Up With The Lark And

In this episode, we explore the idea of ‘shop local, think global’ and its various implications as creative entrepreneurs. It’s a phrase full of potential and possibility but also restrictions and responsibilities. How can we respond to it creatively and commercially?

When considering who to ask to speak on this topic, my wish list was a long one - someone creatively talented, who had a bricks and mortar shop and an online presence, that the shop would be fully invested into the local community and that they would have an international point of view in terms of product and the environment. Critically, it felt essential to have someone who saw all of these things as a narrative, a debate, a work in progress. And by some miracle, I found them!

Kristina Currie of Bon Tot sits down with us to discuss how they find this balance - the shop in Edinburgh, the online presence, stoking international products and prioritising eco-thinking. If you want to hear a great business story, you have come to the right place. Kristina is an articulate, considered and funny guest. You are in for a treat!

Bon Tot: https://www.bon-tot.com
Let My People Go Surfing: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/536777/let-my-people-go-surfing-by-yvon-chouinard-foreword-by-naomi-klein/9780143109679/
Courier Magazine: https://couriermedia.co
How I Built This: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this

We are looking at the importance of building a community around you as a creative both online and ‘in real life’ and why it’s good to try to balance the two. Our guest is Emma Harris of A Quiet Style. She is a fine art photographer, stylist and lifestyle blogger. With around 78k instagram followers, she is no stranger to the power of an online community but nor has she ignored the importance of meeting face to face. Emma hosts retreats, workshops and now regular lunches for people to have a space to meet and build communities of their own. I’ve often tried to avoid discussing instagram but here Emma shares great insights and encouragements to use the platform as a great community tool but online and in ‘real life’. If you have ever felt that you want to build a better community around you but weren’t sure how, then this is the episode for you!

A Quiet Style: https://www.aquietstyle.co.uk
The Do Lectures: https://www.thedolectures.com
Platform 9: https://www.platf9rm.com

This week we are considering the topic of ‘Place: Where To Run Your Business’.

Today it is easier than ever to start a business from your kitchen table and build a successful enterprise with an idea, determination, coffee and great wifi.

But how do much does our work environment impact us? Does it matter? How do we make sure that we work ‘well’ at home? When it is time to ‘move out’ to an office, studio or shop? And what should you take into consideration when deciding where to go?

To help answer these questions is Ed Foster of Foster & Game. Foster & Game is a mother and son duo curating an ever-changing collection of fine and decorative antiques alongside twentieth century design.

Ed and I worked together for years before we each set off to run our own businesses. I am so impressed, but not surprised, at how great Ed is at running his own show. The man has excellent taste and frankly, I’d like to live in his new showroom space. I will let him tell you more!

Foster & Gane: https://fosterandgane.com
Sotheby’s Institute: https://www.sothebysinstitute.com
Colefax & Fowler: https://www.colefax.com
Rose Uniacke: https://roseuniacke.com/pimlico-shop

Image Credit: Jake Curtis for House & Garden

There is no doubt that collaborations are in vogue and for good reason. This week our guest is Lisa Mehydene, founder and creative director of edit 58. A self confessed interiors obsessive, she has built a thriving business which has been a part of many successful collaborations - Kana London, Matilda Goad and Molly Mahon to name a few. There is even a new collaboration launching this week!

If you would like to instigate a collaboration and do it really very well, then this episode is full of great insight and advice for you!

edit 58: www.edit58.com
Atelier Big John: www.bigjon.co.uk
Kana London: www.kanalondon.com
Matilda Goad: www.matildagoad.com
Molly Mahon: www.mollymahon.com

It is said that 'culture eats strategy'. For Good Things Brewing, culture IS the strategy.

Company Culture is an ever present pre-occupation for many start ups these days. If you are wondering what exactly company culture is, how to start developing one, how to nurture it and see it bring success to your business, then this episode is for you.

It's also for you if you want to sip a cool beer in the sunshine and listen to the birds sing in the Sussex countryside.

Good Things Brewing - https://www.goodthingsbrewing.co
Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast - https://www.channel4.com/programmes/jamie-and-jimmys-friday-night-feast/on-demand/68197-009
The Happy Start Up - http://www.thehappystartupschool.comPatagonia
Let My People Go Surfing - https://www.patagonia.com/blog/2016/09/let-my-people-go-surfing/
Burning Sky Beer - https://www.burningskybeer.com

This week we start a new theme - people. We start by looking at people to inspire us - artists, makers, designers, creators who bring insight, courage and deepen our thinking. To help us explore this is Emily Tobin, Arts and Features Editor of House & Garden. Her writing is both beautiful and engaging and I think that you will enjoy her gentle nudge to look a little longer, read a little broader and strike up a conversation wherever possible.

House & Garden Magazine - https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk
Emily Tobin - https://www.instagram.com/emily.k.tobin/

It seems to me that the businesses that thrive, have someone brave at the helm. Someone willing to take a risk, learn something new, develop their experience. This week, we have Florence Kennedy of Petalon. It was a real honour to have her join us to discuss 'Growing Your Experience' - how being willing to learn, to fail, to try is the key to a growing business.

Petalon: https://www.petalon.co.uk
Kennedy and Kennedy: https://www.kennedyandkennedy.co.uk
Innovation for Growth: https://www.bl.uk/business-and-ip-centre/innovating-for-growth
The Do Lectures: https://www.thedolectures.com

This week we are exploring, perhaps literally, the importance if growing your horizons. Our guest is Alex Rebbeck of travel lifestyle brand Atla. We chat about why travel is so important to creatives and founders, how to decide where to go, the changing face of 'business travel' and how you can bring the world to you.

Atla: https://atla.is
The Weekend Journal: https://atla.is/collections/library/
Helen Russell: A Year of Living Danishly - https://www.amazon.com/Year-Living-Danishly-Uncovering-Happiest-ebook/dp/B00Q8SR5L0

Are you ready to grow your business? One of the critical things is to grow your team. This might be employees, freelancers, specialists, interns and covers both juniors and experts. How do you know what you need? How do you recruit them? What do you do once they are on board?

Annabel Partridge and Hamish Budge are quite the dynamic duo. They are part of the team behind Pear Tree Cafe in Battersea Park. They both work hard, seriously hard and have such a great story to share. We discuss how they started the business and grew it into a London hot spot, what it’s like to work with your finance, what growth means to their business, triumphs and tricky spots and how strong company values are key to success.

Pear Tree Cafe - www.peartreecafe.co.uk
How I Built This - https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this
Deliciously Ella's Podcast - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/deliciously-ella-the-podcast/id1428704212?mt=2