Style and Substance

By Elizabeth Cairns & Fiona HumberstoneBusiness Entrepreneurship Marketing

Style and Substance episodes

April 15 Planning a Knockout Photoshoot for Your Brand
We know just how transformative the right photography can be for a brand and a business. Getting that photography is no mean feat, so today we are unpacking some of what it takes to plan and execute a knockout photoshoot. We explore locations, practicalities and how to get most bang for your buck if you're on a tight budget.

The resources mentioned can be found on The Brand Stylist Academy here:
Art directing impactful photography
Compose and Captivate

Enjoy lovely listeners and welcome to season 21.
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49 min
March 24 Creating a Halo Effect with Your Brand
The Halo Effect is a powerful way to shape perception of your business and creates reputational momentum that can work wonders when its done well. Today we are digging deep into how we can use the Halo Effect to create excitement, remove friction and build loyalty for your brand and what to watch for that kills the effect dead if we're not careful.
Enjoy this last episode of the season and we'll be back after the Easter Break.
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42 min
March 18 Understanding The Spring Seasonal Personality : Colour Psychology for Branding Part 1
Spring has sprung and it brings with it an abundance of inspiration and insight for branding. In this episode we look at the season of Spring through the lens of Colour Psychology and get granular about the strategic approach of Colour Psychology for Branding that Fiona has spent years developing and refining.
Discover how the Spring Seasonal Personality can be translated into a brand; what colours, fonts, shapes and textures will create coherent impact and what throws a brand 'off'. We touch on considerations for photography, copy writing, scents and even food when it comes to encapsulating the resonance of spring. This is the first of a 4 part series that will air along side the changing seasons and we hope is a delightful and illuminating guide to this fascinating and empowering topic.

If you want to listen back to the previous episode mentioned you can find 'Colour Psychology for Branding' from season 4 here: https://open.acast.com/public/streams/63627df65e54600012595265/episodes/647f3f51aa1f100011562a5d.mp3

if you're curious about learning more there are a wealth of Colour Psychology for Branding resources including:
The Absolute Essentials of Colour Psychology Seminar,
The Colour Psychology for Creatives online course,
The Absolute Essentials of Colour Psychology handbook,
The Resonant Brand Method for Designers,
on The Brand Stylist website here:

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57 min
March 11 Powerful Messaging Without Resorting to AI
We're not holding back in this episode - listen in to hear exactly what we think about the use of AI for brand messaging. What we see as the genuinely real risks but perhaps more importantly, what you might want to consider if you're going to take a more empowered approach to crafting messaging that really lands for your business.
We do hope you enjoy the listen and if you're keen to find our more about Brand Clarity that we mention at the end of the episode you can find it on Fi's website here: https://thebrandstylist.thinkific.com/courses/brand-clarity
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59 min
March 04 Finding Flow in your Business When the World is A Lot
Flow state has the potential to supercharge productivity by 500%! But flow isn't just a nifty hustle hack, rooting your business in flow makes it more of a joy to run and infinitely more sustainable. In this episode we explore some of the hall markers of a business in flow and get granular about the specifics of how to reliably create the conditions for flow state. If it feels like you're pushing water up hill at the moment or, like us, are struggling with how the tide is turning in the global picture, this might just be the episode you need.
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31 min
February 25 Taking Care: Thoughts on Resilience and Nervous System Regulation when Energy is Low
Poor old Fi is distinctly under the weather this week so we took the opportunity to have a relaxed conversation about building resilience and nervous system regulation when we're not feeling full beans. In this fairly personal chat we explore what it looks like for each of us when we find ourselves dis-regulated and struggling and what our go to practices are for support. We chat about what that looks like on a daily basis and how we structure our business from the ground up to build in safe guards against nervous system overload. We touch on how that landscape might look different for neurodivergent folks, how challenging it can be to accurately determine our capacity and what real resilience actually looks like.
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50 min
February 11 From the Horses Mouth - Feng Shui Expert Zoe Vita James on Making the Most of the Year of the Fire Horse
We are breaking with tradition for the last episode of the season and welcoming very special guest Zoe Vita James to the Podcast.
Zoe is our resident Feng Shui and Ba Zi expert and in this conversation she will be bringing us her insights into how we as entrepreneurs can make the most of the Year of the Fire Horse in 2026.
Learn how to make the most of the fire energy his year, how to use your space to welcome opportunities, what it means for how we show up and what to watch for.
Zoe is a wealth of insight and knowledge on Classical Feng Shui and it is our very great joy to welcome her to the podcast.
We have had the pleasure at Studio Theia of working with Zoe on her new brand identity and website which has launched this week. You can hear more from Zoe on her own podcast - Feng Shui The Real Thing, and find our more about her Feng Shui consultancy, Ba Zi Readings and must have 2026 Feng Shui Energy Forecast on her website www.zoevitajames.com. We do hope you enjoy this very special guest episode and thanks again for listening.
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30 min
February 04 Are you Ready for the Year of the Horse?
As we've crossed the threshold of Imbolc and into Celtic Spring here in the UK we can feel a definite shift. Fi and I are already getting into step with the year of the horse and before it runs away with us, we want to be prepared in the best way possible. Hear us muse on what we are doing in our own businesses to maintain momentum for 2026 without things getting too out of control. From increasing capacity, to managing boundaries, to what freedom might really means, we cover it all. We hope you enjoy the listen.
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47 min
January 28 The Essential Advantage Most Creatives Miss
There's an edge so many creatives miss that helps us create sustainable, enjoyable and profitable businesses. In this episode we explore the importance of finding and honing your unique creative edge and how it is the key to staying both authentic, relevant and recommendable in a fast changing market.

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49 min
January 21 An Invitation to Let Go and Why it Matters for your Business
Winter is the perfect season to reflect and release and not just because it's timely or happens to be on trend, but because it's an essential strategic practice and making space enables so much for you and your work. In this episode we dig deep and get personal about the need for and the very real challenges of letting go. How to discern what to let go of for our brand and ourselves. And, in our view, the spirit in which to do it that makes it so much more powerful, compassionate and ultimately rewarding.
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41 min

About Style and Substance

From the publisher's feed

Style and Substance is a branding and business podcast brought to you by The Brand Stylist, Fiona Humberstone and The Empowered Entrepreneur, Elizabeth Cairns. Resourcing you with inspiration,…