WHY DID YOU START CHARACTER?

O: Emma and I have individual skills that are pretty in touch with how to commercialise both a communication and creative landscape. These two things work in parallel with each other for most businesses. The two of us together have the potential to lead a strong team to deliver complete solutions to businesses. That’s why we started the agency, to solve problems and deliver outstanding ideas, as a one stop shop, together.

E: I knew that together, we could conquer more than I could ever do on my own and that I was lacking Olivia’s skills and business acumen. I’ve always believed that you should hire people better than you are, and as a hard task-master it’s rare to find someone like Olivia who can deliver to a very particular global standard, if not higher.

WHY THE NAME CHARACTER?

E: One thing that was very common between us as soon as we met, was our shared values and similar work ethic. At the end of the day, our joint efforts and passion for CHARACTER are shared and we want nothing more than to see each other succeed and do amazing things.

O: It took weeks and weeks, maybe even months; about a hundred and fifty text messages and then one day, as usual Emma nailed it in a one word message and we were done!

However, the background and thinking of why and what it all means is exactly as Emma has said – what is important to us both, above anything else, is working with people with integrity, respect and a common goal of working together to do interesting things. Same same is not something Emma and I have or will ever consider, there is way too much of that around.

HOW DO YOU CHARACTERISE YOUR PARTNERSHIP?

E: I’m an introvert, Olivia’s an extrovert. I like typing emails, Olivia likes talking on the phone. We are the perfect Yin and Yang. I have seen Olivia every day over the past year and we chat 24/7 and still have things to say, I never get bored in her presence. I think she also has ESP as she can read my mind before I talk and knows me better than I do! 

O: To be honest, both Emma and I love working, however we also love our families and the lifestyle WA gives us. I have never met anyone who knows what I am thinking as quickly as Emma does, when people meet us both together they are often taken back by our connection. It’s this connection and mutual respect for each other’s lives both business and personal that drive our passion and our ability to support each other in everything we do. We don’t agree all the time but it’s close to 90% of the time which is pretty extraordinary really. I respect Emma’s point of view on everything and we are growing together; both as people and our business. It’s really fun!

CHARACTER DEFINING EXPERIENCE

O: Starting out at Storm Model Management in London during the golden age of Kate Moss, I went on to The Artist Group and later Australian Harpers BAZAAR as Bookings Editor  – working both editorial and agency side gave me an invaluable understanding of the intersection between creative expression and commercial opportunity. It was this learning curve that I leant on when founding my own agency – Poushkine People – a baptism of fire that involved negotiating landmark contracts between Vogue Fashion Director Christine Centenera and Kanye West’s Yeezy and the late Virgil Abloh’s Off-White respectively. To see the ripple effects of these partnerships play out across the culture has taught me the power of making good ideas happen.

E: Being thrown into the deep end when working for David Jones in Sydney at the height of the department store heyday, where budgets and glamour were on high rotation – think flying in 90s ‘supermodel’ Linda Evangelista for a one-night-only turn down the runway.  It was this formative education in all things brand, consumer, retail and communications that gave me the confidence to move to Dubai with Edelman PR launching international brands into the Middle East, working with Westfield in a national role and positioning Donna Hay as the original lifestyle influencer. The media landscape is always changing but amplifying a narrative remains as relevant as ever.