"Change doesn't have to be a big, scary thing." (Catharine Pitt bonus episode)

Summary

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Daring Creativity Podcast: "Change doesn’t have to be a big, scary thing." (Catharine Pitt Bonus Episode)

Host: Radim Malinic
Guest: Catharine Pitt (Formplay)
Release Date: February 26, 2026

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Episode Overview

This bonus episode revisits the standout themes and moments from Radim Malinic’s recent interview with Catharine Pitt, co-founder of Formplay, an animation duo in Brighton. The conversation unpacks how Catharine and her partner, Mark, navigated a mid-career burnout and transitioned intentionally to a new, creatively fulfilling path—offering insight into the realities and myths of change, intellectual property, and the creative mind’s relationship with worry.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Turning Point: Burnout and Starting Over

• Catharine recounts the experience of burnout at their formerly successful, yet unfulfilling studio:
  • “We burnt out. We were trying to do everything... ultimately we didn’t really love what we were doing.” (Catharine Pitt, 00:59)
  • Despite achieving what many creatives see as goals (an established studio, clients, financial success), they were left feeling empty.
  • The pivotal question became: “Are we too late to retrain? Are we too late to start again?”
  • Catharine emphasizes the necessity of change:

    “Well, it was the only time to do it. We had no choice. It was something we had to do. It was that itch we had to scratch.” (Catharine Pitt, 01:36)

Host Reflection:

• Radim draws parallels with his own creative journey, underscoring the courage required to walk away before perfect timing or permission.

• “Sometimes the scariest thing isn’t starting over, it’s staying stuck.” (Host, 03:20)

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2. Valuing Your Work: Intellectual Property (IP) and Creative Economics

• Catharine highlights industry habits regarding IP:
  • The default practice of signing away IP is “just become a sort of bad habit of our industry.”
  • Early in their careers, Mark and Catharine signed away copyrights for little compensation:

    “We signed all the copyrights and I cannot tell you the number of times that we’ve seen these illustrations in different iterations... The value that we’ve provided far outweighs the amount that we were paid for them. And that’s not a fair transaction.” (Catharine Pitt, 04:24)

  • She stresses the importance of creatives learning about copyright, acknowledging it’s a dry topic but “a game changer.”

Host Reflection:

• Radim points out that separating creation fees from usage fees—as is done in music and illustration—can create more sustainable creative businesses.

• “Formplay builds recurring income, longer client relationships and sustainable value. It’s not radical. It’s basic creative economics... The real kicker, most creatives have never questioned why they sign everything away. But Catharine did, and it changed her entire business model.” (Host, 05:33)

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3. Reframing Change: It’s Not All-or-Nothing

• Catharine debunks the myth that change must be dramatic:

  • “Change can be tiny little incremental steps that you take. It doesn’t have to be a big scary thing... making a habit of challenging yourself in these very small ways.” (Catharine Pitt, 06:14)

  • She advocates for small, joyful resets as antidotes to the fear of big leaps.
  • The importance of gradual transition:

    “Her and Mark didn’t quit their studio on Monday and launch Formplay on Tuesday. They spent two years experimenting in the evenings, phasing out old clients, testing new work on Instagram.” (Host, 07:17)

Host Reflection:

• The show’s ethos is articulated:
  • “You don’t need a dramatic exit. You just need small, consistent steps towards something that feels right. Permission granted.” (Host, 07:29)

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4. Worry vs. Creativity: The Importance of Optimism and Constant Motion

• Catharine shares one of her favorite quotes:

  • “There’s a great quote actually from a poet called Darby Hudson... ‘Worry is creativity’s idiot twin. They both make shit up for nothing.’” (Catharine Pitt, 08:42)

  • Worry and creativity both invent futures, but only one is helpful. Worry stifles action; creativity fuels it.
  • Catharine’s advice:

    “Just keep moving, keep making, Keep that optimism. That fire in your belly is so important.” (Catharine Pitt, 08:54)

Host Reflection:

• Radim calls out this as a “mic drop” moment, identifying overthinking as creativity’s biggest enemy:
  • “Instead of just making the thing, here Catherine reminds herself and us to keep moving, keep making, keep trusting the process... Optimism isn’t naive. It’s the fuel that keeps creative momentum alive.” (Host, 09:17)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Catharine Pitt [00:59]:

  “We burnt out. We were trying to do everything... We found ourselves in our mid-40s at that crossroads thinking, well, we do not want to do this anymore. Are we too late to retrain?”

• Host [03:20]:

  “Sometimes the scariest thing isn’t starting over, it’s staying stuck.”

• Catharine Pitt [04:24]:

  “The value that we’ve provided far outweighs the amount that we were paid for them. And that’s not a fair transaction. But we were naive and I don’t blame the commissioner. It’s. We should have made it our business to understand copyright.”

• Catharine Pitt [06:14]:

  “Change can be tiny little incremental steps that you take. It doesn’t have to be a big scary thing. It can be little joyful moments... In that moment, it’s a reset.”

• Catharine Pitt quoting Darby Hudson [08:42]:

  “Worry is creativity’s idiot twin. They both make shit up for nothing.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:59–02:06 — Catharine on burnout, the need for change, and the crossroads moment
• 04:03–05:21 — Intellectual property: lessons learned and why copyright matters
• 06:12–07:03 — The myth of dramatic change: how small steps compound into transformation
• 08:17–09:07 — “Worry is creativity’s idiot twin”: On moving forward despite uncertainty

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Tone & Takeaways

This episode offers a candid, hopeful, and practical look at how midlife change in creative careers can happen gradually and intentionally. The tone is honest, supportive, and non-dramatic—encouraging listeners to value themselves, keep learning, and embrace the incremental path to creative fulfillment. Catharine Pitt’s reflections and Radim Malinic’s empathetic hosting make this a resonant listen for anyone contemplating a new beginning or feeling stuck in their creative work.

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Transcript

[Host]

Hey, welcome to another bonus episode of the Daring Creativity Podcast. I am back again to unpack some of the gems from this week's conversation and looking for those moments that deserve a second look. I'm looking for the reasons what makes them special. This week I spoke to Catherine Pitt, co founder of the Brighton based animation duo Formplay, who transformed from burnt out studio owners to building one of the most distinctively playful animation practices in the uk. Her journey spans a career in the music industry for a studio that had everything and felt like nothing to retrain in her mid-40s alongside her part Mark gradually, intentionally and without burning the whole thing down overnight. This episode, published a few days ago, was titled Dare to Start Again and I thought it was the perfect title for conversation, which was full of eloquent elegance that will stay with you for a while. If you haven't checked out a full episode yet, let me share with you these four standout moments from our conversation.

[Catherine Pitt]

We burnt out. We were trying to do everything. We were very small, we employed a few people, but ultimately we didn't really love what we were doing. And I think having come from a background, especially in childhood, that was very much rooted in play and exploration and just really loving that whole creative process, we found ourselves in our mid-40s at that crossroads thinking, well, we do not want to do this anymore. Are we too late to retrain? Are we too late to start again? And really asking, is there a good time to do it? Well, it was the only time to do it. We had no choice. It was something we had to do. It was that itch we had to scratch. So that's really been the foundation of really all of our work, of how we take take on clients. Now it has to be work that fuels our creative energy and not depletes it. And I think because we've had that experience in the past, we're very strict, we're a bit bullish about that now.

[Host]

I mean, had goosebumps when she told me this story because it resembles my own. And I felt seen and I felt someone actually shared with me something that I've gone through almost quietly and passingly because in their case, Catherine and Mark had everything. Most creators chase established studios, steady clients, financial security. But guess what? They were miserable. And what they did, they stayed true to who they wanted to be. Catherine shared with me that they spent two years of retraining. They actually really phased out the work that they didn't want to do and started doing the work that it was making them feel alive. And there's this thing that we try to understand as humans, especially creative humans, because you can be going after exactly what you want. You can have your beautiful list of clients, work, money, exposure. And when you get all of that, you realize, what did I do it for? Because you don't always think about what happens next. Because in our creative careers we are never finished. And somehow that also applies to our chasing of happiness or success because we don't always know what that is and what it should be for us. When Catherine said, is it a good time to do this? Well, when she said they had no choice. I just love the. That honesty because it's rare. Most people would wait for permission or perfect timing, but Catherine flipped the script here. Sometimes the scariest thing isn't starting over, it's staying stuck. And this would resonate deeply with anyone in their 40s or beyond who's wondering, is it too late? Is it too late to change? And the spoiler is it's not.

[Catherine Pitt]

Yeah, I think basically, I think it's just like I said before, it's become a default in our industry. That IP is assigned quite often and I think to me, studios and freelancers give away that IP without really questioning it. And it's not a law, it's just become a default. It's become a sort of bad habit of our industry, I think. So, I mean, from us, we've learned from bitter experience. We started out, we had a. In our first studio, we were commissioned to do, well, Mark was commissioned to do a gazillion illustrations for publications and we signed it all away. We, yeah, happy to do it. We were very new, we signed all the copyrights and I cannot tell you the number of times that we've seen these illustrations in different iterations of these publications. And the value that we've provided far outweighs the amount that we were paid for them. And that's not a fair transaction. But we were naive and I don't blame the commissioner. It's. We should have made it our business to understand copyright. And it's a really dry subject, but I, I think we just really believe how it's a game changer for people because it allows longer term relationships with clients.

[Host]

And I felt this, this moment is one of the sharpest business insights in our conversation. Catherine's got background in music. Mark, her partner, worked in illustration. And these are both industries where you protect your copyright and license your work. This moment matters because it exposes how entire industries can sleep work into unfair norms by separating creation fees from usage fees. Formplay builds recurring income, longer client relationships and sustainable value. It's not radical. It's basic creative economics borrowed from other fields. And the real kicker, most creatives have never questioned why they sign everything away. But Kathryn did, and it changed her entire business model.

[Catherine Pitt]

Yeah, no, I think it's so interesting because I think one of the biggest myths is that change has to be this big thing. But it doesn't. I mean, you know, change can be tiny little incremental steps that you take. It doesn't have to be a big scary thing. It can be little joyful moments, things that actually, if you've had a really shitty day, you do something really small that's completely different. And it just reframes your day, it reframes your ambition. In that moment, it's a reset and I think just making a habit of challenging yourself in these very small ways. Over time, small habits become big habits. They stick. But I think certainly as creative professionals, you know, it's very easy to get sort of caged in your reputation, isn't it?

[Host]

If this is not the antidote to paralysis, then I don't know what it is, because we feel that the change can feel like a wholesale thing. We can hear people saying, hey, I need to reinvent myself, but it only freeze because it sounds like a burning everything down overnight. Catherine reframed this beautifully. Change is incremental, playful and compounding. Her and Mark didn't quit their studio on Monday and launch formplay on Tuesday. They spent two years experimenting in the evenings, phasing out old clients, testing new work on Instagram. The tiny, joyful moment, framing is key. It makes change feel accessible and not apocalyptic. This matters for anyone stuck in the creative rut or career dissatisfaction. You don't need a dramatic exit. You just need small, consistent steps towards something that feels right. Permission granted. And as you know, daring. Creativity is show about doing the one thing you would otherwise regret never starting. And if there's someone who backs up this claim, and I hope that all of my guests, especially this one from Catherine, is exactly the reason why the show exists.

[Catherine Pitt]

So it's just finding your own pathway really, isn't it? But for us, it was in that kind of just many iterations, just trying different things and not worrying too much about them, just putting them out there and seeing what the next one is, seeing what's around the next corner. There's a great quote actually from a poet called Darby Hudson, which. Let me see if I can find it. I absolutely love it. It's worry is creativity's idiot twin. They both make shit up for nothing. And I think that is such a perfect quote because it's so true. We can spend so long worrying about what we do that actually it stifles creativity. And and I think actually just keep moving, keep making, Keep that optimism. That fire in your belly is so important. Yeah.

[Host]

Catherine closes the conversation with Darby Hudson quote and it's absolute mic drop. The metaphor is perfect because worry and creativity both involve imagining things that don't exist yet, but one paralyzes you and one liberates you. This moment matters because it names the thing that stops most creative work from happening. Overthinking, second guessing, catastrophizing. Oh, I can tell you all about that and what might go wrong. Instead of just making the thing here, Catherine reminds herself and us to keep moving, keep making, keep trusting the process. It's the kind of wisdom that sounds simple, I know, but it lands hard when you need it most. Optimism isn't naive. It's the fuel that keeps creative momentum alive.

[Catherine Pitt]

Foreign

[Host]

thank you for joining me on this bonus episode of the Daring Creativity Podcast. If you haven't checked out a full interview, I encourage you to do so. Thank you for being here and I'll see you on the next one. If you enjoyed this episode and would like more accessible resources to help you discover your daring creativity, you can pick up one of my books on themes of mindful creativity, creative business, branding, and graphic design. Every physical book purchase comes with a free digital bundle, including an ebook and audiobook to make the content accessible wherever you are and whatever you do. To get 10% off your order, visit novemberuniverse.co.uk and use the Code podcast. Have a look around and start living daringly.