Adventures In Dialogue

Ruth Leroux takes us through her experience forging her path as an emerging career artist, as well as finding support through creative community.

I love conversations that help break down assumptions. As in, explore two things that seem at opposite with one another (in this case, being an artist and making money) to discover they are not mutually exclusive.

Talking so directly about the business side of art challenged me on a personal level. Yet, I like interactions that takes me out of my personal tendencies to reach for the deeper meaning and lighten it up!

This conversation is one of those. It is possible to enjoy both the purity of making art for arts sake, while also appreciating the intention required to build a livelihood around creative passions. A reminder that perspective is being able to hold two or more truths at once.

Laith is a multi-disciplinary creative technologist who has been entrenched in building technology systems for most of his life. While many of us have heard of Web3, NFTs, the Metaverse, and other far out concepts (that are knocking at our doorstep), Laith has a unique understanding of the intersection where they come together.

In this episode we ground ourselves in a basic definition of Web3 and what it indicates for the future of society. Spoiler alert: it signals a move from centralized technology and singular owners to more distributed systems and decentralized ownership. This is good news because it creates more opportunities for equity and leads us into a conversation about how these systems also reflect the intelligence of the natural environment (systems found in nature).

We also get into a bit of a spiritual discussion, because as Laith describes it, the more he has been involved in technology development, the more he has developed a sense that there is a bigger design at play.

On this episode we explore a more in-depth definition and working understanding of regeneration, as it applies to organic farming and holistic business modeling for whole hemp and CBD company, Onda Wellness.

Stephen Smith is one of the founders and CEO, who has dedicated his life to learning about holistic land management and farming practices. He's also an adventurer and photographer, who has mastered the art of being a modern day polymath, exploring many perspectives of the world along the way.

Erica is a fashion and apparel designer who takes us through her career from coast to coast and back to Boulder, Colorado where she is from and is now heading up design at emerging outdoor brand, Artilect Studio. Joining forces under Trent Bush, both bring years of experience innovating in the outdoor space.

Part 1 (Episode 2): We cover Erica's career track and how she went from the mountains of Colorado selling burritos and messing around on a sewing machine to New York, where she attended FIT and helped surf brand, Pilgrim start their first design program. Later she answers the West Coast call to California to design outerwear for The North Face, before landing back in Colorado where she's directing all her design and sourcing knowledge to create a wider platform for people to connect with the outdoors.

Part 2 (Episode 3): We get into a bit of a deep dive around the state of sustainability and thinking around supply chain logistics through a designers lens. Less in the weeds on technical details (although we point to specific examples), and more a philosophical fire side chat around bottle necks to progress, different ways to view progress, and questioning which comes first—policy or culture?

Website: https://www.ericatesscahn.com/

Artilect: https://www.artilect.studio/

Erica is a fashion and apparel designer who takes us through her career from coast to coast and back to Boulder, Colorado where she is from and is now heading up design at emerging outdoor brand, Artilect Studio. Joining forces under Trent Bush, both bring years of experience innovating in the outdoor space.

Part 1 (Episode 2): We cover Erica's career track and how she went from the mountains of Colorado selling burritos and messing around on a sewing machine to New York, where she attended FIT and helped surf brand, Pilgrim start their first design program. Later she answers the West Coast call to California to design outerwear for The North Face, before landing back in Colorado where she's directing all her design and sourcing knowledge to create a wider platform for people to connect with the outdoors.

Part 2 (Episode 3): We get into a bit of a deep dive around the state of sustainability and thinking around supply chain logistics through a designers lens. Less in the weeds on technical details (although we point to specific examples), and more a philosophical fire side chat around bottle necks to progress, different ways to view progress, and questioning which comes first—policy or culture?

Website: https://www.ericatesscahn.com/

Artilect: https://www.artilect.studio/

Welcome~ this is the first episode of Adventures in Dialogue where I catch up with friend and previous client, Chris Burkard (thanks for being willing to experiment with a completely open format!). Chris is a world-traveled photographer, director, speaker, and seasoned storyteller who has honed the craft of expressing his unique outlook. We cover some good terrain talking about complementary working styles, creative production and how the landscape is changing, having collaborative conversations, and balancing outdoor access with conservation management. Thanks for riding along. ~Melissa

LINKS

Chris Burkard: https://www.chrisburkard.com/

UNNUR Film: https://www.chrisburkard.com/FILMS

Outdoor Outreach: https://www.outdooroutreach.org/