#CMEDI PEOPLE: Karen Melville

Each time our CreativeMornings/EDI community comes together for our monthly dose of inspiration, no matter what the venue or theme, we always find ourselves surrounded by individuals full of motivation, engagement, and creativity. Meeting each other, connecting, and sharing - these are all key ingredients in the making of our positive, creative community.

Extending this meeting place into the virtual space, it’s our pleasure to introduce you to one such inspirational #CMEdi community member, Karen Melville - events manager for FreeAgent, and networking extraordinaire!

Photography by Ellie Morag 📷

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Originally from a wee village in Perthshire, where you made sure you learnt to drive as soon as possible to get out and visit the “big” cities. I spent many happy years living and working in Perth then I moved to work in Edinburgh 15 years ago. 

I worked in the drinks industry for 25 years in all sorts of roles including, sales, HR - but mainly promotion and retention within marketing, before switching to event planning with FreeAgent. I love a good book and eating out at independent restaurants.

What made you decide to come along to the last CreativeMornings/EDI event you took part in?

The company that I work for, FreeAgent, is one of the major sponsors for CMEdi, and I love the chance to go along and meet all sorts of people and have great conversations as well as listening to interesting topics.

How did you find out about CreativeMornings?

Through FreeAgent sponsoring their regular monthly meetups.

What’s your usual morning routine?

 I live in Livingston, so up and about quite early, all the usual stuff of showering, doing hair/make-up and a quick breakfast before leaving for a short drive to the train station to catch the train to Haymarket then a short walk up to Edinburgh Quay.  My desk has a beautiful view of Edinburgh Castle so arriving at work every morning, grabbing a great cup of coffee and settling in for the day is certainly no hardship.

What did you like best about our the last CreativeMornings Edinburgh event you took part in?

The fact that FreeAgent got the chance to take over the area and have a huge focus on FreeAgent. As the topic was Courage we decided to have some fun with it and produced a booth where you had to have the “courage” to put your hand through a curtain to receive a lovely (or perhaps not) surprise.  Also that talk that day was delivered by Roan Lavery, our co-founder, product director and head of design. 

What is your creative calling? 

To try and surprise people without alienating anyone.  Our brand is all about being easy to use, approachable and fun so I love to try and inject that into everything we do with events, whether it is a formal expo, a recruitment drive event or sponsorship of events. 

What or who inspires you?

My colleagues are a fantastic source of inspiration.  We have regular creative jamborees where anyone can come along and really get the opportunity to think outside the box when looking for an event idea, a title for a blog, etc, etc.  We have such fun and you would be amazed at what comes out of it.  They really help to get the synapses firing and if we can’t use an idea you may find that it can be used later on down the line.

If you could give one piece of advice for nurturing creativity, what would it be?

Be open, curious and put your personal prejudices aside (don’t say “I haven’t got any prejudices” because we all have, e.g. white toweling socks, ankle chains, certain colours of blue - I know, stupid yeah).

Can you list a few of your favourite creative resources?

Books, museums, art galleries, Google, Twitter and keeping my eyes wide open.

What do you do to take care of your creative soul?

I make sure that my work life balance is in the proper proportions and I take time out to have great holidays in inspiring places. 

Thank you so much Karen for sharing insights into your creative life! If you spot Karen at our next event, be sure to say hello - who knows what creative inspirations can be shared!