Sisterhood Series: Ex-Colleagues To Creative Comrades, Meet Emily, Nadia & Amelia

When joining a new company or cooperation as a woman, there’s a plethora of “What Ifs” that run rampant in your mind. “What if I’m not good enough?”, “What if I don’t feel welcome?” But the most important question for many is is, “Will I get along with these people?”  For Amelia, Emily and Nadia, this experience of building work relationships blossomed into a sisterhood of support and mentorship. These three creative women united whilst working together at the digital publishing platform, Refinery 29, and found their professional relationships acting as a catalyst towards unfurling their creativity together. With a shared mindset to take up space by being unabashedly women-first in their approach to work, collaboration and friendship, a kinship was created.

We asked Amelia, Emily and Nadia to share with us how mentoring and sisterhood has played a role in building their creative practice.

Hello ladies. As professionals working together, what were the principles that shaped your relationships?

Emily - We worked together for a very intense year, and our practice as a squad or a team was about making sure that we were challenging the status quo of what brand content can be. It worked really well - we were really mindful of each other, very compassionate and we had an open-door policy where we could say what we were feeling, making sure everyone was being heard.

““Our side projects have been some of the best things I’ve worked on because we’ve been able to bring so many people together and its strengthened how the final project turned out.” – Amelia ”

Nadia - There was space for us to work together on our ideas, to be heard and exchange our skills, regardless of what our roles were. It gave us the opportunity to tap into each other's ideas to bring a plan together. This was a good way to collaborate and that continues today, we still work on projects together.

How has working together within the industry benefitted you?

Amelia - Moving from Oz, the night before I started, I balled, for half the night because I thought I'd made the wrong decision. I came to work, not expecting to make these deep connections with the women I’d work with but I did! We got to know every little thing about each other.

Amelia Bowe, Creative

Wears, Suit: Amy Barrie & Shirt: Claire Tiplady

Nadia Correia , Photographer.

Wears, Trousers: Amy Barrie, Top: Lindex

““That’s where it created something beyond just work relationships, it fostered genuine connections. Creative, personal connections beyond the brief and that’s what excites me.” ”

How have these friendships evolved over time?

Amelia – When I first met Emily, I didn’t know how to take her humour, I’m quite loud and boisterous, I love having a laugh, whereas you’re so witty and dry, I thought ‘oh god is our humour going to click, how will we work together?’, but we hit it off! We’ve shared lots of late-night texts (not weird ones, just professional!) and now we catch up on life, our creative practises as well as work.

Emily – I may have the most experience in theory but the truth is I learnt from you all as well.  The idea of mentorship and sisterhood is not that we’re here to do things for each other but we’re here to recognise our potential in each other, to hold each other up and offer support. My role is to let you guys unlock what’s within, and you take that with you. I notice with the women I mentor that everyone has a need for creative self-expression – writing, dancing, drawing, we all have a creative mode. Since leaving my job, my focus has been on pursuing my own creative practice and helping people make their own art.

Emily Fleuriot , Artist

Wears, Jumpsuit: M/O, Blazer: Amy Barrie

““It made me realise how important it is that we can create a space where we can all be ourselves and express ourselves and create what we need to create” – Emily ”

Nadia - That’s where you helped me, that support and creative direction was super important and it still is. I was working as a full-time Producer and keeping my photography on the side, you supported me when I took the leap towards doing photography full-time and that continues today. We meet for wine and complain about what’s not going well - you constantly mentor me.

Amelia- One of the biggest things you’ve both helped me in, without even trying, is finding my creative voice. I’ve never felt more accepted for who I am and it’s helped me come into my own. It’s thanks to this constant support that I have a space to creatively play nonstop.

Emily – The year we spent together helped me notice what I can do to give more. I appreciate that you all valued what I was able to offer and what you were able to learn. It was very reciprocal. There was no greater delight and joy than seeing you all do your thing, to unfurl creatively. It’s helped me see clearly what I want to do – thank you, I don’t know if I would have known.

Follow Emily Fleuriot on Instagram here, Nadia Correia here and Amelia Bowe here.

Credits

Director: Sheena Bonsu Brobbey DOP: Julia Fiona Brown Stylist: Femi Ayo Photography: Shonay Shote MUA: Francesca Daniella Hair: Sheree Jourdan & Phebe Checks Photography assisted by @florenceakano Hair assisted by @nasa_raye Creative Assistant: Siphiwe Mnguni Creative Assistant: Ryanna Allen Edit: Shaquilla Alexander Sound: Mia Zur-Zipporah Words: Bethany Burgoyne