Creatives Like Us Podcast - Ep:14 Jo Sealy
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From Copywriting to Cultural Work: Jo Sealy on Creative Journeys
In this episode of Creatives Like Us , Ange chats with Jo Sealy, a creative business owner, photographer and mentor whose career has spanned marketing, radio, TV and heritage work. Jo shares how she started out as an executive assistant while trying to break into journalism, eventually landing a job in an ad agency in Trinidad. From there, she built experience across the creative industries – including roles at Jazz FM and ITV, before setting up her own agency, To Market, nearly 20 years ago.
Jo also discusses her photography, including the We Are Here project, which documented Windrush residents in Waltham Forest, and her ongoing work showcasing Black artisans across the UK. She reflects on building a career with purpose, learning from mistakes, and the value of sharing knowledge and creating space for others. It’s a warm, thoughtful conversation about creativity, community and following what feels right, even when the path isn’t straightforward.
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Links for Jo
Email: jo@to-market.co.uk
Website (Agency): www.to-market.co.uk
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josealy/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToMarket/
Jo's Photography & Heritage Projects
Black Artisans Project:
Website – https://www.theblackartisans.org/
(Features exhibitions, artisan profiles, and project updates)
We Are Here – Windrush Project:
Website – www.weareherewf.org
(Photography and oral histories of Windrush residents in Waltham Forest)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weareherewf/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weareherewf/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/weareherewf
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM4dVquMLsO9Q6zrW-Ude6w/
Links for Angela
This podcast is hosted by Angela Lyons of Lyons Creative.
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Links for Heather
Produced by award-winning media and marketing specialist Heather Pownall of Heather's Media Hub
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Thursday 16th October 2025
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Chapters/Timestamp
00:00 The Journey of Creativity
Photography and Community Engagement
Heritage and Cultural Projects
Advice for the Next Generation
Transcript
Jo (00:00.046)
You worry about what people are going to think or if you worry about what if this or what if that, so what? Just try it. We Are Here is about photographing Windrush residents of Waltham Forest. So I pitched that idea of let's find the Windrush residents in Waltham Forest, let's have a proper photography project around them so we document them. And that's how it started.
Angela (00:31.918)
Hello and welcome to Creatives Like Us, where I speak with creatives of colour who share journeys and stories and ideas and how they can inspire and open up avenues in creative industries. I'm your host, graphic designer Angela Lyons, and with the help of my guests, I will bring you insightful interviews and compelling stories that can inspire you to think about things differently or shape your next move. Being a creative of colour can bring us challenges, highs and lows and in-betweens, but this podcast is about amplifying our voices and celebrating together.
So, are you ready? Let's get started with Creatives Like Us. Hello Jo and welcome to Creatives Like Us. Good morning. Can you tell people who you are, where you are in the world and what kind of creative are you?
So yeah, my name's Joanne, Jo Sealy. I am based in Essex and I am currently, I run a marketing agency. So the agency works with creative food and tech businesses. Although having said that, we're making a transition at the moment into heritage, and culture. I'll explain more about that bit later. So that's my kind of day job and we work for a real variety of clients. I also work as a business advisor consultant for enterprise organizations and in addition I work as a photographer. Photography isn't kind of for my clients anymore, used to be. It's commissioned work or it's my own projects which for the last couple of years have been quite major projects. So yeah, that's me.
That's great. And we can talk about those photography projects too, because they sound, I know some of them, so they're really good. So it'd be good to tell people about those. So whereabouts are you in the world?
Jo (02:08.27)
So I'm based in Old Harlow in Essex, but I'm only about 30 minutes from coming into town. My husband and run a business in East London, we run a business in Walthamstow, which is where I'm originally from. So we still commute for that and we still come into town for stuff. it's probably as furthest I could go outside of London.
You're so experienced every time I talk to you, you're like, I know somebody does that or I've done that. So it'd be really good to know what, how did you actually start from the beginning? Is it a long employment record, I suppose? Or is it, how would you like to start with your creativity?
Okay, so I originally started work as an executive assistant actually. I worked for a large company, I'm not going to say the companies, I worked for a large organization. But all the time I was doing that, I wanted to be a journalist. So in the background, I was doing writing work and just sort of freelance work. And I applied to the National Journalist Committee.
Union of Journalists and all sorts of things. It didn't really happen that way. What actually happened was that I got to go away for a while with my mom. I went to the Caribbean. And when I came back, I basically jacked in my job and said, I'm going to be a writer. And I ended up working as a copywriter for an advertising agency. The way that came about was that when I came back from the Caribbean with my mom and dad, I decided that's what I wanted to do.
I applied for some jobs, but then I also had the opportunity and I was also a bit depressed about living in the UK to go back to the Caribbean. I know it was just, yeah, no, I want to go. And I just thought, no, I want to do something different. So I had applied for a few jobs here, but they didn't really happen in the way that I wanted it to happen. Also getting into agencies quite difficult if you've got no track record. So I went to Trinidad to work in Trinidad.
Angela (03:43.438)
Especially after a copy back from the caribou.
Jo (04:00.11)
I basically got a job in an ad agency in Trinidad and I worked there for 18 months on quite big major accounts actually in the end and I got to work on production, the production side of things as well. Normally you have a writer art director team so I worked with a really good art director and then because we were in the Caribbean, I got to travel around the Caribbean because that's where the production music were for example, that was in Barbados. A couple of the clients were American so we got to go back to the States. Not for long, was just because it's not far from there but...
There was a lot of travel and it was a lot of fantastic opportunity. So by the time I was ready to come back to the UK, I had quite a lot of experience. So I applied for jobs before I left the UK so that when I came back to London, I had interviews and I got a job pretty much straight away. brilliant. Which was for an in-house marketing department for a massive house building company. But basically I was the marketing department. The rest were all the in-house designers who test.
Jo (04:59.522)
do the designs for the new developments that are out of the ground. So I used to travel around the country, they were a developer, and I used to go to brand new developments where they, before they were out of the ground, do the research on the area, research prominent people, road names, all that sort of stuff, and then help create the concept for the development. It wasn't just me on my own, but I was the main person. I used to work with the architects and work with their in-house graphic people. We would create a lot of... wonderful new estates and then I do all the press and PR around it and stuff like that. Wow, that's a lot of creativity. was really lucky. And actually in my portfolio when I look at it now, so I think, my god, because I was only 21, 22 at the time. I think that this is, when I think of what I was doing. So that company was one of the first developers in the Docklands. So I got to do loads of research around popular and around.
And all those areas and around the Doctlons before they'd done all the big developments. And it was amazing to be able to look at the history of that area and then actually definitely be able to contribute to the names of the development and the reason why they were called what they were called. So that was a really exciting time.
That's really important actually, the names too. The names are really important. You did that because I'm, yeah, really important.
Yeah, super. I'm glad that you... It was so enlightening and I love history but this is a different way of doing history. So anyway, I did that for a couple of years and then I moved into agency. So, I'm sales promotion and long story short, I worked in a lot of agencies as a copywriter, as a writer. Again, art director, writer team. So when you work with an art director, you're coming up with a whole concept. You often have the full background as to what the client is trying to do.
Jo (06:37.702)
and your whole campaigns are based on specific targets and things like that. But it's a lovely collaborative kind of thing. And yeah, I got to work on lots of different, lots of drinks, technology, IBM at the time, lots of different clients until I ended up in an agency in Common Garden. I was there for a couple of years. And then I just decided I wanted to work for myself. wanted to start my own agency, which is what I did. I started my own agency and I...
There's three of us in the agency now, although there were more. That's the core team. I actually had two agencies. The first one I had, I had an office and everything like that. And I started that when I was about 25. And we did really well, actually. Obviously, we had American clients, American hair and beauty clients. We did okay. But then the first recession here, and we had a couple of clients that didn't pay. And when you're booking media, because we were booking ad space as well.
You are an accredited agency and you need to pay within a certain time regardless of your client. So that kind of put us in a really, kind of was nearly made bankrupt to be honest. But luckily we had one of our American clients forward paid us for stuff. We told them what the situations and they forward booked lots of stuff. Sort of staved off bankruptcy and was able to manage it all. But in the end we did, I did close that agency. Went back into the workforce, went into radio from there and then from-
Do Presenting or? No, Presenting or working around sales or?
No, was working for Jazz FM and it was on the, what was the title? It was kind of a business support really. But I basically worked for the chief exec and I was brought in to help set up a women's radio station. So she had gained, we had to pitch for the license. don't know you understand the whole process of getting a radio license is a particular process. So it was right from the scratch. Golden Rose, that's what was the parent company at that time.
Jo (08:30.766)
kind of brought this lady, Katie, on to do this and she brought me on to help her to create all that's required around the license and everything like that and we pitched for that. But behind the scenes I was working on Jazz FM. We actually got the license but the station failed basically. But it was an amazing concert because it was a women-run station and we had Lynne Franks as our chair and all sorts of pretty prominent people. It was fantastic.
It was an amazing thing, but it just didn't happen. then I... It wasn't the right time. Yeah, it wasn't the right time. And you see with digital now, it would have been very different.
Different now. would have been thriving most probably.
Because it's niche and you could find your people email easily and it's very very different now. But then I went back onto Jazz and I was there for a few years and which I absolutely loved and worked with all kinds of artists and all kinds of things there. And then from that I then went into television. So I worked at what was London Weekend Television and then my boss at that time then was made the, what was his job title, he was the director of programs for ITV.
And he asked me to come with him so I went with him across to ITV. So that was my last job, last page. That was your last job? Yeah.
Angela (09:47.8)
So your black book must be like on fire.
Yeah, it is actually. Even though it's quite a long time ago, sometimes I look at it and I, cause the director of programs job for a major television station is big anyway, but for ITV is massive. Each of the controllers, 12 controllers that feed into you all have massive jobs in their own right. So director of sport, director of comedy, you know, they're all massive in there and they all feed into the DOP. And you know, I was basically second in command, so it meant that.
I kind of had an overview of everything that was going on. You need to be to read balance sheets, you need to be able to do all sorts of things. And it was just a fantastic opportunity. So you get invited to everything because of who you work for. But you also get to be at the starting point of a lot of things. So part of my role was to be, I don't know what the job, he, the independent television producers had an annual round. So, know, when the next, you're commissioning the next set of programs, basically. And so I managed all the Indies.
So I was flavor of the month, every year of course, because it may, you know, the chances of getting commissioned. But it's important because some of the commissions include things like, you know, I'm a celebrity, get me out of here. Millionaire was another one. A lot of major shows. And so that's really interesting. And of course you deal with all the talent because you have to deal with the agents as well. And then when big shows are being licensed.
Yeah, yeah, right at beginning.
Jo (11:16.398)
for example, all the Bond franchise, when at one point it was all going through ITV. You understand more about licensing, you get to deal with broccolis and all that sort of stuff. yeah, pretty high profile.
Sounds like you've taken all of that and obviously put it into your new agency now because you've been going for how many years now?
Yeah, so I was at ITV for just over seven years and my boss went on to something else. He basically became part of All Three Media, which is massive if you know television. Austria owns most of the independence. But I didn't want to go. I wanted to start the agency because I could sort of see a window to do it. So I started to market and with a lot more...
Straightforward knowledge that I wanted to do as a hybrid agency from the beginning. But that was nearly 20 years ago now, or 19 years ago. And I knew I didn't want another office. This was having learnt from previously. I just wanted it to be hybrid, bring in the team or bring out. So we had a core, a very small core team and we just brought in people. But over the years I've worked with lot of really good people. And so had a core, if we got a big contract and our determination is we could just bring people that are trusted. That was the most important
Jo (12:29.89)
So that's how we started. of course, the internet itself had gone on and moved on. So we were able to work online from the get-go. Yeah.
Yeah, sure. brilliant. Can I ask about your own photography? How did you become creative in the photography field?
So my husband's a hairdresser and we started our business when we were in our 20s, early 20s. He was 25, I was just little bit younger than him. And we've had a business since then. We've always had a hair and beauty business. So the first business we had, we had about 10 staff or something like that, it was in Walthamstow. And we 10 staff, it was a big salon. And then we had a chance in 98 to the least finished, so that was a 13 year lease, right? That lease finished.
and we had a chance to move on. We didn't want to stay where we are, so we moved to a smaller place, still in central Walthamstow in 1998. And from there, I started doing some of the shoots. We were paying people to do our photo work for us, and I was just directing it. But then I just said, this is mad, it's costing us a lot of money and da, da, da, da. So in the end, said, I'm going to do a photography course and I'm going to do it myself. Because I was directing it, so I knew exactly what I wanted to see. So that's how it started. that's brilliant. Yeah.
It was really easy for me and I started doing around shoots. shot some, but then I realized I didn't like shooting hair particularly. I don't like doing work like that, but I did use to it, but I didn't really like doing it. And then I was going to use it in the agency when the agency had started by that time. And I did some food work because food is quite a specialist area. So I did a lot of close up textual work and I was doing that for a while. But then as we got bigger clients in the agency, I started to farm it out because it wasn't the best use of my time at that time.
Angela (14:15.254)
Did you love it? Did you love doing it?
I love doing the work that I love doing. I think that when you're doing paid work for a client, because it's very different, the pressure is different and I didn't want that for the photography side. So in terms of our clients, I brought in other photographers, by which time I also was part of a big photography group, which is based in Waltham Forest and we pitched for work, we got work separately. Our day work was our day work, so there's different photographers in that group, it's called Image 17, and there's architectural photographers, here is food, etc.
But then we pitched to do our own kind of passion project stuff. And we got commissioned to do a lot of stuff for Wolf & Forest, for the Olympics, a lot of other work. And so that was separate to the agency. But we could be in and out of it as we wanted to because there a group, there was a big core of us that... was a computer to deliver the projects. So that meant that for the agency work, had some of those photographers I commissioned to work on our clients, actually.
and other people so I stepped away from doing it day to day. And also the other thing, being part of that group, Image 17, is that we got one of our biggest commissions as a result of that, which was the We Are Here project. I was the lead on it. We are here is. We got Heritage's lottery funding for that. The way Image 17 works is that one of us will pitch an idea, I want to do this, take four photographers, you want to come and join me? Yeah, how can I do it? And then...
saying a little bit, yeah, what
Jo (15:40.482)
few years in, you you get your confidence because for some of us, some of the work is not what we would normally do in our day job, but that's why we were part of the group. pushed us. So this was the one time that I pitched something and I wasn't sure if they'd want to do it because We Are Here is about photographing Windrush residents of Waltham Forest. And I wanted to do it because my parents were getting older. I didn't want their time here to have passed for them having not been acknowledged in terms of what they did and what their life was about. So I pitched that idea of
let's find the Windrush residents in Walton Forest, let's have a proper photography project around them so we document them. And that's how it started and then everybody was up for doing it, there were several photographers on it. And then I thought about it, I thought, you know, I'm never going to do this again in this way, let's do it properly. So it grew from being a straight photography project, which it is, but it also included the oral histories. We did a film, we did a book, magazine thing, we did a lot of work, it ended up being a...
a really big project. got Heritage Lottery funding for it, which was quite a lot of money, so we were able to do it properly. So it was an amazing, it was the biggest project that Image 17 did. Obviously I did the application, so it's with help, I have to say. But we put proper money into do it so everybody could spend their time properly on it. It was amazing. And that was like four years ago now, four years ago.
Did your parents go and see it? Did your parents go?
Yeah, yeah, had like nearly 18, nearly 100 people came to the launch and we invited all the residents. We photographed 56 residents with their oral histories. We got schools involved. We had schools that interviewed and used some of the elders for their own Black History Month stuff. We did so much stuff.
Angela (17:23.982)
That's nice, passing it down, showing it to the generations.
We had length and six form students, they have a photography section, who were our assistants on the...
That's great. So they got to be with professional photographers too. So they were learning.
Absolutely. And we also, obviously to get these people, we had to engage. I mean, a lot of us had people who were our next-door neighbors or were in our family, fact, that we could shoot and we could ask. Although you can't tell that as a road, you have to ask them properly. You can't assume that they just will do it. But we also reached out to groups. So myself and another photographer sort of reached out to some of the community groups.
We had to do presentations to them to show them what it would be about, which is as it should be, to be honest. And we collaborated with other groups in the borough. So as a result, we just got a lot of people that were really happy to do it. But what was amazing was all the material we got eventually from people. was fantastic. I mean, like, not just obviously pictures and memorabilia, but MBEs, people's landing papers, you know, all kinds of passports.
Angela (18:28.229)
passports. I've got my mum's first passport from the UK government and it's just like, wow. It's just so, my mum, looked like a...
10. 10? We had a young guy. Fresh face. Yeah, Winston. Yeah. And the clothes. I know. the fashion. Beautiful. The people on the boat. actually on the boat. I had never seen people actually as they were traveling. So it was an amazing project to work on. And that kind of, in a funny sort of a way, kick started a sort of a transition in terms of where my agency is at the moment.
The pictures were gorgeous.
Jo (19:06.51)
also in terms of a slight shift in the kind of work that I want to do. So I've been really lucky to be able to work with a lot of creatives day to day anyway, just because of what I do. So there was always a transition in that way. With regard to the creative work, my next big project was something along those lines, which was working with black creatives.
So what are you up to next? It sounds like what's the future hold? It sounds like you've started making those paths already, but if you want to elaborate a little bit more.
So with regard to the agency, we're kind of shifting to work in heritage arts and culture. Those were some of my projects anyway, but I just want to focus on that. Excuse me. And so at the moment I'm working with the Museum of Cambridge on their Legacies of Windrush project, which is a fantastic opportunity. And that's meant I've been able to work with students from Cambridge to tell them the Windrush story and then help to create a big exhibition that will come live at the end of April, April 25 this year.
So that's with regard to the agency and activity that's channeled through there and I'm sort of looking for other things in that area. And it also means that with regard to photography, particularly, I have an ongoing new project which is called the Black Earth Sense. Well, it's not that new, it's been around for little while, but it's called the Black Earth Sense and it's basically photographing black makers, black past people. And the reason I wanted to do it is because I work with a lot of creative businesses and I meet with all kinds of different businesses. They're fantastic makers.
of all kinds and design professionals and things like that. I didn't really see them in mainstream so much in terms of exhibitions and specifically focused on them. So I created an initial exhibition of 26 artisans. And by artisans I mean people that make something. So they're still creatives, still, they've got something, something you can tangibly use. I photographed an initial 26 artisans and they're based all over the country.
Jo (21:02.742)
And the first exhibition was at the William Morris Gallery, which was amazing. It went incredibly well. had amazing turnout.
Can we still see some of the photographs online?
Black-Arts Sands is online, none of the photographs are online like that, but some of them are, or you can see them in the exhibition. So have a look at black-arts-sands.org. So the exhibition from there was basically the launch of it starting to move around the country. So was in Waltham Forest initially, and since then it's sort of moved to different places. So our last thing, we were in Blackburn last year.
and that was amazing. We were part of Creative Lancashire, they paid for time for us to be up there with Artisans doing workshops as part of two things, which was, I can't remember the first one, a big major casting that they have in Blackburn. And then we moved over to the Hayworth Art Gallery and we were there for part of the Creative Lancashire program where we had an artist talk, it was all filmed, it was fantastic. And the plan is now that we potentially are going to be at Great Northern
Contemporary Arts Fair, which is in September this year, 25. And hopefully we will be down in Cornwall as part of something that Black Voices Cornwall are doing. And there are plans and discussions going on to be in Leeds as well. And we're also going to launch So there's a lot going on with that. So it's juggling it between the photography, which I very much want to do, and doing the heritage work. So it's an interesting time.
Angela (22:31.246)
I love that and I love that you're showcasing black artisans and bringing them up too. Like you're saying, there's not many out there in the mainstream that you would actually see them all the time. We'd have to search for them, but you're putting them in a space and they can be highlighted and amplified.
Absolutely. I mean, the thing is, in their own areas, these guys are like, they're pretty well known. And some of them are well established and, you know, win awards and all the scholars and all that sort of thing. But to us or to Joe Public, who might want to get into that hobby, or to a young person who might want to understand what their journey was to get to where they got to, they won't necessarily see those people. They'll be far and few between. And also the other thing, I didn't just shoot traditional, know, British crafts. I shot steel pan makers and dumbbells
them belly makers, so cultural art. Yeah. So at the moment I'm still looking for some new people. I've actually just found a blacksmith who, which is amazing because I'm, he was just on one of the TV shows and I'm looking for, I'm looking for certain people looking for a watchmaker for example, like Hen Steve, watchmakers full stop are really hard to find. We've actually got a watch repairer. So I need to go and.
91 or shame
Well, the watch repairer on its own is a bit difficult as well and he's obviously an older guy because he doesn't answer his email. So, I've got bedmakers, I've got a bedmaker, a bedmaker that was forwarded to me. I've got a conservator, conservator, black paper conservator. These are not things that people know how to even get into. So, I'm interested in sharing it from that point of view.
Angela (24:03.118)
That's nice, passing it on. Yeah, that'd be great. That'd be great to see. So when we come off the call, you'll give me the links for all of those. I'll share them with everybody. That'd be great. Thank you. So I always like to ask people who come on the show, what would you, just to end on a personal note, and what device would you give your teenage self? Because Joe, you sound like you've done so much over the years, and it's great. And I love that you share and you always pass in knowledge on or pass in.
I will. Yeah, no worries.
Angela (24:30.114)
people do, so you're always a, I feel like you're a people amplifier. You're always sharing people's knowledge too. So with all that and you think of yourself as a teenager, what advice would you tell your teenage self?
think it's really common and it's what comes up with everybody else which is you know ignore the fear of it all just go for it because the thing is if you don't try it you'll never know you know if you worry about what people are going to think or if you worry about what if this or what is that so what just try it do it in the safest way possible you know but potentially having said that you know when we started our first business it was a bit of a legal faith but you know you need to go for it and if you make a mistake so what you'll learn next time
You know, when we had our first salon, we learned a lot of lessons, not about running a salon, but about the space, like certain kind of flooring and a certain kind of heating. When we had the new place, we made sure we did certain things top notch at the time, because it's worth the investment. So you will always learn. So just go for it. Don't be afraid. Because there's nothing worse than sort of thinking after, I wish I'd done this or I wish I'd done that. I never want to, I don't want a life like that.
And right now the stuff that I'm going into is totally what I want to do now for the rest of, you know, for however long. And I'm really excited to even be in a position to understand that's what I want to do to go for it.
That's great. That is really, really nice to hear. thank you, Joe. You're very welcome. And one of the last things, probably it's the thing, it's a quick fire, finding five questions and you've got to answer one or the other. it's really easy. Crystal chocolate. Beach or forest? Beach. Just. Book or Kindle?
Jo (26:08.525)
Chocolate.
Jeff.
Angela (26:18.956)
Alright, guys, so...
Patty or a sandwich?
really good patsy that's some good ones there's a lot of rubbish as well though
There are some good ones out there. Yeah, well. Well, one of my favorite ones is Lincoln's. Do know Lincoln's in Enfield? I'm hoping.
Angela (26:37.486)
Yeah, and I've yet to try the vegan patty lady, but I want to find out about hers. But yeah, I like a good patty too. yeah. Well next time we meet I'll get some Lincoln patties for you.
Yeah, yeah. It's been really good doing the Cambridge thing because the lady who was kind of the catalyst for it and her is Dr. Carol and Aidy Brown. So she's an academic in Cambridge. But every time she's had the meet up with the elders and with the students, we've had Caribbean food. It's been nice. It's like up in Cambridge. Oh my God. Listen, I tell you, what you don't know, you don't know. But she, seriously, yeah, it's been really nice.
Brilliant, brilliant. Is there anything else you'd like to add Jo that we might have not discussed?
No, no, think that I kind of wanted to do it because then obviously we've worked together and it's been nice to see how you're kind of flourishing and being more confident about what you're doing and this was one of the things that we talked about potentially doing so it's great to see it kind of really landing and yeah, no, no, I'm just glad to see you're doing
I should actually give you thanks actually, Jo, because I let everybody else know that Jo was my business mentor a couple of years ago when I was in bit of know, a bit of a rut too, wasn't I? I'm just like, what are we doing? I'm like so many years in business and I feel like I need to be moving on or doing something. And I was like, and then Jo was like, calm me down. And just we went through different processes and helped me work out a few things. And especially, again, talking, amplifying voices and putting me in touch with people. And so thank you so much, Jo. You're very welcome. It was a real...
Angela (28:07.234)
Real honor to know you, honestly. Because every time I do talk to people, warms though, honestly. People are like, talk to Josie, do you know Josie?
Yeah, part of the reason why I moved to be honest, I feel a bit lost to Roebert. Yeah, yeah. But Walthamstow has got such a good community, hasn't it? It really, you know, it's interesting because I work in Enfield a lot as well. And Enfield's not bad in terms of being connected, but Waltham Forest, certainly Walthamstow, Waltham Forest is really well connected. you know, you just need to dip your toe in a certain activity, whether it's to do with business or women's activities or whatever. you know, you'll always sort of connect up because it is quite connected.
And so when I speak to people and especially when you know there's a lot of stuff out there to help them and they're just not connected. Coming back to it, I photographed a leather maker down in Brighton. She's amazing. She's a model. She looks beautiful and she makes beautiful things. She's like the whole package. And she said, I'm really glad you came and photographed me. And she said, but you know, and it's really good to hear about other artists because she's not really connected with anyone down here. don't, I'm not really part. And I said, seriously, there is so much stuff going on.
And then it turns out there's about four arsons in that Hastings Rye corridor along there. They're all connected up. They've all done other things. They've done shows together as a result of being connected through Black Arsons, which is just amazing. But you don't realize until you move out of Ormton Forest, for example, how connected and you take it for granted. So I do like to share the information because there's a lot of really helpful, useful stuff out there, but there's a lot of really good people doing good stuff.
Great people.
Jo (29:43.212)
You know, they do really genuinely, my god stuff, you know, all they're at what they do. So, yeah, I'm lucky. think I do. work in, I love what I do. I feel very lucky.
Brilliant. I love that. I love that. That's a nice note to end on. Before we do go, actually, could you tell people if they'd like to connect with you or have a look at your work or what was the best place to find you?
So you can connect with me, it's joejo at tomarket, t-o-market.co.uk. You can have look at the website, which is tomarket.co.uk, t-o-market.co.uk. Or you can have look at the Black Artisans website, which is blackartisans.org. And you can see the work on there, can see some of the artisans on there. And you can have a look at the We Are Here website, which is still live, we've kept it live, we've budgeted to keep it live for about 10 years or something.
And it's, we are here, WF, that's for walking for us. www.weareherewf.org
Thank you so much, Joe, and thanks again for joining me and have a great day.
Jo (30:45.262)
Thank very much. Thank you.
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