Post by Christina Leaver

Here it is! My musings on Shoreditch's Hot Hot Summer. (yes another round up of SXSW London, Pion's YMS London 2025 and MAD//FEST – but it’s mine!) If I'm honest, the various – I MUST POST ABOUT THIS – "insights" are all fading away into a hazy summer blur. Instead I'm left with all the feelings and an even stronger need for experiences. But that is the point, isn't it. Right?? Here’s what is sharpening through the summer haze: ✺ Absolute faves of mine were the two film shorts “My Mother is a Cow” by Moara Passoni and "Someone Special" by Alice Gervat (link in comments☟) ✺ I may not have heard Idris Elba talk but I did see Wyclef Jean… who is enigmatic, a staunch champion of artists and gave Madeline Nelson the recognition she so rightly deserves. ✺ Did you know that it has been 20 years since Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie”? Why does it feel it was just yesterday? ✺ The Barbican makes a great venue for a rave. Dystopian Beats.* ✺ Don’t be afraid to fail, and do so happily whilst giving yourself the permission to play. Create, break and create again. ✺ It’s better to collaborate with AI rather than avoid it. The younger generation already are. ✺ The energy in Shoreditch has been GLORIOUS. When it’s sunny, seeing and making new connections takes on a whole new feeling. So great to catch up, and meet with you Abi Malins, Iris de Bruin, Natalia Albin Legorreta, Maria Rubio, Emma Byford, Amanda Easter, Daniel Fitzgerald, Vanessa Hoh, Stefanie Sword-Williams FRSA (she/her), Lianre Robinson, Lina Abdulkarim, Mia B., Najma Mahmoud, Anike Shontan, Kira Karabatak, Nardean Gharsa, Balraj Bains, Olivia Johnson, and Kate Curry (I know we didn't but we really did try!) My musings are actually quite a bit longer so not quite "The Final Takeaways", and they may take on more of a wider industry POV. (Claude AI told me to break up my original post into two as it was too long for LinkedIN. So stay tuned.) What has stuck with you? #Shoreditch #CreativeIndustries #Marketing #Experiences #Music #Cinema #SXSWLondon #YMSLondon2025 #MADFEST ——— ✌︎ Hi! I'm Christina, founder & CD of Studio Charlie. A branding and comms studio, where we help business and brands to curate bold connections. It's transformative and we call it Positive Disruption. Deep down, I love solving problems [creatively]. If you have a challenge, then I'm the one for you! ——— *part of the audio extract is taken from said rave. I can no longer find the info on Barbican's site. But if you were there and know whose set it was, I'll add a credit/link in the comments.

Video Content