Creative Chit Chat - Dundee
224 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 months ago -A podcast of conversations with brilliant creatives connected to Dundee, exploring their journeys, thoughts and opinions. Hosted by Ryan McLeod.
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Episodes
Dreamland - The importance of saying 'no'
December 06, 2023 09:40 - 1 hour - 83.2 MBRuby is the creative director behind Dreamland: happy, nostalgic fun clothing. Known for big bold prints inspired by TV shows and popular culture, in particular her upside down collection inspired by Stranger Things. Ruby takes me through how she started out the label and why travel and people watching are central to her creative process. There’s definitely a thread of nostalgia that quite clearly runs through her work but it’s also routed in her experiences and collaborations. The episode ...
No Comply - "How many kickflips has that chopping board done?"
October 31, 2023 20:30 - 1 hour - 85.1 MBCat and Andy repurpose old skateboards into beautiful new products. They take me through their labour intensive process from old broken board to shiny new product. The episode is a fascinating insight into how they've learned and developed their woodworking skills from scratch and built the business up at the same time diversifying the product range. I would recommend heading over to their instagram to see it for yourself as they capture it really well visually on there, far better than I w...
Duncan Barton - Learning not to be 'The Best Designer in the World'
October 18, 2023 07:37 - 1 hour - 93.4 MBGraphic designer, Duncan Barton takes me through his design process, position on current trends and how he's developed a career around the things he loves. "At university they taught you to be 'the best designer in the world' not a jobbing designer" Probably my favourite quote from the episode. You're just not taught all the day to day nitty gritty of being a designer working with real clients, dealing with feedback and churning out more of the functional aspects of what design really is. ...
Duncan Barton - We're not all going to be the best designer in the world
October 18, 2023 07:37 - 1 hour - 93.4 MBGraphic designer, Duncan Barton takes me through his design process, position on current trends and how he's developed a career around the things he loves. "At university they taught you to be 'the best designer in the world' not a jobbing designer" Probably my favourite quote from the episode. You're just not taught all the day to day nitty gritty of being a designer working with real clients, dealing with feedback and churning out more of the functional aspects of what design really is. ...
Duncan Barton - Learning to be the best designer in the world
October 18, 2023 07:37 - 1 hour - 93.4 MBGraphic designer, Duncan Barton takes me through his design process, position on current trends and how he's developed a career around the things he loves. "At university they taught you to be 'the best designer in the world' not a jobbing designer" Probably my favourite quote from the episode. You're just not taught all the day to day nitty gritty of being a designer working with real clients, dealing with feedback and churning out more of the functional aspects of what design really is. ...
Chris Hunt - Creativity as a route to a new world
September 26, 2023 18:57 - 1 hour - 105 MBWith over 20 years experience in the fashion textiles industry Chris has a really varied and interesting career path. His journey starts from a really dark and troublesome place: at school during Section 28. Chris hasn't done many interviews and I feel privileged he was trusting enough to come on the podcast and share his journey. When I set up the podcast I wanted to share as many amazing creative stories as possible. The good times and the bad. Although it's definitely more difficult to t...
Katie Murrie - Let's be more human, step back & ask more questions
September 20, 2023 08:04 - 53 minutes - 73 MBA lead consultant at the Service Design Academy, Katie says that she fell into Service Design after doing a masters in leadership and innovation. We have a really interesting discussion around whether Katie sees herself as a designer and the complexity around design terminology. This also leads onto a topic I'd like to explore further run the future of how we make design skills a core competency in the same way maths or English is. By giving people these fundamental building blocks to change ...
Alastair Low - From Kickstarters to Creative Baths
September 12, 2023 20:49 - 1 hour - 96.2 MBAfter a successful kickstarter campaign Alastair decided to start Lowtek Games a studio focused on creating games and tools to help dyslexic players enjoy video games more. It was at primary school that Alastair got an early diagnosis of dyslexia creating real difficulty with reading. As text to speech technology became more readily available and with the rise of online video tutorials it allowed him to take a more hands on practical approach to creativity. Advances in game technology le...
Muckle Studios - When a psychologist met a designer
September 05, 2023 21:00 - 1 hour - 116 MBDesign researcher Stephanie Crowe and Design Generalist Kevin Sinclair met and decided their love in discussing the failings of design in the world around them was enough to start Muckle Studios. They take me through a journey of how they built a partnership based upon the crossovers in their skillsets and also what they could learn from each other. They are a balance of optimist vs realist and detail vs big picture. This episode is a lovely snapshot of how they've grown as a studio throug...
Volk Gallery - Scotland's first art vending machine
July 12, 2022 19:18 - 56 minutes - 78 MBHear how a trip to Vienna where all the museums were unexpected closed due to the pandemic led to Elizabeth Ann Day and Luke Cassidy Greer creating an art dispensing vending machine in the Keiller Centre in Dundee. It's been a long time since I've had two guests on the podcast and this week it's a real deep dive into the Volk Gallery project. One year on from installing and launching their art vending machine Elizabeth and Luke talk me through the fascinating origin story of the project and...
Rick Curran - Dundee's skate history through the lens of a web developer
June 21, 2022 19:55 - 1 hour - 106 MBThis week we start back in the 80s where Rick takes me through his own creative career as well as the history of the skate scene in Dundee. He went from college to a full time job as a graphic designer and then on to study Time Based Art at DJCAD. After staying around as a research assistant Rick taught himself how to cope websites and the rest is history really. He started up his own business and after several years running a company with a business partner it became time to go it alone as...
Stephanie Graham - Dundee can be the recovery capital of Europe through design
June 14, 2022 20:15 - 1 hour - 85.4 MBStephanie Graham founder of Natla Jewellery and Dundee Community Craft joins me this week. Her goal is to make Dundee the recovery capital of Europe supporting recovery through teaching design skills. She takes her mobile jewellery workshops out into the community to deliver them. The workshops take people through a design process over several weeks but they also create a safe space where people can feel peaceful, feel good about themselves and have a positive experience that helps influence ...
Jennie Patterson - PR is just making people care about what you have to say
June 07, 2022 21:16 - 1 hour - 92.9 MBHippies communes to funeral directors to Jennifer Lopez and Dior, Jennie grew up in Dundee, was drawn to Glasgow and inevitably London building her eclectic PR career before returning to Dundee. Starting out in Pitkerro House, a sort of hippie commune on the outskirts of Dundee, this instilled the values of community and people working together on common goals from the very outset of her life. This has clearly had a big impact in the way that Jennie has progressed her career seeking a sens...
Badbish Design- Confronting privilege & elitism in design
May 24, 2022 20:00 - 1 hour - 95.6 MBWe take a deep dive into some of the nuances of graphic design with Badbish Design this week, featuring how to vent your creative frustrations, the need for building relationships when giving and receiving feedback and why she would happily draw a hippo for £5,000. Badbish's career started out with a frustrating time at art school but after picking up some graphics work for the bars she was working in, things started to change. A graphic design position within a university lead to learning h...
Little Green Larder - Creating a shop to help people make more sustainable choices
May 17, 2022 20:00 - 1 hour - 94 MBI'm joined by Jillian Elizabeth owner of the Little Green Larder a zero waste, plastic free shop aiming to make shopping for sustainable products easy and convenient. The Little Green Larder offers a wide variety of foods and products with their best seller being their vegan pick n mix. Jillian saw zero waste shops opening up across the world and sick of waiting on someone setting one up in Dundee, she decided to do it herself. So she found a location and built a community around the Little...
Islay Spalding - Space ownership & being taken seriously
April 26, 2022 21:00 - 1 hour - 90 MBJeweller and owner of Double Door Studios joins me for a wonderful meandering chat through her journey. There's a little sidetrack into busking and then onto building a jewellery practice in kilt pins, wedding rings and collections. A quick jaunt around making brooches more accessible through skirting boards and broken musical instruments. Before focusing on finding a space, setting up the finances and taking ownership of her very own space Double Door Studios. Islay has a wonderful positive ...
Kerrie Aldo - Building an independent ethical fashion brand
April 19, 2022 21:00 - 1 hour - 93.1 MBFashion designer Kerrie Aldo joins me this week. Probably best known for her signature wax cotton jackets created using material from local manufacturer Halley Stevenson. We talk about slow vs fast fashion and how you get across the value of small scale sustainable production. Kerrie talks me through her journey starting out by being influenced by the indie music scene to finding her own style and how her audience has grown over time. A real pivotal point in her career came when she made a bi...
C.Gul - Reaching the peak of seagull based puns
April 12, 2022 20:40 - 48 minutes - 66.2 MBThis week it's all about street art with C.Gul. Inspired by Dundee's ballsy bird community he has been creating seagull inspired street art for 9 years now. Clearly he doesn't take himself too seriously and his work is about putting smiles on people's faces. We touch on the differences between street art and graffiti and go into the rules and politics that surround the two closely linked but distinct discipline. C.Gul has definitely learned the hard way a few times but seems to have now found...
Kate Harvey - Beautifully organised chaos in textile design
April 05, 2022 21:58 - 52 minutes - 72.4 MBIt's textile designer Kate Harvey's turn to be the guest on this week's podcast. We go from corner shops to Australia and eventually back to Dundee where she started her own clothing brand. Kate produces hand made one-off appliqué garments in a style that I would describe as beautifully organised chaos. We discuss how she has developed her style and process over time as well as building her audience and brand. One of the key motivators and drivers of her career has been the big projects she's...
Leonie Bell - The importance of energy
March 29, 2022 20:03 - 56 minutes - 77.9 MBThis week I'm joined by Leonie Bell, Director of V&A Dundee. She has had a fascinating career working in many high profile roles across Scotland's creative and cultural sector. We talk through her career, why she deliberately seeks out positions of responsibility, that she may not quite be equipped to deal with and why this is a real positive. From an upbringing in Newport and becoming immersed in pop culture, then a move to study in Glasgow: a city of possibilities with anarchy, artist run...
David P. Scott - When your back's against a sheer drop, where else do you go?
March 22, 2022 22:00 - 1 hour - 107 MBI had a very open and honest conversation with David about his career so far as an artist, photographer, videographer and educator. We go into a particularly dark time after he took on a corporate banking job due to 'expectations' which lead so severe anxiety and depression. As David says in the episode it nearly killed him but "When your back's against a sheer drop, where else do you go? You grab the only thing that's there and freelancing was there. So I went for it." He made a huge...
99 - Ask Me Anything
October 13, 2020 20:00 - 1 hour - 37.3 MBA celebration of the past 98 episodes with so many wonderful guests. I talk about some of the things I’ve learned and answer the questions of past guests and listeners. This episode is a big thank you to everyone who has made the first 98 episodes of the podcast possible. I’ve had so many brilliant guests openly and honestly sharing their stories. One the four years I have been running the podcast all those stories have become an amazing bank of content that celebrates creativity in Dundee....
Ask Me Anything - Questions from the listeners
October 13, 2020 20:00 - 1 hour - 37.3 MBA celebration of the past 98 episodes with so many wonderful guests. I talk about some of the things I’ve learned and answer the questions of past guests and listeners. This episode is a big thank you to everyone who has made the first 98 episodes of the podcast possible. I’ve had so many brilliant guests openly and honestly sharing their stories. One the four years I have been running the podcast all those stories have become an amazing bank of content that celebrates creativity in Dundee....
98 - Alice Black
May 05, 2020 20:00 - 53 minutes - 30.8 MBThis week I’m joined by the Head of Cinema at the DCA, Alice Black. She gives us a behind the scenes peek of how an independent cinema operates and the difficulties of catering to such a wide and varied audience. Cinema has always been the biggest focus and passion in Alice’s life. From an early age the cinema was an adventure, being a 2hour drive each way. After a bit of a mix up with the tickets Alice’s Mum ended up taking her to see Roman Polanski’s Tess, which had a profound impact on he...
Alice Black - Film is a great leveller
May 05, 2020 20:00 - 53 minutes - 30.8 MBThis week I’m joined by the Head of Cinema at the DCA, Alice Black. She gives us a behind the scenes peek of how an independent cinema operates and the difficulties of catering to such a wide and varied audience. Cinema has always been the biggest focus and passion in Alice’s life. From an early age the cinema was an adventure, being a 2hour drive each way. After a bit of a mix up with the tickets Alice’s Mum ended up taking her to see Roman Polanski’s Tess, which had a profound impact on he...
97 - Darryl Gaffney du Plooy
April 28, 2020 20:00 - 1 hour - 37.8 MBDarryl comes from a background in social care and community engagement through many different jobs and projects that we chat about on the project but he’s currently working on researching and developing a local currency for Dundee. ‘I would never call myself a creative’ Pretty much the first thing Darryl says. Not the best start, given the name of the podcast but ‘creative’ and 'design' have never been in the vocabulary in the work that he has done. Although we talk about how many of the ...
Darryl Gaffney du Plooy - I would never call myself a creative
April 28, 2020 20:00 - 1 hour - 37.8 MBDarryl comes from a background in social care and community engagement through many different jobs and projects that we chat about on the project but he’s currently working on researching and developing a local currency for Dundee. ‘I would never call myself a creative’ Pretty much the first thing Darryl says. Not the best start, given the name of the podcast but ‘creative’ and 'design' have never been in the vocabulary in the work that he has done. Although we talk about how many of the ...
96 - Kirsty Maguire
April 14, 2020 20:00 - 1 hour - 35 MBKirsty runs a Passivhaus Architecture practice from Wasps studios in Dundee but we don’t really talk about any of that. Instead, she takes me through her epic journey to the ends of the earth that she was able to make when lots of factors aligned to create the perfect opportunity. Something of a different episode this week for the first remote recording of Creative Chit Chat ever. Please bear with me on the sound quality. I will be trying to improve it as I go working with some new software...
Kirsty Maguire - The North Pole to Antartica
April 14, 2020 20:00 - 1 hour - 35 MBKirsty runs a Passivhaus Architecture practice from Wasps studios in Dundee but we don’t really talk about any of that. Instead, she takes me through her epic journey to the ends of the earth that she was able to make when lots of factors aligned to create the perfect opportunity. Something of a different episode this week for the first remote recording of Creative Chit Chat ever. Please bear with me on the sound quality. I will be trying to improve it as I go working with some new software...
95 - Paul Gault
April 07, 2020 20:00 - 1 hour - 40.9 MBProgramme director of Digital Interaction Design at DJCAD, Paul has gone full circle from being a student on the course to now leading it. We cover that whole journey including some brilliant music based side projects along the way. “mostly I’ve just pursued what I’ve been interested in rather than what’s been a good career move” We begin by talking about Pauls relationship with technology and how he created a website for his village when people were getting really excited about the interne...
Paul Gault - Following what you're interested in
April 07, 2020 20:00 - 1 hour - 40.9 MBProgramme director of Digital Interaction Design at DJCAD, Paul has gone full circle from being a student on the course to now leading it. We cover that whole journey including some brilliant music based side projects along the way. “mostly I’ve just pursued what I’ve been interested in rather than what’s been a good career move” We begin by talking about Paul's relationship with technology and how he created a website for his village when people were getting really excited about the intern...
94 - Kirsty Thomson
March 31, 2020 20:05 - 51 minutes - 29.3 MBKirsty is the founder and CEO of the Circle, a “More Than Profit” organisation focused on working with social entrepreneurs, community activists, charity leaders, commercial business leaders, trustees and non-executive directors. Kirsty starts her journey on her return to Dundee after being in academia for many years she found herself unemployed. After signing on, a careers advisor asked if she had considered starting her own business. From there she started ACK (Along Came Kirsty) a busines...
Kirsty Thomson - Creating 'more than profit' businesses
March 31, 2020 20:05 - 51 minutes - 29.3 MBKirsty is the founder and CEO of the Circle, a “More Than Profit” organisation focused on working with social entrepreneurs, community activists, charity leaders, commercial business leaders, trustees and non-executive directors. Kirsty starts her journey on her return to Dundee after being in academia for many years she found herself unemployed. After signing on, a careers advisor asked if she had considered starting her own business. From there she started ACK (Along Came Kirsty) a busines...
Ica Headlam - Creative Me Podcast in Aberdeen
March 10, 2020 21:00 - 43 minutes - 25 MBIca hosts and runs the Creative Me Podcast in Aberdeen and I invited him down to Dundee to do a podcast exchange. Turns out we have very similar stories and approaches when it comes to podcasting. Originally from South East London, Ica moved up to Aberdeen with his girlfriend about 15 years ago to study social work. He’s seen the creative scene change and grow while recording the stories of creatives in the city. We both started our podcasts around the same time and have put out about the s...
93 - Ica Headlam / Creative Me Podcast
March 10, 2020 21:00 - 43 minutes - 25 MBIca hosts and runs the Creative Me Podcast in Aberdeen and I invited him down to Dundee to do a podcast exchange. Turns out we have very similar stories and approaches when it comes to podcasting. Originally from South East London, Ica moved up to Aberdeen with his girlfriend about 15 years ago to study social work. He’s seen the creative scene change and grow while recording the stories of creatives in the city. We both started our podcasts around the same time and have put out about the s...
Jen Collins - The creative 'Holy Grail'
March 03, 2020 21:00 - 1 hour - 37.2 MBJen is an Illustrator and ceramicist who has spent her time between Dundee, Glasgow and Toronto during her career so far. Her work often notes quiet moments, human connection and the natural world. Pencil and paper are generally the tools of choice, but she occasionally plays with clay, too. After graduating from DJCAD Jen started making products that she could sell online to build an audience and generate some income. She needed a part-time job at this point to support her creative practi...
92 - Jen Collins
March 03, 2020 21:00 - 1 hour - 37.2 MBJen is an Illustrator and ceramicist who has spent her time between Dundee, Glasgow and Toronto during her career so far. Her work often notes quiet moments, human connection and the natural world. Pencil and paper are generally the tools of choice, but she occasionally plays with clay, too. After graduating from DJCAD Jen started making products that she could sell online to build an audience and generate some income. She needed a part-time job at this point to support her creative practic...
91 - Neil Cooney
February 25, 2020 21:08 - 1 hour - 36.1 MBDo you like sneakers? Then this episode is for you. From importing random Japanese zines to working in Hanon in Aberdeen and having over 250 pairs sitting in his garage. Me and Neil chat a lot about trainers in this episode. Even though his journey isn’t really about footwear. He came to Dundee to set up Borders books store. Which he helped build into the most successful branch in the UK but despite this, the company went into administration. Neil had to go through that process and watch the...
Neil Cooney - Public art trails and a garage full of trainers
February 25, 2020 21:08 - 1 hour - 36.1 MBDo you like sneakers? Then this episode is for you. From importing random Japanese zines to working in Hanon in Aberdeen and having over 250 pairs sitting in his garage. Me and Neil chat a lot about trainers in this episode. Even though his journey isn’t really about footwear. He came to Dundee to set up Borders books store. Which he helped build into the most successful branch in the UK but despite this, the company went into administration. Neil had to go through that process and watch the...
Col Gray - Graphic design, content marketing and accountability
February 18, 2020 21:00 - 52 minutes - 30.4 MBA graphic designer who runs Pixels Ink, helping brands find their identity and voice. He’s also built up a following through online design advice and tutorials on his youtube channel. Col started out doing an interior design course, then moved on to animation and ended up working in a series of smaller studios doing various different roles. He started to get itchy feet when the studio he was at began to grow and he lost the direct relationships with the clients. After finding himself in a pr...
90 - Col Gray
February 18, 2020 21:00 - 52 minutes - 30.4 MBA graphic designer who runs Pixels Ink, helping brands find their identity and voice. He’s also built up a following through online design advice and tutorials on his youtube channel. Col started out doing an interior design course, then moved on to animation and ended up working in a series of smaller studios doing various different roles. He started to get itchy feet when the studio he was at began to grow and he lost the direct relationships with the clients. After finding himself in a pr...
89 - Lori Anderson
September 24, 2019 20:00 - 58 minutes - 79.9 MB5 weeks into a year-long role as director of Creative Dundee I chat to Lori about her journey, what interested her in the role and what she wants to achieve. Starting out, Lori’s journey has a bit of uncertainty that then led to working in the financial sector. After rising through the company she ended up being made redundant along with the rest of her department. This lead her to take stock and make a complete career change with the Nation Lottery Heritage Fund. She spent 9 years there sup...
Lori Anderson - Gamekeeper turned poacher
September 24, 2019 20:00 - 58 minutes - 79.9 MB5 weeks into a year-long role as director of Creative Dundee I chat to Lori about her journey, what interested her in the role and what she wants to achieve. Starting out, Lori’s journey has a bit of uncertainty that then led to working in the financial sector. After rising through the company she ended up being made redundant along with the rest of her department. This lead her to take stock and make a complete career change with the Nation Lottery Heritage Fund. She spent 9 years there sup...
Andy Truscott - Creating music and classic football kits
September 17, 2019 20:00 - 1 hour - 82.8 MBAn opportunity for a year-long graduate internship on the isle of Coll to write and create music was massively significant in Andy’s life. It kick-started a remote music creation process with his brother and initiated a love for field recordings. Now 2 albums down, Kinbrae are looking to release an LP and then a further album but Andy is looking to other avenues to make music a full-time pursuit. He talks about how he has worked in creating music for film and TV which seems to be a much more...
88 - Andy Truscott
September 17, 2019 20:00 - 1 hour - 82.8 MBAn opportunity for a year-long graduate internship on the isle of Coll to write and create music was massively significant in Andy’s life. It kick-started a remote music creation process with his brother and initiated a love for field recordings. Now 2 albums down, Kinbrae are looking to release an LP and then a further album but Andy is looking to other avenues to make music a full-time pursuit. He talks about how he has worked in creating music for film and TV which seems to be a much more...
87 - Katja Steel Kusakova
September 10, 2019 20:00 - 52 minutes - 72.6 MBKatja has been working in the cultural sector producing events for many years. From music festivals in the Czech Republic to DJCAD degree show. Having only been in Dundee for a relatively short period of time she’s already worked with most of the cultural organisations in the city. As most of her work is event-based it leads to relatively short term contracts. We chat about jumping from contract to contract and having the confidence that something else will always come up. Her latest contra...
Katja Steel Kusakova - Confidence in contract hopping
September 10, 2019 20:00 - 52 minutes - 72.6 MBKatja has been working in the cultural sector producing events for many years. From music festivals in the Czech Republic to DJCAD degree show. Having only been in Dundee for a relatively short period of time she’s already worked with most of the cultural organisations in the city. As most of her work is event-based it leads to relatively short term contracts. We chat about jumping from contract to contract and having the confidence that something else will always come up. Her latest contra...
86 - Stewart Murdoch
September 03, 2019 20:00 - 56 minutes - 78.3 MBDirector of Leisure & Culture Dundee, Stewart has spent many years engaging communities, enabling others and really helping develop the cultural offer in Dundee. As he moves towards retirement we talk about what he has achieved in the role and what he feels is important for the city going forward. After growing up in Fife, Stewart started in community education in Glasgow. He didn’t exactly when but mentioned it was before the M8 opened. In 1990 he moved to Tayside where he worked in severa...
Stewart Murdoch - Helping others make things happen
September 03, 2019 20:00 - 56 minutes - 78.3 MBDirector of Leisure & Culture Dundee, Stewart has spent many years engaging communities, enabling others and really helping develop the cultural offer in Dundee. As he moves towards retirement we talk about what he has achieved in the role and what he feels is important for the city going forward. After growing up in Fife, Stewart started in community education in Glasgow. He didn’t exactly when but mentioned it was before the M8 opened. In 1990 he moved to Tayside where he worked in severa...
Kathryn Rattray - Getting the most out of any camera
August 27, 2019 20:00 - 55 minutes - 75.8 MBA freelance photographer who has worked across many areas but mainly with cultural and arts organisations like NEoN Digital Arts Festival, the Cooper Gallery and many fashion brands. The first big project I worked on with Kathryn was this year’s Dundee Design Festival. We brought her in as the official festival photographer and to run a space called the ‘Photoshop’. In the podcast she says she is ‘intrigued by humans and human nature’ and during DDF19 she really captured the essence of the...