what’s your
brave day?
a brave day can be choosing to
share your story
It can be a daily intention to live life
with a sense of purpose,
to inspire, educate, and challenge,
to help change the narrative
and nurture different perspectives.
It can be a desire to support people to become
more confident, healthy, and connected.
It can be a willingness to question yourself,
to be vulnerable, and open up your mind
to new possibilities.
It can be taking small steps each day
to explore, express, connect and grow, and
build the courage to create positive change.
unearthing the potential for change through creative storytelling
Of course, It wasn’t just reading ‘The Artist’s Way’ that inspired me to leave the safety of my job, there were other contributing factors. I’d also been struggling with a chronic health condition for a decade. The relentless pace of video production in an agency was not conducive to managing a condition that needed a steadier pace and lower stress. In many ways, I realised it wasn’t the nourishing environment I needed to feed my soul, support my wellbeing, and develop my creativity.
In the early years of freelancing, I actively sought out ways to educate myself in sectors I had little professional experience in; collaborating with educators and changemakers in community arts, healthcare and wellbeing, social justice and human rights, and environmental activism.
I sought out other creative freelancers and small business founders to find a supportive, like-minded community, nurturing my creative skills and mindset.
If I hadn’t taken those first few tentative steps in those early days, I’d never have
launched Brave Day
met the inspirational people I’ve helped to film and edit their stories
developed my creative skills in hands-on filmmaking and audio production, or mentoring people in schools, colleges and communities.
become involved in a rich world of poetry, dance, performance, video art projection, binaural sound, art for wellbeing, and social justice activism
met the amazingly talented creatives who I regularly collaborate with, helping to collectively produce groundbreaking work that changes people’s lives.
A creative life is, indeed, a rich life!
I’m passionate about helping people to share their stories through different creative forms, to put something good out into the world and create positive change.
But sometimes we all get a little stuck.
Sometimes we need a helping hand to bring an idea, an intention, or a story to life.
My new creative mentoring programmes, digital media training and digital media production support are designed to pay forward all that I have learned about unleashing creativity and nurturing your storytelling skills.
If you feel it’s time to create and embrace change, then I’d love to hear about your hopes, dreams and many future brave days!
Kirstie
A little story about
my brave day
8 years ago I took the decision to leave a full-time, relatively secure position as head of video production for an events and communications agency in Manchester, after 15 years of building a career, to start a solo adventure working for myself.
The decision was made on a beach in Wales. I was in my happy place, taking a short break to enjoy time in nature, photography, and listening to the quiet wisdom of the waves. My heart, mind and body were yearning for more purpose, flow and connection to what really mattered to me.
When stars align, you just know that this is the time for adventure and change.
There’s often a catalyst when you’re ready for a new chapter of growth and change. Mine came when I took shelter in a small cafe in Porthmadog, after a sudden downpour on that same trip. Sitting on the shelf was a well-thumbed and rather dishevelled copy of ‘The Artists Way’ by Julia Cameron. I sat for two hours in that cafe devouring its pages, encouraging everyone to seek out their creative calling. It’s a book that found me at just the right time and it’s one of my favourite books to recommend to everyone!
PHOTOGRAPHY: HELEN ROSCOE RUTTER https://roscoerutter.com
working together
Services & Packages
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1:1 CREATIVE MENTORING FOR STORYTELLING PROJECTS
CREATIVE MENTORING WITH KIRSTIE HENDERSON - VIDEO & AUDIO PRODUCER, FILMMAKER AND CREATIVE PRACTITIONER. EXPERT GUIDANCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO HELP YOU GET UNSTUCK AND BRING YOUR PURPOSE-LED STORYTELLING IDEAS TO LIFE.
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DIGITAL MEDIA STORYTELLING SKILLS & CONTENT STRATEGY
SMALL GROUP WORKSHOPS - ONLINE OR IN PERSON - FOR COMMERCIAL & NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS, SMALL BUSINESSES AND CHARITIES - DEVELOPING STORYTELLING SKILLS IN VIDEO AND AUDIO PRODUCTION, FOR SOCIAL MEDIA OR OTHER DIGITAL FORMS OF STORYTELLING.
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DIGITAL MEDIA PRODUCTION - VIDEO, AUDIO & DESIGN
DIGITAL MEDIA EXPERTISE AND PRODUCTION IN VIDEO, AUDIO AND DESIGN. WE CO-CREATE SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOS, CASE STUDIES AND DIGITAL COURSES AND RESOURCES
Testimonial
“Kirstie is a rare mix of super creative and totally grounded - with an excellent and very useful network of creative collaborators.
On our project she’s been a brilliant listener, turning complex ideas and vague hunches into a succinct and compelling film. She’s incredibly patient and great at working with young people. And perhaps most importantly, she’s a lovely human.”
David Heinemann - Co-Director of The Roots Programme
clients & partners
“Thank YOU Kirstie. You have captured the spirit of Contains Strong Language so well in all your films. You have a sharp eye and a big heart. Thanks so much for all your work over the years . You are very much part of the festival.”
Testimonial
Sue Roberts - BBC Audio North head of Culture Arts and & Music