The art of the pivot at the intersection of creativity and hospitality - Dahlia Ishak
"My biggest personal challenge is that I want to do more than I'm capable of ever doing, being just me. I'm open to so many things." - DinesIn this episode, Dahlia Ishak shares her unconventional creative journey from accidentally discovering graphic design during university to running a food and beverage branding studio. Born to Egyptian parents in Northern Ontario, Dahlia initially pursued sciences before stumbling upon design. Her career took her from advertising in Australia to entrepreneurship when she created a pioneering coworking cafe in Brisbane. After building a vibrant community, circumstances forced her return to Canada where she rebuilt her life through new cafes before pivoting to a branding studio following pandemic challenges. Throughout her journey, Dahlia has balanced design work, hospitality businesses, and teaching at Shillington College, consistently finding ways to connect creativity with community.Key TakeawaysDahlia discovered design accidentally despite always being creative – she hadn't made the connection between her passion for collecting designed objects and actual career possibilities.Using her design skills, she created a brochure that established the first student exchange program between her Canadian design school and an Australian university.After experiencing burnout in advertising, Dahlia found new creative fulfillment in Australia's coffee culture, leading her to open a coworking cafe.Rather than abandoning creativity completely when running hospitality businesses, she maintained connections by hosting creative events and building relationships with local designers.When forced to relocate to Canada, Dahlia used her hospitality business to meet people and build a new network in an unfamiliar city.During the pandemic, she pivoted to helping hospitality businesses survive by offering design services, which eventually evolved into her current branding studio.Throughout all her ventures, Dahlia has consistently taught design at night, finding it energizing rather than draining.Her story demonstrates the value of transferable skills across industries – her hospitality experience directly informs her current focus on food and beverage branding.Dahlia's journey shows how creativity can manifest in different ways beyond traditional design roles – as a facilitator, connector, and community builder.Her biggest challenge remains wanting to do more than is possible, highlighting the entrepreneurial drive that has fueled her many successful pivots. Mindful Creative: How to understand and deal with the highs and lows of creative life, career and business Paperback and Kindle > https://amzn.to/4biTwFcFree audiobook (with Audible trial) > https://geni.us/free-audiobookSigned books https://novemberuniverse.co.ukLux Coffee Co. https://luxcoffee.co.uk/ (Use: PODCAST for 15% off)November Universe https://novemberuniverse.co.uk (Use: PODCAST for 10% off)
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57:28
Five minute magic pt. 62 - How to get into the State of Flow
Welcome to five-minute magic from Mindful Creative Podcast. A short bonus episode, sharing tips and insights from the book's pages of the same title. Every week I'll share one or two ideas that can give you an actionable takeaway for your creative process or work/business, or just the food for thought for the weekend ahead. These bonus episodes share content from the audio book, and you can find the link to the full version in the show notes.Mindful Creative: How to understand and deal with the highs and lows of creative life, career and business Paperback and Kindle > https://amzn.to/4biTwFcFree audiobook (with Audible trial) > https://geni.us/free-audiobookSigned books https://novemberuniverse.co.ukLux Coffee Co. https://luxcoffee.co.uk/ (Use: PODCAST for 15% off)November Universe https://novemberuniverse.co.uk (Use: PODCAST for 10% off)
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The impact of building a creative community - Simon Wright and Richard Wiggins (All Flows)
"It wasn't until I returned that I began to understand the city a little bit more and see it in a slightly different way." - Simon Wright This episode features Simon Wright and Richard Wiggins, the founders of All Flows, a creative festival in Milton Keynes. They discuss their journey from hosting Milton Keynes Geek Night to launching All Flows festival, their creative agency Ville, and their dedication to championing Milton Keynes' unique design heritage. Despite being a relatively young city, Milton Keynes has a rich history of using arts to build community, with radical approaches to urban design that attracted influential architects and designers. Simon and Richard share their passion for creating intimate, inspirational events that connect international creatives with local talent, highlighting their commitment to quality programming and community building over commercial success.TakeawaysMilton Keynes, despite being only 56 years old, has a rich design heritage that included contributions from figures like Buckminster Fuller.All Flows began as a passion project between two friends who wanted to create the kind of creative event they'd want to attend.The founders intentionally keep All Flows intimate to foster meaningful connections between speakers and attendees.Both Simon and Richard are driven more by passion than commercial interests, prioritizing quality and inspiration over profit.Their curation process involves researching speakers extensively and creating a balanced program that mixes established names with emerging talents.Student involvement through scholarships and volunteering is a key part of their mission to inspire the next generation of local creatives.The venue challenges in Milton Keynes have shaped the festival's character rather than deterring its growth.The festival has gained international recognition, with attendees traveling from as far as Michigan and New Zealand.All Flows is now included in Milton Keynes' five-year cultural and tech strategy, signifying its importance to the city.The founders see All Flows as continuing Milton Keynes' legacy of using arts and creativity to build community and create a sense of place. Mindful Creative: How to understand and deal with the highs and lows of creative life, career and business Paperback and Kindle > https://amzn.to/4biTwFcFree audiobook (with Audible trial) > https://geni.us/free-audiobookSigned books https://novemberuniverse.co.ukLux Coffee Co. https://luxcoffee.co.uk/ (Use: PODCAST for 15% off)November Universe https://novemberuniverse.co.uk (Use: PODCAST for 10% off)
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52:50
Five minute magic pt. 61 - What do we expect from creativity? Introduction to Flow states
Welcome to five-minute magic from Mindful Creative Podcast. A short bonus episode, sharing tips and insights from the book's pages of the same title. Every week I'll share one or two ideas that can give you an actionable takeaway for your creative process or work/business, or just the food for thought for the weekend ahead. These bonus episodes share content from the audio book, and you can find the link to the full version in the show notes.Mindful Creative: How to understand and deal with the highs and lows of creative life, career and business Paperback and Kindle > https://amzn.to/4biTwFcFree audiobook (with Audible trial) > https://geni.us/free-audiobookSigned books https://novemberuniverse.co.ukLux Coffee Co. https://luxcoffee.co.uk/ (Use: PODCAST for 15% off)November Universe https://novemberuniverse.co.uk (Use: PODCAST for 10% off)
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6:09
Optimism as a strategy for creativity without limits - Talia Cotton
"I'm the eternal optimist. If you want something hard enough, you'll figure out the right strategy, get the right talent, and nothing will get in your way." - Talia CottonIn this episode, Radim Malinic interviews Talia Cotton, designer, coder, and founder of Cotton, a design and technology agency. Talia shares her journey from growing up in a musical household in New York City to founding her own agency that uniquely combines branding and technology. She discusses her education in business and psychology at Carnegie Mellon, her year teaching English in Italy, overcoming a life-threatening accident, and her experiences working at Pentagram before launching her own studio. Throughout the conversation, Talia reveals how her musical background influenced her approach to design and coding, her strategic mindset toward business growth, and her philosophy on team happiness and creative leadership.Key TakeawaysTalia's musical background directly influenced her attention to detail and ability to understand nuance in design and code.Growing up in New York City instilled a sense of confidence, independence, and drive that continues to shape her approach to business.The combination of business/psychology education with creative training gives her a strategic advantage in the branding industry.Living abroad provided valuable perspective and communication skills essential for understanding clients in branding work.After a life-threatening accident, Talia approached her creative career with renewed passion and appreciation.Her strategic approach to business includes thorough planning, data analysis, and anticipating challenges before they arise.Talia views her team's happiness as the top priority and essential to the company's long-term success.She sees AI as a tool rather than a threat, believing human creativity will always remain essential.Her optimistic philosophy centers on the belief that anything is possible with enough determination and smart strategy.Future plans include potentially productizing custom design tools that bridge technology and branding in unique ways. Mindful Creative: How to understand and deal with the highs and lows of creative life, career and business Paperback and Kindle > https://amzn.to/4biTwFcFree audiobook (with Audible trial) > https://geni.us/free-audiobookSigned books https://novemberuniverse.co.ukLux Coffee Co. https://luxcoffee.co.uk/ (Use: PODCAST for 15% off)November Universe https://novemberuniverse.co.uk (Use: PODCAST for 10% off)
Mindful Creative is your backstage pass to the minds that shape our creative world. Based on the recently released book by Radim Malinic, helping people start and grow life-changing careers and businesses. Check out weekly interviews with the world's most brilliant creatives, designers, writers, musicians, makers, and marketers, along with bonus episodes offering quick action tips for the food for thought for the weekend ahead. More info https://radimmalinic.co.uk/
South Africa