Mama Creatives started in Sydney with a group of six creative mothers meeting once a month to share our stories. Over the last two years it has grown into a community of over 1,000 talented creative mamas, predominantly in Sydney. Of course there is still a lot to achieve in our local area and Sydney is a big city, but I am also interested to know if there are creative mamas in other communities, in regional areas and other cities that may also connect with our philosophy. Is this just a Sydney thing because of my friends and community, or are there creative mothers in other places doing extraordinary things? What do we have in common and how can we unite to share their stories…
With this insatiable curiosity I decided to embark on a road trip along the East Coast of Australia, stopping in locations where I knew creative mamas who have an inspiring body of work, creative experience and interesting stories to tell. First stop was Byron Bay where I interviewed two incredible women who I had long admired for their creative endeavours.
Nikki Buckland, firstly through her venture Paper Runway, and more recently through Meet Make Create, which offers a series of creative workshops for children teaching them skills we learnt from our grandparents; sewing, knitting, crocheting and other craft based activities.
Christina Giorgio, founder of Creative Consultancies is an incredible singer/songwriter mama, with 20 years of arts industry and small business experience. She has a wealth of knowledge and offers creative life consulting for individuals, businesses and organisations.
Behind the scenes I also met with other creative mamas creating incredible businesses and lives, including artist and children’s swimwear designer Narani Henson, creator of the label Here Comes the Sun. Also Michelle Ruthven, founder of Byron 4 Kids and Trudy Johnston, chief bright spark at Vim and Zest, and founder of The Butterfly Temple. I also visited the new Spell & the Gypsy Collective store, housing the latest modern-bohemian fashion designs by creative mamas and sisters Isabella Pennefather and Elisabeth Abegg, who also recently won the 2016 Telstra Australian Business of the Year.
Through this experience of reaching out to other communities I have connected with so many amazing creative mamas. I am already making plans to return and capture their stories, bringing them to you via our Red Hot Mama Membership, launching end of November. If you would like to be part of this, receive inspiring videos, interviews, educational content and resources, stay connected through our incredible online community and lots more please join our mailing list, or email us here.
On leaving Byron Bay I discovered we had made the local Byron News newspaper. Thrilled that they felt what we are doing is newsworthy!
A three hour drive took me to Toowoomba, a thriving creative community in regional Queensland. It is home to Emma Mactaggart, founder of Child Writes, a program and literary adventure dedicated to giving children a voice by using books as a platform.
Emma was my special guest mama at our first Toowoomba Mama Creatives afternoon tea event held at the Urban Grounds Cafe. The group of mamas who joined us were so warm and hospitable and welcomed Mama Creatives with open arms.
You can see more photos from this lovely afternoon on our Mama Creatives Facebook page.
Big thanks to our event partners Good Reading Magazine and Alter Eco chocolate, as well as our special giveaway partners; Elle Roberts, founder of the Artful Biz Conference, writer Joanne Fedler, creator of WINGS writing retreats, artist Jennifer Reid, author Leonie Percy, Colour Away and Anna Moncrieff from Happiness is a Garden.
We also made the local news and social pages in Highlife Magazine. Thank you Toowoomba, you were a stunning surprise.
The next and final location for this part of the East Coast tour was Brisbane, where I hosted an evening event at the Foxy Bean cafe. Whilst on the road I took the time to catch up on some excellent podcasts including The Moth and On Being. Both offer excellent stories and interviews.
My featured creative mama guest was Bronnie Masefau, interior designer, creative entrepreneur and author. You can get a taste of Bronnie’s inspiring creative philosophy and purpose in this short video.
Our first evening event in Brisbane attracted an incredible group of talented creative mamas. It was both inspiring and encouraging that creative mamas are seeking a community in which to connect and nurture their creativity.
You can see more photos from this lovely afternoon on our Mama Creatives Facebook page.
Big thanks to Womankind Magazine and Alter Eco chocolate for supporting our first Brisbane event, as well as our special giveaway partners; Elle Roberts, founder of the Artful Biz Conference, writer Joanne Fedler, creator of WINGS writing retreats, artist Jennifer Reid, author Leonie Percy, Colour Away, Child Magazines and Bronnie Masefau for generously giving away four books from her published series.
Through this experience of reaching out to other communities I have connected with so many amazing creative mamas. I am already making plans to return and capture their stories, bringing them to you via our Red Hot Mama Membership, launching end of November. If you would like to be part of this, receive inspiring videos, interviews, educational content and resources, stay connected through our incredible online community and lots more please join our mailing list, or email us here.