What do creatives value in themselves?

We’re asking established industry experts and upcoming talent from all over the world to define what they value in themselves – in the hope that it can be encouraging or provide the spark to look inward, into the practices of those who may read. This series will last throughout 2022.

After a bit of a break, the eight edition of Creative Values is here – with an extra special lineup. Both Ash Phillips and Miro LaFlaga head up the Montreal-based award winning agency, Six Cinquième. Frequently described to “empower those who are propelled by possibility”, Six Cinquième works with businesses and brands to realise potential. We’ve also got Gurleen Raj. Gurleen recently took up a new role at Dishoom as a Junior Design-Walli. She previously interned at the likes of Pearlfisher and Design Bridge too.

Read on to see what they value in themselves!

Ash Phillips & Miro LaFlaga – Montreal, Canada – Six Cinquième

Follow Six Cinquième: sixcinquieme.com • @sixcinquieme

Ash: “One thing I appreciate and value in myself is my optimism. In the past and even sometimes to this day, I've questioned my optimism and faith that everything will work out in the end, wondering if I am just a naive person. But my optimism has yet to be proven wrong. I've gotten through so many moments of fear, anxiety, and doubt now that I have this unwavering faith that whatever challenges life may bring, whether they be creative or personal, I have confidence that they'll ultimately work out in the end. Because they always do. I always end up figuring it out because I push through and do my best in any situation, even the scary ones where I doubt myself. This is what has brought me to where I am today and what I am confident will bring me the success I am striving for.”

Miro: “The thing I value the most is my ability to bring people together and create a space where they feel respected. I have been in many situations in the past where I felt my opinions or views weren't respected. I always told myself once I am in the position to collaborate with people, I will never make them feel like that. That's why now, I play the role of a Big Brother on projects and I love it.”

Gurleen Raj – London – Junior Design-Walli at Dishoom

Follow Gurleen: @gurleenrajdesigns

“This is a big ol' question! My values are simple and straightforward, I'd narrow them down into three words; simplicity, chaos, and storytelling.

Preferring the silence within the noise fits me creatively and personally. Chaos brings me and so many of us tons of excitement as creatives, sometimes that feeling has taken me places I never thought I'd be and also made me hit a lot of stumps and self-reflect. From a creative point of view starting super strong with these huge internships I'm not going to lie I kinda lost sense of my values, everything was just so exciting and new, sometimes overwhelming...and within all that noise my happiest moments I remember were just sitting in a room or a zoom call full of these great creative minds sharing ideas, interests, hobbies, our niches and that's why I do what I do. For those brief moments of creative revelations with teams, getting to see your idea from different POVs and now I've ended up somewhere where we value creativity from the ground up, we value the art of storytelling, preserving the culture within it. I'd say my values will change over time as we all grow and evolve but at the end of the day being a decent human being and actioning to live your best most fulfilling life is what it's all about right?”

If you’d like to share what you value in yourself, please email fusedirectory@gmail.com with a few words about yourself and your creative values!*

*Fuse is platform for creatives from a racialised and ethnic backgrounds, so we’re only accepting submissions from those who identify as that!