Connecting with Other Creatives: a Must, Not a “Nice-to-Have”
Something shifted for me recently. Not in a dramatic way, but more like a quiet accumulation of moments that added up to a reminder I clearly needed.
In the space of just over a week, I found myself at three different gatherings. They were very different in format, but all were threading the same needle. I came away from each one feeling more alive in my work and full of positivity than I had in months.
The highlight of everything, honestly, was having my friend and former colleague Paige Madden come and stay with me. She came all the way from my hometown of Chico to Edinburgh and was here for a few days. I cannot overstate how much that time meant to me; as a designer building her own practice (you can find her work at paigemaddendesign.com), Paige gets it: the highs, the uncertainty, the constant recalibration of what it means to work for yourself.
We had days of absolutely lovely and real, honest conversation about life and freelancing. And, we had a ton of coffee and pastries. Through a happy coincidence, the two of us also got to meet — in real life! — someone we'd both known and worked with previously, Bex Elder. There's something genuinely magical about converting an online connection into a real one. We had so much fun chatting and laughing, the three of us, and it left me feeling with such a full heart.
The second gathering was a morning event called Before Work, held at Brown's of Leith here in Edinburgh. Organised by Alix Picken of Habits, it was exactly what the name suggests: a gentle, unhurried start to the day with other creatives in the city. No agenda. No pitch-fest. Just good conversation, amazing coffee and pastries (again!) and the kind of energy that makes you walk into the rest of your day feeling genuinely ready and excited for it.
I got talking with William, co-founder of The Human Made Mark, a global certification initiative for AI-free film and TV productions. It’s a genuinely significant, ambitious thing he's building. And yet here he was, at a small morning gathering in Leith! That contrast stuck with me. The people doing big things aren't always the ones too busy to come.
The third was a dinner organised by Paddy Francis (coach, community builder, general force for good), who has a real gift for pulling together interesting people and creating the conditions for fun and honest conversation. What I love about Paddy's events (aside from the very lovely Paddy himself) is that they consistently include people from outside my usual bubble. That evening I spoke with one of my favourites, Fiona Hay, a florist, about her upcoming wedding season boom. Different industry, but similar challenges. We have so much to learn from one another.
Reflecting on all three, I keep coming back to the same thought: we underestimate how much we need each other.
It's easy, especially when you work alone, to see social events as optional extras, as things you'll get to once the work is done, or even as distractions to the work you should be doing. But I'd argue it's the opposite. Connection is the work. It's where ideas come from. Where energy gets replenished. Where you realise you're not as lost as you thought, and that the people you admire are figuring it out too, just as you are.
The creative life can be a solitary one. But it doesn't have to be a lonely one. If there's a gathering in your city you've been meaning to attend, go. If there's a former colleague you've been meaning to reconnect with, reach out. If someone invites you to dinner with a group of interesting people, say yes.
A thank you to Paige, Alix, Bex, Paddy, William and Fiona — and everyone else who shows up and makes space for real conversation! You matter more than you know.
