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[occupation]Architect [occupation]
[location]Melbourne & Hong Kong[location]
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[instagram]@mrgumbatron[instagram]
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[left]An aspiring architect, entrepreneur and self-confessed coffee connoisseur.[left]
[right]Lex, an aspiring architect, entrepreneur and self-confessed coffee connoisseur who always values the importance of dressing well. He is the founder and Creative Director of the lifestyle brand Mr. Gumbatron.[right]
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[left]How do you find inspiration for the content for Mr. Gumbatron? When you first started Mr. Gumbatron, did you plan out where you wanted to be in a year’s time, or decided to take it as it comes.

Mr. Gumbatron began as a creative experimental project for me 2 years ago, with an approach that has been largely reactive. Not too long into the journey I saw an audience grow and realised the potential for it to become something more and that’s when I began to map things out.

I set myself new goals every month and worked towards building a stronger brand through producing engaging content and pushing myself creatively. When I first started out I composed a list of brands that I wanted to collaborate with, many of them were very farfetched at the time. Two years on and I have now built strong relationships with all these brands and continue to work with many of them on a regular basis.

I always believed in focusing your energy on what you are most passionate about, be unique about it and the people who share that passion will find you. Platforms such as Instagram facilitate this discovery and interaction.

My inspiration for the content I produce on Mr. Gumbatron comes from a desire to be unique. I find inspiration through the Instagram community, in magazines or simply by through experimenting. I think part of the success of Mr. Gumbatron is that there is a unique underlying aesthetic to my compositions and that it is consistent. It is important to find a way to cut through the ‘noise’ on social media.

We’ve had the privilege to share many of your photos with our community, often demonstrating a huge variety of products. Do you find yourself constantly rotating through your everyday essentials or are there key items that you carry everyday without fail?

I am humbled to be apart of the Orbitkey community, as someone also with a design background innovative, well designed and practical everyday lifestyle items have always appealed to me.

Yes I tend to rotate my everyday essentials, today I have with me, my favourite Bottega Veneta Intrecciato wallet, a small leather note book, a Rotring mechanical pencil and one of my Nomos wrist watches. Normally I carry two mobile phones, and of course my Orbitkey. If I am carrying a briefcase, you will also find a Sparkstone power bank and couple of spare pocket squares.

Your flatlays are always on point and innovative, what’s the key to a perfect flatlay and when can we see a Mr Gumbatron flatlay workshop? (p.s. can we come?)

Thank you, that means a lot, people often underestimate the time and effort that goes into these seemingly effortless compositions. As an architect I have a trained visual eye, and the process of curating a flatlay is relatively intuitive, however there are no tricks to a good flatlay, but here are a few handy tips.

1.   Try to create a story or a message through your imagery.
2. Ensure all products are complimentary to a particular theme or message.
3.   Use a plain and simple background as your canvas
4.   “Less is more” practice restraint and don’t over complicate the composition.
5.   Avoid reflective surfaces and objects.
6.   Natural diffused lighting is advantageous (minimise any shadows).

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