Kindling Minds x Story Havens
Some partnerships take months or years to build.
Others begin with a conversation… and just feel right from the very start!
This new chapter with Story Havens actually began at the SOSE’s International Women’s Day event. It was one of those rooms filled with inspiring women, brilliant conversations, and a real sense of community. There was also a web link called “Who’s in the Room”, where you could see the businesses and people attending.
Heather spotted Kindling Minds on the app and wanted to come and introduce herself. But as these events often go, the day was busy, conversations were flowing, and we never quite managed to catch each other.
A week later, I received a message from Heather introducing herself and asking if I would like to meet for a coffee.
If you know me, you’ll know I love these kinds of meetings now. I always start by asking about the other person’s business, their values, their story, and what drives them. Within ten minutes of Heather sharing Story Havens, her lived experience, and her passion for supporting the community, I could feel the ideas building…
It was one of those moments where everything just aligned.
Not just professionally, but personally too! Our values, our approach, and the way we both think about community, accessibility and support felt incredibly similar.
At that point, I shared something I had been thinking about for a while. I explained that I had been exploring the idea of starting a social enterprise. My thinking was centred around reducing barriers to tailored support for young people, families and adults across Dumfries and Galloway. Creating something that could bring services together, provide accessible opportunities, and build a stronger sense of community.
What I didn’t expect was Heather’s response… Heather shared that she had also been wanting to start a social enterprise for years, but had never found someone who felt like the right fit to build it with.
And if you haven’t guessed already… everything aligned.
Scarily aligned. But in the best possible way.
We spoke about our experiences, our hopes, the gaps we see locally, and the impact we both want to have. It was one of those conversations where ideas flowed naturally, and time seemed to disappear.
But as exciting as that felt, I also wanted to make sure we approached this thoughtfully. I’ve learned a lot over the past 6 months, particularly through working with South of Scotland Enterprise, and I knew how important it was to reflect, sense check, and take the right next steps.
So, as always, I took my ideas to my wonderful SOSE business coach, Jill. At this point, I had already been meeting with the SOSE’s community team and the Third Sector representative for my area, exploring possibilities and understanding what might be achievable.
March had been incredibly busy for me, delivering the SOSE contract, which took up most, if not all, of my time. But once that finished, I knew the next step was to bring Heather, Jill and I together. I wanted to sense check whether Heather and I were as aligned as I felt, and also make sure I wasn’t rushing into something simply because it felt exciting.
So, last week, we met at Crichton Central…
Before the meeting with Jill, Heather and I met first to go through our thoughts. We had both independently written down our ideas, the impact we wanted to create, and what we hoped this could become. When we brought everything together, it was incredible to see how closely our ideas matched.
Not just in big picture thinking, but in values, priorities, and how we both wanted to work.
Then we met with Jill, and as always, the conversation was grounding, supportive and incredibly helpful. Jill has this wonderful way of cutting through the noise and helping you focus on what really matters.
She gave us a small number of clear action points. Not overwhelming. Just the next steps. And I love next steps! 🤣
That meeting was on Thursday. Today is Tuesday. And already, so much has happened:
We have started shaping our impact and mission statement.
We have begun exploring names and branding.
We have started gathering community feedback.
We agreed to attend BANG Goes D&G together.
We have signed up for Youth Beatz.
We have started mapping ideas and opportunities.
Because when you find the right person, momentum feels natural. Something else that has felt really important to me in this partnership is balance. Sometimes when working with others, one person naturally ends up doing more than the other. And while that works, it is conducive to long term sustainability!
Living with FND, I have days where I physically cannot work. That has always been something I’ve had to consider carefully when thinking about partnerships and collaborations.
But with Heather, I don’t have that worry!
I know that if I need to step back, progress will still be happening. And equally, when Heather needs support, I’ll be there too. We naturally balance each other’s strengths, experiences and energy.
Another thing that has made this partnership feel so natural is that both Heather and I are neurodivergent. Because of that, there’s an unspoken understanding. Neither of us has to mask, apologise, or change how we work. We communicate openly, we understand different energy levels, and we respect each other’s ways of thinking.
Months ago, Jill spoke to me about “finding your tribe”. At the time, I understood what she meant, but I don’t think I fully appreciated just how important that would be… Now, it couldn’t ring more true!
There was even a moment recently where Heather needed to bring her son to a meeting. I didn’t bat an eyelid. Instead, we approached it with warmth and kindness. Life happens. Bringing your child doesn’t prevent the outcome of a meeting. If anything, it reflects the kind of environment we want to create, one that is flexible, understanding and rooted in real life.
Another one of Jill’s sayings that I’ve started to naturally adopt is simply: “Life happens.”
And it’s true.
What do we gain from making a fuss when life happens?
Very little.
But what we do gain from responding with calm, flexibility and understanding is a productive, supportive and genuinely positive working environment. That’s exactly what this partnership feels like!
Jill also often reminds me that you can be best friends with someone and never want to go into business together, and that’s okay. But sometimes you meet someone where everything just gels, and it makes sense.
That’s exactly what I’ve found with Heather!
This new Community Interest Company (CIC) is about creating something bigger than our individual businesses. Kindling Minds and Story Havens will continue as separate businesses, but together, we have the opportunity to create something that supports our community in ways we simply couldn’t do alone.
Our vision is to create a hub for Dumfries and Galloway. A space that brings people together. A place built on inclusivity, accessibility and kindness. A place where young people, families and adults can access support, opportunities, creativity and connection.
Heather and I come from different backgrounds, with different experiences. But those differences strengthen what we’re building. Where one of us feels less confident, the other naturally steps forward. Where one of us has experience, the other brings fresh perspective.
It feels balanced. It feels natural, and most importantly, it feels right.
This journey also reminded me how powerful spaces like International Women’s Day can be. Being in a room full of women across the South of Scotland, celebrating each other, sharing ideas, and supporting one another… that’s what led to this moment.
It’s a reminder that connection matters. Community matters. And sometimes, the right conversations change everything.
This is just the beginning of a very exciting new chapter, and we are both incredibly excited about what lies ahead!
Because this isn’t just something we are building for the community.
It’s something we are building with the community. 💜
If you’re based in Dumfries and Galloway, we would love you to be part of shaping this journey👇🏼
