If you were born and raised in the 90s, nothing beat a McDonald's birthday party! 🙌🥳🍟🍔 Partygoers would receive cardboard crowns and balloons. 🎈 There would be Happy Meals, toys to play and trade. A kids play area and musical chairs. And if you were lucky… The oddly terrifying clown mascot of Ronald McDonald would join the celebrations. 🤡 This was a treat to be treasured. The culture has changed somewhat… Parents are now looking for fun skills based experiences without the e-numbers. Being inspired by McDonalds… ART SIPPERS have recreated our own version of KIDZ parties Swapping Burgers & Fries for Painting & Sipping! 🎨🖌️🍹 💌 Book your premium paint p-ART-y. info@artsippers.com Stay Curious. Stay Creative. 👨🏿‍🎨👩🏼‍🎨🦩 #Experiences #KidsParty #Creativity #Confidence #Challenge #PaintingWorkshop #Genius #ArtSippers

We're celebrating 4 years of ART SIPPERS! A journey that started with dreams, ideas, and a sprinkle of self-doubt. We were once "wantrepreneurs" daydreaming about starting a business… The fear of failure held us back, but the toll it took on our mental wellbeing and relationship made us realise that something had to change! In early 2019, fueled by our ikigai (our reason for being), we summoned up the courage to say, "F*CK IT, WHY NOT!?" 🙃 And just like that, ART SIPPERS was born, driven by a mission to get individuals to step out of their comfort zone and build creative-confidence through the magic of ART. 🖌 What we did NOT anticipate, was that most adults have “The Fear” when it comes to being creative. We needed to convince people that they could create #WallWorthy art using our step-by-step process. And that's where the magic of the famous blue beret came in! 👨🏿‍🎨👩🏼‍🎨 By creating a fun and non-judgmental environment, we manage to transport adults into a play-like state to take on our creative challenges.💪 Art is pure alchemy, capable of unlocking fresh perspectives and new ways of thinking.💡 Throughout the years, we've witnessed countless individuals go on a transformative journey from "I can't paint" to "I can't believe I made this!" 😝 Building a business and brand in public hasn't been the smoothest ride... We've faced many ups and downs, and the lessons have come thicker than impasto paints!😅 But here we are, after four crazy years, finally feeling like we have a handle on what the f*ck we're doing! 😄 We seriously appreciate all of you who have joined us on this random adventure so far… Your love and support mean the world to us! 💟 Now it's time for NorteyPitcher to step into the role of Creative-Confidence Coaches, helping businesses, brands, and individuals to cultivate a creative mindset. P.s. To all the aspiring creatives and business owners out there, push past the self-doubt, and take that leap of faith…. “There is freedom waiting for you, On the breezes of the sky, And you ask "What if I fall?" Oh but my darling, What if you fly?” - Erin Hanson 🪁 Stay Curious. Stay Creative.

🎨✨ The transformative power of art for mental health🧠🖌️ 🌟 To kick off Mental Health Awareness Week, we teamed up with Human Beauty for a Makeup Therapy Party and to launch the @humanbeautyfoundation🍾💄 😁 Last year we met Millie Flemington- Clare, the inspiring founder behind Human Beauty - the world's first truly inclusive makeup brand. 🏥 Millie was born with a rare condition caller Cystinosis, which affects only 2,000 people worldwide! She mentioned how she discovered the magic of makeup as therapy during some of her toughest moments in hospital. 💫 During the really bad days, Millie would be seen putting on just a little bit of mascara to try and feel slightly more HUMAN. 💡This moment led to an idea and is now the driving force of Human Beauty and her mission to make makeup accessible to all. 💖 Human Beauty merges art and makeup seamlessly. Their "Makeup Therapy Palette" is like an adult colouring book, with eye shadows that come alive through visuals and audio descriptions with a QR code and the innovative "Liquid Confidence" mascara, designed for easy grip and use from every angle. 🌈 Inclusivity and accessibility are at the heart of Human Beauty, ensuring that no one is left out from the joy and therapeutic benefits of art. 💪 Just like us, Millie understands the incredible power of art to uplift, heal, and boost confidence, whether it's through painting on canvas or applying makeup. ✨ Now, a year later, we are honored to collaborate for the launch of The Human Beauty Foundation, offering a painting experience that delivers a powerful message and creates lasting memories for all who attended! 👏 Join us in cheering on Human Beauty as they grow into a leading beauty brand, and let's see what exciting and innovative products Millie adds to their portfolio! 🍹 Sips Caleño Drinks 📍 Venue Home Grown Club Stay Curious. Stay Creative. 👨🏿‍🎨👩🏼‍🎨 #ArtTherapy#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek#ProductLaunch#HumanBeauty#BrandActivation#Creativity#PaintandSip#Collaboration#BrandActivation#MakeupArtist#Mua#InfluencerEvent#LondonEvents#ArtSippers

(yep, I added that last one Josie Anna Pitcher 😅) Yet, I can say that working with KIDZ can be one of the most rewarding experiences you will ever have… Watching their fearless approach to trying new things with energy and enthusiasm - children have a lot to teach us about creativity. As we grow older, we often lose touch with our inner child and become more focused on being practical and logical. We start to believe that creativity is something that ONLY artists, musicians, and writers possess, and that we ourselves are not creative… But the truth is that creativity is a fundamental part of human nature, and it exists within all of us. We just need to re-learn how to tap into it. When you watch a child draw or paint or build something, you can see how freely they express themselves, without worrying about others or whether it's "good" or not. They don't have the same self-doubt and insecurity that adults often possess. They simply create for the sake of it! Adults on the other hand... have become increasingly cynical and skeptical about the word “creativity”. If I had a pound for every time an adult told me "I'm not creative"... I would probably be in a new tax bracket by now! 😂 👉 It's also important to remember that creativity comes in many forms... It's not just about art or music or writing. 👉 Creativity can be found in problem-solving, in finding new ways to do things, in developing innovative business ideas, and so much more. 👉 Maybe we just need to expand our definition of what “creativity” is and be open to exploring all the different ways it can benefit our wellbeing. If anything, starting ART SIPPERS KIDZ has proven to me that “every child is an artist... the problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” - Picasso 🎨🖌️ Stay Curious. Stay Creative. 👨🏿‍🎨👩🏼‍🎨 #Creativity #Play #Wellbeing #Experiences #SoftSkills #Kidz #SipSipHooray #ArtSippers

Be At One Newcastle reached out to us to help launch the new site that opened only 3 weeks ago! 🎨🖌🎉🥂 The brief was simple: Create a unique opportunity for influencers to connect with the brand on a deeper level, by providing a memorable “instagrammable” painting experience that would stick with them long after the event was over. 👌 The lifeblood of any business is sales, and how do you make that happen? ENGAGEMENT and BRAND AWARENESS. 📸 But why choose a paint and sip activation over other experiential marketing tactics? Painting is a universal language that everyone can speak (especially after a few cheeky cocktail sips 😛🍹). It's a metaphor for self-expression, creativity, and individuality. By offering a creative experience that taps into these core values, you're making an authentic connection with your customers that isn't purely transactional. 💟 This influencer event naturally generated a social media buzz (pun intended) and word-of-mouth marketing… and lots and lots of FOMO, which has already increased the Be At One Newcastle site's visibility and attendance. 🤩 Social media analytics show there were over 250,000 likes and unique impressions by the attendees posts + stories... So, it's fair to say the ART SIPPERS experience was a hit! 🙌 Whether you're launching a new pop-up, bar, restaurant, or experiential event, it's crucial to build a positive emotional memory with your customers. 🥰 The powerful effects of ART 🎨 🖌 These Bee-u-tiful painting will now be hanging up on guests' home walls for years to come and this will inevitably leave a long lasting impression… and act as a simple, but gentle reminder to keep them coming back to Bee At One! 🐝 P.s. Big love Amy Roberts and all the Be At One Cocktail Bars staff for making it truly a unforgettable creative evening x Stay Curious. Stay Creative. 👨🏿‍🎨👩🏼‍🎨 #BeAtOne #Newcastle #BrandActivation #ExperientialMarketing #Creativity #Challenge #SipSipHooray #ArtSippers

In his book, "Steal Like an Artist," @Austin Kleon argues that all artists, regardless of their medium, should embrace the act of stealing. The idea may seem counterintuitive, but it draws inspiration from a famous quote by Pablo Picasso: "Good artists copy, great artists steal." 👌 By stealing, he simply means that artists should study the work of their favorite creators, & borrow techniques, styles to create something new & original. Is stealing ethical? 👀 Many feel that there is a fine line between taking influences & copying. Famous American playwright Wilson Mizner says, “When you take stuff from one writer it's plagiarism, but when you take from many writers it's called research.” 😎 The issue is that stealing can lead to a lack of authenticity. Art has the power to shape our perceptions of reality, & the most innovative artists are those who break away from the cultural zeitgeist to create something that has never been seen before. ✨ For beginners who aspire to become original artists, it's important to copy & emulate at first to build up the creative muscle 💪 The creative process often involves three stages: 👉 Imitation 👉 Imagination 👉 Innovation Oscar Wilde famously said, "Life imitates ART far more than ART imitates Life." Despite this debate, it's clear that many successful artists have taken direct influence from the work of others. Many famous films, for example, have ‘borrowed’ from classic works of art. The film "Blade Runner" was heavily influenced by the work of surrealist painter Edward Hopper, while the opening sequence of "Star Wars" was inspired by the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. The discussion of stealing in art has become complicated with the rise of AI-generated art. 🤖 Some argue that AI algorithms essentially steal from the original creators, while others argue that the art produced by the algorithms is not truly original and does not constitute stealing. One thing is for sure - artists will always be inspired by the work of others... And it's up to each individual artist to decide how they want to use that inspiration to create something truly original... If that is even possible? 💭 Stay Curious. Stay Creative. 👨🏿‍🎨👩🏼‍🎨 #Creativity #Innovation #Inspired #Imagination #AI #Original #ArtSippers

Employees are more likely to be engaged to learn new things, try out new skills and discover new ideas when they feel comfortable and happy within their environment. Ray Dalio explains in his book Principles that organisations should "create a culture in which it is okay to make mistakes and unacceptable not to learn from them" - Ray Dalio With this in mind, it's essential to create a supportive culture and develop 'safe spaces' at work or team building activities, where employees feel it's okay to experiment and take risks without fear of blame or shame. 😳 Encouraging and developing your employee experience is not merely important for the future success of your business, but for your employees development, personal growth and engagement. 📈 A recent study from Gallup found that: 🖌️ Engaged employees take an average of 2.7 sick days per year, compared to disengaged employees who take an average of 6.2 days per year. 🖌️ Engaged employees are 17% more productive than their disengaged counterparts. 🖌️ Highly engaged business teams achieve 21% greater profitability. In today's fast-paced disruptive world, being able to nurture and retain top talent might just be the key to set your business apart from the rest of the competition. Are you providing your employees with the tools and environment they need to learn, grow, and succeed? 💭 #EmployeeExperience#EmployeeEngagement#TeamBuilding#Creativity#ArtSippers

My mates always ask me how do you manage to do it… like EVERYDAY. 👀 It usually goes a bit like this… I could never work with my other half… they would drive me “bonkers” and other similar adjectives explaining how dreadful it would be. Don't get me wrong, they are right! (Hear me out first Josie Anna Pitcher 😅) Working with your partner may seem like a crazy idea, but after 10 years together, 6 of them working as colleagues and almost 4 years running a business together… I've learned that it's all about riding the ups and downs together with compassion and reassurance. 💟 Conflict is GUARANTEED, but resolution is OPTIONAL… So it's important to learn to navigate different perspectives and opinions without taking things personally. The subtle art of having thoughtful disagreements, empathy, patience, and confronting difficult conversations with candour, can smooth out any bumps in the road. Funnily, business can try and force you to toughen up… But, remembering our values and motto “just having fun with it” can help us get back in check if we ever start taking things too seriously. 😝 The reward of growing and learning together is priceless… And I feel fortunate to be on this journey in business with this super-woman everyday! 💪 Could you go into business with your partner? 💭 #IWD2023 #Creativity #WomenFounders #StandUp #Business #ArtSippers

In the late 1950s, NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration commissioned a famous study on creativity in children. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠! 🤯 98% of the children scored "creative genius" level, meaning a high degree of originality, fluency, flexibility, and elaboration in their thinking. This suggested that creativity was a NATURAL and abundant trait in most young children. The researchers wanted to see how creativity changed, as the children developed. So, they re-tested the same group of children at ages 10 and 15. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠… Only 30% of the 10-year-olds scored at the same level as they did at age 5, and by age 15, that number had dropped to just 12%. These findings prompted the researchers to test the creativity levels found in adults. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠… Only 2% of the adults scored the original "creative genius" level. 📉 The evidence is clear. As children, we are naturally creative. Our minds are curious, adventurous, and free to explore the world around us in imaginative new ways... Sparking new innovations and creations. But, as we grow older, something strange seems to happen. 😕 Our creativity begins to fade… we start to get cynical and critical of ourselves through the school system and the journey into the business world… leading us to be anything but creative. The skill is to somehow re-discover our inner child… and let them out to play again! 😝 As Picasso once said, "every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." 🎨🖌️ #CreativeGenius #ZeroToPicasso #PlayMoreDoMore #Culture #ArtSippers

It’s common to feel self-conscious and insecure about sharing creative work. 👀 Funny that we are happy to share personal snaps of our holidays, food and even our pets. But when it comes to our own creations… Absolutely Nothing! 😐 When we share our creativity, we open ourselves up to constructive feedback, support, and encouragement. These little interactions can help us grow as artists and inspire us to continue creating. And it gives us the opportunity to celebrate our accomplishments and acknowledge the hard work we've put into our pieces. ART SIPPERS believe in the importance of shipping your art. That's why we've created the #ARTSIPPERSCHALLENGE, a three-step process designed to help you overcome your fear of sharing your artwork. 💥 First, take a picture of your before canvas. 💥 Next, take a picture of your after canvas. 💥 Finally, share your painting with a family member, colleague or a friend… and if you are feeling EXTRA daring, why not pop it up on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and beyond. Are you ready to take on the challenge and overcome THE FEAR of sharing? 👨🏿‍🎨👩🏼‍🎨 #CreativeConfidence#ShareYourWork#Courage#PassArtOn#ArtSippers

A few years ago I met Imran in the loading bay at an events depot in Woking. He told me that he recently quit his job to start a new drinks company called @Espraladrinks 🍹 And that he was looking for an event manager to help promote them for him. We swapped numbers and that was the end of it… When lockdown happened ALL of our events work dried up. 😳 Overnight our little side hustle @ARTSIPPERS quickly turned into our only full time position. 🎨🖌 With everyone sitting at home, we decided to make our own creative gift boxes. Imran was the first person we spoke with to help supply us with the drinks aka the sips! But, with a limited budget to make large wholesale orders... We assumed another rejection was coming our way. But, luckily Imran was looking for an innovative way to get people to sample his new drinks. 💡 Since then a little partnership was born! 🚀 👌 He has given us invaluable advice and support on our journey so far. 👌 He has taught us how to make ‘proper’ coffee. 👌 We have played jenga ‘millions’ of times with his girls Siyanna and Gabriella. 👌 And we have watched his adorable family and drinks business grow. From a simple supplier… to someone that we would consider a companion on the path, a mentor and friend. If you ever buy one of our creative boxes or corporate gift boxes...🎁 Be sure that you can find Imran’s tasty sip @Espraladrinks inside. Not only will you be supporting us... but you will be supporting another small business owner in the process. 🙌 👨🏿‍🎨👩🏼‍🎨 #Relationships #MeetTheSupplier #Creativity #SmallBusinessJourney #Support #Collaboration #Partnerships #ArtSippers

In his groundbreaking TED Talk, the late Sir Ken Robinson made a bold statement: "schools kill creativity". 🎨 One of the key points that Sir Ken Robinson makes is that mistakes and accidents are essential for learning and innovation. He argued that the current education system is too focused on getting the "right" answers, which discourages creativity and risk-taking. To cultivate a culture of true innovation and creativity, we must embrace the concept of "happy little accidents," famously phrased by Bob Ross, as invaluable opportunities for growth and discovery.💡 Unfortunately we often get educated out of our natural creativity from a young age… we are taught to assimilate and conform to a certain set of rules and expectations, stifling our natural instincts for exploration and experimentation. This is particularly true in art, which has traditionally been relegated to the bottom of the education system hierarchy since the industrial revolution - with STEM subjects again being preferred and praised in higher education. (Rishi Sunak's recent maths pledge follows this same old rhetoric) Yet, the Gen Z generation is beginning to disrupt this tradition and there are several signs there might just be a new creative revolution underway… With the rise of platforms like TikTok and the emergence of AI-generated art and Chat GPT, we are seeing a new era of creativity that is breaking down traditional boundaries and challenging old assumptions. This emerging creative economy is being fuelled by a desire for individualism, self-expression and a passion to connect with others around the world in new and exciting ways. Even with all of these new advances many will continue to overlook and disregard the arts, possibly missing out on this wave of creative opportunity. In the end, if we truly want to unlock the full potential of our schools, businesses and our society as a whole, we must be willing to unlearn our programming of years gone by and re-connect with the natural creativity that is within us all. 🚀 Do you think schools kill creativity? 💭 P.s if you want to see the full TedTalk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY (Pretty sure, I spotted Jeff Bezos laughing in the audience... Let me know if you see it too). #Creativity #Culture #Innovation #Education #AI #Art