S3 E7: Irene Ruby
Sun Sep 28 2025
At the beginning of the year I was invited to be a guest on Irene Ruby’s podcast Makings and Musings. It was the first time I’d been on the other side of the microphone and I enjoyed it very much and Irene and I found much common ground to chat about. (I’ve included a link to the episode further down this post)
Having learned a little about Irene’s own career journey during that conversation, I was keen to invite her to be a guest on Creative Career Change. And here it is.
Irene worked in the corporate world of insurance for many years before pivoting and setting up her own business as an artist and educator. Listen to discover how she made this happen, the challenges faced along the way and why remote classes turned out to be a better way of working.
“I started to paint [with them] and it made me feel so good and it really helped me to process that grief. That’s when I realised I wanted to spread that feeling of calm and mindfulness with other people.” - Irene Ruby
Links and mentions
* Irene’s website and art community: www.makingsandmusings.com
* When Hannah Ashe guested on Irene’s podcast:
* The Best 90 Days Ever small business marketing course with Hannah Isted (which I have just signed up for!).
* Irene on Instagram: @makingsandmusings
A note from Hannah
I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers.
I hope the conversations may inspire positive change and the pursuit of creativity and balance. I’ve created the resource that I wish had been available to me several years back when I felt trapped by my job.
Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode.
By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who might be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions!
Thank you.
Hannah x
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chezhanny.substack.com/subscribe
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At the beginning of the year I was invited to be a guest on Irene Ruby’s podcast Makings and Musings. It was the first time I’d been on the other side of the microphone and I enjoyed it very much and Irene and I found much common ground to chat about. (I’ve included a link to the episode further down this post) Having learned a little about Irene’s own career journey during that conversation, I was keen to invite her to be a guest on Creative Career Change. And here it is. Irene worked in the corporate world of insurance for many years before pivoting and setting up her own business as an artist and educator. Listen to discover how she made this happen, the challenges faced along the way and why remote classes turned out to be a better way of working. “I started to paint [with them] and it made me feel so good and it really helped me to process that grief. That’s when I realised I wanted to spread that feeling of calm and mindfulness with other people.” - Irene Ruby Links and mentions * Irene’s website and art community: www.makingsandmusings.com * When Hannah Ashe guested on Irene’s podcast: * The Best 90 Days Ever small business marketing course with Hannah Isted (which I have just signed up for!). * Irene on Instagram: @makingsandmusings A note from Hannah I’m aware that those in the thick of a career change, who have left a job or taken a pay cut, may not have the means to pay to listen and so the Creative Career Change podcast will always be free to all subscribers. I hope the conversations may inspire positive change and the pursuit of creativity and balance. I’ve created the resource that I wish had been available to me several years back when I felt trapped by my job. Making this podcast is a labour of love and I do everything myself. This includes finding guests, writing questions, recording the conversation, editing, mixing, composing music and publishing the episode. By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure I can continue to record new episodes and make the Creative Career Change podcast available to all who might be inspired by it. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make a one-off contribution to the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. I’m hugely grateful for all and any contributions! Thank you. Hannah x This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chezhanny.substack.com/subscribe