Creative Chit Chat - Dundee

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 Paul's relationship with technology and ho...

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 ha...

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 creati...

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...

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 despi...

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 be...

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...

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....

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 t...

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...

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...

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 t...

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 ha...

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 dundeedes...

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...

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 st...

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...

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 import...

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 Louis...