Meet the Members: Cassie

Meet Cheddar Creative’s big cheese (Creative Director!) Cassie Bendall.

Tell us about yourself

I go by the name Cass. I was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. I moved to Ipswich in 2004 with my family. I have always been passionate about art and travel, I studied business management with marketing and once I got my degree, I did not pass go, or collect $100, I flew straight to Australia to find a job and explore the world. I eventually came back to Ipswich and worked in various agencies both locally and further afield until deciding to start up my own business.

It was a cold winter's night in 2017 when Cheddar Creative was born. I now use the flexibility of being a business owner to work from anywhere in the world, and therefore can often be found in South Africa between December and January, when the weather is particularly dreadful in England. I find this is the best way to tackle January blues.

When do you feel most creative?

I am most creative when out in nature or doing something which is completely random. I find when my brain isn’t 100% focused on a particular creative problem, I am more able to come up with hare brained ideas to solve problems. This is often why as a business we conduct most of our brainstorming sessions in the office gym. “Gainstorming” is the new term we’ve coined for such an activity. I also have days where I am feeling particularly more creative and therefore just very much in the mood to sit down and create some art. Being in the sunshine and near the seaside also helps in a big way!

How did you find out about Unicorn Studios?

My business partner Rich was the first one to stumble across Unicorn Studios but once we visited as a team, I think we all really loved the concept of working collaboratively with a bunch of crazy creative people.

While working at home what is your guilty pleasure?

This is random, but I really enjoy watching crime documentaries on Netflix while designing. I have it on in the background and it completely keeps me focused. That and the fact that I can wear activewear every day, even when I have no intention of being active.

Have you had any embarrassing Zoom moments?

I have had many times where I just think of something funny during a Zoom and then am unable to stop laughing. I blame my creative, quirky brain, luckily Rich is always on hand to stand in until I compose myself.

What is your hidden talent?

I am freakishly strong and really good at drinking gin! Really good!

If you could snap your fingers and become an expert in something, what would it be?

This is a great question, I think it would have to be an expert in human behaviour as most problems in the world are caused by us, so if I could understand how to change the behaviours of every human in the world, then I am pretty close to conquering bigger issues such as climate change etc. That or an expert in diseases, my next hurdle would be to solve Covid and bigger diseases like Cancer.

What’s one of your favourite memories from 2020?

I was in Plettenberg bay over December 2019 and flew back to the UK in January 2020, just before everything went into meltdown. I would say my best memory would have been being on a beach in January with a bunch of my favourite people, drinking and soaking in the sunshine without worrying about social distancing. Those were the days!!!

What are you most looking forward to doing when the world gets back to ‘normal'?

I cannot wait to be able to fly and travel again! But also very much looking forward to being able to do normal things like see a friend and give them a hug, or walk into a shop without a face mask on.

What would success look like for you in the future?

Having built an agency on the right morals, doing more work which makes the world a better place and ensuring a good work-life balance.

Would you rather be a tiny unicorn or a giant hamster?

Hrm, another good question. I think I would need more information, if I opt for a tiny unicorn, will my unicorn powers still work the same, or will they be less impactful because I am so much smaller. Still hamsters have zero magical abilities no matter how big or small and THINK of how massive the teeth would be on a giant hamster, I think I will have to go… tiny unicorn.

Cassie & Cheddar Online

Cassie: LinkedIn, Twitter
Cheddar Creative: Website, Twitter, Instagram