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What do you make? Tell us about your product!

We make greetings cards and wall art. Our cards are printed on sustainable FSC approved paper with water soluble soy and vegetable inks. Everything is designed, made and printed in Australia.
Katherine makes framed art from creative papers.

What's your creative background, your day job and how did you start making things?

Lara Allport: Trained in graphic design and typography at the London institutes’ Camberwell college of Art and London college of printing. Am now Creative Director and Partner at The National Grid, a creative design agency based on the Northern Beaches. I spend a lot of time using illustrator - the way I see it, the computer is just another box of crayons, rather than using pen and pencil - I draw using the pen tool in illustrator. I am embarrassed to admit that I have never mastered the ‘tablet’, and still create using a mouse! It is a bit like drawing with a hockey puck!

I normally start with a composition, a scanned-in sketch or perhaps a photo, then create layers in Illustrator and start to rebuild the image digitally. It is very time consuming and quite pain staking - but it is sort of like meditation for me - you can zone out and listen to a good tune and just draw shapes. Doing cards gives me an avenue to illustrate what ever I want. I started illustrating for a UK greetings card company, but found the briefs quite restricting. Hope street markets presents me with an opportunity to do it for myself.

Katherine:  My work at the moment is based on paper cut outs and collage created from recycled, vintage and Japanese paper. I love the challenge of cutting paper into unique and wonderful shapes- very laborious but very satisfying too! Recently I started to explore printmaking and have produced a range of hand printed cards.

I can't remember when I started making things as I've been creating work since I could hold a paintbrush! I have an honours degree in fine art specialising in sculpture and have spent the past fifteen years teaching art and craft to adults and children.

My day job at the moment is caring for my three month old son! Before that you could usually find me doing before and after school care for 55 creative children each day.

 I started to exhibit and sell my sculpture when I was at art school and continued to have shows once I graduated. I also sold my work through retail outlets in Scotland.

What are the things you find most inspiring?

Lara: Everything that surrounds us. So much creative talent in Sydney, it is hard not to be inspired on a daily basis. Living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world helps, I see inspiring things every day. I love art and have quite an eclectic taste - I am a massive David Hockney fan, I love the Dutch masters, Caravaggio in particular, love Patrick Caulfield, Paul Insect, Banksy, Simon Barrett, Shannon Crees & Audrey Kawasaki. Karl Kwansy, who I believe did the Hope Street graphic – amazing, man! where do I start? Like I said, there is SO MUCH talent!

Katherine: I am inspired by Japanese art, nature, travel and love the work of Charles and Ray Eames.

Where is your workspace and what is it like?

Lara: I work in an amazing warehouse space in Brookvale, the upstairs part is a graphic design studio, the lower level is a gallery. I work with some of the most amazing and creative people and genuinely love coming to work each day.

Katherine: I currently work from the dining table at home which is a great spot with ocean views so I'm very lucky! Ultimately I would love my own little studio space where I could work full time.

Why did you choose Hope Street Markets?

Lara: They are, by far, the coolest markets.

Katherine: Hope Street market has a great reputation for introducing new creative talent. It's a fantastic opportunity to showcase my work in the city whilst also giving to charity.

Where would you like your art/brand to be in the future??

Lara: I would love to see our cards in all good paper shops – pulp creative paper (manly), Paper2 (surry hills), Paper couture (Darlinghurst), as well as department stores, like Myer and David Jones. I would also love to sell them from quality book shops and galleries like Ariel books, Borders, and the MCA bookshop.

Katherine: I would love to see my cards available to the public in retail outlets throughout Australia. I also see my one off paper collages in boutique shops or galleries in addition to private commissions.

Where can we buy your stuff?

The National Grid is in the process of building an online shop, so soon they will be available online at www.thenationalgrid.com.au

In the meantime cards are available online at http://www.laraallport.bigcartel.com.
Some of Lara’s designs are available at www.thecartepostale.com and www.redbubble.com/people/laraallport

Website and point of contact:

www.thenationalgrid.com.au
lara@thenationalgrid.com.au
katherine_barrett@yahoo.co.uk