The Toowoomba CreativeMornings chapter relaunched in February last year and since then we’ve hosted 15 consecutive events filled with coffee, chat, interesting humans, big ideas, tears, laughter, unexpected conversations and a whole lot of creativity.

We’ve heard from an incredible mix of speakers — artists, business owners, community leaders, photographers, writers, mothers and fathers, and deep thinkers, all generously sharing their stories, work and perspectives with the room.

One of the best parts has been watching this community strengthen. The familiar faces returning each month and the new people walking through the doors for the first time. Conversations continuing outside on the Empire stairs long after the talks finish, that have turned into highers, collaborations, and friendships.  

CreativeMornings has become a space for people who want real connection, inspiration, and community belonging (or just a good reason to leave the house early once a month).

Our team has grown too, with Kaitlyn (Amy's sister - did you guess?!) joining Amy, Jess and Maddie this year — bringing fresh energy, support and many helping hands behind the scenes. We truly couldn’t do this without her.

As always, none of this happens without the support of our partners: those who have sponsored, volunteered, spoken, hosted us, fed us, photographed and videographed and celebrated us. CreativeMornings is entirely volunteer-run and we’re really proud of how much the community is behind us. 

If you haven’t made it along yet, maybe it's time.

The doors swing open at 7:30am on the second Friday of each and every month at the Empire Theatre.

Everyone is welcome.

We'd love to see you there!

If you’re interested in partnership opportunities please email us at toowoomba@creativemornings.com. 

We’re back baby!! CreativeMornings is up and running after a little post-Covid hiatus. New at the helm is Amy Willis, Maddie, Riehl and Jessica Staskiewicz, your new co-hosts who are picking up where the amazing Phoebe Tully left off.

The Vision

The first iteration of CreativeMornings/Toowoomba was met with incredible success, and we’re wanting to bring it back, and make it even better.

We know there’s a secret underground web of creatives out there, from the backyard horticulturist to the fire-side singers and beyond and we want to create a space that brings in everyone - where conversations ignite inspiration, inspiration leads to creation, and our community thrives.

We firmly believe that everyone is creative, and that a creative life is a good life.

CreativeMornings/Toowoomba is a space that welcomes everyone, of all ages, interests, and stages in their lives and careers.

We can’t wait to meet you, chat with you, and spread the inspiration with you!

The Team

Every CreativeMornings event is totally free to attend and is completely run by volunteers. Make sure you click on ‘Toowoomba Team’ at the right of your screen to learn more about who is involved. We’re pretty awesome. Say hi!!

We’re also always seeking volunteers to join our community, including:

• Videographers to capture the events
• Caterers to feed hungry stomachs
• Designers to create killer graphics for us
• Morning People to make our community welcome

If you’re interested in joining the team, please get in touch with some information about yourself.

The Hosts

I (Jess) am a former psychologist, and moved back to Toowoomba a couple of years ago after a close to a decade working internationally with the United Nations. Within a year of moving here, I became a mum and shortly after that launched my own business to support women to cultivate a more intuitive (& regulated) relationship with their body and innate aliveness, so they can take bold, aligned action in their lives - whether that’s in their relationships, creativity, or leadership.

I’ve met incredibly talented people along the way and my eyes have been opened to the sheer talent and passion that’s brimming in the waters of Toowoomba.

I co-host with Maddie and Amy.

Maddie is the face of Hey Marketing, a marketing and media firm in Toowoomba which stands by the premise that marketing can be fun, exciting and extremely rewarding.

Amy is a dynamic leadership consultant, who brings a fresh, creative perspective and approach to the consultancy world and is passionate about developing everyday leaders.

We are all Mum’s and entrepreneurs who run full lives and thoroughly believe in the power of community and creativity.

Partnerships & Sponsorship

As a free event run by volunteers, we will rely entirely on the generosity of sponsorship. If you’re interested in partnering with us please email us at toowoomba@creativemornings.com

How to participate

Want to be kept in the loop when we launch our first event? Make sure you sign up at the top of this page.

You’ll find us at the Empire Theatre the first Friday of every month, beginning this February. We’re excited to bring all the creatives together (and by creative, we mean you - because everyone is creative!).

We can’t wait to meet you.

SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT

Katie Whyte is a visual artist and former optical vision therapist based in Toowoomba, Queensland. After studying both vision and art, she views painting as a means of making sense of the world. In her work, she explores how art acts in a similar way to vision, by influencing our understanding of space and identity so that meaning can be drawn from our experiences.

Photography: Morgan Journal

Photography: Dan Vonhoff

SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT

David Searston is a Toowoomba based playwright. His writing credits include The Friendzone, Desire, Stay Strong Stay Beautiful, One Million Conversations, Charming Charlie and The Spectacular Sophia and Bananas. David has also presented his works to independent theatres in New York City and Philadelphia. Recently David was lucky enough to have a New York City theatre company picking up one of his plays. He has also graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre and Modern History at the University of Southern Queensland. David loves to make people smile and laugh, he loves to create and tell stories and entertain people.

Photography by Morgan Journal

SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT!

Jess Staskiewicz considers herself a recovering psychologist. She’s a yogamama, spiritual seeker, and the founder and facilitator of Dorothy Way, a local business that invites women to go deeper, and connect with their true selves. She believes in the inherent power and unique purpose of every individual and is dedicated to enabling others to shine.

She is an independent mother to one human baby and one fur baby, a lover of the cycle and flow of nature, losing herself in a book, and deep conversations.

(Please note that Jess will be speaking about – among many other things – her time working in a war zone, including experiences of violence.)

Photography by Morgan Smith (@morganjournal)

SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT

Mitch Richardson is a local filmmaker, known especially for his stunning work as a wedding videographer at Castle & Crown.

Photography by Dan Vonhoff.