I don’t know how to put this… but… they’re kind of a big deal.
Everyone in Vancouver knows that Thursday is when the Georgia Straight comes out. It’s a staple in coffee shops and offices, it’s the go-to rag for left-leaning rants, arts reviews, who’s hot, and the goods on music, events, and other local on-goings. The cover of the latest issue features chef David Robertson (Dirty Apron Cooking School) and it suddenly struck me… in the last few months three CREATIVEMIX alumnists (keynote speakers from either our 2009 or 2010 conferences) have be on the cover of The Straight! Steven Cox (Cause+Affect) and Dan Mangan (New Album – Oh Fortune) make up the rest of this cover boy trio.
I think that’s pretty damn cool.
I don’t really have a point here. I simply wanted to mention that our keynote speakers, both past and present, are top-dogs in Vancouver and we’re very proud, and honoured to have such a great roster of local talent who are willing to share their insights on creativity and collaboration. Each year our speaking team delivers the goods and I’m really excited about this upcoming conference! I hope you are too!
Hey – I wonder which of our 2011 speakers will end-up on an upcoming cover of The Straight?
Hello. You’ve reached THE CREATIVEMIX HOTLINE, to learn about this year’s conference please press #1.
Oh man! We’re so freakin’ excited! November 3, 2011 is the day that creativity and collaboration collide in Vancouver in the name of helping creative people gain the inspiration and insights they need to thrive as artists and services providers. This is a cross-industry, non-profit-meets-business-sector mash-up that is unparalleled in Vancouver. It’s a professional development day and a creative showcase like no other.
Back for its third year, CREATIVEMIX will be held at the Roundhouse Community Arts Centre in Yaletown and it’s going to be bigger-n-better than ever! The team behind the conference is the same but with one very special difference – the event is now proudly produced through the innovative and dynamic theatre company Boca del Lupo.
There’s a TON of info to come, including the Open Call for Submissions to have your creative project or business featured in the CREATIVE EXHIBITION and the speaker roster of course! Be sure to follow the updates on the blog, on Twitter, or Facebook.
And because it’s fun… I did want to mention something that made us smile: Anoop Aulakh (Co-Founder of QuikPiq.com, Advisor at SIFE Simon Fraser, and a cool social entrepreneur guy) had this to say about his time at CREATIVEMIX:
“CREATIVEMIX provides a new way of looking at what a conference can be. From the speakers to the delegates, CREATIVEMIX brings together people from different spaces who are clearly passionate about what they do. Looking forward to seeing what next year brings!”
A Post-it Note from the giant sticky comment wall at CREATIVEMIX 2010
The reviews are in. Here’s what people had to say about their experience at CREATIVEMIX 2010:
“CREATIVEMIX is a great place to network, get inspired and tap into the creative community in Vancouver. We had a blast and are already looking forward to next year.” – Christa LeCraw, VanArts
“Creative inspiration! It’s mishmash of fresh ideas and perspectives, good ol’ fashioned creative fun.” - Kim McMullen, Flipside Creative
“It was a well planned event that had good energy within a casual atmosphere. There were lots of people interested in what was actually happening and what people had to say rather than just passing out cards to try to make their own thing happen; people seemed to understand that sometimes it’s nice to make something new together.” – Steve Wright, Sound and Music Workshops
“Very inspirational! A great way to meet a diverse collection of people from a variety of backgrounds with common interests and inspirations. Definitely a good place to be. We need more of them – how about two or three a year?” – Sushant Sound, MetroLeap Media
“I found CREATIVEMIX a fresh approach for people who do creative work. By bringing in people of different artistic/creative disciplines it’s a great way to hear about and learn about how others work. Stimulating!” - John McLachlan
“Very interactive and the presentations give people a new perspective on ways to view and interpret new and different ideas. The speakers do a fantastic job of putting the audience in their shoes and describing how they use their creativity to achieve success in specific industries. Makes you think. Inspiring. Enough said.” – Kira Campbell
“CREATIVEMIX is innovative and unique in the way we’re encouraged to share and collaborate with other creatives and bring everybody to the same level. There is no “I’m at the top of my class and I am speaking down to you, because I know it all”. The environment is very open and driven towards personal as well as community success. I came away inspired, excited, ready to create and collaborate!” – Sharon Barnes
It’s official. Ethical Bean is to cool for school. They now serve donuts! I ran into Katie (the baker boss) at their East Van HQ to pick-up some loot for the conference and was treated to a fresh, yummy, pumpkin donut. It was covered in sugar! I love it when tasty food stuff is covered in sugar! I ate it to quick to dunk though, sorry Dad. They’ve got great flavours and they’re snack-sized which is good. Katie and Michelle have confirmed that Ethical Bean donuts will be available at CREATIVEMIX on Thursday – which is awesome. This is just another example of how really cool people are going out of their way to get involved and are making this event stand out.
The crew at Ethical Bean are great. They’re the nicest bunch of people. We go way back – at least 3 years (that’s a long time in Vancouver). Last year they included me in an early morning round of cupping (coffee tasting) – it was an unbelievable experience. Today, as I sipped by espresso and enjoyed my pumpkin treat, Katie and I joked about how funny it would be if donut making got as serious as coffee roasting. There could be international events held in the motherland (Ontario, or any state in the Mid-West). There would be donut makers from around the world showcasing their finest. There would be judges, scorecards, spit buckets (or plop buckets – cuz’ you’d have to use your tongue to push the donut mush out), and trophies awarded to best of the best. It could be a dignified as wine tasting in no time.
Oh man! Am I so freakin’ excited! The guys at Storm Brewing are totally dialed in to our Think & Drink! We’ll have two of the best craft brews on tap and ice cold which means if you love the idea of drinking fresh, amazing, local beer at the end of a hard day conference-ing then you’re gonna have the time of your life! Good thing CREATIVEMIX is right next to the Canada Line.
Don’t worry – they’ll be wine too.
Remember – every dollar and every dime from the Think & Drink (5:00pm-6:30pm) go to support Arts Umbrella. Here’s a bit more about the beer we’ll have on tap:
HIGHLAND SCOTTISH ALE
While hugely popular in Scotland, this style of beer escapes most North Americans. Designed and brewed by the Scottish punk rocker David “Malty” Macanulty, this creamy, nutty, malty, dark ale is true to its origins. David drives James crazy over this beer, insisting on rigid fermentation temperatures, traditional mild hops for bittering, and even some weird caramelizing ritual as the kettle is being filled. The beer continues to undergo subtle evolutionary changes because the stubborn Scottish bastard will never be satisfied. 5% ABV
PRECIPITATION PILSNER
A true North German Style Pilsner. Light in body and packed full of Czech Saaz hops. The distinctive Pilsner aroma and dry, refreshing taste make a great accompaniment to a hot Vanouver day. 5% ABV
This is a quick shout out to three of our supporters who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Our friends at Opus Framing & Art Supplies, Libre Tea, and Ethical Bean are helping us say ‘thanks’ to our amazing volunteers this year. The people behind these awesome companies are generous and kind and our partnership in this event is invaluable. We’re pretty militant about thanking people around here and they all jumped at the chance to lend their support of CREATIVEMIX 2010 and the people who make it happen. They’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty and have donated some really nice items for our volunteer gifts. So… I’m thanking them for helping us thank our team. Thanks again.
Just a quick shout out to our amazing partners The Roundhouse – CREATIVEMIX is on page 14 of the Fall/Winter program guide. We think that’s totally awesome! The Roundhouse is a beautiful venue and is a perfect fit for our conference; we’re just so darn glad for their involvement. So, if you’ve got your hands on one of those mags then be sure to turn to page 14, made a big nodding motion with your head and say “Mmmmmm… interesting!” really loud.
This is the second CREATIVE TALK VIDEO from 2009. There were 11 keynote speakers at CREATIVEMIX last year this was the talk that got it all going. Enjoy and share!-Corwin Hiebert
David Aiken (AKA The Checkerboard Guy) is a comedy juggler who’s passion for being on stage has lead him to come up with creative ways to ensure that being on stage happens on a regular basis. In his CREATIVEMIX 2009 talk David spoke on Finding Convergency When Juggling Creative Ideas.
Be it in the designing and building of his shows to his pursuit of performance opportunities in various markets (everything from street performances to working with Symphony Orchestras) to how he promotes himself to these markets, creative thinking is at the heart of identifying the challenges involved and coming up with innovative solutions. So clearly we had to give this guy a mic; besides, anyone who’s been able to make a living as a juggler for 28 years must be doing something right.
One of the great things about his keynote presentation is that he kicked-off the inaugural conference. His energy and insights were a perfect fit to launch the event and to get everyone engaged with what we wanted to accomplish. You can learn more about The Checkerboard Guy at: checkerhead.com
In about two weeks we’ll be spreading the word with this groovy poster! We’re really excited about the look and feel of this year’s design as it’s playful, eye-popping, and gives passer-byers a great snapshot of what to expect. If you want a poster of your own simply reach out and ask otherwise, keep an eye out for them and be sure to point at it and say in your outside voice “WOW! CREATIVEMIX! Neat. I’m going to go to that cool looking conference!” Thanks to the team at Hangar 18 Creative Group for their inspiration and effort in making this stunning visual tool.
Our promotional partner Sayvee has kicked off a cool contest! Here’s a chance to channel those negative marketing thoughts, which we all have (kind of like I did with my promo fail post). The object is to create a video under 1 minute in length about a marketing fail of some kind. This can be a true story or a fictional / ridiculous idea. Videos can be in any style you want. (Examples: comic, drawing, you in front of a camera, re-enactments etc.). Be creative. It turns out I’m a judge so don’t hold back – I love the wacky stuff.
The prizes are:
1st ($1100 – priceless value)
* iPad
* Website with domain name, hosting, and 1 year membership (Sayvee)
* A personalized “thank-you, you’re awesome” video posted on Youtube which includes an object of your choosing to be thrown at the guys from Sayvee and myJPscion.com (be kind please, no permanent damage desired)
2nd ($300 value)
* iPod Touch
3rd ($110 value)
* 1 ticket to CREATIVEMIX-Vancouver’s Ideation Conference
* a ride in a 2011 Scion xB to and from the event (airport kinda thing)
Top 3 most “LIKED” videos will be brought before judges on Oct. 29 @ 9am PST based on creativity and humor. Winner will be announced on Nov. 1, 2010 @ 11:11am PST. Open to anyone in Canada & USA. No porn or really foul language please.
The conference is coming together fast and furious! It’s less than three months away! We’re just a few days away from finally being able to announce our speaking team – yahoo!!! You’re going to LOVE the line-up! We’re still accepting creativeEXHIBITION proposal submissions (until Sept.17). We’ve got other groovy news about sponsors and partners coming up too. One thing that happened awhile back has gone unannounced has been the addition of Destin Fall Haynes to our social marketing team! My bad.
Last year we tried Facebook advertising and we quickly abandoned it as it just seemed to pushy and desperate. In stark contrast, we really enjoyed the organic, and supportive nature, of our Twitter feed @CREATIVEMIXca. What I mean by supportive is that through the cunning use of RTs and ‘follows’ we were able to help other creative people, projects, and events spread the word about what THEY were doing. Besides – it’s just plain ‘ol fun! That felt like a much better way to meet the needs of Vancouver creatives while at the same time giving people a chance to check-out what we’re doing. In preparation for this year’s conference I wanted to continue that trend of helping other local creatives but I knew I needed help; enter Destin:
Destin is a lover of the written word and a social media aficionado. By day she contributes her communications skills and pr savvy to the non-profit world – helping to make the world a better place one tweet, post and like at a time. While comfortable using 140 characters or less she can also be found conversing and sharing her thoughts in formats permitting higher character values – like on her blog, I do, Vancouver . Although she revels in conversation in the online realm she would rather meet you face to face over a cup of coffee or a pint of dark beer – preferably locally made!
Together, Destin and I Follow, RT, DM, @Reply on @creativemixCA. We’re likeminded creatives and I’m thrilled to have her on our team.
This is the first of many CREATIVE TALKS. There were 11 keynote speakers at CREATIVEMIX ’09 and we’ll be sharing many of those presentations over the next few months. Enjoy and share!-Corwin Hiebert
David duChemin is a world and humanitarian photographer, best-selling author, and international workshop leader. David uses his powers for good and not for evil. David is a lover of the creative process; his CREATIVE TALK at CREATIVEMIX ’09 was about Creativity within Constraint – unpacking why we’re more productive and ultimately more creative when we have deadlines and boundaries on our work.
Though his examples come from a photography workflow he leaves his craft at the door in favor of taking on creativity at large. Regardless of trade or role everyone will be able to take away something learned, inspiration, and you may even envision collaborating with a photographer in a new way.
In preparation for this year’s conference we’ve been brainstorming on ways to spread the word and continue building the brand of CREATIVEMIX. Some of the questions we’re asking are: Should we do the 100% recycled coffee sleeves again (they were cool, useful, but were a lot of work to distribute)? What about posters? Facebook ads are so 2007, should we just tweet our blog posts instead? How can we generate love and web traffic for those who help spread the word? Do you think people would join an affiliate program if we give them $10 for every ticket they helped us sell? How much is a colour ad? You’re kidding, right? And so on, and so on.
Now, for whatever reason, my brain got sidetracked the other day with all of the things that I HATE about events (and event-related marketing) and I went OFF on a mental tangent that produced some totally useless but funny images (at least to me, I giggled as I photoshoped). So, I’m going to call this a little window into everything that I think is sick and wrong with respect to events. Here’s some event promotion FAIL items that I’ve received in the past when attending an event, conference, or tradeshow – I thought it would be fun to stick our graphic on them; a couple at the end are just for fun – I got carried away.
Stress Squeeze Toy
Silly Putty
Logo Launcher
Game Cube
Frisbee
Credit Card
Snuggie Blanket
Pack of Smokes
Now I have to get back to work. The moral of the story is: cut out the crap.
We’re going to continue with what we did last year: keep things simple like not giving people a name badge or a printed program and making everyone use ceramic coffee cups filled with Ethical Bean Coffee – that kind of stuff. How we’re going to get people there is still being worked out. Chime in if you like.
So if you’re planning an event do the world a favour and don’t destroy the earth one tchotchke at a time. If you need gifts or giveaways for your event be smart and order it from Saul Good Gift Co.
Posted by: Corwin Hiebert [This post can also be seen on The Red Wagon Blog]
Big news! CREATIVEMIX is coming back for another round! Thursday, November 4th. Remember that. Write that down. Tell other people.
Now, you’re probably wondering what’s happening and who’s speaking . . . well, we can’t tell you that. There’s a lot we can’t tell you right now but not because we don’t know. Well . . . maybe it’s because we don’t know, or maybe it’s because we’re busy connecting and collaborating with a lot of cool peeps right now and it wouldn’t be fair to let the cat out of the bag. There will be interesting and useful updates every couple weeks from here on out so be sure to sign-up for our e-mail newsletter (or the RSS feed); that way you don’t miss anything. We’re aiming to launch the program and open registration May 1st.
We CAN tell you that we’re adding workshops and will be hosting a contest for the exhibition. Oh, and the conference will again be at the cool-n-funky Roundhouse Community Arts Centre! Helpful eh?
A hipster bomb went off in Mount Pleasant! Oh man – the Tangents Art Show was tonight and it was a major hit! Great art, killer DJ, wicked room (Lifetime Space) all brought to you by Jeff Hamada (Booooooom.com) and the Lifetime Collective. We ran into some CREATIVEMIX peeps (like Dave Delnea) and enjoyed the commute to/from (a brisk walk just 5 blocks from our pad). Groovy Friday night out.
I can’t stand it! I can’t stand it no more! There’s two kinds of people in Vancouver: people who know about Pecha Kucha and people who don’t (don’t even get me started on TED). It’s not that I’m angry at PKN virgins I just think they’re missing out big time.
Now, if you haven’t heard of Pecha Kucha then this post has come at the right time for you, trust me. Here’s what you can expect: there are multiple presenters (hailing from design, architecture, art, culture, activism, fashion, entertainment, you name it) and each presenter is only allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. It’s highly entertaining, very inspirational, and in Vancouver it is usually at the uber-cool Park Theatre on Cambie Street where the beer flows (and the bottles roll down the isles every few minutes – Steven loves that part, I don’t know why). I’ve been three times so far and for $10 it’s a great night out.
Coming up on November 26th is Volume #9. The line up looks spectacular.
Chris Staples (Rethink)
Vancouver 2010 Design Team
Sarah Bancroft (vitamindaily.com and CREATIVEMIX speaker too!)
Tom Pedriks (Haymaker Creative)
TJ Galda (EA Canada)
Su-feh Lee (Battery Opera)
Elvy Del Bianco (Vancity)
Anne Pearson (Vancouver Special)
Michael Ziff (Hip Baby and Camp Moomba Yogathon lover)
Stephanie Hodges (Vitalis and Camp Moomba Yogathon lover)
Idea Challenge!
At 1:30pm Paul Parolin of Happy Planet will drop the bomb, the creative challenge bomb that is. They’ve got to get packaging designed to get twin packs of soup on the shelves of Costco by Oct.30. The packaging solution needs to be enviro, the soup has to stand up, and it’s hand applied. Got an idea? Leave a comment below.
So what are your plans this Thursday night? You know, that night of the week where you want to celebrate the fact that the next day is Friday, the day before the lovely Saturday?
Those who choose to register for the conference portion of our little event are in for a real treat. From 4:45 – 6:30pm, DJ Joel Armstrong (House/Melodramatic Popular Song/Techno) will perform live in our MIX Lounge for the Think & Drink reception, bringing us a cool vibe to wrap up a super rad day!
Okay, so for many of us the weekend isn’t actually the weekend, but who doesn’t need an excuse to party right?!
Big news! CREATIVEMIX is coming back for another round! Thursday, November 4th. Remember that. Write that down. Tell other people.
Idea Challenge! 
Think & Drink. I’m sorry . . . what?!
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