More people than ever before have chosen to centre their lives around their career. Previously, this role would have been filled by community institutions like religion, sports or even the pub! As our jobs place increasingly more demands on our time; these outlets are falling by the wayside, leaving only the office to provide us with the sense of meaning we crave. And now, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken this from us as well! As we attempt to make sense of our lives and seek direction, could the answer be found in freelancing?

Japanese Hair and Make-up Artist Ryoko Ushio had only just moved to Cardiff when she was confined inside thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. Newly released into the outside world and wanting to improve the variety in her portfolio, Ryoko organised a pair of collaborative test shoots with other Freelancer Club members on a tennis court in north-west London.

Tom May, an award-winning journalist and editor, shares his top ideas for being creative from his book ‘Great TED Talks: Creativity’. Tom explains what creativity is, how to become more creative, and how to harness your creativity to improve your freelance practice.

We all know that forging a career in the creative industries isn’t easy in this country, despite Britain’s storied cultural reputation. New research highlights an interesting picture of class diversity within the UK’s creative sector, suggesting that if you’re not from a privileged background, you’re even less likely to make it. But why might that be?

Freelancing and feeling isolated? You’re not alone. We all know the feeling of loneliness and isolation but where does it come from and how can we combat it?

The initial impact of Covid-19 on the make-up, hair and beauty industry was devastating, with months of forced closures and bad hair days. Thankfully, the industry is starting to recover with a new period of growth as the pandemic restrictions are lifted - with a reported 432% spike in bookings at the end of the last lockdown in April 2021. Is this upswing impacting freelance make-up artists, hair stylists and beauty therapists and what tips do they have for you?

Do you want to land new clients through social media without having to spend a dime on paid ads? Where we find clients may have changed over the past 10 years but the principles of sales remains. Cold-calling is dead but online connections are common place so how do you use social media to land new clients?

When we’re nine-to-five employees, it's not often, dare I say ever at all, where we get to choose who we want to work with. Our bosses pair us up in teams or throw us into group projects with others all under the same roof and give us an aneurysm by tasking us with delivering a piece of work together.