When we have children and grand-children I think we become more aware of the natural world particularly as we endeavour to explain and share the beauty of the change of seasons and other wonders in our parks and gardens.
The books I am writing are designed for small people so they too are quite small and contain many images. In this I owe a debt of gratitude to the great photographers who provide their work royalty free through the Creative Commons.
The first children's book I wrote was for my grand-daughter Maria who has a cosmopolitan background. Her father (my son Andrew) was born in London England, her mother was born in Queensland Australia and Maria was born in Vancouver, Canada where her father was working at the time. The one thing those three places have in common is Captain James Cook, an Englishman as he was the first European to land on the east coast of Australia and the west coast of Canada.
The book 'A Journey through Time' detailed the games children played in those countries, the things they ate, their usual clothing and housing, musical instruments, and the native flora and fauna in those countries at the time when Captain Cook was there.
I did all the illustrations and hand-bound the book myself. I was later surprised and delighted when the book was chosen by the Queensland Bookbinders Guild for inclusion in an exhibition called 'Finely Bound' at the Queensland State Library, from August 2010 to the end of January 2011.
The book I'm currently working on is about Trees and all the wonderful things that depend on them. It too is for children though not just my grandchildren, hopefully for others too - but more about that next time .....
Read more...
Friday, July 22, 2011
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Kindness of Strangers
In writing each of my books I have found that much of the information and enjoyment received is through the strength of weak ties and the kindness of strangers There have been interesting articles written under these titles, one particularly by David Constant, Lee Sproull and Sara Kiesler titled "The kindness of Strangers: The Usefulness of Eectronic Weak Ties for Technical Advice". Although such articles are based on the world of business, the principle applies equally well in other aspects of life. In my case I wanted to write about people in different lines of business, from sport, community and service, the arts and sciences. In some cases I knew the people but in many I didn't so approached them through friends or other strangers who I believed would be able to 'put me in touch'. The point is that people generally like to be helpful to others - I have been impressed by their kindness and over time my circle of 'friends' has grown to include many of these 'weak ties' and former 'strangers'.
Read more...
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Monday, May 11, 2009
Celebrating milestones.
Queensland, the fastest growing State in Australia,
is about to celebrate its 150th birthday. I’ve been talking to people across the State for my book 'Queenslanders All Over' – from a tiny island off the far north tip of Cape York, where beautiful pearls are farmed, to the State’s far outback where mining and cattle farming are often the main occupations with rodeos and camel racing an annual highlight. I’ve been constantly surprised by the courage and larrikin humor of people who live in remote areas. With world class educational facilities and a government dedicated to attracting new business the cities too are attracting people from interstate and overseas. Queensland is enjoying its burgeoning popularity as a great place to visit and to live.
There are some great characters and great stories including one I heard about ancient footprints of stampeding dinosaurs out near Winton and the bones of giant marsupials, the ancestors of the kangaroo that David & Judy Elliot found on their property. They run an excellent newsletter about local finds, it’s called “The Australian Age of Dinosaurs”.
I spoke with a resident of Burketown recently about an interesting phenomenon that occurs there in Spring. She tells me that 'the morning glory cloud’ is a big roll of cloud which can go the whole length of the sky and is quite deep.
It's like a large wave but rolling the opposite way and is proving something of an attraction for extreme sportsmen with their hang-gliders who come to ride the clouds like surf riders. Way too dangerous for my liking as apparently you can be thrown up and over if you get on the wrong angle!
For more this image of the morning glory cloud see the meteorological site: www.jeffsweather.com/.../01/morning_glory.html
http://www.joanburton-jones.com/
Read more...
is about to celebrate its 150th birthday. I’ve been talking to people across the State for my book 'Queenslanders All Over' – from a tiny island off the far north tip of Cape York, where beautiful pearls are farmed, to the State’s far outback where mining and cattle farming are often the main occupations with rodeos and camel racing an annual highlight. I’ve been constantly surprised by the courage and larrikin humor of people who live in remote areas. With world class educational facilities and a government dedicated to attracting new business the cities too are attracting people from interstate and overseas. Queensland is enjoying its burgeoning popularity as a great place to visit and to live.
There are some great characters and great stories including one I heard about ancient footprints of stampeding dinosaurs out near Winton and the bones of giant marsupials, the ancestors of the kangaroo that David & Judy Elliot found on their property. They run an excellent newsletter about local finds, it’s called “The Australian Age of Dinosaurs”.I spoke with a resident of Burketown recently about an interesting phenomenon that occurs there in Spring. She tells me that 'the morning glory cloud’ is a big roll of cloud which can go the whole length of the sky and is quite deep.
It's like a large wave but rolling the opposite way and is proving something of an attraction for extreme sportsmen with their hang-gliders who come to ride the clouds like surf riders. Way too dangerous for my liking as apparently you can be thrown up and over if you get on the wrong angle!
For more this image of the morning glory cloud see the meteorological site: www.jeffsweather.com/.../01/morning_glory.html
http://www.joanburton-jones.com/
Read more...
artist's books
I have always enjoyed reading books, writing and illustrating my books soon followed, now I find the making of them is another dimension that I am keen to explore.
An artist friend, Helen Sanderson, has introduced me to this skill and helped me to make my first small book. I have included here a photo of Helen and a few words of her's about artist's books.
"Artist's books come in many forms. It is a popular passtime amongst people who love artist's books to try and define them. However, in defining artist's books invariably the definition limits the vision of the myriad of artists who are involved in producing them. Books are one of the oldest forms of communication in the world, much loved by most people. It is a vehicle that we are very used to. A book with many pages, and a cover, with binding that allows us to easily turn the page. A well made book feels lovely in our hands, and a visual feast as well.
Artist's when taking the book as a vehicle for expression use a multitude of ways to create their books. For some, the book stays in a familiar format. For others, the book is just a jumping off point, and the book becomes a sculptural object that relates to the content.
The first artist's book I saw was a couple of decades ago in a visiting exhibition in the QAG, where the artwork was a book, in the shape of a gun, and the content had to do with Nazi Germany. It was a potent and aggressive object that got much of its message across before the book was even opened.
Books that artists make today are often made by the artists. Some artists take existing books and alter them...creating altered books. These books are often satirical and political. Many printmakers are interested in making books of their prints, and creating prints to tell a story. These editioned books, mostly printed by the artists, are a showcase for the etchings, lithographs inside."
An artist friend, Helen Sanderson, has introduced me to this skill and helped me to make my first small book. I have included here a photo of Helen and a few words of her's about artist's books.
"Artist's books come in many forms. It is a popular passtime amongst people who love artist's books to try and define them. However, in defining artist's books invariably the definition limits the vision of the myriad of artists who are involved in producing them. Books are one of the oldest forms of communication in the world, much loved by most people. It is a vehicle that we are very used to. A book with many pages, and a cover, with binding that allows us to easily turn the page. A well made book feels lovely in our hands, and a visual feast as well.Artist's when taking the book as a vehicle for expression use a multitude of ways to create their books. For some, the book stays in a familiar format. For others, the book is just a jumping off point, and the book becomes a sculptural object that relates to the content.
The first artist's book I saw was a couple of decades ago in a visiting exhibition in the QAG, where the artwork was a book, in the shape of a gun, and the content had to do with Nazi Germany. It was a potent and aggressive object that got much of its message across before the book was even opened.
Books that artists make today are often made by the artists. Some artists take existing books and alter them...creating altered books. These books are often satirical and political. Many printmakers are interested in making books of their prints, and creating prints to tell a story. These editioned books, mostly printed by the artists, are a showcase for the etchings, lithographs inside."
Read more...
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Philanthropy – giving and doing
Most of us enjoy giving – it makes us feel good. I wonder if this is nature or nurture? Certainly it seems to be a part of many if not all cultures around the world.
Businesses donate in a variety of ways. One well-known example is McDonald’s who through their international program of Ronald McDonald Houses, provide a ‘home away from home’ for families who have seriously ill children in hospital.
In Australia the Surf Life Saving Foundation is less well known but their charter is to raise funds to equip surf lifesavers with rescue boats and helicopters along with other necessary equipment for protecting swimmers along Australia’s popular coastline.
Many not-for-profits, like for example the Vancouver Foundation in BC have been founded on the need for a centralized organization that can achieve big things with the many small donations made.
Individuals who are working long hours often find it easier to donate a check than give their time to a worthy cause. Others do provide their time, like an African American family from Missouri that I interviewed recently for my book on couples in franchising – every weekend they collect the unsold bread from local bakeries and repack it to give to needy families in their town – it’s become a tradition, started when their children were young and now continuing with their children and grandchildren all involved.
Others give anonymously like Chuck Feeney, who for many years has been giving away millions of dollars anonymously through Atlantic Philanthropies, while personally living a very frugal life – probably one of the only millionaires traveling coach on airlines until in his 70s.
What fascinates me is the difference an individual can make. I heard recently about the friend of a friend of mine who visited Tanzania and felt compelled to do something to help people in the village of Changarawe, in the Morogoro Region of Tanzania. Her name is Carolyn Walford and she lives in London. In 1997 with Felistas Kalomo in Tanzania she founded The Changarawe Project. They built a small nursery school in 1999, which started with 22 children, the poorest of the poor. It grew rapidly with the children staying in the school for 2 years before moving to a primary school at 7. It’s called The Zawadi School which means ‘gift’ in Swahili. They find orphaned children, widows and abandoned mothers or grandmothers with orphans to care for.
If you'd like to find more information about them you can do so at: http://www.changaraweproject.org/.
Perhaps you know of other ventures like this? I'm sure there must be others and I'd be interested to hear about them. Projects that have been started and run in partnership by people from two countries - financed from one country and run successfully for the poor in the other.
http://www.joanburton-jones.com/
Read more...
Businesses donate in a variety of ways. One well-known example is McDonald’s who through their international program of Ronald McDonald Houses, provide a ‘home away from home’ for families who have seriously ill children in hospital.
In Australia the Surf Life Saving Foundation is less well known but their charter is to raise funds to equip surf lifesavers with rescue boats and helicopters along with other necessary equipment for protecting swimmers along Australia’s popular coastline.Many not-for-profits, like for example the Vancouver Foundation in BC have been founded on the need for a centralized organization that can achieve big things with the many small donations made.
Individuals who are working long hours often find it easier to donate a check than give their time to a worthy cause. Others do provide their time, like an African American family from Missouri that I interviewed recently for my book on couples in franchising – every weekend they collect the unsold bread from local bakeries and repack it to give to needy families in their town – it’s become a tradition, started when their children were young and now continuing with their children and grandchildren all involved.
Others give anonymously like Chuck Feeney, who for many years has been giving away millions of dollars anonymously through Atlantic Philanthropies, while personally living a very frugal life – probably one of the only millionaires traveling coach on airlines until in his 70s.
What fascinates me is the difference an individual can make. I heard recently about the friend of a friend of mine who visited Tanzania and felt compelled to do something to help people in the village of Changarawe, in the Morogoro Region of Tanzania. Her name is Carolyn Walford and she lives in London. In 1997 with Felistas Kalomo in Tanzania she founded The Changarawe Project. They built a small nursery school in 1999, which started with 22 children, the poorest of the poor. It grew rapidly with the children staying in the school for 2 years before moving to a primary school at 7. It’s called The Zawadi School which means ‘gift’ in Swahili. They find orphaned children, widows and abandoned mothers or grandmothers with orphans to care for.
If you'd like to find more information about them you can do so at: http://www.changaraweproject.org/.Perhaps you know of other ventures like this? I'm sure there must be others and I'd be interested to hear about them. Projects that have been started and run in partnership by people from two countries - financed from one country and run successfully for the poor in the other.
http://www.joanburton-jones.com/
Read more...
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Who wants to be an entrepreneur?
We tend to admire entrepreneurs as risk takers, some even looking down a bit on non entrepreneurs for being risk averse. We crave certainty and assurance and see strength in entrepreneurs’ ability to live with uncertainty and doubt.
As more people continue working after marriage, either as dual career couples or as copreneurs, work-life balance become a major issue for employers, employees and the self-employed.
We admire entrepreneurs for their courage in the face of adversity and willingness to keep trying new things while we ordinary mortals just keep inching along, doing the same old things and hoping to make it to retirement in one piece.
So we celebrate entrepreneurs but we know that new entrepreneurial ventures largely fail- about 80% in the first two years - and we know those entrepreneurs cannot all recover and come back for more. Some will have to become non entrepreneurs and some will just give up altogether. There is also a point at which all those admirable qualities that entrepreneurs have turn into liabilities rather than assets, when risk taking simply becomes recklessness.
Talking with franchisors and franchisees when researching for my book, I fell to thinking about where franchising sits on the entrepreneur- non-entrepreneur – high risk - low risk spectrum. Seems to me it's somewhere in the middle. The franchisor certainly has to take an initial risk in developing the franchise formula. On the other hand once the formula is proven the franchisee takes the risk when investing in the franchise. In the end, both the franchisor and the franchisee are able to hedge their bets.
Perhaps neither is a ‘true’ entrepreneur and perhaps that’s a good thing- a case of ‘balanced entrepreneurship’.
(By the way does ANYONE know a word that means the opposite of ‘entrepreneur’?).
http://www.joanburton-jones.com/
Read more...
As more people continue working after marriage, either as dual career couples or as copreneurs, work-life balance become a major issue for employers, employees and the self-employed.
We admire entrepreneurs for their courage in the face of adversity and willingness to keep trying new things while we ordinary mortals just keep inching along, doing the same old things and hoping to make it to retirement in one piece.
So we celebrate entrepreneurs but we know that new entrepreneurial ventures largely fail- about 80% in the first two years - and we know those entrepreneurs cannot all recover and come back for more. Some will have to become non entrepreneurs and some will just give up altogether. There is also a point at which all those admirable qualities that entrepreneurs have turn into liabilities rather than assets, when risk taking simply becomes recklessness.
Talking with franchisors and franchisees when researching for my book, I fell to thinking about where franchising sits on the entrepreneur- non-entrepreneur – high risk - low risk spectrum. Seems to me it's somewhere in the middle. The franchisor certainly has to take an initial risk in developing the franchise formula. On the other hand once the formula is proven the franchisee takes the risk when investing in the franchise. In the end, both the franchisor and the franchisee are able to hedge their bets.
Perhaps neither is a ‘true’ entrepreneur and perhaps that’s a good thing- a case of ‘balanced entrepreneurship’.
(By the way does ANYONE know a word that means the opposite of ‘entrepreneur’?).
http://www.joanburton-jones.com/
Read more...
Friday, May 8, 2009
50 plus and looking for new horizons
Looking at global statistics recently on mature age entrepreneurs I was interested to find the number of new starts being initiated by people at or approaching retirement age. In 2002, although those aged 50 plus made up 25 % of the workforce, they reportedly comprised 40% of the self-employed. It’s said that solo business formation in the future will be driven by people who take early retirement or whose jobs just disappear. Interestingly, it’s estimated two thirds of these consider franchising as one of their options.
Many people do not wish to “retire” on someone else’s say so. They have accumulated business experience and wish to continue to earn a return from it, either in their current line of work or another. Whatever their choice, it will probably involve acquiring some new skills.
Lifelong learning is becoming a necessity rather than an option. The question is how to combine old knowledge and new knowledge to maximum advantage?
When interviewing franchisees recently I was interested to hear how they combined their previous business experience with the training given by the franchisor. One franchisee for instance who had been in the banking industry used his knowledge to obtain initial funding to buy a franchise and later to expand his franchise holdings once he'd gained experience as a franchisee. Another told me how she’d worked for many years for a successful franchisee and learned every aspect of his business then when he wanted to retire she was able to buy his franchise and has since become extremely successful.
http://www.joanburton-jones.com/
Read more...
Many people do not wish to “retire” on someone else’s say so. They have accumulated business experience and wish to continue to earn a return from it, either in their current line of work or another. Whatever their choice, it will probably involve acquiring some new skills.
Lifelong learning is becoming a necessity rather than an option. The question is how to combine old knowledge and new knowledge to maximum advantage?
When interviewing franchisees recently I was interested to hear how they combined their previous business experience with the training given by the franchisor. One franchisee for instance who had been in the banking industry used his knowledge to obtain initial funding to buy a franchise and later to expand his franchise holdings once he'd gained experience as a franchisee. Another told me how she’d worked for many years for a successful franchisee and learned every aspect of his business then when he wanted to retire she was able to buy his franchise and has since become extremely successful.
http://www.joanburton-jones.com/
Read more...
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