If you’re a woman working in design, advertising, marketing, PR or another of Adelaide’s thriving creative comms industries, you'll receive a very warm and 'unstuffy' welcome from She Creates.

Since its inception in 2019, She Creates has thrived by being a place for the women of Adelaide’s creative communication industries to come together.

The organisation was established by five women who sat on the Adelaide Advertising & Design Club (AADC) committee and has fostered a strong network through their years of experience.

Their first event for 2024 takes something that is possibly expected of them and turns it on its head. The She Creates ‘Anti-Corporate’ International Women’s Day event on the eve of IWD promises to reject the status quo of International Women’s Day events and instead focuses on what has proven to be one of the most desired event formats for this dedicated community.

“We’ve found from the four years of She Creates that women appreciate having a place for them to connect on a more genuine level,” says co-chair Amy Lambert.

“We’ve created an event for IWD based on what we know works. Honestly, what a lot of our community are looking for is a no frills, no fuss way to get to know each other and have fun.”

With a broad community of individuals taking part in She Creates, it’s important to the committee that there is a range of events to suit everyone. And while IWD is obviously crucial to an organisation that strives to inspire, connect and empower women, the group is making it clear that corporate stuffiness and tick-box inclusivity don’t align with the future of She Creates.

New co-chair of She Creates in 2024 Elise Rundell says, “We have a really wonderful and diverse community from all areas and stages of their careers within the creative industries. Panel discussions tailored to specific topics are great, but really, what we’ve found is it’s the networking part before or after that people get the most excited about.”

This has been proven by the attendance at the series of more intimate get-togethers throughout 2023, including Netwalks and Netsips. These sell-out events encouraged attendees to network while doing an activity, removing the trepidation that women often feel at large-scale networking events.

She Creates has built a space where women at any stage in the industry can come and meet new people or reconnect with those they’ve crossed paths with before.

They say creative industries can be notoriously isolating spaces to work in, especially since remote work and freelancing as a career have increased in popularity. It’s vital, especially for women, to have safe and comfortable spaces to come back together, gain insight and foster a community where there may not have been an opportunity for one before.

Perhaps most importantly, doing so shouldn’t feel like a chore.

“We’ve worked hard at creating a space where people feel comfortable to be themselves and connect in an honest way with either new faces or old contacts. A lot of women come alone to our events and we’ve seen many of them return to the next one with a connection they made at the last event – that’s not something you see happen very often,” says Elise.

Alongside the first event, a soon-to-be-launched new look and feel for the brand and a new committee, it’s a lot to deliver. But the passionate group are poised for the task.

She Creates’ bunch of go-getting women – Amy, Manuela, Hannah and Elise

The new committee, consisting of co-chair Amy Lambert, owner of creative studio, Make Create, a founding member of She Creates and a seasoned veteran of the AADC; new co-chair Elise Rundell, marketing manager at Studio Nine Architects; copywriter and communications strategist Hannah Pendlebury of Pendle to Paper as chair of communications; and Manuela Mazzaferro, marketing manager of Vinify as chair of events; together with the subcommittee comprising Alisha Rout, Sarah Anesbury, Renee van der Hoek and Sarah Lufthaus are enthused to take She Creates to a new level.

She Creates also promises to strengthen its collaboration with the AADC this year. Noting their considerable organic growth from an AADC spin-off to now a fully-fledged community of passionate women, the two organisations are now structured to create more synergy with each other and within the industry as a whole.

“She Creates has brought in a new audience. Our community is made up of not only those working in agencies but also freelancers and in-house communications professionals. It’s become a place where these women, who may work solo and not have those people to bounce ideas around with, can connect and feel part of a group,” says Amy.

With a program of up to 10 events across the course of the calendar year and a diverse range of topics and formats on the cards, She Creates is promising to have something for everyone in their ever-growing community.

The focus this year is also on further fostering connection outside of events, with the She Creates private Facebook group engaging in great discussions, advice and support daily.

Tickets to the ‘Anti-Corporate’ International Women’s Day event are one of the cheapest events in town and therefore are selling fast, making it an unmissable way to celebrate this year.