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In the interest of creating community rather than competition, a group of female entrepreneurs have set up their own hub where collaboration and co-operation are the name of the game.
A space for local creatives from photographers to party planners, Creators HQ is the new artistic network on the block.
Express met the local business owners demonstrating the value of supporting, sharing and co-creating…
“Jersey-born photographer Holly Smith never expected to be in Jersey right now.
After working as a producer putting together film and photography shoots in London and travelling to the other side of the world, she returned to try and save some money. But, “…a couple of months turned into a year, and a year-and-a-half now.”
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From discovering the verdant landscapes of New Zealand, the leafy greens Holly now focuses on are the colourful palettes presented on plates in Jersey cafés and restaurants she’s tasked with snapping.
Her decision to return to the island might have been personal, but the reason she stayed is bigger than that. After years hidden in personal ateliers, creativity is having a ‘moment’ in Jersey.
“It’s an exciting time to be here and I feel it’s important to be doing what we’re doing at the moment,” she says.
And it’s not just the recent surge in artsy new businesses. Indeed, the island is having to get ‘creative’ in lots of ways. For one, the latest statistics show that island-wide productivity is plummeting to historic lows. And then there’s the issue of resolving the ‘eggs in one basket’ issue of what to do if the finance industry fails.
Pictured: The Creators HQ is harnessing the recent surge of creativity which is having a 'moment' in the island right now (Holly Smith Photography).
Promoting creativity locally – in all its forms – might just be the answer.
Jersey is starting to echo a global re-imagining of creativity as a career rather than a hobby, and that change in feeling is slowly becoming tangible.
Chicly-decorated ‘Shoreditchy’ cafés and bars are making their way into town, the goods of younger creatives are now regularly seen and smelt among stall-holding stalwarts at seasonal fetes, and even the most traditional finance companies are jazzing up their web presence beyond the usual corporate headshot and bio. Baby steps.
Interestingly, Norwegian graphic and web designer Hanna Mathilde of The Wildly Design, thinks the creative embrace happening worldwide goes hand-in-hand with rising interest in feminism. Artistic enterprise and women’s rights have always existed, she says, but social media is giving them, “…more of a kick.”
While not solely focused on women, her new endeavour – Creators HQ – unites both movements.
At its core, Creators HQ is a web directory promoting local creatives. But it’s now moved beyond that with the establishment of a physical headquarters – an unsuspecting studio-come-office space on Hill Street harbouring a treasure trove of artistic flair.
Among those to move in last month were three photographers, a writer and designers of jewels, parties, cosmetics, websites and even lingerie. Many previously worked alone, but are now able to grow their businesses in a physical space where collaboration is strongly encouraged.
Pictured: Hanna Mathilde of The Wildly Design says that the Creators HQ embraces creativity and feminism, two elements which she thinks go hand-in-hand (Holly Smith Photography).
And that theme continues online. Even on social media – a platform often criticised as a breeding ground for jealously and self-consciousness – the Creators HQ team pepper each other’s profiles with supportive comments, or include posts on their own pages boosting a fellow creative’s work.
While books such as ‘#GirlBoss’ and ‘In the Company of Women’ might adorn the shelves, it’s not true that Creators HQ is a female-only concept. However, Hanna says that she was unsurprised that, since coming up with the concept, she has been predominantly approached by women.
The reason, she believes, could be linked with confidence and, perhaps, the difficulty of breaking through stereotypes.
“I read a study about it: men will in general get 80% more a raise because they’re more confident when they come into meetings and say what they want.
“When I first came [to Jersey], I was a bit shocked by how women were treated, coming from a country that’s a lot more forward-thinking. I was thinking, ‘You can’t say those kind of jokes.’ Also I was surprised for me being in the web industry and graphic design how a lot of people only thought it was for men. They thought I couldn’t do the work until I did, and they’d say, ‘Oh, she actually does know what she’s talking about.’"
Pictured: "While books such as ‘#GirlBoss’ and ‘In the Company of Women’ might adorn the shelves, it’s not true that Creators HQ is a female-only concept" (Holly Smith Photography).
“You definitely have to prove yourself a bit more,” Holly adds.
The output of the online and offline habitants of Creators HQ - a platform to simply “show that we’re here”, as Hanna modestly puts it – certainly puts any notion that women can’t do business to bed.
The project is a kiln firing up the role models of tomorrow, and seems to come at the right time for Jersey – the government has just turned its eye to reviewing gender imbalances in the island’s workforce, while local schools and businesses are increasingly pouring resources into encouraging female leadership.
While a positive side-effect, that wasn’t necessarily the intention of the project.
Hanna was first inspired after feeling “really lonely” when she first went it alone in business. “I could go a few weeks with really actually meeting with anyone apart from my boyfriend.”
Hanna initially envisaged creating a coffee shop workspace, but, deciding that she “knew nothing about coffee”, the idea morphed into a large studio space where people at different stages of their creative journey could help each other out.
She succeeded in bringing that idea to life. There’s a range of ages, with some of the women having launched into their chosen careers straight away, while others reached it by roundabout means.
Copywriter Lorraine Pannetier only turned her “true passion” into a career when she had her first daughter back in 2001.
“Back then, I wouldn't have described myself as an entrepreneur - I just simply turned my hobby into paid work. However, since the advent of social media a few years later, and through taking numerous qualifications and courses and investing in different coaches… I now finally feel like a proper entrepreneur,” she says.
Imogen Pickering, meanwhile, did a dramatic U-turn from finance to fabric, now spending her days sewing together delicate lace intimates for her eponymous lingerie brand, Imogen Apparel.
Their stories show another aspect of what Hanna hoped the endeavour would show others: creativity doesn’t have to be a side hustle, it’s a viable career choice.
Indeed Creators HQ is at the crest of a wave of an industry about to break. The sector is worth £92billion in the UK and growing at twice the rate of the economy.
Pictured: The Creators HQ brings together local creatives and professionals from different disciplines and encourages them to work collaboratively (Holly Smith Photography).
It’s also an area the British-Irish Council – of which Jersey is a member – is looking to to promote and grow. Indeed, developing the sector could be an answer to diversifying Jersey’s economy beyond finance – something vital as the industry gets knocked by the impact of Brexit and increasing global frostiness towards so-called ‘tax havens’.
And then there’s the p-word.
The UK and Jersey’s productivity levels are nose-diving while Europe leads the way. While “different” for Jersey, Creator’s HQ’s way of working is a well-known tool in fighting this problem, particularly in Hanna’s native Scandinavia. Collaborative work across disciplines is proven to boost morale – one of the key inhibitors of productivity – and, by extension, the amount and quality of work produced.
Together, studio roommates Holly and Imogen often listen to business podcasts which they can then discuss and learn from.
The wider Creators HQ team can also provide tips to each other, or even just an understanding shoulder to lean – or cry – on when things aren’t going so well.
Pictured: Cherish Chapman, an event designer, who also works at the Creators HQ studio space (Holly Smith Photography).
“You’re in your own head so much,” Holly explains of the need for an alternative perspective.
According to Hanna: “Just meeting someone else and talking about struggles or about how we can improve helps… Hearing somebody else saying, ‘I’m not getting any jobs, it’s really low right now’, you can come up with help and advice and give each other a little boost.”
Accessing constructive feedback from someone with a similarly critical eye is particularly important. “It means more coming from fellow creatives that you respect because your friends and family will tell you, ‘That’s really good!’, but if it comes from someone you’re working with, you know it’s good,” Holly says.
Fellow photographer Daisy Barnard, who specialises in weddings, adds that working together in a dedicated studio space helps shake off procrastination and has mental health benefits too.
Before moving into Creators HQ, her bedroom and office space were one. “It was a struggle getting out of bed and sitting at my desk and actually concentrating - not just sitting in my pyjamas all day and going to make food and then answering a few emails but not actually doing anything.
Like Hanna, she admitted the process could be lonely and stressful. “That’s why I have cats!” she jokes.
Being so flexible, the space has no opening hours. Those working inside are free to make it their own – for Daisy, this has included a desk handcrafted by her dad – that they can drop into as and when they need.
That flexibility is particularly useful given the industry-wide lack of 9-to-5 routine. Daisy says it means that she’ll have time to take part in her hobby of boxing during the working day.
It’s an enviable way of working – indeed, a recent EY survey showed that 87% of the UK’s workforce is either working flexibly or wishes it could.
For Daisy, this flexibility extends to working longer in the summer so she can travel in the winter.
Pictured: Photographer Daisy Barnard said that working in a communal environment helps to fend off procrastination and also has mental health benefits too (Holly Smith Photography).
Perhaps by coincidence – or perhaps not – the HQ team are passionate about travel. While it might not be time spent at a desk, that, in itself, has a value too.
“It’s good to go away and get inspiration and bring it back, not get too stale. I think a lot of people are doing that. My friends have been away and decided to come back at this point and they’re bringing what they’ve learned back, which is interesting and good and means that Jersey isn’t behind,” Holly explains.
As well as keeping the island “up to speed” trend-wise, in the coming years, Hanna hopes Creators HQ will be able to organise and host creative events in Jersey’s community.
Such activities would inject some colour and variety into the night-time economy – “It would actually be good to have things to do here that aren’t going to the pub!” she laughs – and help inspire others to explore their artistic urges.
These events take the form of talks, film screenings or workshops – in fact, the team are already planning on starting a knitting group this winter.
Though cognisant of challenges in their respective fields, the team radiate positivity. Is it really true then, for them, that doing what you love means never working a day in your life?
Holly whips out her phone, pulling up a photo on Instagram.
In scrawled letters, the post reads: “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life work super f***ing hard all the time with no separation or any boundaries and also take everything extremely personally.”
The team giggle at it, but explain there’s truth in the quote. However, that “super f***ing hard” work does pay off, and, as is echoed by the group, they now can’t imagine doing anything else than follow their chosen path.
Expressing her ultimate wish, Hanna says: “I’m hoping Creators HQ will inspire younger people. You can choose anything. Setting up anything, you can do it yourself. It is possible and a lot of work at the start, but maybe seeing that other people have done it, you’ll see that you can actually do those things if you’re good at it.”
This feature originally appeared in Connect magazine, which you can read in full here.
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