What's Your Story

Emily McDowell: Learning What Works

Fri, 13 Jan 2017 05:00:00 +0000

Today I'm sitting down with writer, illustrator and designer Emily McDowell. Emily has been transforming the stationery industry since 2013 with her "greeting cards for the relationships we really have." You most likely know her empathy card line that went viral in 2015 and launched her into the public eye. Emily has been killing it over the past 4 years creating cards and products and she's recently ventured into a partnership that gives her a whole lot more freedom to create. In today's show we're going to talk about that partnership, why she made that decision, what she learned in 10 years of advertising, and we also talk about a dance neurosis resume, watermarks, and much more. I'm also offering a couple resources at the top of the show for your online business and have a special announcement!

Jennifer Orkin Lewis: Daily Painting, Showing Up, & Holding Yourself Accountable

Mon, 31 Oct 2016 04:00:00 +0000

In January of this year I decided to end What's Your Story, or at least take some time off and rethink the show.

Now that I've let about 10 months pass, I've gotten some perspective about the show, and I realized most importantly how much I missed it! So here I am! Going forward it'll still be the same show, with just a few tweaks. I've got some exciting guests lined up, and I'm looking forward to diving deeper with guests on the show about how they grew their business, what steps they took, and how social media and having a presence online has helped them. All with the intent to help you grow and build your own business.

On today's show, I'm talking with Jennifer Orkin Lewis, an illustrator based in New York. You might know her as August Wren - which is her business name, and the name she uses often online. Jennifer has gained notoriety through Instagram and within the illustration world (and really beyond) due to her daily painting project that's now in its 3rd year.

I spoke to Jennifer back in December of 2015, and sadly, in January I decided to not move forward with the show. Unfortunately, this meant a bunch of shows I had conducted were left on the proverbial cutting room floor. But this interview always felt so good, and too good to leave it. So thanks to the magic of technology, I'm bringing you this recording as we kick off the season of What's Your Story, and it's an inspirational one!

Today we discuss how Jennifer came to her second career as a freelance illustrator -- how she literally willed herself to do it and what that looked like, we also talk in depth about her daily project of a painting a day that's now in its 3rd year, and what it's like to continually show up, even when you don't want to. We also cover how glorious it is to be older with the perspective one gets, Jennifer's community, continuing to learn, and much more.

Be sure to check out Jennifer's book, Draw Every Day, Draw Every Way: Sketch, Paint, and Doodle Through One Creative Year.

Craft Industry Alliance: Community & the Power of Success

Wed, 16 Dec 2015 22:48:33 +0000

Abby Glassenberg and Kristin Link are the founders of Craft Industry Alliance, a membership trade industry organization dedicated to supporting professional crafters, makers, designers, retailers and much more in their business endeavors.
Craft Industry Alliance -- or CIA as it’s now refereed to -- is a membership platform that launched this fall. It offers forums, articles, webinars, and much more for their members. They also publish a bi-weekly journal with in-depth business and industry articles both for members and the greater public.
Abby and Kristin are both veteran bloggers within the craft industry. They’ve created incredible communities individually, contributed valuable content for years, and supported their communities extensively. Creating and building Craft Industry Alliance was the next logical step for them on their journey online, I was thrilled to hear why they started it, how it’s been, and more.
Topics we discuss today are how Abby and Kristin’s backgrounds as educators and bloggers have underlined the importance of sharing information to help other businesses grow and succeed, and how CIA now encompasses those beliefs. We also talk about actually building community, what the platform offers, why it was important to them to pay their contributors, their own tips for starting a business, and how success is an incredible motivator.

Windy Chien: Exit Strategies, Creative Practice, & the Big Picture

Wed, 02 Dec 2015 17:00:00 +0000

Windy Chien is a product designer and artist living in San Francisco. After long careers at Apple and in the music industry, she launched her business in 2015.

Windy offers beautiful, signature items such as hand carved spoons and macrame light fixtures. Launching her latest endeavor has allowed not only the ability to explore, design, and develop products that speak to her and carry her personal style, but its also fulfilled an existential need she had after sitting behind a desk for 8 years. We explore this as Windy shares openly with me about how she made an exit strategy from her job as an editor in the App Store at Apple to fully realize a dream to be a working artist in a way that’s sustainable. We also chat about how her creative practice has allowed her to really refine her personal style within her products and how finding her authentic self within her business has been a constant process.

I specifically wanted Windy to come on the show today because I find her ability to keep innovating within her personal and professional life incredibly inspirational. She continues to explore her needs and desires even through serious change and that in and of itself is super powerful. I also admire the way she’s been able to focus on the big picture - which as we all know, isn’t always easy.

I walked away with a lot to think about within my own business, and I hope our discussion inspires you to make the necessary plans to move towards your own goals what ever they may be.

Rosalie Gale: Shower Art, Listening to Your Gut, & Getting Things Done

Tue, 17 Nov 2015 18:18:57 +0000

Today’s guest is my friend and very funny lady Rosalie Gale. Rosalie lives and works in Seattle Washington where she co-owns the shop Ugly Baby and La Ru.

Today on the show we discuss how her product Shower Art, a colorful rubber sculpture filled with glitter, came to be. We also dive into feelings and when to really listen — like when every fiber in your being is telling you it DOES NOT WANT TO DO SOMETHING. Rosalie learned this through years of dabbling in standup and we discuss how this really opened her up to paying attention to her feelings. I loved this because I think so often people think they know what’s best for us and we can be swayed by what we should be doing as opposed to what we want to be doing. At the end of the day we’re the one who are in touch with what’s going on and it’s important to honor that regardless of what the larger culture tells us.

We also cover how the book Getting Things Done by David Allen helped Rosalie end years of making to-do lists that never got done. She shares with us how the book’s guidance helped her to create projects, how it improved her productivity, and how by breaking down your to do list can actually help you accomplish much more.

Lastly we discuss her unexpected reaction when the website Instructables created a step by step process tutorial guiding readers how to make Shower Art, albeit incorrectly.

Kiva Zip: Micro-loans, Crowdfunding, & Asking for Help

Sat, 07 Nov 2015 19:57:56 +0000

Welcome to a new feature on the podcast! Starting with this episode once a month I’ll be putting together a short episode where I chat with someone about a resource, an organization, or some other entity that I feel may help you explore choices within your life to make your dream a business, or help you focus on making things better for you - what ever that may be. This week's guest is Suzanna Rush the U.S. Operations Manager at Kiva Zip. Kiva Zip is a crowdfunding micro-loan platform that offers 0% loans to small businesses within the U.S.

A few facts about Kiva Zip: its lent over $10 million dollars through the platform within the United States through 47 states to small businesses. Seventy-five percent of the loans have been loaned to women owned businesses, and I am one of those businesses!

In September, I applied for a loan through the crowdfunding micro-loan site Kiva Zip for $3,000 to buy a new laptop and a monitor. My experience with the platform and the support I received from my community was absolutely incredible. It was also my only option, and I wanted to share this valuable resource with you in the hopes that it may help you or someone you know.

We discuss what the platform is, how it works, who it's for, and all of the information you need to get started. I hope it inspires you to pursue your business goals and maybe even support someone else's!

Betsy Cordes: Impostor Syndrome, Accepting Your Path, & Breathing Life into an Old Book

Sat, 31 Oct 2015 17:08:04 +0000

This week on the show I sit down with Betsy Cordes. Betsy is an artist, an art director, and much more. She lives and works in San Francisco with her husband Chuck, an attorney - together they run February 13, a consulting firm to help artists build and run their business.

I met Betsy when I first went freelance in 2012 and started hanging out at Makeshift Society in San Francisco, and I was immediately drawn to how warm and thoughtful she was, as well as completely on the ball. Betsy has done much in her life and has a lot to offer her clients, blog readers, and her peers and I wanted to have her on the show because of this.

Today on the show we discuss impostor syndrome, the blog she and her husband write which offers excellent advise on navigating the world as an artist, and we touch on dealing with the overwhelm of social media and her love hate relationship with it, and lastly how she and her family brought to life a family favorite Christmas book through Kickstarter Mr. Dog's Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn.

I think there’s a lot to relate to and learn from in today’s show. I hope you enjoy it!

Chawne Kimber: Race, Identity, & Social Justice Through Quilting

Sat, 17 Oct 2015 02:49:31 +0000

This week my guest is Chawne Kimber of Cauchy Complete, a modern quilter and a math professor.

Chawne is well known within the quilting community for not only her beautiful quilts but for the subject of her quilts. Through quilting and needlework she explores a wide range of political and cultural topics, creating work that addresses subjects regarding race, identity and social justice.

We discuss wide range of things; how she got involved in quilting, particular quilts that have caused a stir both online and off and why she made them, and briefly on her creative process.

Just a note to those of you listening with children, are at work, or have other people around you, we do talk about Chawne’s quilts that have been inspired by censorship and other cultural happenings here in the US. Nothing super graphic, but we do use profanity, talk about the murder of Trayvon Martin, and use the word rape quite a few times when discussing Chawne’s quilt Todd’s No Baby Quilt. It’s nothing over the top, but I want you to be prepared.

Dear HandMade Life: Working Together & Making It Work

Wed, 19 Aug 2015 02:24:42 +0000

On todays show I talk with Delilah Snell and Nicole Stevenson of Dear Handmade Life, artists, makers, and entrepreneurs.

They’re the women behind Patchwork Show - a bi-annual festival showcasing emerging artists and makers taking place in various spots around California, and Craftcation, a 4 day business and makers conference that takes place in Ventura, CA every year, and as of today they’ve launched 3 online workshops - Craft Show Success, The Home Artisan Bar, and Sketchbook Adventures.

I was excited to bring Delilah and Nicole on the show because they are a great example of a successful business helping and enriching their community and doing many different things.

Today, we talk about why they do what they do, their passion for empowering their community, what it’s like be in business together and how they make it work. We also talk about being children of single moms and what that has done for us as women and business owners, and as always much much more!

Music on today's show is Nectarine by Twin Sister.

Will Lyman: Frontline, F.O.M.O, & Selling Out

Thu, 16 Jul 2015 21:52:47 +0000

This week on the show my guest is actor and narrator Will Lyman. You will know him best as the narrator of the PBS documentary news series, Frontline, and the voice behind Dos Equis The Most Interesting Man in the World campaign.

I grew up next door to Will and his family here in Boston Ma., and I’ve known him my whole life as a neighbor and a friend. So it was extra special to sit down with him and talk to him about his career, experiences, and his feelings around them both.

Today we talk about his job as a narrator and actor, and what it’s like to work on such a prestigious and well known show like Frontline. We also touch on working in advertising and a specific experience Will had when a fan criticized him for “selling out” after narrating a BMW campaign. We also discuss what fame really entails, coming to terms with FOMO (fear of missing out), and recognizing that we never miss out on experiences we're meant to have.

Megan Auman: Building a Creative Career & Brand Consistency

Tue, 07 Jul 2015 19:05:36 +0000

Megan Auman's main focus is her eponymous jewelry line, but as she’s built her business over the years she has learned first hand what it takes to grow a creative business — and she shares that information as an educator through her site Designing an MBA and her classes at CreativeLive.

I wanted to interview Megan, because of her tenacity, clear entrepreneur spirit, and her willingness to share what she's learned with other creative business owners.

Megan has so much wisdom and experience to offer, and she does so willingly. Some of the topics we discuss on today's show are how her parents support helped her to always go after her dreams of making art for a living, the reality of running a handmade business, being honest with your self around your product, and cultivating brand consistency no matter what the size of your business.

Katrina Rodabaugh: Mending, Making with Paper, & Micro-Residencies

Tue, 30 Jun 2015 02:43:28 +0000

My guest today is Katrina Rodabaugh - an artist, writer, and crafter who lives in Oakland CA with her two boys and husband. Katrina explores and examines environmental and social issues through her work: from large-scale mixed media installations, to social practice projects, to small handmade craft objects sold in her Etsy shop.

In today’s show we discuss Katrina’s 3 current projects. The first being Make Thrift Mend, a personal artist’s protest against fast fashion - will delve into why she got started, as well as specific techniques she’s employs within this project like the Japanese stitching and patching methods known as sashiko and boro respectively, as well as the Japanese sensibility Wabi Sabi,

We also cover about her brand new book The Paper Playhouse, a book with 22 projects for families to enjoy while recycling paper, boxes, and more (Its a beautiful book!). Lastly we get into Range Studio, a public art project she and her husband David Szlasa have developed and built creating micro-residencies in the heart of San Francisco for artists.

And like all of my interviews we touch on a myriad of topics in between!

Courtney Cerruti: Multiple Muse Syndrome & Creating Community Around Art

Sat, 23 May 2015 17:19:53 +0000

This week on the show I’m excited to have Courtney Cerruti, maker extraordinare. Courtney is an artist living in the San Francisco Bay Area. During the day she works for Creative bug , an online education platform for arts and crafts workshops, as a set designer and during her spare time she paints, makes, writes books, sells antiques, curates shows and community events, teaches workshops and more.

I don’t often use the word prolific to describe someone, but Courtney is just that. Today we’ll talk about all the things she does and how she does it and stays inspires and her own struggles around keeping up.

Show Notes:

Show notes:

3636 show

Jersey Picker's Instagram account

3636 show featured on Instagram

Mad Men's creator Matthew Einer's quote on writing

Rebecca's embroidered necklace we refer to (Image from Courtney's Instagram account)

Rebecca Ringquist’s Embroidery Workshops: A Bend-the-Rules Primer

Playing with Surface Design

Strike Away show

#StrikeAwayShow on Instagram

Michelle Tea: Growing Up, Getting Sober, and Reframing Failure

Sat, 09 May 2015 22:12:15 +0000

OK, so this week I am so delighted to introduce my guest, author, poet and activist Michelle Tea. Michelle often chronicles her own life while at the same time exploring topics such as queer culture, feminism, race, class, and prostitution. She’s incredibly prolific in so many ways and on today’s show we barely scratch the surface of all she’s done. Michelle and I actually know each other from being teenagers in the punk rock scene here in Boston, we spent a lot of time drinking and doing drugs and although I wasn’t able to include it in today’s show, we’re both amazes we made it out alive. So in many ways it really is a pleasure to sit down with her and discuss her career. On today’s show we discuss growing up, getting sober, reframing success and failure, and so much more. Michelle’s baby Atticus makes a few appearances in the episode today, and because so many of my listeners are mother’s I really thought it was important to actually leave his adorable cooing in. I think it’s a perfect example of how much women get down, and I know many of you will appreciate Michelle both talking about her career while taking care of Atticus at the same time. Let’s take a listen.

Vaughn Fender: Illustration, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, & Idioms

Sat, 21 Mar 2015 03:10:44 +0000

On the show today I sit down with Illustrator Vaughn Fender. Vaughn and I have been friends online for roughly 6 or 7 years, and it was great fun to sit down with him and learn more about what brought him from his homeland of Jamaica and his illustration style. Today we talk about his work, what he liked to draw as a kid, and his fascination with words and quotes, and as always much more.

Umar Rashid/Frohawk Two Feathers: Identity, Art, & Retelling of History

Sat, 14 Mar 2015 17:41:49 +0000

Since 2006 Umar Rashid, also known as Frowhawk Two Feathers, has been recreating and reinterpreting a specific period in world history within his work. Through his paintings and sculptures, over the past 8 - 9 years he has slowly developed and built an epic history that begins in 1658 on a continent known within his work as Frengland, France and England reimagined as one colonial super power. This retelling of history will eventually end in 1880. Today we talk about how Umar Rashid has redefined his own personal identity and how that has fed into his work, race and class both within the history he tells as well as around us, and how working within the museum system has helped him to see his work as less of a commodity and more of an educational tool, and as always much more.

Christina Loff: Marketing, Authenticity, & Consuming Less

Fri, 06 Mar 2015 20:36:47 +0000

This week I sit down with my good friend Christina Loff. Christina works as Channel Marketing Lead for the Photography, Craft, and Design Channels at CreativeLive. We discuss her own career, being authentic online, marketing your own work, consuming fewer clothes, as well as some of her favorite Creative Live classes, and as always much much more!

Victoria Smith: On Blogging, Seeing San Francisco, & Dealing with Real Life

Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:05:47 +0000

In 2006 blogger Victoria Smith uploaded photographs of her home on blogger, which was then known as Blogspot and submitted them to Apartment Therapy for a home tour. Not knowing anything about blogs, or the growing trend Victoria realized that this sort of digital journaling spoke to her as the perfect way to combine many of her interests - writing, photography, and interior design. Almost 10 years later that blog is known as sfgirlbybay.com and it is one of the designated stops online for home decor, style, and design. On today’s show we discuss her upcoming book See San Francisco that was shot almost entirely on her iPhone which really speaks to her eye and skill, her big move to LA,the candy coated curated world of social media and dealing with depression. And as always much more.

Outtake: Ehren Tool

Thu, 19 Feb 2015 23:11:46 +0000

After editing my first interview with former Marine and ceramicist Ehren Tool, I realized I had a few more questions for him. This is a short clip of some of our 2nd onterview - we talk about community, throwing clay in Vietnam, and a couple other things.

Ehren Tool: A Former Marine on War and Making Cups

Wed, 11 Feb 2015 02:20:42 +0000

On today's show we talk about how Tool's experience as a marine has influenced and driven his work, and that no matter how many years go by, his cups that depict and symbolize war continue to be relevant in the world around us. We also discuss why he gives away his cups, the connections and stories they facilitate, and much more.

Jen Hewett: Setting Intentions, Day Jobs, & Always Pushing to Learn More

Wed, 28 Jan 2015 04:57:51 +0000

This week’s guest on What's Your Story is artist and HR consultant, Jennifer Hewett. She’s a self taught artist and while she dabbles in many different mediums her main focus is printmaking. If you enjoy color, fabric, and watching an artist’s process I highly recommend you follow Jen on online (Instagram / Twitter / Facebook). She's wonderful about sharing her process. Last year she focused her efforts on a year long project of 52 weeks of printmaking - which was so inspiring to watch. This year she’s given herself a whole new challenge: creating a printed garment every month, which she calls Print, Pattern, Sew. As this podcast grows I’ve found that my focus lately is on artists and creatives who have not followed the traditional path to their creative career. They started out as one thing and eventually positioned their lives as working artists. What I love so much about Jen is her honesty around working as both an artist and an HR consultant. I think it’s so important to be transparent about having side jobs or day jobs, so we can stop upholding the starving artist trope. Jen and I talk about this, and we also talk about setting intentions for yourself down the road in your career, and always pushing oneself as an artist to grow, build skills, and make sure you're resilient in today’s ever changing work force and much, much more! A special note, Jen is offering an online class in block printing on fabric which starts this weekend. Registration for Design, Carve, Print: Block Printing on Fabric closes Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at 12pm Pacific Time. I’ve signed up for it, and I'm thrilled to learn from her. Come join us! To learn more about Jen, her work, read her blog, and follow her on social check out her website jenhewett.com.

Chris Piascik: Daily Drawings, Kickstarter, & Counterfeit Theft

Wed, 14 Jan 2015 02:43:32 +0000

This week's guest is my friend, illustrator Chris Piascik, we sat down on New Year's day and talked about how he got started as a freelance illustrator. It's a story I think many creatives can relate to if you substitute your passion for drawing: Chris originally went to work as a designer and found that he missed drawing too much to not do it full-time. After imposing a drawing a day project in 2007, and subsequently getting side work because of it he realized it was time to take a leap into freelance. We talk about this transition, Chris' incredibly successful Kickstarter, dealing with getting your work counterfeited and stolen, staying focused on your work, and much more.

Erin M Riley: Weaving, Tapestries, & Found Photos

Tue, 16 Dec 2014 01:58:09 +0000

This week I sit down with Erin M. Riley, an artist and weaver based in NYC. Riley's subject matter is often of young, faceless women in the nude or various states of undress, depicted in her detailed tapestries. Until recently many of the subjects Riley's portrayed are images of anonymous young women she's found via the Internet. She spends up to 12 to 14 hours a day in her studio working tirelessly on tapestries that take any where between 40 to 80 hours to complete. We begin where Riley walks us through what brought her to weaving, her own process behind it, and the actual structure of what makes a tapestry.

Ben Venom: Quilts & Following Ideas

Tue, 02 Dec 2014 02:13:59 +0000

This week my guest is artist Ben Venom. Ben is best known for his quilts that incorporate heavy metal, punk rock, and other fringe elements. Although unaware of it at the time, Ben's creative trajectory would change due to a singular event - a visit to the DeYoung Museum back in 2006. Ben had gone to see the exhibition The Quilts of Gee's Bend a show featuring more than 60 quilts made by four generations of African American women - all descendants of slaves. The quilts on show, were created from scraps of fabric and worn out clothes assembled to create remarkable patterns with bright colors, and textures. The beauty and the functionality of these quilts - many of which were used to keep families warm who had no heat or running water at the time - left an enormous impression on Ben and left him thinking for a long time, in 2008 he created his first quilt. In today's show we talk about how Gee's Bend continues to inspire Ben's career, his own personal thoughts behind his work, the many worlds that Ben's work appeals to, and as usual so much more.

Lisa Solomon: Creative Careers, Community, & the Number 1000

Sun, 09 Nov 2014 03:33:29 +0000

This week, I sit down with Oakland based artist Lisa Solomon. I asked Lisa to come on the show, not just because she’s a friend, but really because Lisa’s a great example of living a creative, artistic life while working in many different disciplines. One of the original reasons for me starting this podcast was to demonstrate though the stories of others that there is no one way to make a living as a creative person. Lisa embodies that; she’s an artist, a mom, a teacher, a crafter, and more, and she leads a successful, creative life. We talk about her role as a teacher and the things she’s learned and shares with her class. We touch on success: what exactly does it mean to be successful. And we also discuss her considerable embroidery installation of 1000 doilies, Sen, and how it became possible through a community call and ultimately lead to more social practice work. Those are just some of the topics we cover today. Enjoy!

Kate MccGwire: Birds, Boats, and Work that Takes on a Life of Its Own

Thu, 30 Oct 2014 04:52:16 +0000

This week on What's Your Story I sit down for a long overdue chat with artist Kate MccGwire. I met Kate back when I was running my old blog, and have done written Q&A's with her, but have never interviewed her formally. We spoke this summer while she was working on her studio barge, a boat that lives on the Thames in London. Kate is an incredibly private person, and doesn't often grant interviews -- this was a special opportunity for me. If you are not familiar with Kate's work, its exceptionally prolific (if that's a possibility), she uses feathers to create otherworldly sculptures that are not only beautiful, but dark and brooding. Her work ranges is size and feather collection -- but every single one of them is unique and absolutely stunning. She's shown all over Europe and New York, and has 10 museum shows in the coming year. Kate has been working with feathers over the past 10 years, and at the moment doesn't see an ending in sight. As with all of my conversations, we cover a wide variety of topics over the next hour. Some highlights are our mutual love for pigeons, the places Kate gets her feathers from, when work takes on a life of its own, developing a second career, and the process behind her work, as well as the importance of pushing yourself to reach out to people within your industry. Because we discuss a lot of her pieces, I have posted many of them below for you to get an idea of her work. Please do check out her website. Kate is also on Twitter, and Instagram.

Sonya Philip: 100 Acts of Sewing, Making Your Own Clothes, & Conscious Consuming

Tue, 21 Oct 2014 22:02:29 +0000

On this week's episode, I had the pleasure of talking with San Francisco based artist Sonya Philip. Sonya is not only an artist and maker but she’s also a clothing and pattern designer. After creating 4 items of clothing in 2012 she challenged herself to create 100 new items of clothing in a year. She went on to carry that project, which is now known as 100 acts of Sewing into 2013, and has since created her own pattern line under the same name, and is currently working on and developing a capsule wardrobe. I was especially interested to talk to Sonya about her project and her experience around 100 Acts of Sewing for 3 main reasons: 1. the act of teaching oneself a new skill that changes your life, 2. the problem of over-consumming in our society, and 3. the creative side of sewing. We cover a lot of these topics but we also discuss much more from building wardrobe consciously by supporting small businesses that make their items in the US to the importance of understanding the labor behind our clothing. Whether you are interested in sewing, conspicuous consumption, and supporting handmade and made in the USA - I think you’ll get a lot of this podcast.

Abby Glassenberg: Sharing Knowledge, Staying Connected, and Setting Goals

Mon, 13 Oct 2014 05:03:30 +0000

This week I sit down with author, stuffed animal pattern maker, blogger, and podcaster Abby Glassenberg of While She Naps. Abby has been an online friend of mine for quite some time, but only when I moved back to Boston in 2013 did we start to get closer (Abby lives in Wellesley, which is right outside of Boston) and I'm so grateful for her friendship. She is incredibly inspiring, driven, and generous to those around her both online and off. Abby started her blog, While She Naps in 2005 as a way to document the crafts she made while she stayed at home with her first child - hence the name. Since the creation of that blog, Abby has gone on to turn a lucrative hobby into an online business. She’s written 2 books (The Artful Bird: Feathered Friends To Make and Sew and Stuffed Animals: From Concept to Construction), currently licenses her toy designs to Simplicity, regularly contributes projects to craft magazines, offers B2B ebooks, resources and tips on her blog, and hosts her very own podcast, The While She Naps Podcast. Abby also has a weekly newsletter, that I highly encourage you to sign up for if you are creating anything online. Abby is successful, humble, and someone I was really excited to chat with on the show, because she is not only genuine, but she always has a unique opinion. We cover a lot of ground in the show, some topics of note are keeping a healthy newsletter, being honest about tuning in and enjoying being online, creating blog content, and setting goals for your business and online success. As an aside, this episode is longer than most of my podcasts. I did a lot less editing - one, because Abby and I had a very smooth linear conversation, and two, I wanted to offer a little more content for those of you who are working or creating while listening so you get a little more time before you have to listen to something next. Please let me know what you think about the length. I honestly want to know if you appreciate a shorter or a longer show. Enjoy the show!

Roberto Baldwin: Passwords, Security, and Protecting Yourself Online

Tue, 23 Sep 2014 20:46:12 +0000

This week the podcast is a little different. When I first started this podcast, I I wanted to talk to creatives and share their story. But as I've talked further with people, I realized I also want to offer information that actively helps your experience both personally and professionally online. So, today I'm speaking with my friend Roberto Baldwin, a tech reporter who works at The Next Web, about ways to guard and protect yourself online. Robbie has worked as Wired, Gizmodo, and always has a sincere approach to technology. As most of us know, a few weeks ago on August 31st almost 200 images of various celebrities were leaked online via the website 4chan. These images, some of them being incredibly private in nature were accessed through a breach in Apple's iCloud via online hackers. For those of you that are not familiar with Apple's iCloud its a cloud storage service that is offered through Apple software, and you can save images, contacts, documents etc — it's easy to use and easy to put things there and forget about them. Robbie wrote a super helpful article listing all the things you can do to protect yourself online after the celebrity hack, and because many of you have asked me questions on how to protect yourself online, I thought it would be great to sit and chat with him about how we can make smarter decisions around our online health.

Lisa Hanawalt: BoJack Horseman, When Art Becomes Your Day Job, & Continuing to Create Everyday

Wed, 17 Sep 2014 22:07:11 +0000

Hey friends, welcome to What's Your Story podcast. This week I sit down with illustrator Lisa Hanawalt. When I sat down with Lisa in August, she had just wrapped animating the new Netflix original series BoJack Horseman. A sitcom about a washed up horse living in LA off his run as a 90's sitcom star. It's a star studded cast with Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Aaron Paul, and may others (including my all time fave Patton Oswalt - who does an incredible job as an indignant navy seal, who is an actual seal…) I've known Lisa casually from her work online when I blogged about art, and I have always loved her no holds barred approach around the topics she writes and draws about. She is unabashedly real and very, very funny. Per usual on the podcast we cover a variety of topics. Lisa and I chat about when your art becomes your actual job and how to deal with issues that arise there, anxiety, dogs and not having kids, and continuing to make work in the kakoffony of the churn we all exist in every day online.

Kim Piper Werker: Make It Mighty Ugly, Conquering Fear of Failure, Self Doubt, and Perfectionism

Tue, 02 Sep 2014 21:14:22 +0000

This week, on What's Your Story, I sit down with author, crafter, and all around dynamic woman Kim Piper Werker. Kim’s new book Make It Mighty Ugly: Exercises and Advice for Getting Creative Even When It Ain’t Pretty, a handbook for vanquishing creative demons was released last week, and it has been one of my favorite books this summer.

Lisa Congdon: Art Inc, Marketing Yourself as an Artist, Social Media, and Ignoring Scarcity Mindset

Wed, 13 Aug 2014 04:11:49 +0000

This week I catch up with my friend, artist, illustrator and now book author Lisa Congdon. I'm delighted to have her on the show today to discuss her new book Art, Inc., The Essential Guide for Building Your Career as an Artist. Although written by Lisa, Art Inc., is part of a larger series developed by Meg Mateo Ilasco and Chronicle Books. If you're an artist, or even a creative person looking to further your career with marketing -- this is a must have for your library.

Josh Lafayette: Social Media, Being Happy, & Making Friends Online

Tue, 08 Jul 2014 14:55:34 +0000

I sat down with independent designer and illustrator, Josh Lafayette a few weeks ago to talk about his experience online as a creative business owner. We cover everything from following your gut and working to stay positive, how best to use social media, and maintaining and creating professional and personal relationships via social media. And much more! Also, I get to sample Josh's hilarious and awesome song Taco Friend through out. Good stuff! Photo: Lou Lafayette

Jenny Hart

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 01:54:26 +0000

Welcome to my new podcast, What's Your Story. I'll be sitting down with artists, makers, and creatives to talk with them openly about starting and running their own small business, using social media, and anything else that comes up in between. My first episode is with Jenny Hart, artist and founder of Sublime Stitching, an online retailer and educational resource for embroidery design. I've been friendly with Jenny for many years since I blogged about art. I first discovered her in BUST magazine and fell in love with what the company was doing. I've always admired Jenny's beautifully handcrafted fine art, and the seamless and delightful way she's grown her business online. Like many of the artists and creatives I covered on ML4U, Jenny has mastered social media for her brand. Utilizing all of the top 4 sites, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram, with the latter being her favorite. So I was thrilled to have her as my first guest.