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Illawarra fashion designer Wendi Leigh has not only taken her craft to a whole new level but plans to show it off in the Big Apple this month.
Leigh's latest collection is the result of five months' work developing her own art prints into her fashion designs.
She has done that with a distinctive Australian bird theme that in her words would "ideally inspire an upmarket clientele here in Australia and overseas".
Leigh said development of such a range took time because the prints and colours needed to be exact. "The proportioning of the print has to be conducive to suit all figure types and the fabric quality has to be maintained," she said. "So there were various drafts and print-offs before I was satisfied."
The first three designs were based on a collection theme of Birds of a Feather. They depicted baby bird feathers, magpie wings and tails and abstracted kookaburra birds and tail feathers in Australian colours such as aqua, coral and earthy burnt oranges, tans and eucalyptus greys.
The styles were co-ordinated to dress-up or dress-down foundation pieces that are Wendi Leigh's brand focus for non crush travel wear. Other styles were expressly created for garden and beach wedding attire.
The pieces can only be purchased from the Wendi Leigh studio boutique in Auburn Street. But this month Leigh is taking her new art prints to New York, where she and business colleagues will wear her new collection to a Fashion Week event.
National role tipped
News filtered through during merger talks between the Illawarra and NSW business chambers this week that former IBC president of seven years and former NSW Business Chamber president Terry Wetherall could soon become president of the national chamber movement in November.
Wetherall was appointed deputy president of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in late 2013, a year after being elected president of the NSW Business Chamber. He was heavily involved in the Small Business - Too Big To Ignore campaign in recent years and played an instrumental role in strengthening the chamber movement.
Burger speaker
Grill'd Burgers franchisee Lube Markovski is the speaker at the next Wollongong Small Business Club on September 1. Markovski has a long track record of success with many Illawarra businesses, the most recent being with Grill'd.
Last October, Markovski and his family smashed a national hamburger record by achieving the biggest first-day turnover of any of Australia's 88 Grill'd restaurants. And they did that with paying customers unlike previous record holders.
The Markovski family are planning to open up to three more restaurants in the Illawarra.
Markovski recently sold his three Hairhouse Warehouse stores after being approached several times. The Wollongong Central and Stockland Shellharbour salons also smashed national records when they opened.
At Grill'd Markovski employed and trained 54 staff after receiving 400 applications.
He runs the business with his son, Allen, and daughter and son-in-law, Melissa and Rob Gorgievski.
Virtual hole-in-one
Virtual golf came to The Illawarra Connection on Tuesday when the Cahill family, of Gerringong, were introduced as the owners of Illawarra's newest and most unique entertainment venue Par-tee Virtual Golf.
Located on the Princes Highway, Albion Park Rail, it has six TruGolf Simulators, a cafe and licensed bar.
Among other guests were the Illawarra Mercury's new editor Julian O'Brien and Professor Sarah Miller, the University of Wollongong's head of journalism and chief operating officer of the new Early Start initiative at the University of Wollongong Michelle Kellaway.
Early Start focuses on bringing about better outcomes for vulnerable children in regional, rural and remote communities.
The Early Start Discovery Space at the University is Australia's only children's museum.
- Meanwhile, TIC member John Apolloni is preparing for the formal launch of Kaizen Business & Financial on Friday.
Kaizen is a new Illawarra business, based on the philosophy of continuous improvement, and focuses on helping SME's and sophisticated investors achieve peace of mind and financial freedom.
Business awards
Entries in the 2015 Momentum Energy Illawarra Business Awards have been extended to August 10 and entries for Shoot the Model competition as part of the Highlights On Mental Health campaign close on August 21.
In other news, Michelle Morrissey, of Kwik Kopy Wollongong, is hosting the World's Biggest Tupperware Party in support of one of the entrants for Illawarra's Top Model, Anastacia Gaylard, at Club Windang on August 14. All proceeds from the night will go to Highlights on Mental Health.
Help at hand
Dr Gill Hicks MBE is the keynote speaker at the Legacy Business and Community Lunch to launch Legacy Week. The lunch will be held on August 28 at City Diggers.
- Meanwhile, Denis Walsh and the team at St Vincent de Paul reported to TIC that the annual Vinnies CEO Sleepout raised more than $112,000 to help homeless services in the Wollongong area.
Entrepreneurial utopia workshop
ILLAWARRA business owners interested in knowing how successful entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson seem to so effortlessly achieve that elusive work-life balance will gain some insight on Thursday when Illawarra-based entrepreneur Steven Dixon reveals the secrets to achieving “entrepreneurial utopia’’.
Mr Dixon, of Dixon Clothing Group, has developed a comprehensive business mentoring and education program under the name Breakthrough4Business (B4B) and is holding a one-off, one-day workshop on Thursday at the Novotel Wollongong Northbeach called “How to build a business that works without you”.
The interactive workshop runs through a blueprint for success using the same model that allowed him to work on his business, and not in it.
Mr Dixon started his clothing business in 2006 with less than $500 in the bank.
He then saved the enterprise by starting a garment factory in Fiji when he was almost down to his last dollar.
Mr Dixon had just 24 hours in Fiji to set up a manufacturing relationship before returning to Wollongong and his customers the next day.
Within an hour of making the decision to start his own factory he found someone who could supply him with fabric.
At 2pm he bought some old sewing machines and started searching for staff.
He asked a woman to be his factory manager and when he said he needed two more machinists she found some friends.
An hour later Mr Dixon bought seven rolls of fabric - all he could afford - and by 4pm he found premises to rent.
At 5pm he registered Dixon Clothing Fiji and at 6pm he went back to his hotel room.
He had a surge of energy, renewed enthusiasm and determination to take the momentum and move forward without having to rely on anyone else.
Mr Dixon said that experience showed that a normal bloke who chose to follow his dream with passion, persistence and desire to succeed could not easily be beaten.
Dixon Clothing Group went on to establish four divisions before he founded Breakthrough4Business which coaches individuals and companies and hosts events with guest speakers flown in from around Australia.
The underlying principle Mr Dixon promotes is that people can be whatever they want if they are prepared to make sacrifices and follow their dream.
At Thursday’s workshop Mr Dixon will reveal how to use technology to do the ‘heavy lifting’, the best ways to automate processes so things happen when business owners are not there, plus invaluable tips on how to get clarity on goals so genuine progress is being made each week.
As an Illawarra business owner who has managed to build a thriving business from nothing himself he wants to give back to the community that supported him and has a strong desire to contribute towards a thriving business community.
‘‘I understand all of the challenges Illawarra business owners face because l have lived it,’’ he said.
‘‘This workshop is different because attendees will not only learn about why things are important for their business, but importantly how they can start implementing straight away, utilising tools and technology they don’t know about yet!’’
The workshop incorporates a live example in the room, where the group works together to help a business owner discover what their roadblocks are, then create a path forward so that they can improve their results.
The “How to build a business that works without you” workshop is supported by Illawarra ITeC’s Small Business Advisory Service.
Registrations on www.thebusinessrevolution.com.au.
THE DIARY
August 5: Week 4 of the Songwriter Awards and Open Mic at Club Windang.
August 6 - Breakthrough4Business (B4B) program one-off, one-day workshop at the Novotel Wollongong Northbeach called “How to build a business that works without you”.
- Junior Chamber International Illawarra chapter meeting.
- Business HIVE at Quality Suites Pioneer Sands.
August 7 - Kaizen Business & Financial launches in Wollongong.
August 11: iAccelerate Workshop on valuing a start-up company.
August 14: IWIB Coffee Club at Twenty Twenty Restaurant, TAFE Wollongong Campus.
- Illawarra Innovative Industry Network (i3net) industry breakfast meeting at the Lagoon Restaurant with Australian Business Consulting and Solutions senior manager Ian Bennet, AusIndustry regional manager Peter Masterson, Industry Skills Fund adviser Milton Owen and RDA Illawarra chief executive Natalie Burroughs.
- Lagoon Experimental Kitchen from Pasture Palate at the Lagoon Seafood Restaurant. Tickets at www.lagoonrestaurant.com.au.
August 15: Salvos Stores launch their first ever stand-alone Salvos Street Boutique in Kiama. Open to the public from 9am - 5pm.
August 17: Thank you and morning tea at Wollongong Police Station for Graeme Donnelly Cup sponsors.