The Creativity for All Podcast
Mar 28, 2021
Episode 24. Nurturing our creativity
playlist_add
As with anything we feel strongly about, and is worth embracing, creativity takes determination but also nurturing. Season 2 of the podcast explores the many ways in which we can nurture our creative potential, but what does it mean practically? What does taking care, feeding, and protecting our creativity look like?
The Creativity for All Podcast is sponsored by Blue as an Orange, where we believe in creativity through communication and offer mentoring and coaching for aspiring writers, and tailored language tuition for individuals and companies.
More episodes from The Creativity for All Podcast
Dec 23, 2022
That's all, folks!
Season 3 of The Creativity for All Podcast has concluded with a fabulous conversation with inventor Solveiga Pakštaite, and this feels like the right time for me to put an end to this fabulous - but time-consuming - adventure, in order to focus on my writing.
I've loved meeting such a wide range of guests and exploring creativity in Maths, education, neuroscience, mental health, kindness, marketing, pottery, glass engraving, weaving, willow sculpture, speed painting, photography, acting, directing, and yoga, to name but a few of the topics discussed in the course of three seasons.
And I've loved wrestling with topics, such as, perfectionism (a very popular episode, interestingly), inspiration, failure, instinct, ease, and the pressure to be creative, as well as discovering your take on creativity in my solo episodes.
Never say never! I might be back later on with a whole new range of guests and topics, but for the time being, I'm going to focus on my writing.
Thank you for listening!
playlist_add
Nov 20, 2022
Episode 48. Exploring product design with Solveiga Pakštaite
The moment I came across an article about Solveiga Pakštaite, the inventor of a temperature-sensitive food label that shows when products really spoil to fight food waste and improve food safety, I knew I had to get in touch.
Solveiga is also an entrepreneur with an industrial design background. She is the founder & director of Mimica and was named MIT Technology Review's Inventor of the Year. She also holds an honorary lectureship at UCL and consults on innovation projects for leading consumer and technology companies.
In this episode, she shares her take on creativity, what makes design – of a toothbrush, vegetable peeler, or push door – truly functional and the difference between specialised and inclusive design. She also describes the various stages of a rigorous design process, focusing on problem-solving, as opposed to embracing solutions too early and too quickly.
We discuss the value of testing one's own creativity, the logic of expiry dates, and why the focus on reducing the use of plastic has pushed aside food waste and food loss, which are huge sustainability issues. After listening to this conversation, you won't be looking at the most mundane objects around you in quite the same way, so I hope you enjoy it.
More about Solveiga
Solveiga’s website
Solveiga on Instagram
Solveiga on Twitter
More about Mimica
Mimica
Mimica on Instagram
Mimica on Facebook
Videos
A day in the life - Startup Founder
Mimica on YouTube
Combat food waste video
Articles
Positive News article
Business Insider article
ABOUT THE CREATIVITY FOR ALL PODCAST
A maths teacher can be creative. So can a financial adviser, a community builder, and a yoga teacher. Not to mention a speed painter, a potter, or an actor!
Creativity is everywhere and I love nothing more than to explore it in The Creativity for All Podcast, either by focusing on a theme – such as perfectionism, feeding your creative brain, or the pressure to be creative – in my solo episodes, or through my conversations with all manner of creative people.
I want to challenge the perception of creativity and, in the process, debunk many myths attached to it: it's painful, for artists and the chosen few, etc.
My guests and I are keen to zoom in and dissect the origin of an idea, the impulse that makes us engage with our own creativity, with the hope that it will inspire listeners to get creative too.
My podcast is designed for anyone who’s already being creative, or is tempted to use their creativity, in particular those of you who think they are not creative or can never be. I would love to change your mind!
playlist_add
Oct 30, 2022
Episode 47. Exploring the magic of weaving with Rosie-may Greenbank
In September 2022, a stall at the Ely market caught my attention, not just because every woven piece was beautiful, but because I saw at the far end of the table a small weaving loom, which made me think, quite rightly, that the creator of these lovely pieces was worth having a chat with.
Rosie-may Greenbank is a traditional hand-weaver, cloth designer, maker, photographer, and web designer. Working with heritage skills to create artisan cloth, she uses traditional wooden looms, very much in the same way weavers have for hundreds of years. During the first lockdown she set up her business Mays Wonderfully Woven with the help of the Prince’s Trust. She designs and weaves artisanal cloth, which is then hand-crafted into a variety of bespoke apparel, furnishings, and gifts.
In this episode, Rosie-may shares her take on creativity and her creative process, from having a specific inspiration point – a colour or yarn, a visit to Bletchley Park, or the sharp contours of a piece of metal or even paper – to drawing and creating a design based on a series of numbers in a grid system, which she translates into a piece of woven cloth.
To her, weave is a language. Her designs are meticulously planned, allowing her to have a flexible approach when creating her pieces, to experiment and immerse herself in the flow of weaving.
Rosie-may describes the magic of building fabric, effectively creating a piece out of nothing, how the tradition of weaving has been passed on through generations, the emotional connection she has with each piece she weaves and the pride she takes in not only carrying out such a tradition, but in making it accessible to others through her online tutorials.
Fabric, as she reminds us beautifully, is an integral part of our lives and each of her pieces has a unique story. This conversation made me want to grab a pencil and draw, so I hope you enjoy it and will feel equally inspired by it!
Useful Links
Rosie-may's website
Rosie's Instagram
Rosie's Facebook
Rosie's Ely market dates
Meet the women working wonders with thread
ABOUT THE CREATIVITY FOR ALL PODCAST
A maths teacher can be creative. So can a financial adviser, a community builder, and a yoga teacher. Not to mention a speed painter, a potter, or an actor!
Creativity is everywhere and I love nothing more than to explore it in The Creativity for All Podcast, either by focusing on a theme – such as perfectionism, feeding your creative brain, or the pressure to be creative – in my solo episodes, or through my conversations with all manner of creative people.
I want to challenge the perception of creativity and, in the process, debunk many myths attached to it: it's painful, for artists and the chosen few, etc.
My guests and I are keen to zoom in and dissect the origin of an idea, the impulse that makes us engage with our own creativity, with the hope that it will inspire listeners to get creative too.
My podcast is designed for anyone who’s already being creative, or is tempted to use their creativity, in particular those of you who think they are not creative or can never be. I would love to change your mind!
playlist_add