So last week I had the delightful (and also utterly terrifying) experience of chatting to folks at a General Assembly event called ‘How To Be A Badass.’ This was set up by Badass Gal which promotes young female talent in the industry. If you haven’t heard of them, do check them out and nominate yourself, or a friend - it’s an incredible platform to make yourself known.

Anyhoooo, I wanted to do a blog post on the things I spoke about to recap and also elaborate on some of the points to help people overcome the barriers to being a badass as well as showing people how making your own work can speak volumes about the kinda creative you are… and want to be.

Even crap briefs have the potential to bE, you know… less crap

Got the most boring brief ever? When you’re first starting out, this going to happen a lot. And you have to prove you can do the crap briefs well, before you even get a sniff at the more exciting ones.

So do the brief as it asks, and do it graciously… but also show your team what the brief could be, as an additional ‘Wild Card’ idea. Here, you can do whatever you want to. Turn the brief on it’s head. Throw it out entirely. If you think there’s a better way to solve the problem, show them and introduce this idea at the end as the Wild Card you just had to share.

The great thing about this is you show people what you can, or want to do (whilst still doing your actual job) and get feedback on it too. They may even go with the ruddy idea, which has happened to me a few times.

Don’t limit your thinking to your job

Is your day-to-day work in general a bit of a snooze? You can always go outside the norm, and show your boss proactive ideas too. This can be for your client, an agency client, a charity… again there’s nothing that’s off limits here.

When I worked on Philips, I worked on Philips Hue for the most part. And although lightbulbs are not the sexiest clients in the land, I really enjoyed my time on the account cos I came up with my own proactive ideas that were made. These are still in my folio today.

I still present proactive ideas today, with my latest proactive idea for Dyson not being killed off yet. The simple fact is, I get excited. I get excited about the possibilities of what could be, and I can’t help but pursue ideas that I think could really work. You don’t have to pour hours and hours into these ideas either, a simple truth to the brand followed with a scamp can be enough for your Creative Director to understand.

It can show how keen you are, as well as the potential of getting the work you imagined, into reality.

Not loving your job, but have diddly squat for your portfolio?

Why not make your own work? Around something you truly care about.

I’m really passionate about women’s rights and the negative words used against women. In particular, words used for women’s vaginas. Ohh-err.  

I had an idea to make a colouring book that showed these ugly words, but also allowed every cunt, snatch and fanny to be reclaimed (and made pretty) with colour. Publishers… well they hated it, but I launched it on Kickstarter and it blew up. I got press in the US, UK and reached my target in just ten days. I made the books and sent them to as far away as Australia. The best day ever was seeing my VAG illustration on the front page of Glamour.com – I balled my tiny eyes out.

This is one of my favourite pieces in my portfolio, and the reason I was hired at my last agency. So, if you feel stuck in a rut or care about something and have a voice you want to share, I would say just start it. Check out the colouring book here

There’s a really helpful book called ‘Show your work’ by Austin Kleon if you’re worried about putting your stuff out into the world that may inspire that courage.

FIll your world with people who inspire you

This can be your friends, colleagues or even just the people you follow on Instagram. If you surround yourself with people doing amazing things, you’ll be more inspired to go for the things you really want to do too. And it won’t seem that scary either… they’re all already doing their thing, so why can’t you?

My friends are incredible, like Danny + Charlotte (The founders of Badass Gal) who inspire me to get up and do talks like ‘How to be a Badass’, even when I’m quite obviously shitting my pants about being on stage.

My Instagram is a world of inspiration. Social media doesn’t have to be the scary shit-hole that media makes it out to be, if you curate it right. I’ve filled it with people who really inspire me, so it feels like a safe and positive place to be. I’ve reached out to people on social. Like @_MarcHayden as I love the way he portrays women in his work, and @EdoZollo who photographs people wondering the city, in the middle of the night.

If you see someone who inspires you and you want to make work together, reach out. It’s pretty nerve racking, but you’re online so they don’t even have to see your awkward face when you ask. Just me?

I start with a simple hello, what I love about their work and why I’m reaching out. It also helps to know what you want from them, and of course… make it mutually beneficial. Why would they want to work with you? It shouldn’t just be for your benefit. Collaborations should be beneficial for everyone involved so make that obvious to them when you slide into their DMs.

5 badass women to follow on Instagram:

@JacqTheStripper – Her wife bought a colouring book and pointed me to her Instagram a few years ago, and she’s become one of my fav ever women on the gram. Jacq is a stripper and comedian, so basically the best combo ever. She promotes sex worker rights through ironic illustrations where strippers go round to other people in there job saying things Strippers often hear. Her gram often gets pulled down by the fun police, so yeah pretty Badass.

@TashWillcocks – She’s a good friend and a massive inspiration to me. She’s an amazing designer, illustrator, letterer and right now is championing women above 50 in her work. Tash started a project #MunedaneADay to stop her scrolling on social. She drew simple things in her life everyday, and has been doing it for over 5 years now. You can see how the practise of drawing everyday has opened up a world of opportunities for her. From Ted talks, to murals, I couldn’t be prouder of her.

@JessicaVWalsh – I’m sure you know who this is, if not check her out. Art director, founder of LWD and she’s just started her own studio & Walsh. Her iconic style has inspired most of the design in the past five maybe even ten years. She’s also just got a new puppy… if that wasn’t incentive enough.

@KateMoross – Kate set up Studio Morross and works as an art director in music/film/festivals… anything they want to really, that’s the joy of owning your own studio #Dreams. In the studio I love that they aren’t allowed any reference material when they’re working so they make work that is unique to them. Kate also identifies as they/them, and is a powerhouse in the LQBTQIA community.

@BodyPosiPanda – Bringing the body positivity into my feed is Megan who dances in her underwear and lets it all hang out. She shares the hate she gets, as well as body positive messages to show how everyone has an opinion on how she should look.

K. Thanks. Bye…

If you don’t have anything to do, no pressing deadlines, and no-one needs your help… please just LEAVE! The industry have a terrible habit of convincing people that staying late benefits them in their job, and that’s is one big fat lie.

It’s not good for creative. I get my best ideas when I give my mind space from work, and let’s face it… your desk is not inspiring. I’ll often find I’ll get the answer I’ve been looking for when my minds wonders somewhere else usually when I’m having a bath or drawing something else. Inspiration can strike at 3am as well, so I keep those thoughts in my phone’s notes and I won’t go back to them till I’m back in work.

It’s also not good for mental health either. As someone with anxiety, having mental space away from work is something I need. No-one wants me on burn out, trust me. But this is true for everyone, not just pissy-knickers-anxious here. I wish I’d been told when I first started out, man, it would of saved me a lot of time and a lot of effort faking working, just to be seen to be doing. So go home. Go to a gallery. A movie. A talk. Anything that your heart or your mind desires.

All the proactive ideas, the wild cards and the colouring book wouldn’t exist if I stayed at my desk to be seen to be doing… so don’t bother.

Plus, let’s face it. Getting your coat and leaving on time, may just be the most Badass thing you can do.

The unravelling of Harvey Weinstein has finally given women (and men), the confidence to speak up. But it's also given people the opportunity to see how wide spread the problem is. Pretty much every woman I know has been harassed. It happens on the street, in the office and within relationships. And because so many women have experienced some form of harassment, I felt that what happened to me... was only a big deal to me. I shared that hashtag. So, it seems right that I should share my story too. Well my worst story of harassment, as it was by someone who abused their power.

I was 24 at the time. 
I’d been living in London for about a year, working in a small boutique agency. One of our campaigns had been nominated for an award, so I went to the doo, with one of the women from accounts and our client.

I sat at the same table as him. He was the Creative Director and Co-owner of another agency. He was friendly. He was really interested in who I was and what I did for a living - and also, a very very old, married man. As I introduced myself to him and his team, he mentioned that they were looking for an art director to expand their team.

I was on the hunt for a new job at the time so, I happily showed him some of my work on my phone – I’d just got my site working on mobile and I remember being pretty chuffed with it (Yup. It was that long ago I was 24). He seemed really keen on my work, and I spend a good section of the evening chatting to him about my portfolio, career goals and creative passions.

A few hours passed celebrating as a table. And as everyone got a bit merrier they got up to dance, leaving just me and him behind. Sitting at the table alone with him, he complained the music was too loud and said he’d love to chat to me more about the role, and suggested I go back to his hotel room to discuss things further...

Hold up. WHAT?! Why was he wanting to talk further about it? In his hotel room. The awards were in a hotel so I had to presume he didn’t realise how dodgy as fuck that sounded... Right? Don’t worry. I didn’t go. Now I shudder to think what would of happened. I can imagine it would of become very Weinstein-esque if I had. Instead I said it seemed inappropriate, but I had to apologise A LOT. I said some crap along the lines of 'I don’t really know you, and I’m sure you’re not like that.. but I’m sorry I don’t think that’s appropriate' – he suggests something like that, and yet I’m the one apologising. FFS.

Still interested in interviewing me, we swapped emails and he later invited me to come in for an interview. At his agency this time, so I went. And what do you know… his agency was actually bloody legit (which only added to me feeling like a muppet for the hotel room suggestion). 

He offered me a job. I wanted a new job. I wanted to be in a real advertising agency. And I had convinced myself he wasn’t a dirty old man. So, I accepted the job and for a bit it was okay. The first couple of weeks after I started I just presumed his interest in me and my personal life was just him and had noticed he was a bit 'flirty' in nature with other women in the office. Sadly I thought it was just one of those things I’d have to get used to and just ignore.

As you may guess by now. Things got worse.

Back then, I was also in a relationship that stunk like a bag of dead turtles. It’s a sad state when your boss is giving you more attention than your boyfriend… and after weeks of heartache, I realised he was involved with another girl. So, I left him. It was hard, but as you can imagine my boss was very supportive. He gave me a day off and reassured me my ex was an idiot. It was nice to have a friendship with him, and I appreciated how understanding he was.

Once my ex was out of my head. I began to date. And that's when my boss friggin' hated it. He became jealous. Inquisitive of details about boys I'd spoken to, and he became even more flirty and sporadic both in work and over messages. At work it would be things like touching my shoulders when he stood behind me to critique my work. At night I would get chatty texts throughout the evening. I felt like if I didn’t reply I would have to explain why the next day. It was not normal. I began to fear being alone with him, and dreading every interaction we had.

At work we’d just won a pitch to shoot a TV ad in Australia. To cut costs, and massage his own ego of him believing he could direct film - he suggested that the team fly over to shoot it. The shoot would mean 3 weeks travelling the country in a camper van with him and another partner of the agency. My boss said I should go with him, but he had to decide between me and the other art director. The thought of going away with him truly terrified me. I honestly thought about quitting there and then, or quitting if I was told I was going with. I was so worried about what he might try, and how I’d even be able to ‘laugh it off’ as harmless.

I remember being on my first ever date, which happened whilst he was still deciding who was going to Oz. My boss saw it as yet another reason to text me, telling me he had a dilemma and didn’t know who to take. Me - or another art director (who has loads of commercial shoot experience by the way). Sat on a picnic blanket, with a nice, age-appropriate guy I decided I’d had enough. I bluntly replied – that he should take the other art director. No friendly chat. No niceties.  

When I stopped being friendly, it got way worse. I began to feel like my job was being dangled over my head. I didn’t think it could get worse but it did. I had a six-month probation and was about five months of hell in. The thought of leaving scared me, and the thought of being fired filled me with shame. I was trapped, stressed and I felt incredibly alone.

I eventually opened up to two colleagues after work and confessed just how scared I was. Sat in run-down wine bar with two people I hardly knew, trying not to cry. They suggested speaking to his partners, as he owned the company with two other guys. Not wanting to make big deal of it, I decided that I’d just swerve him just to survive being there every day, and save up as much as I before my probation ended. And that worked for a while, until the day I couldn’t swerve him. I remember I had to go to him for something. I can’t remember what it was, but I’d been dodging him, and especially being alone with him for a fair few days now. I decided to brave it by sticking my head through the door in his fish-tank like office door to ask a question. 

He then he did something that was so unnecessary and frankly traumatising that I can scratch my whole experience down to what he said and did in that moment. He grabbed my face, putting his crinkled-cut old man hands around my face in a weird loving embrace and said with such pride “Ooooooh I’d kiss you now if it wasn't inappropriate”. *insert mental blank and internal freak out here* I don’t even remember what I said. I don't even remember if I got an answer to that thing I needed... I think I just awkwardly laughed to get out of there as quick as possible and ran to the bathroom.

That was my definitive moment.  The moment I knew for sure, that this was harassment and that I couldn’t go on with the way it was. Knowing I was already on my way out, I decided to tell his partners about his behaviour, highlighting this incident and how it made me feel. I had at least shared my side of the story, no matter what happened next. Anyway, it fell on deaf ears of course, and 3 days later I was let go. He took me to a pub and told me he ‘had to let me go’. I was so happy it was over and that I’d be away from him, that I thanked him for "setting me free" and left.

As the reality of being fired / let go / whatever you might call it sank in, I was left feeling ashamed. I'd been treated like shit, and had no proof of why I was let go. I’d deleted his texts, my email was works email, and I was left unemployed. I was so worried what I’d say if I was ever asked why I’d only lasted six months in a job I figured I would scratch it down to loosing clients so it was last in/first out. Ironically I think that’s still what my LinkedIn says... lol. That month was hard. But I was free. I picked myself up (slowly) and was lucky to bag myself a really good job in a global agency.

You’ll be happy to know that karma did eventually catch up with him, and he was pushed out of his own company, for having a shit attitude (or quite possibly his behaviour to other women, who knows?). Although... he was probably paid a lot of money to leave, and now he’s attempting to be a photographer and director. Just another Harvey Weinstein to add to the mix hey. 

A few years later, still holding onto my mobile number it seems, he sent me a WhatsApp message commenting on how attractive I looked in my profile photo. Are you having a giraffe?! How, after all these years, did he still think his behaviour was okay? And that I would be okay with it... what a bell.

I have grown tremendously since I worked for him, and become much stronger in a way because of all the shit he put me through. I always regretted not calling him out for the absolute douchebag he was. I wanted him to know he could no longer treat me like that. But shouting at someone didn’t over whatsapp didn’t seem like the way to really get my own back. I took a subtle approach, I changed my picture. 

He couldn’t control me anymore. Never mind look at my photo. He knew what he had done, so what was the point of telling him and getting nothing or denial back. I didn’t reply, I just updated my profile image. If he happened to peek at my photo again, all he'd see was a crisp black and white photo of my middle finger with "fuck you" written underneath it. 

It’s a sorry state when every woman you know has been through some sort of harassment. And everyone can recall multiple times. This is the worst incident of harassment for me, but it happens on a weekly, sometimes daily basis. I have written another blog post which is sitting unpublished from the summer when I guy harassed me in the park. I decided me and my "fine ass" no longer felt safe walking through the park after work which really upset me. I ended up not posting it cos I thought no-one would think it was a big deal.

That’s why #MeToo is so important. Its shining a light of how often it happens and how women are made to feel. I hope this simple hashtag rids people of the taboo of saying what happened. I hope this gives us all more power, both men and women to stand up when we see it happening.

Anyway, back to my pervy old boss. I hate the thought of him treating others like this and worry it will happen, or has happened to others already. His WhatsApp years later just goes to show he's another dick who is either too clueless to know the difference between flirting and harassment or he thinks that it’s okay to treat women this way. 

Whilst I was writing this, I decided to do a two searches. A quick google search today has revealed his photographer profile where he lists some of his preferences for photography as 'Lingerie, Glamour, Nude, Adult, Topless' despite having a portfolio of poorly created photos of fully clothed people. Living the dream ey, you absolute pervert. I also seached my personal email and actually uncovered some emails from him, that even now make me gag. Replies to my emails like ‘you make me smile’ and ‘I shall hold you to that ;)’ that I’ve either been too naïve to see for what they were, or I’ve just swerved in my replies. I guess I do have evidence of his behaviour after all.

I wonder if he’ll ever read this? I hope he does. 
And in case he ever does I have a message for him incase he didn't get the one I left for him last time...

Go Fuck Yourself R.C

Last week I went on a copywriting course to see if I could get the hang of this whole writing malarkey. I must admit I’m rather intimidated by copy. And meeting new people. And speaking out loud to said strangers… So, I wasn't exactly thrilled to be going #UngratefulBastard. 

As I sat down and we introduced ourselves, I realised I was the only art director. Everyone else wrote copy for a living... Bril-li-ant. I thought this was copywriting for dummies? How to string together a sentence 101 style. Instead, I was going to have to read OUT LOUD copy I had attempted to write, to a complete group of strangers, professional copywriting strangers… er, shoot me now please?

An hour or so into the course, we were asked to write 200 words on something we felt passionate about. Now, I’m not a fan of opening up to people I barely know, but the dreaded F word popped into my head immediately. It was the only thing that I could think of.

Feminism. 'Blah blah blah, womens rights. Blah blah blah, we don’t hate men'. Christ. It’s a big fuckin’ subject to chat about to strangers. Strangers who you’re terrified of. On a copywriting course you think you’re going to suck at. Hasn’t anyone shot me yet?

If you read my last blog post, you may realise (as I’m starting to)… that I have a tendency to accidentally go balls deep on things I give a shit about. So, off I went. 'Blah blah blah'. Emma Watson must of had prepare weeks for this kinda stuff. I had twenty minutes. I tried to be personal, and not too preachy. To break the stereotypical image of the man hating hairy, angry feminist by being a bit self-deprecating, with the odd penis joke thrown in. No speech about feminism is complete with a penis joke. True story.

As I read out loud, I could feel my face becoming an uncomfortable shade of red. My hands shook, and my voice shook more. I had to just stare at my words, jiggling on the paper to get through it. I daren’t look any of those intimidating bastards in the eye.

As I finished, our teacher Will Awdry, began to clap. I looked up, as the rest of the group joined in. I nearly cried. Maybe I did cry? … I dunno, it was all a bit of a  blur. I had bared my lil soul, attempted to write, and they embraced me doing so.

That moment had a profound impact of me. Genuinely. Not only did I come away with some tips and tricks on ways into copywriting, I came away feeling way more confident in my writing. I know I hadn’t written anything special, or released a secret copywriter inside, but I had tried my hardest, and they knew that... so I‘m beyond thankful for their support. In that moment, I no longer saw them as the intimating bastards, but some of the nicest people I’d met in a long time. 

So my first taste of copywriting was pretty good in the end?! Who knew overcoming my fears and voicing my words to strangers could be so bloody liberating? I’m realising the more I write, the better I’ll become. And that makes me feel more confident about just cracking on with it. The learning process is far more bloody enjoyable now. Even reading this post back, it’s not that elegant, but hey-ho, neither am I… and I’m totes ma goats fine with that.

This is the link to the course if anyone fancies it. If you hadn’t noticed… I highly recommend it. https://www.dandad.org/en/d-ad-advertising-copywriting-creative-training-course/

It’s mental health week.
That one week where people will admit that their life is not quite as glossy as it looks on Facebook. It’s incredibly encouraging to see people open up and share their inner demons and struggles with mental health. Heck, even the ol’ Royals are joining in. So what about me? Well, I’ve decided to level up from telling people on Facebook who already know me, to anyone who finds my website. You know, people who may want to work with me or even hire me in the future. Risky? Perhaps…

Four years ago, I wasn’t in the best place mentally. After losing a job I despised (a story for another day), and walking away from a toxic relationship I felt I’d reached my lowest point. Feeling like a failure I took a long hard look in the mirror. Unfortunately my inner demon looking back wasn’t a buff young Brad Pitt. My inner demon is not so hot. I had been struggling with anxiety. With the prejudice around mental health, I was too afraid to tell anyone… yet, it had gotten to the stage where it was controlling my life. And how did this anxiety manifest itself? Now, this is an embarrassing thing for me to admit - but whenever I got super anxious, my mind convinced me that I needed a wee. How inconvenient is that? I’d be halfway through pitching an idea, and all I could think about is how much I really want to just run out and go the loo. I would be so convinced I needed to go tinkle that I couldn’t go far away from the porcelain throne. It’s all mental of course. There were no wet knickers thank goodness, but still I was going to the toilet 20/30 times a day, you know, just in case.

As you can imagine, this was something that dominated my life. Being at the bottom meant there was only one way to go. Up. Luckily, those steps I took back then, are still enriching my life now. And that was what worked for me. Confronting it, picking my life apart (with help of course) and building it back up again, the way I wanted it to be. It was hard but ultimately worth it. And realistically, I don't think I'd change any of it, cos I simply wouldn't be the person I am now - out the other side, with a life that makes me happy and a whole toolkit of things to help me if I have a ‘bad day’.

Luckily my efforts paid off - once I had started to pick up the pieces of what I thought about myself, and who I wanted to be, I began moving forward. I landed a role in a global agency and met someone who I think is an absolute keeper. Now I’d say I was almost ‘normal’. I almost function like a ‘normal’ piddling person. And yes, there is the odd occasion I will leave a meeting to go for a wee. But hey, normal people do that too.

I’ve just finished reading this little gem from Dave Birss.  He suffers from bipolar and depression… who knew? He makes a really lovely and thought-provoking point, which made me want to write this piece. Sometimes the things we think are these terrible secrets, could in fact, be the things that make us good at what we do.

Take me. Anxious. And I can be stupidly anxious at times. But that does make me think a lot. Sometimes that can be just about my good pal - the toilet, and sometimes it opens up a whole new way of thinking about stuff that can actually benefit my career. When you boil down what I do for a living, I’m paid to think. If I wasn’t anxious I don’t think I’d approach briefs in the way that I do. Being anxious also makes me super passionate. I really care about the work I do and want it to go as well as possible. I’m not sure I would wake up at 4am as much as I do, just to have a little think if I didn’t 'overthink' and care as passionately as I do.

I also spend my time pouring over art and design, typography and illustration, film and animation. I get so absorbed that it can act as a coping mechanism to drown out overthinking when it becomes unproductive. But even this has a really positive effect. I think, without blowing my own trumpet, that I have quite a big range of reference and inspiration… Now it's all sitting on Pinterest. Waiting for me. It's a wealth of beautiful imagery that I can tap into as well as feed, anytime I want. 

That’s why Mental Health Week is so darn important. It’s about changing the negative stereotypes. Changing how people see mental health, through sharing their story. I guess my concluding paragraph, for my first ever blog post (and who knew I’d go balls deep with this as my first topic hey) is that the majority of people don’t have a clue, and that’s fine. If people only know half the story – that I’m a passionate thinker who’s driven by powerful visuals… then that’s fine. But wouldn’t it be great to show people that anxiety is the reason that my mind works in the way that it does. That anxiety, could in fact, be the reason we should work together in the future. 

You know, only if you have a toilet near by. 

... Why?

Because I’ve been told that I can’t... and shouldn’t write.  Yes images are my passion but I'd like to see what this whole world of writing is all about. So, I’ll be testing my chat on you lucky people who happen to stubble across my blog. I'll be sharing my influences and passions, my random brain farts about all things creative as well as sneak peaks of things I'm working on. Stay tuned folks, it's gonna be... interesting (hopefully).