Neil started his career in advertising, long before the days of computers when everything was visualised and hand-lettered and when designers had to actually draw for a living. After a spell in that there fancy London, he was lured back up North where he ended up working in recruitment comms and employee engagement, and very quickly found his niche.
The days of the Mad Men agency quickly changed with the onslaught of technology and the rise of the Mac Men meant Neil was pioneering the first in-house recruitment studios of the generation. Who’d have thought that all that colouring in would lead him from studio manager in the North east, then Creative Director of the North (move over Jon Snow) to now running his own creative business on the banks of the Tyne. In that time, he's been lucky enough to work with some the world’s most exciting – and now some of the most engaging! – companies, and pick up a few awards along the way.
When Neil's not colouring in you can find me in the kitchen, exploring the many restaurants, or out and about rediscovering his love of Photography.
As is tradition over here at the Roost we asked Neil if he could only listen to, watch, read and own one thing for the rest of his life, what would they be? Here’s what he had to say...
“I have to say I’m a great fan of Spotify which lets me listen to my eclectic taste of music – from classical to Ibiza hits, so I tend to adjust to my mood or creative thinking. I’m currently reliving my youth by listening to a great Blondie playlist, including the new stuff of Pollinator. When I’m not in the mood for music, I’m usually catching up on Radio 4 podcasts, the Archers, comedy shows or the afternoon dramas.”
“When I can find some time for telly I’m usually a binge watcher on Netflix (House of Cards, Stranger Things) and currently very content that winter is coming and Game of Thrones has returned. I’m a big movie fan too and will watch anything from black and white classics to art house, my top ten all time movies changes constantly and I make a point of annually staying up to watch the Oscars live and trying to catch as many Oscar nominated films beforehand.”
“As for reading, I guess I don’t get much time nowadays to plough through, but I am trying to get back into reading the Game Of Thrones books, love a good thriller, and my favourite book is “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night” by Mark Haddon. The stage play is pretty awesome too and I suppose I’m fortunate enough that the North provides some great theatre, which I love seeing.”
“Ok, one thing to own… apart from my Macs, my colouring pens and my daily fix of marmite… I’d say my passport, as I love to travel and am lucky to have friends scattered across the globe who are on my bucket list of countries to visit before I retire or pack my felt pens away for good.”
