It would be foolish to pretend that any one person or any one company can do everything. And who would want to!
In the past I have immaturely thought that admitting that I can't do something, or I'm not the best person to do something is a sign of weakness. Well I grew out of that and thank goodness I did! Lots of help on this one from Brene Brown and her approach to vulnerability.
Anyhow, now I am so comfortable admitting that I am not the best person for every job, there are people far far better equipped and experienced than me. In addition, I don't enjoy every job and I want to spend as much of my time in joy as possible.
So here are a couple of Backpack buddies that I have worked with so far...
Sam Dyer and I have worked together since 2011 and he is by far my favourite conceptual designer. He gets business, he actually reads the words going into a design, he is a stickler for a great brief and will never let something get through to the client that isn't as good as it could possibly be. Most of all though he comes up with things that no-one else would have ever thought of. We have worked together on three new brands so far this year - all yet to be public - and I hope there are years of Sam and Sammy (or The SAS) to come.
I have also worked with the wonderful Jo Palmer of We need to talk marketing. We partnered on a project that really put her writing skills to the test. She had to very quickly understand a highly technical topic and explain it in ways that anyone could understand without loosing the weight of the insight. Tight turn around, minimal guidance, fabulous result. Jo is a brilliant marketer too.
There are many others with whom I am trying to find ways to work or who have been incredible sounding boards for projects or challenges. I'm grateful to you all. More buddies to be showcase next time.