Episode
216

Building an art empire | Ellie Compton

For Episode 216, we sat down with Ellie Compton, a successful artist who merged her architectural background with her creative passion to build a highly structured, profitable enterprise. Ellie's professional journey demonstrates the power of converting a side project into a full-time career through calculated strategy and business acumen. In this episode, we talk about the development of her unique architectural, medieval, and steampunk-inspired line illustrations and the strategic financial metrics that allowed her to transition away from a traditional career. We conduct a deep dive into her business ecosystem—from leveraging premium-priced commissions and commercial murals to launching a popular mentorship program for other artists. We discuss the critical role of presentation and high-quality packaging in elevating brand value, the strategic approach to cultivating long-term client relationships, and the necessary financial and marketing discipline required to thrive as an artist in the modern market.
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Ellie Compton
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Building an art empire | Ellie Compton

For Episode 216, we sat down with Ellie Compton, a successful artist who merged her architectural background with her creative passion to build a highly structured, profitable enterprise. Ellie's professional journey demonstrates the power of converting a side project into a full-time career through calculated strategy and business acumen. In this episode, we talk about the development of her unique architectural, medieval, and steampunk-inspired line illustrations and the strategic financial metrics that allowed her to transition away from a traditional career. We conduct a deep dive into her business ecosystem—from leveraging premium-priced commissions and commercial murals to launching a popular mentorship program for other artists. We discuss the critical role of presentation and high-quality packaging in elevating brand value, the strategic approach to cultivating long-term client relationships, and the necessary financial and marketing discipline required to thrive as an artist in the modern market.

In Episode 216, David Melse interviews Ellie Compton, a successful artist who transformed her architectural background into a thriving creative enterprise. Originally trained as an architect, Ellie gradually built her distinctive black and white line illustration business over 9-10 years before taking the full-time plunge five years ago.

Ellie's unique architectural, medieval, steampunk-inspired illustrations have secured collaborations with brands like Google, Reebok, and TradeMe. Her business model consists of approximately 60% commission work, 30% commercial projects (murals and brand collaborations), and 10-15% from her mentorship programme teaching business acumen to artists.

She emphasises the importance of strategic pricing, high-quality presentation, and creating an "ecosystem" of offerings. Ellie deliberately positions herself at a premium price point, using limited availability to drive demand. Her custom artworks typically start around £2,100 for an A3 framed piece, with commissions opening just twice yearly.

Throughout the conversation, Ellie shares insights on building client relationships, creating emotional connections through her storytelling approach, and the importance of proper business structure for creative enterprises. She's particularly passionate about helping other artists overcome the "starving artist" stereotype by teaching them solid business practices.

Looking ahead, Ellie aims to expand her commercial work, particularly creating large-scale murals that tell companies' stories in a visually compelling way that resonates with audiences across language barriers.

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Episode
216

Building an art empire | Ellie Compton

For Episode 216, we sat down with Ellie Compton, a successful artist who merged her architectural background with her creative passion to build a highly structured, profitable enterprise. Ellie's professional journey demonstrates the power of converting a side project into a full-time career through calculated strategy and business acumen. In this episode, we talk about the development of her unique architectural, medieval, and steampunk-inspired line illustrations and the strategic financial metrics that allowed her to transition away from a traditional career. We conduct a deep dive into her business ecosystem—from leveraging premium-priced commissions and commercial murals to launching a popular mentorship program for other artists. We discuss the critical role of presentation and high-quality packaging in elevating brand value, the strategic approach to cultivating long-term client relationships, and the necessary financial and marketing discipline required to thrive as an artist in the modern market.
With
Ellie Compton
,
Episode
215

Building a Brand the Kiwi Way | Lead Head

For episode 215 we sat down with Troy and Nick from Lead Head. What started as a few mates with an idea has grown into one of New Zealand’s most recognisable lifestyle brands, built on creativity, community and a good dose of chaos. In this episode we talk about the story behind LeadHead’s rise — from custom golf hats to international orders — and how a casual podcast appearance turned into a full business partnership. We also dive into their approach to building culture through authenticity, how they’ve stayed true to their roots as the brand grows, and why every decision, no matter how big, still comes down to a game of paper, scissors, rock.
With
Troy and Nic
Directors
,
Lead Head
Episode
214

Building Resilience and Meaning Beyond the Uniform | Daniel Lastovicka

For episode 214, we sat down with Daniel Lastovicka. From his family’s journey from Czechoslovakia to New Zealand to building a career as an Army officer, hunter, and endurance athlete, Daniel’s story is one of purpose, discipline, and pushing beyond limits. In this episode we talk about the creation of Project Beyond the Ranges — Daniel’s self-made Movember challenge combining a 5km swim across Lake Tekapo, a mountain run over the Two Thumb Range, and a 200km ride back to Christchurch — and the deeper mission behind it: raising awareness and action for men’s mental health. We also dive into the lessons the military teaches about leadership and resilience, the connection between hardship and growth, and how showing up for yourself and others can change lives.
With
Daniel Lastovicka
Triathlete, Hunter, Adventurer
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