Another year done
Felt alive in 25
Well. That was some year.
As we head into the last week of 2025, naturally I’m looking back and seeing how it all went. And I’m delighted to say, BEST. YEAR. EVER!
We got a house. We got engaged. A full year of Bran.
There are no amount of words I could write to sum up my feelings on 2025. Except knowing that 2026 won’t be as good a year. How could it!?
So I’ll leave it at that.
I’ll break down the work year below. It’s interesting to see how I felt it went vs how it actually went.
Je suis peak athlete
I kept up with running this year and settled into it being part of my normal routine. On average, I’m running twice a week, with a minimum of 5km per jog. No half-marathons this year, which was honestly great as it meant I was running because I wanted to, rather than trying to achieve a goal that was expected of me.
However, I did two runs, the Kilomathon in April and the Men’s 10km in September. These were a lot more accessible to me, and honestly, I loved both. In particular, I got a 5km AND 10km PB in September. And considering I ran the last two KMs with a migraine, which for me translates into poor vision, I was very proud of myself that day. Another highlight was doing dailies for 37 days in the run up to my 37th birthday. I’m hoping I’ll reach 700km and 120 runs by 31st December.
I’ve also started looking after myself with food and the gym. I’ve managed to lose 1 stone, or 14 pounds, since September. It was mostly done by watching what I eat, and cutting out a lot of bread/pizza. Miss those guys though…
What got made in 25
This work year has felt slower than 2024. I’m not sure why I’ve felt this way but to me, it felt like there were more gaps in work than before. Summer was particularly quiet, even though this is usually a slower time anyway for me.
However, if I look at the financial side of things, in the same timeframe as last year, it’s nearly identical. There is roughly a £10k difference in income but considering I was paid for work in 2024 that didn’t get completed till 2025, I guess you could say it’s even? The perception that work wasn’t coming in was entirely in my head. The spreadsheet says that I’m doing ok. I also pitched for a *DREAM CLIENT* in December , if it comes through, it’ll have been a very good year for me. Fingers crossed everyone!
Here’s how the projects broke down:
5 internal training videos for a youth organisation (this was billed in 2024 but only completed 2025). Light character work using their branding guidelines.
3 internal report videos for a bank. Roughly 10min each but only text/audio waves on screen.
3 social media videos for a cinema in Dublin.
1 service launch animation for a charity. Ended up supplying the client with all my designs as they wanted to use it for a campaign.
1 event launch video for a youth conference. Using branding from the client to make a template in order to meet the time requirements.
1 social media video for a loan scheme. 1 hero animation with ratio cutdowns.
1 cinema ad for a previous animation.
1 animation adapting a comic for the HSE.
An article about accessibility for the Rive blog.
1 animation for January. I’ll chat about this next newsletter.
That’s about 24 videos, including ratios, for the year. Varying lengths but on average 2-3 minutes. Although there was one 25 minute video in there!
I’m happy with the projects I got to work on this year. Again, it’s a healthy mix of industries, with 90% being direct to client.
2026 will mark the first calendar year working fully under Feesh name so looking forward to that!
What I’ve been working on
I attended the AsIAm/DRCC launch in Dublin for their report “Autistic People’s Understanding of Consent and their Right to Protection from Sexual Harm”, the first of its kind ever. Some of the findings made for stark reading, such as 65% of young autistic adults continuing with sexual activity due to guilt or obligations. But it’s the work done here that helps guide awareness and eventually policy decisions that will improve the lives and experiences of autistic people.
Once again, I got to work with the excellent Philip Barrett. This time, I was animating a comic he had created for the HSE on the topic of empathy. The comic was already completed and my task was to adapt it into an animation that could be used online. It was a unique challenge but I really enjoyed it.
Two weeks before Christmas, a really nice project came in for me. Under wraps for now, but it should be finished mid-January so I’ll be able to shout about it then.
And as mentioned above, I pitched for a dream client in December. I won’t hear the outcome on that until the first working week in January but I felt my pitch went well. I don’t do a lot of them so it was a learning curve for me. I feel it went well, but talking for 15 minutes will never not leave me with a feeling of “was I ranting!?”
What I’ve Seen/Read/Heard
The Last Dinner Party in Edinburgh
Lambrini Girls / CLT DRP in Newcaslte
My Bloody Valentine in Glasgow
Orla Gartland - Everybody Needs a Hero
Turnstile - NEVER ENOUGH
Bob Vylan - Humble as the Sun
The Armed - THE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED
Poor Things
Planes, Trains, & Automobiles
Inside Out 2
What’s Bran up to?
