Style and Substance

Hosted by Elizabeth Cairns & Fiona Humberstone

Business Entrepreneurship Health Fitness

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Episodes

142

Latest episode

Jul 2026

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About the show

Style and Substance is a branding and business podcast brought to you by The Brand Stylist, Fiona Humberstone and The Empowered Entrepreneur, Elizabeth Cairns. Resourcing you with inspiration, insights and heaps of expertise to help you navigate all things branding and business. Ideal for creative entrepreneurs and those of you looking to sidestep the hustle, keep joy at the forefront of your work your work and find a more meaningful and sustainable approach business. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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60 recent

July 15, 202644 min

Low Pressure Ways to Create More Impact over the Summer

In this last episode of the season we are exploring the low pressure ways you can find your edge, your space, create impact and maintain inspiration...even if the pace is a little slower over the summer. We talk about reconnecting with your muses, getting your processes in order, thinking more strategically to find and maintain your space and some invitations to open up to a little more possibility. We mention a few of the courses available in The Brand Stylist Academy, as well as previous episodes which you can find here: The Muses conversation Brand Clarity. Media Kit Mastered. Glow up your website in a morning episode. As it's our last episode before the break, we've taken the opportunity to have a bit of an extended catch up, and are getting a few passionate opinions off our chest before the summer. It contains content some listeners may find sensitive (we're not holding back on Ai) and reference to suicide, so if you'd like to jump straight to the main conversation you can find that around 20 minutes in. Thank you for being with us for another season and we look forward to jumping back in come September. Have a great summer Elizabeth & Fiona x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 8, 202631 min

Maintaining Your Drive When The Heat Is On

There is a big difference between a business intentionally making space for rest and restoration and one that ends up losing momentum and traction without realising it...and losing out as a result. If you tuned into our conversation on planning for a restorative summer, this is the essential counterpoint and the other half of the story. When the heat is literally on, how do we ensure we can maintain the pace and drive that we need to keep business flowing, without breaking ourselves? This conversation is for those who might have a tendency to slow down to almost a full stop and need the motivation, strategy and encouragement to keep focussed, productive and firmly in the driving seat of their business....even in a heatwave. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 1, 202616 min

A Guided Practice to Cultivate Spaciousness

Last week Fiona and I talked about the need for space to feed creativity and joy in our work and we know that the pace of this year can get a little overwhelming at times...so we're here to offer a little antidote to the haste and the hustle. As Fiona is away on a photoshoot in Guernsey this week, instead of our usual format, I've recorded a guided practice for you. This is aimed at helping you cultivate a sense of grounded spaciousness and inviting more possibility, flow and ease into your work. I do hope you find it helpful. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

June 24, 202651 min

Planning for a Restorative Summer

Phew! this year is galloping away lovely listeners and in this episode, as we've passed the crest of midsummer, we're thinking ahead a few weeks to the summer break. Both Fi and I traditionally take around six weeks off over the summer and today we enjoy a wide ranging conversation about why we feel the need and how we plan for it. We explore the difference for us between rest and restoration, the differing types of rest we plan to make space for and how we are trying to avoid skidding into the summer break in a hot mess! It's a pretty personal episode and we hope you enjoy the conversation. A reminder from our lovely sponsors Squarespace of their free live circle event happening today (as this comes out) Wednesday 24th, 3pm uk time with Fiona talking about Design on your terms and taking questions. You can register your place here https://luma.com/circle-live-040 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

June 17, 202633 min

Understanding the Summer Seasonal Personality - Colour Psychology for Branding

We continue our Colour Psychology for Branding series with this episode as we dig into the hazy delights of summer. In this conversation, Fiona walks us through the nuances of the summer seasonal personality and how we translate it through to a beautiful, stylish and elegant brand identity. We'll explore the colours, shapes, textures, photography styles, typography and key considerations for any business looking to bring the essence of summer into their brand. Thank you to our sponsors for this episode - Squarespace. You can find the details and register for a place on their Live Circle event on Wednesday 24th June with Fiona here You can find the Absolute Essentials of Colour Psychology and the other Colour Psychology resources Fiona mentions here You can find our previous conversation on the Spring Seasonal Personality here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

June 10, 202644 min

Our First Priority as Empowered Entrepreneurs...

Business is asking a lot of us at the moment and it's a whirlwind of creativity and genuine joy, but to ride those wild horses we are having to double down on looking after ourselves and keeping our vitality high. So this week, along with our regular catch up, Elizabeth is reading from the first chapter of her book the Empowered Entrepreneur, entitled 'Vitality - The Sustaining Force of your Business'. We hope you enjoy lovely listeners. The book is on half price summer sale at the moment so if you'd like to snag your copy while stocks last then you can order your personal signed copy from Elizabeth's website here https://www.elizabethcairns.com/book Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

June 3, 202648 min

Finding a Name that Works for your Business

What's in a name? When it comes to branding, a whole lot! Naming brands and products is one of our absolute favourite things to do and there's nothing quite like that feeling and the traction you get when you land on one that is just right for your business. In this episode we talk through some of the things we consider when it comes to naming, why we avoid AI and, amongst other things, some of the pro's and cons of using your own name for your company. We mention the naming masterclass so if you are foraying into rebranding or renaming your business and would like a tried and tested process to follow you can check it out on The Brand Stylist Academy here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 20, 202647 min

Maintaining your Edge as the Market Inevitably Shifts

One of the great joys and benefits of entrepreneurship is we get to be nimble, we can flex and evolve as circumstances change the face of business rarely stays the same over time. Fiona and I have certainly enjoyed a varied 25 years or so in business and today we're sharing a little of that picture. Whilst we may have learnt how to adapt over the years, one thing sadly neither of us has ever been able to control is the ever changing landscape of the market. Recessions, pandemics, global turbulence, the pace of tech...all impact the daily reality. In this conversation we are exploring how business has evolved over the years and the things that have helped us find, maintain and lean into our edge and what has, and still does, make it a continual creative challenge to stay in the game and most importantly enjoy it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 13, 202651 min

Getting Personal about Mental Health

This week is mental health awareness week and so we're taking the opportunity to dig a little deeper into what tending to our mental health as entrepreneurs looks like for us. In this wide ranging conversation, we explore some of the unique conditions that leave entrepreneurs potentially vulnerable to mental health struggles and how we deal with those ourselves. We dig into vulnerability and how it shows up for us as both a challenge and an opportunity. We talk about our own challenges with giving and receiving support and how tricky it can be to build community even with the closest of friends. We end with a few of the many resources that we have found to be hugely helpful for us both, the links as promised are below. Thank you as ever for joining us and if you are in a place where you're struggling, as far as we are humanly able, we will always do our best to support. Go gently. Much love, Elizabeth & Fiona The Homing podcast episode we mention where Matt Gibberd interviews Urban Designer David Engwicht can be found here. We are both avid fans of The Class - a music-driven somatic workout where we exercise the body to engage the mind and connect to the heart. You can dip your toe in with a free trial. Courtney Baxter of TRE Surrey is also highly recommended for Trauma Release work and Quantum Energy Coaching. We've both enjoyed her workshops, classes and 121 sessions. For those curious about the benefits of Singing for unlocking creativity, fostering wellbeing and nurturing community. Sound and Song run by my dear friend Zoe Hatch is a must try. She runs weekend harmony singing circles and holds a truly safe space for women to come together and enjoy using their voices. The Be Still and Notice podcast is a soothing oasis of calm and reflection in your day hosted by my dear friend and fellow Yogi Helen taylor. You can find it here. My colleague and dar friend, Jo McAndrews has created an extraordinarily comprehensive and sensitively delivered online course that does actually teach us the skills of warm attentive listening and accompaniment. Jo's work is trauma and attachment theory informed and based in solid science as well as being hugely and reassuringly relational. Whilst the course is aimed at building skills for parents and carers it's something I feel we can all benefit hugely from whether you are a parent or not. You can find it here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 6, 202638 min

Creating the Conditions for Creativity to Thrive

Creativity, in our books is the not-so-secret sauce that makes doing business well taste more than just a little bit delicious. It's also what Fi in particular trades off and has built a thriving business around. In this episode we dig into what drives creativity for Fi. We explore some of the nuances that enable creativity to thrive and why AI may be the next best thing since sliced bread...but is a fast, cheap, processed loaf what we really want to be enjoying with our morning coffee? We hope you enjoy the conversation, and if you do please do share it with someone who needs a little creative lift. Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.