Craft Talk

For this episode, I’m so excited to be joined by the one and only, Emilee Petersmark. Emilee is a talented singer-songwriter performing as a solo artist as well as a member of the band, The Crane Wives. She is also a visual artist specializing in watercolor, marker art, and digital illustration.

In this conversation, we talked about the current state of Emilee’s life. Accustomed to the hustle of being a part of a nationally touring band for around a decade, Emilee was used to always being on the move. Due to the pandemic, touring and performing came to an abrupt halt in the beginning of 2020.

During this period of rest, Emilee experienced an unfamiliar adjustment period that eventually led to a newly found appreciation of stillness. She’s found beauty in cultivating her own space, developed new outlets within art that encouraged self care, and examined how to manage one’s energy by creating healthy boundaries.

I had a great time connecting with Emilee, and loved learning about how the band came together as well as learning out about her process. Enjoy our conversation!

Say hello to Emilee on Instagram @ermsauce and support her band by listening to @TheCraneWives

About this Podcast : Craft Talk is a collection of interviews with people of different disciplines ranging from creativity, business, and lifestyle. By diving into my guest's story and learning about how they approach their craft, I hope that these conversations help you find different ways to improve your own!

Say hi to me on Instagram @crafttalk.podcast

Website -  crafttalk.net

Craft Talk Theme Credit: "Lazy Day" by David Renda

I’m very excited to be joined by a West Michigan based sandwich themed Instagram account, Mr. Big Sandwich. This page showcases some of the biggest and most unique sandwiches this side of the state has to offer and is managed by Jon Wilson and Tyler Ingersoll. Since its inception, their Instagram account @mr_big_sandwich has continually been growing and to their surprise, has opened up many opportunities in the food blog/influencer space. As they continue to grow, they’ve built connections with other local accounts such as @eatgr1 which has led to invitations to events and restaurants getting to try new menu items and helping promote upcoming openings.

In this interview, I spoke to one of the founders, Jon Wilson about how the page came about, his current experience navigating the foodie space and of course, we talked plenty about sandwiches.

In my time observing Jon in this conversation, I quickly realized that he was the PERFECT person to have this account. You could tell that he just absolutely loved sandwiches. In college, he was known by his roommates as the “sandwich guy”.  Every year, The City of Grand Rapids puts on the annual “Grandwich” competition, where many local restaurants enters a City-wide contest on finding the best sandwich. One year, on his own accord, he decided to organize a group, ordered t shirts and put on a “sandwich crawl” in celebration of the festivities. He was so passionate about this competition that he was noticed and was invited to volunteer for this event and eventually become a judge for the competition. I believe that it is no accident that they have been able to land the opportunities that has been put in front of them. 100% , it’s all because of the LOVE of sandwiches.

Enjoy the conversation!

Follow Mr. Big Sandwich on Instagram @mr_big_sandwich

About this Podcast : Craft Talk is a collection of interviews with people of different disciplines ranging from creativity, business, and lifestyle. By diving into my guest's story and learning about how they approach their craft, I hope that these conversations help you find different ways to improve your own!

Say hi to me on Instagram @crafttalk.podcast

Website -  crafttalk.net

Craft Talk Theme Credit: "Lazy Day" by David Renda  ( Background Music - Royalty free music from https://www.fesliyanstudios.com )

In this episode I am joined by Writer, Poet, and Educator Josh Corson. Josh is currently in his Master’s Program at the University of Pittsburg and has been teaching classes for 2 years as a part of his program.

Our conversation went through Josh’s experiences from starting out as someone who flunked out of his classes to discovering his true passion of writing that led him to become an educator at a college institution. Along with that, Josh was very open and transparent about his struggles with addiction and how writing and poetry redirected him down the path of sobriety and ultimately pursuing a more fulfilling life.

After the interview, we were graced with a performance of one of his original pieces called “Half Life” It was an honor being able to hear his story, his thought process about how he viewed education, as well as dissecting how shaped language can ultimately bring forth connection, vulnerability, and empathy.

Check out Josh’s work on his website www.joshcorsonmakes.com or connect with him on Instagram @josh_corson_

About this Podcast : Craft Talk is a collection of interviews with people of different disciplines ranging from creativity, business, and lifestyle. By diving into my guest's story and learning about how they approach their craft, I hope that these conversations help you find different ways to improve your own!

Say hi to me on Instagram @crafttalk.podcast or @titodoes

Website -  titomendoza.net

Craft Talk Theme Credit: "Lazy Day" by David Renda  ( Background Music - Royalty free music from https://www.fesliyanstudios.com )

For this episode, we are talking all about event management with Crystal Grajales. Crystal is an Event Manager in Orlando and has worked for some of the most recognizable brands in Hospitality such as Disney and The Ritz Carlton.  She's also the cohost of a podcast called “Talk To Me Mija!”

Crystal’s role as an event manager requires the perfect balance of paying close attention to the details while also having a clear understanding of the bigger picture. In this interview, she shares everything from the good, the bad and everything in between when it comes to the world of events. We also discuss some of the most important skills to work on if you want to succeed in this space as well as other aspects of your personal development.

Say hello to Crystal and support her podcast on Instagram @talktomemija

About this Podcast : Craft Talk is a collection of interviews with people of different disciplines ranging from creativity, business, and lifestyle. By diving into my guest's story and learning about how they approach their craft, I hope that these conversations help you find different ways to improve your own!

Say hi to me on Instagram @crafttalk.podcast

Website -  titomendoza.net

Craft Talk Theme Credit: "Lazy Day" by David Renda  ( Background Music - Royalty free music from https://www.fesliyanstudios.com )

Finding your unique tone of voice is probably one of the most daunting ideas in the back of a creative’s mind. If we have a message to communicate, how do we do that in a style that’s our own without sounding too much like a carbon copy of our influences?

Sometimes it helps to identify what we’re dealing with first before we can understand where we fit in the equation. For me, it helps to visualize these concepts so I can wrap my heads around it. In this solo episode, I share an analogy about a sculptor and a block of stone and comparing it to the process of discovering our style. We go through the potential outcomes of sometimes not carving out enough which feels incomplete, taking out too much which takes the soul out the work, and getting to a place where we dial it in just right and maintain the heart of it while showcasing your unique style that you worked so hard to discover.

Whether you are an artist, a business owner or just someone who wants to improve whatever work you’re involved in, I hope this episode helps you visualize this concept and help you identify where you are in your process.

Enjoy!

About this Podcast : Craft Talk is a collection of interviews with people of different disciplines ranging from creativity, business, and lifestyle. By diving into my guest's story and learning about how they approach their craft, I hope that these conversations help you find different ways to improve your own!

Say hi to me on Instagram @crafttalk.podcast

Website -  titomendoza.net

Craft Talk Theme Credit: "Lazy Day" by David Renda  ( Background Music - Royalty free music from https://www.fesliyanstudios.com )