UC alumna is ACT Business Woman of the Year

Kristyn Comino

UC graduate Claire Connelly is ACT Business Woman of the Year

1 October 2010: A University of Canberra graphic design graduate who has gone on to run her own successful design business has been named ACT Business Woman of the Year.
 
Claire Connelly is founder and creative director of boutique graphic design studio Papercut, a Canberra based business that aims to be environmentally sustainable.

She received the Business Woman of the Year title from the ACT Chamber of Women in Business for demonstrating qualities such as leadership, tenacity and compassion and being a role model for fellow businesswomen.
 
“I feel that to be a good businesswoman you need to be adaptable, flexible, a good communicator and passionate about your work,” Ms Connelly said.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Graphic Design from the University in 2002, Ms Connelly started the degree as a mature-aged student wanting to work in an artistic industry.

“I’ve always dabbled in art and thought I might do a visual arts course and become an art teacher, but then I discovered the graphic design industry. I wanted to have a career doing something that I love to do, so it’s a great fit.”
 
After graduating Ms Connelly was a designer at Early Childhood Australia, she then worked for a few local studios before being contracted by the public service. She founded Papercut in late 2007 with the vision for creating an environmentally sustainable business.
 
When the business began, Ms Connelly employed one permanent staff member. She has since created three local jobs and Papercut has become a hub for young designers to gain experience in the field, particularly students from the University.
 
“I found it invaluable while I was a student that people gave me the opportunity to work in a studio, so I thought it was important to offer that experience to others, and I have subsequently employed people from the University as a result.”
 
Ms Connelly’s daughter Olivia is now following in her mother’s footsteps, having started a graphic design degree at the University this year.
 
Ms Connelly is an ambassador for the 1 Million Women Campaign that aims to inspire one million Australian women to take practical action on climate change. She will soon be speaking at Canberra schools on the potential to work as environmentally sustainable professionals and supports both the ACT Social Enterprise Hub and the work of the St Vincent de Paul Society.

Ms Connelly was highly commended in the 2009 ACT Chamber of Women in Business awards and won the 2009 Caring for the Environment Award.
 
For more information about her business, Papercut, go to: www.papercut.net.au