feature article

A NEW SIDE TO STYLE

Intouch in business magazine, April 2008

AS art directors, property stylists, graphic designers and media experts, Richie Stevens and Aaron Coshaw, directors of Insideout group of companies have a cocktail of skills topped with a keen eye for originality that has seen them redirect the overall look, feel and concept of contemporary business in Far North Queensland.

“We're really about creating fresh ideas for people. Far North Queensland has grown at 100 miles an hour and there is a new look to business, it is a way to advance and introduce some of the big city style,” Richie said.

Originally from Sydney and Melbourne, the pair’s concepts and designs have featured in magazines and TV shows across the nation. Over the past two years, businesses brave enough to step up have been reborn with the duo’s signature use of colour and vitality.

“We’d really like to see businesses move forward. This is the place to be in business at the moment because of the growth, new ideas and new people moving up from southern metros. It is great to be changing with the town,” they said. Richie and Aaron said the new wave of young entrepreneurs and business people had set about changing old habits. “There’s this new generation of business people out there and they’re not afraid to try something different, to think outside of the square and bring something new to the table,” Richie said.

As professional creatives, their way of doing business defies many traditional models – they’re not the corporate types, but they don’t purposely challenge everything to be seen as trendsetters. “We just do what we do and it is accepted. We don’t go out of our way to irritate people by being different (it’s) just the way we are. It’s our industry – we’re creatives,” Aaron said. “A lot of it is trial and error. We’re very fluid in all we do. A lot of things happen on the spur of the moment and it can be pretty full-on.” As their first full-time business venture, Richie and Aaron said the process had been both challenging and rewarding. As business partners, they are radically different, but it is a fit that works.

“In small business you wear a lot of hats,” Richie said. “I think sometimes people look at us strangely because we are complete opposites. We are similar in that we are both highly creative but Aaron doesn’t talk a lot, he doodles on paper and doesn’t like to do the boring office-type duties.”

“Whereas Richie is super organised, super efficient – actually, he’s a control freak,” Aaron laughed. With the aim of continuing to work with like-minded businesses, the pair tell me change is on the horizon – as their business grows, so too does their scope of influence. And while the next project is top secret, they tell me they’re looking forward to the new direction. Watch this space!