Womenfolk Breakfast: Junior.Senior. – What we’ve Learned
Published:
June 28, 2018
At our first Womenfolk Breakfast: Junior.Senior. event with shesaid Design, we heard from our wonderful creatives, illustrator Gemma O’Neill and architect Aisling Rusk from Studio idir. They spoke about the journeys they both undertook to get to the point they are at now and we wanted to share with you what we learned from their stories.
- Everyone has a different path to success.
Aisling and Gemma both took different paths to get where they are today. Both of them studied at university but post study they took different steps to get where they are now. Gemma worked a full-time job while working on publishing her book, while Aisling has continued to study and is in the final stages of studying a PhD. - People don’t display their struggles.
If you check a business owners website, you will see everything that an individual has achieved, but you won’t see the tale where things went wrong or rash decisions were made. It’s important to recognise that everyone has had a downfall and managed to dust themselves off and get back on the horse. - Sometimes it takes an unfortunate incident to recognise what your next step is.
Gemma discussed how she’d broken her hand while working in a book shop, this forced her to take time off and realise that she didn’t want to go back and solely wanted to focus on her illustration with no distractions. - It’s important to separate your workspace.
Aisling spoke about working from home and how she has recently reached the point where she was able to hire a full time member of staff to join her in her home office. As a creative with two young children it’s important for her to separate her work and home life but to also let them flow seamlessly. - Inspiration is everywhere.
Gemma and Aisling both take their inspiration from different sources. Gemma’s work is largely inspired by her roots on the Causeway Coast, which is reflected in her colour palette and style. While Aisling is inspired by the in-between (which is idir in Gaelic!), she thrives on bringing together spaces of contemporary and modern and bringing the outside inside.
If you’d like to tell us about your story to success and maybe give us some tips to share, please get in touch!
