Creative or Dead

What if a home was composed like a work of art?

In this ep of Creative or Dead, we speak with interior designer Susannah Holmberg, founder of Susannah Holmberg Studios (www.susannahholmberg.com) in Salt Lake City, Utah. Susannah approaches interior as immersive installations – spaces where art, architecture and materials intersect.

We talk about her unconventional path into design, the idea that beauty might actually be a form of function, and how her studio develops personal interiors by drawing on unexpected references – from favourite films and books to travel and landscape.

The conversation also explores creative process: why blocking time for deep work matters, how tension between contrasting elements can spark originality, and why handmade pieces and craftsmanship remain central to her projects.

And, in our usual Creative or Dead fashion, we finish with our final question: if you could design your own death, what would it look like? Susannah’s cinematic vision involves black veils, oversized florals and a rainy green landscape.

Hosted by Aleesha Callahan and David Constantine, this is a conversation about creativity, craft and designing spaces that feel like living works of art.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Creative or Dead, we chat to Ty Symonds – a designer who thinks like an artist.

Ty’s creative origin story starts in Far North Queensland, where rainforest and lace-like fungi created an unforgettable impression on his psyche. This early education in the art of observation has underpinned everything that followed: from designing textiles at Peter Alexander, to navigating big-box retail, to reshaping Country Road Homewares through collaboration and long-term thinking.

This is a conversation about trusting your intuition versus over-analysing, and building impactful collaborations with a commercial mindset – all without losing your soul. We get into leadership as a creative practice, the importance of making (not just designing on screens), and why nature doesn’t believe in waste.

We also jump into flow states, mermaids, and a manifesto for slowing the hell down. It’s an episode about listening to materials, to place, to your gut, and trusting that creativity will surface when you make enough space for it.

Follow Ty on Instagram to stay up to date with what he's up to next.

Creative or Dead is hosted by David Constantine and Aleesha Callahan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this ep, we sit down with Golnar Roshan, co-founder of Amsterdam-based studio Rive Roshan, to talk art, design and what it really means to build a creative life on your own terms.

Golnar traces her journey from Sydney to Europe, from visual communication student to working at Marcel Wanders, and into a sincerely collaborative practice that sits somewhere between art, design and technology. We talk about creativity as a lived practice (not just a job title), and power for work to be coupled with emotional intelligence.
This episode digs into creative partnerships, making work with integrity, and holding onto empathy in a noisy, commercialised world. There’s Milan Design Week, experimental materials and politics layered with beauty.

If you’re searching for conversations about creative careers, art and design practice, creativity with substance, or how to build a career without flattening yourself in the process – start with this conversation.

Rive Roshan is being presented by Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert at Melbourne Art Fair (19-22 Feb 2026).

Links
See more about Rive Roshan at riveroshan.com
Sub Catcher riveroshan.com/projects/sun-catcher-rive-roshan-alcova-milan-2025
Shifting Perspectives riveroshan.com/projects/shifting-perspectives
Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert gallerysallydancuthbert.com
Melbourne Art Fair melbourneartfair.com.au

Creative or Dead is hosted by David Constantine and Aleesha Callahan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode (hello season three!), we chat with Viktor and James, the founders of Nasha Gallery in Sydney (Eora) to learn about building a gallery without following the rules. The guys talk about their leap from artists to gallerists, what it actually takes to run a commercial gallery and why they back emerging Australian artists who can stand shoulder-to-shoulder alongside global talent.

Expect unfiltered takes on being “brave”, how they choose artists (studio visits, taste, trust), and why transparency in the art world shouldn’t be radical – but still is.

If you’re into contemporary art, creativity, art careers, gallery life, art management, collecting, or the messy reality of making a project survive, this one’s for you. Plus: there's road trip stories, a near-illegal mega-show, and two very different death designs.

Check out Nasha Gallery and all their upcoming shows at nasha.com.au.
Nasha Gallery is presenting James Little at Melbourne Art Fair 2026.

Creative or Dead is hosted by David Constantine and Aleesha Callahan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Head of Fashion Programming at Melbourne Fashion Festival Todd Anthony joins us for a zig-zagging chat about creativity with substance. Todd traces a wonderfully non-linear path from professional Latin ballroom dancer to studying fashion design, to teaching and mentoring, to his current dream job at Melbourne Fashion Festival. Along the way we unpack a process grounded in purpose, reflection and the ever-useful post-its. He explains why the runway is very much alive, how AI can actually slow teams down in the best way, and why relationships (and kindness) are the real engine of creative work.

We also talk burnout prevention, the power of daily observation rituals (including a documentary with breakfast), and the small, thoughtful easter eggs that keep personal voice in in work. Stay to the end for Todd’s delightfully dramatic, Elizabethan-tinged answer to our signature 'curate your own death' question.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.