A Sunday afternoon panel discussion followed by Q&A - with wine, tea, coffee & cake - in celebration of International Women’s Day.
Sunday 8th March / 2.30pm - 4.30pm
£12*
We invite you to join us in the Studio for an intimate and informal gathering, bringing together four highly respected women in business in the Highlands, leading in a diverse range of creative enterprise, to share their experiences, wisdom and stories!
Julia will host the discussions around the broad theme of celebrating independent women in the creative sector; the debate will unfold upon the whys and wherefores, the challenges that have been met and will celebrate the successes of women in the Creative sector.
International Women's Day is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality.
IWD has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. IWD is not country, group or organisation specific. IWD is a movement, powered by the collective efforts of all.
Profits from this event will be donated to Inverness Women's Aid on behalf of #IWD2026 #GiveToGain
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The Panel:
Julia Kirk is the Founder and Creative Director of Wild Gorse. With a background in creative arts and traditional floristry, Julia established Wild Gorse Studio in the Scottish Highlands in 2015 to explore something more organic and liberate her compositional skills as a floral art form.
Inspired by the wild beauty of her surroundings, foraged and locally sourced botanicals became a vital element of her work, distilling a sense of timelessness and place into the aesthetic alchemy and natural forms that she creates.
Julia is a passionate educator and established the Highland Flower School on Belladrum Estate, holding space for future floral artists to grow in knowledge and artistry whilst cultivating an understanding of the raw and sensuality of nature. Wild Gorse has since expanded to include a café, retail space and wider events programme alongside their delivery of high-end floristry for brand collaborations, international weddings and private clients.
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Jenny Johnstone is a writer, podcaster, and storyteller based in the Scottish Highlands. Her engaging, vibrant work is fuelled by a deep love of Scottish folklore, mythology, history, and the natural world.
She runs an independent creative business based in the Highlands, with a reach that stretches from local communities to international audiences. Between 2019 and 2024, she built her podcast 'Stories of Scotland' into the most popular podcast about Scottish history in the world, connecting a global audience with the country’s past through humour, curiosity, and storytelling.
In 2025, she launched 'The Scottish Folklore Podcast' and is currently developing a Creative Scotland funded series exploring the intersections of Scotland’s geology, history, and culture. Alongside her audio work, she hosts live storytelling events, and is developing the manuscript for her first book.
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Clare Campbell is a textile entrepreneur and passionate advocate of tartan - for 10 years she has been running Prickly Thistle, establishing her own weaving mill, designing and producing bespoke tartans and producing a line of fabulously original, sustainable clothing sold from Rebel Row in Inverness.
A rebel Highlander with a passion for identity, Inverness born Clare started her career as an accountant; raising a young family alongside supporting Highland based businesses kept her busy, until 2015 when she found her “inner rebel with a cause” - a new purpose that would weave everything she cared about into a single passion.
Clare's rebel journey was clear to her despite the difficulties that she knew lay ahead. She had to restore a future for powerful story telling tartan designs, and eventually return artisan tartan weaving skills and disruptive product collections back in the Highlands of Scotland. Prickly Thistle was destined to become a brand of endurance.
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Fiona Dalgetty has been leading Fèis Rois since 2009, growing the charity to have an international reach whilst making sure its roots are very firmly planted in Ross-Shire. A champion of collaboration, she has sparked cross‑disciplinary projects, including helping to secure major investment for the 2022 Dandelion project, and co-developing the Highland Culture Collective project.
Fiona is currently programming much of the 'Dingwall 800' celebrations for 2026, whilst also steering the development of a new cultural and community space for Dingwall. With a background spanning culture, Gaelic, community arts, music (Fiona is a fiddle player), and advisory roles across Scotland’s arts sector, Fiona is all about unlocking creativity for communities and individuals.