I met Gemma in 2014 after I packed up my life in Surrey and moved to Dorset to start a new job. Gemma became my housemate about a month or so after I made the move. We bonded over similar past experiences and a passion for getting out in nature, spirituality and healthy living. Gemma has become my closest friend and I am incredibly grateful for her friendship.
We both share a love of music, fine arts, culture and travel and we both work in creative jobs – Gemma works in the field of Architecture, so we both have a good understanding of design (myself from my Graphic Design experience).
We both whole-heartedly believe that creativity is a key part of being human and that tapping into our creative power allows us to shape and design our lives into something that fits our authenticity.
I asked Gemma some questions about Architecture and creativity as well as a few ‘just for fun’ questions for my Friends of Tellurian Treasures interview series. I’ve also shared some links at the bottom of this post so you can find out more about Gemma and her coaching business.
Gemma is also a life and career coach, where she helps people to follow their dreams with confidence and clarity. If you’re interested in life coaching, you can reach out to her for more info via her website.
Gemma is someone who lights up the room when she walks in. She’s a beautiful person inside and out and I’ve loved watching her journey as she’s grown as a person both professionally and personally.
♡ Please show Gemma some support and give her a follow! ♡
1) Why did you choose to study Architecture?
Right from when I can remember, I’ve had an interest in buildings. I always wanted a doll’s house, but could never afford one, so instead I used to collect and change shoe boxes into houses for my teddys. I would often take things apart and put them back together to see how they worked because I was interested in engineering.
My parents would often take me round homes for sale and where they were looking at the interior design, I was looking at every corner of the room, the choice of materiality and where RSJs were placed. I’d be thinking about how it was built and sketching the floor plan in my head.
As I got older I started thinking more about frame and form, mass and strength. I would roll up bits of newspaper and place them in triangles for greater strength to eventually become a den. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. I have other interests, but architecture is still such a big passion for me today.
At the age of 14 I spoke to a career advisor and expressed how I want to be the person who draws buildings (I didn’t really know what an architect was) and they said ‘Oh an architect. No you don’t want to do that, it’s a 7 year course.’, which put me off. I decided to go on and study textiles, which was another passion of mine. That’s the direction my life steered throughout my GCSEs and my A-Levels. It wasn’t until the deadline for applying for university, that I turned to my dad and said, textiles is just a hobby, but my real passion is architecture and then we spent the next four hours under an immense amount of stress trying to pick universities before the UCAS deadline.
Going back to when I was 15, I was homeless for a while and I spent a lot of time sofa surfing. I also lived in a hostel with 16-25 year olds who were suffering with drug and alcohol abuse. This led to me making some poor choices myself and resulted in failing my first year of A-Levels. I had a harsh reality check, which helped me ground myself back to my passion of wanting to be an Architect. This drove me to work really hard in my second year of A-Levels. I also took on an EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) in which I designed a youth cafe. This became my first built project at the age of 17. I often visit it when I go home to see my family and it still gives me a huge sense of achievement.
I think the perfect place to live really, should be a balance between the two; hustle and calm.
Gemma Copp
2) Do you have a favourite project that you’re particularly proud of?
Initially, this felt like such a difficult question to answer, but then it suddenly became easy when I thought about the position that I have within architecture.
Early on in my undergrad degree, I discovered a love for urban design and the life in between buildings. Rather than one big project, I’m actually most proud of the little intervention projects, where we temporarily change the function or typology of a space for a short amount of time. This alters the way the think about a space and transforms it from a ‘space’ into a ‘place’. For example the transformation of a unused subway into a 5-aside football pitch. Either side was two primary schools, in which parents would rather cross over a 4-lane road than pass through the subway in fear. This positive event caused a catalyst for change, with new lighting and refurbishment, financed by the council and now decorated with art murals created by the students.
Another project that I’m particularly proud of is when I decided to put putting golf holes around Poole town centre as one of my uni projects. The idea was to help highlight historical buildings that have gone mostly unnoticed along the highstreet due to them being amongst commercial buildings built with synthetic materials. This was then taken forward as an idea by love Architecture of RIBA Dorset and it was made live for one day in the summer of 2013. We transformed Poole quay into a mini golf putting area and it was an amazing family event day. This became a catalyst for future interventions all across the UK.
I designed a youth cafe at the age of 17. It was my first built project.
Gemma Copp
3) What element of your job do you love the most?
How diverse it is. One day I could be doing technical drawings. The next day I could be out on site. Then I could be doing a sketch of a photoshop visual or writing a report or doing a diagram.
I’m someone that can get bored quite easily, but my job offers so much variety to keep my creative mind active. There’s also the massive cliche, of how architecture can alter the built environment to enhance our day-to-day lives and behaviours and I enjoy being a part of that process.
4) You’re also a life coach – What drew you to coaching?
I’ve always been known as a great listener and someone that is good at giving advice. I had a difficult upbringing and have had a therapist for most of my life. This resulted in a vast amount of self development work, which I wish to pass on to those around me. This stemmed from my teenage years of being a peer support worker.
At university, people would approach me because they felt I could resonate and understand their struggles. I was told I had a warming presence by people and people felt safe around me. After graduating, I was asked by the church, ‘What do you have in your hand’. I said, ‘An Architecture degree’. I was asked again; ‘No that’s your career. What do you have in your hand?’ Further thought led me to say; ‘I’ve got all this life personal development and experience that I can share. I’ve invested in myself and I can help others do the same – to try and find their joy and what makes them happy and step into their authenticity’. That’s where it all started, out of a desire to help others play big and follow their dreams and passions based on my experience. I was able to turn my life around by finding my passion so I questioned, how can I help others do that as well?
5) What do you love most about being a life coach?
I get to meet people all across the world. It’s a global industry and all my clients have come to me with unique goals for their lives with individual difficulties.
Over the course of three months with 1-1 coaching, I have witnessed some incredible journeys with big results. This is truly inspirational and I know that those that come to me hold so much passion for their future and where they want to be, which is the ultimate driver for change.
I like to view passion and emotion as two separate things and an imbalance between the two can blur our path forward. Shifting mindsets and getting clear on the vision creates a roadmap to success. Furthermore, life coaching involves a lot of creativity as together, my clients and I identify ways to action ideas into tangible and measurable opportunities.
6) Where do you find your inspiration?
I am someone who thrives off experience and I’m always wanting to learn and invest in self growth. Inspiration comes from all the moments and situations I put myself in with an open mindset. It’s in those moments I use my intuition to guide me.
Things happen in those moments that spark my interest and imagination. It takes a certain confidence in yourself and your abilities to take those ideas and develop them further.
7) How would you say creativity improves your life?
One of my favourite interview questions is; “If you had 1000 ping pong balls what would you do with them?” and you’ll be amazed at how different everyone’s answer is, but nether-the-less. everyone responds with something ‘think outside of the box’.
I hear a lot of people compare themselves to those in corporate design positions believing they aren’t creative and yet this interview question only highlights that this isn’t true. Creativity, is in fact, within each and every one of us as we each have the ability to imagine. Every day, we are faced with new challenges that require us to problem solve, and yet we allow our fears to take over to cloud our confidence.
Often I’ll rip off a section of trace, take out my pens and start a sketch to communicate an idea but half way through, I’ll always get a shaky hand as my mind begins to turn to wonder to the end outcome. When we dare to fail however, creativity has no rules! Creativity allows a sense of freedom, expression and it’s fun! You’ll be surprised at how fast time passes when we allow ourselves to invest in a creative led task. This is because we’re focused on the act of doing it rather than self-ruminating, immediately pulling us out of our head and into the present.
Lastly, I believe creativity is a part of the feminine polarity, powered by intuition on a movement of process rather than result. I know we’ve all experienced moments of pride as we’ve taken a step back to look at what we’ve achieved; viewing something that was once in our heads now in reality. The more we listen, the more astounded we are by what we can do!
8) Just for fun – If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
Fiji! Away from the hustle and bustle of our very fast paced society. The more we have, the more we’re manipulated to buy new high street products, the more we take on and open ourselves up to daily stresses. With ‘Fiji Time’ there’s many opportunities to stay grounded, present and calm. Travel by boat, catch your own daily meal in the sea, and live in timber huts. That simplicity of life keeps my mind focused on the things that bring me joy – experience, connection and creating memories with loved ones around me.
By absolute contrast, I’d love to immerse myself into the busy streets of New York; viewing the city through the lens of Joni Mitchell’s big yellow taxi. The lights of the high-rise buildings at night, looking out over to neighbours in the surrounding buildings brings curiosity and wonder.
I think the perfect place to live really, should be a balance between the two; hustle and calm. In reality, I live in a city right now with the countryside and opportunities for green walks less than a 10 mile radius and as such, there’s no place like home!
9) Do you have a favourite place in nature? If so, where?
Yes, this is the place that I think about when I meditate in the morning, which is being sat on the rocks at a beach.
This is where I feel the most calm, with the sounds of the waves, the feel of the sand beneath my feet and the smell of the crisp, fresh air. It gives me a sense of awe and serenity. When I hit that line of the beach all my worries, my to do list, my life admin, gets left at the gate to the beach and the beach is the place I feel free.
10) You have to eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what would you choose?
Lasagne! aha! This is my guilty pleasure! When I’m out with friends, I’ll pick up a menu and look for this dish and panic when I can’t find it. But whilst at home, I love to cook an array of dishes from curries to stir fries with a healthy balance of carbs, vegetables and protein. I tend to stick to a plant-based diet during the week making me excited for meat treats and takeaways on weekends.
11) What are some of your other passions and hobbies?
I cherish my memories and therefore love to travel. I enjoy live music and social events with friends/family. I’m a big lover of art and crafts, in particular textiles. One hobby of mine is going around local markets and appreciating the delicate hand, transforming raw materials into a beautiful piece of work.
I am a big lover of music; appreciating the talent of picking up an instrument and creating a riff or beat, putting it with lyrics and connecting it with a baseline. I think there is an underrated yet inspiring talent in music. In my own time, you can find me picking up records in a vinyl store or playing my guitar. My friends and colleagues can indicate what mood I’m in by whether I’m singing or not – I sing everywhere because it lights up my heart as a form of meditation.
In terms of sports, I play golf to maintain special moments with my family. Netball gives me a fun excuse to pull myself away from my desk and into my gym clothes and play within a sociable support network.
I love building upon my interests and values, checking in with my mental health and current energy and improving my skill set. I’m always in a constant mindset of learning!
Finally, I love simplifying! My desk is a constant mess whilst my home space is minimalistic. I’m all for a spring clean and throwing out clothes I’ve not worn in the past year. Simplification helps me to reduce stress, come home from work and release any worries in order to relax and focus on joyous things in life.
I feel it’s important for me to say that interests and values are different to passions and hobbies, for one connects with us on a more deeper level, making us unique and authentic.
12) What would you say brings you the most joy?
Being spontaneous! It brings growth and new experiences but also helps me to overcome shyness, get out of my comfort zone and build upon relationships.
Creativity, is in fact, within each and every one of us as we each have the ability to imagine. Every day, we are faced with new challenges that require us to problem solve, and yet we allow our fears to take over to cloud our confidence.
Gemma Copp
Find out more about Gemma:
Follow Gemma on Facebook: /gemmacoppcoaching
Follow Gemma on Instagram @gemcopp
Visit Gemma’s website: gemmacopp.co.uk
For a collection of courses, ebooks, meditations and resources, head to Gemma’s shop. Gemma has designed these to help you practice inner work at your own pace and in your own time.
Thanks for stopping by.
Have a beautiful day.
~ Faine