Vincent van de Wijngaard: Leave no stone unturned

Raphael Salley, session hairstylist, on a career at the cutting-edge

Welcome to the Creative Blood Experience. One culture-defining creative guest… One passionate host… And a deck of 50 question cards designed to yield incredible creative tips, real life experiences and untold stories from the artists working across the creative industries today!

Globally renowned for creating iconic hairstyles on famous names and faces across music, film, fashion and art – from supermodels to Hollywood A-listers – session hair stylist Raphael Salley has amassed an awe-inspiring roll-call of devoted clients and collaborators during his expansive career.

We’re talking Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Helena Bonham Carter, Charlotte Tilbury, Givenchy, The Vampire's Wife, Versace, Agent Provocateur, Isabel Marant, Juergen Teller, Harley Weir, Nick Knight and Edward Enninful…as well as fashion publications – Dazed, AnOther Magazine and Vogue.

From serendipitously bumping into fashion hair legend Eugene Souleiman in make-up mecca Screen Face in West London, to getting approached by global creative talent agency Streeters, to this Dazed and Confused shoot that would lead to hair consultancies for Hollywood directors Jane Campion and Matthew Vaughn, Raph tells us about the moments that shaped his career and lets us in on his secrets for getting the best out of a subject in the styling seat.

During the episode, Raph also opens up to us about how he rebuilt his confidence and his career after overcoming a life-changing trauma and the lessons he learned along the way.

“Once the trust is gained with the artist, once that person is feeling comfortable in your chair, you can pretty much do anything! They'll say, yeah, go for it”.

Wondering what that book of healing poetry Raph mentioned a certain actor read to him was? Wonder no further.

EPISODE INSIGHTS

• Developing long-lasting relationships with A-list clients
• The importance of seeing an opportunity and taking it
• Rebuilding a career in the wake of physical trauma
• Stories from an illustrious career

Find out more about Raph @raphaelsalley

We’d love to know what you thought of the episode @creativebloodworld

EPISODE CREDITS

Hosted by Laura Conway
Produced by Ben Tarrant-Brown
Music by Ben Tarrant-Brown

Becky Smith, creative director, on bringing the edgy, powerful and feminine into focus

Welcome to the Creative Blood Experience. One culture-defining creative guest… One passionate host… And a deck of 50 question cards designed to yield incredible creative tips, real life experiences and untold stories from the artists working across the creative industries today!

Over twenty years Becky Smith has become a renowned figure within the intertwining worlds of fashion and beauty.

Her edgy, powerful and feminine vision and keen eye for new talent has led to her becoming one of London’s most sought-after creative directors, working with leading fashion magazines and major brands including Stella McCartney, Nike, Prada and Balenciaga among many many others.

“Figure out who you are and what you want to achieve. Once you've found that, everything else will click into place."

In 2009, she founded Twin Magazine, a biannual hardback set up to showcase disobedient, rebellious and visionary creative voices through art and cultural features, and creative agency Twin Studio. Constantly breaking new ground, she’s recently turned her attention to visual art, with her new Surrey-based Gallery 13.

During this episode, Becky remembers how she got her foot in the door at i-D Magazine, the experience of working with top-tier talent (check out one of her favourite shoots, Michelle Yeoh x La Mer) and reveals how she tells the difference between a good photographer and a great one.

Prepare for a no-nonsense masterclass in decision-making within a high-pressure environment, getting noticed in a crowded industry and why being able to execute your vision, from moodboard to reality, is essential.

EPISODE INSIGHTS

• How to get noticed in a saturated industry
• Why you should trust and follow your gut instincts
• Applying a ‘less is more’ approach to choosing projects
• Why nurturing creativity has its own rewards
• Advice for photographers trying to break into the industry

Follow @Twin.studio

What did you think of this episode? Drop us a DM @creativebloodworld

EPISODE CREDITS
Hosted by Laura Conway
Produced and mixed by Scenery Studios
Show music by Ben Tarrant-Brown

Georgia, Mercury-nominated artist, on writing sessions with Shania Twain, her boundless approach to creativity and the power of telling your own story

A self-confessed studio nerd, Georgia Barnes began her career drumming for Kwes, Kae Tempest and Micachu before signing with Domino records and releasing her self-titled debut album in 2015 to critical acclaim. She earned a Mercury nomination for her second album, Seeking Thrills, and has since gone on to collaborate with everyone from Years and Years’ frontman Olly Alexander and Gorillaz to Shania Twain and Vampire Weekend.

We joined the deeply down-to-earth, multi-talented musician for an intimate chat in her home studio. During the episode, Georgia shares the female music influences who’ve shaped her career from Kate Bush to Missy Elliott, waxes lyrical about the joys of analogue, explains how a 9-5 approach can be surprisingly conducive to creativity, and spills the T on how Shania Twain takes her tea, and that’s not even the half of it!

“I started out with an idea that I wanted to be this one thing. Over the years, I’ve had to let that go, and I’ve got so much I can offer in different areas”

This episode is an audio goldmine of creative insights, personal reflections and industry anecdotes from the mind of an artist who eats, sleeps and breathes music. Has Georgia euphoria rubbed off on us? Absolutely.

Check out Georgia's latest single, Too much, too little.

Follow Georgia @GeorgiaUK

What did you think of this episode? Drop us a DM @creativebloodworld

EPISODE INSIGHTS

• Why overnight success is an industry myth
• Why women need to start occupying the engineering space
• How taking your time can pay off
• Why knowledge is an affirmative power that creates resilience
• The importance of being open to different creative paths
• Why routine can be good for creativity

EPISODE CREDITS

• Hosted by Laura Conway
• Produced by Scenery Studios
• Show music by Ben Tarrant-Brown

So, Max Osinski, our favourite character on the Emmy award-winning hit show, TED LASSO…Tell us all about “Art being messy and collaborative” (And P.S. What was it like being directed by Tom Hanks?!)

Last year Max Osinski had barely touched a soccer ball in his life. Now, thanks to his turn in Ted Lasso as spiritual diva and football legend Zava, he’s a fully playable character on FIFA.

Born in an Austrian refugee camp, raised in Chicago and now living in London Max’s approach to auditions, preparing for a role being on set and working with legends such as Tom Hanks has seen him in Marvel’s Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Walking Dead: World Beyond as well as the movies “In Time” and “Love and Other Drugs”.

This Summer, he came into our Shoreditch Studio, and pulled ten cards from The Creative Blood Experience deck and in the process, revealed the art of navigating the uncertainty of the acting profession whilst maintaining not just resilience, but a sense of wonder and awe along the way.

Here’s Max on insta and his partner in art + life, wife Dichen Lachman.
This profile in Vanity Fair gives more insight into the Ted Lasso experience.
Improve your own accent game in the The International Dialects of English Archive
And join Max (sort of) on the sofa and try Idris Elba’s Hijack.

This episode was created in partnership with the brilliant humans here Creative Blood and Scenery Studios.

Say hello @creativebloodagency

Music by Ben Tarrant-Brown
Producer Lina Prestwood
Mixed by Rob Martland

So, Samuel de Saboia, contemporary art prodigy…tell us all about your community-based approach to creativity! (And P.S. What does 'peaceful loudness + fierce harmony' mean to you, in relation to getting your work seen and heard?)

Travelling the world with just three briefcases, a backpack and his enormous canvases, Samuel de Saboia is considered by many to be a contemporary art prodigy. We caught up with the Brazilian creative nomad in the middle of an art residency in Italy where he was surrounded by birds and statues of deities from around the world.

Samuel’s multimedia paintings and sculptures are huge, swirling, colourful odes to Afro-Presentism. His first major solo show in New York, aged just 20 was called Beautiful Wounds and was about the deaths of five of his friends over a period of just six months.

He has since exhibited in Zurich, Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Marrakesh, Mexico City, and all over Brazil and has close ties with the world of fashion and design; he’s painted the cover for the September issue of Vogue, Brazil, been the cover star of Harper’s Bazaar Art issue and Comme des Garçons named him their Artist of the year in 2022.

Where on earth is Samuel this month? Check out his insta.

During our conversation Samuel mentioned curator Alayo Akinkugbe whose work as ABlackHistoryofArt can be explored here and Osei Bonsu, the Curator of International Art at Tate Modern, London.

Want to delve further into Samuel’s art? Try this i-D article.
This episode was created in partnership with the brilliant humans here Creative Blood and Scenery Studios.

Say hello @creativebloodagency

Music by Ben Tarrant-Brown
Producer Lina Prestwood
Mixed by ORO Audio