CURATION, AND THE PROCESS OF ESTABLISHING AN IDENTITY FOR GROUPED

I had long over-cooked the concept of GROUPED in my mind. Many many times, aiming for perfection on how to get all these pieces together, this sort of messy amalgamation of the areas that I was interested in, that I knew other people were interested in, all bundled up nicely in a tight package.

To be completely honest I overthought it many times, and fatigued myself a lot when explaining it to myself in my shower thoughts, nearly every day. But it was when I centred on my process of working towards an educational offering in the market that everything made sense suddenly.

I could bring all these weirdo aspects together, and emphasise knowledge share as the core thing I’m doing with GROUPED, and then execute it well.

To execute it well, I needed not only the good ideas, but the actual stuff out there in market, and I began understanding why the various theme streams I was putting together were important to me (I am writing this for myself fyi, but believe that others will enjoy the focus on various niches).

So, I had some snappy names that suited me, especially with the playfulness in a lot of what I seek to create with GROUP GROUP.

Now it was time for a designer, and I knew exactly the person who was going to do this with me.

BRINGING A PROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONAL INTO THE FOLD

Carl Whitbread has been in my orbit for many years now, mainly via his work creating music for his bands Lo! and We Lost The Sea. Whether you’re a fan of nasty, sludgy metal (Lo!) or some of the most uplifting wall-of-noise-post-rock you’ve ever heard (We Lost The Sea) these are some of my all-time fav bands right there.

But over and above that, Carl is a very skilled designer, also creating some amazing motion design, and we have similar interests so I was always going to be asking.

And ask I did, with a bit of a concept of what I had in mind 👆️, with a need to bring this together into a tight, consistent form, that had a sort of griminess I was seeking as I emphasise subliminally, the grit that is required to build something of substance.

And he fucking nailed it as I knew he would.

THEME STREAM 1: NICE NICHE!

Very simply, NICE NICHE! is intended to surface niche creations and niche creators.

(An example: ‘Orchid’ by Telepathic Instruments)

Read my linkedin post on ‘why’ NICE NICHE! HERE

THEME STREAM 2: STUDIO

STUDIO is intended to profile the venture studio model , running a bunch of interviews with the people who run these, so as to present a path forward for agencies looking to develop products in-house, alternatives to VC funding, and the profiling of some amazing technology & products created in-house by teams.

(An example: Previously Unavailable, Auckland)

Read my linkedin post on ‘why’ STUDIO HERE

THEME STREAM 3: RULESLESS

RULESLESS is focused on rule-breaking brands, in however I choose to curate that!

(An example (pictured): Slather SPF by SICKDOGWOLFMAN, Melbourne)

Read my linkedin post on ‘why’ RULESLESS HERE

THEME STREAM 4: SNAP CRACKLE POP CULTURE

SNAP CRACKLE POP CULTURE provides a really interesting opportunity to focus on economic trends and drivers, and where pop culture plays a role in that. It’s going to get weird.

(An example: A24 driving a new standard in film, and subsequently, collecting behaviour)

Read my linkedin post on ‘why’ SNAP CRACKLE POP CULTURE HERE

THEME STREAM 5: THE DIFFERENTS

THE DIFFERENTS is concerned with profiling people who currently do some very important work in the world of impact and sustainability. Because if you don’t care about where the world is heading, then what the fuck are you doing?

(An example: Sanders Place, impact focused co-working space with a full environmental retrofit, in Richmond, Melbourne.)

Read my linkedin post on ‘why’ THE DIFFERENTS HERE

THEME STREAM 6: CHALLENGERS EVENT

CHALLENGERS provides a very easy opportunity to gather like-minded souls together in a casual event capacity. No programming, nothing too over-done, just a curated group of people invited into the room, along with a growing event audience.

40 odd in the room each time, turns out Brand-Builders and Category Creators enjoy hanging out with people who do the same, who knew?

Next event Wed 14th May 👋