Open Studio - Edition One

The conversations we've all been having quietly - it’s time to have them out loud.

Open Studio is a free quarterly gathering for creative founders, solopreneurs and makers. Built around one honest, practical conversation about the real challenges of building a creative business - the kind that usually only happens behind closed doors, or once you already know the right people.

Each edition centres around a single theme. Edition One explores what it means to build a creative business that lasts: how you grow beyond one income stream, stay true to your work and create something more resilient without losing what made you start in the first place.

We’re bringing together three women who have done exactly that - differently, honestly and without a blueprint.

Natalie Lue has spent 20 years turning an online audience into books, a podcast with millions of downloads, courses, and digital products - long before the creator economy had a name for it.

Lydia Bolton has transformed her sustainability-led fashion label into a multi-dimensional creative business spanning brand collaborations with Nike and River Island, workshops, installation and content creation all while staying deeply rooted in her values.

Ofelia Botella has built a bespoke stationery studio before expanding into a second business, Creative Biz Academy, where she teaches other creatives how to build businesses that support both their creativity and their lives.

The conversation will be led by Tabara N'Diaye - founder of La Basketry, two-time author, and educator to more than 7,000 students through her craft course.

THE FORMAT

10.30am - Doors open, welcome & mingling
11.00am - Panel conversation & Q&A
11.40am-12.30pm - Enjoy the event

Free to attend. Limited to 25 guests to keep the experience intimate.

THE BOOK EXCHANGE

We’d love for you to bring along a book that has shaped your creative journey - something you’d recommend to another creative, maker, or solopreneur. It doesn’t have to be a business book; it could just as easily be a novel, memoir, or anything that shifted your perspective, inspired you or stayed with you.

Leave one on the table. Take one home.

Open Studio is proudly sponsored by Adobe Express.



ACCESSIBILITY 


Please note that the venue is located on the second floor and is currently only accessible via stairs.

If you have any access requirements or questions before attending, please feel free to get in touch - we’d be happy to help where we can

A BIT MORE ABOUT THE PANELLISTS

Natalie Lue is a multi-disciplinary artist, writer and founder of Baggage Reclaim - one of the longest-running self-help blogs in the world. Born in England and raised in Ireland, she is the author of six books including The Joy of Saying No, with work featured in The New York Times, Forbes, the BBC and beyond. Through writing, visual art, and creative practice, she explores emotional truth, relationships, self-abandonment, boundaries, and what it means to return to ourselves.

Ofelia Botella is a Spanish artist and illustrator running a full-time creative studio built on multiple income streams, from wedding stationery and brand collaborations to homewares, templates, and education. She specialises in whimsical illustration, and clients include Tumi and Harrods. She also runs a second business, Creative Biz Academy, where she teaches women how to build creative businesses that pay.

Lydia Bolton is a sustainability-led designer and creative textile artist known for turning waste streams into imaginative fashion, objects, installations and experiences - building a business across brand collaborations with Nike, community workshops and content creation while staying completely true to her sustainability values.