There are two types of people in this world. And no, I’m not talking about men and women, black and white, right and left – I’m talking about those who enjoy networking, and those who feel so awkward about it, they end up necking a drink as quickly as possible before making a sharp exit.

 

When digital and motion graphic designer Fee Sheal graduated and set out to build her contacts base on Scotland’s creative scene, she was surprised to find she was the latter.

 

“The design scene here is quite intertwined. Normally I’m quite a loud, confident person, but I’d go to networking events fresh out of uni and find myself standing in the corner not knowing anyone, then leaving after an hour.”

 

The fact that many of these events were gender imbalanced didn’t help, and Fee found herself looking for a new way. She was four years out of university when Ladies Wine & Design (LWD), the networking platform for woman and non-binary creatives founded in NYC by designer Jessica Walsh, announced it was looking for someone to set up a chapter in Edinburgh. “I knew what it was like to go to events and not really know anyone, and so my vision was that it would be a lot more casual than that. You’re just kind of meeting other like-minded people, and then if you were to go to another event, you might recognise another friendly face. And it seems to work.”

 

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