Anna Kiernan on “live analogue, sell digital” and careers built outside the studio

Dr Anna Kiernan, Associate Professor of Creativity and Literary Culture at University of Exeter

My younger sister Ceilidh is a natural dyer and slow-fashion designer. Through Billynou, she has built an audience of 277,000 on Instagram, sharing work rooted in natural materials and a slower way of making. Her partner, Alex Valentino, is a filmmaker, photographer and professional BMXer. Together, their work connects physical craft and experiences rooted in place with digital reach: a model of creative enterprise that might be summed up as live analogue, sell digital.

I suspect we are going to see much more of this.

As AI makes aspects of digital production faster and cheaper, the question becomes what people value, and what they are prepared to pay for. Material knowledge, cultural understanding, taste, experience and place may command greater value when digital content is abundant and time is scarce. So may the ability to make things last, use materials sustainably and create experiences people want to take part in rather than simply scroll past. You can see signs of this in the continuing appeal of vinyl, independent bookshops, craft and live performance.

Circular design offers another business opportunity: turning surplus materials into new products, developing repair services and finding commercial uses for things that would otherwise go to landfill. Sophie Rochester’s Yodomo, which connects creative practitioners and organisations with materials for reuse, is one example of this kind of enterprise.

Teaching creative industries at the University of Exeter , I’m interested in what these shifts mean for graduates. When I worked as an editor in publishing and later as a creative director at a writing agency, junior roles were where you learned by doing: watching experienced colleagues, making mistakes and (hopefully) developing judgement. As AI absorbs more of the routine production that once provided this learning-by-doing, how will new creatives find their feet?

Andy Burnham’s recent call for more work experience opportunities highlights the need to build routes into creative work. A resilient creative economy must support experimentation and circular business models while widening access for young people from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds. Degree apprenticeships can help, combining academic study with paid work and industry mentoring. At the University of Exeter, our new Level 6 Digital Marketing Degree Apprenticeship offers one such route, without the tuition-fee debt attached to traditional degrees.

The next generation of creatives will need to combine digital fluency with entrepreneurial thinking and environmental awareness. Some might build businesses turning textile waste into new products; others could use film, design and storytelling to help communities prepare for wildfires or understand the risks of flooding. Creativity is, at heart, problem-solving, and, viewed in that way, I’m optimistic that there are a whole lot of practical challenges and creative opportunities ahead.