We recently hosted our Summer Meet on the theme ‘Courage’ with two brilliant local creatives sharing their stories. Caroline McHugh owner of Little Fox Events and Kerrie McNeill designer and illustrator.

Here are some of our favourite insights from the evening with a full blog on our website for anyone who missed the event

1. You just have to get on with it and do it. Kerrie and Caroline both shared their belief that you can’t know what will work, what people will buy, what there is a market for, or what you are capable of until you do it.

2. Sometimes it pays not to over think, instead to trust the process and let things unfold in their own way in their own time.
Kerrie spoke of the value she found in not planning too far ahead and having too many expectations.

3. Fake it until you make it. Caroline spoke of the value of acting confident even if you feel scared so people believe in you which in turn builds your own confidence

4. No part of your journey or past experiences are a waste. It all shapes your current creative practice and what makes you different

5. Say yes and seize every opportunity that comes your way

6. Learning to live on next to no money is a skill that can be learnt, and a skill that can be just as valuable as making money.

7. Reflect on your social media usage, what content you are posting and why you are posting it. Make sure it is for the right reasons and you aren’t creating extra work for yourself or seeking validation.

8. Take time to celebrate the wins.

9. Think about the whole experience for your customers and how you can set yourself apart

10. Think about the timing of your marketing to accommodate people`s attention spans

11. There will always be people that have more resources than you, but equally you will always have more than others so focus on your own journey

12. There will always be things outside your control that impact your creative practice

13. Feeling nervous and anxious is perfectly normal when doing something new and something you care about and it doesn’t mean it isn`t worth doing.

14. Creativity is a gift that you should use and enjoy to help you solve problems and generate money 💰

Link in profile

We were too busy chatting and listening to our 2 amazing speakers sharing their stories at our summer meet on Wednesday night to post any pics,
then we had a few days off. So here are some pics from a wonderful
evening. Thanks to all who came and most importantly to our two amazing
speakers Caroline McHugh Founder and owner of @littlefoxbelfast and Kerrie McNeill designer and Illustrator @_kerrieillustrates_

At the start of this new week ahead of Wednesday’s event on the theme ‘Courage’ here’s a couple of questions for reflection to ask yourself

You can book tickets for Wednesday evening via the link in our profile ✨️

#mondaymotivation
#newweek
#reflection
#courage

Some pics from last Friday’s @kerrywhelanart and @pure_dirt__ collaborative exhibition opening in our Malone Studios.

Not long now until our summer gathering featuring 2 local creatives sharing their stories on the theme `Courage`

Speaker 1: Illustrator and Designer Kerrie McNeill

Kerrie McNeill is a freelance illustrator and designer based in Northern Ireland. Through combining digital and traditional drawing, Kerrie creates playful, vibrant and light-hearted illustrations inspired by nature, people, places, objects and everyday life. She illustrates what this means to her on a personal level and hopes her illustrations spark positivity and joy for others too. Kerrie has worked with clients such as Clockwise, Dorling Kindersley, UK Greetings and The National Trust across a variety of projects including branding, Product Packaging, Surface patterns and book illustrations. As well as working freelance, Kerrie also sells art prints and greeting cards through her online shops as well as stocking these in shops across the UK, Europe and USA.

https://www.instagram.com/_kerrieillustrates_/?hl=en

Speaker 2: Caroline McHugh Little Fox Events

Since she set up her company, Little Fox Events, three years ago, Caroline has built a reputation for delivering bespoke events in Northern Ireland. Her track record includes the monthly uber-cool East Block Bazaar, Belfast Flea Market, plus bespoke markets in St Anne’s Cathedral, Hillsborough Castle, 2 Royal Avenue, The Black Box and Common Market. Her newest venture is East Block Fashion a unique sustainable fashion experience showcasing the best in fashion designers and makers from north to south.

https://www.instagram.com/littlefoxbelfast/?hl=en

Event Details

Date: Wednesday 23rd August 2023

Time: 8.00-9.30pm

Venue: Blick Shared Studios, 51 Malone Road, Belfast, BT9 6RY

Cost: Free

For more info and to book your free ticket: https://www.blickstudios.org/events/blick-summer-meet/

@kerrywhelanart setting up for her exhibition opening in collaboration with fashion brand @pure_dirt__ tonight, from 7 - 10pm in our Malone Studios. If you`re looking for something different to do this evening or you`re in the area feel free to call in. Refreshments provided

#belfastartist #belfastexhibition #art #belfastart #artexhibition

We had a lovely weekend with all of our different workshops with different groups of creatives. It was great just to have so many different people back in our space. There is always so much to learn from the different conversations and interactions at these types of events. After a couple of days of reflection here are our key takeaways. Some new learnings and some important reminders.

1. You have to face the risk of failure and rejection if you want the world to see your creative work.

2. For inspiration and motivation nothing beats being in the same room with other like-minded people. A reminder for us of why we set Blick up in the beginning.

3. It’s ok, in fact it’s good to be different. In life and in business.
As well as helping you live a life that is true to yourself; commercially it will help you and your creative ideas stand out in a crowded market.

4. There is a market for everything no matter how niche it seems. Just be confident, stick with your passion and look to a global market of like-minded people.

5. Good design adds value that people will pay for. Price isnt always the most important thing for consumers.If you add value to the consumer through how the product or service works, looks and feels or the experience it creates and how it makes them feel there will be a market willing to pay for it.

6. Dare to dream and dream big. There`s a whole world of global opportunities out there for those brave enough to pursue them.

7. Make time to revisit your values to make sure you are on the right track, making decisions that are right for you and your creative business and to keep you inspired and motivated.

8. It’s good for the soul to take time out to do something creative with your hands just for the fun of it.

9. You can get a lot done in an hour if you stop making excuses and actually just sit down and do it.

10. Reflect on your journey. Chances are you have come further than you think.

Read the full blog on our website link in profile

We had a busy weekend with all our different workshops with different groups of creatives. We didn’t get many pics as of course once people arrived we forgot to take any so thanks to Lynda from @fred_loves_ginger who hosted the jewellery making workshop for sharing hers with us. We had such a great weekend, it was so lovely having people back at in-person events again, and we learnt so much that we are going to do a short write up about it and some of our key takeaways over the next few days.

Thanks to everyone who joined us over the weekend we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did

LAST CHANCE TO BOOK - starting tomorrow

BLICK SUMMER WORKSHOPS

3 x ½ day workshops for creatives in Belfast to help you to develop, define and put your creative story into words

Workshop 1 – Developing and Defining Your Creative Story

What is the story behind your creative practice or idea? What do you do and more importantly why do you do it? What are your values? What makes you different?

This workshop is all about helping you to understand and define your creative story. It will help you to define what is truly important to you, what makes you different and why that is important to your audience. It will get you thinking about who your audience is and the best methods of sharing your story with them.

Workshops 2 & 3 – Putting Your Creative Story into Words

Over two sessions, you will have the opportunity to develop a unique story that reflects the values of your creative practice or idea. In the first session, you will cover ways to write a compelling and engaging story. You will use prompts to begin crafting the story of your creative practice or idea. In the second session, you will refine this story into something that you can use to communicate your creative practice or idea purpose and values.

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Workshop facilitators: Alanna Offield and Christine James

Alanna Offield

Alanna Offield owns Seaside Books , an independent online and traveling bookshop. She completed an MSc in Marketing and a MA in Poetry from Queen’s University Belfast. Her poetry has appeared in Abridged, Cyphers, Rust+Moth, Porridge Mag,  and other publications.

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Christine James

Christine is the founder and CEO of Blick Shared Studios and has over 15 years experience working with creatives in Belfast through Blick, Belfast Design Week and Womenfolk

Dates: Saturday 5th 12th & 19th August

Times: 2.30 – 5.00pm

Location: Blick Shared Studios, Malone Road

Cost: Free