End of Year Episode

The Pottery Throwdown Contestants

For this final episode of the Spring 2024 mini-series of Mother of All Solutions, I am pleased to share an interview with Donna Bloye (winner) and Steven Broughton (semi-finalist) from series seven of the Great Pottery Throwdown.

Fans of the series will have enjoyed watching them on screen and like me picked up a strong sense of their love for pottery and ceramics, but also their role as parents. Donna is mum to three children and Steven is dad to one daughter. I wanted to talk to them together and hear more about their careers as art and design teachers too - and their work now as potters, alongside parenting.

I hope you enjoy the conversation and it gives you some nice moments to think about creativity, ceramics and kids too. Thank you for listening!

You can find out more about these fantastic people and their work:

Donna Bloye www.otonipottery.com / Instagram @oto.ni.pottery

Steven Broughton www.stevenbroughtonceramics.com / Instagram @steb_pots

Mother of All Solutions podcast is an independent podcast hosted and produced by Laura Broderick, with music by Ros Fraser www.motherofallsolutions.com / Instagram and X @SolutionsMother

If you have enjoyed the episode it would be much appreciated if you could like and share, and do subscribe for future episodes coming later in 2024!

The Musicians

This episode was recorded at the Mothers in Music all-day festival on 7 March 2024 at the Mount Without venue in Bristol.

Organised by Alice Ballantine Dykes of Mama Coaching, with a team of producers (mothers and musicians) - “a collective of mothers challenging norms to stay visible, valued and celebrated in the music industry.” The event included wonderful performances, along with discussions about the challenges and ways for mothers to keep performing and thriving in their musical careers.

It was a joy to attend. This episode is a record of the conversations I had with musicians who make and produce in many ways (singers, songwriters, community leaders, therapists, solo performers, band members, DJs etc).

I hope you enjoy listening and if it resonates with you do share with someone else who you think would benefit from hearing about these fantastic musicians who are also mothers.

To find out more about Mothers in Music you can follow Alice and the network on Instagram @mamacoachinguk. To find out about coaching workshops and opportunities you can email Alice [email protected] / www.mamacoaching.org

Music throughout the episode was the Bring Your Own Baby (BYOB) choir performing. The final song is by the artist JMA. Mother of All Solutions intro and outro music by Ros Fraser.Cover photo for this episode taken by Emma Rice.

The podcast is hosted by Laura Broderick - you can connect on Instagram and X as @SolutionsMother / www.motherofallsolutions.com

Thank you for listening.

The WEP Deputy Leader

In this episode I talk with Harriet Williams, Deputy Leader of the Women's Equality Party (WEP).

I initially interviewed Harriet back in the beginning of making Mother of All Solutions podcast when Harriet worked as a 'Young Parent Consultant'. She still works in many roles and in this episode mentioned supporting:

Care experienced parents:

https://www.barnardos.org.uk/research/care-experienced-parents-unite-change

Single parents: https://www.gingerbread.org.uk/

In this episode, we specifically discuss current issues around childcare costs and entitlements, and reference data from Pregnant Then Screwed published in Feb 2024:

https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/shocking-new-stats-about-the-cost-of-parenting/

This was discussed in the context of 15 hours free childcare (for those eligible) starting next month in April 2024:

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/03/15/how-to-claim-15-hours-free-childcare-code/

I hope you find the conversation interesting and you will also listen back to Harriet when we talked 4 years ago! You can connect with Harriet:

Instagram @mummyharrii and X @HarriAWilliams

Mother of All Solutions is hosted and produced by Laura Broderick, with music by Ros Fraser.You can connect with Laura:

Instagram and X @SolutionsMother

Thank you for listening.

Note to listeners: whilst no personal scenarios are shared we do touch upon some sensitive issues relating to women and girls, so keep this in mind before you listen.

The Momfluencers

It was a pleasure to speak about momfluencer culture with writer and podcaster Sara Petersen.

Author of the book Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture, Sara shared lots of insights into the moms and mums of social media.

It was fascinating to hear more and also reflect on mumfluencer culture in the UK, and our relationships with influencers and sharing online in general. Plus, what is the British equivalent of the family pumpkin patch outing?!

To learn more about Sara and her work you can sign up for her Substack - In Pursuit of Clean Countertops:

https://sarapetersen.substack.com/

You can also connect with her on Instagram @slouisepetersen

Mother of All Solutions podcast is hosted and produced by Laura Broderick with music by Ros Fraser.

Stay in touch via Instagram and X as @SolutionsMother

Thank you for listening - and do tell a mum or mom friend you think might like the pod!

The Architect / Designer

This first episode of the new series of Mother of All Solutions is an interview with Katy Marks - architect and designer.

Katy talks about her career as an architect, establishing her own business and navigating maternity leave and work. She then shares about her experience of going through a single mastectomy and later designing the Unobra for asymmetric bodies.

It was a pleasure to learn more about Katy and aspects of her life and work. You can connect with her:

Architectural practice via Citizens Design Bureau https://www.citizensdesignbureau.net/

Design work at Unobra https://www.unobra.co.uk/

Instagram @citizensdesignbureau and @_unobra

Mother of All Solutions is hosted and produced by Laura Broderick, with music by Ros Fraser.

Listen out for the rest of the new 2024 mini-series - dropping Mondays in March and April. Subscribe so you don’t miss out, and it would be wonderful if you could share with your friends. Thank you x

https://www.motherofallsolutions.com/

Instagram and X @SolutionsMother