Daring Creativity. Daring Forever.

Episode: Dare to Bring Compassion to Business - Alison Black

Host: Radim Malinic | Guest: Alison Black

Date: December 1, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Radim Malinic welcomes Alison Black, Managing Director of Studio Craig Black, for a deep-dive into the intersection of compassion, creativity, and business. Alison charts her unique career journey from mental health nursing in a prison to co-running a world-renowned creative studio with her husband, Craig Black. The discussion explores how her background equips her for the pressures of creative entrepreneurship, strategies for leading a family business, and why empathy and clear communication are her secret sauce for managing clients, deadlines, and life's daily turbulence.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Alison's Journey: From Prison Nurse to Creative Business Director

• Transition Story: Alison describes her fascination with the prison environment and her path into mental health nursing ([00:10], [17:21]).
  • "There's a prison ... and I always used to drive past and think, wow, I wonder what it's like behind those walls." — Alison [00:10]
• Entry into the Family Business: The turning point came during the COVID pandemic and her maternity leave. She gradually started helping Craig, then officially joined during a pivotal Nashville artist residency ([06:28]–[15:03]).
  • "He said, 'I want you to be the person that comes on board to help me. ... No one else cares as much as you do.'" — Alison [08:40]

2. Skills Transferred from Mental Health Nursing

• Crisis Management, Negotiation, and Compassion: The intense atmosphere of prison nursing honed Alison's ability to de-escalate tense situations, communicate clearly, and set compassionate but firm boundaries — skills that now serve her well in tricky client conversations ([19:45]–[22:04]).
  • "The skills I was going to learn there could definitely take me through another job, my next sort of career path, whatever that may be." — Alison [17:21]
• Perspective Shift: Working with vulnerable people gives Alison a grounded approach to day-to-day business stress ([25:35]).
  • "Craig will stop me if I get a wee bit stressed ... He'll say, 'But listen, Ali, did anyone die?'" — Alison [25:35]

3. The Dynamics of a Family Creative Business

• Division of Roles: Craig is the creative visionary; Alison handles operations, logistics, project management, and client liaison ([03:35], [30:38]).
• Work-Life Integration: The family’s unique setup allows travel, flexibility (picking up their daughter from school), but also means the boundaries between work and home can blur ([30:38]–[34:33]).
  • "Being a husband and wife family business is amazing. I love it ... But sometimes we try so hard not to let it bleed into family time." — Alison [31:54]

4. Managing Stress and Upholding Quality

• The Truth About “Creative Glamour”: Behind visually striking end products lie late nights, challenging briefs, and relentless attention to detail — especially with just two people in the studio ([29:39]–[36:36]).
• Good Stress vs. Bad Stress: Alison and Radim discuss how caring deeply about the work creates pressure—but it’s this dedication that leads to excellence ([34:33]).
  • "If you didn't care about quality ... I think the stress would potentially subside. But being stressed is just ... delivering quality of life." — Radim [34:34]

5. Compassionate Communication in Business

• Being “Good at Giving Bad News”: Alison’s reputation for delivering unwelcome information kindly and constructively comes from her healthcare training ([38:06]):
  • "One of the girls ... used to always say to me, 'Ali, you are so good at giving bad news.'" — Alison [38:09]
• Setting Expectations with Clients: Alison prioritizes honesty around project timelines and deliverables to avoid missed deadlines and disappointment ([39:49]):
  • "If you want the quality ... it's going to take just a little bit longer. Try and meet in the middle somewhere." — Alison [38:30]

6. Creative Business Operations & Growth

• Handling Brand Collaborations: The studio has developed a blueprint for proposals and pricing—offering tiered options, transparency in cost, and allowing space for Craig’s creative upselling ([41:20]–[44:34]):
  • "Craig's really good, suggesting ideas that aren't even in the brief ... He'll explain the idea. And more often than not, they buy into it." — Alison [43:30]
• Daring to Go Beyond the Brief: Craig’s forward-thinking and vision boarding shape the studio’s direction ([45:45]).
  • "You need to put it out there to get there. If you sit back ... then you're not going to get to where you want to be." — Alison [45:55]

7. Personal and Family Aspirations

• Visualization and Goal-Setting: Alison and Craig share big-picture goals—travel, flexibility, and continuing to grow together. Alison’s dream: a range of acrylic fusion gym leggings, inspired by her role in the origin of Craig's signature technique ([47:08]).
  • "That for me would just be a full 360 moment ... that would mean a lot to me." — Alison [48:08]

8. Overcoming Self-Doubt and Finding Community

• Imposter Syndrome on Entry: Alison recounts her initial self-doubt and the creative community’s unexpected warmth and support ([49:22]):
  • "I'd never experienced such a positive welcome ... People wanted to help each other out." — Alison [49:55]
  • "He [Craig] wanted me to be the best that I could be. So I guess having him in my corner ... helped me to build that confidence." — Alison [53:13]

9. Family, Legacy, and Passing on Creativity

• Involving Their Daughter, Olivia: Olivia participates in the studio, attends events (including with Meta and Disney), and experiences creative life firsthand ([54:28]):
  • "Her and Craig, probably once a month or so, have a craft day, just the two of them. They come into the studio ... create artwork." — Alison [54:40]
  • "To see her take all that in ... and look at all the different careers ... it's just so lovely." — Alison [55:01]
• Highlights: Collaborating with Disney ([56:27]):
  • "She was absolutely mind blown ... telling all her friends in school she's so proud." — Alison [57:02]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Compassion and Communication:

  • "It's all about framing that in a way to get them on board ... there's a lot of negotiating, there's a lot of de escalation." — Alison [19:45]
  • "I'm a big believer in just setting clear expectations from the start. If you don't, it just causes so many problems." — Alison [38:58]

• On Perspective from Nursing to Art:

  • "There's people there whose jobs are to manage and support ... and that is someone's job who then goes home at night and they think about that." — Alison [25:35]

• On Self-Acceptance and Community:

  • "I felt welcome in this world ... to forge my own relationships with people and to have my own little network." — Alison [50:12]

• On Daring Creativity:

  • "There is so much vision. He [Craig] lives and breathes being Craig Black. ... What's the worst that can happen? They can just say no." — Radim [44:34]

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:10 | Alison recounts her interest in—and start at—a local prison | | 06:28 | Alison’s behind-the-scenes transition into the creative business | | 13:45 | Taking over the major San Francisco coffee company project | | 19:45 | Transferable skills: negotiation, de-escalation, and compassion | | 25:35 | Gaining perspective from high-stakes work environments | | 30:38 | The reality of running a two-person creative business | | 38:06 | Delivering bad news compassionately (“good at giving bad news”) | | 41:20 | The studio’s approach to pricing and project proposals | | 45:45 | Craig’s vision boarding and the importance of “asking for what you want” | | 47:08 | Alison’s hopes and goals—family, flexibility, and creative outputs | | 49:22 | Overcoming imposter syndrome and being welcomed by the creative industry | | 54:28 | Olivia’s involvement, creative exposure, and the family’s legacy | | 56:27 | Collaborating with Disney and the impact on their daughter |

Conclusion

This episode spotlights the empathy, grit, and clarity that Alison Black brings to both business and creative work. Her journey illuminates how compassion-driven leadership and the courage to embrace imperfection can turn a family business into a creative force—while never losing sight of the human element at the heart of every project.

For more episodes and resources, visit radimmalinic.co.uk