Creative talk

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Northern Meet Up — a collaborative evening of creativity, speakers, drinks and pizza at The Northern School of Art, hosted alongside Northern Design Festival, Tees Valley Creates: Freelancer Network and Ladies, Wine & Design Hartlepool.

My first slide said: “I nearly said no to this.”

And honestly, that summed up exactly how I felt when I was asked me to speak.

Not because I didn’t want to be part of it. Far from it. I love hearing people talk openly about their creative journeys – the not-so-straightforward routes, the moments that shaped them, the things they learned the hard way.

But standing up and telling my own story to a bigger crowd? That felt very much outside my comfort zone.

Which is slightly ridiculous, given that I spend a lot of time encouraging women in design to say yes to opportunities, in my role at Ladies, Wine and Design. So, annoyingly, I had to take my own advice.

The talk was a 30-minute whirlwind through my career so far, from growing up on a council estate in Seaham, to finding my way into design, becoming a Creative Director at 27, navigating confidence, leadership, meltdowns and mental health, and eventually starting Altogether.

I talked about the working-class background that shaped me, the practical realities of getting into the creative industries, and the pressure that can come with trying to make the risk feel worth it. I talked about becoming a leader before I really knew how to lead, and the difference that support, coaching and honest conversations made at that point in my career.

And of course, I talked about Altogether, how we started with a start-up loan, found our first studio, and built a small, intentionally focused agency around the kind of work we care about most.

Work with charities and not-for-profits. Arts and culture organisations. Education. Research and innovation. Local heroes. Organisations with purpose, communities and stories at the heart of what they do.

I also shared why Ladies, Wine & Design has become such an important part of my life and work. Since 2019, co-leading the Newcastle chapter has given me a space to champion women and non-binary creatives, but also to keep having the conversations that matter, about confidence, money, leadership, burnout, visibility, belonging and what it really takes to build a creative career.

The brilliant Jimmy Turrell spoke before me, sharing his iconic body of work and some incredible stories, a hard act to follow!

But once I was up there, I’m very glad I said yes. I might even go as far as saying I enjoyed it.

The talks that have stayed with me over the years are rarely the ones where everything feels polished and perfect. They’re the ones where people are open about how they got from one bit to the next. The graft, the gut instinct, the good people, the wobbling, the figuring it out as you go.

That’s what I tried to share. I nearly said no to this.

I’m really glad I didn’t.