Small Fires 2020 Winner: A Brighter Future for Small Start Ups!
An Interview with Grace O’Hara
“After a two-year journey of collaboration with incredible women from around the world, our first book is now printed and shipping to all corners of the world.”
The Early Ethical Pitch Competition is a great platform and award celebration to showcase the Ethical Business and Enterprises that are just starting out. The Winner of the Early Ethical Pitch Competition 2020 was announced at the Moral Fairground Conference. A humble but influential publishing group, now turned umbrella organisation with a focus on storytelling that is inclusive and eco-conscious design came into the spotlight as the 2020 winners. We spoke to Grace O’Hara of Small Fires to learn about how being an award winner has influenced the process of nurturing Small Fires to the next level...
What was the initial spark that inspired the idea for Small Fires?
Grace: Back in 2015, I was lucky enough to spend some time travelling across South-East Asia and Eastern Africa. I realised that the stories I’d consumed (through news and stories) about the places I visited were vastly different from reality. When I arrived home and tried to tell my friends and family about just how “normal” places were, I found it incredibly difficult to shift people’s perspectives. My sister was having her first child around that time and I saw an opportunity to create new stories for the next generation - and hopefully by osmosis, teach the adults around them!
As such, Melbourne based Small Fires is a bright light for those that are creating community change around the globe. This community centred and diversity driven ethical focus is the spark that makes Small Fires burn bright in the hearts and minds of book lovers.
Grace: We co-create children’s books with locals that show what it's really like to grow up in different places and amongst different cultures. Each story is grounded in truth and joy and acts as an entry point for young readers to think outside their world.
Brought to life using vegetable-based inks, compostable and recyclable packaging with 100% carbon neutral postage, Small Fires is ‘good for humans, good for the planet.’ A collaborative approach to storytelling that connects change-makers in their country of origin, eco-friendly books sharing cultural diversity is just the beginning for 2020 Award winners.
What was it like to be recognised as the 2020 winner at the Ethical Pitch Competition?
Grace: To be honest, it was really shocking! There were some incredible Founders and presentations on the day and I didn’t think we had a strong chance of winning it at all. As a Co-Founder, you have this complex relationship with validation where you need it to prove you have a good market fit, but you don’t want to rely on it to keep you going. You need to find your own fuel to keep your fire burning! But having the judges and audience connect with our vision - it was amazing! Truly, the best kind of validation and so critical for that moment in our journey when so much is unknown.
How many years had Small Fires been operating?
Grace: We’d been working on our first story since early 2018, but only launched it late last year! So we’re technically under one year old. It’s been a big year! One of the amazing things that came out of the conference was meeting Paty Galán, another small business owner who was making multilingual toys and games which also celebrate diversity. Just in the past few months, she’s decided to join Small Fires as a Co-Founder and our businesses will soon be combined into a bigger, more beautiful collaboration. Taking all her experience into account, it feels like we’ve been around for years!
This is empowering for children as they are able to see themselves represented in stories and also learn about the cultural nuances of living in a global world. By being able to share with local change-makers, the books are a mirror into a world that is both local and global through community.
Grace: We partner with local change-makers from each community to write our stories, using their memories and photos to make the final book as true to life as possible. Money from each book then goes back into supporting the change-makers work, empowering local leaders in that community.
It is through the sharing of stories that we are connected. As the winner of the Early Ethical Pitch Competition, Small Fires demonstrates the momentum behind enhancing our community with sustainable practices that are rich in diversity.
Grace: Our stories are what we wish we’d had growing up: stories that show what it’s really like in different places around the world, with no agenda other than to build understanding, respect and empathy.
What contribution does publishing make to our Australian communities in a way that Small Fires feels particularly connected to?
Grace: The stories we consume, whether they’re on screens, pages or by ear, are like mirrors to our world: they reflect our experiences and show us what it’s like to live in someone else’s shoes. But when the same stories are told by the same people, and the diversity of those people don’t match the richness of our communities, it does us a disservice: it limits what we believe is possible, it limits our understanding of each other. Visual media is changing much faster than what’s happening on our pages, and that’s because of the way power has changed in that space. Anyone can become a content creator and reach millions via social media, and media-hungry streaming services are increasingly giving underrepresented people a chance to showcase their talent. When it comes to books, it can be really expensive to produce physical stories. There’s also an incredible amount of power held by big publishers and distributors that will take a movement to change. Our work is to showcase how much great storytelling we’re missing by excluding diverse creatives and advocate for a more equitable publishing system at the same time.
How do you see children’s books as a collaborator of change?
Grace: Children’s books are a beautiful way to bring things back to basics. As adults, we can get lost in nuances and complexity. Putting something in writing that is designed for a child to understand can make big things less scary, and messy things quite clear. I’ve loved seeing more and more stories emerge that tackle everything from the climate emergency to body positivity, consent and human rights. In my unbiased opinion, children’s books are a truly overlooked channel for social change. They offer a unique opportunity to shape the next generation early, while talking to parents, carers and educators at the same time!
Do you have a favourite story that you have published?
Grace: Making books is quite expensive, so we’ve just published one so far! This first story, Lillian The Tiriki Girl, will always be close to our heart because it proved a new way of making stories was possible. Thanks to Paty and her multilingual approach to learning, we’ve been focusing on translating this story into different languages, increasing the amount of people who can find connection through it. You might be hearing this first, we’ve literally just made the decision and found the funding to work on book number two though! So stay tuned for more news soon. Of course, this is in conjunction with bringing Paty’s previous business under the Small Fires umbrella and seeing what new things we can dream up together, outside of publishing!
A young Grace (left) and Paty (right), Co-Founders of Small Fires
A young Grace (left) and Paty (right), Co-Founders of Small Fires
Small Fires shines on the potential for community development with an appreciation for underrepresented cultures and languages. It is through the Early Ethical Pitch Competition and the network at the Moral Fairground Conference that ideas become a reality for those wanting to make real changes! Our panel of judges will select a new 2021 winner for the Future is Now hosted by Moral Fairground in partnership with Melbourne Uni and RMIT in October.
To apply for the 2021 Early Ethical Entrepreneur Pitch Competition, visit here (Entries closing 18th of October 2021) https://www.moralfairground.com.au/early-ethical-enterprise-pitch-competition-2021
For tickets to the Ethical Enterprise Conference, visits here https://events.humanitix.com/ethical-enterprise-conference-the-future-is-now
Written by Jamileh Hargreaves