As we approach the end of the year, we find ourselves reflecting on a year full of uncertainty, disappointments and challenges to our imagination and values. A year where we all had to focus and work together – as a team to share the load.
Embracing Change and Innovation
In the dynamic landscape of business, adaptability is key. This year, as usual we embraced change, while navigating challenges and turning them into opportunities. Our team’s commitment to innovation has been inspiring, leading to the development of exciting new products and enhancing of our existing offerings.
Celebrating Milestones
2023 has been filled with significant milestones for Corban & Blair. From launching new eco-friendly product lines, to expanding our presence in new markets. Each achievement is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our incredible team. Together, we work on new exciting product solutions.
Caring for Our Community
Corban & Blair is part of the creative community. We want to express our thanks to our customers, partners, collaborators and supporters who have been an integral part of our journey. Such trust and loyalty drive us to continually raise the bar and deliver products that resonate with your values.
Sustainable Practices and Social Responsibility
In a world that demands corporate responsibility, we remain committed to sustainable practices. Our initiatives to reduce our environmental footprint and contribute to social causes reflect our dedication to creating a positive impact. A future where business and sustainability go hand in hand.
Thank you from all of us at Corban & Blair, your support fuels our passion, and we look forward to creating more memories and accomplishments in the new year.
2023 What will it bring? Who knows? – from my research among learned friends, the media, extensive reading, and many podcasts it suggests that having a meaningful purpose will be helpful guide for decision making.
Keep an open positive mind, check facts, care about what you do, and who you do it with.
Be kind to others and care for our environment and all that exists in it.
Mostly- be comfortable with being uncomfortable as the future is always unknown.
If you want to be inspired read The Book of Hope. Interviews and wisdom from Jane Goodall.
Gillian January 2023
Repurpose Fruit & Wine Boxes Notebooks
Client: Ball & Doggett
Boxes collected from the streets of Sydney and re-purposed into notebooks filled with 100% recycled paper stock. Made by Corban & Blair for Ball & Doggett.
Ball & Doggett are Australia’s largest distributor of printable material and press consumables. They were looking for a gifting solution that highlighted the importance of sustainability within their industry which was gifted to attendees of the Women in Packaging forum.
MADE IN AUSTRALIA
Material: Re-purposed fruit and wine boxes, 100% recycled 100gsm paper, wire binding, elastic closure
Our gallery is a curated collection of our latest one-off product designs that we have created exclusively for our corporate clients.
Request a Quote
If you are interested in a similar product, we can provide you with a quote based on our previous projects. Please indicate the type of product, quantity, size, material, and whether or not it requires the application of a brand logo.
Personalised Gift Pack
Client: Westpac
Personalised gift packs designed for Westpac Scholars recipients.
Acknowledge your staffs hard work or send a personalised message to your clients, thanking them for their loyalty. We can help you put together a personalised gift suited for every occasion. You can choose from our range of products or customise a product and add a personalised note.
For a customisation option, please contact us at 02 9560 0122 or send us a message by filling out the form below.
Our gallery is a curated collection of our latest one-off product designs that we have created exclusively for our corporate clients.
Request a Quote
If you are interested in a similar product, we can provide you with a quote based on our previous projects. Please indicate the type of product, quantity, size, material, and whether or not it requires the application of a brand logo.
Resilience, intelligence and creativity have been key to keeping us motivated and providing meaningful experiences for our customers during the NSW lockdown.
New Product Ranges
Our customers want locally made, beautifully designed and sustainable marketing items. This has been our core focus for 2021 and we will continue to develop and expand this next year and beyond.
Engaging with others
This month we were involved in a Virtual Product Launch for APPA members hosted by Ida from APPA. This presentation was an opportunity to let potential customers know what we can offer them. Watch the presentation here.
We presented to the staff at Lendlease, information on our new products, our design process and why we work with certain material and finishes.
We joined an Instagram Live with Michelle Bowditch from Door 20a. Michelle has launched the Australian Admin Awards, which recognise and celebrate the achievements, dedication and importance of all Administrative Professionals across our country; inclusive of receptionists, office managers, admin assistants, personal assistants, executive assistants and executive business partners. It is the first-ever business award of its kind in Australia and we are sponsoring the Visionary Award. Nominations are now open!
Online Sales
We have kept busy with online orders via the Corban & Blair website and from other online retailers who we drop ship for. This has been great, it is hard work though!
Boxes, packaging and paper donations
Our boxes might look a little second hand because they are! We are proud to reuse all boxes and packaging donated by our local community. A big thanks to everyone who has dropped off their old boxes and newspapers, a special shoutout to Wall’s Pharmacy, Mahlab Media, Smith Street Traders and Carolyn’s neighbours who are fantastic at collecting packaging material for us to reuse.
Opportunities
We have made the most of this time to up skill, experiment with new material, design and manufacture lots of new products locally as well as off shore.
Window Gallery
Our Window Gallery exhibitions have continued during lockdown. Even with less foot traffic we sold artworks from graphic artist Alex Trans eye catching exhibition.
Currently we are displaying original canvas artworks by Thomas Avery and Framed prints by Euraba Artists and Paper Makers. We have an upcoming exhibition with the artists from Studio A.
We are always on the lookout for new artists to display their work in our window, let us know if this opportunity might interest you.
Certified B Corp status pending
We are in the process of apply for B Corp certification. Certified B Corporations are a new kind of business that balances purpose and profit. This is a community of leaders, driving a global movement of people using business as a force for good.
Pooches keeping us active
It is no secret we all LOVE dogs in the Corban & Blair office. Lemon our resident couch hog has a new friend next door named Augie. Lots of long walks in the park for these two during lockdown.
How has lockdown been for you or your business?
Feel free to share your experiences from this moment in history with us.
We look forward to seeing you again soon.
The Corban & Blair team
Ring Binder
Client: My School Memories
This A4 ring binder was custom made for My School Memories. My School Memories goal is to help families keep organised. In doing so, they are committed to supporting local which is why their folders have been designed and made in Australia by Corban & Blair. Learn more about My School Memories here.
This folder was handmade and bound and lined in black coated paper with a leather-like appearance, inside and out making them durable and easy to care for.
Metallic silver, blue and pink foil logo deboss on the cover and spine. Black ring metal, allowing multiple pages to be held in place and changed with ease.
Material: Bound and lined in black coated paper with a leather-like appearance, black ring metal
Application: Foil blocked logo front cover and spine.
Our gallery is a curated collection of our latest one-off product designs that we have created exclusively for our corporate clients.
Request a Quote
If you are interested in a similar product, we can provide you with a quote based on our previous projects. Please indicate the type of product, quantity, size, material, and whether or not it requires the application of a brand logo.
Challenged by climate issues and the need to support local business. Corban & Blair have returned to their roots making more products locally.
We are proud of our new A5 Australian Made Recycled Leather Journal crafted from recycled leather, combining 60% genuine leather fibres from the European shoe and handbag industry, 20% natural latex, 10% natural fat, 10% misc/raw material with tanning agents and water.
The refillable pad is made from 100% de-inked recycled post-consumer waste collected from offices throughout Australia, it is carbon neutral and made in the Maryvale Mill, in Victoria.
Journals come in 3 colours red, black and navy and soon tan.
Other items in the collection to be launched are binders, albums, card holders, travel wallets and A4 Journals. Bespoke, custom made items can also be made from this leather. Please contact us for any questions you made have on this collection.
Maggie Stein is a Sydney-based printmaker and art educator, specialising in lino printing.
She has carved out a successful teaching career as an art educator within primary, secondary and tertiary educational sectors. In addition, she currently runs private lino printing classes whilst cultivating her artistic practice in her space at “Little Majestic”, Marrickville.
Maggie draws inspiration from the intricate architectural details and aged surfaces of inner-city structures. “My earliest memories are looking up into the intricate patterns on the ceiling of our family home, the ability to get lost in pattern has stayed with me all my life and provided me with creative nourishment and a world to escape to.” She has been recognised for her linoprint depictions of inner west Sydney and continues to create images based around Australian natural and built environments.
A selection of Maggies work is now on display in the Corban & Blair window gallery.
We were delighted to be featured in Temple & Webster’s first Homegrown episode. Below is an excerpt of the blog.
Meet the creators of product design company Corban & Blair, a company dedicated to creating beautiful products that have heart. Their products are made to last and make for incredibly personal gifts, but what’s more, Corban & Blair is built on uplifting communities and the beauty of Australia.
Who are Corban & Blair
Cousins and co-founders, Gillian and Amanda are the creative duo behind Corban & Blair. In 1983, designer stationery was a market that was saturated with imported products that didn’t represent the beauty of Australia. There was a niche for more contemporary design and Gillian and Amanda seized the opportunity.
From the very beginning, they were dedicated to incorporating an environmental edge, so they began by importing recycled paper, which developed into working with Australian recyclers to create paper that was worthy of beautiful stationery. They’ve continued to push the recyclability of materials, and have recently worked with a manufacturer to create a leather that’s made out of completely recycled material.
How Corban & Blair collaborate
“Our purpose is to work with other people.” – Gillian Corban
Corban & Blair is a proud collaborative team, who see the value in working not just together as a company, but with many collaborators to create new, innovative products. Each collaboration is undertaken with meaning and with a particular goal in mind, whether that be to celebrate artists of a particular state, or to highlight indigenous art. It’s through this drive to work with others that saw them come together with Studio A.
Studio A works with artists with intellectual disabilities, proving them with the pathways and opportunities afforded to abled artists that aren’t always available to those with disabilities. The profits from exhibitions and sales are invested back into the education and facilities of the studio, increasing the opportunities for artists to grow their professional networks and achieve their artistic and economic goals. Their passion for inclusion, equity and respect creates an environment where artists can flourish, regardless of situations that may be hindering them.
“They’re really beautiful, because every piece is different.” – Amanda Blair
Mentoring and supporting Australian women
As a company founded by women in an industry and at a time that didn’t see that as much, Gillian and Amanda are very keen to transfer their knowledge and give back in any way they can. Currently, Gillian is working with Mentor Walks Australia in providing people with advice to give their lives or careers direction and enabling them to reach their personal goals.
“Mentoring is kind of a person-to-person thing, I mean when you’re mentoring, you get as much back from them as they do from you.” – Gillian Corban
This is something that Gillian has been doing for many years and allows her to meet an array of interesting and different people that, at times, gives great insight into her own product development.
Amanda has spent years working with Theresa House, a refuge for people experiencing homelessness, aiding them in the day-to-day tasks such as laundering.
They both also work with Red Room Poetry, the Social Outfit and Green Collect, either through supporting or mentoring.
Why they love their work
“One of the things that I’m most proud of is that it’s been over 30 years, and we’re still in business, and something that I think is really worth noting is that I enjoy getting up out of bed and going to work every day. That’s a real feat.” – Amanda Blair
After 33 years, their team and business has grown into one that works intuitively and seamlessly together, which allows them to enjoy every moment that they spend at work. They’ve been afforded the opportunities to travel and engage with many different people on unique projects that makes their work all the more meaningful.
Corban & Blair and Hunt leather collaborated to hold a “Do it Yourself” workshop to make leather journals. Keeping and writing journals is very important in times of unprecedented change. Much history is collected from the personal observations and feelings of people who document their experiences.
Everyone went home with a beautiful and stylish handmade leather journal they were proud to have made.
