CWC Summer Reading

Photo by Krisztina Papp. Source: Pexels

Summer is upon us, and along with the festivities of the silly season, the summer days lend themselves wonderfully to some solitary reading time. Whether on the beach or in the bush, for improving the mind or just plain unashamed escapism, I love getting stuck into a book. It’s not something I get to do very often in my day-to-day. So when I get some time off during a holiday period, the lure of a good book and a well-worn couch is simply too hard to resist.

I remember that time in my 20’s where I read Alex Garland’s The Beach, on the beach in Thailand, reliving the story it in-situ like all the other tourists. Then there was that year I read all of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in one uninterrupted sitting, bleary-eyed but determined to get closure from a decade-long literary journey.

This summer, I’m working my way through A.S Byatt’s The Children’s Book. Set in Victorian England through to WW1, a famous children’s author writes a story for each of her children. I’ve been promised a tale of family secrets, betrayal, lies, and treachery and so far it does not disappoint.

I’m always out for new titles to try from friends and family who have given their seal of approval before it gets into my hands. So when it came time to put together this post, I called out to some people (including the trusty CWC board) to send through their favourite reads.

So, in no definitive order and with no particular genre in mind, here are 12 recommendations and why you should read them, without giving away too much. And if they don’t make your summer reading schedule this time, you now have one book to read a month for the upcoming year.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking - Susan Cain

Susan Cain delves into the power and value of the introvert in a world that seems to worship the extrovert. But this is not just a beneficial read for introverts to learn that their approach has merit. It’s also an important book for extroverts to pick up to better understanding of the introverts in their lives.

Unpolished Gem – Alice Pung

Alice Pung’s memoir takes the reader through her childhood and adolescence growing up in working-class Footscray. She describes three generations of women - herself, her mother and grandmother - navigating through their worlds from war-torn Cambodia to suburban Melbourne . It is witty, vivid, nuanced and shows a girl’s experience of moving between cultures and identities in contemporary Australia.

How to be Both – Ali Smith

How to be both has an interesting way of telling the story of two very different lives that exist in completely different times, but the book subtly shows how we are all intertwined as humans. Ali Smith paints people in their purest form with their purest thoughts, which makes it a book that can really ground the reader.

This is Marketing – Seth Godin

This is the quintessential marketing book of the decade. Seth Godin speaks about the value of making connections with customers that last over a lifetime. It’s about the long term success over the short term buzz that people will quickly forget about. A solid read if you want to refresh your marketing approach or don’t have much experience with marketing.

Uprooted - Naomi Novik

Uprooted is a delightful read. It’s a high fantasy tale with roots in Polish folklore. Naomi Novik crafts an intricate world and her prose carries strong characters such as the heroine Agnieszka. It was one of the most highly lauded and award winning fantasy novels of 2016. Best thing is that it’s a stand-alone book, which can be quite rare in the fantasy genre.

The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion

As a professor of genetics, the protagonist Don lives an orderly predictable life in an academic setting. The Rosie Project explores the romantic and comedic errors of a man with undiagnosed Asperger’s Syndrome as he looks for a wife. It’s funny, empathetic and beautifully written.

Crazy Rich Asians – Kevin Kwan

The book is always better than the movie, they say. So if you’ve seen the film and liked the bling, extravagance and crazy rich relatives, check out Kevin Kwan’s original words. And if you like this book, you might as well stay for the sequels. It’s a witty trilogy full of drama and couture, and it’s a whole lot of escapist fun.  

Women of Letters: Signed, Sealed, Delivered - Michaela McGuire & Marieke Hardy

This is a part of the Women of Letters series of book that is curated by Michaela McGuire & Marieke Hardy. It champions the lost art of letter-writing and showcases the humour, sentiment and wisdom of these notable Australians. This is a great non-fiction option to dip in and out of when you have a bit of free time. 

Stardust – Neil Gaiman

Another book that’s been adapted to film, Stardust is Neil Gaiman’s much loved fairy tale about a young man who seeks to capture a fallen star. A wonderful book that is not too long, it is sweet, funny and a cheeky departure from reality.

Born to Run - Christopher McDougall

If you want an uplifting story that will make you want to hit the running trails after an overindulgent Christmas, then this is for you. Christopher McDougall’s tale begins with him looking for answers to his running injury woes, which leads him on an incredible quest to discover a hidden Mexican tribe who run 100’s of kilometres, often barefoot. McDougall makes a great case for the simple pleasures of running.

Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens

Set in 1969 on the North Carolina coast, Where the crawdad’s sing is a story of a woman, Kya Clark, who defies her circumstances to create her own success. It’s a coming of age story intertwined with a bit of crime. A movie adaptation is currently in the pipeline, set to be produced by Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Levy Neustadter.

Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth – Phillip Pullman

This is the second book of the The Book of Dust trilogy by Phillip Pullman. It is part of the His Dark Materials universe, now a HBO show currently on Foxtel. The His Dark Materials universe has always walked the line of young adult/adult fiction with a rich tapestry of fantasy, character building and deep philosophical themes. This new book explores the world and perspective of the protagonist Lyra (Belacqua) Silvertongue as an adult in college who witnesses a murder. A great read for fans of the broader series.

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So there you go, hopefully some of these provide your summer with some solitary indulgence.

Happy holidays to you all, and see you on the other side!

How to make the most of the holiday season

I’ll let you in on a secret. Every December, I write a business preparation checklist on an A4 piece of paper and stick it into my brand new diary. I tape it in around the October section so I can remember the lessons I learnt this season to be as prepared as possible for the next holiday season. Future Christina is always thankful that I take the time to do this. As a jeweller, the last three months of the year are my busiest, and account for the largest percentage of my earnings. Most small businesses see a rise in sales in the lead-up to Christmas. Being disorganised at this time of year leads to missed opportunities, negative word of mouth and worst still, loss of sales. Managing your time, cash flow, stock and production for the holiday season really begins in January. But fear not! Here's what you can do right now to make the most of the holiday season and be better prepared for next year. Your future self will thank you!

Holiday season business prep checklist

Stocktake consumables: Make a list of the items and packaging you will need between now and the new year. Include everything, then overestimate how much you will need of each item and start stocking up as cash flow allows. For my business, this includes mailers, packaging, business cards, stickers, ribbon, metal, drills, emery, flux and wrapping paper. Most supply businesses shut down before Christmas and open again mid-January. Rushing to order branded gift boxes or ribbon at the last minute is not only stressful, but is time better spent working on revenue earning tasks. Buying in bulk will also save you money with lower prices and postage costs.

Restock your shop: Stock up on all the product offerings you will continue to sell in the new year. For me, this means ordering metal, gemstones and castings, then turning these into products to fill my safe. It can be hard to know which products will be the best sellers during the holidays, but keep in mind that price points between twenty and ninety dollars do well. In my business, earrings sell well as they don’t require resizing like rings do. Review your best sellers for the year and make predictions based on these numbers. Stock up on any items you will be promoting.

Organise a photo shoot: While you are stocking up on products and consumables, stock up on images as well. If you are producing high-quality items, you need high-quality visuals to represent your brand. Consumers are bombarded by images and have higher expectations than they used to. Take the time to plan a Christmas-themed photo shoot with images that will stop your clients mid-scroll. What will your theme be? What will be the focus of your Christmas marketing promotion? Create a Pinterest board of inspiration, gather your props, secure a model or friend, get out your camera or hire a photographer and set aside a few hours to style and shoot your products. If you can aim for thirty images, you will have a library to use across all your platforms in the lead up to Christmas. Use free online editing software like Canva to create Facebook, blog, newsletter and shop headers and save them to a file for Christmas branding. Then these will all be ready to go on December 1st, or whenever you choose to start your Christmas promotions.

Organise a holiday-themed photo shoot for your products

Schedule social media: Once you have the images ready, draft blog posts and newsletters and use scheduling apps to plan your social media. When things get busy, social media is often the first thing we stop paying attention to, but is a huge revenue earner at this time of year. I use Dropbox and Mosaico for this. I can then upload every edited image from the shoot, write a caption, create a list of tags and post to a twice-daily schedule on Instagram.

Review your online presence: Check that your product descriptions are up to date, re-read your policies, check for continuity in your branding. Are you using the same profile image across all social media? Send a dummy email from your contact page to confirm there are no broken links. You don’t want to miss customer inquiries, or confuse customers across platforms with mixed branding.

Promote yourself: Start planning and promoting. How will you reach out to prior customers? How will you engage with new customers? What offers will you use to entice customers to purchase now, rather than putting it off? For my business, I print postcards using an image from my Christmas shoot, hand-write a thank-you note and send it on the 1st of December to every customer I had that year, offering them a ten percent discount online. This is the only discounting I do, as I feel discounting is the death of small business, and value adding (for example, offering a free polishing cloth with an order) is a more sustainable practice. I also create limited numbers of lower-price pieces that include postage and offer them exclusively for sale on Instagram. The limited number, price point and time sensitivity mean they sell quickly. I also offer free upgrades to express shipping as my mailing cut-off approaches.

Set cut-offs: I like to sell up to the last possible moment, but knowing when your cut-off dates are is crucial to ensure you can deliver on your promises. Look at your calendar and write down the last possible dates you can mail products to clients overseas, interstate and with Express Post (keeping in mind that even next-day delivery takes two days in many places in Australia). If you sell your goods wholesale, you will also need to advise your retailers of your wholesale order cut-off date. If they place an order mid-December, will you realistically be able to fill it and keep up with your online sales? I tend to make my wholesale cut-off mid-November, but stay as flexible as I can to serve my retailers right up until Christmas. If you create custom work, you will need another cut-off date. In my industry, client work can involve several different processes, from casting to engraving, handmaking to gem setting, and each of these suppliers are likely stretched to capacity. Jobs that can usually be done in one day take a week at this time of year. Start educating your clients about these cut-offs so you get a manageable flow of orders rather than a flood at the last minute. Keep reminding customers of your cut off dates: include them in your newsletters, on your website and again on social media.

Relax: Schedule time for family, friends and social activities this holiday season. By following the checklist above, you will have more time to spend enjoying the season, not just working through it.

Christina Lowry is a designer and jeweller who creates fine jewellery for creatives. Her work is featured in several Australian galleries, as well as in her online store. Christina fell in love with jewellery making while studying a Bachelor of Fine Art/Visual Art. Each piece is lovingly made by hand in her Brisbane workshop, incorporating precious metals and gemstones and using traditional metalworking techniques. To see more of her work, visit her website, Facebook page, and follow her on Instagram (@christinalowrydesigns).

Photography by Trudi Le Brese Photography for Christina Lowry Designs