photo credit: Ilona
Show Notes
Episode 17: Ilona’s Story
Creativity, Change, Health & Finding a New Way Forward
In this episode of Tell Me Over Tea, I sit down with the wonderful and ever so creative, Ilona to explore a life shaped by creativity, unexpected change, and resilience.
Ilona shares her journey from an unlikely beginning in pottery—despite once having no interest in clay—to building a deeply intentional creative business grounded in ethics, sustainability, and community.
But her story doesn’t follow a straight line.
When chronic illness entered her life, everything shifted. What followed was a period of uncertainty, adaptation, and ultimately, a reimagining of what a creative life could look like.
Now, from her home, Ilona supports other quiet creatives in showing up online in a way that feels true to who they are—without the noise, pressure, or performance.
This is a conversation about listening to your body, honouring your seasons, and finding new ways to create when life asks you to begin again.
So pour yourself a cuppa, settle in, and step into Ilona’s story. Oooh, and for you gardening fanatics, there’s some lovely flower chat too:)
photo credit: Ilona
In This Episode, We Talk About
* Growing up surrounded by creativity and finding her own artistic path
* How discovering locally sourced clay led Ilona into pottery
* Building a slow, ethical creative business in the Barossa
* The physical realities of working as a potter
* Navigating chronic illness, including POTS and long-term fatigue
* Letting go of a creative identity and finding a new one
* The evolution of Instagram and what it means for quiet creatives
* Creating and launching a course entirely from bed
* Life on a multigenerational property and finding creativity in the garden
* The small, everyday ways creativity can still exist in difficult seasons
*
If this conversation stirred something in you—perhaps a memory, a story, or a little nudge to begin writing—you’re warmly invited to join me inside Little Life Stories, my membership for women who want to capture their stories in a supportive, heart-led way. The doors will be opening again in April, so please be sure to subscribe to this newsletter, so you don’t miss a trick when dates are released.
And if you know someone who might need this kind of conversation right now, feel free to pass it along.
If you enjoyed this episode, follow Tell Me Over Tea wherever you listen, and if you feel inclined, leave a little review — it helps more story-lovers find their way to the kettle;)
Kim x
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Where to find Ilona -
Instagram: @quietcreativesacademy
Website: The Quiet Creatives Academy
Ilona’s course: The Poppy (I’ve done it and it’s awesome!)
Where to find me:
✨I write, on Substack, a weekly newsletter, you can subscribe to that here: Betty Mae Wrote newsletter. It’s the space where I share stories (both mine and other people’s) and it’s also a way of keeping up to date with all things Betty Mae Wrote, Little Life Stories, Lovely Letters and the podcast.
✨To find out more about my writing membership, Little Life Stories you can do that here: Little Life Stories
✨If you’d like to make a start on writing your life stories, but you don’t feel ready to commit to Little Life Stories just yet, I’ve made a 39 page free guide to help you on your way. It’s called The Memory Cupboard and it’s jam packed with ideas to help you collect those memories and start writing. You can grab that here.
✨The Tea + Toast Letter Club! A little moment to pour yourself a cuppa, find a comfy spot, and enjoy a letter (and some other goodies) in the mail every month. You can read more about it here
✨If you’d like to get back into the gorgeous slow soothe of letter writing, please know you are always welcome to join: The Lovely Letters Project (it’[s free!)
✨Or if you simply need a good old sticky beak around the place, please head on over here to the website: www.bettymaewrote.com
✨Oh and if you’re an Instagram type, be sure to follow me on Instagram: @bettymaewrote
Music: Kim on the uke;) Rattling teacups – also KimProduction and Editing: Surprise, surprise, guess who? Yep! Kim again!
Art by Lewis Dillon (thanks, Lew!)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bettymaewrote.substack.com