PROJECT CEMETERY
I believe projects are living entities - at some point, like humans, their life cycle comes to an end.
As creative entrepreneurs, we watch our projects grow and wane, and at some point, we may notice that they’ve died.
I used to feel guilty about not continuing with projects. Now I see that listening to their rhythms and recognising their natural completion is part of the process.
Just like we honour people, our projects also deserve a proper send-off.
This is why more recently I’ve been designing Beautiful Endings for things I close - so I can honour what they’ve been for me and let them go.
And even though there is resistance, setting them free clears space for what does feel alive.
So welcome to the Project Cemetery - the ‘brave’stones of all the ventures that once held a place in my heart.
The projects below all at one point felt very alive.
They were at the front of my Carousel.
They had my attention and care.
And then I had to get honest that they had run their course.
Many of these projects went around the Carousel multiple times before I finally had that ‘full body click’ to close them.
Rye Laughs
2014 – 2021
Rye Laughs was born out of a 30 Day Challenge with John Williams in 2014, where I gave myself 30 days to write a 30 minute comedy set. Quickly realising no open mic night would take a beginner with such a long set (who did I think I was?!), I curated my own night, inviting friends to come along for the ride.
This turned into Rye Laughs - a sell-out monthly comedy night where complete beginners performed alongside top talent from the circuit, all trying out their new material. Over the 7 years we had names such as James Acaster, Phil Wang, Aisling Bea, Tom Allen, Suzi Ruffel, Mae Martin, Rose Matafeo, Brett Goldstein, Lou Sanders, Harriet Kemsley and Mawaan Rizwaan. We also ran a week-long takeover in 2017 of comedy workshops and themed nights.
After the hiatus of the pandemic, my co-host and I decided the Rye Laughs era was over, but did one final ‘BYE Laughs’ to send it off. We invited some of our favourite acts from the 7 years, filled a room with loyal Rye Laugh audience members and said goodbye to the night.
I talk about the end of Rye Laughs on my Knowing When to Quit podcast here.
Pasaporte Cultural
2013 – 2015
Following a Churchill Fellowship to Colombia in 2013, I set up a school project, teaching Spanish to Year 9 through cultural immersion (learning about Colombian music in 100% target language).
I ran a pilot, then realised I needed a break from working in education.
This was my first big quit.
Big Boogaloo Breakfast
2022 – 2023
One morning in 2022 I woke up with the words ‘Life Coach DJ’ in my head. I called my friend Jenn Crothers, who runs Boogaloo Radio, and pitched a show — she was in.
For six months we recorded a weekly breakfast show from her studio in Highgate, at the back of the Boogaloo Pub. We danced to great tunes, had slightly unhinged chats, and laughed a lot.
I hosted a segment called ‘Life Coach DJ’: people would call in with a problem, I’d coach them, then prescribe a song. Sarah Moany was our resident astrologer, reading tarot for the nation, and I created a few jingles along the way.
We both needed a creative spark and sense of purpose: this gave us exactly that (and led to meaningful work not long after). It was a real lesson in getting into the energy you want to create.
When Jenn’s work picked up and I moved to Brighton, we wrapped with a final show in May 2023. You can listen to an episode here.
Creative Retreats
2014 – 2016
A friend and I ran 4 sell-out Creative Retreats where we helped Londoners take time and space to reconnect with their creativity in a gorgeous woodland.
We realised that as much as we loved facilitating others’ creativity, we also wanted to work on our own, so we closed that chapter.
We sent a final email to everyone sharing our process, and celebrating all the ventures that had been birthed from it (including a baby!)
The CoMOONity
2018 – 2022
In 2018 I started running new and full moon ceremonies in my house. We’d gather, journal, burn things in the fire, dance and plant new moon wishes.
When lockdown hit I moved the gatherings online and a gorgeous global CoMOONity started growing, coming together every two weeks to reflect and wish.There was also a WhatsApp group to connect in between rituals. For me this became a grounding consistency and a nourishing community at a time when the world was in flux.
As we came out of lockdown I noticed the numbers waning, and I could see that the need to gather on Zoom was no longer there. I decided to have one final ceremony on 13th April 2022. Everyone came to thank and say goodbye to something in their life, and also share what the CoMOONity had meant to them. We decided to migrate the WhatsApp group into a new chat called ‘New Moon’. We no longer gather to mark the moon cycles, but people still share projects, ideas and connection. And often, a picture of the full moon from different parts of the globe.
I talk about the end of the CoMOONity on my Knowing When to Quit podcast here.
Air Bnb Experiences
2016 – 2019
In 2016 I was invited to be one of the first AirBnB Experiences in London. I designed an afternoon called ‘London by Uke’ - we would walk around central London and learn a chord at each of the big sites. By the end of the tour they’d have learned a whole song.
I met incredible people from all over the world, and some of them even did short performances with me.
Wellbeing Collective
2020
During the pandemic a group of us co-created a weekly online timetable of events to support people. These included yoga, business support, meditation, and art. It was a wonderful example of people coming together in a non-hierarchal, organic way. It naturally ended when life picked up again.
Stuck at Home Parties
March - June 2020
In March 2020 as we went into lockdown, my housemate helped set up a FB group called ‘I’m stuck at home but still want to have fun.’ She was invited onto local news to talk about the group, which prompted 20,000 globally to join it.
A group of us started hosting Zoom parties every Friday called ‘Thank Stuck it’s Friday’, the first of which was live streamed to BBC News! It was an incredible community over lockdown - people sharing free events, workshops, online dance parties, and live lounge gigs. People made connections all over the world and kept spirits high during uncertain times.
The parties and group wound up naturally as the world started to re-emerge, but it was a wonderful thing to be part of!
