A Drink With…Imogen O’Neill
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I started at the very beginning working for Stephen Marr & Lucy Vincent – Marr at their Newmarket salon, through them I was given the best foundations; I moved to Europe when I was 21 and fell into work with an amazing event production company- through them I picked up a whole lot of technical knowledge and amazing experiences working for world-class brands on media launches, catwalk shows, product launches, events of all sorts really. When I came back to NZ I started working for VICE magazine, running the NZ branch – a different industry but a job that utilized a lot of crossover skills. After a couple of amazing years with VICE I decided to stand on my own two feet and launch The Creators Ltd – a small ‘creative’ agency. What does being Naturally Spirited mean to you? Being Naturally Spirited for me would be very much based around following your instinct, even if it goes against popular opinion or trends. Sticking to your own morals and values and keeping your head up no matter what. Who were your female role models growing up? My mother is my strongest role model, she doesnt stand for any crap, and you always know where you stand with her – for better or worse. She always had a whole bunch of books lying around, so that gave me my founding for a love of pop culture and the histories & characters behind various movements, philosophies and styles. She definitely has her own way of doing things which I hated when I was young but I love her eccentricities now – which I think makes me gravitate to people that have a different way of looking at the world and coming up with new paths & solutions. I also have a pretty crazy bunch of girlfriends I’ve known forever, they are pretty amazing and all beautiful, strong, successful women in their own rights that I look to for advice and support on a regular basis. How did you get started with Vice Magazine and The Creators? VICE magazine was a recommendation from a friend – I went through the whole interview process multiple times, even flying to Melbourne to meet with the publisher and Australian team to go over what was needed for the NZ office. It was a great time in my life, I met amazing people and was involved in some really exciting initiatives. The Creators had been a dream for many years and when I finally decided to move on from VICE it developed really organically and really quickly. I had some guys I wanted to work with mentor and manage, really talented individuals whom I wanted to keep away from traditional agency processes; along with friends and colleagues that wanted me to produce, source locations, cast models and also use new creatives, to photograph, dj, illustrate, film etc so I combined my creatives & their management with my first love; production and everything it encompasses and so The Creators was born. What does a typical day consist of for you? No day is the same but every day is a juggling act. Taking meetings, creating proposals, casting models, preparing budgets, sourcing props, create mood boards, alot of reading and sourcing of new trends and artistic movements, site visits, briefs & debriefs, negotiations, planning schedules, calling catwalk shows, producing shows, photo-shoots, managing calenders & bookings, admin etc etc etc Perks of the job? Perks are definitely; being able to run my own calender, not being stuck in an office doing a 9-5pm, being able to work with my friends but also meeting and working with new people & ideas on an almost daily basis. Any advice for young creatives starting out? Work ethic is pretty high on my list of ways to succeed. Nothing amazing ever comes without hard work and dedication. Work professionally, work hard and learn from your mistakes – oh and don’t ever be afraid to ask for help. What’s the big dream/goal? My goal would be to be based out of New Zealand but be able to work on global activations & projects with youth orientated brands of all sizes. Eventually there will be a physical location for The Creators that acts as a platform for my creatives and clients to utilise as well. Favorite places to eat in Auckland? Coco’s Cantina, Prego & La Boulange are my most regular haunts as they are consistently good; but breakfast & dinners cooked by my dad at Te Whau Lodge on Waiheke is probably my all time favourite place for good food, good wine & great company. Favorite places to shop in Auckland? MADE, The Department Store, Workshop & Arcade. Favorite places to go out in Auckland? Not really a place so much as wherever there’s a good crowd. The ARC throw the craziest parties in Auckland hands down, so wherever they are I’ll most usually be, but if I want to go somewhere more out of the way – The Basement @ 1885 is the perfect place to take clients and good friends. If you weren’t living in Auckland you would be in… I would love to be back in Europe if my work & life took me there or else a little beach up north would do me nicely in a few years when I’m over all the central city bustle.
http://www.thecreators.co.nz – Coming Soon |
