Mothers of Creativity

Why can’t you sleep the night before a big shoot or pitch? Psychotherapist and insomnia specialist Christy Reynolds explains why creatives so often lie awake before the days that matter most, and what to do about it.

Christy came to sleep through her own sleepless nights. Back at work in the NHS with a nine-month-old waking every 45 minutes, she noticed that almost every client she heard about was struggling to sleep too. She trained in CBT-I, the evidence-based treatment for insomnia, and now combines it with psychotherapy in her work with people living with chronic insomnia.

Christy explains why your brain treats an exciting opportunity like a threat, why 3am is the worst time to listen to your own thoughts, and why a fixed wake-up time in the week before a shoot or pitch is the one change she’d make. She also covers why how you feel when your alarm goes off is the worst you’ll feel all day, why people with ADHD may need a longer wind-down, how night owls can prepare for an early call time, and how to use caffeine without disrupting the next night’s sleep.

For any creative who has stared at the ceiling at 3am before a call time this episode is for you.

Note: The sound quality on this episode isn't quite what we'd usually put out. We've done everything we can on the edit, and we're sharing it anyway because what Christy has to say is too useful to leave out.

Christy’s work below:
@christysleeprepair
www.sleeprepairtherapy.co.uk

Show Host:
@sabrina.sarl
www.sabrinasarl.com

Show Producer: Cheramie Johnson
Show Editor: Alexandra Covey
Music by Devon May
Podcast Artwork with thanks to David English

Mothers of Creativity creates space for guests to share how their careers have evolved alongside motherhood, beyond clichés and limiting narratives.

This is an ongoing series for creative mothers and for anyone interested in how life experience shapes the way we work and define success.

Chantelle is the founder of Tiagi, a global production company whose clients include: Adidas, Mulberry, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. She also founded Kin Club, which hosts curated networking events for ambitious parents.

On this episode of Mothers of Creativity, she joins host Sabrina Sarl to talk about falling into production after an internship at Liberty, producing three to four shoots a week across Europe at Rep Limited, and going freelance to produce covers for Porter magazine before building her own company from the living room of her one-bed flat.

The conversation moves into motherhood: pregnancy brain, the forty days she spent at home with her newborn, building a village of family support around her return to work, and announcing nursery pickup on set. She shares her top networking tips for walking into a room alone, and why motherhood made her ruthless about time.

Chantelle and Sabrina talk about why relationships sit at the heart of everything she's built, and what she hopes her son will take from watching her work.

See more of Chantelle's work below:
@notoriouscst
@tiagi
@kinclublondon
www.tiagi.com

Show Host:
@sabrina.sarl
https://www.sabrinasarl.com/

Show Producer: Cheramie Johnson
Show Editor: Alexandra Covey
Music by Devon May
Podcast Artwork with thanks to David English

Mothers of Creativity creates space for guests to share how their careers have evolved alongside motherhood, beyond clichés and limiting narratives.

This is an ongoing series for creative mothers and for anyone interested in how life experience shapes the way we work and define success.

Gina Blondell is a makeup artist whose client list includes i-D Magazine, A$AP Rocky, FKA Twigs, Adidas and Estée Lauder with credits on Wicked and Back to Black.

On this episode of Mothers of Creativity, she joins host Sabrina Sarl to talk about building her career from an accidental start in film prosthetics to training at MAC and assisting leading makeup artists such as Alex Box and Kay Montano.

The conversation moves into freelance life as a mother of three: the ectopic pregnancy that momentarily changed her mindset on motherhood, the real cost of childcare against freelance income, and an ADHD diagnosis that came into focus through parenting.

Gina and Sabrina talk through what it means to stop measuring your pace against everyone else's, and why keeping your head above water is its own kind of success.

See more of Gina's work below:
@gina_blondell
www.ginablondell.com

Show Host:
@sabrina.sarl
https://www.sabrinasarl.com/

Show Producer: Cheramie Johnson
Show Editor: Alexandra Covey
Music by Devon May
Podcast Artwork with thanks to David English

Mothers of Creativity creates space for guests to share how their careers have evolved alongside motherhood, beyond clichés and limiting narratives.

This is an ongoing series for creative mothers and for anyone interested in how life experience shapes the way we work and define success.

Esperanza de la Fuente, known as Espe, is a London-based fashion stylist and art director whose client list includes Calvin Klein, Nike and Zara. On this episode of Mothers of Creativity, she joins host Sabrina Sarl to talk about the years she's spent building that career, starting with a move from Madrid to London and barely speaking any English, through internships at British Vogue and Elle, to going freelance at 27 with £8,000 in savings and no plan beyond it.

The conversation discusses freelance life as a working mother, keeping a styling career running through two maternity leaves, what it takes to make international jobs possible, and bringing her children to set. Espe is also the founder of Whole Talk, a health and wellbeing magazine born out of a diploma in holistic nutrition. She and Sabrina talk through what it means to never quite feel established, and Espe's own take on stepping back from a career you love for your kids: not a loss of ambition, but an act of generosity.

See more of Espe's work below:
@esperanzadelafuente_
@espedelafuente
@wholetalk_

Show Host:
@sabrina.sarl
https://www.sabrinasarl.com/

Show Producer: Cheramie Johnson
Show Editor: Alexandra Covey
Music by Devon May
Podcast Artwork with thanks to David English

Mothers of Creativity creates space for guests to share how their careers have evolved alongside motherhood, beyond clichés and limiting narratives.

This is an ongoing series for creative mothers and for anyone interested in how life experience shapes the way we work and define success.

What happens when you pick something up in the middle of grief, with no plan behind it, and it turns out to be the thing you were always meant to do?

Textiles artist Nic Brittin knows the answer. Before her hand block printed designs built a loyal following on Instagram, Nic spent years as a makeup artist, with work appearing in British Vogue, FT How to Spend It, Net-A-Porter and Fiorucci.

Following the loss of her mother and the disruption of the pandemic, Nic picked up a lino block almost by accident, and found in it the first thing she'd ever made without anyone else's opinion in the room. What started as a hobby and side hustle turned into a full business, eventually forcing her to move from hand printing to digital production just to keep up with demand.

Sabrina and Nic talk about motherhood as being like the best girl band in the world, the moment a mentor told her she had to decide once and for all if her textiles were a hobby or a business, and the practical reality of running a creative company with two young children and no family nearby to help.

Find more of Nic's work:
Nic's Instagram
Nic's website

Show Host:
@sabrina.sarl
Sabrina’s website

Show Producer: Cheramie Johsnon
Show Editor: Alexandra Covey
Music by Devon May
Podcast Artwork with thanks to David English

Mothers of Creativity creates space for guests to share how their careers have evolved alongside motherhood, beyond clichés and limiting narratives.

This is an ongoing series for creative mothers and for anyone interested in how life experience shapes the way we work and define success.

In this episode of Mothers of Creativity, Sabrina visits photographer Florence Mann at her home in East London. Florence began her career as a stylist working under her birth name, Laëtitia Mannessier, before a meeting with an agent set her on a different path. She has since gone on to shoot fashion and portraiture for Puss Puss, The Greatest, Also Journal and most notably photographing Grammy award winning musician Olivia Dean.

Florence talks openly about what it really looked like to become a mother twice over, including the year with her first child that she now recognises as postpartum depression, and how finding time to pick up a camera in between naps became the thing that kept her going creatively.

The episode is about transformation and what it takes to find yourself again, creatively and personally, after motherhood changes everything.

See more of Florence's work below:
https://www.instagram.com/florencemann_/
https://florencemann.com/

Show Host: @sabrina.sarl https://www.sabrinasarl.com/
Show Producer: Cheramie Johnson
Edited by Alexandra Covey
Music by Devon May
Podcast Artwork with thanks to David English

Mothers of Creativity creates space for guests to share how their careers have evolved alongside motherhood, beyond clichés and limiting narratives.

This is an ongoing series for creative mothers and for anyone interested in how life experience shapes the way we work and define success.

In this episode of Mothers of Creativity, Sabrina visits the studio of artist Lydia Shirreff, whose intricate paper artworks have been commissioned by clients including Chanel, Selfridges, British Vogue and the V&A. Known for her intricately crafted paper sculptures, including the Nike trainer that went viral in the early days of blogging. Lydia speaks openly about building a creative career around paper, and what happened when she no longer felt connected to it.

Together, Sabrina and Lydia talk about the reality of early motherhood, creative burnout, rage, isolation, identity and the pressure of constantly producing work for other people. Lydia shares how becoming a mother during lockdown forced her to confront the fact she had left no space for her own creativity, why stepping away from Instagram became necessary, and how she is now finding her creativity through stained glass, a material that feels entirely different to the one she originally built her career upon. It’s an honest conversation about ego, ambition, creativity and learning to trust yourself when you no longer have a clear plan.

See more of Lydia’s work below:
https://www.instagram.com/lydiakshirreff/
https://www.lydiakasumi.com/

Show Host: @sabrina.sarl https://www.sabrinasarl.com/

Show Producer: Claire Duncan

Music by Devon May

Podcast Artwork with thanks to David English

Mothers of Creativity creates space for guests to share how their careers have evolved alongside motherhood, beyond clichés and limiting narratives.

This is an ongoing series for creative mothers and for anyone interested in how life experience shapes the way we work and define success.

In this episode of Mothers of Creativity, Sabrina is joined by beauty and fashion photographer Harriet MacSween. Harriet’s career began assisting some of the industry’s most respected photographers, including David Bailey, Tim Walker and Sølve Sundsbø.

Her work has since been featured in titles including British Vogue, French Vogue and STYLE, with clients including Chanel, Charlotte Tilbury and Harrods.

In this conversation, Harriet reflects on the realities of finding headspace after becoming a mother and the role personal projects have played in shaping her career. She talks honestly about the pause, frustration and adjustment that came with early motherhood. Together, Sabrina and Harriet explore what it means to keep going, to be patient, and to build a creative career in a way that feels both ambitious and true to your creative vision.

See more of Harriet’s work:
@harriet_macsween
https://www.harrietmacsween.com/

Show Host: @sabrina.sarl https://www.sabrinasarl.com/

Show Producer: Claire Duncan

Music by Devon May

Podcast Artwork with thanks to David English

Mothers of Creativity creates space for guests to share how their careers have evolved alongside motherhood, beyond clichés and limiting narratives.

This is an ongoing series for creative mothers and for anyone interested in how life experience shapes the way we work and define success.

Fashion Director and Stylist Ashlee Barrett-Bourmier joins Sabrina to share how a background in performing arts, travelling half way across the world to follow her heart first for love and then for the love of her career all led to a flourishing career styling for international Vogue editorials and commercial fashion clients.

Along the way, she opens up about postnatal depression, unrealistic expectations of birth and motherhood, and the relentless drive that keeps her saying yes to big opportunities, even when they mean weeks away from her children.

See more of Ashlee’s work below:

https://www.instagram.com/ashleebarrettbourmier/

www.ashleebarrettbourmier.com

Show Host:

@sabrina.sarl

https://www.sabrinasarl.com/

Show Producer:

Claire Duncan

Music by Devon May

Podcast Artwork with thanks to David English

Mothers of Creativity creates space for guests to share how their careers have evolved alongside motherhood, beyond clichés and limiting narratives.

This is an ongoing series for creative mothers and for anyone interested in how life experience shapes the way we work and define success.

Set Designer Scarlet Winter joins Sabrina in our first episode to share how she found herself working for Oscar winning set designer Shona Heath and how her creative career led her into working on advertising campaigns for iconic brands such as Jo Malone and Stella McCartney. She shares frankly what it looked like to recognise and navigate postnatal depression and how she adapted and reshaped her process to accommodate motherhood and working with a young child.

See more of Scarlet’s work below:
https://www.instagram.com/scarletwinter_setdesign/
https://www.scarlet-winter.com/

Visit ‘Women in Print’ at The William Morris Gallery, the exhibition featuring Scarlet’s work until 21st June 2026.

https://www.wmgallery.org.uk/event/women-in-print/

Show Host

@sabrina.sarl

Show Producer

Claire Duncan

Music by Devon May

Podcast Artwork with thanks to David English

Mothers of Creativity creates space for guests to share how their careers have evolved alongside motherhood, beyond clichés and limiting narratives.

This is an ongoing series for creative mothers and for anyone interested in how life experience shapes the way we work and define success.