Newsletter February 2026

FUN – Why is it Important?

Well first of all, I can tell you, it IS important. Fun releases hormones that keep your body healthy, your immune system working and your mind active. I’ve just read a great book called ‘The Power of Fun’ by Catherine Price and in it she describes fun, not just as a passing ‘oh that was fun’ comment, but as ‘True Fun’. True Fun, research suggests, is a combination of three things:

Connection

Playfulness

Flow

You can still have true fun with at least two of the three things listed above, but to really throw yourself into it, a combination of all three gives you the ultimate experience to keep you whole. Catherine suggests that having True Fun is essential and must be incorporated into every day life, not as an added bonus, but as though it’s the air we breathe. It keeps you younger for longer and more able to cope with whatever life throws at you.

Connection

Connection elevates the fun experience, but, only if your ‘Fun Squad’, as Catherine calls it, are fun too. You don’t want to surround yourself with negative people who can’t see the value in seeing the brighter side of life. That’s not to say you shouldn’t be there for those when they need you the most. Life is hard and sometimes it can take its toll, so we can’t be jolly all the time, but surrounding yourself with people who you know are your little ‘pick me ups’ is really important. These are the people you feel comfortable being yourself around, who accept you for who you are, no judgement.

Playfulness

I’m not saying that we all have to get out the duplo bricks and role play. Playfulness can just be a fleeting funny comment, a cheeky grin or a joke here or there. We are really lucky in the studio. There is always conversation with laughter mixed in and when we are having a really hard day in the team, one of us is always there to cheer the others up. We sing, we joke, we laugh at ourselves and we don’t mind if something we try doesn’t work, as we just learn from it and try again. We experiment, we get messy, but ultimately, we have fun.

Flow

This is the one that a lot of people can find hard in todays busy, fast paced world. Flow is the state you find yourself in, when time passes and you don’t notice, because you are fully immersed in an activity that is not something you would do everyday as part of your normal chores, but that challenges the brain a bit. This state is mentioned a lot in our Classical Art Classes, in Calligraphy Club and when our embroidery, sewing or Crochet groups are in. I find the flow state doing art when I’m at my easel, but also when I’m knitting or pottery painting.

At Christmas, myself and my team decided that, instead of going out for a meal to celebrate another year in the studio, we would do some pottery painting together with an indian takeaway. There was laughter, conversation, but also comfortable silence as we all just sunk into the activity. Time went too fast, but we all felt amazing afterwards.

Turning to the tricky subject of guilt. This can feel like a guilty pleasure, having fun, and I’m here to tell you that you must not see it that way. See it more as medicine, as that’s exactly what it is. Don’t feel guilty and don’t let others make you feel guilty, (I probably wouldn’t include them in your ‘Fun Squad). You deserve it.

I’m pleased to say, I’ve chosen a career where I experience ‘True Fun’ every day. I’m secretly hoping that means I’ll stay young looking! (no comments please). If you reflect on how your life is right now, are you having enough True Fun? If not, we are here to provide. Just give us a call or drop us an email or pop in and you won’t be left wanting.

Now to really put it into practice, take a look below and see what we have to offer. Go on, go for it!

Katharine x