The art of collaboration

Plus journaling prompts for community + connection

I’ve been revisiting the

Austin Kleon

trilogy, Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work and Keep Going. One of the most notable threads that runs through his writing is the power of building community and connection around our creative lives and work, including the art of collaboration.

When we team up with others, it offers the kind of energetic exchange that can amplify what we make and share. While creativity can thrive in isolation, I wonder if there’s more abundance in learning from and working with our peers? Take Milton Glaser, known for the I ♥ NY logo, and Massimo Vignelli, who created the minimalist New York subway map. These designers shared a mutual respect and influenced the conversation around the role of graphics in society.

In the art world, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat collaborated during the Pop Art movement in the 1980s with their joint works celebrated for blending their unique styles, illustrating that those from different backgrounds and genres can create magic together.

Poets Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton shared a curious friendship. Both competitive and supportive, they discussed their struggles, encouraging deep exploration of their work and influencing the openness for which both became known.

“You don’t get to pick your family, but you can pick your teachers and you can pick your friends and you can pick the music you listen to and you can pick the books you read and you can pick the movies you see. You are, in fact, a mashup of what you choose to let into your life. You are the sum of your influences.”

― Austin Kleon

When I first took the graphic design path, I feared sharing my ideas. But forget stealing them. My inner critic was more concerned with someone slating them. So, I kept myself to myself, inevitably leading to a sense of disconnection at a time when I needed the enjoyment that comes from interacting with others.

My first taste of collaboration was with my partner, Jonathan, who I went on to run a digital studio with for more than a decade. The early days saw our collective energy go into creating the kind of family and studio life we wanted for ourselves. It wasn’t effortless. But his steadiness was a good match for my spontaneity.

These joint efforts shifted into charitable and voluntary work. And though I loved being part of a team, it taught me a lot about being mindful of my capacity and balancing my commitments. You can only respond positively to every request for so long! And we need to trust when to step away if something no longer aligns.

Our partnerships can, of course, come in many forms. These days, my efforts are lighter and focused on featuring other businesses and creatives on my Notelets on Nurture and This Creative Life series. And I occasionally write articles and essays for others when synergy is there.

As Kleon suggests, a great way to build your platform is to borrow someone else’s, which means finding people your audience will resonate with or whose audience may appreciate your work. I love this kind of cross-collaboration, a shared effort to raise voices.

There’s so much you can do to cultivate a sense of community and connection. Figuring out what that looks and feels like for you is the best place to begin. For me, it’s about shared knowledge and insight and taking people behind the scenes so they get to know me. You may have heard of the know, like, trust factor and at its heart, this marketing principle is rooted in relationships. It’s about people being familiar with you, connected with you and having an affection for you. It’s also about integrity.

Since I’m enhancing my Brand Seasons membership, this feels like the ideal time to ask how I can better serve my audience and make my publication a more welcoming place to be. If you’d like to consider this for your own business, creative practice or publication, grab your journal, find a quiet spot, and let’s gain some clarity with five prompts to help you look at the role community and connection play in your work.

I hope these questions can help you build a sense of belonging with others that feels true to you.

Prompts for community + connection

1. Community engagement: What actions can you take to strengthen the sense of community around your business or creative practice? Can you join or create a group of some kind?

2. Building connections: Identify one thing you could do to deepen the relationship with your audience. Could you personalise communication, welcome feedback, or invite comments?

3. Collaborative opportunities: Who in your network (or beyond) could you team up with to create something memorable or valuable for your community? Leverage your strengths.

4. Sharing successes: How can you share the achievements of others within your spaces? Spotlighting others can be an incredibly supportive way of building a sense of belonging.

5. Inviting feedback: Can you draw inspiration from your community to shape your direction or offerings? How can you effectively gather and implement suggestions from others?

Welcome to Brand Camp

With the arrival of spring, we’re moving into a season of strategy within Brand Camp, my Brand Seasons community. It costs less than £1 a week to become a member, and we’ve just completed a season of foundation building, where I shared branding resources including:

• Benefits of branding

• Branding terms explained

• Your branding checklist

I’d love to invite you to upgrade your subscription, read my seasonal branding resources, and join me for a monthly 'ask me anything' thread where we can tackle your brand strategy, styling or storytelling challenges.

Next quarter, we’re going to be focusing on:

• Brand audit - figure out where your energy is needed

• Brand archetypes - have some fun discovering your brand persona

• Brand outline - create your own short and sweet brand plan!

And this week I’m launching Press Play: a drop-in session for members to meet on the last Friday of each month and get stuff done! Use the time to create your content, clear Substack tasks (I’ll be spring cleaning my publication), and enjoy a sense of connection through co-working.

Join us on Friday 29th March from 10-12 GMT.

Note: I’ll be retiring our creative book club as, while I enjoy slow reading with you, I’ve been radically reprioritising lately (more on that soon) and want to devote my energy to branding support within my membership.

You can, however, join

Luisa Skinner

of

Writing Around The Edges

for her Gentle Book Club, which begins with Weathering by

Ruth Allen

. And

Sarah Raad

of

Gather & Grow

has launched The Selfish Book Club within her membership, and their first read is Big Magic by

Elizabeth Gilbert

.

I appreciate you being here and would love to know what resonated with you most. How are you creating opportunities for connection and collaboration within your spaces?

As a free subscriber, you can enjoy articles and essays exploring the rhythms of our creative lives and work, written through the lenses of curiosity, creativity, and connection.

If you’re ready to craft a brand that feels like home and access exclusive insights and resources, consider upgrading to join my Brand Seasons paid community. Here, I support you with a gentle, nurturing, and playful approach to brand strategy, styling, and storytelling. I’d love to welcome you!