Who am I?
My name is Wandzia French. I have been a long time resident in Kingston for over 40 years. This is my home. My stomping ground. I have also been married for 40+ years and have two independent adult children.
I have run my furniture manufacturing company in Kingston, in the Chicquita Ward, equally as long without a halt for over 40 years as well. So l have a trifecta of long term commitment right there.
I was born in Melbourne of Polish parents who arrived as displaced young persons after WW11. I must say l owe much of who l am to my great father and mother. I honour their lives of work, hardship and sacrifice for me to be able to call Australia home. They also gave me a backbone.
At 5-6 years of age l contracted Polio from a Polio injection and was paralysed by the injection the next day. I was in Fairfield Hospital for a long period. This was very formative of my character. No one was allowed to visit or have anything to do with such children, and children inside were not allowed to socialise with each other. You only had yourself. So, l took to drawing. All day. Every day.
I attended Catholic schools in my primary and secondary years under the guidance of the Sisters of St Joseph. A great order of strong amazing women who believed vigorously in educating the masses and especially the poor, to empower them. I was taught mathematics, literature and even ancient Greek philosophy. They were an inspiration, and formidable as well!
I developed an artistic talent and applied myself to gaining a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts) Degree. My thesis was ranked by the head of the Art History Dept,Mr James Wingate, as one of the highest marks ever achieved in that faculty at the time. I self funded my education completely. My parents could not afford any of it, so l had numerous part time jobs starting at 14yrs of age and throughout university.
At the end of this period of university study l established myself into an art studio in the heart of the city of Melbourne. I was one of the first tranche of ‘bohemian’ artists to occupy the lanes and old buildings of Melbourne along with other artists like Mirka Mora who was in the same lane and visited me. These were exhilarating times.
I then met and married my husband, and my life took on it’s full on practical course. I stepped into the role of managing and designing our bespoke furniture manufacturing business. Designs and plans were all done by me. Nothing was mass produced. Everything was individual and special.
We built the company up to have an excellent reputation throughout Melbourne and Australia, training and employing dozens of people over the years. Our attitude to our work was what set us apart. We would do the very best we could. For everyone! The higher the standard we achieved, the better it was for all.
This was not an ordinary business. It was something else…we are well known in the Melbourne design and furniture scene for this attitude, and proud of it.
Some examples of my work which is found here in the City of Kingston, are the numerous pieces of furniture which grace the interiors of the exclusive Capital Golf Course on Centre Dandenong Rd.,which were all bespoke designed by myself and made especially for the Golf Course and for its owner at the time, Mr Lloyd Williams.
For the Kingston Heath Golf Club we were commissioned to build a grand bookcase/display cabinet for their large dining room.
I designed and made the altar furniture for St David’s Uniting Church in Parkdale on Parkers Rd Parkdale, using the timber we salvaged from the pews of the old St David’s to create brand new pieces which symbolically connected the new Church to the congregation of the old Church. These pieces were blessed!I must say that my factory work and my character are tied together. Fused.
I bring these personal qualities to the Council table:
- I have an understanding of industrial manufacturing processes and running a business. I have a great love of all those family businesses in Kingston around me, especially the makers, the engineers, the mechanics and cabinetmakers, restorers and the tradies, the recyclers and metal workers, the car industries, the industrial designers young and old, the concreters and builders, the entrepreneurs, the cooks and pastry chefs etc The more they attempt to make things in Australia, the more l love them. They are the backbone of not only Kingston but our whole economy. They must be protected and encouraged and even lauded by Council to keep going. The wellbeing of all those family businesses and industries in Chicquita- in Mentone, Parkdale and Cheltenham- is a deep passion of mine. I want to protect them and make them prosperous.
- I possess a questioning nature on why things are done a certain way and how they can be improved and costs saved. I am not a ‘yes’ man by any means! I don’t see why systems, and ‘ways of doing things’ within a corporation e.g. like Councils, can’t be improved. I always want to make things better.
- I strive for Excellence and a high standard in my work. It literally physically offends me to see bad design or shonky workmanship. Very OCD here.
- I have attention to detail and an ability to drill down and trawl through things. I can read copiously. I apply myself to the tasks at hand.
- l have a deep inherent motivation to always do the right thing and the good thing by all concerned. I have a disposition to protect and defend and to nurture the young, the innocent, the growing, the aged and frail, and the struggling. I have strong family values. I have been trusted and l meet that trust.
- I have an empathetic respect for each person, their needs and their aspirations, their rights and their privacy.
- I will not bend to peer group pressure. I won’t fear being cancelled or even being an outsider. I will challenge the status quo if it needs to be challenged. I will call it as l see it. I am a straight shooter who actually dislikes politics and political thinking. I do not see this as a stepping stone to any future career in politics. Council should not be about political, ideological or social activism of any sought. It is there simply to provide services at fair value to the people and to improve their lives and neighbourhoods.
- I am a natural fighter against any form of public deception, or anti democratic behaviour, or corruption or cover up. Transparency in all matters is vital. There is not enough of that going on, especially in Government bureaucracies.
- I will commit to a four year term and l will honour that.
