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Wrapping Up Creative Welly | A Study In Human Intimacy

The final episode of this three year journey in creating something beautiful (in podcast form).

Last week I posted episodes 49 and 50 of the unique podcast I conceived and produced, Creative Welly, where we have courageous conversations with bold humans, and today the final ‘bonus’ episode went live—watch above for the back story and insights into the whole adventure.

So why end?

Simply put, it achieved its goals plus as discussed in the episode above, I (probably) won’t be around much longer.

The first episode went live in June 2020 and after 50 episodes, 100 humans, over 80 hours worth of conversation shared, it’s time to wrap it all up in a neat bow and stand back as a gift to the community of participants, partners and watchers / listeners alike.

This was a selfish project in some ways (which I talk about above) although with a high intention of creating space for humanity to flourish (through conversation) and in doing so offer a way to deeply connect back into something ritualistic and primal.

You see, Creative Welly is a fireside.

A democratic gathering of humans through a bond of openness, curiosity and design.

Everything about it was crafted with this in mind: the circular table aiding the balance of the storytelling space for those who sat at it; the key-light which lit all participants equally and wonderfully; the black and white aesthetic to continue the attempt of harmony; moving the cameras far back into the shadows so they don’t get in the way; the visual split of everyone being on screen in the final edit which serves a further purpose to amplify intimacy in the viewers (as every nuance of non-verbal gestural cues was on display not like other podcasts or video content).

Metrics of success

As discussed, in many episodes and the one above, I never once looked at the stats relating to the project.

Having 100 of my network to say yes and share this experience with them, was reward enough.

However, other noticeable achievements was the invite to apply (under sponsorship) for a Webby Award (we didn’t win but amazing to be invited), got interviewed by the local radio station plus we were notified also that Creative Welly was in the top top 4% of content creators on Spotify as well.

Many are still surprised to find out the whole project was funded by:

  1. Sponsorship
  2. Membership
  3. Donations
  4. Affiliate links
  5. Paid participation spots
  6. Selling branded merchandise
  7. Selling tickets to live shows
  8. Our own time and money (independently produced and hosting paid for us).

…and the fact we made so many episodes is a total accomplishment (as again detailed in the above episode, the amount of work which goes into them is a lot).

Recognition

Apart from me there were three entities who made Creative Welly bloom:

ALL the videos were produced by Jono Tucker of Empire Films.

Not only that, this amazing person also aided massively the stupendous visual fidelity of the project.

Can honestly say that without this man Creative Welly wouldn’t have been the artistic success it was, thank you Jono!

Most of the episodes were hosted / shot at FlashDog Studios, thanks to proprietor David Hamilton.

David sadly passed away the day after we shot the final episodes and he will be missed by the photography and film studio community in Wellington.

The first 9 episodes were previously hosted at Xequals offices. Thanks to them and specifically Alex Matthews (who participated in Episode 14) for again believing in the project when it was just an idea.

Epilogue

So, checking against the brief, to both create something unique in the podcast genre which creates intimacy for the participants as well as the viewers and celebrate humans who are doing imaginative things in this fair city and beyond (hence the name):

Creative | adjective : imaginative / original people adding value to the world.

Welly | British informal : with dynamic energy and vigour.

…can smile when I say: we nailed it!

Last week we also held a gathering inviting all who have participated at the new Empire Films studio (like we did back in July 2021) as they were the first to know we were wrapping up the project:

And here’s the monster list of all the episodes in case you missed any:

  1. Jessica Manins & Sarb Johal
  2. Olie Body & Ged Finch
  3. Raqi Syed & Gabe Davidson
  4. Sandy Gildea & Jase Te Pu
  5. Hiria Te Rangi & Guled Mire
  6. Haritina Mogosanu & Gareth Parry
  7. Pia Steiner & Thomas van Raamsdonk
  8. Lindy Nelson & Clive Spink
  9. Janelle Fenwick & Tom Probert
  10. Bron Thomson & Paul Atkins
  11. Elizabeth McNaughton & Rohan Wakefield
  12. Melissa Clark-Reynolds & Cesar Piotto
  13. Mayu Suzuki & Trent Yeo
  14. Audrea Topps Harjo & Alex Matthews
  15. Conrad Johnston & Pat Shephard
  16. Natasha Zimmerman & Ben Preston
  17. Victoria Spackman & Mark Bradford
  18. Anne-Marie Brook & Cody Ellingham
  19. Paula Eskett & Ari Sargent
  20. Karen Fifield & John Holt
  21. Shadoe Stone & Troy Hammond
  22. Jane Guy & Brian Lucid
  23. Samantha Gadd & Phyo Thu
  24. Jo Cribb & James Partridge
  25. Isabella Cawthorn & Richard Shirtcliffe
  26. Glenis Hiria Philip-Barbara & Sam Trubridge
  27. Negin Imani & Derek Bradley
  28. Janine Sudbury & Mark Gee
  29. Emilie Fetscher & James Bushell
  30. Pamela Bell & Josh Forde
  31. Victoria Crockford & James McCulloch
  32. Michelle Kitney & Rob Cousins
  33. Cynthia Hunefeld & Mark Westerby
  34. Bernadette Casey & Tan Huynh
  35. Freda Wells & Dan Neely
  36. Laurinda Thomas & Guy Marriage
  37. Kimberley Gilmour & Joseph Harawira
  38. Antonia Milkop & Dion Howard
  39. Kristen Lunman & Tim Pointer
  40. Dr Hazel Bradshaw & Derek Sivers
  41. Hollie Arnett & Joe Hopkirk
  42. Vida Christeller & Digby Scott
  43. Tania Anderson & Nick Fox
  44. Jenny Cameron & Chris Jackson
  45. Michelle Farrell & Dave Greenberg
  46. Christine Langdon & Duncan Nimmo
  47. Tui Te Hau & Mario Wynands
  48. Hannah Wignall & Craig Mildenhall
  49. Julia Capon & Jake Nash
  50. Jessica Rattray & Paul Tobin
  51. BONUS REVIEW EPISODE: Jono Tucker & DK

Keep having courageous conversations with bold humans!

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Exploring My Playful Innocence | Creativity Webinar

Honoured to be invited to participate in a hosted by Groov (a mental health and well-being platform for the workplace plus past client).

Drawing from my varied time and experience across multiple domains, plus doing my best to be honest and vulnerable, the webinar starts with a very personal narrative exploring why I do what I do (and why it means so much to me). You’ll also hear me advocate for the creative process being one of ‘not knowing’ and playful discovery, concepts which aren’t new although I rarely see / hear when exploring this in organisations / company settings.

Hope you get something from the watch and thanks to Kim, Simone and Fiona for each being part of making this happen.

Hit us up in the comments or via the contact form if you have any further thoughts / ideas / questions.

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Hosting A SPADA Masterclass | The Business of Creativity

A conversation on growing robust businesses in the creative sector.

Had the esteemed honour to host the above panel for the good people at SPADA. It’s always a joy connecting with humans doing wonderful things and from a very selfish reason was very much needed that afternoon.

So if you’re interested what a few producers here in Aotearoa are up to press play and have a watch / listen.

Thank you Aliesha from StapelsVR, Dan from Gamefroot plus Rhonda from VoiceQ for participating in such good humour and openness.

Oh and check out my new video studio set-up in the video as doing a lot more online MC’ing and hosting these days for other clients.

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Creative Welly Episode #4 | The Power Of The Breath

Another two impressive humans sharing stories and colliding ideas.

Truly enjoying the combination of differences during these conversations and how you never know where commonalities will occur.

There’s audio if that’s how you roll:

For full bios and sign up plus subscription options go to creativewelly.com

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Creative Welly Episode #2 | More Courageous Conversations

Another two good souls exploring all manner of wonderful topics, ideas, stories, experiences etc.

We curate and collide intrepid talent from the coolest most creative little capital in the world (with a few out-of-city friends as well from time-to-time).

Subscribe and catch the first episode via Creative Welly.

Again, this project is totally self-funded and wouldn’t be possible without these amazing collaborators:

All episodes are shot and edited by the wonderfully talented Jono Tucker, Empire Films. An extremely diligent and personable soul who has added a polish to the resulting video which I never could’ve achieved, thank you Jono.

Hosted at Xequals, a centrally based web development agency who provide us with a kick-ass office which totally gets kitted out for the shoot. Thank you Alex Matthews for being so gracious with your space.

Learn more about the background in this ‘Creative Welly Launched | Learning Out Loud‘ post.

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Creative Welly Launched | Learning Out Loud

A new long-form video podcast for curious and creative humans.

Creative Welly is a new project from an old idea repurposed and reborn during the isolation of lockdown:

We curate and collide intrepid talent from the coolest most creative little capital in the world (with a few out-of-city friends as well from time-to-time).

This project is totally self-funded and wouldn’t be possible without these amazing collaborators:

All episodes are shot and edited by the wonderfully talented Jono Tucker, Empire Films. An extremely diligent and personable soul who has added a polish to the resulting video which I never could’ve achieved, thank you Jono.

Hosted at Xequals, a centrally based web development agency who provide us with a kick-ass office which totally gets kitted out for the shoot. Thank you Alex Matthews for being so gracious with your space.

This first episode represents about four to five day or pre-production experiments with lighting and seating scenarios plus editing options. The result of which is something quite different and unique.

Two further episodes are already ‘in the can’ with another two lined up for this month plus a very long list of possibles from my network here in the capital.

Each episode takes about two hours to set up (one hour to pack down), another two hours to shoot then there’s the editing time of both the video and audio. After that there’s posting the curated bios and relevant content online plus sharing out across channels.

There are also ‘hard’ and recurring costs:

WHATCOSTS (NZD)
Table (round table from thrift store)$55
Chairs (x3, comfortable and supportive)$379
Backdrop photographic paper (for style)$105
Libsyn (audio podcast hosting & distribution)$275pa
Vimeo (video hosting)$130pa
Domain + hosting$25pa
TOTAL$969

I find myself feeling so privileged to be able to start this journey and explore a new format during these challenging global times. It truly serves my purpose of ‘giving people voice’ whilst also my skill base of ‘curating’ as well.

Oh and why not YouTube? Have no intention of monetising the content and don’t like their forced adverts plus the time it takes to figure out the algorithms with the hope they choose my content over others. Vimeo is a wonderful creative community which aligns with the brand values of the intention behind the initiative.

Please let me know what you think and triple please subscribe to receive the bi-monthly episodes via Creative Welly.

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Launching Soon | Creative Welly : Courageous Conversations With Bold Humans

A new long-form, conversational project to tickle your neural pathways.

Revealed only in retrospect these past couple of years, is a thematic thread through my past projects / experiences of ‘giving people voice’ (which has become my spoken purpose plus evidenced in both my producing and coaching roles).

Creative Welly is a mash-up-manifestation of this and my hunger for curating good people:

We curate and collide intrepid talent from the coolest most creative little capital in the world (with a few out-of-city friends as well from time-to-time).

A few years ago I bought up a bunch of domains relating to ‘creativity’ and ‘Wellington’ with the intention of bringing together groups of people to explore the future of the city. After pitching it to a few educational plus civic institutions looking for collaboration and hosts there was no appetite.

A recent retainer contract with a client to see me through till the end of the year, has freed up the head-and-energy-space to revisit and reboot the concept.

A combination of devouring hours long-form and conversational content on the web (whether that’s podcasts, interviews and / or debates) these past few months during lockdown catalysed a seed of an idea for what to do.

Within a space of a week a superb collaborative team was formed. After seeking video advice from pal, Jono Tucker, founder of Empire Films and producer of many review videos for TEDxWellington and Creative Leadership, he offered to collaborate. The shooting location is kindly donated by Xequals through Alex Matthews, another pal who is on the TEDxWellington leadership team.

Last week we ran a few shooting, lighting and audio tests:

Enabling us to play with variations on editing looks from the footage which will give the episodes a unique look. The aim is to share the first episode at the end of this month with a target of releasing two a month in the first year.

Oh and the business model, well:

  1. Sponsorship
  2. Membership
  3. Donations
  4. Affiliate links
  5. Paid content
  6. Selling branded merchandise
  7. Selling tickets to live shows
  8. Our own time and money.

Truly humbled to be in a position not to care as what’s important for me is offering something which enlightens, connects and excites, so it’s another pro-bono project and experiment in celebrating humanity through conversation.

Please do head over to Creative Welly and subscribe to receive email notifications of the episodes (or grab the RSS if you’re kicking it old school). Audio subscription options will be available in the coming weeks.

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Coming Soon | CLNZ18

A two day conference connecting visionary humans into a creative community to learn how to solve contemporary challenges.

Here we go again:

CLNZ18 brings together CEOs, senior executives, emerging leaders, experts, and aspiring entrepreneurs, for two days, to access experience, insight and new processes to realise their own projects and potential.

The mission is to build a network of pioneers who share the ability to respond to change, identify opportunities and act on them to better shape our collective future here in New Zealand and beyond.

Sign up to receive the announcement details on July 10th and grab the early bird rate plus other registration categories (like good bird and group options).

Related post: Creative Leadership NZ 2017 | Reflections & Insights
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Registrations Open For Creative Leadership NZ | Book Your Spot Now!

CLNZ logo REGISTER NOW

After many months of development am honoured to announce Creative Leadership NZ:

Two days of ideas / insights into inspiring and managing the creative process / people which leads to innovation.

SOLD OUT

On 27th-28th November, will be heading back to The Roxy Cinema (as they hosted us so well at the beginning of the year for Speaking With Purpose).

The pedigree of the speaker / facilitator line-up is brain-tingling impressive:

Gus Balbontin

Gus Balbontin

Investor – Founder – Advisor

Former Executive Director at Lonely Planet, Co-founder of SneakySurf, Director at Roshambo, Entrepreneur in Residence at Vic Uni.

Bop Murdoch / Sarah Tuck / Jody Burrell

CoLiberate

Creators of Wellington’s first Gym for mental wellbeing, the CoLiberate team are leaders in personal and professional mindhealth.

Victoria Spackman

Victoria Spackman

Director Te Auaha

Making safe spaces for creative types to flourish at Te Auaha – New Zealand Institute of Creativity.

Pavani Rao Boddapati

Pavani Rao Boddapati

CG Supervisor at Weta Digital

Pavani has over 12 years of experience in visual effects for film and has worked on numerous projects including Avatar, Planet of the Apes and The Hobbit trilogy.

Emilie Fetscher

Emilie Fetscher

MC / Design Strategist

Collaborator in residence for design-focused leaders and currently consumed as an accidental entrepreneur at StrataMap.

Aithan Shapira

Aithan Shapira, MFA PhD

Founder + Leadership Strategist

Founder @ Making to Think. Lecturer @ MIT Sloan. Aithan builds leaders’ creative instincts using time- and science-tested techniques from the arts to expand perceptions and accelerate solutions.

Elysa Fenenbock

Elysa Fenenbock

Creative Nomad

Designer-in-residence at Google.

DK

DK

Producer / Speaker / Advisor

@TEDxWellington licensee. @swpconf creator. @creativewelly founder. @amadigital mentor.

Nick Kapica

Nick Kapica

Design Lead

Design, customer insight, and strategy, also interested in collaborating, teaching design and innovation.

Gareth Parry

Gareth Parry

Designer

Gareth Parry is a partner in PwC’s Experience Centre. Gareth has experience in architecture, learning design, digital advertising, infography, human centered design, and event creation.

Ruth Keiry

Ruth Keiry

Designer

Ruth Keiry runs PwC’s Wellington Sandbox. She’s framed, designed, and facilitated dozens of collaborative spaces.

Mark Bradford

Mark Bradford

BeWeDō® practitioner

Founder of BeWeDō® + Senior Lecturer at Massey University, School of Design. #BeWeDō is a unique motion-led creative leadership experience.

SOLD OUT

And here are the cheap-as-chips prices:

[stag_button url=”http://creativeleadership.nz” style=”green” size=”large” type=”normal” target=”_self” icon=”” icon_order=”before” align=”center”]REGISTER NOW[/stag_button]

See you there and please assist in spreading the news to your colleagues / friends / peers / family / communities etc.

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