Illustrator Hazel Mead
About this podcast episode…
ILLUSTRATOR HAZEL MEAD
Despite initially getting the cold shoulder from cold outreach, Hazel soon found her niche creating purpose-driven work, particularly around feminist and social issues.
A viral social media post early in her career led to work with major clients like Netflix, though she discusses the anxiety that came with sudden exposure.
Hazel opens up about managing the rollercoaster of freelance life, including how she handles quiet periods - even training as a face painter as a backup plan. She discusses the evolution of her business, from client work to running an online shop, painting murals, and publishing a book.
The conversation delves into the challenges of social media management, maintaining authenticity while building a following, and protecting creative work from plagiarism.
Hazel emphasises the importance of in-person connections and pushing through comfort zones, sharing how speaking engagements have led to exciting opportunities.
A key theme is staying true to your authentic voice - Hazel describes temporarily removing her women's health-focused work from her portfolio on advice from a mentor, only to realise this was diluting her unique perspective that clients value.
Read a full transcript & get Links in the tabs.
More from HAZEL MEAD
Hazel Mead website
Hazel on Instagram
Hazel’s book ‘Why Aren’t We Talking About This?!’
More from Steve Folland
Transcript of the Being Freelance podcast with Steve Folland and illustrator Hazel Mead
Steve Folland: As ever, how about we get started hearing how you got started being freelance?
Hazel Mead: Yeah, so I think I am one of those really annoying people that always knew what I wanted to do. Ever since I was six, I wanted to be Walt Disney. So I knew I wanted to be either an illustrator artist, at the time an animator. But I realised I didn't have the patience for that.
So I went through the very obvious route really of studying art at GCSE, A level and then I studied fine art and illustration at university.
And I chose that university, so I went to Coventry, because they were very career focused. They said, we're not going to teach you how to draw, you should know how to do that already, we're going to teach you the business of illustration. And I thought, great, that's exactly what I need. And I wasn't getting that impression from any of the other universities I went to look at.
So we did have the technical stuff as well, like life drawing, screen printing, lino printing, Photoshop. But then we also had classes around tech, portfolios, interviews, clients. So it was really good. It went into okay, this is how you turn art into a career.
Steve Folland: I'm silently applauding that university because so many universities don't ever do that.
Hazel Mead: Yeah.
Steve Folland: So does that mean when you came out of university, you went straight into business, into freelancing?
Hazel Mead: Well, that was what I had thought was going to happen. And I think you can have all the preparation in the world. As good as that course was, nothing really prepares you other than the reality of experiencing it yourself. And I thought I was going to go straight into freelance and throughout the course, we explored lots of different areas of illustration.
And at the time I thought, I want to be an editorial illustrator. illustrating for the Guardian or something like that. That was the goal. That was the dream. And I had this list of all these art directors. So I had the physical addresses, their phone numbers, their email addresses.
So I did all of this outreach over that summer after leaving university. And I did these physical mailers and it was my final major project. And I did a little book called The Very Hungry Politician, which was a take on the Very Hungry Caterpillar. So it was this really clever, I'm really proud of it.
It's a really clever satirical look at politics, but using the Very Hungry Caterpillar as a frame. And I sent it to all these art directors. So it's quite pricey for a student, you know, to print all of these out and send them out. And I was ringing them up, trying to get hold of them, emailing them, and I got nothing back.
I got nothing back. I did over 100. Yeah, and it was a bit deflating because I thought, you know, I'm very studious, but this is the plan, this is what I'm going to do, and then I'll get a job out of it, and that just didn't happen. So at the time, I was also moving back with my parents, and I wanted to move out, so I was looking for jobs at the same time, and I got a little feminist.
illustration and social media internship somewhere. So I did that for a bit. And I wanted to move out. I thought, you know what, I just need a full time job. So I got a full time job in social media and I was trying to freelance on the side in the evenings, but it was so much. So I did that for about six months and still building up this, I guess, client base in the evenings until it got, just got too much.
And I thought, you know what, it's time, it's time to go freelance.
Steve Folland: So where did you find those first clients? You know, when you were working on it of an evening, of a weekend.
Hazel Mead: Yeah, so you know I said I did that feminist internship. Well they introduced me to some really interesting charities so one was called Bloody Good Period, who was this charity that raised awareness and raised money for period poverty.
And I realised I liked making work that had a message or that had a point or that was trying to do some good in the world, so I was creating all these pieces about periods and menstruation and period poverty and I had an article written about me as that I was a 'period illustrator' for a while.
And through those I was just posting them on social media and it was getting a bit of recognition. And so then I started working with this period product company and I think that was one of my first commissions and they really sort of took me under their wing and they liked what I was doing so they would give me a few commissions now and then.
Yeah, and they were kind of my first... my first sort of paid pieces, I guess.
Steve Folland: It's funny, isn't it? Like. Out of the rejection of not getting those first gigs that you'd planned by sending out your book, you actually discovered this different field of maybe having more purpose to your work, by the sounds of it.
Hazel Mead: Definitely, even at university, I was making pieces that had a message. But, it was kind of finding my people and discovering this feminist sphere that really interested me. And I found that it wasn't the typical networking thing that I would have thought of, you know, going to creative events, meeting other creatives.
That wasn't where I was getting the work. I was going to these more feminist events and then introducing myself as an illustrator and people would say, Oh, I need an illustrator. Or even if it wasn't at the time, it would be two years later, they would come back and they'd say, Oh, I've just started a business, I need some illustration, I thought of you.
So I always feel like it's a good idea to, even if you're not an illustrator at the time, but that's what you want to be, go to events and say, this is what I am because people will remember Hazel illustrator.
Steve Folland: How did you stay in touch with those people?
Hazel Mead: So I think social media was a big part of how I built my business really. And interesting you bring that up because when I did go full time freelance, it was really scary. The first month I didn't make my rent. The second month I just about scraped my rent. But the third month, one of my illustrations I posted on social media went absolutely viral and I went from having 2, 000 followers, which I was really proud of, I'd built that social media up.
I went from 2, 000 followers to 20, 000 overnight because of just how many people had shared the illustration and 30, 000 within the week. And it felt like I'd been working so hard up until that point, just pushing a rock up the hill. And this was just the exposure I needed to get that rock over the hill.
And then it just snowballed sort of out of my control. And it was very anxiety inducing. Because suddenly I was getting all of this exposure just from this one social media post. And, you know, then I had Netflix approach me, I had Ann Summers approach me, Facebook, Saatchi and Saatchi, and then I had eight months of, of work where I didn't have to do any outreach at all.
And I've never had a stretch like that since. So, I'm very grateful for that. And I know how lucky I am because I was only three months into, freelance as well. And I don't want to take anything away from myself because I know I work really hard, but I know there was, you know, that element of luck there.
Cause you can't plan for a post to go viral.
Steve Folland: But you mention anxiety off the back of it as well. In what way?
Hazel Mead: I think it's very easy to create things and put them out there when you don't have any eyes on your work. When you've suddenly got all of these new strangers eyes on your work, all coming with their own opinions. You know, it's not all nice. A lot of it is nice. There's some of it that's not.
And also I had a bit of imposter syndrome because there are all these people kind of telling me my work's really great. And I think it's, it's when you have that struggle beforehand, you sometimes question yourself, is this, is this what I should be doing? Maybe it's not going to happen for me. And then when it does happen, I almost, almost didn't know what to do with it.
Steve Folland: So, you have eight months straight of amazing sounding projects coming your way. What happened at the end of the eight months? Had you kept visible and marketing yourself or, or anything, or did the work just dry up, like what, what happened next?
Hazel Mead: It didn't dry up. I just go through peaks and troughs. And that's kind of remained consistent until the last couple of months actually. It's just remained consistently up and down, up and down. And I think that's actually the reality of freelancing. Is that up and down. Which I'm kind of getting used to.
I say that and then there'll be another drought and then I'll be panicking again.
Steve Folland: How do you stay positive through that rollercoaster?
Hazel Mead: I don't always. I'm positive when I'm doing like in the busy period and at the moment I'm in the busy period. So I think if you ask me in a in a dry period, maybe the answer would be a bit different, but I know there's going to be something around the corner, whether that's from some outreach that I've done...
You know, I can always get back in touch with an old client or something usually just pops up. But that, when was it last year? I really freaked out and I took a course in face painting so I could have another string to my bow just in case, because I was speaking to all these other freelance illustrators and ones that I thought were so much more successful than me, have been doing it an extra 10, 15 years. And they were also still in this, 'Ooh, it's a bit quiet at the moment'. And when every other illustrator around you is saying it's quiet, I thought, is it smart to just be focusing on this? Should I have another thing that I can do that I can pull out if I need to if it really dries up?
So yeah, I learned to face paint. I haven't done it yet as a job, but I have the skill cause then the work started coming again and I was feeling good again.
Steve Folland: That's a really smart thing to do. Even giving you the confidence. That it's in the back pocket, even if you don't need it.
Hazel Mead: Yeah. I can whip it out if, if I need to.
Steve Folland: Okay. So just to put things in perspective, when did you go full time freelance?
Hazel Mead: I went full time freelance in December 2018. I think December was a bad month to go freelance as well. Because it's Christmas.
Steve Folland: Six years and counting. So you found what you wanted to do, purpose driven work. Would stuff come along that you didn't want to do, but you would ... how did you encounter that? Or did you stay rigidly to what you wanted to put out there?
Hazel Mead: No, because I really love my job and I love how varied it is as well. So even if something wasn't necessarily 'purpose driven', it was just, you know, 'we're a company, we need this illustration'. I love getting a brief and tackling it and then trying to deliver something that they wouldn't expect or just something that makes the client really happy.
I do love that part. Yeah, just recently I've been thinking about how can I, you know, create a bit of an identity of this is what I do, but also be able to, you know, take on other things that perhaps don't fit inside of what I'm known for. And do I want to do that or do I just want to focus? I've really been soul searching this year of what I want to do.
And I want to do a bit of both.
Steve Folland: Yeah, so you want to be known for something, but equally, you don't want other people to then think they can't come to you.
Hazel Mead: Yeah, exactly that. Exactly that. And a lot of the time people come to me and they're just coming to me because they need an illustrator and I'm the only illustrator they know, or the only illustrator on the top of their mind. And they'll come to me for something really different. So in 2022, I got my first gig doing tech demonstrations for Huawei.
So they had a drawing tablet and they needed an artist to demonstrate how it worked and the girl that was working there at the time, she really liked my work. And she'd obviously thought, Oh, an illustrator. I know one and reached out to me. And I said, yes. And that was the start of a really nice. relationship.
Steve Folland: They found you via what? Your social media?
Hazel Mead: Yeah, so she was following me on social media and she reached out via email.
Steve Folland: Was that doing stuff in person or creating content?
Hazel Mead: Ah, so this job was they had a press day. So they invited all of these journalists to see how their new products were working. And they just wanted an artist to be drawing to show, to show it off, basically. Oh, this is how you use the program. This is how you use the software. And I quite enjoy doing that.
Steve Folland: Have you had brands approach you for more... I don't want to say influencer. Content creation, you know...
Hazel Mead: Yes. And this was one of the big challenges. When I first got this following, it's kind of managing that line between illustrator and influencer. Because influencer is a word, for myself personally, I don't want to be an influencer, but I know people who see that this many people are following you, so you're a marketing space now and a few years ago I was getting a lot of brands saying, oh we'd love to do... well we'd love to send you products, or we'd love to do a collaboration with you, and I really tried to avoid that.
I probably missed out on a fair bit of money, but I just want it to feel, if I'm going to do that, I want it to feel like something I would use. Something authentic. I didn't just want to turn into someone that was, you know, pushing other people's stuff. I wanted to keep my Instagram a bit of a, a bit of a portfolio page.
I wanted it to be me 'cause it felt like it was me and I felt a bit icky about people coming to me and, and wanting to work with me just for the following. So, I've got a bit of a radar now. I just want to work with people that, you know, love my art and love what I do. Yes, maybe there's something in it for them later down the line if I choose to, you know, post about it, but First and foremost, you know the art.
Steve Folland: Yeah. Okay. So what are your revenue streams? So you've not done the face painting yet..
Hazel Mead: I have not done face painting. I feel guilty about that.
Steve Folland: But what else keeps your business going?
Hazel Mead: This is a good question. So first, commissions. And that's what I push and that's what I kind of do day to day Secondly, I've got an online shop. So I sell art prints. So when things started to get popular people started asking me, oh, can I buy this from you? And I I thought about it and then I set up a shop.
And that's been a big learning curve because some things sell really, really well. Other things don't sell at all. I did this calendar one year and it was a bit different. I did a sort of Greek goddess themed calendar but it wasn't that popular. But the problem is I ordered about 200 of them and I only sold 50 so then I was stuck with these these calendars and obviously a calendar has a shelf life. You can't just keep that and sell it on the next year.
Yeah, but I started this shop and then I got to the end of a tax year and I realised, Oh, this is actually brought in maybe a third of my income. I need to think about this as a serious revenue stream.
Yeah. So that's another big one. And I did a course in painting murals because that is actually something I'm interested in. And kind of ties into the illustration very, very easily. So I've been doing a couple of murals here and there. And then some tech demos with Huawei, and I did some for Adobe as well. So some live streaming for them.
And at the start of this year, I tried some tech journalism. So this is when I was just kind of saying yes to everything. And at the start of this year, I realised I don't need to say yes to everything and not everything is for me. And, yeah, I was really proud of myself because I started saying no.
Steve Folland: And didn't you have a book as well?
Hazel Mead: Yes. I do have a book, but that's not making me money yet because I haven't paid back my advance.
Steve Folland: Explain the whole advance thing for those of us who don't know,
Hazel Mead: It's a bit complicated, so I still don't 100 percent understand, but when you write a book, hopefully, if your publisher's nice, and they were, you get an advance, and it really varies. So I got an advance. They pay it to you in stages, so I think I got some when I signed the contract, when I delivered the roughs, when I delivered the finals.
So it was paid throughout the year. And then you sell the book, and you hope you sell enough copies to make back your advance. So for every book that they sell, I get 7. 5 percent of the profits. So that 7. 5 percent of each book goes back to the advance, and that is taken out of the advance.
So then you're in debt to the publishing house until you've sold enough back and then you start making your royalties.
Steve Folland: You say you're in debt to them, but they're not going to ask for that money back.
Hazel Mead: No. So, that's the publisher's kind of gamble.
Steve Folland: Yeah, exactly. So they've basically paid you to create this book, and once you've hit that amount, then you get recurring revenue on top of that.
Hazel Mead: Yes, that is a much clearer way of explaining it than I did.
Steve Folland: So it's not that you're not making money from it. You made the money from it, and you might make more money from it.
Hazel Mead: I hope so. So I think I've got four or five, I think five international deals as well. So they also pay an advance.
Steve Folland: So what's the book? We should say...
Hazel Mead: Oh, yeah. Oh, I'm terrible at marketing what I've done. It's called, Why Aren't We Talking About This? An Inclusive Illustrated Guide to Life. So, this is an idea I had when I was 17. A book that kind of teaches you the life lessons you don't get at school. When I was 17, I thought more about, you know, changing a tire, how to change a light bulb, how to cook broccoli, that kind of thing.
But I think after, you know, discovering what I'm actually interested in and creating pieces that make you think it was more about. How to have positive relationships and, you know, a positive relationship with yourself and what health things should I know and how do I deal with my identity and all of that good, juicy stuff we don't delve into.
So it was a lot of fun because they gave me free reign to write and illustrate it. So, yeah, I had, had a lot of fun.
Steve Folland: As well as obviously being a way of getting paid, has it made a difference to your business?
Hazel Mead: I think it has actually because I think it gives you a bit more credibility. When people realise you've got a book, they think, oh, well, you must have something to say, or, you know, a publisher's trusted you to write this thing. Yeah, I think in that respect it has. And also it's made a difference in a way to my business in that I've realised I like having my artwork on physical products, and that's something I really want to push more.
I love doing the murals because it's getting off the screen. It's not just posting on social media, it's getting into a space and creating a piece of art there. And same with the book. It's something I can hold, I can show people, this is my art. And that's something I've really enjoyed, especially now I'm predominantly a, digital artist.
Steve Folland: So does that mean that you're tempted to go, you know, if you talk about physical products down, like licensing kind of avenue to get your stuff on products or you'll make them yourself or...?
Hazel Mead: Oh, you're asking all the questions that I've been asking myself for the last year. Because I was thinking about licensing as well. But just purely from a money point of view. Because I know other artists that are doing it and it's actually quite profitable in a way. But then I also, you know, with my shop, I like to try and do things myself.
So I've got an idea. I can't tell you the themes because I'm very protective over my ideas, but or I could tell you, but I don't want to tell your listeners. Right now, anyway. Sorry, listeners! Oh no!
Steve Folland: she doesn't trust you. fine. That's
Hazel Mead: You know what it is? I've had so many people well, not so many... I get a few people that copy my work and there's this company, they're really bad but they've hired an illustrator to basically rip off other artists work.
They did it to me and someone else I know. Yeah, and there's a lot of that that goes on on social media.
Steve Folland: How do you deal with that? Like do you just leave it be or legally do you ..?
Hazel Mead: I have thought about getting lawyers before, but then I think, oh, is it worth it? And with that company specifically, I reached out to them and I said, look, this is my illustration. I don't know if you realise, but yeah, it's basically a replica of what I did here. And there was some back and forth, and then they did take it down in the end.
But it is not a nice feeling. I know plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery or something it's meant to be, but it feels horrible. It's not a nice feeling. Yeah, and I don't really deal with it very well. It just makes, makes me have this horrible pit in my stomach for the whole day. Until I can sort of forget about it, and maybe I'll just block them.
But yeah, so it's given me some trust issues, I think. Yeah,
Steve Folland: That's a shame but do you have other freelancers Around you who you can talk through that kind of thing?
Hazel Mead: Online. I do get a lot of support as well, and so sometimes that will happen, and I'll message some of my friends, and they'll all be on They're all on that company's page saying how dare you, this is not your work, this is a, this is a copy, this is plagiarism, copyright is a thing.
Steve Folland: You just shouldn't have to do it should you it's so wrong, so rude, early on you said about being protective over your social media as well, but you know, like using it as a portfolio, so you're very careful about how you do that.
Hazel Mead: I am, I don't post on social media very much to be honest because it does give me a lot of anxiety because there are a lot of eyes and also I think a lot of my self worth is attached to the social media very unhealthily. So if a post, you know, doesn't perform as well as another one, I know logically that doesn't mean it's a worse piece.
But there is still something in that that you think, oh, no, not many people are liking this one. And it does make you question a little bit. So I don't like to post too often because I know I do that to myself. But then that in itself is a bit self sabotaging too, because then I'm not sharing my work with people.
There's a whole lot of therapy that needs to go on with me and social media.
Steve Folland: We're going to need a bigger couch.
Hazel Mead: Yeah, exactly that.
Steve Folland: It's interesting, even in itself, it sounds like you step back and look at the way you use social media, or even look at the, like the way you're running your business, the sort of things you're doing, is that like a conscious thing or just every now and again, you're staring out of a window and thinking about.
Hazel Mead: No, I quite consciously... I think I overthink everything. I think that's something in my pieces as well. They're pieces that make you think, because I'm always thinking about lots of different things. But especially with my business, I think, where do I want to head with it? What do I want to be known for?
And then this year I started thinking, and this is very, this is very lofty, but do I want some kind of legacy that, you know, this is the body of work that Hazel did. I mean, I'm just an illustrator, but yeah, here I am thinking about my legacy I'm leaving.
Steve Folland: When it comes to sort of marketing yourself, do you put yourself out there as in, you know, pictures of yourself or your, your story or, you know, how you're living your life and all of that kind of thing. Or do you tend to keep it to his final piece of work?
Hazel Mead: I used to put myself out there much more in terms of how I was feeling every day. If I was having a cry, I put it on social media. Because, you know, I did a lot of pieces around mental health and I thought, Oh, it's, you know, it's good to share different emotions and things. And over the last few years, I've really stepped back.
I'm not sure why, but I just have, and I'm sharing a lot less of myself. And if I do share anything, it will probably be art focused. Or something that I've been up to. Yeah, it's just that anxiety around social media that I need to get over and just start posting and caring a bit less. And yeah, putting myself out there because I do know it is good, good promotion and good to kind of keep in touch with people that are, that are following me.
Yeah. I know you do. I know you do a lot as well, don't you, on social media with putting like what you're up to.
Steve Folland: I literally just filmed myself cutting beetroot making a sandwich. So I mean, what does that say?
Hazel Mead: I love that though, because I love watching other people's just kind of, you know, more casual beetroot cutting.
Steve Folland: What would you say have been the things which have made? If we haven't talked about them already, like the biggest difference in your business in being freelance for you,
Hazel Mead: You know what, for me, freelancing, it's just all about the connections. And the whole cliche is who you know, not what you know. But then you can back it up with what you know and do a good job. But a lot of the time I have found just connecting with the right people has led to the work coming. And for me, I think I'm a good people person.
And so as soon as it gets past the cold email, as soon as like we go for a coffee or something, I think I'm quite easy to get on with. Nice to work with so that connection then can sort of bloom into something, into something great. But it's either having an email intro from someone that knows both parties, that makes a great difference to my business or, or, yeah, just meeting someone and you click and work comes from there.
Yeah. A lot of the time I'll meet someone and then they know someone else. So just this last month. I did a talk. Actually, this talk has led to so many different avenues. I did this talk and it went really well. It was an interview and just the people that were in the room were the right people and I went for coffee with one of them who enjoyed the talk and she works in film and she gave me her call sheets with lots of different art directors on them who work in film.
Like this guy that works on like all the Bond films and I emailed him and I didn't expect anything back because about 10 percent of my cold emails result in work, like 90 percent don't, so I never expect anything back from a cold email. And he replied to me, and he said, well, the art department doesn't get started until February, so yeah, great to be in touch, email me then.
So, who knows what I'm going to be doing in February, but, you know, just from doing that talk, and I'm a very nervous speaker, and I really, nearly chickened out of doing that talk, but from that I got that and then someone else who was speaking at the same talk I met up with him for a coffee and he knows someone that works at Apple so he did a little email intro and we're going to meet and so it's just... putting myself out there and doing these things that make me uncomfortable, which is public speaking, often lead to being in sort of the right rooms, meeting the right people, and then work comes from there.
So I need to make myself do more stuff like that.
Steve Folland: That's so cool. But one of the reasons that you're being invited on that stage or being in the room because of the work that you've put into your social media or in, like, into putting your book out there and so on.
Hazel Mead: Yeah, and I realised this year that these pieces that I call them the pieces that make you think. Like they've got a message, they've got a purpose, and they're the work that I like doing, and they're usually my personal pieces. They are worth having in the portfolio. So, interestingly, last year I thought I should get like an illustration mentor, or just have a little mentoring session, coaching session.
And I booked to see this illustration agent. And he said, Oh, I think you should take all your women's health stuff out because it's turning clients off. And I did it for a while. I did it for about six months because he was a big deal. And I thought, you know, I should trust him. He knows what he's talking about and he's probably right. It's turning people off.
I did it for about six months. And then I realised I feel like I'm diluting myself. I'm making myself more generic by taking that out when actually that's the stuff that people know me for. And it's not going to be for everyone, but it's the work I want to be making.
And I don't always have to lead with that work. If it is someone that is a bit more corporate or needs illustration, that's a bit more generic. I can still do that. I still have that in my portfolio. But I don't want to take away the bits that are me. And that was just a realisation I had this year.
Steve Folland: So with your cold emails, is that like a regular structured thing that you're doing?
Hazel Mead: It's an as and when. It's, you know, I'll see a company that I want to work with on Instagram or something, and I think, ooh, I should reach out to them. So then, that week, maybe I'll do a few cold emails. But it's not regular or structured. It's just as and when. Or if, if I'm quiet, then I'll definitely be doing more cold emails.
Steve Folland: And you said that you, you don't necessarily hear back. So how do you deal with that?
Hazel Mead: I've got much better at it. There's this phrase, eat rejection for breakfast, which I quite like. And it's just part and parcel of it. And I know people are busy and sometimes I'm bad with emails as well. And sometimes I forget and sometimes I need a nudge. And if it's someone I really want to work with, I will nudge.
And there's this company called Lawrence King. They do really beautifully illustrated gifts and jigsaw puzzles. And they're my dream client. And I met an art director at a games convention. And he gave me his email address and I was, I was there. I was saying, if you want me to post anything on social media, you know, happy to do it if we ever get to work together.
And yeah, I'm in the list of illustrators now, which is great. But it was only a couple of months ago and so far, nothing has come from that.
Steve Folland: How is it work life balance wise for you?
Hazel Mead: Now it's really good. I think since I met my partner, I realised, you know what, there's more to life than illustration, because it was my job, and it was my hobby. So I was drawing all the time. And that's the reason I started Salsa dancing , because I thought I was a very boring person. Whenever I was, whenever anyone asked what I was doing, I was drawing something, whether it was for me or for a client.
So I started Salsa, met my partner, and I realized I love just spending time with him or friends or family at the weekend. So I have weekends off now, I didn't used to.
Steve Folland: You protect them.
Hazel Mead: I do! Oh, well, it's not protecting, it's just we're so busy at the weekends, there's no time to work. So, you know, actually sometimes if, if we're going on a journey or if we're on the train, I will bring work along because I do like, you know, I love what I do.
And yeah, train, train journeys are a good place for me to have ideas. I just let my mind drift off. I get a lot of work done on a train.
Steve Folland: Hazel, if you could tell your younger self one thing about being freelance, what would that be?
Hazel Mead: I would say, feel the fear, and do it anyway. You're never gonna feel stable or secure, and that's okay. The quiet months are there, but then a busy month will come along and put you at rest. And this lifestyle just suits you. I'm so much better suited to this than I was in full time employment.
Steve Folland: Hazel, it's been so good to chat. All the best being freelance.
Hazel Mead: Thank you Steve!
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