Amelia Nash's journey from a small Canadian town to becoming a brand strategist in New York City is the epitome of non-linear creative exploration. Starting with dreams of being a French translator and drama teacher, Amelia's path took her through graphic design, marine biology aspirations, architecture firm work, insurance company design roles, freelance entrepreneurship during the pandemic, and ultimately to studying at SVA's prestigious Masters in Branding program.

Her story is marked by a fearless approach to opportunity, consistently leaving situations where she felt capped in growth, and maintaining an attitude of "confetti in the wind" - throwing out applications and ideas to see what lands. From working as the sole designer at an architecture firm to building a successful branding studio during COVID-19, Amelia demonstrates how curiosity and courage can create unexpected opportunities.

Now working as Brand and Marketing Manager at SVA's Masters in Branding program and as a senior staff writer for Print magazine, Amelia embodies the power of asking questions, embracing change, and refusing to settle for work that doesn't challenge her to grow.

Key Takeaways

• Embrace non-linear paths - Your career doesn't need to follow a straight line; sometimes the most interesting journeys are like "confetti in the wind"
• Ask questions fearlessly - Being told you "ask too many questions" might be a sign you've outgrown your current environment
• Use the one-day grief rule - Allow yourself to feel disappointment fully for one day, then move forward with renewed energy
• Apply without high expectations - Submit applications and proposals as practice runs, removing pressure and fear of rejection
• Leave when you hit your growth cap - Don't stay in positions where you can't evolve, even if they seem secure
• Turn disruption into opportunity - The pandemic became Amelia's launching pad for freelance success by helping others pivot their businesses
• Leverage curiosity as a career tool - Endless curiosity and quick boredom can be superpowers for finding new opportunities
• Don't overthink the outcome - Focus on trying rather than succeeding; most attempts won't work out, but that's not the point
• Listen for unexpected doors - A simple podcast mention led to SVA application and complete life transformation
• Choose growth over comfort - Repeatedly choosing uncertainty and challenge over stability led to increasingly fulfilling opportunities

Daring Forever. Podcast with Radim Malinic

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Radim Malinic: [00:00:00] 

Amelia Nash: I think, that I've spent a large part of the things that I do in my upbringing and into my young adulthood, like being so concerned about other people and what other people think and that's where a lot of that people pleasing comes from.

I'm getting in to a point now in my life where it's like life is just too short. There's bigger fish to fry. There's so many of the things that we obsess over and so many of the things that we're like, oh, like what if? And yeah, I can apply for a thing and then sit in my living room ransacked with worry and never move forward until I hear back.

Or I can just let it go. I'm gonna apply for this thing, and now I have no control over it. So what's the point in worrying? What's the point in getting anxious over this? I'm just gonna let it go and then I'm going to move on [00:01:00] to the next thing. . 

Welcome to the Daring Creativity Podcast, a show about daring to forever explore creativity that isn't about chasing shiny perfection. It's about showing up with all your doubts and imperfections and making them count. It's about becoming more of who you already are. My name is Radim Malinic. I'm a designer, author, and eternally curious human being.

I am talking to a broad range of guests who share their stories of small actions that sparked lifetime discoveries, taking one step towards the thing that made them feel most alive. 

Let me begin this episode with a question. Are you ready to discover what happens when you dare to create?

Guest Intro

Radim Malinic: Today I am talking with Amelia Nash, a Canadian born, New York City based designer, brand strategist and creative director with experience of craft [00:02:00] in bold, sustainable brands that inspire, educate, and connect. she's driven by analytical insight. She runs in-depth data analysis to transform ideas into unforgettable visual narratives.

In our conversation, we talk about her fearless approach to opportunity, consistently leaving the situation where she felt capped in grove and maintaining an attitude of confetti in the wind. Throwing out applications and ideas to see what lands. She demonstrates how curiosity and courage can create unexpected opportunities.

Now, she's also working as a brand and marketing manager at the SVAs Masters in Branding program and as a senior staff writer for Print magazine. She embodies the power of asking questions, embracing change, and refusing to settle for work that doesn't challenge hair to grow.

 Hey Amelia, how you doing? Welcome to the show.

Amelia Nash: Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm doing [00:03:00] well. How are you? 

Radim Malinic: Fantastic stuff. Wow. excited to speak to you about a topic of daring creativity and topic of daring because, I know you and I know that your journey into what you do how you do it, and where you go with all of this is non-linear, like in a way that you put me to shame because my journey is non-linear.

Whereas yours, it's like, oh my God, how, what? So for those who have had no heard of you, tell us about yourself. what you do, who you are, and and, let's unpick you a bit.

Amelia Nash: Yeah. My, journey is totally non-linear. It's,not even on the same. Line of the same page on the same book. It's truly confetti in the wind. but for those that don't know me, hello, I'm Amelia Nash and I am from a very small town in Canada in the shoe schwas called Salmon Arm. I am currently living in, working in New York City as a brand strategist and consultant, as well as a design designer, freelance on [00:04:00] the side.

And my full-time gig is as the brand and marketing manager at the School of Visual Arts Masters in branding program. And I am also a senior staff writer for Print magazine.

Radim Malinic: mentioned something amazing that I liked as an expression. We said there's like a confetti in the wind. 

 I always believe, and this is based on the conversation I have on this show, that people are like confetti in the wind. They flew out. They sometimes don't even know, like when someone says Hey, you're gonna fly out.

Do you know where you're going? No idea. I'm not sure where I'm landing, 

we all land in a place where we should be. Because where you are today, did you ever want it to be in this place?

Amelia Nash: Originally, no. I am endlessly curious and very quickly and easily bored. So growing up, I think what I wanted to be. When I was a kid and thinking about my future, it changed probably a hundred times. I graduated high school and I think like many [00:05:00] 18 year olds didn't have a clue what I wanted to do or where I wanted to be.

 So I took a year off and went and lived in France, and I didn't know it at the time, but that was actually my first introduction into graphic design because a friend of the family was a graphic designer, and I remember seeing her giant iMac on her desk and she was explaining to me what she did, and I remember thinking, oh, that's really cool.

But I didn't connect any dots or anything like that. I just was like, oh, this is neat. I came home and, at that time we had moved in, I was now living in Edmonton and I started at the University of Alberta with a dual major. French translation and theater. So I thought, okay, well I'll either be a drama teacher or I will be a translator for French.

And it seems so [00:06:00] ridiculous now saying it out loud and thinking about it. 'cause it is just so sporadic. It's so sporadic. I don't understand how I thought putting those two things together made any sense, but I was just interested in them both, and so I thought, well, I'll just pursue both.

Radim Malinic: I want to ask you about Franz 'cause. 18-year-old, you thinking France for a year. Did you have any connections or did you go blind?

Amelia Nash: It. Was through a rotary exchange program. And because I'm Canadian, we learn French and school, like we have the dual languages, French and English. So I had studied, French. I was in French immersion since grade eight. So I did, no French, but it was not any level of fluency. I really became fluent and bilingual in French as I lived in France.

And I have a really weird dialect because I learned Quebec was like Canadian French, [00:07:00] but had more opportunity speaking France French. So, yeah, so I, I knew a little bit, but I ended up going there through a rotary exchange program and I was supposed to do my first year of university there, but there was a mess up with the paperwork, so I ended up just traveling around.

Radim Malinic: I don't know much about French sort of design scene, trying to make the numbers early two thousands. Was that like that? so I'm trying to work out like what was the influences, because you looked at it, you thought that looks interesting and carried on, but did you have any sort of influences speaking different language, thinking differently?

Like how did that inspire you?

Amelia Nash: Yeah. the reason why I chose France is because I had learned French in school. And so for me, I was like, well, I want to continue leveling up in French. So France just made sense and that was really. The reason why I wanted to go to France was just to expand my knowledge in the language that I had learned.

And it's funny because you would think that [00:08:00] maybe yes, art Novo or architecture or anything like that was, would've been the reason. But again, at the time, I didn't have an understanding in design as career, in creativity as career. I just thought, Ooh, I'm gonna go there and learn more of the language and going there absolutely, I think was a really formative year in who I became as an adult.

how can you not go to France and learn everything you?

need to learn about architecture and design and museums and art galleries and some of the artistic periods of those times, and. again, I don't think I really realized all of that at the time, but it, I definitely brought a lot of that back with me. 

Radim Malinic: Some, was it the French? And then carrying on doing a degree to be a French translator. Makes sense. But theater, how did we get to theater? What? How[00:09:00] 

Amelia Nash: Yeah. theater was, because I.

was just a theater kid in school. I did drama again from grade eight through 12. So it was just, it, I just thought okay, if French translation doesn't work out, like what's a career I could see myself doing? And again, I liked drama, I liked the theatrics.

and I liked teaching, so I just thought, oh, drama teacher. and it's funny because. All of these things that I am involved in absolutely do have a sense of creativity within them. I was always a creative kid. My, my mom is very artistic and so she always had us doing kind of arts and crafts, and I was the kid who would design the binder covers and create my own stickers and do all that kind of stuff.

So there's always been, I think, a glimmer of creativity in everything that I pursue, whether I know it at the time or not. but that was the reason why I wanted to do drama, because like theater and the scenes and the set pieces and everything just [00:10:00] seemed really cool.

Radim Malinic: I like that you said, if the French translation doesn't work out, the theater will work out.

Amelia Nash: Yeah. Right.

there you can, you can get into my brain as a disillusioned 18-year-old thinking, 

If working for the UN as a translator doesn't work out theater, that's the one 

Radim Malinic: the, yeah, the UN might not work out, but it definitely, the theater 

Amelia Nash: Yeah.

Radim Malinic: that would be the safe choice. but it sounds like there was not too much of a pushback from your family, from your parents, like you were kind left to your own devices. 

Amelia Nash: I guess in that sense, my parents were fortunately quite encouraging and liberal of what I wanted to be as long as I went to school. 'cause they're both, because teachers and,my dad is actually a city planner, so my stepfather and my mother are both teachers and so they were both very strict with education as long as I went to school, and got an education.

I don't know if they really cared all too much, like what exactly I ended up doing as long as I got an [00:11:00] education. They both wanted me to be a teacher, of course. So maybe that's why being a drama teacher was okay on their checklist of things that I could be was because teaching in any form, they both aligned with 

Radim Malinic: Wow. Okay. That's interesting. 'cause like I, like you said, they were liberal, but as long as you weren't in school, that was okay. 

Amelia Nash: Yeah. 

Radim Malinic: A bit of an interesting juxtaposition. So yeah. So the theater didn't work out, did it? so you went to do some other that stuff, so, well how do we get from now some from French and theater to you wanting to be a marine biologist?

Amelia Nash: Oh my gosh, yes. Okay. So while I was, so, while I was in France, my mother and my stepfather, my siblings moved to Edmonton, Alberta. So that's the next province over. And so when I came home from France, I came back to Edmonton, and that's where I, that's where I did my first year of university, the French, the drama [00:12:00] that didn't work out.

So I, I think I lasted like two semesters and was like, this is not for me. So I, dropped outta school and was trying to float around, figure out what I wanted to do, and my stepdad recommended that I go check out The open house at Nate, which is like a technical institution in Edmonton.

So I went to that and I was wandering around and I came across graphic communications program and I fell in love with it. I fell in love with it because it was doing art on a computer and I just was thought it was the coolest thing in the world. So I ended up doing that, got my certificate, and then ended up out of graduation working, at an architecture firm.

And I was their only designer as an in-house designer. I did everything and it was such a good learning opportunity and I think it really got me into, that was my first foray into branding because I had to do everything from business cards to their website. [00:13:00] I ended up doing a rebrand for the company as well and updating their logo, had to do exterior signage, so that was really cool.

So I liked the work that I was doing, but I did not like where I was working. And so it was about. Probably three or four years later that I wanted to move on to different things. And so I had applied for every design job under the sun in Edmonton and got nowhere, like nobody, no interviews, nobody was interested in hiring me, nothing.

And what I came to realize 'cause Edmonton's a bit of a smaller city too, is that my certificate kept being beat out by diplomas and degrees. And so it was, at that point in my life, I was 24. I thought, okay, what am I gonna do next? I can go back to school and get my design degree, or I can do something [00:14:00] different, do something else.

And the only other thing that I was interested in doing at that time was marine biology. I was really good as at biology as a a kid into university. I love the ocean. Like it's a huge passion of mine is ocean conservation. So I was like, well, I can take this passion that I enjoy doing and go be a marine biologist?

So I, I literally applied for this, design program and has submitted some applications to Dalhousie University, which is in Halifax, Canada, which is on the east coast of Canada. And I was like, okay, I'm gonna just submit these things and I'm gonna figure this out. And what I did is I submitted these applications and I had dropped off my portfolio at the University of Alberta for their Bachelor of design program on my way to the airport because I was heading to Thailand for a month to backpack with a friend.

So I literally just was like, again, confetti to the wind. I was [00:15:00] like, I'm gonna throw these options out. I'm gonna see what lands. 

Radim Malinic: trying to think which part, which sort of, which dare to is yours in this episode. Because I think it's there to explore dare to be curious, dare to not overthink it. Maybe, or just basically don't overthink it. I can't, I'm not even, there to keep it simple because like that openness, 

'cause you said you work for an architecture firm and you were the only designer and you did a quite of different things. And then you said a few years later I was 24. I'm like, wait a minute. So you are 20 odd 20 years. I'm 20 odd years. And you're working as the only designer. You don't really have that much prior experience.

You've got pretty much open canvas, oh, blank canvas, do this, do that. I'm not sure we should talk about how good was the first website you designed for the company?

Amelia Nash: it was, 

oh, it was trash. It was trash. I can confirm it was not good. 

Radim Malinic: Dare to give it a go.

Amelia Nash: dare to say fuck it.

Yeah. 

Radim Malinic: I was kinda amazed that you said I, I was doing this thing [00:16:00] but I didn't enjoy where I was working.

Normally people don't quit because of the work they quit or because of the environment, because you can always find a way to make it work enjoyable.

So. How was that as an experience? Because you got your opportunity to try everything to be excited, and it sounded like you you burned those matches really quickly because that's the beginning of a career. But a few years later you're like, actually, I would really like the ocean a bit more.

So with the job, what really happened?

Amelia Nash: Yeah. That's a really good question. I think it was, again, that I am, because I'm So curious and I like to do, a lot of things and I like to do a lot of things well, and I really throw my entire self into everything that I do. I don't like to I don't like to half-ass things, and I don't like to just dip a toe in.

I'm like, if I'm gonna do this thing, I'm gonna do it. And then we'll see what happens. And I think it got to a point where I. [00:17:00] Working for the architecture firm, I was really looking to grow. I was really looking to do more and see how I could like level up and learn more there. But I had met my cap of what was possible at that place.

And there were some conversations where essentially I was told that I talked too much, that I asked too many questions and I was really just there to produce what they needed. So it was kind, that was really the point where I'm like, oh, okay, well I can stay here and continue to do this cyclical design work of, annual trade shows and signage and doing the things that I've already been doing for four years, or I can go down a different path.

And I think the marine biology was a hail Mary. Where I was really hurt and I was really upset,that was the ending of that job experience. And then I was also [00:18:00] frustrated that I couldn't find any other design work. So I was like, well, I just must be like the shittiest designer on the planet then, because what else can I do?

So marine biology was something I enjoyed as a passion, and was like, well, fuck it, I'll go try this.

Radim Malinic: So you said quite a few I important things. You said before you were looking for space to grow and that space wasn't coming. The space wasn't there. And obviously being taught, you speak too much. Some people are just grumpy. Right. But you said one important thing you said. I asked too many questions.

that's the part of when you want to grow. When you're willing to grow, that curiosity comes in because asking question. Is gold, it's free. like you can never run out. You can never have too many questions and too many answers. There's always something more to find out, and that to me goes naturally hand in hand with growth.

dare to ask a question, dare to ask as many questions 

And in your case, you don't have to regret asking those questions because you [00:19:00] ask too many questions to the point you realize I've answered my own questions. It's a way out.

Amelia Nash: Yeah. Yeah. 

I, that's the one way I think I've, at least since. early high school, I've lived my life where I don't want any regrets. I don't wanna get to the end of my life and have any regrets about, oh, I wish I would've done that thing. Or, oh, I wish I would've tried that. or, oh, I wish I would've just sent that email or whatever.

And that's just the way that I work where, Yeah, 

 I'm gonna send out an email, I'm gonna send out an application, I'm gonna try this thing I'm gonna do That probably won't work out. I think 80% of the things, probably more that I've done in my life, haven't worked out. But I can confidently say that at least I tried.

Radim Malinic: that makes, that's a perfect segue because we can take us back to the airport when you go to Thailand, because I wanted to ask you like, how do you [00:20:00] fill that time between taking the first step of the action and then waiting for the outcome? Because sometimes that's relying on somebody else, right?

That there's the time and you have, sometimes you have to wait and you've got two options. You can either eat yourself alive waiting or you can forget about it and just carry on. And I believe that's exactly what you did when you applied for things. You went to Thailand 

Amelia Nash: Yep. 

Correct. 

Radim Malinic: That's one way to actually not get worried about 

Amelia Nash: Avoidance. 

Radim Malinic: Yeah. 

Amelia Nash: Yeah.

avoidance. 

Radim Malinic: So take us to Thailand and what 

Amelia Nash: Oh

Okay. So literally on the, and the portfolio was the last step of this application to the University of Alberta Bachelor of Design program. So I was on my way to the airport, I dropped off my portfolio, and at the time, portfolios were still major, made.

Major, like physical pieces. So I had a physical portfolio with physical works in it, and I remember that I walked [00:21:00] up the stairs to this room where we had to drop off our portfolios and I, I opened the door and I signed in and I went to give my portfolio. And I remember seeing hundreds of portfolios in this room.

And I remember thinking, well, okay, then at least I tried. So I honestly did not have high hopes that I was gonna get into this program because again, with my experience at this architecture firm, I thought that I was just a shit designer. I thought I was like the worst designer. So I was like, okay, well I'm not gonna get this.

That's okay. I'm just not gonna worry about it. There's nothing I can do. And then I went to Thailand. And Thailand was just a holiday. it was a month of backpacking around the country with one of my really good friends from high school. And we didn't have service really at all. there was a good chunk of the trip where we were in some national park that didn't even have like electricity, so it was just literally a month of I'm not gonna worry about it, and when I get back, I'll [00:22:00] deal with what I deal with, because the timeline worked out as such that when I return home is when I was supposed to hear about acceptance into this design program or not. 

Radim Malinic: So

I think there was something about portfolios, those fake leather bound cardboard pieces that only outside, they were quite neutral because you can have 50 designers with their cases, unless they had some snazzy stickers on it.

Everyone was equal. Like it was actually in a way quite anonymous. Like your creativity, your genius was still bottled in, like it was still hidden in behind the sleeves and then somebody else got to validate it. So you you didn't feel necessarily unless you told yourself the narrative that you are the worst designer because.

Somebody who looked cool with their cool portfolio might have been totally rubbish, But we didn't really, we didn't call the news. So I understand that from your experience from the architecture firm, you thought you were, the worst designer in the room. But that was just a narrative you invented, [00:23:00] right?

Because that's how you felt and you didn't really, you didn't really have a sort of external validation from anybody else, did you?

Amelia Nash: no, because again, I was the only designer at the firm and I had started working at that firm right out of graduating from the graphic communications program, so. I had a very limited experience, so this narrative for sure, I built in my own head, just from my limited experience working for one firm and seeing my other designer friends getting jobs and then applying for the same jobs they were applying for, but not getting even interviewed for them.

And so that I think, is what led me to build up this narrative of my head where, oh, I just must be a trash designer because nobody wants to hire me. All I can do is get an in-house gig for an architecture firm that doesn't even want me to really design. They just want me to produce. 

Radim Malinic: So

two questions, maybe more packaged in one. So what did you put in your portfolio and what did you do for your portfolios to become better? Did you do [00:24:00] self-initiated work? did you work on your craft and did you try to improve or were you more sort of preoccupied getting a job and hoping to grow in the job?

Amelia Nash: Yeah, I didn't do. Any upgrading to my portfolio, which now in hindsight I probably should have. But I included, the work from my NATE program, so the program, the graphic communications program that I did, I included work from that program and I also included work that I had done at the U of A previously.

'cause my first year of post-secondary was at the U of A doing French and theater. But just by chance, just by happenstance, I'd actually taken the fundamental art and design courses just for fun. And I did really well in design. I really liked it. But still, again, at that point, I didn't think that was a career really.

and so I included some of those projects as well. So I had projects from my previous [00:25:00] design courses at the U of A and then. The projects that I had completed at Nate, that was my portfolio. I spent no time doing fashion projects. I spent no time upgrading my portfolio. I just put it together and submitted it. 

Radim Malinic: So you came back from Thailand, you submitted two applications, you had no signal, you arrived, and then what happened?

Amelia Nash: And then I got a letter from the University of Alberta saying, congratulations, we've accepted you into the Bachelor of Design program, which was amazing and made me feel, okay, maybe I'm not as trash as I think I am. And then an even bigger bonus was the program is technically five years. The first year you have to do the fundamental courses before you can apply into.

Visual communication design stream or a industrial design stream. But because I had already done [00:26:00] all the fundamentals my first year, I was able just to go straight into the visual communication design and start my first of the four years to get my degree. 

Radim Malinic: Fabo. Well, at least you save yourself for a year.

Amelia Nash: Mm-hmm. And so I saved myself a year.

just confetti in the wind. So there you 

Radim Malinic: Confetti in the wind. So the marine biology never happened. You started doing graphic design, then you, as you would say, confetti in the wind. You did all sorts of different things. graduated, did work, did freelance work all the way to the point where 

 you find yourself in the middle of the pandemic sat in Edmonton. Thinking is the set. Is this what life is? 

 you ask yourself the next set of questions for you to grow and that brought you to New York where 

Amelia Nash: Mm-hmm.Yeah, 

so it's funny because that journey after the U of A to New York was actually identical [00:27:00] to my journey from Nate to the U of A. So I graduated from the U of A, and then same thing, right after graduation, I got into an in-house design job at an insurance company, and I was part of their marketing team.

So I was a graphic designer for the marketing department of this major, insurance corporation. And same thing, a couple years went by and again, was told that I asked too many questions or I pushed back on things. And it is the same conversations, the same conversations were happening where again, I was happy with the work that I was doing, but I was not happy with where I was working and not happy that I couldn't, I felt like I couldn't grow, I couldn't evolve, I couldn't move up.

And I, I just, I've learned really, I guess in this span of time I've learned, I don't wanna just do. [00:28:00] Production for production's sake, I design is a problem to be maybe not solved, but thought about. And so I found myself in the same situation. And yes, then we got sent home, because of COVI.

And so I was working from home and Edmonton is like a prairies city. So I remember I was sitting in my office at home and I was looking out the window and it was just gray. All you could see was gray sky. And I was looking out this window and I was thinking, I don't know what COVID is all about, but if this is the end of the world is really what I want to be stuck doing.

And the answer was a resounding hell no. I don't wanna be sat here doing this, miserable people not taking me seriously. so then I was like, okay, what are my options? Well, I can't get another job right now because it's a pandemic and people are. Losing their jobs. so what can I do? Well, I can freelance.

I've been, I'd been freelancing since [00:29:00] Nate, so I was like, I can freelance, I can work for myself. So I started to make a more serious cons concerted effort to do that. So I started freelancing a little bit more on the side. My, this was March, 2020. My goal was that December, 2020 I was going to quit my job and start the next year fresh and freelance.

I ended up getting so much clientele that I was able to quit my job in August, and I am so lucky and so like privileged and fortunate to have been able to do that. And the reason was because people were losing their jobs, so they had to start their own thing. And I was able to help small businesses and help mom and pop shops and help.

Startups do this. And so that was the niche that I really started getting into as being like, Hey, branding is important. Branding is a strategy. This [00:30:00] can elevate your presence to clients. let me help you get there. and that was the niche I went in. And so I quit my full-time job, literally several months into the pandemic.

And everyone thought I was crazy. Everyone thought I was outta my mind because I'm leaving this like cushy corporate job with health benefits to just do my own thing. but I did. And so I started my own branding studio and did that.

Radim Malinic: I realize how easy to say, well, how easy to say in hindsight could you not see it coming, working for insurance company where you asked too many questions? when you look back, it was like, that's a history of repeating. the key to your success is that you found people in pandemic who were asking their wrong questions.

They were like, what can I do now I mean there's a lot of creatives who feel a little bit guilty about saying, Hey, actually I had a very good pandemic. Like pandemic was good to me. Because if you were there with the right heart and the right sentiment and the right sort of set of questions like, how can I help you?

What can I do for you? [00:31:00] But potentially like we are not here to make ton of money by being Head Start new re like creative relationships, business relationships, things change. Like a lot has changed. and I've had lots of people that I've spoken to and I said, some of them unfortunately had bad pandemic, 'cause they were potentially a bit too specialists.

 and it was Tim Thompson who said it on the show, he said look, you've got creativity and you've got talent. If you're talented, you might be replaced 'cause you're too niche. Whereas if you're creative, you can pivot at any time, you can find solutions. And being creative in a pandemic is Hey, this thing called A doesn't work. Maybe we need to invent things called B or C or D. like the number of weird business ideas we had with my studio. Like we were replicating, we were building lots of stuff in three DI literally, I nearly started a business doing 3D visualization because all of the photos studios were closed.

like we could use those tools in a creative way. And I think that was the exciting part because you can jump where you need it. We can jump and you can invent that next stone, where you can jump on. [00:32:00] So I think it was quite exciting. But you finding yourself obviously being from that impression of gray skies thinking, is this said, I can't imagine how morbid is if this is the end of the world.

 I'm not taking a sitting down.

Amelia Nash: No. 'cause I don't wanna die with regrets. What's the worst that's gonna happen? I don't make it and I have to get another job. Okay. I. 

Radim Malinic: Again, you didn't quit a job necessary 'cause the work was ah, you just quit it because you were asking too many questions and they didn't like it. And I think this is the best way of finding your way out asking questions because have I got it right that you listen to Debbie's podcast and when Debbie signs up a podcast, she says, this was recorded with no at DSVA and you're like, maybe I should apply for SVA.

Amelia Nash: So I was running my own branding studio. I was working with clients and my whole ethos with that was to empower others through brand. 'cause again, I didn't wanna be production, I didn't want to [00:33:00] work jobs or work with clients where they just wanted me to produce stuff for them. I wanted to actually empower them and help them to use design to build a brand to fulfill their own dreams.

and that was going swimmingly. I was doing that for, a be I guess just almost two years and. Same thing. I was trying to reach out and expand and do this for other types of industries. I was trying to get larger clients, but I had hit a knowledge cap with what I knew about branding, where I knew that I liked branding and I knew that branding was really interesting to me.

And I liked the strategy behind it, but I had never learned it in school. It was something that I fell into and then self-taught the fundamentals of and at again, like I, yeah, I listened to Debbie Millman's podcast and at the end of her podcast, this, film recorded the masters in branding studio, the School of Visual Arts.

And I was at this moment in, in [00:34:00] running my own stuff that I thought, okay, I need to learn more. What's the best place to do it? It's gonna be at the Masters in branding program. That was, it was like the first and only program of its kind. And I was like, well. I'm gonna apply for that. And same thing, I did not think I was going to get in because who am I this small town Canadian girl who doesn't know shit about branding.

But I thought, I'm gonna apply and I'm gonna use this as a practice run. I'm gonna apply. I'm not gonna get in because I know it's competitive and I know I have nothing to show. So I'll do that and then use it as a training experience so that I can button up my portfolio and make a kick ass application for the following year.

And so this was towards the end of December, so it was around Christmas that I, in 2020 that I was listening to the podcast and it, [00:35:00] and was like, okay, I'm gonna apply to this. And then I looked into the deadline and the deadline was January 15th. So I was like, oh, shh. I was like, okay, well I'm definitely not gonna get it.

'cause I hadn't even started anything. I, you have to get letters of references, you have to get your transcripts, you have to get, applying to post, secondary graduate studies. Like you, you have to put together a comprehensive packet. And so I hustled my ass and I spent the next two weeks putting everything together, was able to submit my application on January 15th, like literally the last day of this deadline I submitted.

and then I got an interview and I was like, oh, okay. that's exciting. and the interview went well. I, again, didn't think that I was going to. Get accepted into the program because I didn't know anything about branding. Like they were asking me, questions like, oh, like why do you like branding?

Why do you want to be a brand strategist? And all these things. And I'm like, [00:36:00] eh, I couldn't tell you, but I'm just interested. I think it's fascinating and I wanna learn more. and then it was about, I think a day after that interview, I got a letter from the School of Visual Arts saying, congratulations, we've accepted you into the Master's of Writing program.

And I didn't believe it. I honest, I'm still like in shock, just that whole trajectory where I was like, how did I ev how did I get here? How did I fool them? Like how, how did I get in? And so I was over the moon and this was early. February, I was over the moon. I was so excited.

I was like, oh my God, yay. And then I was like, oh, I have six months to actually get there. It's, we're in a pandemic. I have to move to New York, a city I've never been to before. I have to get the funding. And so then it was like six months of how do I actually make this happen?

Radim Malinic: Thing inside of me where this voice in my head is always just try. What's the worst that's gonna [00:37:00] happen? And I think that this ambition and this.

Amelia Nash: Force of resilience inside of me to do things. I do think a lot of that stems from me being, at least in the past, not so much anymore. I consider myself like a recovering people pleaser, but I know a lot of that stemmed from being like a people pleaser, where it's this kind of backwards mentality I, I have of, oh, I have to get this task done because if I don't get this task done, I'm going to let down or disappoint so and so.

And I think in retrospect, the person that I'm gonna be disappointing in letting down is myself. And so I've just always had this drive to be like, anything that I'm interested in, anything that I'm curious about, anything that I wanna learn, I'm gonna do it. And I might not become a master of [00:38:00] it. I might not do it well, but.

There's so many opportunities out there and so many things you can be creative with, and so many amazing people and so many talented humans. I just wanna try. I just wanna try and I'm not so concerned with the outcome. 

Radim Malinic: I like that because even though you said you're recovering people pleaser that I I'm trying to sense like the little feedback that you've got, like the feedback loop that you're looking for because it's like living in a moment, We can talk about people pleasing and the reasons for that because it's oh, they're never really that good, but I'm liking this.

I'm liking this. How it's all about, yeah, that present moment and it's let's do the right thing. Let's do the right job. Because ultimately that must be one of the ingredients or sets of ingredients why you could be navigating, 

the nature as Oliver Jeff has said on the show, be like a river.

Don't be a rock. a river will always [00:39:00] find a way, whereas the rock will try to stand, stand still and not move. And I think the unknown sometimes scare people.

Amelia Nash: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. it's terrifying. I am, I'm still so terrified to put myself out there. Like I, I still have to force myself to talk about my own accomplishments. That's the thing that is my biggest holdback right now. I have no problem going out there and trying anything. Like I will try mostly anything once, But. Talking about that and talking about the things that I'm doing or the things that I've done, or this crazy journey that I've been through. Oh, man, that, that's the thing I'm afraid of the most 

Radim Malinic: It.

Amelia Nash: is that 

Radim Malinic: Oh, is it just being Canadian?

Amelia Nash: Oh, maybe, yes, we're full of stories and we're overly polite, so it could just be the Canadian?

in me as well. But yeah, I think, that I've spent [00:40:00] a large part of the things that I do in my upbringing and into my young adulthood, like being so concerned about other people and what other people think and that's where a lot of that people pleasing comes from.

I'm getting in to a point now in my life where it's like life is just too short. There's bigger fish to fry. There's so many of the things that we obsess over and so many of the things that we're like, oh, like what if? And yeah, I can apply for a thing and then sit in my living room ransacked with worry and never move forward until I hear back.

Or I can just let it go. I'm gonna apply for this thing, and now I have no control over it. So what's the point in worrying? What's the point in getting anxious over this? I'm just gonna let it go and then I'm going to move on to the next thing. And everything, in a weird way, will connect itself in a way that it's, it's meant to for me.

Radim Malinic: I would equate my, not even just my professional career, but my life too, where you have a garden [00:41:00] and every season you're planting things and some things grow, some things don't. And the things that don't grow or the things that you've outgrown, you're going to weed away and make space for something new or make space for something different.

Amelia Nash: Different seasons produce different crops, different plants, different flowers that you can sew and, and some,and things you're gonna plant in the spring and not see them blossom until the fall and vice versa. So I think being in motion and because I'm so easily bored,I just think that's definitely being my mo Now, not to say that I haven't had my fair share of disappointments, of course, but I give myself one day to grieve.

I give myself one day to grieve. where yes, I feel those feelings, I feel those emotions, and then I move on. And it's either gonna be like, okay, what do I read? Attempt this, what can I do to improve this? Or was this just not the right time, the right place, the not the right opportunity for me?

Radim Malinic: One day to grieve. I've never had anything like it. it's [00:42:00] interesting, like you just time boxed it and say, you know what? We're gonna snap out of it in 24 hours. How did that come about?

Amelia Nash: that's a really good question. 

No one taught me that.

I think it's just been something that. 

I've been incorporated into my life more and more, especially these last handful of years, because I used to spend way too much time on things that didn't matter, where okay, you wouldn't get the gig or somebody that you really wanted to be friends with doesn't wanna be friends with you, or your parents disappoint you or you didn't get accepted into this thing. I just think, 

that worrying about something that you don't have control over is detrimental to your. Health detrimental to your mental space. And so over the last handful of years, I've just been like, oh yeah, this was disappointing, or I.

really wanted to get that. Or, oh, this person doesn't like me.

Ouch. Okay, grief, get through [00:43:00] the emotions, and then tomorrow's a new day. 

Radim Malinic: I absolutely love it. I absolutely love it. 

it's really good. it's very healthy attitude because. Some of the things just live in your mind for free. just because you allow them. 

 when you think about it like you are, you're dealing with disappointment, potentially anger within 24 hours. we can switch on and off anger. Like we, we can be super angry, answer the phone to whoever, go, Hey, how are you doing?

Alright. And then go back to being angry, which proves us the fact like, Hey, actually you know what? You can control this stuff. Some of the stuff like, no emotional reaction, sometimes we cannot control them. We can give them some time, but your space to work it out 24 hours and tell yourself that's it again.

Takes us back to that beautiful analogy of the garden. that's such a healthy way of looking at it because yeah, not everyone thinks about it that way because sometimes that's quite helpful to create it as a sort of semi identity for a while and go Hey, this is not happening and this is not good.

And [00:44:00] I've got a whole beef with the LinkedIn with talented people at the moment. everything's unfair and this is not quite right. And I see slightly from, not cynical, but like from a realistic point of view, like you've got a chance to navigate your career. You've got a chance to build your garden.

you have to attend to it every day, and you don't really blame anything. Or you don't blame the rain, you don't blame, whatever. because you'll look after it. you make it happen to what you want it to be. And in your case, I think this is absolutely fabulous because.

You don't wanna live with regrets. That's what you said earlier, I don't wanna regret these things and you're gonna sort it out within the day. 

Amelia Nash: obviously there's some, sometimes it's more than a day, right. But I try not to give myself, too many days to just wallow, I don't think wallowing is productive. And 

it.

took me a long time to get to this point. It took me, therapy of course. And it took me not suppressing my emotions.

'cause [00:45:00] I think this evolved where I used to just shove everything down. Because I didn't want to be disappointed and I didn't wanna be hurt. And now it's evolved into, no, I'm going to give myself the time to feel all of these emotions because there's this really wonderful quote that I have from Glennon Do Doyle, that I have pinned up on my wall that says, being human is not about feeling happy.

It's about feeling everything. That's the way in which I wanna move forward with my life, is I wanna feel everything, do everything, try everything. Because I don't want to be on my deathbed being like, ah, damn. I really wish that I had the courage to pursue that thing.

Radim Malinic: some people are happy just with that little patch and there's people like you and I going, I've grown my patch. What else is there? What else is beyond that? what does that taste like?

can I have a bit of that? Can I have a bit of this? 

as you said, there's a lot of other things to try and explore and that's sometimes more rewarding because having a broader view and [00:46:00] broader feeling of creativity is so much more, dissatisfying in my 

Amelia Nash: Yeah. Yeah. 

and the way I look at it is many people don't make it to the last mile. Probably because there's some people who don't have the same level of maybe ambition to make it that far. But there's also so many different paths, right? We might all start on the same path, but a few of us maybe end up on the same trail at the end.

there's, that's the way I look at it too, where there's just so many things to explore and so many ways in which something can Be, done that the way in which I do it is gonna be.

so different than anybody else. And that's what's so beautiful and unique about humanity as well, is we're all, we're just all doing our own thing and trying to make it work.

And for some people doing production and doing a nine to five is exactly what they want and exactly what they need. And amazing more the power to them, my life, I'm like, I just wanna try it all. I wanna do it all. So, 

Radim Malinic: Yeah, and I think [00:47:00] when you use that beautiful sort of. Analogy of paths and trails, because sometimes when you go to wide trails has been stomped over a million times. When you look to the rest, when you look to the left and to the right, there's this sort of narrow path. There's only a few people have been, and that takes you somewhere completely different to discover completely different view.

Radim Malinic: we have definitely got lost from going to New York to SVA to wherever we just got to. But I think it was a beautiful turn because ultimately whoever might be listening to this might be happy in production in nine to five is the element of self-acceptance. I am okay doing what I'm doing and this is my way.

Because sometimes at nine to five it, it is a lot less bumpy. like it's a lot easier. It doesn't cause you many headaches and some people would choose that. Like thinking about, I'm thinking sometimes I have a conversation with people about like how many people they studied with and how many people already are doing something different.

And I think some of the poster creatives from, the [00:48:00] mid two thousands, early 2010s, some of them are employed, some of, some of the biggest talents I've seen in my generation. I working for Apple for other companies, they're doing that. I'm thinking I haven't had to get that job yet 

because I'm just exploring and 

I'm a foot of a totally different career, which is satisfying because 

Amelia Nash: Yeah. 

Radim Malinic: people say don't order the same meal twice, because it might be disappointing second time. So having that sort of linear, same career, maybe people run out of, wanting to order the same meal again.

Amelia Nash: Yeah. Well, I think stability is a beautiful thing too. stability, of course. Lots of people out there, that's what they need. Depending on their lived experience and where they came from and what type of upbringing they went through, like stability is precisely what they strive for. I don't know if maybe I just have more of a hunger for chaos or what, but I just, I don't sit well in boredom.

again, I don't know what that necessarily says about me, but I just, there's too many things that I want to explore [00:49:00] with my time on this earth.

Radim Malinic: I think being from a small place where. There's not that many confetti in the wind, gives you that strife. Maybe, being on the outside of it and going, right in the epicenter makes you wanna, makes you want it more. You got some people in the epicenter who really live there and they're inspired by it.

They wanna stay there. Some people wanna get the hell out of it, but I think that's the beautiful sort of ability of our lives right now for most of us. And we are lucky that we can say for most of us, is that we can do that. you can change whatever you don't like. You can change, you don't have to complain, you don't have to moan, you can change, you can get exactly what you want from this life.

Because I think most of us are very lucky that we can do that. if they can get totally off track, and obviously I'll have to let you go in a minute, but you've gone to SVA, you studied SVA, not only you've stayed there, you're in charge of, of the marketing. Obviously you're in charge of the socials.

You work with Debbie, which is I think a fantastic look to to close, not only listen to the [00:50:00] podcast, now you work with her, you're doing all of the amazing things. You work for Print magazine as a one of the writers, which again, just became part of your curiosity. You were planting these seeds here, there, and everywhere.

And I have to celebrate your career because from where I see it, it makes perfect sense. we need people who are talented. We need them to do the thing over and over again because we need some of that stuff here. But on your sort of personal discovery, it wouldn't be if you were not doing, your river like movements, you're finding your own ways and pockets of ideas.

We wouldn't be speaking here because you and I met through some of your written work and it was a nice opportunity to say hello. It was like, ah, that brought us here all the way to the point where. I think second time, second to last time I saw you was in Toronto for the design thinkers.

And I think you know where I'm going with this now, because when I saw you, you hired a car 

Amelia Nash: Oh 

Radim Malinic: that, was [00:51:00] from, it looked like it was from GTA, it was the rockstar's car. And when you say, I wanna try everything, I don't wanna have regrets. It all makes perfect sense because who drives a crazy, gangster banger to Niagara Falls?

Amelia Nash: my goodness.

Oh my goodness. 

Okay. So yes, just to fill in any listeners who are unfamiliar with this story. yeah, so the last time Rat and I hung out was at the Design Thinkers Conference, that the RGD puts on in Canada, in Vancouver and Toronto yearly. And my friend and I wanted to go see Niagara Falls and we needed a car.

And one of the more affordable cars was this purple wrapped vehicle, which purple's my favorite color. So I took it as a sign. I was like, yeah, I love this. let's go cruise. This purple thing to the Niagara Falls. I did not realize, because it was not shown in the pictures that when we picked up this vehicle, this car had these star [00:52:00] promo film production deckels plastered all around it.

So. We're driving this obnoxious vehicle to Niagara Falls. we actually got pulled over, not because of my driving, but because the vehicle was obviously an eyesore and a cop decided to pull the plates and the vehicle was not registered. So this vehicle that I had rented off of Turo, which is basically the Airbnb for cars, ended up not being registered.

And yeah, so that was a whole other, that was a whole other, journey, but that's just, that's I guess just how I live. I live my life,

Radim Malinic: I

am definitely here to make, a graphic design connection with that story because purple is your favorite color as your per as a purple color, as a purple color car. But no, it's these little things that absolutely invaluable because not only we can do whatever we wanna do, but we can obviously forge these friendships and have people who are on a similar path and similar mindset.

'[00:53:00] cause ultimately, we are daring to explore our expression. We are daring to ask questions and we are daring to share it. So, Amelia, thank you for sharing your time with me today and yeah, for sharing your story. It'll be magnificent.

Amelia Nash: Thank you so much, Adam. It's always a pleasure speaking with you. 

Radim Malinic: Thank you. Thank you for listening to this episode of Daring Creativity Podcast. I'd love to know your thoughts, questions, and suggestions, So please get in touch via the email, in the show notes or social channels. This episode was produced and presented by me. Rad Malid.

The audio production was done by Neil Mackay from 7 million Bucks Podcast. Thank you and I hope to see you on the next episode. [00:54:00]