FORM

Justin Locke. Owner - Subway DC & Wasteland

What do you do?

Together with my wife Megan we own and operate Subway DC,  a progressive retail clothing company with three stores,  King St Perth,  St Quentens Ave Claremont,  and Market St Fremantle. 

Together with Tania Nicolo we also own and operate Wasteland.  Wasteland is a premium concept store selling imported and Australian fashion, artwork, books and CD’s -  all with a pop culture emphasis.  I also have an interest in a music festival - Good Vibrations.

In my spare time I collect artwork and Modernist furniture, and have an active interest in Modernist architecture.  I am lucky enough to pursue these passions in the travels required to operate the businesses.

Who is in your ‘creative community’?

The hub of my creative community would be the artists we represent through Wasteland, many of whom like Ben Frost, Ben Frichot and Ha Ha (Regan Zero) are good friends.  Others like the Everfresh crew and some local street artists we represent in store are always good fun.  In addition a couple of friends are architects, illustrators, designers and the like.

As far as mentors go it would be Alvar Aalto,  Harry Seidler, Saarinen, Joe Columbo, Marc Newson and oh so many others…

I also have an interest in a music festival called Good Vibrations.  The promoters and organisers of the festival are inspirational, as are the artists that perform on the day.

What is your ‘creative footprint’?

I studied economics and building design, and ended up owning and operating the business’ above.  At the moment ‘Wasteland’ is my creative environment, and I find inspiration in the many facets of the business.  All in all, its good fun working in the space, dealing with the product, and meeting the suppliers and hearing their stories.

Describe what creativity means to you…

Being able to build something from a bunch of different influences and morph it into one form.  If a bunch of people can enjoy the end product, all the better. To a degree, this is the ethos of Wasteland, the store retails a bunch of products from different genres all in one space.

As a retail concept, no doubt it is a leap of faith! However, everyone who works here is passionate about what they do, so as a retail concept it definitely kicks. 

In short, passion is the key, if you don’t have it, don’t bother doing it!

Describe the ideal conditions for your creativity, and what, if anything, hinders you in creating those conditions.

Positive creativity is never easy to turn on or off for that matter… to a degree it comes when it comes.  The correct environment, encompassing all of the senses in a positive manner certainly assists in turning it on though. 

Negative people and environments including un-ergonomic interiors can be a drag.  They really slow the creative process and the progression and flow of ideas.