Clare in the old cow barn, the rustic hub of the annual Do Lectures. In this creative, rural space, Clare and David have also launched an ethical denim business, providing jobs for local people
The west Wales farmhouse where Clare Hieatt and her family live is a place where ideas come to life. Clare and her husband David moved here with the aim of creating a space to think, find purpose – and live a simpler life with their daughters Stella and Tessa, now 16 and 13. It was here, around their kitchen table, that they dreamed up their ethical label Hiut Denim – and also where they saw a one-off ‘let’s see how this pans out’ camping weekend turn into the annual Do Lectures series, which now has spin-offs in Australia and the United States.
Switching off, leaving the city and giving themselves space to think worked so well for the Hieatts that, each summer, more than 80 like-minded people pitch up, in the same remote corner of Wales, to tap in to that life-changing alchemy at the Do Lectures. The event happens in and around Clare and David’s old cow barn, a few steps from their front door: ‘People come for the talks, but the magic really happens once everyone starts to share ideas afterwards,’ Clare says. ‘Our guests often arrive here when they are at a turning-point in their lives, but it’s the connections they make that spark ideas. This place gives them breathing space to make change happen.’