In this episode I’m chatting with my longtime friend Laura Pashby ( Small Stories with Laura Pashby ) - an author, photographer, and creative, who you might also know online as Circle of Pines. Laura shares her journey from a craft blog in 2010 to becoming a published author, and how building an online audience helped her leverage opportunities like brand work, teaching courses, and ultimately, writing her wonderful books. Things we talk about: • Instagram Then vs. Now• Working through ‘platform...
May 01, 2025•1 hr
This week, I talked with author/photographer/YouTuber/knitwear designer Veronika ‘Kika’ Lindberg about her fluid and inspiring journey to success online, and how she’s evolved her work along the way. Kika’s open-minded and playful approach is so inspiring to me, and I’ve found myself returning to this conversation in my mind so much since we recorded it.I hope you love hearing from her too! Things we talk about in this episode: * Getting started on Instagram, and how it has changed * Growing a Y...
Jan 09, 2025•57 min
This week, I’m chatting to Dr Anita Goraya from ADHD Wellness & Wisdom , GP-turned Psychotherapist who specialises in helping people with ADHD. Both Anita and I have diagnoses of ADHD, so this is a topic close to our hearts, and I hope this warm and compassionate conversation will be helpful whether you’re neuro-diverse, awaiting a diagnosis or just interested to know more! Things we talk about in this episode: * Being diagnosed with ADHD later in life * The neuro-developmental nature of ADH...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr 3 min
This week, I’m chatting to my friend Sarahbeth Larrimore , the wonder-woman behind Unabashed Apparel . The mantra for her work says it all: “ Empowering women to design & sew. Our bodies are worthy of our finest frocks, just as they are.” Um, yes please!Sarahbeth and I had a juicy conversation about personal style and the benefits of sewing for self-expression, creativity and body acceptance. I know next to nothing about sewing, but by the end of this episode Sarahbeth had me completely conv...
Sep 26, 2024•1 hr 4 min
This is a republished episode from LFAHC In today’s episode we dive into listener questions all about Instagram - from building engagement up, feeling hopeful and excited about the platform again, coming back after a long break, adapting to creating more video content, whether to use hashtags anymore and lots more. Join Sara for her Instagram Summer School Class starts on Monday, the 29th, so you need to be quick. Would you love some encouragement and support in your business? Submit your letter...
Jul 28, 2024•52 min
I first met Sarah D Rees through my class, The Insta Retreat , quite a few years ago, and we’ve worked together ever since. Sarah is a mental health nurse and CBT therapist with over 10 years of experience in private practice. Through her mentoring and coaching services, she supports other therapists in setting up and growing their private practices. Sarah struggled with the lack of a business plan and structure in her private practice, leading to dissatisfaction and confusion, and wanted to hel...
Jul 22, 2024•54 min
I first met deep-dive master coach Katie Pulsifer when she was my instructor for certification at The Life Coach School . I recall being pretty intimidated. I’ve never been sky-diving or tried a bungee jump, but I’m pretty sure the adrenaline rush is comparable to coaching in front of Katie for immediate feedback in front of a group. 🪂 Katie’s recently gone solo, after many years working for a large coaching school, and as we caught up over Zoom I was struck by how her open, beginner’s mindset ...
Feb 13, 2024•52 min
I’m sharing something a little different today… the results of my ‘ podcast affair ’ with my Aussie bestie, the gorgeous Ms Keeley Rees . Bonded over our love of storytelling and creativity, Keeley and I and came together to create The Substack Soirée - a gathering of resources, classes and a shiny new podcast, in the hope of passing some of that passion along. I chose this very first episode to share here with you on Hashtag Authentic because I really think the fundamentals we talk through - wh...
Nov 24, 2023•1 hr 9 min
This week I talk to Katie Leamon, who turned her love of paper and pattern into her eponymous family-run stationery studio. Her notebooks have been a daily companion to me for many years, so it was really fun to chat with her about her designs, her process and the realities behind running a product-lead business with the family on board! Things we talk about: * Building from a home studio to printing and selling at scale * Designing products based on creative instinct * The rise of independent s...
Nov 23, 2023•59 min
Find Hannah’s 4 Week Refresh Programme here Hannah’s Instagram: @hanbullivant Hannah’s website: hannahbullivant.com Sara's Instagram: Sara's Substack: Sara's classes and coaching : Sara's website: Get full access to Entre Nous at meandorla.substack.com/subscribe...
Jun 30, 2023•54 min
Things we talked about: The way multi-faceted careers can feel piecemeal (especially if parenting is added into the mix), or “like I’m doing five different jobs at once” Factoring in time to play as well as work Exploring your home town like a holiday destination Taking things home from real holidays that you might not expect (like appreciating the simple things, family meals, all your possessions in one suitcase) Avoiding habits of consuming everything and creating nothing Making connections on...
Dec 12, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Things We Talk About In This Episode: Working with clients in the creative process and their reactions. How as humans we respond to visuals in a human way. Narratives that make it seem shallow to care about how things look. Like it’s superficial to care too much about the way you look and that this might mean you don’t have depth. Aesthetics are a luxury that comes after the essentials of survival and how you can still care about aesthetics, even if the first priority is survival. Creating world...
Nov 11, 2022•50 min
Things We Talk About In This Episode: The importance that established news organisations find ways to use social media if they want to engage a young audience TikTok has redefined the experience of social media, with short video content, and Instagram Reels and Youtube Shorts have followed suit How Sophia found an audience on TikTok (and later on Instagram Reels) by talking to camera about her media stories The way we can gain insights into what makes a successful social media post by being a us...
Aug 01, 2022•56 min
Things we talked about: The value of owning your own audience Building a brand for yourself around the work you’re doing The growing online hunger for content by real people and the forging of real connections We seem to be entering an era that Farrah calls, rather poetically, "the Time of the Writer": the world has passed the period of devouring all the content on the Internet, now we are more discerning, and only want to consume content that we genuinely enjoy The continued return of demand fo...
Jul 04, 2022•46 min
Where to find Sara: Sara’s website: meandorla.co.uk Sara on Instagram: @me_and_orla Sara on Twitter: @meandorla Sara on Substack The Insta Retreat Sell Your Sh*t One to one business coaching with Sara Get full access to Entre Nous at meandorla.substack.com/subscribe...
May 04, 2022•29 min
Things We Talk About In This Episode: The many ways for a book to “be successful” that don’t involve writing a New York Times bestseller (who knew?!) Lockdown lessons, and learning to live with uncertainty The surprising weight and reliance that we put on the future, without realising we’re doing it The “ladder of hierarchies” through which we try (and mostly fail) to feel better about ourselves Learning to enjoy the process of making something, more than the reception it receives Drinking the K...
Apr 06, 2022•1 hr 23 min
Things We Talk About In This Episode: Recognising the power of what’s possible when people come together with a common goal The value of creating your own, distraction-free destination for group learning and support Empowering creators to place higher value on the important business, community and content they are making - rather than being driven solely by the pursuit of money and influence The importance of community, particularly when we are forging new paths (or making things up as we go alo...
Mar 17, 2022•57 min
Things we talked about: Trusting that you have enough, you are enough and that there'll be enough in the future and how that applies to you as a human Decluttering and finding your own style, starting with the external and slowly moving in Being diagnosed with cancer at 25 and having an existential crisis that kick-started a big lifestyle change Jess's realisation that if the worst happened she would have had so many regrets, that the situation shone a light on ways she was living her life The f...
Jan 19, 2022•1 hr 11 min
Things we talked about: How it still doesn't feel quite normal to call herself a full-time artist and how that's something a lot of us struggle with Growing up with a parent who's an artist, the expectations that brings and how that comparison can make creating art feel overwhelming Finding your own path, however varied and wherever it takes you The feeling of not being good enough, how it can hold you back and the judgements we make of our own work How posting on Instagram helped Maria to belie...
Jan 12, 2022•56 min
Things we talked about: The difference between writing as a journalist and writing a book (it’s just so long!) But: you only get to publish your first book once! Accept the nerves, and appreciate the moment The ever-present contention and push-back received when one writes about race Natalie’s very wise words that reaction is the point of writing - and those reactions don’t have to be positive every time The value of the interviews in her book, and how she found and chose the right people to tal...
Jan 06, 2022•52 min
Things we talked about: The trials and tribulations of being a “goat doula” Her new book Earthed , and its journey from concept, through to the transformation it underwent while she was writing, due to pressures from within (mental health) and without (a pandemic) How she actually managed to get it written, with all this going on The challenges and joys of writing autobiographically We dug into the need to be honest with ourselves about how we want our lives to look… and to recognise the good st...
Oct 15, 2021•57 min
Each week in the insta retreat we have 2 calls - one with a business/IG focus, and one like this, for mindset issues. Find out more and join in the fun at The Insta Retreat Get full access to Entre Nous at meandorla.substack.com/subscribe
Sep 30, 2021•46 min
Things we talked about: Why so many of us feel suspicious about new technologies, and how we can change the narrative The way artificial intelligence (AI) reads and interprets our interests and activities in order to deliver content to us… and the impact that content can have on us Approaching social media mindfully, by noticing the impact certain content has on our moods and behaviours, and carefully curating what we choose to consume The difference between active and passive behaviour on socia...
Sep 27, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Things we talked about: Allowing ourselves to feel good when things actually go well The synchronicity of things happening when they’re supposed to (and when you’re ready) Defining success for ourselves (and it’s not always what we assume it might be) How lockdown taught Katherine to create her own “sense of safety” following the success of her book, by creating courses to shore up her income Finding ways to own your own story, message and brand How Katherine’s approach to Instagram evolved from...
Sep 22, 2021•1 hr 5 min
WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT Anna and I discuss the difference between the business of writing, and the writing of writing The fear that so many of us feel of showing up, and putting ourselves out there or “being seen to try”. Anna says this is “straight-up embarrassment,” and we feel this way whenever we step outside the norm (even if we are embarrassed for positive reasons, like receiving a compliment) But in addition to this, she says that what holds us back, post-pandemic, is “very low emotional res...
Jun 10, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Sally is joining me for weekly bonus coaching calls in my upcoming Insta Retreat class. Enrol now at meandorla.co.uk Sally’s free program, “stop people pleasing in 5 days” Sally's Website The Life Coach School Sally's Instagram @sallyhardie_coach My Instagram Get full access to Entre Nous at meandorla.substack.com/subscribe...
May 03, 2021•1 hr 15 min
If you want to know more about my tell all Instagram class The Insta Retreat follow this link To read my companion blog post 'What the F is up with Instagram Hashtags?' follow this link Get full access to Entre Nous at meandorla.substack.com/subscribe...
Apr 30, 2021•23 min
WHAT WE TALK ABOUT * The often-underestimated importance of being “politely persistent” * Starting a blog and Instagram before you become an expert (practising in public), as a way to find clients after you graduate * The way Kimberly used Instagram not only as a photography portfolio but also as a way to train her writing voice ahead of writing her book, alongside her blog writing * The value of receiving immediate feedback on Instagram to hone our marketing skills: we immediately learn what wo...
Apr 27, 2021•52 min
Links mentioned in this episode: Ida on TikTok Ida on Instagram Ida on Youtube Ida’s lumberjack TikTok Clubhouse My Instagram Class, The Insta Retreat Me on Instagram – @me_and_orla Times for our Clubhouse chat 16:00 GMT 11:00 AM EST 08:00 AM PST 04:00 AM Sydney Get full access to Entre Nous at meandorla.substack.com/subscribe...
Jan 26, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Things We Talk About In This Episode: Multi-layered, multi-hyphenated careers and what to call yourself if you’re asked at a party Being led by curiosity, the value of deep-dive research, and the joy of starting something new Mel’s early career in the not-for-profit charity sector, and the turning point she reached that led her to galvanise a group of volunteers and ultimately, to co-create Freedom Acts, a not-for-profit group aimed at ending modern slavery How pregnancy can be an impetus for bo...
Nov 27, 2020•1 hr 20 min
