TORY BAUER — Soul Safari

"I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, and secretly I hope I never do."

Tory Bauer is a serial collaborator. She works with businesses as a creative consultant, helps to put magazines and publications together, co-founded Australia's Craft Mafia, works for Byron Bay's Splendour In The Grass Music Festival and curates Splendour In The Craft, its art space and workshop series. She lives and works in Sydney.

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Where were you then? Where are you now?

I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, and secretly I hope I never do. My indecisiveness has led me on many career incarnations – including curating Mongolia’s first travelling International Film Festival, Teaching English to the Dalai Lama’s monks in India, fashion stylist, creating an artwork for London’s largest outdoor art exhibition, and currently I’m the Assistant General Manager of Splendour In The Grass Music Festival based in Byron Bay in Australia.

Photo: Fake it til you make it (yourself).

Where do you find your inspiration?

I’ve always had lots of side projects on the go – it’s what makes my heart skip beats, and makes me buy domain names such as YESIKANYE.COM late at night. Even in primary school I ran a cult zine called FUTURE TALK where I would predict the future of fellow students. Usually they ended up marrying Tom Cruise.

I still have side projects, and believe it’s fundamentally what nurtures my soul and keeps my curiosity alive (kind of like snacks in your lunchbox). Currently I’m consulting for Lunch Lady magazine, member of ideas coalition Jane Fender, co-founder of Craft Mafia & curator of Splendour In the Craft (an oasis of glitter and hot glue guns within the music festival – where we teach craft to punters with some of the bands from the lineup). I’m also a creative consultant for various businesses.

What's your advice for someone going through their own transformation?

HOLD ON TIGHT! It may seem like the yellow brick road is sometimes closed for renovations, but always remember to believe in what you’re doing, be kind, have beautiful manners, tread gently on the planet, share your toys, return everything you borrow, find the beauty in everything, listen to others and keep rolling!

Photo: My son Marlowe's drawing - full of innocence, magic and Jean Paul Gaultier lookalikes.

Are you following the path of a trailblazer or mentor?

I’m forever harvesting new mentors, trailblazers, thinkers, makers and doers. All of these people keep me up at night (like imaginary friends) for their absolutely brilliant minds and breathtaking talent. Currently I’m enamored by Amac from Citylights Projects (also my sweetheart), Who Gives A Crap toilet paper, Daphne Guiness, Sia, Be an Unfucker, Vivienne Westwood, The Do Lectures, School of Life, We Print Nice things Publishing house and Werner Herzog.

Photo: The creative landscape of Byron Bay.

Where's your soul spot?

I’ve always considered myself a Viking. I always secretly hoped that I was adopted from Iceland. The moment I went there I fell in love and felt right at home. When I visited Iceland for the second time, I took an ad out in the local newspaper, Grapevine, seeking adoption. I’m completely charmed, by the volcanic landscape, the geothermal hot springs, the makers and shakers of the tiny island, and how the isolation makes the locals cultivate a creative spirit.

Photo: I is for Iceland.

If you could do anything in the world, what would you do next?

Make/create fucking great work with charming people. I’m forever besotted with the idea of collaborations – whether it be great duets like Kenny and Dolly, fashion collaborations such as the Prada Marfa installation, furniture partnerships like Ray & Charles Eames, and Art mutual-admiration-societies like Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. Creative collisions, that’s what I would love to do - forget stranger danger, I want to jump on the lazy susan and get lost along the way. The journey is the destination right?

Photo: Splendour In The Craft Tent (crochet blanket letters).

All images used with permission of Tory Bauer.