Speaking at A Collective Voice: Finding Your Creative Freedom
On 26th March 2026, I’ll be joining A Collective Voice: Finding Your Creative Freedom at The Arienas Collective in Edinburgh as the guest speaker, and it feels like such a meaningful space to share my story.
This event is about something deeper than business strategies or creative techniques. It’s about honest conversation. It’s about creativity, community and the courage to build a life that feels aligned with who you really are. The Arienas Collective exists to bring people together through creativity and collaboration, creating a space where real stories can be shared and connections can grow.
That is something I care deeply about.
Creativity changed the direction of my life
When I first discovered silver metal clay in 2010, I had no idea it would reshape my future. At the time, I was working in education, and creativity was something I did alongside my career, not at the centre of it.
But metal clay gave me something I hadn’t experienced before. It allowed me to create in a way that felt gentle, intuitive and deeply absorbing. It wasn’t about perfection. It was about exploration.
That discovery led me to begin teaching at the London Jewellery School in 2012. It eventually led me to found Jewellery School Scotland here in Edinburgh, where I now support students to discover their own creative voice. And alongside that, I founded Good Girl Rebellion, supporting women to build businesses that feel both financially sustainable and emotionally aligned.
None of it was planned. It emerged step by step.
Creative freedom is rarely a straight line
One of the things I’ll be sharing at this event is the reality behind creative freedom.
It doesn’t arrive fully formed, unfortunately! It grows through small decisions, moments of courage and through trying something new before you feel ready.
It often means unlearning the idea that there is a ‘right’ way to build a career. Many of us have been taught to prioritise stability, approval or certainty over creativity and self-expression. Choosing a creative path can feel uncertain, and sometimes uncomfortable, but it can also be deeply liberating.
I’ve seen this not only in my own life, but in the lives of the students I teach. People who arrive feeling unsure of themselves, and who gradually begin to trust their hands, their ideas and their instincts.
The power of community
Creativity can sometimes feel solitary, but it doesn’t have to be.
Spaces like The Arienas Collective exist to remind us that creativity thrives in community. When we share our stories openly, we give others permission to imagine new possibilities for themselves. We realise that the doubts, fears and uncertainties we experience are not signs that we’re failing - they are part of the process.
This event is an opportunity to step out of the online world and into a physical space with other creative people. To listen. To reflect. And perhaps to reconnect with parts of yourself that have been quietly waiting.
An invitation to explore your own creative freedom
Whether you already consider yourself creative or not, creativity is something that lives in all of us. Sometimes it simply needs the right environment to re-emerge.
I’m looking forward to sharing my story honestly, including the moments of uncertainty as well as the moments of growth. My hope is that something in that story helps you see new possibilities for your own creative life.
If you’ve been feeling the pull toward something more creative, more expressive, or more aligned, this could be the space where that journey begins.
You’re invited!
When? Thursday 26th March 2026 at 7-8.30pm
Where? The Arienas Collective, 2 Dublin Meuse, Edinburgh, EH3 6NW