Mother and daughter, Marina Pathammavong and Taneysha, 7, involved in a Mother's Day card making workshop. Photo: Graham Tidy
Bringing together some of Canberra's most creative citizens has become a labour of love for mother- of-one Mikaela Danvers.
At the forefront of the emerging Canberra Creatives movement, Danvers is helping bring creative workshops to people of all ages - and fostering a love and appreciation of art, design, craft and creativity around the city.
''It all started in March 2012, when the ladies at the Shop Handmade boutique wanted to arrange a resin workshop,'' Danvers says. ''I am a teacher by day and I really like art and craft, so I decided, why not combine the two?'' With her 18-month-old son Rafael by her side, the former photographer and university tutor brings together people of every skill level, forming a lasting network and providing creative supplies and small business courses.
Managing director of Splatter Angie Maher with her daughter Stella Martin, 10, both of Murrumbateman. Photo: Melissa Adams
Her motto - that even the least creative person in Canberra has the potential if they have the interest - is seeing the emergence of a bustling enterprise.
Danvers calls herself a ''creative enabler'' and with workshops planned up until October at the Downer Community Centre, she is showing no signs of slowing down.
''My main aim for the next 12 months is to help open a space where people can come for workshops in different kinds of arts and craft, provide them with the tools they might not have access to at home and cover a broad range of things,'' Danvers says.
Mikaela Danvers with her son Rafael Del Castillo, 18 months, in her craft studio at home in Latham. Photo: Melissa Adams
Managing students, contributors, business partners and a ''virtual assistant'', Danvers says she relies on her husband John, an IT professional, for a great deal of support.
Her secret for managing Rafael?
''I get a lot of work done when he is asleep,'' Danvers says.
Penny Layton who makes jewellery in the shed at her home as well as juggling family demands. Photo: Melissa Adams
Canberra Creatives workshops allow ordinary people to create their own imaginative designs, with Danvers providing expertise on the methods, supplying the tools and a helpful hand.
Ranging in price from about $35 to $75, the workshops feature everything from glass etching, to resin, to fabric patterns to candle making. Danvers also offers ''crafternoons'': parties where she travels to private homes, equipped with supplies, materials and tools, for an afternoon of creating with full instruction for her guests.
''The only thing people who come to the workshops really have in common is that they love being creative,'' Danvers says.
''They all have something in their soul that makes them love art, craft, music and creating.'' Not content with a busy schedule of classes and workshops and the demands of motherhood, Danvers keeps an active social media presence and sells resources, gifts and books on the Canberra Creatives website.
With a young family in the making, Danvers says she wants her son to grow up in a home where he can follow his own interests and develop passions and talents.
''My husband and I keep wondering whether Rafael will be creative like me or analytical and logical like him. We also argue about whether he is going to be left or right-handed so we can't agree on much yet,'' she says.
■ For more information on Canberra Creatives or to join an upcoming workshop, see canberracreatives.com.au.
Splatter a hit with families
Visitors to Canberra's popular Old Bus Depot Markets can't easily miss Splatter.
With bright original artworks of all shapes and sizes, quirky designer clothing, children's books and homewares, the store is hard to miss. Once there, customers are greeted by creative mum Angela Maher, who founded the award-winning studio in 1996.
With international and local recognition long established, the mother and businesswoman says Splatter has something for everyone. After success in marketing, publicity, publishing, filmmaking, photography, music, entertainment and education, the eclectic Maher has helped Splatter become one of Canberra's top creative export businesses.
''Usually it's the kids who drag their parents up to the store, because they love the colours and are attracted to the images but pretty quickly the parents are equally as smitten,'' she says.
Known for their whimsical icons and colourful settings, Splatter's original artworks are made by Maher's husband and creative director, Christopher Martin. With everything from artwork for children's bedrooms or unique feature pieces, Maher says the customer base includes local families and international visitors looking for a slice of Australia.
With her daughter Brydie Malone a successful photographer, son Darcy about to become Australia's latest two-metre export to the Louisiana State University basketball team and 10-year-old daughter Stella likely to be busking nearby, Maher is busy keeping the enterprise on track and being a mum.
''Our house wouldn't win any housekeeping awards,'' she says laughing. ''We run a studio from here, which is interesting, but as a mother I am aware ours is not a normal home but we are a very creative family and have a lot of fun.''
Maher says she works hard to balance family and professional life, adapting to daily events while living at her place of business and working from her home.
''I don't forget that it is a luxury to be as creative as we are but it has come from a lot of hard work and a lot of stress over the years. For a lot of artists and creative people, it's tough not having a great deal of reward until they crack it and success happens,'' she says.
Recognised for its original, hand-painted art on canvas, Splatter also sells limited-edition works, notebooks, cards, sketchbooks and large-scale installation art.
Proud to be considered a little offbeat, Maher and Martin have built their business via ''the road less travelled'' and have been recognised for their success, including through the ACT Chief Minister's Export Awards.
''Over the years we have had ups and downs, and now that we have added exporting into the mix, the reality of running an arts studio also takes into account the enterprise of the whole thing,'' Maher says.
''Manufacturing, organising tax, managing staff and agents, planning tours and exhibitions - all while working to maintain standards. There is a lot to do.''
With growing international success, Maher says she has made maintaining a store at the Old Bus Depot Markets a priority for Splatter.
''It is a fantastic shopfront for us,'' she says, ''and with tourists from Canberra and all over Australia, it is a great place to be seen and a great Canberra connection for us.''
■ To find out more about Splatter or to shop online, see splatter.biz
New ways to test her mettle
Nine years ago, Canberra mum Penny Layton was a self-described ''lady of leisure''.
Living with her family in Denver, Colorado, Layton decided to fulfil a nagging interest in jewellery making and signed up for a local class on how to craft sterling silver.
What began as a curious sort of fascination has turned itself into a thriving Canberra small business, which keeps Layton rather busy producing more than 800 handmade pieces each year.
''As soon as I hit the metal for the first time, I knew this was what I wanted to do,'' she says.
''By the time we came home from the US, I had a huge collection of tools for jewellery making and silver smithing.''
Juggling the demands of caring for two daughters, working in a bookshop and teaching classes at a Canberra gym, Layton says she spends four days a week working in the shed at her Kambah home and as many nights each week in front of the television with her tools.
''I had dabbled with some arts and crafts in many mediums before but I saw the class as a good way to meet people. Then the jewellery making soon overtook the friendship making,'' she says.
Rustic Treasures, her handcrafted jewellery line, specialises in mixed-metals, with pieces often combining silver, copper and brass in attractive designs.
''We live in a small cul-de-sac and I think my neighbours must often wonder what the heck is going on in our shed when I have the music going and am working away with the noise of me hitting metal booming up the street,'' she says.
Layton's signature pieces include dome beads manufactured from sterling silver, brass and copper and as every item she produces is crafted individually - each is unique.
''When I first started, I had a real passion for circles, so anything I did was always circular,'' she says. ''Later I changed to geometrical shapes and other kinds of designs that can move and make noise.
''I love to leave tool marks in my metal works and while some of the pieces I make are similar to others, there are slight differences because it is all handcrafted.''
Selling her pieces at Kingston's popular Old Bus Depot Markets, the Shop Handmade boutique and seven other retail outlets in eastern Australia, Layton says she relies on the assistance of her husband Rolly for bookkeeping and her daughters Meg, 13, and Charlie, 10, for creative support.
In person and on a website busy with online orders, Layton's creations are popular with men and women of varying ages.
''People love to talk to the person who has designed a piece, and like to ask me about my story and find out how I made the piece,'' she says.
''I find myself with a never-ending list of things to make and am always grateful that people want to buy the pieces and support small creative businesses like mine.''
■ See rustictreasuresjewellery.com
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