"My biggest personal challenge is that I want to do more than I'm capable of ever doing, being just me. I'm open to so many things." - Dalia Ishak

In this episode, Dahlia Ishak shares her unconventional creative journey from accidentally discovering graphic design during university to running a food and beverage branding studio. 

Born to Egyptian parents in Northern Ontario, Dahlia initially pursued sciences before stumbling upon design. 

Her career took her from advertising in Australia to entrepreneurship when she created a pioneering coworking cafe in Brisbane. After building a vibrant community, circumstances forced her return to Canada where she rebuilt her life through new cafes before pivoting to a branding studio following pandemic challenges. 

Throughout her journey, Dahlia has balanced design work, hospitality businesses, and teaching at Shillington College, consistently finding ways to connect creativity with community.

Key Takeaways

• Dahlia discovered design accidentally despite always being creative – she hadn't made the connection between her passion for collecting designed objects and actual career possibilities.
• Using her design skills, she created a brochure that established the first student exchange program between her Canadian design school and an Australian university.
• After experiencing burnout in advertising, Dahlia found new creative fulfillment in Australia's coffee culture, leading her to open a coworking cafe.
• Rather than abandoning creativity completely when running hospitality businesses, she maintained connections by hosting creative events and building relationships with local designers.
• When forced to relocate to Canada, Dahlia used her hospitality business to meet people and build a new network in an unfamiliar city.
• During the pandemic, she pivoted to helping hospitality businesses survive by offering design services, which eventually evolved into her current branding studio.
• Throughout all her ventures, Dahlia has consistently taught design at night, finding it energizing rather than draining.
• Her story demonstrates the value of transferable skills across industries – her hospitality experience directly informs her current focus on food and beverage branding.
• Dahlia's journey shows how creativity can manifest in different ways beyond traditional design roles – as a facilitator, connector, and community builder.
• Her biggest challenge remains wanting to do more than is possible, highlighting the entrepreneurial drive that has fueled her many successful pivots.

Mindful Creative: How to understand and deal with the highs and lows of creative life, career and business

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