Creative Bones

Jess Kelly is a graphic designer, author, educator, and business owner, though she might humbly tell you she’s just a “pretty average designer.” But what Jess does is anything but average. Through her design studio, The Design Dept , and her weekly blog, which she’s written for over five years, Jess reflects on creativity, parenting, business, and the honest highs and lows of building a life that...

When you speak with Greg Branson and Carol Mackay, you’re not just talking to seasoned creatives, you’re sitting with two of the most generous minds in the Australian design industry. I met them a year ago at The Design Conference in Brisbane. What started as an unassuming chat in the sun turned into a discussion that changed my perspective on the way I value my time and skills. Getting the impres...

Chloe Wickham is a designer whose work sits at the intersection of creativity, business and behavioural insight. With a degree in Business and Design from Griffith University, Chloe’s path began with a love of art and a desire to help out with her dad’s business, and quickly grew into a passion for strategic, purposeful design that connects with people and shapes the way we live. Freshly graduated...

Rach Viski is the founder of Minta Viski , a graphic design studio based in Wagga Wagga. She’s part artist, part graphic designer, known for creating site-specific envirographics and bold visual identities that feel deeply rooted in place. She’s a storyteller, a collaborator, and a forager of meaningful connections. If there’s a conversation to be had in a country show line or over a cup of tea at...

David Whitbread has shaped how design is taught, shared, and understood in Australia. He’s the author and publisher of The Design Manual , now in its revised and encyclopaedic third edition. He’s also held senior roles across government, academia and publishing, including as Head of Graphic Design at the University of Canberra, and as Design Director at the Australian Government Publishing Service...

What started as a few bonus episodes in between seasons turned into something bigger...Bonier. This season, I’ve turned the mic on a group of card-carrying designers to ask a surprisingly layered question: what’s it really like to be creative? In this five episode collection, you’ll hear from people who live and breathe creativity, not just as a skill, but as a way of making sense of the world. Fr...

Dr Hala El Khoury is a distinguished neuroscientist and counsellor dedicated to empowering individuals to reach their fullest potential through enhanced brain health and resilience.  With a Bachelor of medical science, neuroscience and immunobiology from the University of Sydney, Dr. Hala specializes in brain rewiring, neuroprotection, neuroplasticity, and holistic wellbeing.  She recently added t...

Emma Bickley, better know online as @photobeforeweeat, is a Canberra based food creative who loves telling the stories behind each bite. Whether it’s taking photos, curating social media content or chatting on the airwaves, she’s got a voracious appetite (lol) for new food experiences. You’ll find her swooning over beautiful produce at the markets, developing recipes in the kitchen, sipping gin or...

Have you ever heard, “If you want a problem solved, you just need to give it to two woman on an afternoon fitness walk”? That’s definitely been the story for Katie Puttock and I on more than one occasion over the 12 years that I’ve known her. I first met her when I was introduced to my now-husband’s friendship group at the pub. I’d been given the heads up that as the girl best friend, she was the...

If you met Jemima on the street, or sat next to her on a plane, your first thought wouldn’t be “small town girl”. You’d be surprised to learn that she was the daughter of the local cop, and she grew up in a community of 100 people in regional Victoria. I first met Jemimah in one of those friend of a friend of a business colleague type of situations, and we got to know each other as I was moonlight...

Meet Deanna Ezzy, the brains behind Canberra broking firm, More Than Mortgages. She’s been named the top female broker in the ACT for an impressive six consecutive years but also on the national scene with a Top 100 ranking for eight straight years. De’s been helping her clients get the keys to their dream homes without selling a kidney for over 14 years. I’ve seen her eyes light up when she finds...

Dr John Bartholomew is a Senior Lecturer in Quantum Science and Director of the Quantum Integration Laboratory at the University of Sydney. His team is engineering next generation technology for computing, communication and metrology using single atoms that absorb and emit light. Prior to joining the School of Physics at USYD he held research positions at Caltech, Chimie Paristech and the Australi...

Dr Maria Zuschmann (affectionately known as Dr M), is an Integrative Chiropractor, Speaker, Podcaster, Author, and Stress Adaptation and Alignment Coach, and is based in Alexandria in Sydney. She’s been a part of the Health and Wellness industry for over 27 years. Outside of her hands on work in her Chiropractic practice, she is a sought after speaker and has facilitated 100s workshops over the la...

When Erika Simons went to Germany in 2012 to sing with the Cologne Opera, she had no idea that one year would turn into ten. She’s a lyric-coloratura soprano, which means she has a very agile light voice with a high upper extension, typically distinguished by agile runs, leaps and trills. She’s played roles like Gilda from Verdi’s Rigoletto, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, and Susanna in The Marr...

McComas Taylor is a professor of Sanskrit at the Australian National University. As a life-long learner of languages, he’s had previous careers in publishing, Chinese and Tibetan studies, and Ornithology (the studying of birds). He’s the author of many books ranging from a dictionary of ridiculous words, to a guide to birds of the Australian Capital Territory, to serious Indological academic texts...

Bree Element’s brain is always switched to ‘IDEAS ON’. She sees stories and creative opportunity everywhere: from the trolleys in the carpark at Woolworths to a random piece of McDonalds rubbish on the shores of Queanbeyan River.  Plus you can’t miss her. She’s usually wearing a tutu, hight top sneakers, and a hair do that’s higher and closer to God than anyone in the Queanbeyan Palarang regional...

Meet Manny Galaktidis, he’s the creative director of Even Dots, a graphic design studio in Canberra helping SME's, Government and Not for Profits.  He’s a fellow University of Canberra Graduate, with a career that spans 23 years… way back when paper plates and bromides were still a thing. While I want to have conversations with experts outside of our creative industry, I wanted to chat to a gr...

Meet Louise Morris. She’s a rare third-Generation bird, born of both law and property, and you’ll soon understand why she’s been awarded in both these areas of practise. She’s an experienced, trusted lawyer and business owner as principal and director of Morris Legal Group, but she’s also an advisor, a community advocate, and the only Canberra-based property and construction lawyer who also has ha...

Welcome to Creative Bones, a podcast exploring what it means to be creative. I’m your host Trish Johnstone; a seasoned graphic designer of over 20 years, and the Creative Director of my studio, Oath + Stone.  Since we’ll be spending a bit more time with each other, I wanted to tell you a bit more about why I decided to start this podcast, and what you can expect as I hope you become an obsessed li...

Welcome to Creative Bones, a podcast exploring what it means to be creative. I’m your host Trish Johnstone; a seasoned graphic designer of over 20 years, and the creative director of my studio, Oath + Stone.  I’m on a mission to understand creativity more. Are we born with it? Is it our environment? Or is it something that we can learn to be? I want to understand this crucial component of my craft...