Irina’s story began in Estonia, a country known for its digital innovation with brands such as Skype, Wise and Cybernetica. However, her first career steps started in a completely different field.

“I came to England in 2019 to study Health and Social Care at University College Birmingham,” she recalls. “After graduation, COVID happened, so I worked in different jobs before finding a boot camp for software development.”

Boot camp became the bridge that led to Blam. After completing it, she was referred to Grant, Blam’s founder and CEO.

“A couple of months later, Grant came back to me and said they’d like me to start,” she says with a smile. “That’s how I joined Blam in September 2023.”

Moving countries, changing professions, and stepping into tech all at once couldn’t have been easy. But Irina's quiet resilience turned uncertainty into opportunity. Her growth mindset was exactly the match Blam looks for in both team members and Blam Partners.



A Culture That Encourages Questions

One of the first things that struck Irina about Blam was its supportive atmosphere.

“When I started, everyone said there’s no such thing as a silly question. I could ask anything and not be scared it may sound silly. Everyone was very proactive and helpful.”
 

This openness which is central to Blam’s core values really appealed to Irina. From internal training to partner support, the company encourages curiosity and experimentation free of a blame culture. Mistakes are viewed as learning steps at Blam; ideas are shared freely.



It was this ethos that made Irina realise she wanted to work for Blam. It’s a company culture that produces strong client outcomes and a sense of camaraderie among Partners and staff.

As Irina says, “We’re human beings, not background operators. We like to show the people behind the platform.”

This human-centric focus epitomises Blam. It sets the company aside from many corporate cultures.

Her Typical Day at Blam Digital

For Irina, every morning starts with a review of client support tickets. If something urgent appears, it takes priority; if not, she continues working through her scheduled projects.

“I always have something booked for every day,” Irina explains. “When I finish a design and the client wants to publish, I assign the ticket to the SEO team so it doesn’t stay too long under my name.”

Irina’s typical day blends structure with creativity. Some days are focused on technical problem-solving, others on layout design, image selection, or brand materials. When time allows, she browses the web for new design trends that could inspire future client projects.

That balance between fulfilling client orders and keeping ahead of the curve of design trends keeps Irina’s work fresh. It aligns with Blam’s ethos for evolving digital aesthetics.

Organisation, Tea and Colour-Coded Calm

If you take a peek at Irina’s calendar, you’d find it glowing in colour.

“I colour-code different types of work,” she says. “It helps me stay organised and see where I spend most of my time or where we’ve been busier than the week before.”

Alongside her neatly coloured and mapped schedule is a mug of apple and pear green tea. This is Irina’s go-to fuel for focus. 

Fridays are reserved for learning about new design topics and tips e.g. reading about new widgets, testing design features, or exploring updates to the Blam editor. 

Irina’s philosophy is that small rituals lead to big results. “I like to finish as many tasks as possible by Friday,” she adds. “It gives me a clean start for Monday.”

Weekly Habits

a)The Tools That Boost Flow

Irina talked about her weekly habits and how they help her increase her productivity. She experiments with different ways to maintain focus. These range from ambient music to complete silence.

“When I’m doing manual tasks, I prefer music; it helps me focus. But when I need to create something new, I need silence.”

She’s also a fan of mindful breaks and short walks to reset her thoughts. This balance between action and stillness for creative innovation echoes Blam’s “smart working” culture i.e. work smarter not harder to increase productivity and innovation.

b) Discipline from Sport to Design

Outside the digital world, Irina loves sport and exercise. In fact, she used to be a professional athlete which is amazing:

“Before, when I was a teenager, I did race walking professionally,” she says. “It has much more pressure on your body than running because your push leg must stay straight.”

That early pro training taught Irina discipline, pacing, and precision. These are all qualities that later shaped her professional life. These days, swimming keeps her active and clears her mind after a long day of design work.

“Swimming is not traumatic on the body,” she explains. “It’s peaceful like meditation.”

Ed’s note: epic to have a former pro-athlete on the Blam team! 

c) Learning Creativity by Doing

Although Irina didn’t consider herself naturally artistic before, Blam’s supportive environment has unlocked her creative confidence and helped hone her design skills.

“I’ve never been very creative,” she admits. “Creativity is something I learned with Blam. One of my interests now is to recreate websites I like to test the limits of our editor.”

This willingness to push boundaries helps Blam continually refine its platform and is the ideal quality for Blam staff. Irina’s experiments often lead to new styling options or time-saving workflows that benefit the entire network of partners. 

Her philosophy is simple: creativity isn’t a gift; it’s a skill perfected through practice and experimentation.


Three Things She Loves Most About Blam

Irina highlighted her three favourite things about Blam. 

One, The team: 

“We collaborate well and help each other. Everyone’s ideas are valued.”

Two, Helping clients:

 “I love turning design ideas into reality and solving technical challenges.” 

Three, Creativity:

 “Every project brings a new design perspective and a chance to learn.” 

For her, the core values of Blam aren’t just nice-to-have, they’re what make Blam different.



“We’re encouraged to be proactive and creative. That freedom means we can keep improving for our partners.”

If you would like to become a Blam Digital Partner, click the button below. Let’s Talk!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jamieson Lee Hill is the Content Manager for Blam Digital, having joined the franchise in January 2020. He is trained in all areas of Digital Marketing and has two Master’s level Diplomas in Business Management (DMS) and English Language Teaching (DELTA). He specialises in content/copywriting and content strategy. 

Hill also has 26 years of experience as a teacher, lecturer, teacher trainer, curriculum designer and educational manager. In his free time, he explores the wonders of Istanbul and Turkiye, where he lives part of the year by the sea with his wife and 2 cats.