It’s been several months since the last episode of Creative Career Change and a lot has shifted in that time.

At the start of 2026, I removed the safety net I’d always kept in place. I stopped teaching entirely and went all in on my interior design business.

And do you know what?

The world didn’t cave in.

In this reflective solo episode, I revisit the very first podcast I recorded back in September 2023 - just after leaving my full-time teaching role - and explore what’s changed in the two and a half years since.

It was a fascinating listen and prompted many thoughts about how far I’ve come, what has remained constant and what has changed over the past two and a half years.

Listen to the original episode here:

There were some key themes that came up, and in this new episode I explore:

* What it feels like to finally remove the safety net

* The return of what I call ‘creative fizz’

* Why process now matters more to me than outcome

* Rediscovering my love of organising events - but on my terms

* The power of conversation, connection, and finding your people

Upcoming Events

During the episode, I mention a few live events I’m hosting in March:

🏡 Free Interior Design Clinic: Friday 13th March, 12:00-12:30, register here.

✨ Create Ensemble: Monday 16th March 2026, 7-8pm - for paid subscribers

🐦‍⬛ Early Bird Writers’ Hour: Friday 27th March 2026, 6:30-7:30am - for paid subscribers

Chez Hanny is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

If you’ve made a creative career change (or feel the pull but don’t know where to start), I’d genuinely love to hear from you. Perhaps you’re my next podcast guest?

And if you enjoy the episode, a review on Apple Podcasts makes a huge difference.

Hannah x

I’m Hannah. I’m 40 and I live in London. After 18 years in teaching, I left in December 2025 to pursue a more creative life. I now run an interior design business, alongside writing and podcasting. I’m building a career that feels more ‘me’: aligned, intentional, and creatively fizzing.

www.hannahashe.co.uk

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chezhanny.substack.com/subscribe

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At the beginning of the year I was invited to be a guest on Irene Ruby’s podcast Makings and Musings. It was the first time I’d been on the other side of the microphone and I enjoyed it very much and Irene and I found much common ground to chat about. (I’ve included a link to the episode further down this post)

Having learned a little about Irene’s own career journey during that conversation, I was keen to invite her to be a guest on Creative Career Change. And here it is.

Irene worked in the corporate world of insurance for many years before pivoting and setting up her own business as an artist and educator. Listen to discover how she made this happen, the challenges faced along the way and why remote classes turned out to be a better way of working.

“I started to paint [with them] and it made me feel so good and it really helped me to process that grief. That’s when I realised I wanted to spread that feeling of calm and mindfulness with other people.” - Irene Ruby

Links and mentions

* Irene’s website and art community: www.makingsandmusings.com

* When Hannah Ashe guested on Irene’s podcast:

* The Best 90 Days Ever small business marketing course with Hannah Isted (which I have just signed up for!).

* Irene on Instagram: @makingsandmusings

A note from Hannah

I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers.

I hope the conversations may inspire positive change and the pursuit of creativity and balance. I’ve created the resource that I wish had been available to me several years back when I felt trapped by my job.

Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode.

By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who might be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!

Thank you.

Hannah x

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chezhanny.substack.com/subscribe

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From time to time, I interview a podcast guest and we really, truly just click. The conversation flows (usually with me over-excitedly interrupting too often) and we could continuing talking for far longer than the allotted time.

That’s exactly what happened when I interviewed Lara Hayward several weeks back. It had taken us some time to pin down a suitable date to record due to various life and work situations getting in the way, but once we started chatting we couldn’t stop!

Lara began her career as a lawyer, but as she has got older she has learned to listen to herself and has developed the confidence to pivot. Regularly.

Creativity is at the core of what Lara knows she needs from her life and she isn’t afraid to prioritise it.

I hope you find Lara’s wisdom to be as deeply inspiring as I did.

“I think that’s what I’ve learnt about myself. I probably have 2-3 year cycles of doing something and then [I’m] moving on to something else.” - Lara Hayward

Links and books mentioned

* Lara’s coaching and consultancy website: www.larahayward.com

* Lara Hayward on Substack - The River

* Lara on LinkedIn

* Lara on Instagram

* Working Identity by Herminia Ibarra

* Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

* How to Be Everything by Emilie Wapnick

A note from Hannah

I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers.

I hope the conversations may inspire positive change and the pursuit of creativity and balance. I’ve created the resource that I wish had been available to me several years back when I felt trapped by my job.

Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode.

By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who might be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!

Thank you.

Hannah x

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chezhanny.substack.com/subscribe

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Helen Ridley is an illustrator, specialising in live illustration, who has carved out a successful career by following her instincts and doing what feels right. I found Helen’s mindset to be inspirational and I hope that, you too, will be interested in her methodical, yet highly creative approach to freelance life following redundancy. Helen used this difficult situation as an opportunity and she is thriving.

Do let us know your thoughts on our conversation in the comments.

“It takes time to find the right community, but it’s a bit of trial and error, I guess. You just try things. If they don’t work, try something else. It’s a lot of being brave and putting yourself out there and making connections with people.” - Helen Ridley

Links

* Helen’s website

* Helen on Instagram

* Helen on LinkedIn

* Helen’s Flow and Flourish Retreat Website

A note from the author

I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers.

I hope the conversations may inspire positive change and the pursuit of creativity and balance. I’ve created the resource that I wish had been available to me several years back when I felt trapped by my job.

Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode.

By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who might be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!

Thank you.

Hannah x

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chezhanny.substack.com/subscribe

Support the show

Former teachers’ career change stories will always be of special interest to me due to my own educational background. For Hannah Miller, it has been more than 10 years since she left the classroom to become a coach and I was delighted to have the opportunity to discover more about her career journey.

Hannah and I talk about the challenges of leaving teaching, bizarre transferable skills and Hannah’s path to shaping a career that works for her current season of life.

If you enjoy this conversation, do leave a comment and let us know which aspects you found most interesting.

I think the lesson is it really wasn’t overnight. It was a year when it wasn’t brilliant at all, then the next year it started to be a bit more of what I wanted to do. Now fast forward ten years and I’m really far away from those initial times where I was thinking “I’ve just got to do this in order to make ends meet.” - Hannah Miller

Links

* Hannah’s Instagram: hellohannahmiller

* Hannah’s Website: hellosidekick.co

* Hannah’s Podcast: hellosidekick.co/podcast

A note from the author

I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers. I hope the conversations may inspire others to make changes in the way they approach their work in order to seek more balance in their life.

Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode.

By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who might be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!

Thank you.

Hannah x

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chezhanny.substack.com/subscribe

Support the show

Fashion and textile designer Carla Bentele achieved her dream of moving to London and working in the fashion industry, but along came the pandemic and a family, and Carla’s priorities and dreams changed.

I had the privilege of chatting with Carla to hear about the joys and the struggles of redundancy, trying new things, moving to Todmorden and launching a business all whilst juggling family life.

If anything in our conversation resonates with you, please do leave a comment.

Links

* Carla’s Website: all-about-me.co

* Carla’s Instagram @_all___about___me_

* Carla on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/carla-bentele

* Carla on Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/AllAboutMeCarla

A note from the author

I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers. I hope the conversations may inspire others to make changes in the way they approach their work in order to seek more balance in their life.

Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode.

By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who might be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!

Thank you.

Hannah x

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chezhanny.substack.com/subscribe

Support the show

How many of us now have jobs that didn’t exist when we were young? That is certainly the case for Instagram strategist for authors, Nicola Washington .

Nicola’s journey from secondary school English teacher to carving out a freelance career that encompasses many of her talents and passions has been a long one and not without its challenges.

Listen to hear how Nicola has diversified and adapted her work to suit her and her family.

If Nicola’s story resonates with you, do say hello and leave us a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

“The whole thing is a process. Nobody starts off their business knowing all of the levers they’re going to have to pull. It’s such a learning process.” - Nicola Washington

Links

* Nicola’s Instragram: toomuchsocial

* Nicola’s Substack: Too Much

A note from the author

I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers. I hope the conversations may inspire others to make changes in the way they approach their work in order to seek more balance in their life.

Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode.

By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who might be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!

Thank you.

Hannah x

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chezhanny.substack.com/subscribe

Support the show

I often talk about how I am inspired by the women I interview on this podcast, and this was especially the case when I had the pleasure of speaking to Gabrielle Treanor in early January.

Gabrielle began her career working in publishing in the 90s and has navigated many career twists and turns since then including launching a stationery business and more recently becoming an ADHD coach supporting quiet, introverted women.

We would love to continue the conversation in the comments, so do come and say hello and let us know if there was something that resonated with you in this conversation.

“We think that there’s something we want to do but it’s only when we actually do it over and over for a while that we discover actually it’s not something that is sustainable. I’m not that excited about it.” - Gabrielle Treanor

Links

* Gabrielle’s website: www.gabrielletreanor.com

* The Quiet ADHD Club on Substack

* Gabrielle on Instagram

* Gabrielle’s book The 1% Wellness Experiment is available in all the usual places, but for every sale of her book or the book gift box purchased via her website box she donates to The Wallich homelessness charity in Wales.

* Emilie Wapnick’s book How To Be Everything which was mentioned in the interview.

A note from the author

I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers. I hope the conversations may inspire others to make changes in the way they approach their work in order to seek more balance in their life.

Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode.

By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who can be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!

Thank you.

Hannah x

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chezhanny.substack.com/subscribe

Support the show

Almost two years ago, I came across an episode of the Interior Design Business Podcast titled ‘Career Changing To Interior Design’. It featured several established interior designers who talked about their route into the profession.

Charlotte Dawson was one of those designers and she, like me, had previously been a teacher. I was captivated and I can truthfully say that hearing Charlotte talk about her career change helped me to believe that I could do that too.

I connected with Charlotte on Instagram and she is one of the most encouraging and supportive people I know. I was delighted when she agreed to share her story and chat to me here on the Creative Career Change podcast.

“I started to interior design my classroom without realising. I made curtains, bought carpets, rugs, cushions, canvasses. I even decorated. I painted the classroom and my teaching assistant would leave every Friday not really knowing what to expect when she’d come back on the Monday. Nor the children.” - Charlotte Dawson

Links

* Charlotte’s website: Chestnut Interiors

* Chestnut Interiors on Instagram

* Charlotte’s Renovation Room membership

* The episode of Interior Design Business podcast where I first discovered Charlotte: Career Changing to Interior Design

A note from the author

I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers. I hope the conversations may inspire others to make changes in the way they approach their work in order to seek more balance in their life.

Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode.

By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who can be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!

Have you made a creative career change? I’m going to be recording some new episodes in the New Year and am always on the look out for interesting guests to talk to. If you think you might be a good fit for Creative Career Change, send me an email to [email protected] explaining why. I’d love to hear from you.

See you in 2025 for more inspiring stories ✨

p.s. On Monday at 7pm (UK time) I will be hosting the final online Create Ensemble session of the year. It’s a festive edition where I encourage you to spend the hour doing something creative AND festive: writing cards, wrapping gifts, making decorations or perhaps writing your end of year newsletter. This is a session for paying subscribers and you can find more details and the link here (after subscribing):

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episo

Support the show

Hosting a podcast is a wonderful thing, not least because I regularly find myself talking to truly fascinating individuals who inspire me and open my eyes to what work can look like for women across the world.

Lucy Pearson is testament to this. She is a freelance writer, a bibliotherapist (listen to find out what that is), a curator of libraries for hotels and a literary salon host. Her work is centred around books and words and her journey to this point has been anything but straightforward.

In this interview Lucy shares honest and frank reflections on money, explains how her book blog eventually landed her a dream job at the Women’s Prize for Fiction and ends with recommendations for books I should read. It’s a seriously good listen!

Do say hello and leave us a comment if any of this resonates with you.

“There’s a special place in hell for gatekeepers who don’t share knowledge when they’re in a position to do so.” - Lucy Pearson

Links

* Lucy Pearson’s Substack - The Literary Edit

* Lucy’s website: thelitedit.com

* Follow Lucy on Instagram @the_litedit

* Sandwich by Catherine Newman

* Places I Stopped On The Way Home by Meg Fee

A note from the author

I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers. I hope the conversations may inspire others to make changes in the way they approach their work in order to seek more balance in their life.

Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode.

By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who can be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!

Thank you.

Hannah x

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chezhanny.substack.com/subscribe

Support the show