04/09/2026
FACES OF EXETER PHOENIX – RENEE ✨
You never know who you'll bump into in the Cafe Bar...
This time we caught up with Renee, mechanical engineering graduate, miniature painter and Phoenix team member, who moved to Exeter last year looking for work and has since discovered a whole new world of films, live music and creative interests.
We chatted about finding her way to Phoenix, discovering live music and films, getting back into playing the flute, her love of tabletop games and miniature painting, and how her hands-on side led her to study mechanical engineering.
Read Renee’s story by swiping through ➡️
Or read the full text below ⬇️
MEET Renee
You never know who you'll bump into in the Cafe Bar...
This time we caught up with Renee, a mechanical engineering graduate and Phoenix team member, who moved to Exeter last year looking for work and has since discovered a whole new world of films, music and creative interests.
WHAT FIRST BROUGHT YOU TO EXETER PHOENIX?
I moved to Exeter last September to live with some friends who were doing their final year at university. I was looking for work because
I didn't really have anything else on, and eventually I ended up here.
At the moment, it's nice to have a baseline where I make enough to survive. But it's become a really comfortable place to be.
HOW Is it WORKING AT PHOENIX?
Honestly, it's just a very comfortable environment to exist in. I like all the people
I'm working with, and it's a very fun environment to be in.
You'll see people come in to do a stop-motion class, see a film or go to a gig. There's just constant stuff happening that's interesting.
HAS PHOENIX INTRODUCED YOU TO THINGS YOU WOULDN'T NORMALLY HAVE EXPERIENCED?
Definitely. I was never really a live music person before moving in with my flatmates last year. Then I went to something here and thought, "That was kind of fun."
Now I'll look at what's coming up and think, "Oh, that's a cool one?"
It's nice just being in a creative environment where there's constantly something going on that I wouldn't necessarily have chosen.
It's also made me want to get back
into music myself.
DO YOU PLAY A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT?
I played flute when I was younger.
I started in primary school and played all the way through secondary school.
Eventually I got comfortable enough to just play, rather than constantly thinking about learning.
There are still things I'd have to learn properly if I wanted to get back into it, like double-tonguing and multiphonics, all the weird stuff.
I'd like to get back into music at some point.
WHAT ELSE HAS BECOME A NEW INTEREST?
Film. I wasn't really a film person before.
I watched films, but I wasn't someone
who was particularly into them.
Working here has changed that. I saw this really weird film about a chicken recently in Studio 74, the cinema here at Exeter Phoenix, and it was actually really good! It was just called Hen.
You might see a film you'd never have chosen yourself, or discover some strange little film you'd never even heard of.
It's nice because you can talk to the people in the cinema team about what you've seen and get all these interesting opinions. They've got the history behind the films too, so they can be a fun source of information.
DOES THAT CREATIVE, HANDS-ON SIDE CARRY OVER INTO YOUR HOBBIES?
During university I joined a society for tabletop games and RPGs, and then started finding local clubs. I also got into scale modelling and miniature painting for wargames. The building and painting process is quite therapeutic.
HOW DID YOU END UP STUDYING MECHANICAL ENGINEERING?
I was quite good at maths and physics at school, so it was something I could do with the subjects I was good at. I enjoyed the maths, but the part I really liked at university was the hands-on stuff, particularly practical machining, designing and modelling. I enjoy the problem-solving and the slow process of making something better. Something doesn't quite work, so you adjust it, and it slowly gets better.
I'm currently working through graduate job applications. I'd like to find something involving design and modelling, and at some point I'd like to get more training in machining.
WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING AT EXETER PHOENIX?
You've got different kinds of people, different interests and different backgrounds, and everyone's really nice, because in some places the crowd is kind of the same every time.
Here, one night you might have a bunch of metalheads, and they're all lovely. Another
night you get a completely different crowd, like a crowd of Swifties.
It's really interesting seeing how the audience changes.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR YOU?
I'll keep slowly working through the graduate job applications and see what happens.
But for now, I'm happy being here. It’s interesting and I think that's one of my favourite things about Exeter Phoenix. There's always something going on that I wouldn't necessarily have thought of doing or getting involved in.
Thank you, Renee, for sharing your story.
From mechanical engineering and miniature painting to discovering a love of live music and films, Renee’s story is a brilliant example of the unexpected interests, experiences that can grow from being part of the Exeter Phoenix community.
