The perfect sunny autumn morning at one of my favourite outdoor spots - RHS Bridgewater, to catch up with Nel (thanks for taking me in as your plus one). Fun, friendly, bubbly and in a pair of socks I wanted for myself, Nel’s broad Leeds accent instantly draws you in and makes you feel at home. Sharing my appreciation for the shop at Bridgewater we managed to pull ourselves away from the sparkly items and tubs of festive treats for a walk round the leaf covered grounds.
Honest and candid about her creative path, Nel has always been an artist at heart. After graduating with a degree in fine art she felt as though she didn’t quite fit in the art world and couldn’t see how to find her place so decided to step away and look for completely different opportunities. This sparked a period of time where the place became more of a focus than the job itself with stints working in France and Lapland. I thought Lapland sounded particularly fun but for Nel the novelty wore off when the reality of the freezing cold and long hours of darkness set in. With 3 further years of travel visiting most places around the globe, Nel settled into a successful career working in recruitment. As a Global Talent Acquisition Manager, she still managed to keep a link to different cultures and countries, though that necessitated working hours that suited multiple time zones.
After becoming a first time mum Nel opted to take voluntary redundancy seeing this as a chance to rethink her career. She returned to recruitment 1 final time after a 4 year break, but realised it was art she enjoyed the most and in February 2024 ‘Paintings by Nel’ was born! Since then Nel has worked incredibly hard to build up her business and has already established successful partnerships and collaborations including ‘Mama makes’ art sessions at David Lloyd, and facilitating a range of art workshops at wellbeing events. Mama makes is an opportunity for mums to be mindful, taking time out to be creative whilst in the company of other mum’s who understand the ups and downs of parenting and the dreaded mental load. She’s got some very hot irons in the fire for corporate partnerships in 2026, though I don’t think I’m allowed to spill the beans so will keep quiet on that one for now.
We chatted about the need to keep pushing yourself outside your comfort zone when building up a business and how equally terrifying and rewarding this is. There’s a lot of unpredictability which you have to make yourself comfortable with and take every opportunity to increase your visibility - be open to new partnerships and conversations and network, network, network! What I wasn’t expecting was the fabulous gift Nel said she had for me at the car, which is a fantastic textured canvas art kit. These pre prepared textured canvases that are ready to paint, are Nel’s niche and they are brilliant. She’s just started selling the kits and had a positive response at her first Makers Market in Knutsford. Inside each beautifully presented kit is a wrapped canvas, apron, paintbrush, sponge and acrylic paints along with a welcome note and tips. It’d make a fantastic gift at any time of year, but maybe one to look at for Christmas. Follow Nel’s instagram here to find out more and see what she’s up to.
A morning well spent, sharing ideas and thoughts about where we’re at in our freelancing careers and where to focus next. Lovely to spend time with you Nel! Thanks for the chat, cuppa and gift. I’ll look forward to some painting later.