The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey

Most of us don’t talk about debt, we live in FOFO – Fear of Finding Out; something Clare Seal did until, £27k in debt, she turned financial rock bottom into rocket fuel for change, not just for herself but tens of thousands of others.

In this episode, Clare opens up to Melanie about how her desire to fit in led to mounting debt and how reflecting on the impact of ADHD helped her redefine her relationship with money. She shares the practical steps and mindset shifts that helped her climb out of debt and how she now empowers others as a Financial Wellbeing Coach and bestselling author.

Clare’s strategies—on talking to the bank, using budgeting apps, understanding hedonic adaptation, and shifting from net-worth to self-worth—are pure gold. Her journey to discovering her own Enoughness offers powerful insights for anyone searching for their financial “just right.”

Because rich or poor, if you’re messy with money, the issues stick around until you face them head-on.

Guest: @clareseal

Books

Real Life Money by Clare Seal

Five Steps to Financial Wellbeing by Clare Seal

Mentioned in this episode

Draw Your Future by Patti Dobrowokski TedxRainier

ADHD Tax – by Monzo Bank & You Gov

Methods for paying debt

Avalanche vs Snowball Method

Money management apps

Snoop – helps track spending, set budgets, cut bills and control finances

Jam Doughnut – cashback app for deals in real time

Wealthify – money management keep track of investments, ISAs, pension

The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey.

Produced and edited by Steve Hankey.

Podcast Artwork by Rachel Macintosh & Orla Drury.

The podcast is recorded at 1 Warwick in Soho, a welcoming club for members and visitors alike, and the home of The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First, pinch me time — because we’ve got the REAL-LIFE LEGEND that is Yotam Ottolenghi on the show! If anyone has ever wondered what the celebrated chef, writer, restaurateur, and veggie rehabilitator Yotam Ottolenghi is truly like, this episode is the perfect introduction. You’ll meet a clever, driven, and utterly charming person whose life mission is to make people happy through food.

We dive into a career that began with unexpected fame and evolved into him becoming one of the world’s most influential chefs, with over 11 million books sold globally. We decode the “Ottolenghi Effect”—or why so many of us actually know what sumac and tahini are—and explore the family ties and global collaborations behind the 100 recipes in his latest book, Comfort.

The conversation also touches on the joy and realness of gay parenting, why he created the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen, and his personal take on what "Just Right" means, both in life and in the kitchen. And of course, there are surprises—including the kitchen tools and essentials he uses (and those he doesn’t!).

Above all, this episode will leave anyone hungry—hungry for the comfort food that feels like home and inspired by Yotam’s ability to stay creative under pressure. His secret? Collaborating closely with others. As Yotam says, that’s where the real magic happens.

Comfort, by Yotam Ottolenghi and co-authors Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley is out now. 

Guest: @ottolenghi 

The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey

Produced and edited by Steve Hankey

The podcast is recorded at 1 Warwick in Soho, a welcoming club for members and visitors alike, and the home of The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a masterclass on how to rebuild when a dream career ends, and how to start again and do it better.

Henry Holland is a fashion designer turned ceramicist renowned for his quintessentially British style, but beneath his playful image lies a belief system and mindset that’s taken him from a chip shop in Ramsbottom to the catwalks of London, and beyond.  

In this episode Melanie and Henry explore his two ‘instant success’ stories, how a mental health crisis at university set him up for life, and why his second career is where he found fulfillment. 

Find out how Henry sets goals, measures success and stays on an upward trajectory - and prepare for some lessons in Henry Holland’s secret magic! 

This conversation shares a refreshing perspective on the ups and downs involved in finding your just right and why sitting still for long enough to know what to do next, shows us how to do the next right thing and succeed, better. 

Guest: @henryholland @henryhollandstudio

Mentioned in this episode

@henryhollandstudio

@marni 

@libertylondon

@londonfashionweek

The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey

Produced and edited by Steve Hankey

Additional production is by Sophie Smith

It’s recorded at 1 Warwick in Soho, a welcoming club for members and visitors alike, and the home of The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does feeling not good enough as a kid impact us when we’re older? What can we do to wise up to a culture that sells us crappy stuff to make us feel better? Does finding the sweet spot of enoughness help?

Enter Aja Barber, a writer with 237,000 Instagram followers, a critically acclaimed book, Consumed, and a fearless attitude when it comes to telling the unvarnished truth about how fast fashion really works. 

Aja Barber doesn’t sugar coat it. In this conversation Melanie and Aja talk about why most people resist the uncomfortable truth and lean into how Aja got the fire in her belly, why it matters, and how she found enoughness for herself.

Guest: @ajabarber

Mentioned in this episode

Aja Barber on Patreon

Consumed: The need for collective change; colonialism, climate change & consumerism, by Aja Barber

Further reading 

The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey

Produced and edited by Steve Hankey

Additional production is by Sophie Smith

It’s recorded at 1 Warwick in Soho, a welcoming club for members and visitors alike, and the home of The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are we doing enough to change the way we shop for clothes? Is the sustainable fashion movement making any progress? Find out the reality in this episode of The Enoughness. 

Melanie talks to Rachel Arthur, one of the most influential women in fashion you may never have heard of. Why? Rachel created the United Nations Sustainable Fashion Playbook, a guide for influencers and fashion communicators to inspire us all to buy less crap, and love and appreciate clothes more.

In this episode we trash fashion headlines, dig into influencers on the shill, discuss the joy of renting Ganni, throw shade on Edward Bernays, and share why knowing all this stuff matters.

Rachel also talks about the legislation that could change everything for fast fashion, why she nearly gave it all up, and how, like Goldilocks, she carefully worked out her version of “just right” and changed her life in inspirational ways.     

Guest: @rachelarthur 

Mentioned in this episode

The Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook

United Nations Environment Program and Rachel Arthur

Ganni rental on Hurr Collective

Edward Bernays, the founding father of modern Public Relations 

Further reading

Owning It with Rachel Arthur, on Substack

Earth4All by Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Owen Gaffney, Jayati Ghosh, Jørgen Randers, Johan Rockström and Per Espen Stoknes. 

Less is More by Jason Hickel

The World is on Fire But We Are Still Buying Shoes by Alec Leach

The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey

Produced and edited by Steve Hankey

Additional production is by Sophie Smith

Its recorded at 1 Warwick in Soho, a welcoming club for members and visitors alike, and the home of The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Giselle La Pompe-Moore is an inspirational author who writes about how to live a successful, hustle-free life, often with a side order of brilliantly blunt social media commentary.

For this conversation Gigi tells Melanie how she achieved her dream career only to find it wasn’t what she wanted. Then shares how that realisation informed her excellent book, Take It In, a handbook for finding everyday happiness and living your best life.

Gigi shares her experience as a woman of colour in her career and her mission to bring more black women and men into the wellbeing space.  

She talks openly about her MS diagnosis, and experience of sexual assault, and the inner work she’s done to heal, sharing what she has learned with us.

Gigi’s enoughness gem is gold standard - three easy ways to stay firmly in our good enough, every single day.

This episode contains two trigger warnings, time codes below.

TW: Sexual Assault, realisation, understanding, support received.

16:08 - 21:18 

TW: Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis, Dr. Google, managing the condition.

21:18 - 25:09 

Guest: @gisellelpm

Mentioned in this episode

Be Difficult Darling. Giselle La Pompe Moore’s inspiring Substack.

Take It In, Do The Inner Work and Live Your Best Damn Life,  by Giselle La Pompe-Moore

Nia Ending Violence, a charity that delivers cutting edge support to end violence against women and children, and help those affected by it. 

Further support:

Shift MS, offers support and advice from others living with Multiple Sclerosis.

Further reading:

The Philosophy of  Doing Less, Being Present, Doing More 

Supported by:

@1warwicksoho

The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey.

Produced and edited by Steve Hankey.

Assistant Producer Sophie Smith.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did Savile Row entrepreneur Patrick Grant become Britain’s best-known advocate against crappy plastic clothes and the owner of an affordable clothing factory in Blackburn? And why did an exploding oven tray and dodgy plug socket result in Less, his 2024 bestselling book about how we can all live happier lives with less but better stuff? 

In this conversation, Melanie and Patrick leap from the philosophy of Marcus Aurelius to £1 lunches, why he properly loves a factory, and how making things went from a decent everyday job for millions of people, to a pursuit mainly for those with wealth. 

Along the way Patrick shares why every twist and turn of his life and varied career - expert on Savile Row tailoring, TV Judge on the BBC’s Sewing Bee, author, and founder of Community Clothing - feeds into his true purpose, to challenge us to reframe what we want, and why we want it. 

Guest: Patrick Grant @patrickgrantism. 

Mentioned in this episode

@community_clothing

@nortonandsons 

@sewingbee  

@pashleycycles  

@vans 

@zojirushi_official

Garry’s TV Repairs https://www.yell.com/biz/garry-s-t-v-repairs-barnoldswick-1177234/

Patrick’s brilliant book: Less, Stop Buying So Much Rubbish How Having fewer Better Things Can Make Us Happier

Supported by:

@1warwicksoho

The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey.

Produced and edited by Steve Hankey.

Assistant Producer Sophie Smith.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Getting to the essence of what we need to thrive in life is trial and error for some, and an uphill struggle for others. Something successful author and beauty editor Sali Hughes knows only too well because she’s lived on both sides of the poverty divide. 

In this conversation Melanie and Sali talk about the craziness of skincare misinformation - salmon sperm, anyone? - the joy of Chanel, why hyaluronic acid is not what you think it is, and the spark that ignited her hygiene poverty charity Beauty Banks.

Along the way, Sali shares the impact online trolls had on her mental health and how she recovered, the childhood reasons behind her love of a full fridge, her no-nonsense take on manifestation culture, and the Enoughness gem - how many skincare products we actually need.  

Guest: @salihughes

Mentioned in this episode

@beautybanks

@chanel.beauty

@makeuprevolution

Supported by:

@1warwicksoho

The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey.

Produced and edited by Steve Hankey.

Assistant Producer Sophie Smith.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After achieving his PHD in Public Health Dr Brett Staniland did something crazy, he shifted his career to fashion, bringing his academic love of a fancy fact with him. Today, the 30-year-old model, activist and identical twin is on a mission to inspire the Love Island generation to make positive change - and, so far, he’s nailing it. 

Thanks to Brett’s subtle activism while appearing on the show, Love Island dropped their fast fashion sponsors for eBay, sparking a culture shift towards pre-loved clothes, but that’s not enough for Brett. 

In this conversation, Melanie and Brett talk about the desire for impact, how to stay focussed on your purpose and why long-term wins are always better than quick fixes.

Along the way Brett opens up about online abuse, his working-class Derbyshire roots, and why his favourite item of clothing is a women’s suit by Lemaire - for himself!  

And Brett shares how to build the perfect men’s wardrobe and prescribes a new way to shop - best of all, with his approach, everyone wins.

Guest: Dr Brett Staniland @twinbrett 

Mentioned in this episode:

People

Scott Staniland @twinscott

Tiffanie Darke @tiffdarke

Venetia La Manna @venetialamanna

Brands

Love Island @loveisland

Ebay @ebay_uk

Lemaire @lemaire_official

Asket @asket

The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey

Produced and edited by Steve Hankey.

Additional production is by Sophie Smith.

It’s recorded at 1 Warwick in Soho, a welcoming club for members and visitors alike, and the home of The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do we find our good enough? Psychotherapist Jodie Cariss is co-founder of  the world’s first on-demand mental health service, The Self Space, and understands this subject so well she has the tattoo to prove it.

In this conversation Melanie and Jodie discuss where feelings of not good enough come from – hello core beliefs! - and go there with their own too. 

They also talk about the importance of creating a space between wanting and having, and why little everyday actions help us find, and stay, in our sweet spot for pleasure and life satisfaction.

Along the way, Jodie opens up about her transformation from kids TV host to founder of a growing mental health business, what lobsters can teach us about change and the unexpected healing power of a Gucci handbag. 

Jodie’s book with The Self Space co-founder Chance Marshall - How to Grow Through What You Go Through: Mental Maintenance for Modern Lives - is available now.

The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey is produced and edited by Steve Hankey.

Additional production is by Sophie Smith.

The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey is recorded at our home 1 Warwick, a welcoming club for members and visitors alike.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.