Creative Ways Podcast

Graffiti Life was co-founded by David Speed, Iona Thomas and Adam Brazier to create murals on company walls, advertising and even corporate workshops. Today, the leading graffiti and street art collective work for the likes of Disney, L’Oréal , YouTube and Microsoft.

Adam and business partner David Speed started their wildly successful podcast Creative Rebels 2 years ago working with Apple, Adobe and D&AD.

But all of that clearly isn’t enough him, Adam is also a fashion photographer. Adam works with London’s top models agencies, celebrities, influencers and shot covers internationally for Women’s Health and Beast magazines.

Adam’s Takeaways

1.Stay curious, it’s key to growth and longevity 

2.If you feel triggered, for whatever reason- that other artist or your reactions to their amazing work, if it’s going to slow down your work and journey, it’s ok to switch off any distractions. Be honest with yourself. You can go back to it when you’re more confident with your work.

3.There’s always a beans and noodles stage, it’s normally the most brave fun and fancy free stage! 

4.Does this excite you? If so, you have to double down on that

5.When you’re spending too much time on social media, ask yourself, am I a creator or a consumer?

6.Ask yourself this ‘am I spending way too much time on social media and less time on developing my craft? 

7.Only consume content that will inspire you! 

8.It’s ok to be an introvert, start looking at the gifts you’re creating for the world, it’s a game changer when you get out of your own head and start to feel it’s not about you and it’s about them.

9.Design a life that you don’t need to go on holiday away from! 

10.Try all of your interests, if it doesn’t work it doesn’t work! How will you know you’re purpose of you didn’t try that thing? 

11.Things will fail! Are you going to learn from it or let it stop you forever? 

12.You no doubt learnt a new skill or met new contacts through that ‘failed’ project. Think of failure as re-direction!

Find Adam Here

https://adambrazier.co.uk/

https://creativerebels.co/

https://graffitilife.co.uk/

Dr. Joe Dispenza | Making your Mind matter - Part 1

https://youtu.be/mpvLWoVu_Ts

Siân Headley creates of Robins Bobbins. This magical range includes eye fun capes, bird wings to die for, cuffs wands and crowns and even felt paws and claws!

Siân used to be a head of music teaching in high schools, before giving it all up, following her inner voice to fully step into this life! This wasn’t a light decision as you can imagine, but Siân was experiencing huge anxiety after 15 years in the teaching world and now 2 children and battling with insomnia Siân took the plunge and dared to jump and guess what? She’s not looked back! In fact, Siân says she’s making more money now than when she did as the head of music!

Robbins bobbins keeps sustainability at the forefront of the business and what else I love is that Sian helped raise a huge amount of money from her sales for the NHS too.

As you will hear, we discussed what this lockdown home-schooling for her 6 year old business with 3 children and how she navigated it all and what are so and boys reaction to it all.

Find Robins Bobbins -

https://www.robinsbobbins.co.uk/about

Siân’s Takeaways

1.Shopping small seems to be one of the biggest wins for COVID may it be the change we all keep too!

2.Getting your kids involved in your business is key! Don’t keep it separate as then it becomes something your kids get jealous or feel negative towards

3.Embracing virtual markets is so worth we believe this too will stay around

4.Does life after covid mean we will be a lot more mindful about where we spend our time and money!

5.If you’re launching a new range be sure to have a big countdown leading up to the big first reveal!

6.It’s not ok to be sleeping walking to distract from not feeling aligned, feeling anxious in the life you’ve created 

7.You’re not being selfish listening to what’s best for you!

8.A happy mum means a happy family

9.Remember, creatives solve a problem we are a much needed service

10.You might feel lonely being a creative, but it’s more lonely being to be in the wrong job!

The Hero’s Journey is a timeless story, this framework is as old as the stars, and yet we need to keep being reminded. All businesses owners are creative and story tellers, this structure can serve us all well.

In this weeks second part of the 2 part chat, we discuss Joseph Campbell and his book The Hero with a Thousand faces.

Lisa is a filmmaker, screenwriter and an arts & film festival director - she created the last one not only through the pandemic but around the time of the wild fires in California! If that’s not enough she doesn’t have one podcast, she has two! I have dreams damn it and Death talk podcast.

Be sure to listen to last week’s chat if you missed it, you will hear all about Lisa working at paramount pictures in old Hollywood, her award winning film ‘free hugs in Hollywood’ which got published in the best-selling book Chicken Soup for the Soul. And Lisa’s film Soul providers.

Lisa takeaways

1.The idea is the inspired state of mind and the doing is very different. We have to trick ourselves! Start on part of the task that you do like and nibble on it. Do little things each day.

2.If you’re chipping away little by little, when you are inspired again you’re going to be so proud that you carried on pushing through. 

3.When you’re doing something that scares you remember It’s not about you, it’s about that person who needed to hear your message and story! You will hear after what it did for that someone, that’s what will fill you up!

4.When you're putting out your contribution to the world, remember you might not realise that same year when you’re putting it out! It could be a year later you hear what it did or years on. They might see it after you’ve died. That’s the magic of creating.

5.If a friend has lost someone, don’t worry if you don’t know what to say, just show you care, your friend will know you’ve tried.

6.There’s always a mundane opposite side to huge dreams

7.Every creative job is completely different, you’re always going to keep pushing and put 110 % in because you care

You can connect with Lisa here 

https://ihavedreamsdammit.com/

Free Hugs In Hollywood Film

Clubhouse - Lisa Murray

Working at paramount pictures in old Hollywood was a dream come true for Lisa, working on block buster films such as Transformers and Iron Man, but it took cancer for Lisa to realise that yes she was working on huge films but was it actually what was calling her or like so many of us, very nearly the dream but not quite? Lisa thought I’m actually sat in an office watching someone else live their dream!

That was the moment Lisa made the award winning film ‘Free Hugs in Hollywood’ which also got printed in the book ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul!’

Lisa is a filmmaker, screenwriter and an arts & film festival director - she created the last one not only through the pandemic but around the time of the wild fires in California! If that’s not enough she doesn’t have one podcast, she has two! I have dreams damn it and Death talk podcast

Lisa always goes deeper, what does it really take to follow your dreams? The stuff business books and gurus don’t cover!

How do you get back up when you lose the two most important people in your life right after each other? How do you listen to your dreams when you’ve shoved them back in a box? 

Lisa’s Takeaways

1.You can’t stop growth so allow it to go with it!

2.Your creative talent is like a cork, if you keep pushing it down, it will float back up!

3.It’s ok if your path is windy, most peoples are.

4.Allow yourself to grieve and hurt.

5.That project you’ve created just for you can be the one that needs sharing with the world.

6.If you love events no matter how big or small, then don’t ignore that, people will be craving this next year.

7.Where do you thrive? You know your zone of genius really, be honest with yourself.

8.If there is something in your life that you love, that’s not related to your business like farmers markets, or it could be open gardens or village fates, festivals too might need your services. Fill your cup up by nurturing these parts of your interests.

9.Film heals and brings people together.

10.Story is essential.

11.It’s ok to not do small talk.

12.Trick yourself on tedious jobs, do it with a podcast or a great film to get the job done!

13.The creative journey has lots of dead ends and tedious struggle.

14.You can’t stand on the shore and get guidance on swimming. You’ve got to get in and try and swim. Stop waiting

You can connect with Lisa here 

https://ihavedreamsdammit.com/

Free Hugs In Hollywood Film

https://youtu.be/MONTPHr7V1w

Clubhouse - Lisa Murray

Denise Gasser is a mixed media artist, born and raised near the mountains of Utah.

After years of over whelming guilt for wanting to still be an artist mixed with anxiety to try be the perfect mum and helper in her community, Denise decided to hold her hands up and embrace it all, the distractions, imperfections, the messiness around trying to paint and mother 4 young children!­­

Denise founded the ‘Art After’ project. Reconciling art and motherhood. A series of small paintings that occur in one sitting and must be finished once interrupted. When that happens, Denise writes on the back the date the time she started the time she finished and what the interruption was.

As you can imagine this project has had global reach after her exhibition! Denise gives talks and workshops in the US and Canada and is owned in private collections in several countries around the world.

Denise shares honestly about her journey as a young Mum and artist, her thoughts on balance, boundaries and guilt.

Find her stunning work

www.denisegasser.com

 

Denise’s Takeaways 

1.Having honest conversation with other women is vital 

2.Being a mum is lonely, being an artist is lonely! Make sure you reach out to creative communities online.

3.Finding time to create is vital to being a better Mum, because you’re being the better you!

4.Feeling burnt out isn’t ok! We are told its path and we need to juggle, spin those plates. Talk to your family and work out scheduling times for you!

5.We don’t have an adult telling us to take care of ourselves! It’s our job to think about what patterns and examples we are setting to our kids. 

6.It’s ok to say being at home with the kids isn’t working out for us all. That doesn’t make you a bad parent! You’re an honest human. 

7.Giving yourself permission is vital, not just for yourself but for others. 

8.Take a good look at where your time is spent each day, which chunks are being spent on what areas and write it all down so you can see in detail how many people and jobs are taking you away from what you really want.

9.Stop asking why you should do it. What's the reason? Sometimes our bodies want to move and dance just because!

11.Chipping away is such a powerful mantra. Start telling yourself this each day. 

12.If alarm bells are ringing for you or a family member regarding ADHD take an online test and have a look at the show notes for some of our favourite books. 

Denise's Book Recommendations:

Driven to Distraction

ADHD 2.0

The  ADDitude Website has tons of great articles

Anything by Russel Barkley. I learned a lot from this talk I listened to on YouTube : https://youtu.be/YSfCdBBqNXY

 

We all used to meet on zoom back in the days when I didn’t know how it worked and hadn't ever used it! And then we moved onto the Voxer app which is a walkie talkie app. So for those of you who don’t know! My mentor group is Nicole Rivera, Kim Flodin, Claire Oldham West, Joanna and Lisa who will be on the podcast later this month. We all met on a course 2 years ago and we’ve been in each other’s lives ever since! By that I mean daily chats not just once a week.  I thought now you are used to the concept of the Club House app you will realise that people are getting why conversation is so much more powerful than a blog or a pretty picture. I felt I needed to share with you what I feel has carried me through launching and continuing to chip away and grow my dream this through a pandemic.

There’s something about it not being your childhood friends or your family, we agree, when you’re evolving you need people who are on that same learning path at that time.

Here are our Takeaways

1.You being you will always attract the right community

2.In Order to be yourself you have to be vulnerable and open

3.Stop Your own story being on reply, by talking about it, that act alone makes your negative thoughts less powerful.

4.If you’re an empath and a career you, can use this trait in your business, there’s no reason why you can’t do an annual Charity project or Collaboration with a grassroots project that means something to you. This is what makes you you! Don't ignore it or think I'll do that one day.

5.There’s no greater therapy than starting your own business

6.Be open to talking to new people, they don’t have to be from your area I’m fact we think that it works better that way.

7.Feminine energy to us is not necessarily women, it’s more the ethos of Building community not competition.

8.Business is a pull of push feeling and no two days are the same!

9.Don’t pull away when life gets in the way, your business is all of you, your family issues of course are important. Ok you’re not going to show fully if you’ve had a bad week. This is where having the right tribe matters. As sometimes just one email or one post is still moving forward and if you’ve got your pals they show up to carry you.

You can. Connect with Nicole at stop writing alone and Joanna at Latino Living Keto, Claire at Slimming Stories podcast and Kim Flodin at Wise Women of the Woods! I’ll put all of the links in the show notes where you can listen to their podcast and see their offers. Plus you can find all of us on club house every Wednesday at 21:00 GMT at Stop Dreaming Alone.

We all used to meet on zoom back in the days when I didn’t know how it worked and hadn't ever used it! And then we moved onto the Voxer app which is a walkie talkie app. So for those of you who don’t know! My mentor group is Nicole Rivera, Kim Flodin, Claire Oldham West, Joanna and Lisa who will be on the podcast later this month. We all met on a course 2 years ago and we’ve been in each other’s lives ever since! By that I mean daily chats not just once a week.

Claire Hill is the founder of the successful brand Vivid Wire. Claire is a super human on so many levels. We could chat all day about her stunning wire art, but what I love even more about Claire is her story. 

Claire Hill became a carer aged 8 when her dad died and her mum was pregnant with their 4th baby. Claire literally put down her sewing box on that day and grafted. Claire will never forget the kind stranger who paid for her buses across town when she passed her 11 plus exams. If her bus fare hadn’t of been sorted through those years, going to Grammar school would not have been an option.

Claire left her career as a high school deputy head last year. If that isn’t enough, Claire is also writing a hugely important book and studying her MA on Trauma in children.

Claire started her working life working with homeless families too. I think you will agree this woman is special warrior.

If you’re after an example of a modest, humble human who has succeeded in all 3 careers through sheer grit and optimism then listen in!

(When I meet a hustler like this not that I’ve met anyone like Claire we are going to go deep) Enjoy!

 

Claire’s Takeaways

1.If a child has shut down on their passion, look for the why? Are they on survival mode?

2.Their creative talent will keep bobbing back up though like a floating cork.

3.Remember, when a child has been through trauma, they need their basic needs to be met first. Sleep and food is a huge part of this.

4.If you’ve got a child who’s coming to you a lot, remember, you might be their only shining star.

5.If you’re in a profession so far away from your inner core, don’t worry it will come back, just put one foot in front of the other and keep following that feeling.

6.The scarcity mindset can kill businesses, there’s room for everyone, there’s no two businesses the same!

7. Having a pull on a purpose is huge, you can’t ignore it, it could be your life’s work!

8.Ask yourself daily, does this make my heart sing? If it does you have to keep going on it.

9.Be hopeful, not positive.

10.People don’t wake up each day hopeful and positive, they do the inner work daily until it becomes a habit!

https://www.vividwire.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/vivid_wire

Emma Warren Sky’s Creates heirloom tributes to honour the lives of lost loved ones.

Emma uses her creative flare and years of professional experience to create stunning time capsules for families.

Emma talks about being honoured to create theses heirloom tributes, she taps into the energy she felt and has carried on feeling each day since she found out she had breast cancer in her mid 20's.

Emma talks about this as being ‘very lucky’ she says it was a gift that woke her up from sleep walking each day.

On the outside landing a job painting on the set design teams for channel 4’s tv show Hollyoaks and many kids programmes, her life couldn’t be better, right? Emma had no idea how much weight she carried from anxiety and imposter syndrome until this wakeup call shifted her whole life.

This is a huge conversation and I can’t wait for you to hear Emma’s Story.

 

Emma’s Takeaways

1.If you’ve got a nudge to do something more then follow it.

2.You may have the perfect creative job in the eyes of society, but you know feelings in your core and if it's not truly you.

3.Being creative Is within you, not the job, you can make money doing anything these days, go follow it.

4.Cancer or any hardship can be a blessing in disguise.

5.Imposter syndrome is huge and most people have experienced it, bring it out into the light and talk about it.

6.Life’s so short, it can change in a heartbeat, try the damn thing that’s whispering in your ear, there isn’t a bad ending to creating art for this beautiful planet. And what’s the alternative? You’re listening and honouring yourself.

7.It’s ok to feel a rubbish mum at times, we all do. Sometimes we snap even when we’ve done all of the reading and mental work. it takes a lot to shake off habits you might have grown up believing it even not agreeing with.

9.Shredding the beliefs that are put on us as kids takes a lot of work to unlearn, give it time and trust you’re on the right path.

10.Our parents only know what they know.

Find Emma Warren 

https://www.instagram.com/emmawarrenskies/

Elizabeth Silver is a Surface Pattern designer and a course creator. Elizabeth started her career 18 years ago in New York designing bedding in house, and next the apparel industry. Elizabeth of course absolutely loved her job designing for Baby Gap too.

8 years ago Elizabeth moved to her suburban dream and dove head first into running her own business. She ranched out from textile design and now spends her days creating art for all kinds of industries, including stationery, dinnerware, stamps and socks. Working with clients to come up with trend forward illustrations and prints.

We discuss all of nitty gritty details about freelance life- agency’s, trade shows, client work and the biggest subject - contacts and money!

We also cover self-care, Elizabeth says ‘having a great boss can make all the difference in your career, and even though designers often dream of being their own boss- when we do make the jump to being self-employed, we're often far too demanding on our favourite employee (ourselves)’

We talk about freelance life, the pros and cons to having an agent.

Find Elizabeth

Elizabethsilver.com

 

Elizabeth’s Takeaways

1.When you’re juggling a lot as a freelancer, client work, personal and agency work remember they all have a function work hand in hand did you helping each part grow. However, it is important to be organised and to keep re assisting though and Maintain a balance as much as you can.

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2.Just sticking to one of these paths, client work for example will be good to grow but you might feel uninspired, and maybe not developing new styles. If this is the case, maybe set a personal project or a collaboration this will help push you through and keep you motivated

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3.Check with your agent and your clients to see if they offer any other contracts they might offer different ones now.

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4.Remember if you don’t hear back from a studio don’t worry they could just be in the kiddie of a huge deadline, send out a newsletter the following month. Also be mindful of trade shoes and hooray seasons.

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5.Don’t be the bad boss to yourself, no one expects you to work 19 hour days.

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6.Set your boundaries, turn off your notifications.

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7.Celebrate your wins! Buy yourself a gift!

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8.Remind your clients a few weeks before if you’re taking a break, this organisation goes a long way.

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9.Don’t get overwhelmed when forecasting next year’s trends, remember big looks stay around for many seasons. Look at unicorns and Cacti’s, if you think an icon is still going to be big, look at what moves it in? Is the colour way or the technique, are rainbows now painterly or tonal this season for example?

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10.Creatives are a lot more in tune with trends and forecasts than the general public, so don’t overthink it, go on what you feel is coming through, start noting what you've seen a few times you won’t be wrong.

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11.Just because you’ve seen a new fresh trend this year it will still be coming through next year on the high street it will go from couture high end to further down. Cards and stationary are normally season behind homeware for example.