Fuente Stories - July 2025

July's story features Charis, a food and concept strategist devoted to improving visibility for purpose-driven food brands. She is the co-founder of The Good Spice and founder of Culi Collective and loves developing concepts, stories and experiences that bring brands to life and create meaningful connections.

K:

One of the first pieces of advice I received when launching Fuente was: make your work (more) fun!

At first, I was startled. Isn’t my work fun enough? Isn’t fun the enemy of ‘professional’?

Then I realised, it’s about engagement! Engaging yourself, enjoying what you do and grasping the attention of the people watching.

Furthermore, the brands I love the most are the ones having and spreading the greatest amounts of fun.

Whatever your interpretation of what fun looks like, it’s clear that, now more than ever, it’s a vital ingredient to authenticity, creativity and ultimately, true human connection.

This month's story, in conversation with Charis Heising, is about what happens when work and play meet. Charis believes that joy is not only an add-on in business but a vital ingredient for creativity to thrive. She shares why creative freedom matters, how surrounding yourself with curious minds can unlock new ideas and why sometimes the bravest thing you can do is get out and just do it!

C:

If you own a business, there is one thing that you should keep in mind, and that is that the work you do should be fun. 

Maybe not always, or all the time, but you need to find joy in your work. 

For me, creativity is a super valuable aspect of the business. Whether it’s about creative solution thinking or coming up with content and ideas. When the creativity can’t flow, I get stuck. 

I often don’t allow myself to be my full creative self, because it doesn’t feel commercial enough. But if I do, and honestly, this mostly happens when I surround myself with people who are also full of ideas, and who don’t let their mind limit their creativity, the most amazing things tend to happen. 

The world is a playground, but sometimes it can feel safer to stick to what you know. My credo is: you won’t know, until you do. So, just take that leap, try it. Test it. 

You can’t fail, you can only learn. 

And it can really help to have a creative partner, like Fuente, by your side to make those ideas, that were stuck in your head, reality. 

What helps me to stay creative, wherever I am, is to doodle and take pictures from the world around me. I just bought a tiny water colour pocket box. Can’t wait to sit by the ocean side and make tiny sketches!  

Fuente Stories is a monthly series of conversations with selected, remarkable creatives and entrepreneurs. Each story explores themes relevant to culture, personal development and being true to yourself.