#79 Get your clay on

If there’s one thing I enjoy seeing on my LinkedIn feed, it’s people talking about things that bring them genuine joy (and no, I don’t mean work things like a fancy new automation they’ve set up to save tons of time).

What stops me mid-scroll are those posts where you can feel the person radiate through the screen, because you can sense their passion and enthusiasm, and for me that person this time was Claire Millward.

Her post about her pottery adventures randomly popped up on my feed, and I hadn’t spoken to Claire before but felt I need to get in touch. I want to learn more how this experienced agency owner—serving brands in the crypto and other tech industries—also has found a creative outlet in sculpting, painting, and more.

The work Claire does requires a lot of brain power, and there’s a real need to be focused to translate complex tech ideas into easy-to-digest and -understand content. Using hands and working with clay and other materials helps pause that busy part of her world aside, focusing only on what’s in front of her.

“Sculpting and painting, it really helps me to get into my body and be present in the moment. I think that's the thing about it, is that it enables you to connect to the present moment,” she says.

How does one get into pottery? It’s not like picking up a pen and starting to sketch in your notebook. You need the equipment, the materials, and some sort of idea of how it all comes together.

For Claire, it was through her friend who was getting married and was making ceramic gifts for her bridal party and brought Claire along with her to the class. From then on, Claire started attending weekly pottery classes in Cape Town and next thing you know she’s got an Instagram account dedicated to her creative adventures.

Claire also enjoys painting. Although not coming from a crafty background, she does have background in the arts—”I was a ballet dancer for many years and I did dramatic theatre.”

For inspiration, she uses Pinterest and Instagram, but also “it's more the paint that gives me the inspiration and the fact that the paint is so versatile and there's so much you can do with it.”

“I'm almost inspired by the paint to paint because I'm inspired by how it interacts with the paper and how amazing it can turn out.”

With art (in different shapes and forms) an integral part of Claire’s life, I had to wonder how’s it possible to balance these two wildly different parts of her life (the creative and the business one) on a platform like LinkedIn. We all know it’s notorious for hustle bro-kinda content (“if you only work 12h a day, someone out there is hustling for 13h and overtaking you while you waste time resting”), but we’re finally seeing a shift.

People want other people—real ones, not AI-generated.

We want stories and snippets of your life we can empathise with, or learn from, or laugh about. And so it’s soo nice to see how people even in complex industries are showing this more muti-faceted side of them. They’re not just their work, they’re also gardeners, poets, mums and dads, hikers, pet lovers, in a band or run a walking group.

So for Claire sharing these different aspects comes naturally:

“I think at the end of the day, authenticity builds connection. And my goal on LinkedIn is to connect people and to essentially grow my business. And as such, I'm happy to share some of my personal stories for the sake of meeting new people and getting new opportunities.

You're a person first and a professional second. And when you show up as human, you can connect. It helps to connect on a personal level over art or ceramics or something similar, and then you know that it's a bit of a icebreaker for the professional connection.”

For others caught in the never-ending, constantly-refreshing race of to-do lists and deadlines, Claire recommends making specific time for hobbies. Be intentional about reconnecting with your body and mind.

And both me and Claire agree that business should serve us, not the other way around. If we never have time for things like this (because there’s always another thing to work on), what’s the point? You’d be better off working a more structured 9-5, knowing you’ll always have that free time waiting for you.

In fact, see the creative practice as a valuable investment in your business—”see it as a stepping stone and building block for your business, almost like a work task because your creative projects will only benefit your business.”

What’s on your creative agenda this week? I’d love to hear! 🙋‍♀️

(And if you’re ever struggling to figure out how to find your next creative experiment, let’s chat!)

That’s all from me this week—if you enjoyed this newsletter issue and haven’t subscribed yet, you can click the button below. I’d love to have you here! Hopefully, catch you next week.✨