Isabelle Dunn - Food Creative & Business Owner
Let’s talk!
Let’s start with the basics. What is your creative practice?
I am food entrepreneur and visual content creator. In other words, I am a multi-skilled foodie, who loves to inspire others in the kitchen!
Is your food hustle your whole income or is it one of the many things you do?
I actually have quite a few different work streams. For Tasty Content , I do food styling, content strategy, photography & videography - while my second business, PreppedFRESH , is a direct-to-consumer meal prep service.
Outside of food what do you love to do?
I love hosting dinner parties and going all out on a theme, planning elaborate courses and decorating the space. My husband loves a good playlist and is more than happy to create the perfect ambiance. And my two young kids (5 and 7yo) like to pitch in by wrapping (random) little surprise presents for the table! Coming from Europe (Paris), I am also very grateful to live in Sydney by the beach and really enjoy long coastal walks a few times a week. I find it's the best way for me to let my mind wander and recharge. Since being a child, I have always enjoyed drawing and painting. These days, I love doing watercolour portraits.
What were 3-4 significant events that led you into your current creative practice?
As a young child, I always loved cooking and experimenting in the kitchen.
Having my two kids and wanting to inspire them to follow their dreams.
A mid career crisis, after 15 years in the corporate world, working in advertising.
Which food artists in your field are you loving right now?
I love everything Joanie Simon from the Bite Shot does. She is an inspiring and super talented food photographer and educator. I also really like Quiana who is very approachable and generous with her time.
What are three creative tools you couldn't live without?
The Adobe Creative Cloud - I use Lightroom and Premiere everyday for content editing
Canva - for social media visuals
Instagram/Pinterest - such a great way to network, inspire others and get new ideas
Can you describe a working day for you?
After 4 months of strict lockdown and homeschooling in Sydney, it's hard to remember what a normal day looks like!
A regular day with the kids at school would involve waking up around 5.45am to go for a sunrise walk or morning run. Make some breakfast, shower and get the kids ready for school - do all my meetings first thing and them spend a few hours getting creative - cooking, styling, filming, before picking up the kids. Then preparing dinner, which often involves eating what was made that afternoon. Once the kids are in bed, I usually do a few hours of photo and video editing of what was captured that day, while watching the news or something on Netflix in the background.
What are the perks of your job?
Definitely getting to eat great meals ALL THE TIME. With cooking at the heart of what I do everyday, each meal is an opportunity to try something new, step it up and have fun. My kids are super adventurous too - so we all really enjoy our meal time together.
What are 3 business tools that you use to help make running your own business easier?
Shopify to run my ecommerce business
Wix for my content platform
klaviyo for CRM automation
What are some of the challenges you encounter?
I find switching off a real challenge. I tend to come up with new ideas all the time, and as such I am in "create" mode 24/7.
For all the entrepreneurs in our community, what are five tips you can give them that you've learned through your career?
Reach out to people - for advice, help, or just to chat. It's always worthwhile!
Don't let fear stop you. It's just your brains reaction to try to control you.
Enjoy the learning process. It can be very satisfying (even addictive!) to learn new skills.
Manage your inner voice. Understand where it comes from and don't take it as "truth".
Failing is OK. If you never fail, you're not pushing yourself out of comfort zone enough.
Philosophical Musings
Why do you create?
Cooking, styling and photography gets me into a flow that make me feel alive and aligned to my core values. It makes me happy.
How does your art form make you see the world differently? What do you notice that others often walk past?
I can't help but look at objects, ingredients and food and see texture, contrast and aesthetics. I notice lines, layers and composition ideas randomly walking in nature, or grocery shopping.
How do you balance business and creativity in your life?
I follow my flow. Some days I am very focused and business minded - others I feel very creative. Often the days when I feel a lack of motivation for a task, I thrive in the other.
Final question! What do you think it means to live a creative life?
It takes a lot of confidence and self belief to back yourself and believe in your own talent. Yet, it's also the key to fulfilment.