CreativeMornings Sheffield

Emma Singleton is the Sheffield host at CreativeMornings who, in collaboration with her team, brings monthly get-togethers to the city, to share and celebrate creative thinking, and eat some tasty pastries too! I chatted to Emma to hear more about CM and why she loves creativity in Sheffield.

First things first, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m Emma, I’m in my late twenties and was born in Sheffield. I’ve lived here most of my life and absolutely love it. Outside of work you’ll find me walking my dog Enzo, at the gym or generally just out and about trying new places and things.

I’ve worked in marketing agencies as a client manager for my entire career. One of my favourite things about my job is the variety of work that comes through the door, no day is the same. The other week I was on a video shoot in Dover, then I was delivering an integrated campaign for a major drinks brand, and now I’m working to deliver a Christmas campaign for a national charity. Variety is the spice of life!

How is CreativeMornings giving Sheffield folks a reason to wake up early?

I’ve been the host of CreativeMornings since January this year, but before me came Leanne Mallinshaw and Penny Lee. Penny did an amazing job of setting up the event back in 2016, and Leanne kept things going amazingly well during Covid, switching everything online after hosting only two in-person events.

For me, CreativeMornings allows me to get out of my day-to-day brain. Creativity never comes from sitting at a desk 9 while 5 every day, it comes from exposing your brain to something different and from talking to new people - both of which you’ll do if you attend one of our events.

Every month we’re at a different venue, with a different audience (although there are always lots of familiar faces), a different theme and a different speaker. So far this year we’ve had a charity CEO giving away free tickets to see live music and comedy gigs, a muralist whose work is around Sheffield, a folk musician and land rights activist, a gallery curator and artist, and most recently a freelance illustrator, animator and designer. There have already been so many different creative mediums covered and that’s just the speakers - let alone the venues too!

Also, I’m no morning person, so if I can get up to come to an event at 8:30am one Friday a month, then you can as well!

Creativity is a beautifully broad spectrum. Who are CreativeMornings for?

Everyone. It’s in our tagline. The whole idea behind CreativeMornings globally is that the events can be attended by everyone. Our events will always be free, no matter what age, gender or industry you work in - if you want to come you’re always welcome! The only barrier for some might be the time, but all our events are recorded and put online. If you’d like to check out any of our past speakers you can do so here, and you can also find more info about our next event, register for our newsletters and follow us across socials.

What do you love most about creativity in Sheffield?

There are so many talented people in Sheffield and creativity is everywhere. Working in agencies it’s easy to be swept up in agency life, so I love meeting different people who do different things and offer different perspectives on things.

I really dislike people who say Sheffield hasn’t got anything to offer, because it has. We’re not as big and shouty as Leeds or Manchester, but scratch the surface and there’s a lot to get your teeth stuck into. From world class festivals and music venues, to outdoor adventures, creative talent and food options - we’ve got a little of everything and I love it.

No doubt there are plenty, but can you tell us about one or two of your favourite CM moments?

Great question! There have been a lot even in the short time I’ve been host, but two that stand out are:

• Being a little vulnerable. There was a lot of stress for me leading up to the first event and my brain was in overdrive. What if people hated what I’d done? What if no-one turned up? Safe to say, the event went well and it gave me the confidence to drive forward into the rest of the year. Standing up in front of people at that first event was a massive moment for me.
• My second moment was in March. Robin Grey took to the stage as our speaker for the theme ‘Folklore’ held at Sidney & Matilda. He took out a ukulele and we all sang a folk song about ‘Three Acres and a Cow.’ I’m not a good singer, but my god, it was a great way to start the day, and that song is now a regular fixture in my head!
• Sorry I couldn’t stop there! An ongoing moment is seeing the generosity of people every month - from the team of volunteers who help bring the events to life, and the venues who host us, to the people who provide the coffee and pastries, our speakers and all our attendees. CreativeMornings would not be what it is without you all, and I feel privileged to see that there are good, genuine, lovely folk in the world each and every month.

And finally, what’s on the horizon in the coming months for CreativeMornings?

We have five events coming up this year with some super exciting people already lined up to speak. Each month we have a new theme set by a chapter from around the world, so the topics we cover vary at every event. As a team, we’ve chosen the theme of ‘Sanctuary’ for January 2023. If you fancy some free breakfast and an inspirational start to your Friday, you can register for free ticket reminders on our site by signing up to our newsletter.