Wink Workshops: Intuit Mailchimp’s In-House Creative Team Is Getting Messy, Playful, and Purposefully Uncomfortable

Over at the Mailchimp headquarters, creativity isn’t confined to a desk. The Atlanta HQ is alive with murals, prints, sculptures, and two dedicated makerspaces stocked with tools, materials, and room to play. This is very intentional, and the intention is to get creative, whatever that may look like to you – and have fun doing so.

Making-for-making’s-sake was the spark behind Wink Workshops, an internal initiative from Wink, Mailchimp’s award-winning in-house creative agency. “Our headquarters is more than just an office; it’s a dynamic creative hub,” points out Kristie Feltner, associate design director at Wink. “Noticing a similar interest among my colleagues, we saw a need to formalise this curiosity into a structured program. Thus, Wink Workshops were born.”

Founded in 2024, the workshops invite team members to experiment across disciplines, get creatively uncomfortable, and rediscover the joy of simply creating without worrying about deliverables, KPIs, or briefs. 

Making a Mess (On Purpose)

In asking about the core focus of Wink Workshops, I learn that these sessions are as much about process as they are about output – Kristie is intentional about designing for friction. Why? Because breakthroughs often come from the mess.

“These workshops are imperfect and messy by design. We want to embrace friction because we know it helps us grow,” she says. “We give up control and we’re free to explore and play. We’ve found that, more often than not, this leads to breakthroughs in overcoming creative blocks.”

Each workshop is designed to be a reset: a break from the routine, a nudge out of comfort zones, and a chance to engage with each other in dynamic new ways. It’s not about polished results. It’s about playing.

A defining aspect of the initiative is “horizontal leadership,” where workshops are often led by team members stepping outside their usual roles. The idea here is to give team members a chance to discover each other’s hidden talents, and recognise their alternative skills and expertise. “This model pushes individuals to get out of their comfort zones,” Kristie explains. “The result is a dynamic work environment where everyone feels empowered to contribute creatively and lead initiatives, irrespective of their formal roles.”

Kristie offers a recent example, whereby creative producer Elizabeth Teasley surprised colleagues with a clay modelling Wink Workshop which saw participants recreating everything from a plate of spaghetti to a one-eyed spider.

That creative vulnerability builds deeper bonds. As senior designer James Abercrombie puts it: “It's truly inspiring to witness my colleagues unveil skills that they don't normally use in their day-to-day roles, and the enthusiasm with which everyone is willing to teach and learn from each other.”

The First Wink Workshop

The pilot session was a portraiture workshop, intended to set the tone for what Wink Workshops could be.

“Participants were paired up to create portraits of each other, drawing inspiration from different art movements,” Kristie recalls. “Everyone eagerly dived into the project. They used everything from lino blocks to beads to crayons. The results were fascinating. The enthusiasm and participation exceeded my expectations – and brought about so much creativity and collaboration within the team.”

Although these workshops aren’t specifically designed for ROI, the ripple effects are tangible.

Another workshop – a cartoon caption-writing session led by senior editor Laura Adams – sharpened how designers and writers now collaborate across formats. Meanwhile, a 3D-printing workshop from animator Kito Kondowe directly inspired a recent campaign shoot: “The planters Kito created were not only featured across social media platforms both locally and internationally, but also became part of our evergreen library,” Kristie reveals.

Wink’s broader mission is to inspire culture, empower underdogs, and help redefine the future of entrepreneurialism so it feels fitting that Wink Workshops bring that philosophy home. Each session gives every team member, regardless of title, a voice in the creative process.

“At Wink, we’re empowered because we make an effort to be inclusive and each individual is encouraged to share their creative visions openly,” says Kristie. “By embracing diverse voices and ideas, we’re able to really connect with our customers and their experiences, because we get them.”

No Brief? No Problem.

This industry can, at times, be a little obsessed with output and optimisation. Against a backdrop of incessant deadlines and KPIs, Wink Workshops serve as a bold reminder of the importance of remaining open and experimental, embracing untethered creativity.
By fostering a supportive and communal environment, the Wink Workshops are also able to provide a crucial break from the predictable day-to-day. So far, the outcomes have been immensely positive, and it will be exciting to see how else the team benefits from this in-house initiative.

“Sometimes side quests can be fruitful, constructive uses of driving higher-quality work,” Laura says. “We’re not just doing this to make – we’re doing it to connect, to push ourselves, and to find new ways of working together.”