The Countrywoman’s Guide to Work, Life & You…

In this episode, Sue Pryke shares her inspiring journey through ceramics, from learning how to cut leeks to prescribed lengths for supermarkets in her father’s business as a youngster, to working at Wedgwood and subsequently establishing her own design studio.
She explores the importance of heritage craft skills, balancing industry with handmade quality, and how her upbringing influenced her meticulous approach and love for design and the ability to produce beautifully designed and ergonomic pieces at scale.
Key Topics:
* Sue’s early passion for pottery sparked by A-level coursework in the 1980s
* The influence of Lincolnshire’s landscape on her appreciation for precision and uniformity
* Transition from craft-based work to design at Leicester, including her degree in Design for Manufacture
* Her experience at Wedgwood and involvement in traditional model and mold making and the challenges faced in preserving heritage skills
* Moving into her own business and collaborations with IKEA
* The significance of mindful, detail-oriented craftsmanship
* The role of failure and iteration in creative development
* Reflections on parenting, balancing family life, and fostering entrepreneurial instincts
* Participation in The Great Pottery Throw Down and media influence on ceramics
* Future projects involving creamware molds and a return to studio practice
* Embracing change, re-evaluating life phases, and the importance of adaptability
“Understated, afford-able, functional and elegant. Sounds easy but is very hard to achieve.
Designs that fit in rather than stand out, a true test of excellence. ”
— Barbara Chandler, The Evening Standard
This podcast was originally recorded for Do Radio, so huge thanks to them for letting me share this episode with you.
Connect with Sue Pryke:
* Instagram
* Website
Resources & Links:
* Oliver Burkman’s 4000 Weeks – on managing time and life priorities
* The Great Pottery Throw Down Series 3– TV Show promoting awareness of ceramics
* Royal College of Art – The home of ideas
* Wedgwood Official Site – Historic ceramic manufacturer
* Royal Society of Arts Awards – Recognition in ceramic design
* Prince’s Youth Business Trust – (Now the King’s Trust) business support and funding

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I’ve known Dan Kieran for a little while now and first came across him when I read his book Do Start - How to Create and Run a Business (that doesn’t run you). It’s a great read and I loved the way he talked about his journey through starting and running a business.
Dan is a seasoned entrepreneur and author. We’re both members of the Do Lectures community and connected on Linkedin, but our conversations started after I watched a presentation that Dan gave about his thoughts on Leadership.
In it, he discussed how leadership isn’t just about hierarchy, control, or endless grind, it’s about fluidity, connection, and understanding the natural currents within your business and yourself.
So, when I was recording the Do Radio interviews, Dan was on my list of people I wanted to interview.
In this captivating episode, Dan shares his transformative insights inspired by ancient rivers and hunter-gatherer societies that thrived through cooperation and adaptability.
He reveals how adopting a “river-like” mindset can empower you to guide your organization with strength and grace, no matter the turbulence.
Dan candidly discusses the mental toll of scaling, the loneliness at the top, and how shifting to a flow-based leadership style can restore joy, resilience, and sustainable success.
We break down his powerful analogy of leading like a river, emphasizing the importance of context, collaboration, and trusting the natural course of growth. You’ll discover how ancient societal structures and natural laws hold the key to modern leadership practices that actually work - and you all know how important our connection to the countryside is!
We explore:
* How the word “lead” originally meant “flow” and why understanding this can revolutionize your leadership approach.
* Practical strategies for navigating entrepreneurial transitions, from burnout to renewal.
* The importance of vulnerability, community, and mentorship in driving lasting success.
* The critical role of nurturing feminine qualities like intuition, empathy, and psychological safety in today’s business landscape.
* How to craft your personal origin story to rewire limiting beliefs and unlock your full potential.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking you need to be an entrepreneur to benefit from hearing Dan’s take on life - his curiosity and way of connecting history to how we live our life today is both enlightening and fascinating.
NB: This episode was originally recorded for my Making Stuff Up show on Do Radio, which they are kindly letting me share with the CWG audience.
As always, thank you for reading and thank you for listening.
Guest Dan Kieran is a prolific entrepreneur, writer, and advocate for human-centered leadership, known for building Unbound, a pioneering crowdfunding platform, and his passionate work on the future of business and feminine leadership.
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This episode was one I originally recorded for Do Radio, who have very kindly said I can also share the podcasts with you.
As with the other ‘Do’ conversations, the interviews are so rich with honesty about the entrepreneurial journey and so rich with wisdom and experience that they match up really well with the things that we talk about on our CWG podcasts.
I am so pleased to introduce you to Mandy Powell, who started The Goodwash Company at her farm kitchen table in 2018, creating an ethical Welsh skincare brand for humans and dogs.
Goodwash is an ethical skincare brand and Mandy’s guiding lights are her values and the changes that she wants to see in the world.
As her website proudly states, “Wales has the best natural larder in the world and we wanted to create the finest ethical skincare from as much of our natural environment as possible. Combining the best products with a genuine social and environmental conscience.”
The Goodwash range of skin and haircare products are beautifully packaged, ethically made and absolutely lovely to use.
From the very beginning, Mandy was determined to support her local area, Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales and the wider Welsh Community, so that “each time you wash good things happen for the people and communities of Wales”
As well as the products working for humans, Mandy wanted them to also work for her dogs. Her two original fur founders: Maisy (a gorgeous Westie with sensitive skin) and Duffle (a gorgeous Labradoodle) were the inspiration behind the legendary and much loved natural Fur range.
Dilys is now her fellow ffwr director and you can check out Dilys' daily work adventures on her Instagram here
This is a humble, reflective and honest conversation from a genuine, kind and brilliant entrepreneur - and if you’re wondering what Mandy did with her fledgling business after the feedback from the London Media agency, she does reveal all in the podcast.
There are also some reflections from me at the end about the first 4 episodes of my Do Radio season. Next week we’ll take a break from the Do Radio podcasts with a podcast I recently recorded and then we’ll do another batch of 4 of the programmes.
PS: If you think you might know the name, Goodwash products were featured in the 2024 Gavin and Stacey Christmas special (in Gwen’s kitchen and behind Smithy having a bath.
PPS: You can catch all the current Do Radio programmes by listening live here or by downloading the App and listening to the Archive here.



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Kresse Wesling, CBE, is a multi-award winning environmental entrepreneur. After first meeting the London Fire Brigade in 2005, Kresse launched Elvis & Kresse, which rescues and transforms decommissioned fire hose into innovative lifestyle products and returns 50% of profits to the Fire Fighters Charity.
The company now collects 12 different waste streams and has several charitable partnerships and collaborations across industries.
In 2021, Kresse and Elvis, her business and life partner, also took on a farm in order to establish a regenerative agriculture project, generate their own renewables and implement a host of environmental initiatives.
Talking to Kresse was a real insight into founding and running a business with a social purpose, initially doing everything themselves to move the business forward and learning and growing as they progressed.Elvis & Kresse’s dedication to reducing waste, and always challenging themselves to do more is second-to-none.Kresse reminds us that kindness is embedded in our humanity and also that there is no perfect company, we can always learn more.PS : I purchased a desk tidy from Elvis & Kresse, part of their collaboration with Burberry and it really is gorgeous.
PPS: My grateful thanks go to Janet Hitchen who was my Do Radio Channel Producer. You can catch all the current Do Radio programmes by listening live here or by downloading the App and listening to the Archive here.
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit countrywomansguide.substack.com

If you’re an ambitious entrepreneur scaling your business or you’re feeling stuck and can’t quite see where to go, then this interview with Les McKeown that I originally recorded for Do Radio should be on your list of things to listen to this week.
Les developed his own trademark @predictablesuccess model and has worked with thousands of people running businesses over the years, so his insights are profound.As Les himself says, “if you truly want to not just grow, but scale your organization, then I can help you achieve, accelerate and sustain that growth.”Whatever size business you run, Les has identified the stagesyou will go through and explains how to navigate them to achieve Predictable Success.
if you’re at an early stage in your business, forewarned is forearmed and you’ll learn about some of the decision points that will come up at some point for you.Take a listen - I’ve never nodded so much during an interview -Les’s advice is absolutely golden.
PS: You can catch all the current Do Radio programmes by listening live here or by downloading the App and listening to the Archive here. Our grateful thanks to them for allowing me to share this on CWG.



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit countrywomansguide.substack.com