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Conversations of Inspiration

Unlocking Talent, Stitching Hope, with Katy Emck OBE, Founding Director of Fine Cell Work

Conversations of Inspiration

Holly Tucker MBE

Education, Society & Culture, Entrepreneurship, Self-improvement, Business, Personal Journals

5.01.3K Ratings

🗓️ 22 November 2021

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In a captivating conversation, Katy Emck OBE delves into her inspirational story as Founding Director of Fine Cell Work, a charity and social enterprise which tackles social rehabilitation by teaching prisoners the art of creative needlework. 

Together with the late, great Lady Anne Tree, Katy began working with prisoners to create fine, commercial needlework which is now sold to customers across the globe. The therapeutic nature of stitching acts as a purposeful activity that has given hope, empowerment and optimism to over 8,000 prisoners.

Sharing many tear jerking and heartwarming tales from her business journey so far, Katy explains how giving prisoners the opportunity to use their hands creatively not only provides mental and physical stimulation but also gives many inmates a purpose, something that some have never experienced before.

Katie is a kind-hearted, passionate believer in second chances, and lives by Winston Churchill’s mantra that ‘There’s a treasure in the heart of every man if you can only find it’, and Fine Cell Work does just that.

Enjoying listening to these unfiltered chats? It's worth following Holly Tucker MBE and Holly & Co on Instagram, and subscribing to our weekly newsletter on our website, where Holly downloads her thoughts, and exclusively shares small business finds and topical, 'ungoogleable' business advice.

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is why I love conversations of inspiration,

0:03.0

talking to people like Katie Emke,

0:05.3

founder, director of Fine Cellwork.

0:08.0

She's just literally shone a light on an entire world

0:11.3

that I didn't know enough about.

0:14.6

That of prisoners, the reform system,

0:17.9

and the role creativity can play,

0:21.9

the transformational quality and power

0:25.9

that is within humans being creative.

0:29.8

And I just come away sometimes from these conversations

0:34.0

and feel like there's so much still we've got to do,

0:39.4

how much business plays a part in so many social reforms

0:44.3

that we need to see.

0:46.0

And yeah, I'm just excited for you all to have,

0:49.7

hopefully, your eyes widened,

0:52.2

to the power of creativity, to the human spirit.

0:56.6

By your head and let your eyelids close on down

1:00.2

where we're going, you want me to bring your frown.

1:04.1

I'm Holly Tucker, and welcome to Conversations of Inspiration.

1:08.6

Back in 2006, I founded Not on the High Street

1:11.9

from my kitchen table, and since then,

1:14.4

I've gone on to launch Holly and Co.

...

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