CORPORATE - CREATIVE - SOCIAL

A lifetime spent with words.

An only child who found his first friendships in the pages of books,

James understands that the written word is powerful.

It cannot be misheard, it lingers long after the eyes have left the page, and that it therefore must be impeccable.

In today’s world many have lost the art of writing as we communicate daily through GIF’s and LOL’s and brightly coloured emojis.

True creative copy is rare, but its impact is like no other.

I mean, Would you “Just do it!” If you hadn’t just read it?

My Expertise

Digital marketing

My Writing Samples

WWW.M-ART-Y.CO

full website copy

WWW.NOOSADREAMBOATS.AU

Full website copy

I never really understood the allure of the “Pepsi”. I mean don’t get me wrong, the GMT is a lovely watch, but the red/blue bezel always reminded me of the Lorus “time teacher” that my grandma gave me when I was about 6yrs old, it had this youthful, almost childlike quality about it, and I could just never see it as luxurious, Until....... I started getting older.

Yep, unfortunately it happens to all of us, and where I once saw my watch as an opportunity to signal to the world that I was a grown-up and to take me seriously, I now found myself clamouring towards that youthful “cool” that all of a sudden felt like it was slipping away from me. The GMT II “Pepsi” is exactly that, it’s cool. Like, really fucking cool. It’s a watch that’s not craving attention or saying “look at me”, but it fits in effortlessly in any situation. It’s the horological equivalent of a great fitting pair of jeans.

I remember going through a stage in my early-mid 20’s, let’s call it an identity crisis, where I had no idea who I really was. I was recently married, business was good, but I felt like an imposter playing the role of an adult. I’d swapped out all my t-shirts for polos, my jeans for chinos, and as much as I hate to admit it, I even got to the point that I was wearing boat shoes so often, that I wore out the soles on at least 2 pairs of Sperry’s, I was in a bad way. Gone was my G-SHOCK, as I started daydreaming of an IWC Portuguese (whilst wearing a Tissot Visodate), and I think it was also around this time that my punk rock and hip-hop music taste was swapped out for a soundtrack that was almost exclusively John Mayer (ironic that he’s now become a “watch god”). It was a hard time, but I think in some way we can probably all relate.

It was 2012, maybe 13, that a friend of mine told me he’d “finally” found a Pepsi. It was at a store in Sydney, it was a 2006 (ref:16710) and they were asking $14k for the full set (original box and papers), but he was confident he could get it for 12. He ended up paying 13, and I thought he was crazy, but over the coming years I realised it was me that didn’t have my head screwed on. Not only for the increase in investment over this time, but for the fact that he wore this watch everywhere, and I became jealous. It just worked, it looked cool, like it always has and always will. At its core it’s a (usually) stainless steel workhorse, the bezel brings a nice pop of colour, the dial is clear and easy to read, and the dual time zone complication is an underrated feature that is incredibly useful when travelling.

I guess the moral of this story, is that unlike myself, and probably most of us, the Pepsi has never had that identity crisis, it’s always known exactly who and what it is. Since it first appeared in 1953 as a commission for Pan American Airways, the watch has remained largely unchanged. A few new materials here, a crown guard or bracelet option there, but it’s always been a “Pepsi”. There’s not many things that come to mind that have stood the test of time and remained this cool for 70 years. So if an opportunity arises, and your budget permits, just buy one. Don’t overthink it, just get the damn watch, you’ll never regret it.

Pepsi - A watch tale.

about

darren tye

Darren Tye, Architect/Developer

Darren is an award winning Architect, property developer, and entrepreneur.

Having been mentored by the great Harry Seidler AC OBE, one of Australia’s most revered and awarded architects, Darren has developed a pragmatic approach to design and development.

Through the multitude of projects, joint ventures, and consultation Darren has been involved in over the decades, he brings a near-unrivalled level of expertise to the property sector.

A diverse portfolio throughout his career has given Darren not only a wealth of knowledge and experience, but also tremendous insight as to what may lie ahead. It is this forward thinking approach that has seen Darren in such constant demand.

Darren is at heart a problem solver, and inherently recognises that design theory can often be applied to other situations, and that creativity is a crucial component of innovation.

Darren Tye - About me

“There’s a tiger in my pocket”

Excerpt from an unpublished children's book

“VVVRRRROOOOOMMMMMMM!!! Went Noah as he thrust a blue Hot Wheels car down the launch ramp.

This new track was the best one yet! It went all the way from Noah’s room and out the door, took a big sweeping turn down the hallway past his Parent’s room, round the loop the loop, and finally over the mega jump and through the ring of fire.

“Oh ohhhh!!!” winced Noah as the car left the track and went flying over the edge of the first floor landing.

“CRRAAASSSSHHHH” came the sound of breaking glass downstairs, followed by a splashing sound, which Noah knew couldn’t be good.

“NOAH, GET DOWN HERE NOW” came a yell from his grandma, who’d been snoring on the couch since about 5 minutes after his mum left for work.

“COMING NANNA” called out Noah, as he ran down the stairs to see what damage had been done.

As he reached the kitchen bench where his grandma was bent over cleaning something up, he spotted Chilli his red Siamese fighting fish, flapping around on the tiles under one of the stools. “CHILLI!” He screamed, quickly scooping him up with his hand and putting him into a glass of water that was sitting on the bench.

Noah drew a sigh of relief as Chilli fanned his tail and swam a lap around the glass. As His Nanna continued to yell in the background, Noah didn’t hear a word she said, his heart was still racing at the thought that he’d almost killed his best friend. Wait….Chilli was his only friend….

Friends didn’t come easy for Noah, not because he didn’t try, but he felt like he just never really fit in. Noah’s Dad was in the Air Force, and because of this, the family moved around a lot. Noah was already at his third school, and he was only in grade 2. It felt like every time he made a friend it was time for them to pack up and move again. Up until this last move it wasn’t so bad because his mum had worked from home, but once they got here she made some friends at the gym who convinced her to to to work with them. Noah felt like he never really saw his mum and dad anymore, they were both too busy, that’s why they had his Nanna move in with them. Now, his Nanna was sort of nice, but Noah thought she smelt funny, she fell asleep on the couch all the time, and she snored so loud that you couldn’t even hear the tv. Oh, and she looked like she was growing a bit of a beard.. that was the bit Noah hated most of all, he wondered if she even knew....

About.

The written word is very different to the conversational style in which we are all used to communicating.

So often, we lose the wit and humility capable through speech tonality and body language when we place words onto a page. So evident is this, that nowadays seldom do we see a text message that is not littered with emojis or finished off with a “haha” to convey the emotion and tone that the author has intended.

As we progress deeper into the digital age, our attention spans are shortening and our patience is thinning, whilst our expectations continue to grow. The moment in which we have to capture an audience has become minuscule, as we are constantly only ever a swipe of the thumb away from being replaced.

Standing out is not about being the “loudest in the room”, far from it. Polarity has it’s place, but what we really need is to connect. We need to tap into the intangible bond that ties the human race together. Our words need to be authentic, told from a place of of lived experience and adventure, not some AI bot. We need to laugh, more than almost any other time in our history….its humour that’s holding us together. We need to be inspired, to have the knowledge that the best is yet to come, and to….just…keep…going. And above all, we need love. Because that one thing, in and of itself is why we’re all here.

Through the richness and complexity of the English language, with all it’s nuance and contradiction, we hold a very powerful tool. Whether it be to tell your story, to inspire others, or to sell your brand, we all need words. The right words can change your world in an instant, however, getting them wrong can have devastating effects, such is the balance of opposites.

A gifted story teller, James has an innate ability to articulate thoughts into words. His extensive vocabulary and understanding of grammatical impact enable him to write emotionally charged prose that is effortlessly engaging. Whether it is short form professional or corporate copy such as product/brand/job descriptions and creative social marketing, or you are wanting to create an entire brand suite or pitch deck for your start-up, James will identify and use the right style of communication to engage your target audience.

James is also capable and eager to take on larger projects such as script writing and ghost authoring.

Client Testimonials

Having recently purchased a business in Noosa we needed some professional help with our website copy. James came highly recommended. We met to go over the brief and he quickly turned around the work and we couldn’t be happier with the result!

Writing about one’s self is never easy, and when asked to submit an “about me” for a recent symposium I had no idea what to say. After a few failed attempts, I was referred to James through a contact. We had a chat over coffee the next morning, and by that evening he’d made me look like a superstar, at least on paper. I can’t recommend him highly enough.

When it came to writing about myself and my art for my website i was totally lost. James really listened to what I had to say. It’s almost like he was able to get inside my head and find the words that I couldn’t quite find myself.

He’s unreal.

Let's Work Together

Email Address

hello@je-graham.com