Working For Progress

In this episode, Dani speaks with Keith Kirkwood. Senior Technical Writer by day, drummer and percussionist by night, and someone whose brain operates in two very different registers.

Keith's working life is built around making complexity clear, crafting user guides and help systems that turn the intricate into the accessible. Away from the desk, he's been drumming since his twenties and currently plays with Edinburgh group Idiogram. On the surface these feel like opposite worlds. In conversation, the connections are more interesting than they first appear.

They talk about how Keith's mind works, what draws him to precision and language, and what rhythm and music give him that words alone can't.

A thoughtful conversation about the different parts of ourselves we bring to our work, and the parts we keep just for ourselves.

3di

IDIOGRAM

Working For Progress is hosted by Dani Trudeau and produced by Alice Hudson. We are coming from Tribe Porty, a community coworking space in Portobello, on the coast of Edinburgh.

If you enjoy the show, follow, rate, and share, it helps other people find conversations like this one.

You can find more about Tribe Porty on Instagram & Facebook and Youtube and LinkedIn.

Find Dani's substack at RootedImpact. 

In this episode, Dani speaks with Emma Christie, psychological thriller writer, Portobello local, and someone who has deliberately built a working life that most people only dream about.

Emma's debut novel The Silent Daughter was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime, and her work is rooted in the streets of Portobello, Edinburgh's seaside neighbourhood that also happens to be home to Tribe Porty. But it's her life beyond the page that makes this conversation sing.

Emma splits her time between Portobello and Barcelona, and writes from a campervan she shares with her partner. Waking up in the mountains, opening the laptop, and writing for hours. It isn't accidental. It's a life she and her partner have consciously chosen and carefully built.

They talk about creative discipline, the routine behind the freedom, and what it looks like to live and work with real integrity.

An inspiring, grounding conversation about writing, adventure, and choosing your own version of progress.

Find her online at www.emmachristiewriter.com or across social media @theemmachristie

Working For Progress is hosted by Dani Trudeau and produced by Alice Hudson. We are coming from Tribe Porty, a community coworking space in Portobello, on the coast of Edinburgh.

If you enjoy the show, follow, rate, and share, it helps other people find conversations like this one.

You can find more about Tribe Porty on Instagram & Facebook and Youtube and LinkedIn.

Find Dani's substack at RootedImpact. 

In this episode, Dani speaks with Nicky Shallcross, former fashion and retail buying director, founder of Interior Superior, volunteer, and someone who knows exactly what it took to change her life.

Nicky's shift from heading up buying and merchandising teams in corporate retail to starting her own colourful homeware business wasn't just a career change. It followed her own experience with cancer; a turning point that clarified what mattered and what didn't, and gave her the courage to build something she truly loved.

They talk about that journey honestly and warmly, about what illness teaches us about how we want to live and work, and about the unexpected gifts that can come from the hardest chapters. Nicky is also a passionate advocate for volunteering, as a friendship volunteer with Vintage Vibes and a Someone Like Me volunteer for Breast Cancer Now, and speaks about what giving back has given her in return.

One of those conversations full of colour, honesty, and real heart. Bland, as Nicky would say, is banned.

Working For Progress is hosted by Dani Trudeau and produced by Alice Hudson. We are coming from Tribe Porty, a community coworking space in Portobello, on the coast of Edinburgh.

If you enjoy the show, follow, rate, and share, it helps other people find conversations like this one.

You can find more about Tribe Porty on Instagram & Facebook and Youtube and LinkedIn.

Find Dani's substack at RootedImpact. 

In this episode, Dani speaks with Peter Jones. Watercolour artist, long-time Tribe Porty member, and one of Portobello's quieter treasures.

Peter draws constantly. His work celebrates the built environments of the places he loves, from Portobello, Kirkcudbright, Falkland, and most recently Craigmillar and Niddrie; rendered in a watercolour style that is entirely his own.

In this conversation, Peter opens up about something more personal too. He lives with bipolar disorder, and over time has learned to understand himself more deeply through his art. That journey led him to collaborate with Bipolar Edinburgh on a series of sketching workshops at the National Museum of Scotland, now into its second run, built on a simple and generous belief: everyone can draw, and coming together to do it can quietly change how you feel.

A calm, unhurried, and unexpectedly moving conversation about creativity, place, mental health, and the quiet power of making marks on paper.

 You can find more about Peter and his work on his website and instagram.

https://peterjoneshouseportraits.co.uk/
https://www.instagram.com/peterrhubarb/

Working For Progress is hosted by Dani Trudeau and produced by Alice Hudson. We are coming from Tribe Porty, a community coworking space in Portobello, on the coast of Edinburgh.

If you enjoy the show, follow, rate, and share, it helps other people find conversations like this one.

You can find more about Tribe Porty on Instagram & Facebook and Youtube and LinkedIn.

Find Dani's substack at RootedImpact. 

Today we spoke with Briana Pegado, and we could have talked all day! With our longest episode to date, Briana and I talk about her experiences in the creative sector, how she is a menace (in the best possible way) and why it is important to live  your truth. We think you will enjoy this rich conversation. 

Briana Pegado FRSA is an author, fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and festival founder with nearly a decade’s experience as an award- winning social entrepreneur in the creative industries in Scotland. She works as an anti-racism, governance, and strategy consultant particularly in the creative industries. She has an MA Sustainable Development and is a trained Theta DNA Energy Healer. She is the former Co-Director of We Are Here Scotland, Creative Director of Fringe of Colour Films, OMOS Community Engagement Producer, and Director of Creative Edinburgh.

She is a member of the Collective Scotland, an intersectional feminist social policy and research collective. A central theme in her work is how disrupting systems, processes, sectors, and ways of thinking can facilitate positive change. Her new book Make Good Trouble: A Guide to the Energetics of Disruption launches on 09 April 2024 and is available for pre-order now.

Working For Progress is hosted by Dani Trudeau and produced by Alice Hudson. We are coming from Tribe Porty, a community coworking space in Portobello, on the coast of Edinburgh.

If you enjoy the show, follow, rate, and share, it helps other people find conversations like this one.

You can find more about Tribe Porty on Instagram & Facebook and Youtube and LinkedIn.

Find Dani's substack at RootedImpact. 

In this episode, Dani speaks with Chris Hellawell. Director of the Edinburgh Tool Library and one of those people who saw something working somewhere else and decided to bring it home.

The origin story is a good one: Chris visited a tool library in Canada, saw what it could do for a community, and came back convinced Scotland needed one. Since 2015, the Edinburgh Tool Library has saved its members over £2 million and supported more than 100 community groups and charities.

They talk about what community resilience actually looks like in practice, the early days of building something from scratch, and, quietly, what running a values-led organisation makes possible in the rest of your life too.

A grounded conversation about tools, community, and doing work that matters close to home.

Working For Progress is hosted by Dani Trudeau and produced by Alice Hudson. We are coming from Tribe Porty, a community coworking space in Portobello, on the coast of Edinburgh.

If you enjoy the show, follow, rate, and share, it helps other people find conversations like this one.

You can find more about Tribe Porty on Instagram & Facebook and Youtube and LinkedIn.

Find Dani's substack at RootedImpact. 

Eleven episodes, one trailer, and a whole lot learned. In this special episode, Dani and producer Alice Hudson look back on Season 1 of Working for Progress.

They reflect on the conversations that stayed with them — with Bob, Lorna, Osbert, Nasim, Kaigan, Rob, Adam, Jo, Rachel, Inessa, and Dane — and the common threads that emerged: community, values, and the quiet determination to do good work.

Dani also gets honest about what she'd forgotten in the logistics of starting a podcast, that she simply loves a good conversation. The more vulnerable, the better. And that Season 2 would go deeper.

A warm, unscripted moment of gratitude for the people, the stories, and the communities that made it all possible.

Working For Progress is hosted by Dani Trudeau and produced by Alice Hudson. We are coming from Tribe Porty, a community coworking space in Portobello, on the coast of Edinburgh.

If you enjoy the show, follow, rate, and share, it helps other people find conversations like this one.

You can find more about Tribe Porty on Instagram & Facebook and Youtube and LinkedIn.

Find Dani's substack at RootedImpact. 

In this episode, Dani speaks with Inessa Rezanova. Ukrainian writer, screenwriter, and narrative producer, and one of Tribe Porty's most beloved members.

Inessa arrived in Portobello through a simple connection a host family, a recommendation, a warm welcome, and has been here ever since. Two years on, she is woven into the fabric of the community in the way that only the best people are.

Her working life has spanned TV documentaries, drama series, and mobile game narratives, always in service of the same conviction: there is always a place and time for a good story. In this conversation she talks about what storytelling means to her, what keeps her coming back to it across such different industries, and what it has been like to build a creative life in a new place.

A light, warm, and quietly moving conversation about creativity, community, and the stories that carry us.

You can also find her on LinkedIn.

Working For Progress is hosted by Dani Trudeau and produced by Alice Hudson. We are coming from Tribe Porty, a community coworking space in Portobello, on the coast of Edinburgh.

If you enjoy the show, follow, rate, and share, it helps other people find conversations like this one.

You can find more about Tribe Porty on Instagram & Facebook and Youtube and LinkedIn.

Find Dani's substack at RootedImpact. 

In this episode, Dani speaks with Dane Van Zyl, co-founder and CEO of Uku Inbound, a HubSpot marketing agency with teams in Cape Town and Edinburgh, and one of Tribe Porty's most inspiring members.

The origin story is not what you'd expect. It starts with his mother, his twin brother, and selling blinds. And somehow leads to running an international marketing agency working with businesses across Africa, Europe, and the US. Dane tells it well.

They talk about what it's like to build something across two continents, what it means to work alongside your twin, and how two people who complement each other perfectly can create something neither could alone. There's also something quietly moving about a man who left South Africa but never really left — his brother, his roots, and his story are still very much there.

An energising, entrepreneurial conversation full of warmth, humour, and genuine inspiration.

Particularly recommended if you're building something of your own.

Find out more through the channels below;
Website: www.ukuinbound.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danevz/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dane-van-zyl-ab0aa923/

Working For Progress is hosted by Dani Trudeau and produced by Alice Hudson. We are coming from Tribe Porty, a community coworking space in Portobello, on the coast of Edinburgh.

If you enjoy the show, follow, rate, and share, it helps other people find conversations like this one.

You can find more about Tribe Porty on Instagram & Facebook and Youtube and LinkedIn.

Find Dani's substack at RootedImpact. 

In this episode, Dani speaks with Rachel Mays. Freelance consultant, former Wieden and Kennedy creative agency veteran, and someone who has built a working life across Portland, Amsterdam, and now Edinburgh.

Rachel's career has taken her from one of the world's most celebrated creative agencies to running her own consultancy, working with agencies and brand marketers across the UK, Europe, and the US. But the conversation goes beyond the CV.

They talk about what it really means to know your worth as a freelancer, and how sometimes it takes someone who loves you to remind you of it. For Rachel, it was her partner who helped her see clearly what she was offering and what she deserved in return. That clarity changed everything: her prices, her terms, and the way she works.

A warm and honest conversation about creative work, self-worth, and the quiet confidence it takes to back yourself.

You can find Rachel through LinkedIn. 

Working For Progress is hosted by Dani Trudeau and produced by Alice Hudson. We are coming from Tribe Porty, a community coworking space in Portobello, on the coast of Edinburgh.

If you enjoy the show, follow, rate, and share, it helps other people find conversations like this one.

You can find more about Tribe Porty on Instagram & Facebook and Youtube and LinkedIn.

Find Dani's substack at RootedImpact.