Stuff we like

Businesses

So OK, not all for-profits are bad. Here are a few that really inspire us.

  • Haul: Haul’s bags are rubbish. In fact all their stuff is. That’s why we love it. Haul Ringmaster Scott Kilmartin & team do an amazing job making products and lifestyle accessories from billboards and found and recycled materials. 
  • Red Bubble: The Red Bubble Crew are a bunch of frustrated artists who want to get their work – and that of others – out to a broader audience. We love that they balance their business activities equally with building an online creative community. Watch for upcoming STREAT designs on Red Bubble.
  • Original Foods: The Original Food team take sustainability seriously through every part of their catering business – right down to their transport vehicles that run on recycled cooking oil. Sam and his team are a constant inspiration to us and we’re working to adopt many of the same environmental principles throughout our operations.
  • Mag Nation: Half of our team are blow-ins from other states or countries. We agree that a place like Mag Nation makes it worth moving to Melbourne for. Thanks for leaving McKinsey and getting a real job Sahil!
  • Third Drawer Down:These guys are just down the road from us and well worth the stroll. Although we love their whole range of funky merchandise, we particularly like their tea-towel collection. We believe in taking creativity not just to the street, but also the kitchen.
  • Sticky Institute: The home of all things zine. The best $2 you could spent in Melbourne is on a zine from Sticky. Our office is littered with them.
  • LOMO: As you can tell from our branding we’re a bunch who like the ability of photographs to tell stories. Our office sports at least five cameras at any time and the ‘don’t think just shoot’ motto of LOMO suits us perfectly.

Social enterprise

You've heard our spiel about social enterprise, and why we think it's a model that works. Here are some of our peers we think you should check out. 

  • Human: The Human guys in BrisVegas use creative engagement to work with marginalised communities to break the cycle of poverty and promote social inclusion. We haven't collaborated with them on a project yet but we're keen to.
  • Social Studio: A favourite social enterprise of ours, Social Studio works with a young refugee community to create clothes and develop their design skills.
  • Social Ventures Australia: SVA works with innovative nonprofits to drive social change.
  • Juma Ventures: Our inspiration from San Francisco, Juma Ventures uses social enterprise employment, college prep, and financial education to help youth successfully transition to higher education.
  • Social Traders: They work at the policy level to fund research and promote the growth and effectiveness of social enterprise as an industry.

Street food

Here are some of our favourite street food blogs.

  • Street Foodie: One of our favourite blogs.
  • Streetfood.org: Info about street food from across the world, plus a handful of recipes.
  • Tastebook:  About 50 great street food dishes from around the planet.

Street culture