Marianne Sea has a big plan: to create an online marketplace designed to support emerging Australian designers. The vision for Young Republic first began in 2009 for Marianne Sea and Andrew Yang, who with a passion for design and entrepreneurship had a dream to showcase local design talent to the global scene.
Young Republic is a breakthrough website aimed at fashion enthusiasts who will have the opportunity to visit the website to browse and purchase original and unique designs, hand-made creations and women’s, men’s and children’s fashion, jewellery, accessories, homewares and art.
With more than 80 local designers already on board, the exciting beta launch of Young Republic took place on Monday, May 2 where shoppers had their first opportunity to purchase unique designs online and support local talent.
Marianne had already harnessed the support of the fashion design community but needed a larger audience to support her plan and make it a reality. With the idea planted in her head, Marianne turned to online community website PlanBig.
PlanBig (www.planbig.com.au) is a website where anyone with a plan or an idea can access the resources and support to make their plan happen in the real world. An initiative of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, it is the contemporary iteration of the bank’s core approach, now drawing on the strengths of social networking to facilitate community outcomes.
“PlanBig is an amazing concept,” Marianne said. “I love how it encourages people to dream big, collaborate and encourage each other, and turn ideas into reality. It’s great to see the PlanBig community really passionate about inspiring creative ideas and entrepreneurship within Australia.”
Speaking on the reasons for her plan Marianne explained, “Both Andrew and I build many websites for small businesses and we knew how costly it is for emerging Australian designers to start their own businesses and websites. This inspired us to start Young Republic so that we could offer emerging designers a platform to showcase their talent.
“When we found out about PlanBig, we thought it was a great opportunity to get the word out about our vision for Young Republic and gather the momentum we needed to make our plan a reality,” Marianne said.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Managing Director, Mike Hirst, says budding entrepreneurs, dreamers, creative thinkers, community leaders and anyone with a bright idea should visit the site. “The site is a home for people with a shared interest or common goal. You can log in and plan your project with the help of other planners, or join up and support other people’s plans.”
To find out more about PlanBig, or to view the Supporting Emerging Australian Designers plan visit the PlanBig website at: http://www.planbig.com.au/young-republic
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