When you run a business, especially as a creative, there is pressure to niche down. That is, you need to have a specific area, style or client base that you exclusively deal with. But how do you niche when you’re an all-rounder, or have many different interests?   I asked Brand Strategist and Creative Coach, Hollie Arnett this question when she joined me on Creativity: Uncovered.   Hollie has had a long, winding journey with creativity, covering many different creative pursuits. She shares her creative experience, her evolution and how she has managed to niche throughout her journey ..read more

In this episode of Creativity: Uncovered, I speak with my husband Michael Back about play, imagination and giving yourself permission to be creative.   Michael was a really creative kid, but somewhere along the line he felt pressured to become more serious and focus on a “real job”. Next minute he found himself studying business, becoming a Financial Adviser and being dissatisfied with his career. That is, until a book changed his life completely.   In this episode we talk about:   How and when he decided to reconnect with his creativity The book that changed his career Growing ..read more

In this episode of Creativity: Uncovered, I delve into the often-overlooked aspect of creativity: handling feedback.    I unpack the importance of being prepared for feedback throughout the creative process, so that you can be sustainable in your creativity.   Tune in to hear about my personal experience with feedback and hear some practical advice on how to develop resilience, how to discern valuable feedback from unhelpful noise and learn to embrace feedback as a tool for enhancing your creative journey.   Happy listening! xo Abi   Some other helpful Creativity: Unco ..read more

Lauren Spangler’s biggest creative boom came when she had LESS time than ever. But even though the timing was a little off, she was able to use this experience to redefine her relationship with her creative side.   After facing creative burnout, Lauren pivoted her career from being a musician and artist to a desk job as strategist. It wasn’t until years later, when she was up nursing her newborn that creativity stuck again. Lauren joins me on Creativity: Uncovered to share her story about how she was able to get back her creative spark.   Tune in to Creativity: Uncovered to hear abou ..read more

With a career spanning 40+ years, Steve Griggs has certainly refined his creative process. As New York’s premier landscape designer, Steve flexes his creativity and imagination every day to deliver beautiful, functional and livable spaces for his clients.   Steve joins me on Creativity: Uncovered to share more about his process and how he remains inspired after nearly half a decade in the field.   Tune in to hear about:   How Steve got into landscape design Why he calls himself a landscape artist His process for bringing a client’s vision to life Some tips for getting (and rema ..read more

Why is it that when life gets tough, we turn to creativity?   In this episode of Creativity: Uncovered, I am joined by Amber Byers, an attorney who re-found her love of writing after being made redundant.   Now Amber is an award-winning author, editor and head judge of the Tadpole Press 100-Word Writing Contest.   In this episode we talk about: Amber’s career as an attorney when she knew it wasn’t right for her How Amber found her creativity again Her journey to become an award-winning author How she has made a business from writing - in more ways than just being an author Her ..read more

Rebecca Noel Ati is ambitious, curious and is determined to achieve her goals.   In fact, she ticked off her goal to be a writer at age 14, when she wrote, illustrated and self-published her first book.   In this episode of Creativity: Uncovered, Rebecca shares her story of balancing her personal and professional creativity, managing her own ambition, dealing with naysayers and her journey to her dream career.   We chatted about: How Rebecca published her first book at age 14 Tips to avoid and manage burnout How to balance paid and personal creativity Navigating criticism and d ..read more

Have you ever heard of a “branded podcast”?   Angela Hollowell did so well with her own podcast Honey & Hustle, she was approached to create a paid, branded podcast for Castos.   In this episode I pick Angela’s brains about the differences between a personal podcast and a branded podcast, and her experiences of the two.   Tune in to hear about: How she was approached to create the Creative Architects podcast The restrictions and freedoms of crafting a branded podcast How to stay authentic when creating a podcast for others The rise of the creator economy   Happy liste ..read more

What if I told you that everyone has at least one type of creativity waiting to be unleashed within them? I know that you do, but perhaps you just haven’t realised it yet!   In this episode I aim to help you discover and understand the untapped potential of your creativity by exploring three traditional types of creativity: exploratory, transformational, and combinational.    By shedding light on these distinct forms of creativity, I aim to spark a realisation within you, igniting a journey to unleash your innate creative abilities. Tune in and embark on an exploration of your c ..read more

Maps usually depict places, their physical features, cities, roads, topography…    But, for my guest Sonja  Bajic, her maps capture so much more. Her hand drawn maps immortalise your experience, feelings, perspective and memories of a place. And, for Sonja, it’s not just about places; everything can be a map.   Tune into this episode with illustrator, artist and mapmaker Sonja Bajic, to find out:   How she got into mapmaking How anything can be turned into a map Why maps help keep memories alive How everyone is creative (and can start to make their own maps)   H ..read more