Real talk, real people: why Creative Boom IRL is the community you've been waiting for

If you've ever felt invisible in your own industry (heads down, working solo, scrolling through feeds and wondering where all the energy went), Creative Boom IRL might be what you've been looking for.

Creative Boom IRL is a series of free, informal gatherings for creative professionals happening in cities across Britain. There are no talks, no panels, no sponsors and no agenda. Just a relaxed venue, a drink in hand, and a room full of designers, illustrators, photographers, writers, strategists and other creatives who actually want to talk to each other, face to face.

Events are hosted by local volunteers from The Studio, Creative Boom's private online community. And they're open to all creatives, whether you're freelance, in-house or running your own studio.

In a moment, we'll share what's been going on around the country in more detail. But first, for the uninitiated, how did this all come about?

How it began

Creative Boom was founded in 2009 as an online magazine celebrating creative work and the people behind it. Over the years, it has built a loyal following among designers and other creative professionals. But by the mid-2020s, that audience was increasingly telling us that algorithm-driven social platforms were letting them down.

Carefully crafted posts were vanishing into the void. Engagement had become performative. The genuine sense of connection that had once made the internet feel exciting was harder and harder to find. So in early 2025, we launched The Studio: a private, distraction-free space with no likes, no algorithms and no self-promotional noise. Just real conversations among people who are serious about their craft.

It grew fast, reaching over 4,500 members within months. Online events with industry leaders followed: intimate sessions on positioning, brand building, goal-setting and more. But members kept asking the same thing. When do we get to actually meet in real life?

Enter Creative Boom IRL.

Getting out there

The inaugural event in Manchester in April 2025 set the tone perfectly. Hosted at Common on Edge Street, photographer Pip Rustage welcomed 27 members for an evening that felt more like bumping into old friends than networking. No talks, no agenda, no awkward elevator pitches; just good people in a good space.

It worked. Conversations sparked, details were swapped, and everyone asked the same question on the way out: when's the next one? From there, the momentum was unstoppable. Events rolled out across Britain, and the appetite was real.

In Sheffield, co-hosts Emily O'Brien and Kirsty Grafton took things into their own hands. Based at the newly opened Leah's Yard in the city centre, they found a willing venue in Hop Hideout, whose owner, Jules, agreed to open exclusively for their events, for free. "There wasn't much opportunity for creatives to meet each other that weren't too industry-specific, expensive or cliquey," says Emily. "So many people came to the first event as their very first creative industry event."

The Sheffield events have since grown into a genuine community, with one particularly lovely outcome. Laura Poole, creative academy coordinator at Sheffield College, used her connections from the meetups to bring local creatives into the college to deliver lectures, set live briefs and run workshops; directly inspiring the next generation.

Kirsty sees the in-person element as the crucial ingredient. "Getting together in real life adds something extra," she says. "We have the kind of chats you just wouldn't have with a new connection on LinkedIn."

Further north in Durham, Clare Lavelle of Aniseed Creative was determined to put her region on the map. "Durham is not particularly known as a creative hub, even though there's plenty of creativity here," she says. Her first event drew around 15 creatives on a rare boiling-hot summer's day in the North East. Weirdly, many of them had already worked with the same people or in the same places.

Now regularly attracting 20–25 attendees, the Durham events have led to real connections. "I wouldn't probably be co-hosting Billy No Mates alongside another local designer, Laura, without it," says Clare. "A couple of local artists have connected up, and designers and marketers have been exchanging details for possible collaborations. It's become a lovely community in a short space of time."

In Leeds, designer Brett Kellett—who freely admits he hates networking—was talked into hosting by his relentlessly optimistic co-hosts Vicky Zaremba and Kate Campbell. "What matters is building community," he says. "As someone who recently moved back to Leeds, it starts to turn something that can feel impenetrable and forbidding into something human." At one event, he bumped into a former London colleague, now one of the founders of acclaimed Leeds studio Edna.

Meanwhile, in Birmingham, brand and packaging designer Louise O'Kane of LULACREATES has been quietly building something special at Kilder Bar near Moor Street Station. Her third event was the turning point: a buzzing room of design graduates, creative directors, photographers, videographers, illustrators, fashion designers and sound engineers. "A genuine cross-section of the creative community," she recalls. "I felt utter delight."

The need for each other

Brighton, famed as a creative hub, delivered from the start. Co-hosts Emily Penny of Becolourful and Michelle Mariathasan Holland of Make More Happen drew over 60 people to the Projects co-working space, complete with a beautiful sunset from the roof terrace. "I was slightly nervous we weren't offering formal talks or structured entertainment," says Michelle. But it turns out creatives don't need programming; they need each other."

One attendee travelled from Portsmouth and ended up meeting other Portsmouth creatives at the event. They all got the train home together. That's exactly what it's about. As Emily says, "Chance meetings can and do change futures."

In Bristol, senior designer Natty Harris has created a space where there's genuinely no pressure to impress. "The last ones were still here at 11pm, and I had to kindly nudge them to leave!" she laughs. "Numbers and social handles were swapped, which is really lovely." The response has been one of overwhelming gratitude from a freelance and remote-worker community that had been longing for exactly this kind of no-agenda gathering.

Over in Belfast, meanwhile, creative director Gregg Reid of Hundred Studio put £250 behind the bar at the Ulster Sports Club taproom and welcomed 50 people through the door. In the process, he was struck by the realisation of just how much creative talent the city contains: people working on blockbuster films, boutique hotels and global brands, often without knowing they were just down the road from each other. "It was killer to get loads of people in one room and not only realise how similar we all are, but to understand the real scope of our work," he reflects.

In London, motion designer Michela Bruno and Benji Wiedemann, ECD and co-founder of brand consultancy Wiedemann Lampe, co-hosted the capital's first event. Michela, who moved from Italy in 2011 and has worked remotely ever since, says Creative Boom IRL has filled a long-felt gap. "I work from home, always alone, but my creativity is fuelled by collaboration," she explains. "I badly wanted to meet other creative people in person."

Benji, in turn, was struck by how faithfully The Studio's warmth translated into the physical world. "The vibe was genuine," he reports. "It was all about openness, kindness, compassion and above all fun."

Why this matters

Right now, the creative industry is having a tough time. Budgets are tighter, timelines are shorter, freelance work is drying up, and the AI conversation is impossible to ignore. Against that backdrop, Creative Boom IRL offers something both simple and badly needed: the reminder that you are not alone. As Emily O'Brien puts it: "Work right now is hard. Having this space to share that 'it's not just you' really helped everyone feel reassured."

Most importantly, Creative Boom IRL events are free, welcoming and deliberately low-key. There's no agenda and no need for a pitch. Clare Lavelle in Durham puts it best: "It's not your typical networking. It's just making creative pals." Come join us!