Together, we go further.
Happy New Year! 2018 was beautiful, but I can feel 2019 raring to go and I am excited about connecting with local creatives, artist, musicians and businesses this year - all working together to get our stories out there.
For me, that is what Kyogle Culture does. It brings together the dreamers and doers, creating a community with a common goal; to share the delights of our region and to help our simmering arts culture and businesses thrive.
As a small business owner, and an artist and musician, I have tried to promote my services on my own. Most business owners would have experimented with getting a flyer designed and printed, and distributing these themselves. Sometimes this is a successful way to get your name out there, but other times your long-saved-for flyers will end up blowing down the street, crumpled at the bottom of a handbag, or underfoot in a clients car. I ran the numbers recently; Professional DL flyer design costs between $160 and $250 dollars, and then the printing will set you back around $300 for 5000 flyers. You then have to distribute them yourself (or pay to have them sent out) so that they don't take up a quarter of your office space for the next two years. It's not an easy task, and it can be hard to measure the impact and effectiveness. Newspaper advertisements can be expensive and are next week's compost bin liners - if you haven't grabbed peoples attention in that turn of a page, you probably won't get another chance.
Our hope and aim with Kyogle Culture is to provide a keepsake magazine that people cherish, and look forward to reading. It stays on the tables at coffee shops, and gets picked up by travellers who devour it on that boring stretch of road between Casino and Grafton. It gets mailed to relatives interstate by local families who want to show off what we have in our beautiful region. And it's not just about one business or one artist. It's about how we live and work and create as a community. Kyogle Culture invites people to our town to explore, play, and dine. They might even come for a day, and stay for a lifetime.
I had a bit of an 'ah-ha' moment recently when I was working from a cafe in Murwillumbah. My eldest daughter was doing a school holiday workshop and I set up at The Modern Grocer, working on the next issue from my laptop. A couple came into the Cafe and sat opposite me, the woman picking up a copy of Kyogle Culture (Issue 4) that I had earlier placed on the table. The man laughed "Hey, I was going to read that', and went to the next vacant table to grab his own copy. I chuckled while working away as I listened to them chat about how it had been a few years since they had been to Kyogle, and watched the discussion turn to a plan about when they would next visit and what they would do while there. I couldn't help but smile ear to ear. This is what the goal is... and it's working!
I am pleased to say that our 5000 printed issues are available at over 50 places around the Northern Rivers (including The Modern Grocer in M'bah) and beyond. And you don't need to take them there yourselves, as my husband Thor, team member Lillie, and myself get the word out for you!
Get in touch if you are interested in being part of the Kyogle Culture Community (deadline for Issue 5 is the end of January 2019) and we wish you all of the best for 2019!
