“I Never Anticipated We’d End Up As Business Partners”
Gillian Corban (left) and her cousin Amanda Blair have done more than see each other through ups and downs – they have also run bespoke stationery company Corban & Blair for more than three decades.
Gillian I grew up in New Zealand and came to Australia when I was 21. Amanda’s father is my cousin and I was friends with her mother, and they were my only family here. Amanda was the youngest of three girls – she would have been about 12 at the time I moved over – and I often played the mediator between all the girls.
Amanda I remember thinking how cool, pretty and groovy Gillian was when I was young. She became part of the family. I never anticipated we’d end up as business partners. Gill had a friend who had done a bookbinding course and that inspired her. It was around the time that homewares were beginning to be a thing. I was working for a designer, and I realised there was a gap in the market for beautiful Australian-made designer stationery.
G I was at a crossroads. I was about to turn 40, had just moved in with my partner and was looking for a new direction. Amanda and her sister were also looking for something new at the time; we are all very creative. The two of them learnt how to do bookbinding while I did a business planning course and then went to New York University to do a marketing course. In 1987, it became the two of us and we’ve worked as a duo ever since.
A Gill and I are very different people and we both bring quite different things to the business. I’m a detail person, I like to have all the elements working together for a good production flow. She takes the big view. She really does throw herself into things and is not afraid to experiment. She sometimes goes a million miles an hour.
G We’ve been in business nearly 34 years, which is long time to be doing the same job – but the job changes continually. We went through our first recession in the early ’90s, which was pretty hard. But then we got the licence to create products for the 2000 Olympics, which took us international and saw us getting some really big orders for bespoke products. We move to wherever the market is. During COVID things shifted again, we sold so much online. We were really proud that we were still getting so much business.
A We are virtually at each other’s side all the time. When my mother passed away, Gill was very much present. My son was born a week later and that was a very difficult time for me. It was confusing dealing with so much joy and so much grief, and it’s a time that you really want your mother around. Gill was the one who came around and said, “I think you need to go back to work.” It was a really good thing for me, and Harry slept soundly under my desk most of the time.
“We travel well together. She’s responsible for directions … I’m definitely in charge of passports. We have specific roles and if we deviate from them, it goes to hell in a handbasket.”
G Amanda and I have similar values, and we have created a company that feels very female – it’s about responding, about listening, about working as a team. Where we’re different is in that she’s very fashionable and very social. She’s really good at small talk. I was at a function just recently where I didn’t know a single person. I went up to some people and said, “May I join you?” – that’s something I learnt from her.
A We have taken some big trips together and we travel well together. She’s responsible for directions – I’ve got the worst sense of direction, but it’s quite intuitive to her. I’m definitely in charge of passports and everything to do with airports. We have very specific roles and if we deviate from them, it goes to hell in a handbasket.
G It’s a bit like a marriage between the two of us – we’ve been in each other’s lives for so long. We’re complementary: I may have a lot of ideas, but she’s the one who makes them happen. And we’ll be working together for a while yet. I’m in my 70s but I don’t want to spend my time having coffee, going to yoga and the gym. What we do is so much more interesting we meet fabulous people and work on relevant product solutions.
A We’ve been through so many different things over the years. When there’s a downswing, that’s where Gill comes into her own. She’s great at looking for opportunities, and for doing the networking that leads to opportunities. She’s also very interested in working with people who are less fortunate and she does a lot of mentoring. She is incredibly encouraging.
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Interview_ Ute Junker
Photos_ Corban & Blair/ Fancy Boy Photography