Elevate Your Curiosity Podcast - Trend Forecasting, Product Development And Reducing Anxiety For Creative Businesses

Have you been Christmas comp shopping yet? Christmas is the ideal time to go comp shopping and check out what’s going on to inform your product development for 2019.   And the shops are full of festive goodness! If you can’t get out as you’re too busy with orders then I’ve rounded up some of my favourite Christmas Comp Shopping 2018 trends for you to be inspired by on the Elevate Your Curiosity podcast.   Show notes Joanne on Instagram @arnoldandbird

What to know how to interpret trends? In today’s Elevate Your Curiosity podcast I’m sharing why trends are relevant even if you’re not a fashion business.   The episode is an interview I originally did with Catherine from Future Retail about how to interpret trends. And was hosted in her Facebook group Female Founders in Retail. If you're not already a member of her group then do go and join as it's a fantastic place!     In this episode we talk about: Why are trends relevant if you are not a fashion business How you know what the trends are How you decide which ones are relevant to you How you pull together your inspiration to help with product ideas

Enhancing your creative mindset when you run your own business or are self employed is one of these best things you can do. And these five alternative mindset books for business are what I recommend on what can feel like a lonely road sometimes.   None of them are your traditional mindset books for business. They won’t tell you about SEO or hacks to grow your following. But I think they are vital in building a mindset that moves past self doubt, being kind to yourself and unblocking the barriers we can build for ourselves.   It’s a mix of business and self help advice, but not as you know it! 

In today's Elevate Your Curiosity episode I wanted to get personal and take you behind the scenes of the relaunch of Arnold & Bird.   As it wasn’t just a website update that’s happened over the past few weeks. I’ve created my ‘why’ in business, a new visual identity and found my feet as a business.   I’ll take you through the following: What I had been doing in 2018 up to this point The feeling of needing help and trusting my instinct and going after it Working with a marketing coach The marketing exercises we worked through and how they helped The relaunch of Arnold & Bird Where I’m at now Hint - I’ve realised that bespoke design and working 121 with people that is my strength and what I love doing  

Want some tips & tricks on how to go comp shopping? In todays Elevate Your Curiosity podcast you've got them!   Comp shopping or competive/competitor shopping is where you analyse what your competitors are doing in terms of products, offerings and their marketing message.   It’s important as anyone selling products, or even services, means you need to know what your competitors are doing. It’s not enough to just know what you’re selling.   Full show notes

Today I’m discussing four Valentine’s Day 2019 trends that are perfect for gift and retail businesses to implement into their range.   Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest gift occasions of the year and one not to be overlooked. Especially since products in these areas can be interpreted for weddings, anniversaries and birthday gifts too. There really is so much potential in Valentine’s Day 2019 trends to be used widely in your range.   As with all the trends I talk about on the podcast I’ve created a Pinterest board. If you’re listening as you scroll the Pinterest board then start at the bottom of the board and work your way up: www.pinterest.co.uk/arnoldandbird/valentines-day-2019

Today's Elevate Your Curiosity podcast features 5 ways to fit mindfulness into your routine quickly. This is something I’ve really needed to do and practise more, while work and life have recently felt a bit overwhelming. I know when I give myself permission to do these things it makes me feel so much better. So consider this your permission - if you need it - to add 1, 2 3, or all 5 of these things into your routine today.

Hello I’m so glad you’ve joined me for episode 11. This is all about productivity tips for getting organised and staying focused but crucially in a healthy way!   Personally I’ve had a real awakening with my view of what being productive is over the last few months. Basically my version was not working out for me at all. I was either overwhelming myself with the amount on my to-do list for each day and hence not getting that much done. Or thinking I was being so productive and getting stuff done, when in reality I was being so manic with how I was I doing it. I mean I was waking up at 3.30am and thinking I can’t go back to sleep (disclaimer, of course you can) so I might as well get up and do some work and then continue all evening too. Urgh - it was no fun at all and either way I wasn’t happy or focused and I was giving myself false validation in my approach.   So I’ve worked through this with some help and I want to share these tips in the hope it can help you where you need it, however you deal with gettin

Hello and today's podcast all about how to approach your inner critic with love and kindness. We'll discuss what is an inner critic and I'll share tips on how to minimise it in a kind and loving way. Find the full show notes here for links to the books & resources referenced in the show: https://www.arnoldandbird.com/2018/07/approach-your-inner-critic-with-love Until next time be kind to you and I’ll speak to you soon!

Hey curiosity chasers - welcome to episode 9 and today we’re chatting about the luxe nature trend!   There is a Pinterest board you can reference while you listen to this podcast. Or go back to after you’ve listened to get some more inspiration. Head to > www.pinterest.com/arnoldandbird/luxe-nature. What I love about this board is that is lots of gorgeous colour and texture in it so do check it out.

Hello and welcome to episode 8 which is all about 5 ways to record inspiration when you’re busy and save product development ideas quickly for future use.   So when you’re busy with customer orders, finance, family life or general admin it can be hard to find the time for hunting down inspiration or even noting things down if inspiration does strike.    Listen in as I run through five ways you can do this today!

Hey guys and welcome back to episode 7 where we discuss three ways to analyse your sales and develop new product ideas from your current range. We'll be covering how to analyse your sales with the following methods: Range Review Daily rate of Sale Conversion We'll also talk about thinking creatively and in a different way about your current range without using data.

Contours in nature have fascinated me since London Design Festival about five years ago, so this podcast & mood board is dedicated to the innovative designs that celebrate this natural topographic trend. Natural contours create form through curves and lines in mountains and lakes, as well as undulations in the ground. Although not from nature, I also love the structure of how cities, towns and estates create shapes too. I love how linear designs can be made to look like 3D structures, even when they are two dimensional, and this is a beautiful feature of contour lines that add extra depth to a designers work. Adding structural elements means light relief is created through weaving or the layering of materials. I particularly love this when used in paper or fabric due to the tactile nature that is formed. Key design styles to be inspired by:> Creating light relief by layering materials or drawings that create depth or the illusion of this> City grid shapes create a new take on the geometric trend to update

This weeks Elevate Your Curiosity episode is all about how to beat procrastination and get in the creative flow. Ok so first up, I'll admit I've suffered terribly from procrastination in the past. And still do now occasionally. How about you? But recently I learnt that procrastination can be a form of control and this is a very different way of looking at it. So now I would like you to ask yourself why you think or feel you are procrastinating? Could it be fear of failure, success, what others will think, your abilities or if you can even do it?  All of these thoughts above are very negative, and when feelings like this are not making you feel good, these are definitely your inner critic. (That little voice in your head that is never very nice and often takes over your real authentic thoughts.) So how do you combat and beat procrastination? Action is needed and you can start really small. Draw one thing, then come back and access it later - don’t assume it’s bad in the same moment. Or write the first sentence

Welcome back to the Elevate Your Curiosity podcast and epsiode four is all about how to spot trends and build a bigger picture of emerging themes.   So this week we're covering how to spot trends, plus where to find them and how to piece them all together! I wanted to preface this with the face you can’t ignore trends or themes if this is a better word, as we all use creative visuals and what's going on around us to inspire your work. But you don’t have to use all trends - in fact please don’t! Use what works for you and take bits - even if it’s colour, texture or pattern to adapt a theme and create new ideas from a trend.   Today I’ll take you through all the places you can look for inspiration and tips on how best to navigate it all.   You'll also find a free printable of places to get inspired on a previous blog post so head over to the post on staying creatively inspired for your free download.   Sending inspiration your way, and don’t forget to elevate your curiosity today!

Welcome back to the third Elevate Your Curiosity podcast and today is all about Christmas 2018 product Trends! This follows on from episode two where we talked about the four overarching Christmas trends and the colours, materials, themes and motifs that would well for each.   Just like the last episode there is a Pinterest board you can reference while you listen to this podcast, or refer back to after you’ve listened to get some more inspiration. If you are listening as you scroll the Pinterest board then you’ll have to start at the bottom of the board and work your way up.   The Christmas specific product areas we'll be covering include: Experiences Christmas Eve Food & drink Alternative wreaths Advent calendars Unique baubles New takes on the sacks and stockings   I’d love to know if this was helpful and what your biggest take away was? Also if it sparked an idea than fantastic - I’d love to see it either when it’s live or as you're still developing it as the creative process is such an amazing thin

Christmas 2018 is not that far away! Whether you are in your festive product development you can use these four overarching Christmas trends for 2018 in your product development.   As creatives we need that visual input so I've created four different pinterest boards for each theme. Head to pinterest.com/arnoldandbird for the visually inspiring and creative images. The four themes are: Indulge Me! Ice Cream Christmas Deep and Bright Naturally Textured These are the four Christmas themes I've see popping up and think will resonate with customers. Take these themes and mix them with your own style, viewpoint and findings - as you know your customers best! If you loved this content then subscribe and the next episode will feature Christmas 2018 product trends.  

Hi and welcome to the first episode of the Elevate your Curiosity podcast! Todays episode will introduce me, Joanne Griffin as your host, a rundown of what this podcast will be about and my two words for 2018. Elevate Your Curiosity is a podcast to connect to creative souls and business owners who are looking for an inspiration boost to enhance their designs and also their mindset. With the focus on creating the best designs you can, but also taking care of the way your thinking, about yourself and your work. Episodes will be every two weeks and will feature quick and relatable tips covering everything from spotting new trends, innovative new ideas and developing your product range. All underpinned with advice on how to take the anxiety out of decisions and empower you to trust your authentic voice. You'll also hear about my two words of the year and how the words you choose can really impact others, but also, importantly, on yourself. This is because words are powerful and they can uplift and bring down. Lis