Creative Chit Chat - Dundee

  • Autor: Vários
  • Narrador: Vários
  • Editor: Podcast
  • Duración: 123:24:48
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Sinopsis

A weekly podcast made up of a series of informal conversations with creative people who are either working in and around Dundee or have ties to the city. It's run by Ryan McLeod and gets released every Wednesday morning.

Episodios

  • Little Green Larder - Creating a shop to help people make more sustainable choices

    17/05/2022 Duración: 01h08min

    I'm joined by Jillian Elizabeth owner of the Little Green Larder a zero waste, plastic free shop aiming to make shopping for sustainable products easy and convenient. The Little Green Larder offers a wide variety of foods and products with their best seller being their vegan pick n mix. Jillian saw zero waste shops opening up across the world and sick of waiting on someone setting one up in Dundee, she decided to do it herself. So she found a location and built a community around the Little Green Larder. During lockdown the shop was inundated with customers and orders but as the world opened back up business saw a decline. Leading to Jillian creating a post to say 'Come and say hello to us so we don't have to say goodbye to you'. An extremely difficult post to share but a necessary dose of honesty to save the store. Things since the post have taken a much more positive turn with lots of customers returning but this highlights the difficult time small businesses are currently going through. I ask Jillian to

  • Islay Spalding - Space ownership & being taken seriously

    26/04/2022 Duración: 01h05min

    Jeweller and owner of Double Door Studios joins me for a wonderful meandering chat through her journey. There's a little sidetrack into busking and then onto building a jewellery practice in kilt pins, wedding rings and collections. A quick jaunt around making brooches more accessible through skirting boards and broken musical instruments. Before focusing on finding a space, setting up the finances and taking ownership of her very own space Double Door Studios. Islay has a wonderful positive and driven attitude that comes through in the episode even when making huge decisions and taking risks. In sharing staff, going down the space ownership route and building a team of likeminded jewellers she has created a long term sustainable space for design. Something that we desperately need more of in Dundee. https://www.islayspalding.co.uk/ https://doubledoorstudios.co.uk/

  • Kerrie Aldo - Building ⁣an independent ethical fashion brand

    19/04/2022 Duración: 01h07min

    Fashion designer Kerrie Aldo joins me this week. Probably best known for her signature wax cotton jackets created using material from local manufacturer Halley Stevenson. We talk about slow vs fast fashion and how you get across the value of small scale sustainable production. Kerrie talks me through her journey starting out by being influenced by the indie music scene to finding her own style and how her audience has grown over time. A real pivotal point in her career came when she made a bit of an unexpected move down to Leeds but the business continued to grow and she worked on the Dundee Raincoat project with V&A Dundee during lockdown. As I hope will happen with lots more creatives in the coming years, Kerrie decided it was time for a move back to Dundee. Not the easiest of transitions and almost like starting all over again. But she now has a thriving brand, so much so she experienced a total burn out after a busy Christmas period. So is now look at how to scale and expand things while maintaining int

  • C.Gul - Reaching the peak of seagull based puns

    12/04/2022 Duración: 48min

    This week it's all about street art with C.Gul. Inspired by Dundee's ballsy bird community he has been creating seagull inspired street art for 9 years now. Clearly he doesn't take himself too seriously and his work is about putting smiles on people's faces. We touch on the differences between street art and graffiti and go into the rules and politics that surround the two closely linked but distinct discipline. C.Gul has definitely learned the hard way a few times but seems to have now found a place where he's happy with his work. We also touch on one of my favourite subjects: mini golf. C.Gul created his own course during lockdown. Created in his allotment from materials saved from landfill and purchased from charity shops. It is also closely linked to the work he does with Scrapantics selling all sorts in their scrap store to lighting up kids imaginations with loose parts play. https://www.instagram.com/c.gull/?hl=en www.etsy.com/uk/shop/CGullShop https://scrapantics.co.uk/

  • Kate Harvey - Beautifully organised chaos in textile design

    05/04/2022 Duración: 52min

    It's textile designer Kate Harvey's turn to be the guest on this week's podcast. We go from corner shops to Australia and eventually back to Dundee where she started her own clothing brand. Kate produces hand made one-off appliqué garments in a style that I would describe as beautifully organised chaos. We discuss how she has developed her style and process over time as well as building her audience and brand. One of the key motivators and drivers of her career has been the big projects she's been involved with. Kate produced a towel in collaboration with Local Heroes for their Daytrippers project with V&A Dundee. We also talk about her involvement in this year's Dundee Design Festival and how a collaboration with @badbish created the most successful space in the whole festival. instagram.com/katescarletdesigner/ vam.ac.uk/dundee/event/313/daytrippers katescarletharvey.com/

  • Leonie Bell - The importance of energy

    29/03/2022 Duración: 56min

    This week I'm joined by Leonie Bell, Director of V&A Dundee. She has had a fascinating career working in many high profile roles across Scotland's creative and cultural sector. We talk through her career, why she deliberately seeks out positions of responsibility, that she may not quite be equipped to deal with and why this is a real positive. From an upbringing in Newport and becoming immersed in pop culture, then a move to study in Glasgow: a city of possibilities with anarchy, artist run spaces and self-organised clubbing. We discuss the role creativity has in her career "Quite often my creative outlets have come with the people I've associated myself with. If I've got any creative skills it's that I can gather and synthesise different bits around me." Collaboration is a real constant in Leonie's career when developing teams, working with communities and delivering projects. From being Programme Director at the Lighthouse at a young age to working on cultural elements of the Olympics and Commonwealth Ga

  • David P. Scott - When your back's against a sheer drop, where else do you go?

    22/03/2022 Duración: 01h17min

    I had a very open and honest conversation with David about his career so far as an artist, photographer, videographer and educator. We go into a particularly dark time after he took on a corporate banking job due to 'expectations' which lead so severe anxiety and depression. As David says in the episode it nearly killed him but "When your back's against a sheer drop, where else do you go? You grab the only thing that's there and freelancing was there. So I went for it." He made a hugely positive step by going freelance but the anxiety and depression is still an ongoing issue that David has learned to deal with over time. We talk about his transition for living and working in Edinburgh and moving up to Dundee. He has a great analogy of how in a big city you can be much more specialised but in smaller cities like Dundee you're far better off being more of a generalist and expanding your skillset. We also touch on David's approach to his work, how that affects his overall style and his relationsh

  • 99 - Ask Me Anything

    13/10/2020 Duración: 01h05min

    A celebration of the past 98 episodes with so many wonderful guests. I talk about some of the things I’ve learned and answer the questions of past guests and listeners. This episode is a big thank you to everyone who has made the first 98 episodes of the podcast possible. I’ve had so many brilliant guests openly and honestly sharing their stories. One the four years I have been running the podcast all those stories have become an amazing bank of content that celebrates creativity in Dundee. In this episode I answer questions from past guests and listeners. It goes from the weird to the wonderful. From my favourite pokemon to feminism and the fickle nature of confidence.

  • 98 - Alice Black

    05/05/2020 Duración: 53min

    This week I’m joined by the Head of Cinema at the DCA, Alice Black. She gives us a behind the scenes peek of how an independent cinema operates and the difficulties of catering to such a wide and varied audience. Cinema has always been the biggest focus and passion in Alice’s life. From an early age the cinema was an adventure, being a 2hour drive each way. After a bit of a mix up with the tickets Alice’s Mum ended up taking her to see Roman Polanski’s Tess, which had a profound impact on her life even if she might’ve been a little young at the time. Alice is a firm believer that “Film is a great leveller”. MA Glasgow After a degree in Canada an MA in Glasgow and an MA in New York Alice Worked for the MoMA and the French embassy in NY before moving to Dublin. Having such a range of roles servicing different needs and audiences put her in a great position to curate her own screening schedule for a venue, something she’d not done before the DCA. We chat about the difficulties involved in programming a cul

  • 97 - Darryl Gaffney du Plooy

    28/04/2020 Duración: 01h06min

    Darryl comes from a background in social care and community engagement through many different jobs and projects that we chat about on the project but he’s currently working on researching and developing a local currency for Dundee. ‘I would never call myself a creative’ Pretty much the first thing Darryl says. Not the best start, given the name of the podcast but ‘creative’ and 'design' have never been in the vocabulary in the work that he has done. Although we talk about how many of the roles he’s been in have utilised design principles, methodologies and approaches. Darryl talks about his introduction to Service Design and how something really clicked and made him realise that those things he was doing all along were part of a bigger picture. Similarly, co-design has had a big impact on the work that he does. From our chat, it’s clear that Darryl likes to throw himself into challenges and bring people together to create change. In 2017 he 2017 stood in the local elections as an independent candidat

  • 96 - Kirsty Maguire

    14/04/2020 Duración: 01h01min

    Kirsty runs a Passivhaus Architecture practice from Wasps studios in Dundee but we don’t really talk about any of that. Instead, she takes me through her epic journey to the ends of the earth that she was able to make when lots of factors aligned to create the perfect opportunity. Something of a different episode this week for the first remote recording of Creative Chit Chat ever. Please bear with me on the sound quality. I will be trying to improve it as I go working with some new software. In a lot of ways, I feel that this is the perfect episode for what’s happening right now. A way to escape and let Kirsty take you on an adventure over land, mountains and sea. Going beyond the North to just short of the North Pole in a sailing boat, to skiing past hundreds of thousands of penguins in South Georgia and experiencing the wildlife of Antarctica. I don’t really want to say much more than that. Just listen and enjoy. Kirsty’s website: https://kirstymaguire.com/ Kirsty’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Passiv

  • 95 - Paul Gault

    07/04/2020 Duración: 01h11min

    Programme director of Digital Interaction Design at DJCAD, Paul has gone full circle from being a student on the course to now leading it. We cover that whole journey including some brilliant music based side projects along the way. “mostly I’ve just pursued what I’ve been interested in rather than what’s been a good career move” We begin by talking about Pauls relationship with technology and how he created a website for his village when people were getting really excited about the internet. I think there are a few threads running through his career and technology is one of them along with community and developing the careers and aspirations of younger generations. After a PhD and some time working open the dot rural project in Aberdeen, Paul spent several years at Young Scot in Edinburgh. His work involved giving young people a voice in a room of people with influence, to make them heard and to make a difference. During his time studying in Dundee Paul started a music event in a pub basement on the Pe

  • 94 - Kirsty Thomson

    31/03/2020 Duración: 51min

    Kirsty is the founder and CEO of the Circle, a “More Than Profit” organisation focused on working with social entrepreneurs, community activists, charity leaders, commercial business leaders, trustees and non-executive directors. Kirsty starts her journey on her return to Dundee after being in academia for many years she found herself unemployed. After signing on, a careers advisor asked if she had considered starting her own business. From there she started ACK (Along Came Kirsty) a business offering consultancy services and ended up working primarily with organisations and charities in the third sector. After some ups and downs Kirsty identified the need to set up a space that would allow the types of businesses she was working with to grow. Taking away a lot of the hassles and worries around the basics of keeping a roof over their heads and the lights on. It took 2 years of negotiation with a commercial landlord to convince them it was a viable use for their building. 3 years later and the building is

  • 93 - Ica Headlam / Creative Me Podcast

    10/03/2020 Duración: 43min

    Ica hosts and runs the Creative Me Podcast in Aberdeen and I invited him down to Dundee to do a podcast exchange. Turns out we have very similar stories and approaches when it comes to podcasting. Originally from South East London, Ica moved up to Aberdeen with his girlfriend about 15 years ago to study social work. He’s seen the creative scene change and grow while recording the stories of creatives in the city. We both started our podcasts around the same time and have put out about the same number of episodes. When chatting it was funny how we have mirrored so many of the same patterns. We both burned ourselves out in the early stages and came to the realisation that there is no expectation to be putting out an episode every week. Granted, in the beginning it’s good practice to get things out there and develop the skills. But 1 episode every week is a massive amount of work to keep on top of and generally more content that listeners can keep up with. Especially if you’re trying to do it all year round.

  • 92 - Jen Collins

    03/03/2020 Duración: 01h04min

    Jen is an Illustrator and ceramicist who has spent her time between Dundee, Glasgow and Toronto during her career so far. Her work often notes quiet moments, human connection and the natural world. Pencil and paper are generally the tools of choice, but she occasionally plays with clay, too. After graduating from DJCAD Jen started making products that she could sell online to build an audience and generate some income. She needed a part-time job at this point to support her creative practice and said that it was important to admit ’In my 1st tax return I had a big fat zero in there’. After changing her supporting job to working in marketing it led her down to Glasgow. It was there that she decided to go to some beginners ceramics classes. Out of a curiosity for the craft and that she had never really quite got away from the 2D nature of her illustration work. We chat about how these beginners classes are really enjoyable but also a great gateway into learning new skills and developing creative practice. T

  • 91 - Neil Cooney

    25/02/2020 Duración: 01h03min

    Do you like sneakers? Then this episode is for you. From importing random Japanese zines to working in Hanon in Aberdeen and having over 250 pairs sitting in his garage. Me and Neil chat a lot about trainers in this episode. Even though his journey isn’t really about footwear. He came to Dundee to set up Borders books store. Which he helped build into the most successful branch in the UK but despite this, the company went into administration. Neil had to go through that process and watch the community he had built disappear. He seems to have a knack of getting his foot in the door by offering to lend a hand. This saw him working on some of the early-stage public consultations for V&A Dundee, then on to several Business Improvement District projects. In the episode, he also reveals that Kengo Kuma’s design was not actually the public’s first choice! The Bluebell design was the preferred choice but it was deemed too similar to Belfast’s Titanic Museum. After his work with the V&A Dundee, the Archie foundatio

  • 90 - Col Gray

    18/02/2020 Duración: 52min

    A graphic designer who runs Pixels Ink, helping brands find their identity and voice. He’s also built up a following through online design advice and tutorials on his youtube channel. Col started out doing an interior design course, then moved on to animation and ended up working in a series of smaller studios doing various different roles. He started to get itchy feet when the studio he was at began to grow and he lost the direct relationships with the clients. After finding himself in a pretty toxic environment he knew he had to get out and start his own business. Despite not having any real experience running a business and not having and clients! This was a massive leap and 1 thing that comes up time and again in the episode is confidence. It’s definitely something Col has struggled with and something I think we can all relate to. It was this statement that really stuck with me though: “I don’t think enough people invest in themselves… From my experience, when I’ve invested money in myself, it’s given

  • 89 - Lori Anderson

    24/09/2019 Duración: 58min

    5 weeks into a year-long role as director of Creative Dundee I chat to Lori about her journey, what interested her in the role and what she wants to achieve. Starting out, Lori’s journey has a bit of uncertainty that then led to working in the financial sector. After rising through the company she ended up being made redundant along with the rest of her department. This lead her to take stock and make a complete career change with the Nation Lottery Heritage Fund. She spent 9 years there supporting and getting involved in many amazing projects and gaining what would prove to be invaluable experience for the future. Lori said people have described the transition in her career as “gamekeeper turned poacher” as she went to work for organisations for whom the securing of funding is vitally important. The biggest of these was ‘Collective’ a project regenerating the Old City Observatory and surrounding area at the top of Calton Hill in Edinburgh. It was a 9-month role that turned into a 5 year position as she saw

  • 88 - Andy Truscott

    17/09/2019 Duración: 01h12s

    An opportunity for a year-long graduate internship on the isle of Coll to write and create music was massively significant in Andy’s life. It kick-started a remote music creation process with his brother and initiated a love for field recordings. Now 2 albums down, Kinbrae are looking to release an LP and then a further album but Andy is looking to other avenues to make music a full-time pursuit. He talks about how he has worked in creating music for film and TV which seems to be a much more commercially viable option. Towards the end of our chat, I couldn’t resist chatting to him about classic football kits. It’s something we talked about one night over a beer and area where creativity is definitely lacking. Kinbrae Website: http://kinbrae.co.uk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kinbraemusic Chernobyl Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-chernobyl-podcast/id1459712981 Classic Football Shirts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/classicfootballshirts/

  • 87 - Katja Steel Kusakova

    10/09/2019 Duración: 52min

    Katja has been working in the cultural sector producing events for many years. From music festivals in the Czech Republic to DJCAD degree show. Having only been in Dundee for a relatively short period of time she’s already worked with most of the cultural organisations in the city. As most of her work is event-based it leads to relatively short term contracts. We chat about jumping from contract to contract and having the confidence that something else will always come up. Her latest contract is with Creative Dundee as Programmes Producer. After just a few months in the role, I ask about her ambitions over the next 6-9 months, what she feels Creative Dundee’s role is in the city and where she fits within that. Katja says ‘Dundee is small in the best of ways’ many people have talked about the advantages of the scale of Dundee but no-one has summed it up quite as succinctly and beautifully as this. Creative Dundee - https://creativedundee.com/ Katja Twitter - https://twitter.com/katjakusakova Katja Instagra

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