Episode 29. Approaching functionality creatively with Sarah Giblin
The Creativity for All Podcast
Release Date: 06/07/2021
That's all, folks!
The Creativity for All Podcast
Season 3 of The Creativity for All Podcast has concluded with a fabulous conversation with inventor , and this feels like the right time for me to put an end to this fabulous - but - adventure, in order to focus on my . I've loved meeting such a wide range of guests and exploring creativity in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and , to name but a few of the topics discussed in the course of three seasons. And I've loved wrestling with topics, such as, (a very popular episode, interestingly), , , , , and , as well as discovering in my solo episodes. Never say never! I might be back later on with a...
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Episode 48. Exploring product design with Solveiga Pakštaite
The Creativity for All Podcast
The moment I came across an article about Solveiga Pakštaite, the inventor of a temperature-sensitive food label that shows when products really spoil to fight food waste and improve food safety, I knew I had to get in touch. Solveiga is also an entrepreneur with an industrial design background. She is the founder & director of Mimica and was named MIT Technology Review's Inventor of the Year. She also holds an honorary lectureship at UCL and consults on innovation projects for leading consumer and technology companies. In this episode, she shares her take on...
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Episode 47. Exploring the magic of weaving with Rosie-may Greenbank
The Creativity for All Podcast
In September 2022, a stall at the Ely market caught my attention, not just because every woven piece was beautiful, but because I saw at the far end of the table a small weaving loom, which made me think, quite rightly, that the creator of these lovely pieces was worth having a chat with. Rosie-may Greenbank is a traditional hand-weaver, cloth designer, maker, photographer, and web designer. Working with heritage skills to create artisan cloth, she uses traditional wooden looms, very much in the same way weavers have for hundreds of years. During the first lockdown she set up her business Mays...
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Episode 46. Exploring nature through creativity with Emma Stothard
The Creativity for All Podcast
Sculpture, and especially willow sculpture, has always fascinated me, so when I came across Emma Stothard's website, I knew I had to get in touch. Emma is a Yorkshire-based willow and wire sculptor. Inspired by the creatures of the North York Moors, where she lives, she creates sculptures of wild/domestic animals and birds. After receiving a BA Honours in Fine Art from Southampton Solent University, she briefly moved to the Somerset Levels to learn the process of growing, coppicing, bundling, and weaving willow. In 2001, thanks to a loan from The Prince's Trust, Emma started her sculpting...
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Episode 45. Challenging our beliefs creatively with Voula Tsoflias
The Creativity for All Podcast
Today's guest, Voula Tsoflias, is a writer of psychological fiction and non-fiction psychology, combining her two passions in life: fiction writing and psychology. Following a long and happy career as a corporate psychologist, she now devotes her time to writing and related activities. She's finishing her third novel, Halo. Her first novel, Honor’s Shadow, was published by Karnac in 2012. She’s a contributing author to the DK Psychology book and the co-founder of Resilience for Writers, with author Isabel Costello, supporting writers through the specific challenges of trying to get...
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Podcast News!
The Creativity for All Podcast
ABOUT THE CREATIVITY FOR ALL PODCAST A can be creative. So can a , a , and a . Not to mention a , a , or an ! Creativity is everywhere and I love nothing more than to explore it in , either by focusing on a theme – such as perfectionism, feeding your creative brain, or the pressure to be creative – in my solo episodes, or through my conversations with all manner of creative people. I want to challenge the perception of creativity and, in the process, debunk many myths attached to it: it's painful, for artists and the chosen few, etc. My guests and I are keen to zoom in and dissect the...
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Episode 43. Exploring the exponential power of kindness with Becca Reed
The Creativity for All Podcast
Kindness.org is on a mission to educate and inspire people to choose kindness and science is the foundation and heartbeat of their work, through their collaboration with researchers at Harvard University and educators, one of the many topics raised in my conversation with today's guest, Becca Reed. Over the last decade Becca’s worked with thousands of educators and students across the US, first as a classroom teacher, a program designer and trainer, and then as an education consultant. As the latter, she worked with change-making educators and organizations to build bridges between “what...
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Episode 42. Another creative exercise
The Creativity for All Podcast
Grab a pen and paper and join me for another short creative exercise – a follow-up to the ever so popular episode 34 – designed to get you thinking about your own take on, and relationship with, creativity. Ready? ABOUT THE CREATIVITY FOR ALL PODCAST A can be creative. So can a , a , and a . Not to mention a , a , or an ! Creativity is everywhere and I love nothing more than to explore it in , either by focusing on a theme – such as perfectionism, feeding your creative brain, or the pressure to be creative – in my solo episodes, or through my conversations with all manner of creative...
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Episode 41. Exploring our humanity with Ronni Abergel
The Creativity for All Podcast
Ten minutes is all it took between the moment I came across a post about The Human Library and the moment I sent an invitation to its founder, journalist and social change activist, Ronni Abergel, today’s guest. The Human Library is an international not-for-profit organisation, which started in Copenhagen, Denmark, 22 years ago, and is now available in 85 countries and 50 languages. Just as you borrow a printed book from your community’s library, you can borrow a human book from one of the many book depots The Human Library is running across the world. You choose a title – homeless,...
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Episode 40. Honing our observation skills
The Creativity for All Podcast
That observation is a key skill when it comes to any type of creative endeavour seems fairly obvious. That we all have observation skills, even more so. But to what extent are we aware of them, how often are we actively using them, and what can we do to hone them? ABOUT THE CREATIVITY FOR ALL PODCAST A can be creative. So can a , a , and a . Not to mention a , a , or an ! Creativity is everywhere and I love nothing more than to explore it in , either by focusing on a theme – such as perfectionism, feeding your creative brain, or the pressure to be creative – in my solo episodes, or...
info_outlineA couple of weeks ago, an article caught my attention on the BBC website. It was the story of how a Mexican doctor had got in touch with the British company making the backpack he’d been using for a year to voice his frustration, because he couldn’t use it anymore. The coronavirus pandemic was raging and his backpack couldn’t be sterilised and taken into the hospital. Not only did the owner and creator of the bag, Sarah Giblin, respond to his message, but with his feedback, she designed in only 11 months – and during lockdown – the first backpack that can be sterilised and therefore used safely by medical staff.
This isn’t Sarah’s first invention. On her commute one day, in 2012, she noticed a problem with backpacks: the person behind you can get into it. The solution? Remove zips on the outside of the backpack and design them neatly against your back. Her creation, RiutBag, is used daily by over 20,000 travellers around the world and has sparked an anti-theft backpack industry making travel safer for millions.
I was so impressed by Sarah’s creative response to not just one, but two specific safety needs, that I immediately invited her on the podcast to discuss her creative approach to functionality.
Sarah is passionate about improving the user’s quality of life and shares her motto, function before form, the process of embracing her new ideas and bringing them to life, and her very own take on creativity. If you thought functionality isn’t creative, think again!
Visit www.riut.co.uk to see the latest RiutBags Sarah has created.
Taking an invention from idea to the marketplace (BBC article)
The Creativity for All Podcast explores creativity in all its forms. With each guest I interview every two episodes, we discuss what it means to be creative in their daily life, zooming in on the mechanics behind their creativity and debunking myths, wherever possible, to show you that you too can be creative on a daily basis, that you don’t have to be an artist to be creative. My hope is to show you that creativity is everywhere and to inspire you to tap into your own creative potential.
The Creativity for All Podcast is sponsored by Blue as an Orange, where we believe in creativity through communication, and offer mentoring and coaching for aspiring writers, and tailored language tuition for individuals and companies.