The Spark: Claire Blyth on Madonna, Magpies and the Hacienda

Summary

The Creative Boom Podcast

Episode: The Spark: Claire Blyth on Madonna, Magpies and the Hacienda
Host: Katy Cowan
Guest: Claire Blyth, Founder of Red Setter
Date: November 6, 2025

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Overview

This lively episode features a candid and warm conversation between host Katy Cowan and Claire Blyth, founder of PR agency Red Setter, delving into the lived realities of the creative industry. They touch on everything from nostalgic clubbing days, the power of design, overcoming fears around confidence and public speaking, the emotional impact of music and memory, all the way to daily rituals, superstitions, and the enduring inspiration of Madonna. It’s an episode brimming with practical wisdom, nostalgia, humour, and a celebration of resilience and reinvention.

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Main Themes and Key Discussion Points

1. Nostalgia, Dance Music, and Creative Memory

• Katy and Claire reminisce about clubbing in their youth and the powerful impact of music on memory and emotion.
• Discussion about “In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats,” a VR installation recreating the search for a rave, which left Katy in tears from the rush of nostalgia.
  • “The minute Orbital's Chime set in, I just burst into tears...absolutely crying my heart out.” – Katy (01:47)
• They exchange memories of scents, sounds, and markers that transport them back to pivotal moments—the emotional resonance of White Musk perfume and the drone of airplanes evoke vivid personal flashbacks.

2. Career Reflections, “Lost Voice,” and Midlife Creativity

• Both reflect on building careers highlighting others’ stories, and the challenge of reclaiming personal voice amid the demands of work and life.
• Katy discusses a midlife jolt:
  • “You get to a stage, maybe it's a midlife crisis...where you think, who am I? Does my voice count?...Screw it. We're only here once. Might as well have fun.” – Katy (03:12)
• Claire explains how founding Red Setter was a way to champion the undervalued discipline of design, and fulfill her secret wish of being a designer:
  • “I'd love to be an amazing designer. So I thought this is kind of like getting through the back door of an industry I absolutely love.” – Claire (04:41)

3. Challenging Self-Doubt and Finding Confidence

• Both share personal struggles with public speaking and self-esteem.
• Claire recounts how hypnosis in 2019 transformed her crippling fear of speaking:
  • “Game changing...just got rid of all that giving a shit bit. Not all of it—80% of it from there.” – Claire (07:58)
• Katy and Claire discuss how negative feedback or bullying in early life continues to echo into adulthood, until you learn to reframe it:
  • “What people say to you that might be hurtful is probably more about them than you…that completely destroys the power that sentence has ever had on you.” – Katy (12:24)

4. Resilience and Rituals for Wellbeing

• Both share rituals that ground them—Claire meditates daily, sometimes even in her car after the school run:
  • “I do car meditation…just do 15 minutes of breathing…even micro-meditation...so good.” – Claire (15:37)
• Katy’s “meditation” is ironing:
  • “I go into a flow state…I’m just ironing and it’s lovely.” – Katy (17:44)
• Small habits—mindful breathing, walking without a phone, the importance of stillness—are central to staying balanced in a hectic creative life.

5. Smells, Sounds, and the Power of Sensory Memory

• The conversation moves into how certain scents, like Body Shop White Musk or Tropicana sun cream, and even odd smells (like sewage invoking childhood holidays in Mallorca) can instantly evoke strong memories.
• Discussion on how environmental sounds, like the drone of an approaching airplane, provide a feeling of comfort and home for Katy.

6. Superstitions, Silliness, and Play

• Claire admits to being superstitious about magpies:
  • “I’ll be in a serious meeting…see one outside and salute a magpie, really surreptitiously.” – Claire (29:47)
• They laugh over old perfume brands and clubbing memories; lighthearted banter highlights the importance of not taking oneself too seriously.

7. The Enduring Inspiration of Madonna

• When asked about her dream dinner guest, Claire chooses Madonna for her continual reinvention and unapologetic individuality:
  • “She’s still totally knocking out what she does;...she gets knocked so much, but she’s super awesome.” – Claire (32:29)
• Discussion on how Madonna’s career exemplifies reinvention, resilience, and refusing to be limited by others’ opinions.

8. Openness, Directness, and Asking Hard Questions

• Claire talks about the importance of being direct in business and life—asking the difficult questions even if you fear the answers:
  • “If you don’t want the answer to something, then that’s exactly where you should be going.” – Claire (37:39)
• The need for honest feedback and clear communication is emphasized as vital in creative careers and leadership.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On VR nostalgia:
  • “I thought, oh, this is gonna be fun. It'll be really nostalgic. And the minute Orbital's chime set in, I just burst into tears...crying my heart out.” – Katy (01:47)
• On career midlife moments:
  • “You get to a stage—maybe it's a midlife crisis—where you think, who am I?...Does my voice count? Screw it. We're only here once.” – Katy (03:12)
• On hidden dreams:
  • “I'd love if I could have...a sliding doors-style life—I’d love to be an amazing designer.” – Claire (04:41)
• On public speaking transformation:
  • “I had hypnotism in 2019...and it’s changed everything. It just got rid of all that giving a shit bit.” – Claire (07:58)
• On resilience:
  • “When you go through a tough time, you really do know. You find out what you’re made of. My goodness.” – Katy (08:19)
• On self-belief:
  • “There isn’t a point in your life where you have to start winding it all down. That’s insane.” – Claire (06:39)
• On Madonna as an icon:
  • “She gets knocked so much, but she’s super awesome…spotted trends just as they're happening in underground clubs and brings it out…reinvents herself and doesn’t give a what.” – Claire (32:29)
• On directness:
  • “Now I just run towards it, because I’ve realised...if you don’t want the answer to something, then that's exactly where you should be going.” – Claire (37:39)

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Segment Timestamps (Highlights)

• 00:33–01:47: Reminiscing about “In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats” and the emotional impact of VR clubbing nostalgia.
• 03:12–04:41: Reclaiming voice in mid-career, and founding Red Setter to give design its due.
• 07:11–09:35: Claire on overcoming public speaking fears, hypnosis, and advice from a trainer.
• 10:09–12:24: Rewiring your brain, resilience, and reframing childhood hurts.
• 15:37–17:44: Daily rituals—meditation in the car, micro-meditation, and flow states from ironing.
• 18:21–23:07: Sensory memories—perfumes, sun creams, and the comforting sound of planes.
• 26:16–26:57: Graham Park’s surprise DJ appearance at Claire’s 40th and memories of the Hacienda.
• 29:47–30:36: Magpie superstitions and playful takes on luck and omens.
• 32:22–33:27: Claire chooses Madonna as the dream dinner guest, celebrating reinvention and authenticity.
• 37:39–38:08: The importance of asking hard questions and honest feedback in creative business.

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Tone, Takeaways & Closing Thoughts

The conversation is honest, comforting, relatable, and filled with laughter. Both host and guest openly discuss their vulnerabilities and strategies for moving through self-doubt and burnout. They champion authenticity, lifelong learning, celebrating one’s quirks, and staying curious and open, whether in creative work or personal development.

Key Takeaways

• You are never too old to reinvent yourself or try something new.
• Overcoming fears is possible—seek help, rewire old scripts, and celebrate progress.
• Small daily rituals can restore calm and focus in a busy creative life.
• Honest and direct communication is not only brave but kind.
• Embrace playfulness, nostalgia, and the things that make you unique—even if it means saluting magpies!

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Listener Reflection

If ever you needed permission to be bold, playful, vulnerable, and direct in how you approach life and your creative career, let Claire and Katy's frank, funny, and wise chat be the spark.

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Next episode question from Claire:

“What excites you about where design could be going in five years’ time?”
(38:08)

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Listen, laugh, and let yourself dance—or meditate, or iron—with abandon.

Transcript

[A]

We're back with the excellent, gorgeous, obviously youthful and amazing Claire Blythe from Red Setter.

[B]

Good description.

[A]

Absolutely. It's deserved. Claire and I have had many a fun time together. She's put up with me in various events.

[B]

Lots of fun.

[A]

We found a friendship through shared pain and wisdom and dance music. Weirdly.

[B]

Dance music. Clubbing.

[A]

Clubbing days.

[B]

Did you see.

[A]

Oh. In Pursuit of Repetition, Beats and Leads.

[B]

Oh, isn't that so cool? I saw it in Brighton last year.

[A]

It's incredible.

[B]

And you do feel like you're on the M62 looking for a rave. Like, it's so. It's really, really cool. It's like an AI thing, if anyone's not heard of it. An AI thing. Where? AI thing. It's a cute AI thing. VR thing. It's VR thing, isn't it?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We're showing our ways where you feel like. I know you sort of go into this scene where you're looking for. You're looking for a rave and then you end up at the rave.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And it's all Darren Emerson from Underworld. That's kind of headed the whole thing up.

[A]

No, it's not him.

[B]

Is it not?

[A]

No, it's a completely different person. But it's really funny. Right. Because everybody makes that mistake. I made that mistake because I went to it.

[B]

Different Darren Emerson.

[A]

Different Darren Emerson.

[B]

What?

[A]

And Darren Emerson the artist. The VR artist who's on LinkedIn. I wrote about my experience of going to this press preview, and he sent me an amazing message on LinkedIn. It was just like. Like, I can't remember what he said, but it really made me, like, you know, my bottom lip wobble. And it was something like everything you wrote was just what I was trying to exactly achieve.

[B]

Brilliant.

[A]

Because for me, I went on there and I thought, oh, this is gonna be fun. It'll be really nostalgic. And the minute Orbital's chime set in, I just burst into tears. I was absolutely. I was streaming absolutely crying my heart out.

[B]

Oh, my God. I love that. In the nicest sort of possible way. It's, like, so evocative, wasn't it? It was so sort of.

[A]

It's. It's so weird because, like, I don't know. I don't know whether you feel this way, Claire, but I feel like maybe you don't. Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's a generational thing. I don't know. But in journalism, we're always taught that it's not about us, it's about the other person. So we spend a lot of our career, in my case, 25 years. It's not about us. And then you kind of.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You can't help but lose yourself a little bit along the way.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

I'm not saying. I'm not saying that you've gone through this, but this is my personal thing.

[B]

Alex, my husband, says that he's. He's. So we run Red Setter together and he's a business journalist and his background's all in business journalism. So sort of more similar kind of career to your path, really. You have to meet him at some point. I'd love to, yeah. He was saying the same thing, that it's kind of. It's a bit weird having a whole career where you're ghost writing for people and you kind of almost take up that sort of role of showcasing other people the entire time. Even though your writing's fantastic and you're doing really good stuff, you're not quite recognized for it.

[A]

Yeah. And you're busy as well. And you guys will know how much it takes to sort of build a business. It can really overwhelm and overtake the life. And I think you get to a stage, maybe it's a midlife crisis, in my case, where you think, who am I? You know, do I have lived experience? Does my voice count? Which is why you see me come out more on socials and just being myself. Screw it. We're only here once. Right. So might as well have fun.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

So that I think, yeah, I've been going through a little moment. I've been going through a little moment recently, Claire, and I think it all. You know, when I was on that motorway in the car and Orbital's Chime was playing, I just suddenly thought, shit, my youth. Where's all the time gone?

[B]

Yeah. Wow. Bloody hell. Yeah, it's changed a lot. All the people.

[A]

All the people are not here anymore who took clubbing a bit too far.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

[A]

If I've got that lovely tay. Okay, we are here not to talk about me. This is where we at the spark, get to know you a little bit better with a load of lovely questions, you know, for listeners information. We always send a bunch of questions before this interview so they, our guests, can basically choose them. So I always find it quite interesting what you choose. What's a medium or discipline you secretly wish you were good at design.

[B]

I think one of the reasons. There are many, many. Yeah, there are many reasons that I set up Red Zeta, and one is the main reason is the voice of Design being lost and people not quite seeing the value. Lots of people don't even know it's a thing and all that kind of stuff, like graphic design, people don't see as important in life and it's super important. But if I could, I think the reason that I did it in the first place was also because I really wish I was an amazing designer. So I thought this is kind of like getting through the sort of back door of getting into an industry that I absolutely love and want to tell the stories of. But I'd love if I could have like, yeah, separate trail of sliding doors, style, life. I'd love to be an amazing designer.

[A]

Yeah, I know what you mean. People always say, why did you start Creative Beam? You're not like, you're not an artist or a designer. I said, well, what difference does that make? I love art and design and.

[B]

Exactly. I could be one day.

[A]

Yeah, I could, I could start a gallery or, you know, something.

[B]

Oh, you know what, I was speaking to Christoph, I can't remember his surname. He's a lovely guy and he's the Vice Chancellor of the Royal College of Art. I'm going to do a podcast with him coming up in the series. He's super lovely and he was saying to me that they've got a six month diploma, so you don't have to do a degree at the Royal College of Art. 6 month diploma and they have just had an 84 year year old woman sign up for it and she's doing jewelry making and he said, she's amazing. It's the oldest student they've ever had, but they're really encouraging that. And I was like, oh my God. So that means you're an amazing designer. Maybe. Maybe at some point I could be at the rca.

[A]

It's never too late, you know, this is what, this is what I told myself. You know, I. There was actually a voice in my head before I started putting myself out there. Claire, I thought, you're too old for this. Katie. What are you. What are you thinking? You're too old. You need to just disappear now.

[B]

I mean, obviously I'm saying yes. I'm not saying yes.

[A]

Yes, get back in your box.

[B]

Good point. What the hell? No, I know what you mean.

[A]

I know what you mean.

[B]

Yeah, completely. Just get rid of that. Do it anyway. There isn't a point in your life where you have to start winding it all down. That's insane.

[A]

Well, interesting. I don't know if you get this, but I had quite a few private messages from other Women a similar age to us, and they were like, oh, it's so brave. So brave. I love what you're doing. I love it. Keep doing it. And I'm like, why does it need to be brave? It doesn't need to be brave.

[B]

Yeah, it's true. Just get out there and do it and put yourself out there and say, go out there and do it.

[A]

You don't have to.

[B]

You don't have to. And if it had been God, five, six years ago, where are we now? 2025. I had hypnotism in 2019 for public fear of public speaking. That was really, really bad. Like, I just couldn't do it. And every time I got in front of an audience, I could just about, like, do it in red setter when there's like 20 or servers. But if I got in front of an audience of people I didn't know, no matter how big it was, I just couldn't do it. So I couldn't have done podcasts, I couldn't have done this. I couldn't have done any of that because I'd just be so worried. It was like a phobic reaction. Like, it would just overcome me as soon as I started talking. And I had hypnotism in 2019, just pre lockdown. And it's changed everything. It's just got rid of all that giving a shit bit. But not all of it. 80% of it from there.

[A]

That's incredible. I might do that.

[B]

Game changing. You don't need it.

[A]

Well, to be honest, I think my equivalent was my back injury last year. I think spending a year on the floor and having pain and not being able to sleep, that doesn't half give you a jolt up the backside.

[B]

Oh, my God. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. I don't know how you went through that and managed to still do creative. Boom. And still most people don't know.

[A]

I don't. I don't know how I did it either, but I'm proud of myself because I think that's the thing. When you go through a tough time, you really do know. You find out what you're made of. My goodness.

[B]

Totally.

[A]

Just a stubborn bugger that won't give up. When did you last feel completely out of your depth? And what happened next?

[B]

God, I think that'll probably go back to the public speaking thing again. That was definitely.

[A]

But you're so good at it.

[B]

Oh, God, I don't think I'm so good at it, but I think I'm like, I'm getting better and I feel Happier doing it. And it now doesn't totally freak me out. Like, I love doing live podcast recordings and I love talking in front of an audience. And as long as I know what I'm talking about. And I feel, like, a level of confidence that I just didn't have before. But I did a course in public speaking in 2019, which is what tipped me over the edge. And the guy that was running it said to me afterwards, I don't think you've got a problem with public speaking. I think you've got a problem with liking yourself. You need to go on a course of how to like yourself. And it really upset me. Like, I was in tears. Yeah. I was just like, I think I do like myself. I don't understand. Maybe I'm denying it. I think I do like myself, but I just. I just get a phobic reaction whenever I start speaking. I can't. I can't speak properly.

[A]

But the thing is, people. People, like, assume that you have to be a certain way. I think you've got a gentle sense, soft way about you that's very appealing, very endearing, and very engaging. And I. When I saw you at DNAD Festival, I don't know if you spotted me in the crowd, but I was like, literally in the crowd going like a little fangirl.

[B]

I didn't spot you in the crowd. I saw you afterwards. But I did.

[A]

I was like, oh, my God. Okay. As soon as I saw you, I was like, oh, yes. And found my little seat, put my little headphones on, because I just think you're amazing. Yeah, I would never have guessed. I would never have guessed.

[B]

But, yeah, I really enjoy it now. And I. It used to be the things that I felt so out of my depth in and used to absolutely terrify me. But at that point, I kind of realized how you can rewire your brain. I just used to think that if you thought a certain way or you were afflicted by some sort of fear or something like that, you just had to either try and get over it or. I didn't realize there was a way you could actually just rewire your brain and think of things differently. And now I kind of think if I don't like doing something or I don't want to do something, I've kind of got a thing at the moment about just trying to introduce some stillness into my life and try to just sit there and read for an hour or two and sit there and just be really focused and calm. But. And I think if I keep practicing that Then I'll be able to do that as well. I feel like you can just rewire.

[A]

The way you think you absolutely can. I also had somebody gave, who gave me some great advice. They said whenever you're about to do a podcast or a talk or something that you might be a little bit anxious about, a bit nervous about, which is normal. It's human.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You just remember you're not there. People are not there to watch or listen to you because of you. That you're there to serve them and give them something of value. And I thought that was so lovely because it just completely reframed things and I thought, well, okay, so I'm not just dancing about on a stage, actually, I'm here to do something of value.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely.

[A]

And it was lovely. I think we always have voices either in our head that can come from a place we cannot decipher. It might be something from childhood, it might be from a bully. There are voices, more recent voices. I remember I went and interviewed an artist and he said to me, he said to me something like, yeah, you're all right, but you lack. What did he say? You have very low self esteem. And it really, like hit me. It really hurt me and affected me for a while actually. And I. I'm annoyed with myself that it did. But then I got talking to other women in the industry and he's done it to about four or five other people.

[B]

Wow, that's interesting.

[A]

So when you then. Yeah, so when you reframe and you realize actually what people say to you that might be hurtful is probably more about them than you.

[B]

Totally.

[A]

Then that completely destroys the power that sentence has ever had on you.

[B]

That's really good advice.

[A]

Where does he live? I'm gonna go and have a word.

[B]

Yeah, go around and have a word. That it's just. It's not true. I think it's. Yeah, it's really easy to say things like that and then you can believe it and get sort of sucked into the whole thing. But as soon as I had hypnotism, that actually showed me it was from an experience I had at junior school with a teacher losing the temper at me and going nuts about the fact that I couldn't remember some words in an assembly. And it kind of. It all kind of went back to like me as an 8 year old or something. And now I've kind of reprocessed that in my head. It's all fine. And generally I do like myself. It's all right.

[A]

You're amazing. I would have Said to that teacher. Gosh, that's a very unprofessional thing to say. Have you ever thought about maybe retraining as a teacher? See, this is what I think now. I think of all the things that people have said to me where I wish I could have said something at the time.

[B]

Yeah, if you had a more mature head on you and go back and reframe it, definitely.

[A]

Claire, how powerful is it? Because I'm like, literally rubbing my hands now in glee. I'm thinking, bring it on, bitches, bring it on. Because whatever you say to me, it's not gonna have any power over me. And I will speak up.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely.

[A]

Feel like voguing. Honestly, we've had enough shit for so many years. I'm not dealing with it anymore. If anyone says anything shitty like that to me or you, I will speak up.

[B]

Yeah, me too.

[A]

It won't take three pints of Stella to get there.

[B]

Maybe.

[A]

What is a small ritual or habit that makes your day better?

[B]

Oh, I was thinking about this and saying, I'm going to sound like a right dick for saying this, but I'm just going to say it anyway because I don't really care. It's meditation.

[A]

That's not. That doesn't make you a dick, but.

[B]

Sort of meditation and micro meditation. I know it doesn't make you a dick, but, you know, it's just like. I think it's, oh, I do meditate, Brighton. And everyone is just like. I mean, loads of my mates and me as well. It's like, well, I do yoga, I do meditation, I'm a yummy mummy. Yeah, exactly. I don't really feel like that person, but I started doing meditation a few years ago and it's just changed everything. Generally. I've just got all sorts of shit going off in my head all the time. And although I. I started trying to do it like 20 minutes two times a day, which has never happened, I think I've done it 20 minutes once a day, quite a few times. But now what I do, I do car meditation. So I dropped my daughter off at school and then I've got like a half an hour period where I need to get to work and it only takes like 15 minutes. So I'll generally pull over at the side of the road so anyone sees me in Brighton looking like I'm asleep in a car with my sunglasses on, so hopefully no one will look, oh, that's hilarious. And just do 15 minutes of just breathing and meditation and it just makes such a difference. But even micro Meditation. If I can feel there's too much going on in my head, just going to one of the zoom pods in the office or going to a room on my own and just having two minutes of just focus on my breath talks my head out. So good.

[A]

We forget to breathe, don't we? And it's just so good for you to have a deep breath in and a deep breath out. Yeah.

[B]

Massively changes the way you feel.

[A]

It really does. And then you realize how stressed you are. Oh, God, I carry so much tension up here.

[B]

Totally.

[A]

All I'm doing is running an art and design platform. What's going on?

[B]

Have you read James Nestor's book Breath?

[A]

I've got it on my shelf. I haven't got round to it. Come on, you know me, you know me.

[B]

Don't worry. I've got a pile like that next to my books, to my bed. But I listened to this as an audiobook because I thought I'm never going to get around to actually reading it. But it's just. It's amazing and it's kind of one of those things. We're talking to a friend about it and he was saying, why are you learning how to breathe? That's ridiculous. Like, surely this. But this won Royal Academy Science Book of the Year, so it's not like some ridiculous theory that one person's got. It's really, really important stuff.

[A]

I think Tom. I think he did. I think he was really moved by it as well and went through a phase where he was doing meditation. He's forgotten it now.

[B]

I do that all the time. Just go up and down with the whole thing.

[A]

I'm actually making a list. I'm going to put. I've got. I use an app called Things on the Mac and I'm going to start putting my daily tasks in because it'll be the only way that I do them because I'm very much a task person. So what. The first thing is to do my 10 minute routine, which keeps my back happy. My second one is to go for my half an hour morning walk. My third one is start doing that. Yeah, do it.

[B]

You do it without a phone. That's what I wanted. That's what I keep. The idea of stillness, go for a walk without a phone. Terrifies me slightly.

[A]

Would I be able to do that? Because normally I listen to a podcast.

[B]

That's what this is, what I'm trying to get to with the idea of sort of stillness in my mind.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Of just going for a walk with my sort of high tech Digital Casio watch. So I know at least what time it is.

[A]

At least you know what steps you're doing.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, completely. And then not taking a phone. But it doesn't happen that often.

[A]

And listen to the birds.

[B]

We should.

[A]

And listen to the sea, in your case.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

I meditate by ironing. I'm a sad ironer.

[B]

Ah. I wish I could get some pleasure through that. I hate it. But I've got a few friends who swear by it.

[A]

I just. I go into a flow state and I just. I don't think about anything. I'm just ironing and it's lovely.

[B]

If you fancy a weekend in Brighton, I can do a whole retreat based on that in my house.

[A]

100. I'm there. I'm particularly good with shirts.

[B]

Perfect.

[A]

Now, I really love this question because I, too. I'm so, like. I can be transported back, like I told you, with. In pursuit of repetitive beats.

[B]

That. Yeah.

[A]

Being in the car, the music. What's a scent or smell that instantly takes you back to a memory?

[B]

You know what? The only thing that came to mind and the only. The overwhelming thing that came to mind that really makes me laugh is early Teenage Body Shop White Musk and Jubilee Perfume.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

He just had an overwhelming feeling of that. And going out for the first time and discovering nights out and discovering. Going clubbing and stuff like that. Really smelling quite heavily of Body Shop White Musk.

[A]

Now, a lot of people. I think I had that as well. What was the red rectangular one? Was it Charlie Red?

[B]

Oh, yeah. Okay. Lulu as well. Which is, like overpoweringly sickening. Smell it now and it really makes me want to throw it up.

[A]

And CK1. We went through a few.

[B]

CK1. I still like CK1.

[A]

It is a real. That was when we were growing up a bit. We were starting to get a bit posher with our scents.

[B]

Yeah, a bit posher. Less sickening on the scents.

[A]

Do you feel like you're really out of touch with perfume? Because I. I'm in the market. I've had a Tom Ford Velvet orchid scent for about two years because I barely use it.

[B]

Tom Ford's pretty classic.

[A]

Well, it was a Christmas present, but I've run out. I need a new one.

[B]

I discovered it's really. It's quite expensive perfume. It feels like a bit of an indulgence, but I really like it. Le Labo.

[A]

Oh, yes. Everyone's talking about that. Yeah.

[B]

The Le Labo perfumes are just amazing. The green. Green matcha tea, green tea 23 or something like that. It's my favorite perfume. Now, it lasts for ages and it is a bit of indulgence, but I do love it.

[A]

Should we try and get some free stuff? Right, go. You do the advert. This podcast.

[B]

This podcast is sponsored by Labo.

[A]

I don't care. I'm a whore.

[B]

It's valuable for the audience. Everyone needs a Le Labo perfume.

[A]

Send me all the free stuff. Travel me around the world. I'll do it. I'm not one of these ones that denies that. I like the perks of being a journalist. Yeah. Wish those days still existed. Yeah. I think scent is a powerful thing. I get this weird thing when I hear a drone of an overhead plane go over. My nose goes fuzzy and my heart, like, swells and my stomach does a flip. Isn't that weird? Isn't that weird?

[B]

Oh, my God. Definitely. It's when it's coming down, it's such a powerful. Which is from the smell of the plane.

[A]

Not that. Not the smell. It's not a scent, it's a sound.

[B]

Yeah, okay. So the sense of it being there.

[A]

And then it can. But it makes my nose go fuzzy and I just have this, like, overwhelming feeling of safety and homeliness. It's really weird.

[B]

Oh, wow. Were you around that kind of thing when you were little?

[A]

I think. Well, we lived south, like about 35, 40 miles south of Manchester Airport. So you would hear the planes coming in, they would drone it. That kind of, like, change in shift of altitude where it sort of drones and it goes overhead. I think that's what I found really unnerving about the pandemic. When everything just went quiet. I was like, oh, I don't like this. I need planes.

[B]

Yeah, definitely.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, I just thought the most ridiculous example of smells and the evocative sort of side of things. This is going to make me sound like a bit of a nutcase, but. So we used to go on holiday to Spain and Mallorca a lot when I was little, when I was, like, probably like, 6 to 14 or something with my mum and dad and used to really love it. And you go to Spain and Mallorca and Magalu and places like that, and it just can smell a bit of, like, sewerage and stuff like that. A bit on the poo side of things.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Sometimes now.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

In the summer, we'll be walking through Brighton or London or something like that. Someone's like, oh, what is that smell? And I'm like, God, it reminds me of holidays. You see what the hell it smells of open sewage. And I'm like, I know, but I don't know, it just makes me happy in some way. I'm not going to adopt it as a new Le Labo scent, but the smell of Mallorca.

[A]

I'm getting notes of last night's dinner.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

Oh, I always, like, when I think of summer, I think I get that. Is it Tropicana sun cream?

[B]

Oh, the Tropicana sun cream. Absolutely. It's like coconut base. Kind of takes you back.

[A]

Definitely being a kid again. And your mum shouting you over and saying, before you go in the pool, come here. And then they slather you and the stuff.

[B]

I do that with my kids now, so that's fair enough.

[A]

I'm very grateful that I had a lovely, lovely parents. Well, they're still around. My mum was always a sun worshiper, so she. She always had sun cream.

[B]

Oh, so am I. My dad used to wear, like, carrot oil.

[A]

Oh, God.

[B]

Just. Just constantly.

[A]

Yeah, that brown stuff.

[B]

Yeah, the brown stuff. No, no SPF in it whatsoever.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I stare out of the sun all the time now. I just. Just sit in the shade.

[A]

I prefer it. I like being warm, but cool.

[B]

Yeah, me too.

[A]

And just reading my book in the shade isn't, you know, a nice little glass of something cold. Perfect. Right, next question. I don't know why I said that.

[B]

In a German accent.

[A]

Dear me grew up with a lower low. Right. What is.

[B]

Hair flick? Go on. Oh, God.

[A]

What is something you would love to believe in. No, I'm not. I'm alienating a lot of my audience here. We have some lovely German listeners. But I do apologize.

[B]

It's just a Lola and the take on it, isn't it? It's ridiculous.

[A]

Apparently it's really popular in France.

[B]

Is it?

[A]

Apparently, yeah. Still, I don't know, but that was the last I heard. I found that quite surprising. Anyway, what's something you'd love to believe in even if it's not real?

[B]

Oh, God. That's more of a. I think that's more of a deeper one. That's hard not to want to believe in. Life after death.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

Because I don't know if it's all the scientist side of me, sort of say scientist side of me. I studied biology at university and haven't thought about it since, but I'd like to consider myself scientific roots. Yeah.

[A]

Biology. Wow.

[B]

So it's. Yeah. I used to really like it and then I think doing a degree and it kind of put me off and realized it wasn't very Me, But I love. That's what I love about design, that kind of mixture of science and art. Yes. Sort of through kind of, you know, the graphic design side of things and branding, how it sort of breaks through it. But things like life after death makes no real sense and doesn't have that kind of scientific backing. But maybe it will one day. And I'd love to be able to believe it because it'd be bloody brilliant.

[A]

Well, what do you think heaven's gonna be like then if you end up there? I mean, let's be honest, you've got, you know, maybe a 26% chance of making it to heaven.

[B]

I'm not so sure about that. Jesus.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

I like to think of it as not in a heaven and hell style way because that would freak me out too much.

[A]

Everybody gets a chance to try again.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I don't know, maybe if you were bad, you get sent back down as a snail and then you have to work your way back up again.

[B]

Yeah. It could be a butterfly, could sort of reappear on earth. You could be a ghost and just do people's head in with stuff. No idea. But I like the idea that your consciousness lives on. But I. Whether it's real? Surely not.

[A]

I love ghosts. I love ghost stories. I don't know if I believe in it. I'd love to think there was life after death. I'd like to think I'm like you. I'm gonna keep an open mind.

[B]

Yeah, that's it. It makes no possible sense until I listen to loads of stories that people have where I'm like, oh, my God. Shit. Maybe that is something. Maybe it is true.

[A]

Tom said he once had an out of body experience where he floated to the corner of the room and could look down and looked on his body. And I was like, where was this? He was like, oh, it was at a house party back in the day. I was like, right, okay, that doesn't count.

[B]

We've all had that. Maybe.

[A]

Yes, yes. Next question. Good grief. Let's move on. Actually, very. Going back to your, like, fond memories of your first night out, I need to tell our listeners because this is so cool about you. For your 40th birthday, you got a DJ in, didn't you?

[B]

Oh, my God. Graham park came down to Brighton and djed. My. It was so cool.

[A]

Graham Park.

[B]

Graham park actually said yes and came down and DJed at my 40th, which was mind blowing. So I used to sneak out age 16 to the Hacienda and go and see Graham park and Just didn't think there was a cat in hell's chance that he'd actually do it. And my friend Nick, his kids go to the same or went to the same school as his son. He was like, just give him a call. So I looked on his website and got in touch and then he called one day. I was, like, properly starstruck, just going, don't know if I can actually speak to him. Oh, my God. And he's lovely. Really, really. Him and his wife came down to Brighton for the weekend and they're both super lovely.

[A]

That is awesome.

[B]

It was a very good party.

[A]

Let's make it happen again. Let's bring Carl Cox in as well.

[B]

And. Oh, yeah, I think Carl Cox, definitely. Carl Cox isn't doing anything. Something about Universe in Ibiza. But surely you do my 50th. Absolutely, yeah.

[A]

100%.

[B]

I mean, he'd be fine.

[A]

He would love it. He really would. I mean, he is somebody who really enjoys what he does. I love watching him.

[B]

Oh, my God, he's amazing.

[A]

He's so good. Yes.

[B]

He's so happy. And so, yeah, I really like him. A friend of mine, Mark Vesse, does photography and does, like, photographs, like collections of stuff, and he does collections of records and things like that. And he recently did one. He went over to Melbourne to see Carl and went to his place and his massive music room and did a collection of his favorite music and photographed it all. It's so good.

[A]

Oh, my God, I'm so jealous. He is my absolute favorite dj. Even better than Jeff Mills.

[B]

Even better than Jeff Mills. Yeah.

[A]

Proper tribal technique back in the day. Oh, yes, Brilliant.

[B]

Definitely. I love that you mentioned Dave Beer on yes. Back To Basics. So good. But, like, yeah, so many. Yeah. I need to sort something out for my next big birthday.

[A]

Have you seen. Have you seen my Silly Leads vlog yet on YouTube?

[B]

No.

[A]

So you get to see me interview Dave Beer.

[B]

No way. Oh, my God. And I'm not even.

[A]

I was really starstruck and I panicked and I went and I said, how old are you now, Dave? And he went, 65 and went, Bloody hell. Y old bastard. But I was just trying. I was trying to make him relax and get him into the. But it just, you know, I went, imagine it worked. But the thing is, he. He laughed and he said, thanks for the compliment. I went, you're all right. You're looking all right, love. But that's what I do. I kind of, you know, you and I had all of these experiences and I think it's made Us really good talking with people. Maybe not always. I wonder if Dave was read on. I hope not. But the, the banter that you learn and the kind of.

[B]

Yeah, definitely.

[A]

Let's not take this too seriously. Let's not take ourselves too seriously. You get a vibe for people and obviously there was a bit of a chat in the run up to that. But yeah, you need to watch it because you get to see me do the. In pursuit of repetitive beats experience and I'm. Oh, it's just.

[B]

Oh, I need to have a look at it. Right. I'm going to look at this after. After we've spoken.

[A]

I'm gonna. I'm gonna. I'm gonna be doing more vlogs. So if you've got any experiences or things that I can go to that would fit the style of what I'm doing, what I want to do. I want to go to cities and have a local creative show me around and then go and do something, so.

[B]

Oh, that's a good idea.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, I like that. All right, let me have a think.

[A]

All right. All right, all right. Superstition wise, what is something you secretly or not so secretly follow?

[B]

Oh, magpies. The whole.

[A]

Oh. One for sorrow.

[B]

Yeah. One for sorrow, two for joy. So it'll always be in my head. It does my head in. I've never even. I'll be in a circa serious meeting with someone and see one outside and sort of like go like that to salute a magpie, like really surreptitiously so they won't notice. I feel like I have to. Yes.

[A]

Do you look and find. Try and find a second one?

[B]

Yeah, always try and find a second one. Very rarely find a second one.

[A]

Bastards.

[B]

It's not on and I wouldn't mind it. I've not even had an experience where it. It does actually indicate the rest of my day, but I just. Yeah. For some unknown reason I think it stuck with me as I wouldn't. I wouldn't encourage walking under a ladder.

[A]

Oh my God. No. Never.

[B]

Definitely not. I'd always avoid that. Oh, I can never remember if a black cat's lucky or not lucky. Is it? Not lucky, is it?

[A]

If it runs in front of you, it's unlucky. I don't know.

[B]

I think it might be different here than in the States as well, which is totally. I think it might be unlucky here and lucky in the States or the other way around.

[A]

I'll say it's lucky from now on because they're always running in front me, those little bastards.

[B]

Well, there you go. It's. Obviously. Look at you.

[A]

I don't know. I don't know the decade I've had so far. Blimey. Yeah.

[B]

You've come through it.

[A]

I've come through it. I've come outside.

[B]

You're doing good stuff.

[A]

Well, this is what we're talking about the whole time, wasn't it? Look at what's come out of it, you know?

[B]

Yeah. Is that positive? Totally. Yeah. Completely. No, I'd feel the same.

[A]

I now have lots of self esteem, thank you very much. Dreamed in a guest, dead or alive, Ted.

[B]

Or I prefer them alive. But you don't want them by lifting their head.

[A]

Are you in heaven?

[B]

I'm not into dodgy smells that much.

[A]

But.

[B]

I was thinking about this. I was thinking, God, I feel like the. The. There should be a bigger part. If I felt I could have influenced stuff for, like, you'd have a dinner party with the world leaders like Trump and Putin and Keir Starmer and all sort of people and try and sort things out. Because obviously I'm well capable of doing that. Try and sort things out and try and not help well see why they're behaving the way they are and try and stop it all. But in actual reality, I don't think I'd have any influence in that at all. And I think it would just be a thoroughly miserable night. So I'm gonna say Madonna. Yes. Because I love her and she's awesome and she'd be really fun. She'd be really fascinating. The story she'd have about everything she's done in her life. I think she's super inspiring.

[A]

Yeah. Tell us all. Tell us all about everyone. Give us all the gossip.

[B]

Exactly. Exactly. Who have you met? What have you done?

[A]

She's so cool.

[B]

She's still totally knocking out at what she. I think she's producing amazing stuff still. And I think she gets knocked so much, but she's like super awesome.

[A]

She is, She's. She's. She's been herself. She's been ahead of the curve. She's spotted trends more than anyone any musician I know. She is the queen of pop. She always will be.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Spotted trends just like. Just as they're happening in, like, the underground clubs and then brings it out into the pop. And she's so good and reinvents herself.

[A]

And doesn't give a what.

[B]

Doesn't think about people. Exactly. That's the main. That's the whole thing that she's. Yeah. She just plows through it all and. Brilliant.

[A]

And now she's getting grief for, you know, tweakments and dressing the way she does.

[B]

I mean, she's got grief for everything her entire life. She's always got grief for everything that she's ever done. So I'm sure she's used to it. And that's what makes her happy. Screw it. She can do what she wants. She's Madonna.

[A]

She can do whatever she wants.

[B]

She's fabulous.

[A]

She's fabulous.

[B]

She is fabulous.

[A]

Now we're going to end. Well, we're not quite finished because we've got a question from our previous guest, which was Brian Collins. What a character.

[B]

Yes, absolutely. I love Brian. He's very funny.

[A]

He's such a character.

[B]

Definitely.

[A]

What emoji do you overuse, Claire?

[B]

All emojis. I just. I cringe myself when writing stuff, but I feel emojis are so good, I can't not do it. I do think they're just such an amazing addition to. They change. It's that whole thing that an email can be taken or a text can be taken out of context.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I know then you can use it in a passive aggressive way and write horrible things and put smiley face next to it. But I don't do that. But just I think it, like conveys the way you actually feel with, like smiley faces or sort of laughing and hearts and, you know, the sort of everything. There's llama emojis, there's those diving masks, emojis during the day, swimming thing. So good. It brings things. Language to life. Written language to life.

[A]

But what's your most used used?

[B]

Just the happy face. It's a happy face.

[A]

Is that what you said? That's the back to the Acid House days.

[B]

Yeah. The smiley face, it's. It's in my. In my roots.

[A]

But isn't it weird? Like, emojis just can change through generations. Certain things mean different things to different kids.

[B]

Really? Aubergines.

[A]

Aubergines. Peaches.

[B]

Peaches, absolutely.

[A]

And the eyes emoji, which I've been using on Creative Beam for the last. The last 16 years. Well, maybe. Maybe not the last 16 years. Maybe the last decade.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Apparently that means naked.

[B]

Does it? I didn't know that.

[A]

And apparently if you use it on Grindr, it means something else.

[B]

I'm gonna need to look that up afterwards.

[A]

Yeah, I found that out just recently. I was like, oh, interesting. Okay. So for all this time, I've been requesting that. Oh, okay.

[B]

I'm assuming Creative boom's not on Grindr, so I think she should be okay.

[A]

Oh, I love it. They are cheeky, though. They can get away with murder. If somebody leaves a kind of, you know, disgruntled comment, something that's a bit fed up, I just reply with the eyes emoji. Doesn't need to say anything else.

[B]

That's it. Just read into it what you want.

[A]

Absolutely. It's wonderful. Now, speaking of reading into things, what you want. This is a crazily difficult question to answer, but it's a brilliant one. What is one question you may not want the answer to, but you should ask anyway?

[B]

Yeah, I know. I read that and was like, yeah, thanks, Brian. That's. Good question. Cheers. I. God, you know what? I haven't got a specific answer to it. There isn't one question. However, I made a conscious decision quite a while ago, I can't remember how long ago, seven or eight years ago, to be as super direct as I could be and to ask the difficult questions. So I think now I just ask the difficult questions. So I think I used to avoid, I don't know, asking clients like, how happy you are with the results. Where are we going? Where could we improve? What could be. Get better at? What could we do about this? Tell me in detail, like, how do you feel about the relationship? All that kind of stuff. How effective is what we're doing? Like, we ask our clients, clients every six months, how likely do you think we are to have an impact on your business and all that kinds of stuff? Now I just run towards it because I've realized that we do reviews with people at Redsetter. And I'd come out of it thinking, I think they got the message there. If there was like a problem or something, and they come out of it going, oh, my God, that was amazing. I'm doing really, really well because I just wasn't being direct in what I was saying and wasn't being. And it's not fair on people because. Because everyone gets. I was just trying to hold back and try and in my mind, be nice, but it's not actually being nice. You're being a little bit sort of almost dishonest with people because you're trying to put a nice spin on everything.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I kind of tried to take away all the nice spins. Hopefully I'm still nice. Total ass. Take away all the nice spins and be, like, super direct. So it's, I think, just the idea of ask the difficult question. If you don't want the answer to something, then that's exactly where you should be going.

[A]

You and Brian have a lot in common. That's definitely the sentiment he was talking about last time.

[B]

Okay, that's good.

[A]

Now, have you got a question for the next guest?

[B]

I was going to say it's nowhere near as cryptic as Brian's, but just what excites you about where design could be going and, say, five years time? What excites you about the design industry? And it's impossible to predict. But yeah, what cool stuff's coming up that is brilliant.

[A]

I don't know who our next guest is yet, but I will put that to them next time. And on that note, this leaves me to say, Claire, it has been a pleasure as always. Thank you so much for coming on the Creative Bean podcast.

[B]

Thank you so much for inviting me. I've absolutely loved it.