The Jetsons, robots often appear as servants, helpers, advisers and companions to the human race.

In recent years, with the introduction of gadgets like Siri and Google glass, science fiction appears to be moving into the non-fiction section. And the potential these technological advancements hold are very exciting indeed. No one knows this better then this months speaker, Michelle Dickinson aka Nanogirl.

Dr Michelle Dickinson is a Senior Lecturer in Engineering at the University of Auckland and Co-Founder of OMG Tech, a charity that plans to open up the world of future tech to every Kiwi kid. Her background is in fracture mechanics, the discipline of breaking engineering materials, but her other passion is breaking gender stereotypes. The winner of the Prime Minsters Science Communication Prize, Michelle dedicates her spare time to explaining scientific concepts to the public while also trying to kitesurf and mountain-bike (but not at the same time).

Join us on Friday, 22 May for a stimulating talk by one of the brightest minds in the country. Tickets are released on Monday 18 May at 11am.

CreativeMornings with Simon Pound
Friday 24th April, 8.00 - 9.30am
GridAKL

While the world loves a poster-boy hero, it needs more than that; sometimes the unsung heroes, the supporters, the doers, are the ones most deserving of our attention. Which brings us to this month’s CreativeMornings Global Theme of Humility.

Our April speaker is Simon Pound. Simon is a writer, company director and producer across fashion, retail, media and advertising. While his passions might seem disparate, he sees a through-line that binds them together – the things he learns.

Simon thinks that humility comes from knowing what he doesn’t know, and that failure is sometimes the best teacher. Though he hopes the teaching gets faster, as he has a few failures to hand, and still a lot to learn.

Come along to GridAKL to hear him share his experiences from his work as partner in fashion label Ingrid Starnes - where life has a lot more to do with women’s clothing than he’d imagined it would, from making a lot of television very few people watched, and adventures in advertising ending up as head of Brand and Communications for Vend, a global tech company that suits him down to the ground as it celebrates failures so long as they lead to successes.

Registrations open Monday 20 April at 11am. Grab your tickets from http://creativemornings.com/talks/simon-pound

We are happy to announce that this month’s global theme is Humility. The theme was chosen by our Orlando chapter and illustrated by Sean Tulgetske.

Last Friday we gathered at Studio One Toi Tū to dip our quills into the topic of Ink. Or the lack of Ink… author and illustrator Dylan Horrocks talked about the terror of the blank page, and how we all fear being criticised.

Check out all the photos here …

Massive thanks to our awesome speaker, our generous venue hosts, our supporting partners Curative, 3rdeye Recruitment & Talent Management Agency, & AUT, our breakfast partners Coffee Supreme & Antipodes Water, and our dedicated team of volunteers!

And thanks to Aria Taylor and Juanita Madden for capturing the day.