Creativity Matters: 14 Things I'm Banking For Future Inspiration
Farm-to-closet practices via a podcast, new CoppaFeel! creative, and so much more.
Wow, it’s been a minute! Well, a full month. I hit pause for some much-needed downtime. At first, I felt that creeping guilt about not writing, but I chose discipline of a different kind. The kind that looks like self-forgiveness. I gave myself permission to let go of the pressure to produce, and instead just be for a bit. And do some other shiz, like…
I started reading Creative First Aid, a book about making things for the sake of your brain.
CRAFT! My team surprised me with a full-blown crafternoon (10/10, happy to ruin my nails with glue again). Bring on the next one.
I dove back into my stash of “Sacred Texts”, a practice that the brilliant Piera Gelardi brought to my attention about nine months ago. It’s the creative equivalent of a weighted blanket where I simply screenshot quotes / thoughts that resonate and save them all in the same “Sacred Texts” album on my phone. I go back and look at them all the time. Some faves for RN below.
I also road-tripped to Canberra just to see Thom Roberts’ show at the National Portrait Gallery. Sometimes you need highway hypnosis and a little art therapy in the same day.
Lew and I are also suckers for a comedy show date night, so Nikki Glaser’s Alive and Unwell Tour landing when it did was the most perfect timing. The endorphin rush was no joke.
Aside from those little creative acts, I finally had the headspace to tune back into the world this week, hence the newsletter. I’m banking the inspo below for Future Me (and maybe future you, too). Some of it’s been sitting in my brain’s drafts folder for a while, so sure, it’s a little “vintage”, but still very much worth the scroll.
I’ll let these things speak for themselves. Go forth and click with curiosity.
Peachy Den’s new Amelia collection vid starring the one and only Amelia Dimoldenberg. No deep reason, I just love that woman.
Need eyes on your portfolio? A sounding board? A creative agony aunt? ‘Talk To A Creative Director’ (thank you Cora Veltman for the hot tip) has you sorted. They also have a helluva good resource list here which I’m going to come back to.
This Hinge campaign which is all gorgeous love stories in Substack and hardcover form, wrapping around streets, screens and hearts alike <3
My former Creative Director (and forever gorgeous friend) Emily Fleuriot led me to the documentary Holloway. Now I just need to figure out how to watch it from Australia.
Sharing some of the most intimate experiences of their lives, these six women unravel what led them to prison, building an eye-opening portrait of trauma and failing systems, while discovering their extraordinary capacity to heal through sisterhood.
The film was made via a unique process of a trauma-informed co-creation with our contributors, praised by academics as a ‘blueprint.’
This CoppaFeel! creative is excellent. Not just because it’s doing the important work of getting younger audiences comfy with life-saving chest-checking habits (v important), but because it pulls off that elusive ‘lightness of touch’, as Calling’s ECD & Founder put it, in a space where the instinct is often to go loud and heavy. It’s gentle, clever, and clear. Proof that serious doesn’t have to mean sombre, and that a softer tone can be just as powerful.
I also appreciate this chart mapping different modes of wellness from Post-Culture By Sibling Studio. I’m a real mix: journalling, therapy, hormone tracking apps, saunas, manifestation, tarot cards and crystal healing.
She Shapes History walking tours are now a thing in Sydney! I’ve personally always felt the word should have a rebrand to ‘Herstory’. ANYWAY! I can’t wait to wander the streets in awe of so many incredible women real soon.
This Nike collab with Mriga Kapadiya and Amrit Kumar’s Nor Black Nor White is EVERYTHING.
Fun fact: I actually studied fashion as part of my uni degree, so this list of podcasts diving into historical textiles, farm-to-closet practices, and all the threads in between got me feeling all nostalgic and excited. My ears are READY to binge some brilliance from these changemakers just casually stitching the future of fashion.
Spotted via Disability Arts Online, Netflix is backing a more inclusive creative industry and I’m all for it.
Netflix announces a two year funding commitment for the “Performance Making diploma” – the world’s only course designed for and by learning disabled and autistic creatives at a major drama school. The diploma is led by Access All Areas and co-delivered with The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London.
There’s so much commentary around the use of AI, but the D&AD AI & Creativity Report 2025 cuts through the noise. It’s sharp, thoughtful, and one of the best takes I’ve read on the shift we’re all living through.
One of my fabulous teammates sent me this TikTok (bless them! I’m not on TikTok so I fully outsource my algorithm). It’s about The Affection Economy and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. You can dive deeper on Jet Swain’s site. As she beautifully puts it:
The Affection Economy is a philosophy, a movement, and a practice.
It’s how we design better ways of living, working, leading, and belonging—rooted in human connection, not just performance metrics.
Created by Jet Swain, the Affection Economy is for anyone who’s felt like the systems we live in were built without care.
It’s for leaders, creatives, workers, and communities who believe that kindness, courage, and inclusion aren’t optional extras—they’re the blueprint for a better world.
Okay, so not technically “new,” but definitely excellent so I’m stashing it here for Future Me. The University of Dyslexic Thinking, from DDB, Sir Richard Branson, and Made By Dyslexia, is a brilliant initiative reframing how the world understands and values dyslexic minds. At the launch, Richard Branson said:
“I’m proud that Dyslexic Thinking has made Virgin the disruptive brand that it is today. Thinking differently has always been an asset, but in this new world, it’s essential. We need more innovators, problem-solvers, storytellers and unconventional thinking. I’m delighted to join forces with Made By Dyslexia to launch DyslexicU which is free to access from all around the world.”
And last but not least! I haven’t actually watched Bluey, but I did fall headfirst into this deep-dive from the original series Art Director, Catriona Drummond, on the making of Bluey’s World. The reference gathering! The shape language! The colour! It’s all delightfully crafted just right.
That’s the drop for now folks. I’ll be back again with more inspo, TV recs and a fresh Creative Quickie interview soon.