Melody is a great communicator, and most of that comes through her careful listening and deep understanding of what makes creatives tick. She is quietly determined, with a playful undertone that really gets to the heart of what you are trying to say. Her webinar for us was full of practical tips and great insights, with a very calm and professional delivery. Great to work with her.

- Patricia van den Akker, The Design Trust

I came to the point where I knew I needed sound help as I was in the process of applying for important funding. I was feeling tired, anxious and allowing my insecurities to fog up my thoughts.

So I made the wisest decision and turned to Melody and I am so very thankful for Melody’s help.
She made the whole process so easy and gave me back my confidence in writing my objectives and aims for this particular funding application. She was able to pinpoint the weaknesses in my application, make strong recommendations for improving and clearing my thoughts in my writing and it didn’t take forever… she was very efficient and I was able to finish the application well before the deadline.

I so much appreciated her support and positiveness. It made all the difference. And more importantly, I will continue using her consultancy in the future because in working together she has come to understand my practice and her clarity in writing and her insights will be invaluable to me.

- Chrisoula Konstantakou, ceramicist

I contacted Melody for help with writing my Artist’s Statement as I was struggling to write one that was succinct while also describing my work and narrative which has a number of threads.

Melody visited my studio where we talked through what I wanted the piece of writing to be used for and what my work was about. Melody asked many questions about the work and where I wanted to take it in the future. She recorded our conversation for her reference but also as an additional resource for me as she later sent me the files of the audio too.
Melody has a lot of experience in working with creatives and offered advice and action points for me - which she also included in a well laid out document - very useful. The final piece of writing is just what I wanted and I feel that Melody took great care to fully understand my work and the motivation for it.
The whole experience was very positive and I not only now have a great Artists’ Statement, but it has also helped me feel more confident when talking about my work.

- Diane Griffin, ceramics

Working with Melody on my website story continues to be an amazing journey, and is an instrumental piece in helping me find my voice as a fibre artist. I’ve particularly enjoyed her personal attention and insight as a mentor. Melody has helped me take a closer look at my creative process and structure and understand the key elements. This process gives me confidence and energy to embrace my creative business in a new fresh way.

- Tanya Robinson, fibre artist

When Melody and I met initially it was not in the context of consultant and client, but as contemporaries, and I immediately felt, from her understated, intuitive approach and her clear and generous enthusiasm for the work of other creatives, that I would love to enlist her talents if the opportunity arose. Because Melody is a maker herself, as well as a skilled writer and editor, she is perfectly positioned to understand and give voice to a maker's mindset. Melody does not ask the obvious questions and this makes discussing your work with her an interesting and useful exercise in itself. I look forward to working with Melody again as my practice develops and there are (hopefully!) new areas to explore and write about.

- Jo Elbourne designer/maker (winner of the 2017 Elle Decoration British Design Award for Best in Craft)

Every student on a creative course at university should have access to a Melody Vaughan! She’s helped me understand writing as a craft/creative process that I can relate to and get pleasure from. I definitely feel fully equipped for any written challenge now.

 - Hannah-May Chapman student MA Jewellery & Related Products BCU

Her prior expertise of being both a maker and a museum curator gives Melody a unique insight into creative practices from the perspective of artists and audience, production and exhibition, and practice and theory. During the Ambiguous Implements Re-thinking Domestic Design Symposium Melody successfully hosted an in conversation with four practitioners, fielding questions from the audience and encouraging the group to elaborate on their individual responses, moving the discussion in a structured and focused manner. She is highly engaging when speaking in public and very easy to talk to on a one to one basis, which means she has become a trusted confidante of many makers, aiding and supporting them in their developing careers. Her close relationship to makers further gives Melody a privileged insight into their work and the current challenges facing creative practitioners, thinking on the ways and means these can be overcome.

- Laura Mansfield, curator Ambiguous Implements

I have written a few statements about my work and practice but always felt that they weren’t expressing what I wanted to say. I decided to book a session with Melody on her artist statement writing class. I’m so glad I did. I had a 1:1 session and Melody put me at ease about writing straight away. We looked at structure of statements, target audiences and examples of various types of statements. Through handling and observing my work we generated key words which helped me build on my original statement. Melody was very friendly and encouraging and I now feel that I can write more confidently about my work and structure it for the right audience. I also received an audio recording of our session which has been extremely useful to revisit. I would definitely recommend her session for anyone who, like me, would rather make work than write about it.

- Karen Lester, Jewellery Sculpture Design

I recently attended a talk by the exceptionally passionate and knowledgable @melody_vaughan titled 'Find Your Voice' all about successful writing for creatives. Melody was captivating. Not many people can hold the attention of around 60 people in the palm of their hand for an hour and a half. It was as if she was telling us the recipe for making gold (or where to find an unlimited supply of free gin!)

- Sarah Gilbert, Box of Smiles Gifts

I love designing, making and even talking about my work, but I always felt that writing about myself in third person was a bit like cheating!

I met Melody at New Designers One Year On. A few months later she interviewed me for an article she was preparing and it was then when I realised that she was the perfect person to write that piece of text I needed.

Working with Melody is really easy. She not only helps you to put your thoughts in writing, but she helps you think about your own work from a different perspective.

- Marian Ripoll, designer, maker, architect - New Designers One Year On 2016