Creative Career Change – Details, episodes & analysis

I often talk about how I am inspired by the women I interview on this podcast, and this was especially the case when I had the pleasure of speaking to Gabrielle Treanor in early January.

Gabrielle began her career working in publishing in the 90s and has navigated many career twists and turns since then including launching a stationery business and more recently becoming an ADHD coach supporting quiet, introverted women.

We would love to continue the conversation in the comments, so do come and say hello and let us know if there was something that resonated with you in this conversation.

“We think that there’s something we want to do but it’s only when we actually do it over and over for a while that we discover actually it’s not something that is sustainable. I’m not that excited about it.” - Gabrielle Treanor

Links

* Gabrielle’s website: www.gabrielletreanor.com

* The Quiet ADHD Club on Substack

* Gabrielle on Instagram

* Gabrielle’s book The 1% Wellness Experiment is available in all the usual places, but for every sale of her book or the book gift box purchased via her website box she donates to The Wallich homelessness charity in Wales.

* Emilie Wapnick’s book How To Be Everything which was mentioned in the interview.

A note from the author

I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers. I hope the conversations may inspire others to make changes in the way they approach their work in order to seek more balance in their life.

Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode.

By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who can be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!

Thank you.

Hannah x

Almost two years ago, I came across an episode of the Interior Design Business Podcast titled ‘Career Changing To Interior Design’. It featured several established interior designers who talked about their route into the profession.

Charlotte Dawson was one of those designers and she, like me, had previously been a teacher. I was captivated and I can truthfully say that hearing Charlotte talk about her career change helped me to believe that I could do that too.

I connected with Charlotte on Instagram and she is one of the most encouraging and supportive people I know. I was delighted when she agreed to share her story and chat to me here on the Creative Career Change podcast.

“I started to interior design my classroom without realising. I made curtains, bought carpets, rugs, cushions, canvasses. I even decorated. I painted the classroom and my teaching assistant would leave every Friday not really knowing what to expect when she’d come back on the Monday. Nor the children.” - Charlotte Dawson

Links

* Charlotte’s website: Chestnut Interiors

* Chestnut Interiors on Instagram

* Charlotte’s Renovation Room membership

* The episode of Interior Design Business podcast where I first discovered Charlotte: Career Changing to Interior Design

A note from the author

I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers. I hope the conversations may inspire others to make changes in the way they approach their work in order to seek more balance in their life.

Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode.

By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who can be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!

Have you made a creative career change? I’m going to be recording some new episodes in the New Year and am always on the look out for interesting guests to talk to. If you think you might be a good fit for Creative Career Change, send me an email to info@hannahashe.co.uk explaining why. I’d love to hear from you.

See you in 2025 for more inspiring stories ✨

p.s. On Monday at 7pm (UK time) I will be hosting the final online Create Ensemble session of the year. It’s a festive edition where I encourage you to spend the hour doing something creative AND festive: writing cards, wrapping gifts, making decorations or perhaps writing your end of year newsletter. This is a session for paying subscribers and you can find more details and the link here (after subscribing):

It was back in 2012 when I discovered adventure athlete Sophie Storm Roberts. I read an article in a magazine about the Three Peaks Challenge that she had completed with fellow adventurer Sean Conway and I was totally hooked.

At that time, I was a super keen cyclist and reading about Sophie’s achievements contributed to inspiring me to complete a triathlon in 2013.

Since then I’ve followed Sophie’s journey on social media. She left a promising career in sales with a tech start-up in search of adventure and personal challenge.

Not long after starting this podcast series, I suddenly had a thought that Sophie would be a brilliant guest. We didn’t know each other, but I thought it was worth a shot to drop her an email and see if she might be interested in coming on the Chez Hanny podcast to share her inspiring story.

To my complete delight, she said yes and so here it is!

You can find out more about Sophie’s work on her website: www.challengesophie.com and on Instagram @ChallengeSophie

Let Sophie and me know what you think about this episode by leaving a comment!

It was an absolute joy to spend an hour chatting to Emily Ash Powell a few weeks back. Emily was made redundant last year, but instead of it causing the devastation that many would experience from this kind of news, Emily used it as a springboard to gather a new experience in a different country with her brand new husband (after getting married in Vegas, of course!).

Emily and I talk about the desire for flexibility over security, the benefits of maternity cover roles and why moving from job to job doesn’t make you disloyal!

If you would like to get to know Emily a little more, subscribe to her Substack here:

Like me, Maria Hanley began her career as a teacher. Over the past few years she found herself making a big change due to an “unplanned, pandemic-induced transition” and now absolutely considers herself to be a writer.

In this episode, we talk about giving yourself permission to become a writer, honouring the ideas when they come and listening to whispers.

Have you ever found yourself to be an ‘Ideas volcano’ where you can’t stop coming up with (and spewing) new ideas? Maria mentions this piece of mine during our conversation and so I’ve linked to it here in case anyone didn’t see it when I first wrote it back in September.

Maria has a Substack page of her own: Dream Big (click the link to check it out and subscribe!)

I hope you find listening to Maria’s writing journey to be as inspiring as I did!

Subscribe here and receive the next podcast episode with Emily direct to your inbox!

Korynn and I first connected on Substack several months back, and as soon as I’d discovered a little about her career journey, I knew I needed to hear more and share this inspiring woman’s story of determination and immense creativity.

To check out Korynn’s amazing work, take a look at her website: www.korynnmorrison.com and Instagram page

Subscribe to Korynn’s Substack page here:

Funnily enough, I was in France on holiday in October when I discovered Elisabeth Parry’s writing. It was this post about moving to France, renovating a beautiful old building and having a 7ft grand piano hoisted via crane into a top floor window that caught my eye.

Three of my favourite things: music, home renovation and France!

I knew I needed to know more about how Elisabeth and her partner had realised their dream, and so I was delighted when she agreed to chat to me for this podcast series.

I hope you enjoy listening to this interview as much as I enjoyed the opportunity to talk with Elisabeth. If you’d like to learn more about Elisabeth’s work, you can find more information on her websites: www.flutesinspired.co.uk and www.aureacapra.com

To subscribe to Elisabeth’s Substack page, type your email address below:

A little note from the author…

🎧 Making a podcast is a wonderful thing, but it is very labour intensive and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation (sometimes with someone in a completely different time zone), editing, mixing, creating music and producing the episode itself.

🧡 If you love to listen and want to access all episodes past and future, support my work by becoming part of the Chez Hanny community:

I am thrilled to share the final podcast episode of 2023 with you today. Don’t worry there are still a few more to come in 2024, but I did make the jingle a little festive for this one just to acknowledge the season 🔔 🎵🎄

Vanessa and I first connected here on Substack several months back and I was delighted when she agreed to be interviewed for the podcast. Listen to today’s episode to hear how Vanessa has approached decision making and career-change in her life. I guarantee it will leave you feeling inspired!

You can find Vanessa on Instagram and she has a page here on Substack:

My ‘ideas volcano’ is still going strong and I have one more newsletter coming on Sunday before I sign off for a few days over the holiday period.

In the meantime, if you know someone who you think would enjoy a subscription to Chez Hanny as a present, click below to find out more. You can even schedule it so that the email lands in your loved one’s inbox on the day of your choosing!

A little note from the author…

🎧 Making a podcast is a wonderful thing, but it is very labour intensive and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation (sometimes with someone in a completely different time zone), editing, mixing, creating music and producing the episode itself.

🧡 If you love to listen and want to access all episodes past and future, support my work by becoming part of the Chez Hanny community:

Hello!

Today's post is a new episode of the Creative Career Change podcast. More on that shortly, but first…

In case you missed it

Last Wednesday I wrote a rather spontaneous piece assessing whether I am a control freak or not:

And then on Sunday, I posted my first ever video. 8 minutes of chat on spontaneity, libraries and online parents' evening:

To listen to all previous podcast episodes, click here. I’ve taken the paywall off episode 4 temporarily so catch it while you can!

Today’s Podcast

In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Sonya Mallett about her varied career in the world of sports apparel and interior design, making choices between freelance and salaried work, and going full circle.

If you would like to find out more about Sonya’s home styling work, check out her website: www.sonyathehomestylist.co.uk and her Instagram page.

Sonya is also here on Substack:

We would love to know you thoughts on the discussion!

A little note from the author…

🎧 Making a podcast is a wonderful thing, but it is very labour intensive and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation (sometimes with someone in a completely different time zone), editing, mixing, creating music and producing the episode itself.

If you love to listen and want to access all episodes past and future, support my work by becoming part of the Chez Hanny community:

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to interview writer and journalist Kristi Koeter, 48 who is based in Texas, USA.

Kristi’s career has taken a number of twists and turns as she has navigated caring for her family alongside carving out a way of working that she loves.

You can find Kristi here on Substack where she has a wonderful page Almost Sated which she describes as ‘A space for growth-minded women who are done with diets and defining their success by their appearance.’

A little note from the author…

🎧 Making a podcast is a wonderful thing, but it is labour intensive and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation (sometimes with someone in a completely different time zone), editing, mixing, creating music and producing the episode itself.

This is why some of the episodes are only available in full to paid subscribers. If you love to listen and want to access all episodes past and future, support my work by becoming part of the Chez Hanny community: