The Creative Life of Karen Spencer – Scoobs ‘n’ Lishy

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Natalia

Welcome to the latest instalment of The Creative Life interview series!
The aim of this series is to shine a spotlight on how business owners incorporate their creativity across all aspects of their life, and gives some ‘behind the scenes’ insight into how they started and plan for their business.

Today I’d like to introduce you to Karen Spencer of Scoobs ‘n’ Lishy.

Karen is a mum of three and the creative force behind Scoobs ‘n’ Lishy, where she specialises in making bright and practical essentials for babies and beyond.

Karen spencer with her scoobs’n’lishy bibs. Image: Karen spencer

There is more than meets the eye with Karen. Her business of bright baby and children’s goods is just the tip of her creativity outlets and talents. It was so exciting to discover some other hidden gems (but I don’t want to give anything away so you’ll have to read on :-)).

Karen is a true embodiment of her brand – practicality, brightness and happiness. I really appreciated Karen’s pragmatic approach to her creativity and business, especially how she fits it in around raising her family. I loved her ‘roll up your sleeves’ attitude of getting out there and doing something, without making it seem like hard work. If anything gets boring, Karen sees how she can add a sense of fun and enjoyment to whatever she does. So not surprisingly, Karen’s looking forward to launching a new range of colourful hair accessories that will celebrate diverse interests by including things like dinosaurs and trucks, because not all girls like pink sparkly unicorns (although some do, and that’s ok too!).

In this interview you’ll also find out how Karen:

avoids making work feel too much like ‘work’, and how being ‘selfish’ helps her break up monotony
balances efficiency with being spontaneous and following her interests
manages her expectations and gets into the flow
deals with risk and has the courage to leap and do what she wants to do.

So if you’re intrigued to learn more, let’s start… Continue reading →

Creativity tips – Finding your joy

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Natalia

Have you lost your creative spark or mojo? Do you feel like the past week, month, or even year, feels like a blur? Does it all feel a little routine?

It’s so easy to get caught up in our day-to-day routine that we forget to find the joy. We lose our spark; that zest. And it’s especially tricky when you’re relying on your creativity to make a living or produce those exceptional results at work.

Connecting with our joy is one of the easiest way to get into a creative flow.

Here are three easy ways that you can find your joy again:

Continue reading →

Having the right mindset for creativity

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Natalia

The act of creation is not just a physical activity. The mindset and attitudes that you bring to the task play a big role in your creativity. As I have said before, you are more likely to be creative when you are feeling joyful, focused and relaxed, as opposed to when you are feeling tired, anxious, and stuck.

When I run a creativity class it is my duty to create a safe environment, not only physically, but where everyone feels free to explore different ideas, try new things, and express themselves. So in my class introduction, I set the tone by asking participants to keep some principles back of mind as they do the class activities. Continue reading →

Creativity tips – Making time for creativity

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Natalia

We all want to be more creative. The tricky part is making it happen by making the time for it.

You may have noticed that I didn’t say find the time. This is not about waiting around for that perfect chunk of spare time to do your creative project. Because, like most people out there, you don’t have a whole lot of spare of idle time where you have absolutely nothing to do on your ‘to do’ list. So this is why I say make and not find the time.

You need to commit. You need to honour yourself. Say ‘yes to doing what brings you joy and lets you express your creativity. You need to set aside a chunk of time for your creative project.

Now before you start telling me all about the hundreds of things that you have to get done by yesterday and about the multitudes of family, work and other commitments you already have on your plate (and I so know where you are coming from 🙂 ), I’m going to re-assure you that this can be done. You can make time for that creative project you love.

You just need to find the right-sized container (or quota) for the job. Continue reading →