Meet the team

Collaboration Station Team

Meet the team

Collaboration Station was borne out of the desire to bring different strengths and skills to the table to create something more than what any of us could do on our own.

The thing is, projects and adventures can feel a bit daunting if you try to tackle them on your own.

But when you put three sets of brains together you get triple the energy and triple the enthusiasm.

Let’s face it when you’re a small business owner operator you can get sick of your own company! Collaboration is the best way to get the ideas sparking and to make real progress. Something that is just too hard or technical for one person is a piece of cake for another.

As founders of Collaboration Station, we individually know lots about branding, graphic design, developing relationships and trust, communicating well, and building websites but sometimes you need the combination of all that to drive your business forward.

We set up Collaboration Station to give us a vehicle to do just that and to give ourselves another business challenge.

 

Jane Comben

Brand Strategy and Graphic Design

Jane specialises in intelligent design with a bit of bounce! She’s worked with both public and private sectors in New Zealand and the UK.

“Graphic design is all about bringing ideas to life – ideas that demand a second look.”

Jane uses creative strategy to drive branding and print design projects. She believes that good design not only needs to look great, it needs to reflect the personality of the organisation and appeal to the end user.

Jane is a mover and a shaker… literally. She loves to dance and can often be seen parading through the streets with her Batucada dance troupe. She is a mother and a talented artist.

Jane prides herself on providing diva-free design working on ideas and concepts for clients from all walks of life.

Angela Bensemann

Communications and Relationship Builder

Angela is an experienced communicator with a reputation for getting things done. She specialises in communications strategy and works with organisations to manage risks and issues and to build relationships with their communities.

She takes a collaborative approach ensuring flexibility to adapt when things don’t always go to plan.

Angela is the wordsmith of the trio with a passion for writing (and reading) going back to childhood. She wrote her first newspaper at age 11! 

In her spare time, she can be found wrangling her very energetic dog, tricking it into training, and hanging out with her husband and son (when he’s home!). And yes – it is in that order. 

“Collaboration: It’s all about taking my clients with me so they’re thrilled with the end result.”

Iona Elwood Smith

Web Strategist and Designer

Iona is a big picture thinker. She has a background in business strategy, working with start-ups as well as global businesses. Iona loves to take a strategic view, break down a challenge piece by piece, and deliver a solution that her clients love. 

Every project is different, and she loves problem-solving. 

More importantly, though, Iona is a mother of three who loves dragon boating, traveling, books, movies and chocolate. 

Iona has built hundreds of websites and her favourite part is seeing the difference they make to people’s businesses.

“I believe getting it right for your website helps you get it right throughout your business.”