Emer O’Leary Studios Ltd.

Emer O’Leary Studios Ltd. Radical Honesty Reset (1:1 coaching) | Illustration | Facilitation

In the early days of my career (20+ years ago...) I was working with a disability charity in East Lothian. In March, I r...
16/07/2026

In the early days of my career (20+ years ago...) I was working with a disability charity in East Lothian. In March, I returned to that world, this time with an iPad in hand.

I spent time with ELCAP, a brilliant organisation supporting people in East and Mid Lothian to live full, independent lives. I was in the room live, sketching as their teams talked, planned, and shared ideas.

The energy in that room was something else, thanks in no small part to TV Doctor Dr.Tharaka Gunarathne (yes, of Morning Live and Traitors fame!), who brought a level of originality and innovation I don't see often.

That work, together with everything Claire MacDonald and the ELCAP team have been building, fed into something bigger: a full strategy map bringing their identity, purpose, vision, and values into one illustrated piece, something they'll use to keep the whole team aligned for years to come.

Grateful for the reminder of why I still say yes to special live illustration projects 🙂

I walked away from something that workedFor years I was the flipchart personAnd open courses were my thingDrawing Out Id...
02/03/2026

I walked away from something that worked
For years I was the flipchart person
And open courses were my thing
Drawing Out Ideas
Secrets of Simple Graphics
Joy of Drawing
Fab Flipcharts on the Fly
They were super popular
People loved them
And I loved delivering them
(The dream, right?)
There was steady demand
If I followed sensible business advice,
I would have scaled them
Workshops all over the UK
An automated, evergreen, scalable
Signature programme (yes, one of those)
The Whole Shebang
After all ‘Don’t leave money on the table’,
Is one of the first things I learned in business.
And honestly? I could have.
That work built a reputation I’m proud of.
But somewhere along the way
It became the whole story
I was managing a reputation
Instead of inhabiting myself
So I stopped running open courses
Not because I didn’t enjoy them
Not because I got bored
But because they had become the headline
A headline is not the entire story
It’s never meant to be.
There’s more to you than one line can hold.
You’re allowed to take up the whole page.

Overthinking. Is it really just fear in disguise? A vehicle for perfectionism and a hidden desire for control?Beat it wi...
12/02/2026

Overthinking. Is it really just fear in disguise? A vehicle for perfectionism and a hidden desire for control?

Beat it with these top tips from the brilliant Unbound Creative podcast with

This is something I first noticed in myself, and then I started seeing it in others too. It's like a teeny tiny 'If not ...
05/02/2026

This is something I first noticed in myself, and then I started seeing it in others too. It's like a teeny tiny 'If not now, then when?' that at first feels like a kinda glib coaching-y line until one day it just rings so loudly in your ears you can't ignore it any more.

A business opportunity lands on your plate. Something you’d have bitten your hand off for a year ago. You say yes straig...
03/02/2026

A business opportunity lands on your plate.
Something you’d have bitten your hand off for a year ago.

You say yes straight away, but something doesn’t feel right.

You try:
Pushing through
Embracing adversity
Sitting in appreciation for the lesson this situation is giving you.

But this “opportunity” is costing you valuable headspace.
You’re frustrated with them, and you’re frustrated with yourself.

Here’s why:
You’re not allowing the truth to emerge.
This situation is just not a fit for who you are right now.

Six months ago, a year ago, sure, it was a perfect fit. Now?
That small voice inside you is calling for higher standards.
It’s protecting your energy.

Sometimes it’s not more pushing we need. It’s more truth.

If this feels familiar, drop a ❤️ in the comments.

I used to be a social media consultant (no, really).So you'd think I’d be a bit more…visible.But for a while, I wasn’t s...
26/01/2026

I used to be a social media consultant (no, really).

So you'd think I’d be a bit more…visible.

But for a while, I wasn’t sure how to show up here

without over-explaining all the different things I do.

Illustration. Coaching. Facilitation.

Other little pieces of differently shaped things.

Then I realised – it’s all the same work 😀

Listening deeply.

Holding up a mirror.

Making the invisible visible.

Whether it’s a One Pager that captures your business’s brilliance —

or a coaching session where you finally name what’s really going on — it’s all about mining the gold that’s been sitting under the surface. 💛

So this is me making peace with social media again.

Not as a heavy have-to.

Or a reluctant ‘Shur that’s the way the world is now’

But as a form of expression and connection.

Some posts I share will be absolute corkers.

Some… part of the figuring-it-out phase.

Here’s to saying it anyway 💪🏻

(and not over analysing every word before I post!)

Address

Edinburgh

Telephone

+441315546551

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