Movers and Shakers | Gayle Hall | Founder, YouGo Productions

Meet Gayle, founder of YouGo Productions. Her work turns homes, offices and community spaces into bold, personal works of art. Through bespoke wallpaper, portraits, fabric, cushions, blinds, upholstery, tiles, and interior pieces, Gayle helps people express who they are and how they want to feel in the spaces they live and work.

YouGo Productions began as a tribute to her mother, Martha Mina Hall, and has grown into a creative business shaped by grief, legacy, colour and joy. Gayle’s work reminds us that art can hold emotion, tell stories and help people feel seen.

In this conversation, she shares how she found her creative path, why listening is central to her process, and what building YouGo Productions has taught her about courage, reinvention and backing your own gifts.

Gayle, for readers meeting you for the first time, how would you
describe yourself and the work you do through YouGo Productions?

I’ve always lived in the creative space, but what I’ve learned is that you can
discover your passion at any point in your life’s journey. For me, that moment
came when I stepped fully into being an artist.

I founded YouGo Productions to show that creativity doesn’t have to come
from anger or disruption — it can come from love, from healing, and from the
desire to move forward. My work is about creating stories and helping people
see their own journey reflected back to them through art.

I use the biggest canvas people have — their homes — to express personality
and emotion. Sometimes that’s through bespoke wallpaper, sometimes
through artwork, and sometimes through a full interior transformation that
brings joy and playfulness back into a space.
People come to me because they connect with my style, but my real work is
helping them express themselves through what I create. That means listening
deeply — to who they are, what they love, and how they want to feel in their
space.

I come from a family of makers, so creativity is in my bones. My dad taught me
how to hang wallpaper; my mum taught me how to see beauty in the everyday.
YouGo Productions is the continuation of that legacy.

Being recognised by the Precious Awards means a great deal to me because it
celebrates women of colour who create, who build, who lead, and who do so
with grace. To have my work acknowledged in that space feels like a full‐circle
moment — a reminder that creativity rooted in love and legacy has a place on
the national stage.

YouGo Productions is rooted in bespoke, inspirational art. What does
that mean to you?

My designs are statements. If someone chooses me, they’re choosing
boldness, love and colour. They’re choosing work that speaks with warmth.
Their words and our conversations can bring out so much, sometimes things
they’d even forgotten.

We can learn how colour affects them, how it affects
their mood, as well as the scale that suits their home. This helps me to create a
new and bespoke piece or to adapt a piece that is already available. No one
person is the same, so their art shouldn’t be either.

My personal inspiration is my family, particularly my Mum, Martha Mina Hall.
YouGo Productions started out of grief for her. We had a beautiful relationship,
and our talks were always inspiring. She taught me how to create through
someone else’s voice, how to listen properly. That’s what my work is now:
using the home as a canvas to express who someone is, in a way that feels
joyful and true.

Your work includes portraits, abstract pieces, wallpaper, fabric,
cushions, blinds, upholstery, tiles and more. How do you decide what
form a client’s story should take?

This isn’t a decision I make alone. A client usually comes to me with a surface,
an area, or an idea they want to create and that becomes our starting point.
From there, we talk, we look at designs together, and we start shaping the
piece into something that feels theirs uniquely.

Portraits are very specific. When doing a portrait, I like to understand the
person through the client’s eyes — who they were, what they meant, the
energy they carried. They’re always surprised, and so happy, when they see
those personal details reflected back in the artwork.
Whether it becomes wallpaper, fabric, a canvas, or something for the home,
the form reveals itself through conversation. I listen for the emotion, the
memory, the feeling they want to live with — that’s what guides the medium,
the scale, and the final expression.

What is your process when someone comes to you for a bespoke piece?

Whatever a client asks for, it always starts with a conversation. My work
depends on the relationship we build, because a bespoke piece carries a lot of
emotion. One of my clients said I was like her therapist — and in a way, she
was right. To put passion into the work, we need understanding.
So we talk. I listen. I ask questions. I want to know what they’re drawn to, what
they’re trying to express, and how they want to feel in their space. From there,
the design starts to take shape naturally. It’s a process built on trust, not
pressure.
At the same time, I’m paying attention to the details they may not even realise
they’re sharing — the colours that lift them, the memories that matter, the
energy they want their home to hold. That’s when the artwork begins to reveal
itself. My role is to translate all of that into something they can live with every
day, something that feels personal, meaningful and true to them.

What has been one of the most moving reactions you have had from a
client seeing their finished piece?

One of the most moving moments for me was when a client saw the portrait I
created of her mother. Her reaction was immediate — emotional, honest and
completely unfiltered. You could see how much it meant to her, not just as a
piece of art, but as a connection to someone she loved deeply.
It reminded me why I do this work. Art can hold memory, presence and feeling
in a way that words can’t. She sent me a video, and watching her respond to
the portrait showed me that what I create isn’t just visual — it’s personal. It
gives people a moment they didn’t expect, a moment that stays with them.
“I miss my mum, but when I look at this I miss her a little less.”
That reaction will always stay with me. It’s the kind of response that tells you
you’re doing the right work.

Your work feels very personal and emotional. How do you balance the
client’s story with your own creative style?

I don’t see it as a balancing act — my style is already there, and the client’s
story sits inside it. People come to me because they connect with my
boldness, my use of colour and the way I see the world. That part doesn’t
change.
What changes is how their personality shapes the final piece. I listen, I watch
how they respond to certain designs, and I pay attention to what feels right for
them. I want to guide, not take over.
So the work becomes a blend: my creative language and their story coming
together in a way that feels honest. The style is mine — the story is theirs.

What has building YouGo Productions taught you about courage,
reinvention and backing your own gifts?

I’ve always been a person who goes for what I want — I don’t know any other
way to live. What was different about this, is that it didn’t start as a business. It
started as a tribute to my mum, and it grew into a business over time.
To be truthful, it took me a moment to catch up with everyone else’s thinking.
People were asking me to create pieces for them before I was even trying to
sell anything. As I listened to people’s praise, I had to make the decision to
trust my own gifts. Once I did that, my imagination and ambition had no
limitations.
I finally understood what the word “passion” really meant. I had been lucky
enough to have an amazing, award‐winning career in the TV industry, but this
was something else entirely. This was something I couldn’t let go of.
Courage, for me, has been trusting that my story is still unfolding — and
allowing it to grow, shift and create in ways I never imagined at the start.

What advice would you give to a woman who has a creative gift but is
still nervous about turning it into a business?

I would tell her that you don’t have to have everything figured out to begin, or
have it all in order — just start, and the plan and direction will come.
You’ll get so much advice along the way, and it’s important to listen, but quite
often it’s just you making the decisions. So store everything, take it in, and
trust that you’ll know the right time to act. Don’t let other people’s stories
cloud yours — their words are important, but so is yours, because it’s your
vision that drives it.
I have received a lot of help along the way, of which I’m greatly appreciative,
and what I’ve realised is that the help only disappears if you do. People are
watching you, and when they see your enthusiasm, they want to support you.

When you think about legacy, what do you hope people feel when they
live with a piece of your work in their home, office or community space?

When I think about legacy, I hope people feel a sense of connection when they
live with my work — connection to themselves, to their story, and to the
energy that is part of their legacy. I want the piece to make them pause,
breathe differently, or smile without thinking.
My work is rooted in love, colour and forward movement, and I hope that
comes through every time they walk past it. I want them to feel held by it —
like the piece understands something about them that they maybe didn’t yet
have the words for.
If it’s in a home, I want it to bring warmth.
If it’s in an office, I want it to bring clarity and confidence.
If it’s in a community space, I want it to bring joy and belonging.
Legacy, for me, isn’t about being remembered — it’s about creating something
that continues to speak long after I’ve stepped away. If someone feels seen,
uplifted or more themselves because of my work, then that’s the legacy I want
to leave.

My work is about connection and I’m grateful every day that I get to create
pieces that become part of people’s lives.

Connect with Gayle here