June 2017
southbristolvoice
13
n FEATURES
Freelance mums aim to boost their businesses while the kids get crafty
F
AYE Dicker is a South Bristol girl through and through, proud to have grown up in Whitchurch. “I was born in Keynsham hospital on Boxing Day, 1975. My family didn’t have a car so my dad came to visit the hospital on his tandem! That tandem was a big part of my life - we used to cycle up to Dundry and all round Whitchurch on it.” And now Faye has a cargo bike (where the kids sit in an upfronttrailer), replicating those happy memories with her two children, Jemima, 5, and Suki, 3. “On Saturday mornings we’d be up the allotment in Whitchurch, playing in the wheelbarrow – it was an idyllic childhood. I went to Bridge Farm primary school – the same school my daughter goes to now.” Faye was “always into drama. I went to the HTV Drama Workshop,” in the building which is now Bath Road Studios, “and at 18 I went to Dartington College of Arts to do a degree in theatre.” She returned to Bristol in her mid-20s, working at BBC Radio Bristol, later adding freelance voiceover work too. “I was living in the Dings when I met my husband. We were trying to decide where to live and a house came up in Whitchurch village. When we went to see it I thought ‘I played in this house as a child! I know this house!’ It turned out it was
NEXT EVENTS AT FREELANCE MUM St Paul’s Church Tuesday June 13, 10am-12noon This Mum Runs founder, Mel Bounds, shares her incredible story of how she set up a community of running mums all over the country, encouraging them to get happier and healthier, while juggling her family in South Bristol.
Faye’s big idea was to bring work and childcare together, finds Beccy Golding the house which used to be occupied by the curate of St Augustine’s church when Faye was a child, and she’d been to play there frequently. They bought it – and later got married in the new church (rebuilt after the old one became dangerous). Faye has always worked in broadcasting. “I was balancing working on the early morning breakfast show with voiceover work.” But when she had her first child she realised “the 4am starts are not going to fit any more!” Continuing as a voiceover artist she felt “something was missing – the connections, the outlet that a workplace offers. I thought ‘I can’t be the only freelance mum’.” So she set up a blog, with podcasts offering advice on freelancing for parents. “And, born off this, networking events – and these have really flown!” Faye’s first Freelance Mum event was in 2013. Now she runs monthly sessions at two venues in South Bristol – St Paul’s Church on Coronation Road, on the second Tuesday of the month, and, new this year, Windmill Hill City Farm on the Windmill Hill City Farm Friday June 23, 10am-12noon Getting energy from what you eat and how to ditch the baby brain (even though they’re now toddlers!) Nutritionist Claire Stone suggests realistic ways you can give yourself more energy, to make up for the fact you’re running after other people and never have time for yourself! “A nutritionist, not food dictator, with a love of chocolate.”
Work and play: Faye and friends talk shop and juggle their offspring fourth Friday of the month (and there’s a possible third venue on the cards). That’s every month except August (holidays) and March, when Faye runs an event, Brave, Bold & Bonkers, to mark International Women’s Day. Each monthly event sees 20-40 mums (or dads – welcome too), plus their children, attend; sessions begin with a walk – a ‘netwalk’ – followed by a speaker, rounded off with tea or coffee and a brownie for everyone, and networking, of course. Previous speakers include Andy Day and Katy Ashworth, both from CBeebies, Rob Lowe (MD of children’s suitcase maker Trunki) and Tristan Hogg, co-founder of Pie Minister. Freelance Mum sessions are an affordable £7.50 plus booking fee, including your drink and brownie. Starting with a walk “is key – fresh air brings fresh thinking.
Mums can talk while the kids are scooting, or walking with them.” Afterwards mums can concentrate on the speaker while for the kids there’s always a craft activity available (though it’s not childcare – everyone is still responsible for their own offspring). It all happens in the same room. “It’s a slightly bonkers space, juggling business around babies, but it just works,” says Faye, “It’s effortless and child-friendly. No-one minds if you’re breastfeeding or have to change a nappy. And people do business. “I’ve made friends with people who live round the corner, who I didn’t know until I met them at an event. My own kids sometimes join me – they love it and they always want to come. There’s a whole network of kids who’ve met at Freelance Mum!” Now that’s next level networking. • freelancemum.co.uk
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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk