Meet Jess. She joined indie Travel four months ago, on a specific date that none of us remembers. I’m sure she’d like to think it was because her bubbly personality kept everyone so entertained that the day flew by, and of course, she’s not wrong. But here at indie, we’ve had so many giant leaps forward as a start-up, from launching Booking Protect, hiring three new team members, attending WTM, winning an award at TIS, and announcing the first tour specific Shopify app, ‘indie: Experiences’. Of course, we couldn’t have launched any of these without Jess jumping in headfirst. So finally, we wanted to introduce our newest (kind of) member of the team…. So take it away, Jess.
As a Scottish gal by heart with an English accent, I was always fascinated with culture and identity. What makes someone Scottish? What is it to be Scottish? What parts of our history needs to be told and to whom, and how do you adapt that as our culture shifts? Initially, this took me down the film and photography route. With my Granddads trusty VHS home recorder, I would spend hours making plasticine short films on the dining table, much to my mothers’ dismay. And please, no one ever watch my remake of the ‘Blair Witch Project’ in the forest behind the house… I’ll admit hanging my sisters Barbie dolls from the trees was perhaps a storytelling prop too far. But after receiving my degree in Television, it was worth all my families stress at working out what would be destroyed next for ‘art’. Following University, I took me, myself and I on the obligatory other side of the world ‘finding myself’ trip. Also… Hobbits. Need I say more?
After my gallivanting, I returned with a shopping list of countries and a strong desire to see them all.
Where did the phrase ‘Bucket List’ come from? Maybe a wanderlust is more applicable in my case.
By luck, or what I might call ‘strategy’ now to make it look deliberate. I entered the in-destination travel industry, first in the Travel Marketing Agency as the ‘No’ person to the very inspirational and creative Chris Torres. And together, we still run the successful Glasgow Travel Massive Chapter.
Next, the wonderful world of B2B event, research, and graphs for as far as the eye can see. Arival research is second to none!
And finally, indie Travel, where the needs of travel creators in a thoughtful and practical way, fit's into my own personal purpose jigsaw perfectly. Our mission is to move the industry forward through innovation and community.
13 Things About Me
- 13 is my favourite number; it’s also my birthday… a coincidence? I’ll leave that for you to decide :P
- I once made pea soup with only water, peas, and a stock cube… It turns out recipes exist for a reason, and I should read them
- In 2021, I cooked over 120 new recipes as part of a food flavour challenge
- I also read over 40 non-fiction books this year - I now know EVERYTHING! I highly recommend ‘Start with Why', ‘Humankind; A Hopeful History’ and ‘Invisible Women’
- I have hunted for Haggis (no, really, they’re real)
- Seafood paella and I still have a difficult relationship.
- I work with a charity action group that tries to change policies for disabled people to have reasonable access to resources.
- My parents were dazzled by my siblings’ photoshop skills, creativity, and ingenuity and my incredible yearly photoshoot for a family calendar. I’ve included one below - Can you guess the months they are representing?
- In a previous life, I worked on stage as crew. Given my lack of strength, I asked why I was hired… The answer? “Because you’re so weak it makes all the guys slow down and take extra care”. I was essentially the safety mascot.
- What are you allergic to? And if it were, say, Duck Eggs, has your family ever tricked you into eating them occasionally just to see if you were still allergic? No? Just me then.
- Someone stole my shoes in Vietnam. I sometimes wonder what happened to them; I hope they gave as many blisters as they did to me.
- There is a Buddhist temple in the middle of the woods in Scotland; it turns out it doesn’t matter how tranquil a place is… I am not waking up at 6 am
- In Greek mythology, Zeus was the thirteenth and the most powerful god. Read Stephen Fry’s ‘Mythos’ while in Greece… you can thank me later.
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