It seems to me that the mix of work rest and play has gone awry. Many of us find ourselves far from a good blend, mix or combinations of these three critical factors in any creative business. Work has long been worshipped. Being oh so very busy, burning the candle at both ends and the midnight oil, the 5am club, all nights have all been badges of honour. Slowly, though, rest has found its way like the first crocus, into entrepenurial consideration. Even if just as a means to an end. Mindfulness, going offline, running your inbox rather than it running you, company culture, sleep are now all in the conversation.

And yet play feels too often neglected. Relegated to childhood, art school, the start up phase or ‘just when I get some time’. So in this gathering of conversations, we will explore the purpose of play and the practicality of play and how we keep it at the forefront even when the cash flow forecasts, the product plan, social media and your staff are all clamouring for your attention. Looking at different creative disciplines, enterprises and personalities, I hope that you will find yourself encouraged and challenged to remember that play is in fact a very serious business.

Being a multi-hyphenate, a polymath, has become more than idea of late, it has become an ideal for many. More and more people want to have a variety of strings to their bow, a variety of mediums in their tool kit, a variety of communities and clients. But very few truly achieve this accolade. Today’s guest is the most wonderful example. She is someone who acts on her ideas. Mel Calver has a creative life that is a delightfully unexpected tapestry. She is the founder and creative director of Melanie Giles hairdressing a collection of three salons across Somerset all fizzing with energy, buzzing with hairdryers and yet which offer a sanctuary of great coffee and conversation. Alongside this she runs ReRooting which is a cutting and kitchen garden where she supplies herbs and flowers to Landrace Bakery, and herbs to Margaux Henderson's Three Horse Shoes.

Mel’s drive and ambition is quiet. Perhaps even enigmatic. And yet its outcome is abundantly clear. Every conversation with her is peppered with adventurous ideas and plans. It’s infectious. Her sense of play is independent and built on an intuition I admire immensely. I can assure you that Mel’s story will get you thinking about your own talents, ideas and sense of play and the promise of what might be possible. We are going to talk about plants and hair and baking, the delight in working in contrasting disciplines and how to keep play alive in the midst of it all.

Melanie Giles - www.melanie-giles.uk
Re-Rooting - www.re-rooting.co.uk
Landrace Bakery - www.landrace.co.uk