Guest Blog by Lisa Barron - Fashion Designer and Director of Lisa Barron

The year that was, finally feels like it could really be in the past. The clouds are parting and the green shoots of ideas born in isolation are beginning to sprout. So many ideas were tossed around through the turmoil, ideas that would never have been conjured up in a normal business environment.

There is much truth in the proverb “from crisis comes opportunity”. Covid certainly created crisis, so I cannot wait to see the opportunities that will emerge.

Melbourne’s Covid journey was truly unique from anywhere else in Australia.  Due to the spike in our case numbers, lockdowns were longer and harsher than other states and came with such short notice that any form of business planning was made incredibly difficult.

We were fortunate at Lisa Barron to have an online component to our business (with much gratitude to Donny who for many years strongly urged me to implement an online store so she could shop) which meant most of our team could still come to the office to work. However, it was a very different work environment. The phones didn’t ring and the streets were abandoned, so the concept of working together became very… together.

A key aspect to our success in surviving through Covid was a strong sense of nurturing and encouraging candidness in the workplace.

With every new restriction and extension announced the morale of my team understandably dropped. Thus it was incredibly important to give my team, and myself, a safe platform to talk about our mental health openly and without judgement. Each morning, we came into the office, practiced a little bit of yoga and then immediately sat down with our morning coffees to voice how we were feeling. It was sometimes incredibly difficult to hear what my team had to say. They were having problems at home, they missed their families and they had real concerns about their job security and the future of the business. Respecting their need for a platform of conversation and not judging or taking to heart when something was said in a cathartic way or with extra high emotion was an important skill I learnt during this time with my team.

Covid encouraged us to have conversations that we may never have had in a normal year.

Talking about money, business success and security openly with my team was really challenging but we are so much closer and stronger for it.

Along with changing the way we worked in the office, we were also quick to uptake all of the support mechanisms that became available to us such as Job Keeper, the Business Support Grant and very importantly the Stonnington Council Mental Health Support program that meant my team could get free personalised support from a mental health professional outside of the office.  

The future landscape of design and retail looks bright but not easy.

Covid has taught us to think about our collection with great accuracy and finesse; by combining the data and expertise we have hidden in every corner of our business. By letting go of the reins and trusting my team’s confidence to voice and implement ideas, both technically and creatively, we were able to create so many exciting things.  

We have an incredibly unique business structure here at LB where we don’t abide by traditional business titles, our team is too small for that! If I was to name what the women who work for me do… their titles would fill this entire page! When the work that my team does stretches into so many realms and cannot defined by one name, I prefer to think about their titles in terms of their value. Instead of “Marketing Coordinator” they could be “Chief of Unique Ideas”, or our “Sales Manager” as “Nurturer of Amazing Relationships”. Being defined by a title stunts the creativity of a team; instead we focus on inspiring ourselves to achieve value.

Through this technique, we are also able to take on a great variety of employees no matter their age.

Our current roster spans from 22 all the way to 73, with each team member being the best person for their job. From our 25 year old marketing manager, to the 73 year old machinist – everyone is the expert at what they do and I listen to every word they say. Even if it is hard to hear!

Having select, high value expert voices around me pushes our business forward constantly.

Through the labours of our own collaborative values, we recently launched our AW/21 Collection at a stunning evening hosted by The Langham, Melbourne. My relationship with the Langham has been a long one and it was an incredible opportunity to bring together our worlds to celebrate my 25th year in the Melbourne Fashion Festival. Bringing together creative ideas is so important to me, and I can’t wait for our future collaborative projects to come to life in 2021.

Bring on fresh ideas and new ways of working.

Written by by Lisa Barron - Fashion Designer and Director of Lisa Barron

www.lisabarron.com.au