Upstarts

A dream, a beer or a chance encounter might be all the inspiration you need.

Words by Nicolette Jahn

Martin Azzaro

‘In the last year I know five music stores that have closed or are on the way out. We have a small market and not everything is available through music stores, especially because a lot of people are turning to custom-built options and sourcing direct through manufacturers rather than music stores.’

Retail music stores selling instruments and equipment are slowly fading from the Melbourne landscape. Martin found his love for having a bash on the drums and playing guitar almost 10 years ago. Touring with Empra as a gear-tech in Melbourne, he started thinking that it would be great to offer a decent-sized practice space. Bringing Martin to a music store is like bringing a kid to a candy shop on a sugar high, who cannot stop touching everything. One of the places he frequented was 24Hundred, the headquarters for the very popular Unified Festival. The bands Unified represents sell their merchandise through the 24Hundred shopfront and the space is also available for gigs. Martin has started piecing together his idea for a business to add to the Melbourne music scene. He will create an all-in-one music space for repairs, merchandise sales, studio recording and probably a take-away coffee shop (he is a true Melburnian when it comes to coffee). An instrument repair place is hard to find around Melbourne, and by offering more services the business can be more secure. He wants a place the community of Melbourne music-lovers can rely on for their musical needs. He hopes to see this up and running in the next five years, give or take.

Steven Sutton

‘I would have a few unique beers and some that are common between other breweries like Carlton Dry and VB.’

Accounting student Steven had no money to grab a beer after uni with his mates. But this wasn’t going to stop him from having a cold one with the boys. Instead of spending upwards of $40 on a slab he saw that he could brew the same amount for $5. Melbourne has a large drinking culture and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. It was an investment at first to start it up but in the long run it would save him heaps of cash over his three years studying. It took a few tries to get a good flavour, some batches were too watery and tasted weak, but he and his taste-tester buddies approve of his later batches. That is far from the end of the story. There will be countless more batches to play with flavours and in the future even some dabbling in creative spirit flavours (he will need a permit for that first). One delicious sounding flavour is a caramel vodka that will no doubt go down easy in the innovative Melbourne food and drinks scene. From a logical, accounting perspective, Steven will start up a brewery before expanding to a bar. Besides, it’s easy to start brewing out of home; starting a bar at home might seem a little too “suss” to customers.

Siobhan Privitera

‘We primarily offer proof-reading and editing services, specialising in academic and creative writing. Given that we’ve now moved all around the world (Australia, Canada and Britain), we’re able to distribute and collaborate on time-sensitive work based on our time zones.’

Siobhan did her PhD in ancient Greek metaphor and had no idea that she would be working in academic editing after that. Eystein Thanisch, who did his PhD at the University of Edinburgh with Siobhan, began editing for some extra cash on the side. He quickly gained a fantastic reputation, along with a full-time role with an international editing organisation and saw he had far too much on his plate. Georgina Barker was pulled in to help out on the side, who then roped in three more fellow PhD University of Edinburgh students, including Siobhan. Together they started Intentio even though they all lived on different continents. This became their point of difference because they could edit around the clock by passing copy on to the next time-zone. Pulling editors from diverse PhD backgrounds allows them to take on a wide range of projects. “Scholarship is becoming highly international and the international language of scholarship (however one might feel about this) is English,” Siobhan says. Intentio can help prepare scholarly publications to match the standards of the field. Students and those early in their career, who may not get the same attention from other editors or professors, can get individual focus for their ideas and arguments. This small group used moving around the world to their advantage to churn out results

quicker than most. Check out www.intentio-editing.com!