Cuppa & Story with Sian Bowman: A New Space for Illustrator Conversations
Sian Bowman recently started a fun new project, over on Instagram, called “Cuppa and Story”, where she invites other creatives to pop by and take a break from work with a nice cuppa to chat about each other's work and share their insight on the creative industry.
Sian shared with us some of the reasons why she decided to start this page. First and foremost, she wanted to create a space for connection and inspiration - a place to hear about other people’s journeys, swap stories, and share book recommendations.
It’s also a learning opportunity, not just for others but for Sian herself.
A big source of inspiration has been podcasts, which have taught her so much about the illustration industry. Some of her favourites include Thoughts on Illustration, Creative Pep Talk, Three Point Perspective, and the Illustration Department Podcast.
Another reason was personal growth. Sian loves to chat, and this page gives her the chance to connect with inspiring people while also building confidence in conversation. Finally, she’s drawn to the live format, which feels casual, welcoming, and chatty right from the start. Plus, she loves that the recordings can be shared afterwards so anyone who missed the “cuppa” can catch up later.
Sian told us:
“I am a few weeks in and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I have been so surprised and thankful at how generous people have been with their time. I now have chats organised all the way up to Christmas. Last week I had the opportunity to talk with Andy J Pizza and I found it incredibly inspiring. He is literally a voice in the room when I work (Creative Pep talk) so meeting him in person and asking about his podcast and work was very exciting. He manages to articulate a lot of things we creatives do from intuition and I find his perspective (rooted in so much learning, science and literature) fascinating.”
If you’d like to catch the next Cuppa and Story, head on over to Instagram, Thursday 9th of October at 2pm (GMT). Sian will be sitting down to have a chat with her good friend and illustrator Will Hillenbrand.
If you’d like to work with Sian, please contact: [email protected]
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