Some of you may not know this, but 6 months ago we hired a new Senior Creative Director. Little did we know our world was about to get brighter and more joyful. When Sam came on board, we immediately knew she was one of us. She is such a beautiful person and has already proven to be such an asset in so many ways. So we wanted to spread a little bit of that joy your way. 

On our company slack channel, Sam shared with us the role that creativity played in her healing process after the passing of her twin sister, Emma. 

She also mentioned that she would love to share some of her journey, in hopes that it could help someone else in their time of grief. 

Here’s the interview we had with Sam

Sam, Can you please share a little bit about the role that creativity played in your life during the days following your twin’s passing?

Losing Emma, my twin sister is the hardest thing I’ve ever been through. We shared a lifetime of memories, and our lives were beautifully entwined with each other. She was the chalk to my cheese (is that a British saying?!) and I couldn’t have imagined a day without her, never mind the rest of my life. 

I have always been the creative one to Emma's love for numbers and math. Where she flourished as an accountant, I always dreamt of a life full of being creative and making things beautiful. It was one of many things that made us individually unique, and I held so close to it when I found myself in the darkest corners of grief. 

Creativity has always been the thing I have relied on to boost my spirit and morale. In my 20-year career as a designer, I have always felt so lucky that I get paid for something that brings me so much joy. In the days after Emma's death I found myself designing frames with quotes in, from songs we had loved together, to things she had said that had made us cry with laughter over the years. It was a creative outlet for celebrating her, and I found it gave me energy and meaning in days when I was struggling to have anything. I was doing it for her, and in my own unique and very personal way.

When it comes to creativity during this time, what obstacles did you have to overcome to find your creative self? Was it easy, or did you have to be intentional? 

Creativity came in bursts for me. Some days were better than others, but what was consistent was the feeling I had whenever I achieved and created something - I felt escapism, joy, and a sense of achievement in turning my hand to something. Even the smallest of things felt good to have accomplished.

Can you describe how it felt when you were creating during those times? 

Being creative was an outlet that didn’t need me to show up as anything other than myself. It didn’t discriminate with my state of mind, It didn’t care if I hadn’t got my makeup on… it was a space where I could let my mind drift and turn up as I was.

What types of creative activities did you partake in?

Shortly after Emma’s passing, I used my creativity as a memory keeper. A visual diary of special memories, songs, her favorite colors, and quotes, I made picture frames and collages of things that meant something to me. I didn’t realize this at the time, but I was allowing myself to heal. My feelings were being expressed differently. I come from a very close family and had an incredibly supportive husband and daughter (my youngest daughter had not yet been born!)

I was very well supported, but this was something just for me.

As the months passed, I decided to shift my focus onto something that would help others suffering from Cancer, as my sister had. I set up “ Emmas Wish” which is a registered Cancer Research Charity in the UK.

Growing up, one of the places special to myself and Emma was called Cave Castle. It was where we were first bridesmaids, and is a beautiful historical Castle near where we lived. My idea was to hold a ball here in Emma’s honor and raise money for Cancer Research in her memory. Creatively, this meant I was designing invites, color schemes, table decorations, and making lots of beautiful things. I also made things to raffle off on the night. This was done with my nearest family and friends, and we would love nothing more than sitting down at each other's houses and making things together, with purpose, and with the knowledge that every little thing we did not only helped us in our grief, but it was helping raise money for our Charity. We had our little community of making and it meant everything that we could do this together—making more memories whilst celebrating old ones.

To this day, we have raised almost £30,000 for Cancer Research, and have hosted four Charity Balls. The 5th one is being planned for next year, so I will be using a lot of IOD products in my crafting- watch this space!

Was the level of healing that took place directly tied to the resulting project from your creative time, or was it about the process? 

Grief is individual. Someone once said to me, “You grow around your grief” and it’s true. It never stops, but you learn to adapt and function around it. I believe creating after my loss gave me focus, gave me purpose, and allowed me to have time away from daily life to just be how I needed to be. I didn’t realize how much it helped me and my dealing with grief til the days started getting brighter again.

What would you tell someone who is considering creativity as a therapeutic and healing outlet during a journey with grief? Any tips on how to overcome obstacles? 

One of my life's biggest honors is helping people who have been in a similar situation to me, who are grieving, or who just find themselves at a stand-still in their journey. Life can be hard and we need to enjoy the creative glimmers when they present themselves.

A few tips I would love to share are:

1. TAKE YOUR TIME, and don’t overthink anything. Sometimes when you feel overwhelmed in other areas of your life, the thought of then adding to your load by starting a project can be daunting…

2. MAKE A LIST. As part of my healing process, I used to write a thankful list to myself every night before bed. Just 3 things that day that I was thankful for. This sometimes resulted in me being thankful for taking 30 minutes out of my day to be creative, and other times it would highlight what I wanted to do as a future focus.

3. START SMALL. A canvas, a bauble, a small frame, painting pottery, clay craft.. whatever your heart desires… you’ll never regret making a start in a positive way. Who knows what other projects this could lead to? Being creative gives me a dopamine hit, and it’s especially wonderful when others start to enjoy the fruits of your creativity too (like our IOD Creative Community - I LOVE this space, and you will always see me liking everyone's work and commenting. Yes, that's me and now you know, please say hello!)

Being creative is a gift. It’s like riding a bike. Sometimes you need to dust yourself off, but it’s something we are all very lucky to have. We need to celebrate our creativity more, and I would love it if you shared your pieces with me on our community page. If you have a story where Craft and Creativity have helped you heel, then please let us know!