In the Emerging Designer Program, you will meet regulars with industry experts to help position your business and build successful design and marketing strategies. There are only 8 emerging designer places available and the final group will be of a high calibre.

There is also a fabulous Associate Designer Program for those of you who would like some extra support but are perhaps not quite ready for the intensive Emerging Designer Program.

Here is the link for both programs: http://ceafashionincubator.com.au/programs/

Applications for the first round of Emerging Designer places closes Friday 23rd March with interviews shortly after so don’t delay – apply ASAP!

Taking place on the nights of the 12th and 13th September BIGSOUND Live is the two-night music festival that puts artists in front of the local, national and international music industry delegates attending the BIGSOUND Music Industry Conference held 12 – 14th September, 2012.

Held annually in Brisbane, BIGSOUND is recognised as Australia’s leading international music industry event. Over three days each September, BIGSOUND draws a growing contingent of musicians, managers, buyers, industry experts and music lovers to meet, learn and discover new music in Brisbane’s renowned entertainment precinct, Fortitude Valley.

In 2012 BIGSOUND Live is expanding to showcase 100 acts over 10 venues. As well as continuing to showcase a diversity of breaking acts from the world over, BIGSOUND Live 2012 will be turning the spotlight on the country music scene, specifically encouraging applications from these artists.

In addition to having access to hundreds of influential music industry figures BIGSOUND Live showcasing artists are provided with the opportunity for excellent media exposure with the event being covered by national and international media outlets.

With previous year’s festival line-ups featuring the likes of Boy and Bear, The Jezabels, Children Collide, DZ Deathrays, Ball Park Music, Cloud Control, Emma Louise, The Getaway Plan and Lanie Lane it’s easy to see why BIGSOUND Live is the place to be for breaking artists.

Applications are now open exclusively through the BIGSOUND website and close May 4th. See full details and apply at www.bigsound.org.au.

Belinda, Jess & Tahnee, the creativity and minds behind the company Cocoon Industries Pty Ltd have now launched their brand new website!

Check it out here —> http://www.cocoonindustries.com/

The Pilot will provide music enterprises with new business development knowledge and skills, expert tailored mentoring support and access to seed investment toward growing the business.
Expressions of Interest and nominations are now open to participate in Stage 1 of the project. This includes State-based program briefings and business model workshops, which will be held around the country during February 2012.

To find out more about the second and third stages of this pilot (including up to $30,000 in investment funding), read the full story here.
Register your interest in the Stage 1 workshops here (EOI closes 31 January 2012).

GENERATE is led by the CIIC in partnership with the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and is supported by the Australian Music Industry Network (AMIN) and the Commonwealth Government’s Office of the Arts.

A great achievement for this beautiful designer!

The name Baumbach, derived from the Founder’s European heritage, translates to ‘tree by the stream’. Elements of nature are carried through the designs, from the eco-friendly bamboo jersey fabric down to the recycled tea stained swing tags.

Founder, Lauren Brooks, explains the personality behind the brand “Baumbach designs for a girl who isn’t afraid to dream or get lost in an adventure. She walks to the beat of her own drum. Baumbach is inspired by poetry, illustration and all things beautiful.”

The poetic inscriptions and freehand illustrations hint at Lauren’s own travel experiences through Europe and Australia. Fuelling this young Designer with inspiration, are her frequent trips to rural farmlands, small seaside towns, folk music festivals and community markets.

Produced locally in Brisbane, Baumbach is community conscious, working with local suppliers and young emerging artists who share the label’s love for all things beautifully hand crafted.

www.baumbach.com.au

Season two of the Stafford Brothers follows the professional journey and personal turmoil of DJ brothers Matt and Chris Stafford, fighting to stay on top of the ultra-lucrative entertainment industry. As their nightclub and music empire continue to expand, drama and chaos consumes their personal lives, leaving mayhem to ensue as the DJ’s continue to work hard and play even harder.

FOX8 have an exclusive sneak peek of episode 1 on their website. Click here to see it. The 10 episode series is produced out of TPD Media.

The half hour film has a good strike rate so far – GZDOC 2011 was the first festival the doco was entered into!

This inspirational documentary showcasing the exploits of three charming centenarians is sure to travel extensively nationally and internationally from here.

The 100+ Club will screen on ABC1 early in 2012. For broadcast details, follow us on http://www.facebook.com/100plusclub or visit www.flickchicks.com.au

The Sydney-based small business and object recognition technology developer was awarded the business package prize from a competitive field of seven finalists representing a cross-section of creative industries from design, film, new media and technology.

Host of the event, QUT’s Creative Enterprise Australia Chief Executive Officer, Anna Rooke said WizzyBoard was selected as the winner after all finalists spent a gruelling day pitching their business concepts to an expert business panel.

“All finalists delivered dynamic and passionate presentations about their innovative concepts,” Ms Rooke said. “The panel ultimately can choose only one winner and identified WizzyBoard for its innovation and future commercial potential,” Ms Rooke said.

WizzyBoard is a disruptive object recognition technology which provides a conduit between the physical world and the digital world. WizzyBoard’s technology creates a new and exciting method of gaming and edutainment where objects or toys can be easily and inexpensively converted for recognition on iPads or Android devices.

Ms Rooke said the business package prize will provide highly valued support to develop WizzyBoard’s business.

“Securing investment is a major challenge for emerging creatives with only limited support and business development previously offered in this area,” Ms Rooke said.

“As the winner of the Creative3 Investment Marketplace, WizzyBoard will benefit from a package of investment, key services and support to fast-track their business growth,” she said. “The support from our partners has been fantastic in backing this amazing prize.”

“This is only our second year of running the Investment Marketplace and we have been delighted to attract over 40 high quality applicants and to offer them the chance to support their creative visions,” Ms Rooke said.

The Creative3 Investment Marketplace was exclusive to Australian creative entrepreneurs and start-ups and comprised an expert judging panel including Michael Smellie, Chairman QUT Creative Enterprise Australia; Brian Richards, BDO; Caroline Hamilton, Icebreaker Management Services; and Margaret Manning, The Reading Room.

WizzyBoard (Sydney)
WizzyBoard™ is a disruptive object recognition technology which provides a conduit between the physical world and the digital world. With its proprietary technology, WizzyBoard™ is building a completely new and exciting method of gaming and edutainment whereby toys and merchandising are fully integrated with online games for tablets and iPads. WizzyBoard™ has a proprietary and patentable technology where objects or toys can be easily and inexpensively converted for recognition, and localization on capacitive touchscreen such as iPads or Android devices.
(view demonstration)
website: www.wizzyboard.com

The sublime sounds of singer-songwriter emma louise have made their way onto our airwaves with her debut single ‘Jungle’ going straight to high rotation on triple j. Now, we get to wrap our ears around her enchanting debut EP, ‘Full Hearts & Empty Rooms’.

Emma is one of those people who were born to play music. She was the one who avoided maths and science classes to teach herself guitar and write songs in the high school music room. At age 15, Emma had already been lauded with two Q Song Awards for her song writing.

Post high school, a string of well-known supports including Sarah Blasko, Bob Evans and Tim Rogers lead Emma to make the decision to move to Brisbane to take her music to the next level. She moved with an unreleased album up her sleeve but as she immersed herself into the Brisbane music scene and started spending more time with song writers and musicians, Emma, now 19, was inspired to do better.

‘Full Hearts & Empty Rooms’ was recorded in Cairns with friend and producer Mark Myers (The Middle East).”In the last year I experimented with a lot of different producers to discover the sound I was looking for. Mark and I had known each other for a few years and had always talked about working together. It was obvious in pre-production that we were on the same track and had the same idea,” says Emma.

This EP looks to the future. Three out of the four songs are brand new. “I always like recording my newest songs.” Emma affirms, yet she hasn’t completely abandoned her old material with the addition of “1000 Sundowns”, a track she wrote in high school that still remains close to her heart. With such a prolific and impulsive songwriting nature, it would be impossible to capture the scope of Emma’s years of songwriting onto an EP. You can however confide in the fact that she records almost as much as she writes and this will be the first of many offerings.

Shortly after the release of her EP, Emma hit the road as the sought-after opening act on folk-rockers Boy & Bear’s sold-out Autumn 2011 tour. It was her first opportunity to delight audiences nationally with her enthralling live presence and unique songwriting skills, and if the reviews are anything to go by, she did just that.
She is now focusing on her first headline shows for the year to launch her EP, starting with a run of QLD shows in June / July, and then expanding on a full national tour later in the year.

Emma Louise won the award for ‘Breakthrough Independent Artist’ at the AIR Jagermeister Independent Music Awards on the 12th October, where she also performed her hit single ‘Jungle’ to a packed room.

See her hit song ‘Jungle’ here.