Creative stylist Nancy Straughan on forging a soulful path in life and work

Can you tell us about yourself and the work you do? How did you get into creative styling?

I’m Nancy, I’m a stylist and creative soul living in the North East. I grew up in a creative household, and attribute many of my skills to my art-filled upbringing. My father was the creative director of an advertising firm and filled his spare time with painting, photography and furniture design and my mother worked as a photographic and interior stylist. I lived here in the North East until I was 19 when I moved away to attend University in Leeds. My course was connected to Textiles and Surface Pattern, and I loved the creativity it offered. After graduating I moved to London, but definitely missed the friendliness and picturesque nature of the North East. I was working at this time alongside trying to establish my own creative work, in many different roles — at first in retail and then in creative roles, including working in design studios and in event planning. This was around the time blogging was really taking off, in 2011. I was lucky that my work was featured in some world-renowned international design blogs such as Apartment Therapy. Because of the huge response and positive feedback to my work from these features, I realised I could set up my own homeware company, as that’s what I’d specialised in at University. I always knew I wanted to work for myself, and my homeware company was very successful. I did that until around 2017, but despite enjoying the creative aspect, I knew it wasn’t fulfilling me anymore and I also wasn’t enjoying living and working in London. I had a discussion with my husband, and we were both aware we wanted a real change of lifestyle. I wanted to focus on creative styling, and when I became pregnant in 2019, we decided to move back to my hometown in the North East. I have now been freelance as a creative stylist for two and a half years and I love it. I thoroughly enjoy creating imagery and spaces that inspire. I offer full-service styling, so can take an idea from an initial concept, style and photograph it, and offer any on the day support to a client, if it’s needed. This has seen me work with everyone from large brands to small independent companies, magazines and individuals wishing to style their event, wedding or home.                 

We love that you have based your business in the North East, after working in London. What is it you enjoy about living and working here?

I didn’t realise this until recently, but I honestly feel that in coming back to the North East I’ve almost become a different person. I’m so much more relaxed and have softened quite a lot. London makes you quite tough since you’re rushing around all the time — it sounds like a cliche, but you do become different when that’s your life 24/7. Even though Newcastle is still a city and there’s so much going on, the people are so friendly. For me, it’s a completely different way of life. Moving back to the North East has been pared with a big mental shift for me, I feel much more relaxed. I used to suffer severe anxiety and that has been so much better since living and working here for the past year and a half. It does make me sad that many people I’ve worked with in London either don’t know where Newcastle is or don’t know a lot about this wonderful place. I know some people believe you must be in the capital, but I work remotely and in London would regularly commute for over two hours a day — I don’t think people realise the North East is less than a three-hour train ride away, so you can easily get to London if needed. Hopefully, with more people working from home due to Covid, there will be a realisation that if you’re doing great quality work, being based in a certain location doesn’t hold you back.

In your interior styling, you have such a knack for creating beautifully calming spaces, do you have any tips and tricks for readers wanting to emulate this in their own homes?

Thank you! Interiors are such a personal thing, and I think problems arise when you read ‘you have to do this to achieve a calming or on-trend space.’ My advice is actually to think about what makes you feel calm and happy, as we’re all different. Perhaps bright colour makes you feel great, whereas for me that’s not the case. My suggestion is to make a list of things that make you feel calm, relaxed and happy then work to incorporate those things into your living spaces. For me, that’s things like sunshine, so spaces with a lot of natural light, being in nature, so I like light wooden furniture and using soft colours like green and pale blues or earthy tones and white. I think plants help everyone to feel calm, as does that act of looking after something — it’s very mindful. I also think looking after your space, however large or small is important — respecting it, keeping it tidy and as clean as possible really helps centre people make their home environment much more enjoyable to be in.

What do you like about being self-employed and running your own business, and what are the challenges?

We definitely all have days when we’re not in the right mind-set, and I’ve found the problem is when we try to push through that, rather than letting it be. Of course, often you have deadlines and things that must be done, but what I’ve learnt when I’m feeling stressed, is just to have a little break from what I’m doing — even for a short time. It can be as simple as moving away from the situation and getting some fresh air. Often I listen to a podcast just to take my mind off the work. Although having a baby does make it difficult to strike a work-life balance, I have actually found my daughter Peggy’s routine helps me in terms of work. It often means I have a certain amount of time to do work in the day, around her naps and feeds, and we tend to try and get outside if it’s not raining, meaning my mind is switched off from work as I’m engaged with her. When it was just me, I was really bad at taking breaks. I always thought, no I can keep pushing through!  When really I’d be more productive if I gave myself five minutes rest. I have learnt a lot from Peggy — she is so interested in little details, and can spend five minutes mindfully looking at a flower — in that way children can really show you how to slow down and enjoy the little moments in between the busyness of everyday life.

We love how you’ve shared your journey to motherhood with your followers, and have been really honest about juggling life working full time, sharing days when things haven’t been easy as well as the good. Was this a conscious decision?

I have heard many people say they worry that if they share details about their children on a platform they also use for work, it may be seen as unprofessional to potential clients or employers, who perhaps may think they’re not as focussed on work. That’s definitely something I thought about, how much of my life to share — it’s always changing and shifting. Because I had quite a large following on Instagram before I was pregnant, and I had always shared things about how I was feeling and things I was thinking, I guess I just continued doing that as I went through pregnancy and motherhood. I’ve found that engaging with people on Instagram can be so positive, something as simple as a lovely comment can really brighten your day. I did find the beginning stages with a new-born very challenging, and I actually had some followers who I hadn’t even met reach out a few times and check in on me, and that felt so wonderful and supportive. It made me think, as that helped me so much, perhaps me sharing my experiences will help someone else. It has really connected me with my followers. I’ve never been someone who posts hoping for lots of likes, or uses Instagram as a highlight reel of my life — I love the community and connective aspect of social media. I’m that sort of person that I like to really engage with people. But I equally don’t think everyone has to share details of their lives if that doesn’t suit them or feel right.

We have been experiencing such a strange time lately, in lockdown and now in a state of ‘new normal’. What have you been doing other than work that’s helped get you through?

I really prioritise spending twenty minutes in the evening reading a book. Just recently, since he is working from home and doesn’t have to factor in commuting time, my husband Simon does breakfast with Peggy, so I usually go for a run in the morning which I love. I remember how I felt when I had no time to myself at the beginning of motherhood, and often you don’t have the energy in the evenings to do something for yourself, which can be so tough. At the beginning of lockdown when we could only go out once a day, we made sure to do a little walk as a family. We’re so lucky in that where we live is very green — as it was spring all the flowers began to bloom and although it was such a worrying time as my husband had lost his job, without realising we ended up really enjoying observing the surroundings and being immersed in nature. I remembered I had a vintage book about wildflowers, so I started looking them up and actually loved learning about local flowers that surrounded where we live. I guess I developed a hobby without realising, as at the beginning of the year I knew nothing about the subject. Falling into this hobby meant it wasn’t forced, I didn’t feel I had to learn anything, so that was very mindful and calming. At the moment, if I’ve had a really unsettled night with Peggy I may not feel like going for a run every morning, so I am trying to embrace any time off, rather than making myself feel bad for not doing things!

Finally, could you share the favourite spots you love to visit in the region?

I love visiting RE in Corbridge. So many people know about their amazing products as they’re stocked in Liberty and other high-end stores, but don’t realise the shop is in the North East! I am actually planning to go there for a family day out for my birthday in September, we’ll have a pub lunch in Corbridge, look around the beautiful independent shops like Forum Books, and walk along the river. I love going to the coast, particularly when Tynemouth Market is on, and always visit Riley’s Fish Shack at King Edward’s Bay. I also enjoy going to Whitley Bay for a day out or visiting Durham on the train. It’s such a short and picturesque journey, and you feel like you’re so far away. I love a cafe there, Flat White — we went recently and just wandered the gorgeous streets and walked alongside the river, which was wonderful. The North East is so unique, in that you can drive for half an hour and be at the coast or countryside, and feel like you’re in a completely different place despite not travelling far.