Poppy Lissiman on Why Women Lose Creative Confidence – and How To Get It Back

Poppy Lissiman has forged a career designing bold and unorthodox bags, fashion and accessories. But even she admits to the occasional struggle with maintaining her creativity.

And she’s not alone. New MECCA research conducted by Ipsos shows that creativity in women halves from childhood to adulthood – two thirds of Australian women felt creative most or all of the time as kids, compared with one third today. It’s also clear that creativity matters: 68 per cent of women say it’s important to their sense of self and 54 per cent say it improves their wellbeing and happiness.

Rediscovering hands-on creativity is the theme of MECCA’s new Born Creative campaign, which kicks off with a workshop series at the flagship Bourke Street store this October. Lissiman’s Art of Personalisation workshop is one of the headline events – a chance for guests to hand paint a blank make-up case and turn it into a DIY canvas for self-expression. All under the guidance of one of Australia’s boldest designers.

Ahead of the workshop event, Lissiman shares her thoughts on maintaining creativity, embracing dopamine dressing, and making cool things away from a screen. 

Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

What does “staying creative” mean to you?

It’s the reason I get up every day. I love my job and can’t imagine doing anything else, whether that’s creative problem-solving or actually getting to draw and make things. But staying creative also is what I need to do to be true to myself, and it’s really important for me to do that every single day in order to move through this life in a way that makes me happy. 

A lot of women lose confidence in their creativity and self-expression as they get older – why do you think that is?

Because taste is formed young and then people spend the next decade being told creativity is frivolous. Young girls are some of the most creatively literate people going – they just get patronised for it because their taste turns up in hair, make-up, clothes and what’s on their bedroom wall. The kind of creativity people call a phase or a hobby rather than a portfolio.

I got all the way through school without a single person mentioning this could be a career. That’s why I was so happy to be involved with Mecca championing girls’ creativity. By putting the idea in front of them that following that path is a worthy and fulfilling career, then that’s years of not knowing skipped.

What do you do when you’re running low on creativity and need some inspo?

I tend to be my most creative when I am relaxed, so I enjoy going to get a massage. I don’t do it nearly as often as I’d like, but I find that I come up with some of my best ideas when I’m in a total mode of relaxation.

As a collector of vintage and rare design books, there’s nothing more pleasurable to me than sitting on my couch with a cup of tea or a really nice glass of wine with a huge stack of books to go through. I’ll make notes and do some sketching or just do it for the love of reading. That is one of my other favourite pastimes that’s also quite relaxing.

Any books/podcasts/etc you can recommend that always give you a hit of inspiration?

I’m reading The Artist’s Way at the moment, which people in the creative industry have recommended to me for years. It’s a week-by-week guide to unlocking your creativity, and I’m genuinely enjoying it. One of its main pillars is morning pages – essentially journalling – which I’d never done in my life. I never thought I’d be someone who liked journalling, but clearing out the grey matter every morning before I start my day has turbocharged how I approach things, like I’m starting with a clean slate. 

When life gets busy it’s easy to push creativity aside. What are your recommendations for quick creative activities or projects?

One thing I picked up from The Artist’s Way is artist dates. Taking yourself on a self-imposed date to something that sparks creativity: a gallery, your books, a movie. I used to feel like that was slacking off, but it’s actually exactly what I need to do the thing I come to work to do. So my recommendation is just blocking out that “unproductive” time, because it’s the thing that sparks everything else.

Are there ways we can make everyday acts (cooking, dressing, make-up) more creative?

Having recently moved back to Australia, I’m no longer working from home like I was in Japan. I finally have an office and a shop that I have to be in every single day, which means I get to dress up daily. I didn’t have that for a little while, off the back of Covid and living overseas. It’s been a really nice way to have an everyday act of creativity because I absolutely love styling pieces from my wardrobe. It’s also a great way to justify all the money I spend on clothing by taking the time to come up with fun, creative outfits. 

Can you tell us a bit about the Art of Personalisation workshop you’ll be running?

I’ve had the idea for a project like this for quite some time, so I was so excited when Mecca approached me. This was the first thing I knew I wanted to do with them. I love hand-painting everyday objects – whether that’s an old suit I own, a crusty old side table, a canvas tote, or in this case, a make-up case. It’s something I do myself all the time because I love giving objects a new life – updating them or making them even more unique than before. It’s relaxing first of all, but also just a fun way to make pieces that are completely unique and no one else has. 

Is there something especially important about hands-on creativity these days?

We’re all craving a bit more IRL than URL these days. I love working with my hands to enter a flow state doing anything that’s not screen-related. I think we all come out of those moments feeling so much better. It’s not just about creating something unique – it’s about relaxing and connecting with your creative self. It’s almost meditative. You come out the other side feeling like you’ve done something rewarding and good for the soul.

Going back to that analogue, tactile way of creating things – whether that’s painting, cooking, beading, pottery, whatever – feels rewarding no matter what the end product is. I think it’s a really beautiful way to connect with your own creativity.

Log in or join Broadsheet Access today and enter to win a ticket to MECCA’s Art of Personalisation workshop with Poppy Lissiman on October 8. You can also enter separate draws for Creative Songwriting with Tiffi on October 15 and Editorial Eyes with Soraya Boularas on October 22.