A little background ...

08-Mar-2010 ... Article first published October 2006.

Freelance Creatives Have a New Dot Com
.
Sydney based freelancer creates an Australian first…
Jenni Naylor has been working in the advertising industry as an Art Director and Designer
for in excess of 20 years and is sought after by leading agencies and highly respected brands.
However, Jenni is more than a freelance creative. She recognised the need for a new niche
freelance website - totally devoted to freelancers and has given birth to a concept that will
change the way agencies and clients source freelance creative talent forever.

Having worked in the UK for a couple of years, she arrived from Yorkshire in the late 80’s.
After making thousands (yes, thousands) of phone calls to advertising agencies, and being
advised to leave her portfolio in reception, she created a Direct Marketing piece and sent it
through to Bob Isherwood and Paul Hansen (then Creative Directors of The Campaign Palace
and Saatchi’s respectively and more recently Bob Isherwood -worldwide creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi.)
Not having to hold her breath for too long, Bob called her at 9am the following morning with
an invitation to come in and meet him. He was clearly impressed and got Jenni into the Award School at the Palace.
 It was this early break from Bob that kicked off her freelance career down under.

Jenni has worked for a number of leading advertising agencies on a range of above and
below-line campaigns over the last two decades, including respected brands such as Sydney Ferries,
State Transit Authority, Countrylink, Telstra, Optus, Stegbar, INGDirect, ING, MLC, Jaguar, Dupont,
The Cruising Club, Mercedes-Benz of Sydney and Airport Express, etc.
In 1992 the fun-loving and eccentric creative character took four years out of the industry with her partner,
and bought a country hotel in Victoria (aren’t all country pubs owned by Advertising people?).

It was here in the Victorian country town that her years of advertising and marketing expertise led the pair
to win an Australian Hotel Association (AHA) Award for ‘the best marketed hotel’ and runner up as ‘the best
country hotel’, up against all the mainstream hotel and pub chains.

Second hand smoke, too much VB and her love of the city drove Jenni and her husband to return back to Sydney
where they settled in the Northern Beaches suburb of Clareville in 1997. Here she continued her passion as a
freelance Creative and Art Director - working with both advertising agencies and direct clients.

It was through this period she saw the need for a portal devoted to freelancers, created by freelancers
- a bright idea that was yet to be mastered here in Australia.
If anyone was going to take on the challenge,
it’s Jenni, the perfectionist!

Jenni tapped into her myriad of contacts and brought together a team of freelance web developers and marketing
gurus that would share her vision and bring her ‘baby’ to the world-wide-web. ‘The Freelance Factory’ was born -
a website that would work as a directory of freelancers from all areas of the creative spectrum.

Jenni believed freelancers needed more than just a directory – but rather a community that could provide a virtual
workplace for Australian creatives. Thefreelancefactory.com.au is a one-stop destination for freelancers to team up
for projects, source technical advice from freelancing colleagues and ultimately drum-up new business in a
competitive arena packed with talent.

Since first going live - July 2006, over 5,200 freelancers and organisations have registered - with 580 freelancers
advertising their expertise by adding their profiles. From all around Australia and New Zealand, freelancers have jumped
on board and joined the factory. From copywriters, art directors, web designers, graphic designers, photographers,
journalists, 3D animators and Make-Up Artists through to Direct Marketing Specialists and Publicists are embracing
the Aussie initiative.

Jenni has trademarked The Freelance Factory in other countries around the world and holds 40 other relative domain names
in preparations for expansion.

While pushing the portal onwards and upwards in leaps and bounds with her hand picked team, she continues her core love
as an Art Director and closet comical writer.

Jenni is currently working as a freelance art director on several blue chip clients. Her direct clients include Mercedes-Benz
Sydney and Airport Express, Bod Aromatherapy and the charity Clown Doctors (Jenni donates her creative time).
Being the diverse charismatic character that she is, Jenni’s also written several short film scripts and a six part sitcom,
which she hopes one day to get into production.
-END-

---