Creative Chit Chat - Dundee

Director of Leisure & Culture Dundee, Stewart has spent many years engaging communities, enabling others and really helping develop the cultural offer in Dundee. As he moves towards retirement we talk about what he has achieved in the role and what he feels is important for the city going forward.  After growing up in Fife, Stewart started in community education in Glasgow. He didn’t exactly when but mentioned it was before the M8 opened. In 1990 he moved to Tayside where he worked in several different roles engaging communities before eventually becoming head of the organisation that merged many bodies and became Leisure & Culture Dundee. From our chat, it’s clear that what really drives Stewart is facilitation. He loves helping others make things happen. In my opinion, this is the right attitude for someone in his role and indeed the role of any big cultural or creative organisation. Stewart talks about working with many people over the years and that he has been lucky to surround himself with those who h

A freelance photographer who has worked across many areas but mainly with cultural and arts organisations like NEoN Digital Arts Festival, the Cooper Gallery and many fashion brands. The first big project I worked on with Kathryn was this year’s Dundee Design Festival. We brought her in as the official festival photographer and to run a space called the ‘Photoshop’. In the podcast she says she is ‘intrigued by humans and human nature’ and during DDF19 she really captured the essence of the visitors and residents in the spaces. We talk about her ever changing photography persona ‘flash’ that she uses to disarm people. I reckon we all have at least 1 work persona and one personal one. Just thinking about how you answer the phone or conduct yourself in meetings rather than the day to day can be completely different. Kathryn also mentions that she’s not really that into technology. She knows how to get the best out of the setup she has and isn’t about buying the fanciest camera or lenses. It’s about using th

A graphic designer currently working for Avian in Dundee, Jamie shares his journey to where he is now with lots of ups, downs and educational institutions. Jamie first did undergrad degree in product design but felt it was too focused on the engineering and the prospects afterwards were limited. He realised from the design process he had developed that what he really enjoyed was putting together the presentation boards. From there it still took a while to full embrace graphic design. He had a bad experience in a toxic environment in an apparel company in Glasgow which led to a detrimental affect on his mental health. He reached a turning point and knew it was time to get out and focus on what he enjoyed by going to Glasgow Clyde College to do an HND. Then on to DJCAD where he graduated last year. His journey is varied and takes a lot of twists and turns but it shows the key is finding something you’re passionate about. Even if it takes several years to get there you need to have a vision of where you wa

Kirsty Thomas runs creative studio Tom Pigeon from the East Neuk of Fife. We go through her journey from fashion design to teaching to the creation of Tom Pigeon and her latest project The Make Bank. After a bit of a false start with Sports Science Kirsty went on to a degree in Design Studies which didn’t exactly prepare her with the skills needed for industry but did give her broad scope which has lead to a really broad and varied career. After a stint with clothing company Joe Bloggs, she experienced what she describes as an ‘itch’. This becomes a theme throughout her career and has led to a sort of cyclical change every few years. I think it’s a really healthy part of human nature to stop ourselves from getting caught in a rut. The most dangerous thing you can do is not recognise the need for change. It is so important to take stock of everything once in a while and allow yourself some perspective on your situation and the direction you’re headed in. Since it’s creation in 2014 Tom Pigeon has become int

21 – 28 May the Dundee Design Festival will be at the Keiller Centre in Dundee. In this bonus episode me and Lyall Bruce talk about the process behind producing the festival. The podcast has been on a bit of a hiatus and DDF19 is the reason why. So, I thought it only fair to do an episode on our process behind the scenes in structuring and creating the festival. For full festival details dundeedesignfestival.com We’ll also be releasing new content in the lead up to the festival, you can follow here https://twitter.com/designdundee/ https://www.instagram.com/designdundee/

Joanne runs Tea Green Events where she brings together some of the best makers from across Scotland in amazing spaces for people to buy their wares. Joanne’s journey took a few twists and turns along the way before building up Tea Green. Starting out with a ‘false start’ doing a business degree she realised that what she really wanted to do was go to art school. After getting a portfolio together and being accepted into 2nd year at DJCAD Joanne studied jewellery. In another unexpected turn she found herself doing a masters in fine art where she really started to explore how to create engaging and exciting experiences. It seems as though a lot of what she explored at this time eventually fed into what Tea Green has become, including several kilos of glitter. After being part of Vanilla Ink for over 2 years and developing as more of a commercial jeweller. It was Joanne’s fiancé that really influenced her next career change. He offered her £200 with the goal of creating a project where she would double the m

Frances is the ex-director of the Queens Young Leaders programme and describes herself as a ‘positive troublemaker’ which I think is very much the case. We start on her journey where she sort of blagged her way through university, playing the system to get through. Her ability to do this did make her lose interest in art and I think ultimately university. Frances talks very openly about her own struggles with mental health and discovering that her depression manifests itself as not being able to read. This led to her not finishing her PhD but ultimately, a deeper understanding of herself. To be honest I’d not heard of Queens Young Leaders until I found out Frances got the position. It was a brilliant programme helping amazing people across the commonwealth who are running projects or business that are socially focused. Really interesting to hear how Frances will be building on this network of 500+ people across the world in her new role at the Queen’s Commonwealth trust. Asking guests where their expe

Gareth runs Flick For Kicks, making hand made Subbuteo tables and has been involved in playing and promoting the game for over 30 years. He takes us right back to when he first started in his mates’ living room to being Scottish Youth Champion then starting his own club and finally running his own business. It probably took me about 2 years to convince Gareth to come on the podcast. As he mentions himself in the episode, he is a bit of an over-thinker but he’s also been through a lot of ups and downs through his career. We navigate the highs and the lows and Gareth talks about how the community has been so important to him. Whether it was starting the Abernethy Table Football Club, playing for his own Subbuteo team or moving into co-working space Fleet Collective. To me, it seems clear that he thrives when surrounded by like-minded people in a creative environment. That’s why Fleet Collective worked so well, it acted as a support network for all of us. Gareth is a good friend and I’m really pleased that I

Fun Makes Good is how you may also know Eleanor. She produces an amazing range of work from products to upholstery and textiles full interior designs. Strong geometric shape and bright colours feature heavily in Eleanors work and is a style she has become known for. This aesthetic seems to have always been in her work and has been refined over time. We discuss how “Being brazen” is a really important quality for a designer and maker to possess. Especially if you make product based work that you need to go out and sell. It’s really important that you make genuine connections with people and when they’re looking for something you’re capable of, then you’re top of their list. During the podcast we go into various different projects that Eleanor has worked on. It’s clear to see over time that there’s a confidence and ambition that has grown within her work. You only need to walk past Wahaca in Edinburgh to see her gigantic curtains created in her home studio. It’s the development and desire to learn new skills

Designer, maker, teacher, wood worker, exhibition installer and co-owner of Tayberry Gallery in Perth, Louise has a lot going on and this episode is an amazing whirlwind of a journey. We start by going back to her final year university project of sexually inspired furniture that’s probably not for the feint hearted. Then there seemed to be a bit of a dip and potentially a creative lull where Louise realised that she really just wanted to work for herself. An opportunity arose to partner up with Sarah Spalding to run Tayberry gallery in Perth and Louise took it. To me it feels like Tayberry is the rock that stands firm in Louise’s life and it allows her to explore all these other pursuits that still make money but are much more creatively rewarding. It also came across that Louise has a real drive and urge to share her knowledge and understanding with others. This episode goes from the bizarre and wild to warm and comforting. If you do find yourself in Perth then drop in and rub your face on a spoon. Phot

What would make your city more liveable/loveable? - http://dundeedesignfestival.com Fun a Day Dundee Website - https://funadaydundee.wordpress.com/ Fun a Day Dundee Twitter - https://twitter.com/faddundee?lang=en Fun a Day Dundee Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/funadaydundee/ Sam’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sambaxterart/ Sam’s Website - https://sambaxterart.co.uk/ Sam’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/sambaxter10?lang=en Sam is an artist and has found herself running Fun a Day Dundee. Starting each year for the month of January Fun a Day encourages people to do something creative for 31days in a row, culminating in an exhibition at Wasps studios in March. Fun a Day is a fantastic project making art much more accessible to everyone. It also offers everyone a brilliant opportunity to exhibit their work. Whether you’re brand new to it or it’s your day job, the project encourages the ritual repetition over 31days allowing you to practice and hone something. It’s a little difficult to descri

Film maker Ed Broughton is my guest this week. I’ve known Ed for a few years now, sharing co-working space Fleet Collective. In 75 episodes I’ve never had anyone derail the flow of the podcast quite as much as Ed did! He deflected talking about himself and his journey by bringing along his 10 top tips for freelancing. There’s lots of great tidbits in this episode around lifestyle, free things and integrity. Ed doesn’t really go into many of the projects he’s worked on in much detail. But he was the person behind the ‘Sunny Dundee’ concept seeing thousands of pairs of glasses being worn around the city. He also films and livestreams all of Creative Dundee’s Pechakuchas. We also finish up by talking about the only project we worked on together and how it failed. Definitely worth checking out Dundee Design Tours to have a bit of a giggle and hopefully we can reimagine the content into something else in the future. Dundee Design Tours - https://dundeedesigntours.co.uk/ Bonnie Brae Website - http://bonniebrae.

Laura is a community artist and has been for about 16 years now. 12 of those years have been spent at The Corner in Dundee, a health and information service in Dundee, bringing amazing projects to life and influencing the lives of many young people. We go on a journey from where she started as a 20year old working for the lighthouse in communities like Easterhouse in Glasgow to the amazing projects she has created in Dundee like repainting Reform Street as part of Reformation. We talk about some of the issues facing young people today and the role that the corner plays in that. I wasn't really surprised that mental health is high on the agenda and Laura does see some correlation between the rise in social media use and issues with mental health. We talk about the wider issue and her involvement with the Shpeel project, an interactive installation created by Biome Collective for the London Design Beinnale.  What really impressed me about Laura is her ability to just make things happen and to learn the skills

Freelance Illustrator Lauren Morsley joins me for this episode. After graduating in the summer, Lauren exhibited at D&AD New Blood in London where she won a One to Watch award. We talk through her university experience and transitioning to life working as an illustrator. During our chat, Lauren highlights a few gaps and places that universities could really improve on when sending students out into the world. In my opinion, I just don’t see universities filling these gaps in the short-term future. It may well come down to the creative community and individuals to fill these gaps for themselves. What impresses me most about Lauren is how relaxed she is about her future. She says “I’m trying to not put too much pressure on myself”. This is exactly the right attitude when coming out of university. Finding stability financially is paramount but finding creative fulfilment may well take time. There are plenty of stories of overnight success but in reality, it comes from years of hard work. Lauren’s relaxed but d

Samantha Paton is the fashion designer behind independent clothing label Isolated Heroes. She describes it as a lot of fun with sequins and faux fur. From the outset, Samantha wanted to create a brand that resonated with real people. Using street cast models and an honest voice she has built an amazing following. Although she has worked on custom pieces for the likes of Lilly Allen she has also had Paloma Faith and stylists for Miley Cyrus and Tess Holliday placing orders directly through the website. We go into some of the facts and figures of the business which I found really interesting. The stand out is that 90% of sales traffic is driven through Instagram. It’s pretty incredible that a channel that didn’t exist a few years ago is providing a brilliant audience and customer base. It’s pretty easy to tell that Samantha has a really astute business mind and that has come from learning the hard way. I suppose I didn’t really consider the amount of money you need to invest in every collection which pushes t

Louise Kirby is a designer and illustrator based in Dundee. She was also part of the Maggies Penguin Trail with her creation, the Provincial Penguin. It carries her signature style that has a very handcrafted aesthetic. We chat about how she has developed this and how it has come from a very hands-on creative process. I found her focus on 'play' very liberating and interesting. I can definitely relate this to aspects of my process but I wouldn't have thought of it as play, probably something more boring like idea development. Knowing when to stop playing is a really key skill and giving yourself perspective can help massively. It also helps if you have other people around to use as a sounding board.  Louise also talks about how she struggles to explain exactly what she does when speaking to people. It's extremely difficult and becoming a theme of the podcast. It's very difficult to find that line between being vague and succinct vs long-winded and accurate. Wasps Open Studio Weekend, 27th & 28th October -

A multidisciplinary artist based in Dundee. Although she produces work in many forms, Sekai’s often works with photography and has created a signature dark style in subject matter and aesthetic. I ask Sekai about where she thinks her style originated from and how difficult it is to take photos when you are the subject matter. It leads to chat about the nature of collaboration and when someone goes from being an assistant to a true collaborator. I've always found it much more rewarding and valuable to collaborate with others who have a different skill set. Although you develop work together, it makes separating and defining roles much easier. collaborations are much more complex when you have overlapping skill sets with areas where multiple parties want ownership of certain areas.  It's no secret that black artists in Scotland are underrepresented and need more opportunities to make their voices heard. Sekai reveals how she found it hard to connect with other black people when she moved to Dundee for several

I think it’s fair to say that Mike Press is a big personality and a well known figure in the Dundee Creative community. He runs service design consultancy Open Change with Hazel White. He decided to make the jump back into consultancy after a 25 year stint in education. This episode is a whistle stop tour of Mike’s amazing varied career from selling insurance to computer programming to being a service designer before it even existed. I think that one of the core themes of Mike’s career is social activism and empowering others to make a difference. He is a brilliant story teller and motivator and I took a lot from this chat. We touch on so many different issues including his fresh perspective on the future of education and what he wants to see in the future of Dundee. Mike’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/MikePress Open Change - http://openchange.co.uk/

Richard runs Abandon Ship Apparel, Hard Grind barbers and Daily Grind coffee bar. He’s pretty much taking over exchange street in Dundee with an alternative way to experience Dundee. He’s created a massive following and audience from his design work and the culture he has curated around his businesses. We talk about how Abandon Ship went from an idea in a bedroom to 1.2million in turnover to liquidation. The brand ended up growing too fast and Richard admits that he made mistakes and decisions that he regrets. The liquidation had a big impact on his life and his mental health. A battle that continues today in the second iteration of Abandon Ship. Richard struggles, as many of us do, in finding a healthy work/life balance. Switching off is difficult when you run your own business. He has built up the apparel side again and combined forces with Hard Grind barbers and Daily Grind coffee bar. Creating a much more social space that people genuinely want to spend their time in. He is continuing to grow by recent

Lynn and I had a chat about her route into teaching animation and interactive art at Abertay University. We also explore the topic of her PhD - play. How can you get more play into your daily life? Listen to find out.