Creating Your Own Path

Today I’m chatting with Chandra Greer, owner of Greer Chicago, which is a stationery store in the windy city. She was recommended to me by Jessica Murnane of the One Part Podcast and I’m so happy Chandra and I had a chance to connect. She is full of thoughtful advice and has a really simple, yet lovely goal that drives her brand.

In the interview, we chat about Chandra’s choice to leave a lucrative job in advertising to open her store and what she’s learned in the last 15 years. She also talks openly about the mistakes she made early on, how she keeps her creativity flowing while managing the business side of her business, why it’s critical to have a support system and how she’s built such an awesome team of employees.

For the full episode + show notes, please visit creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s guest is jewelry designer Jen Moulton! She's been on the show before (Episode 65, if you want to catch up) and I was excited to snag just a little bit of her time to talk through a big announcement she made recently—she's just opened a physical storefront! I knew I wanted to chat about both the how and the why behind her decision to open this shop.

In the interview we talk about the type of retail shop she’s opening and how the opportunity came about. We also dive deep into the fear involved in taking big leaps, why it’s often important to start before we’re ready and how Jen anticipates her shop opening to change the way she works.

For the full episode + show notes, please visit creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s guest is Rosa Ng of Young & Able. She's the first in a new segment focused on those who create physical retail experiences. Young & Able is both an ecommerce and pop-up retail experience full of carefully curated items.

In the interview, Rosa talks about the many facets of her brand and why she chose to build a platform for the creative community instead of diving into her planned career in fashion design after graduating. She also talks about the importance of testing our ideas, how she manages her pop-up shops—which are really one part event and one part retail shop—and why she believes in setting realistic goals in everything she does.

You can find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s guest is Brooke Barker of the Instagram-account-turned-book, Sad Animal Facts. I’ve been following Brooke’s Instagram feed, which as you’ll hear in the episode, I came across while we were both participating in The 100 Day Project last year.

Sad Animal Facts is a project that is exactly what it sounds like; facts about animals that are a little bit sad or melancholy, but with Brooke’s quirky humor driving the treatment of each fact. Her illustrations are adorable and the facts are things that are funny-slash-sad because they’re true.

In the interview, Brooke and I discuss how her one-a-day Instagram project turned into a book in just over a year, how she’s navigated the new-to-her realm of book publishing, and why she believes in exercising your creative muscles by trying to incorporate new mediums and projects the mix. We also talk about Brooke’s other work and how, even though she gets to work primarily on fun and funny projects, she still has to walk the line between humor and professionalism in her everyday life.

For the full episode + show notes, visit creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s guest is illustrator Becky Simpson, whose work is a little cheeky and a little quirky, and completely relatable—especially for the ladies tuning in today. If you spend anytime on the internet you may have seen Becky’s hilarious “Should I Wash My Hair Today?” flow chart. She’s also created other flow charts that have become favorites, like “Should I Check Email Right Now?” and “Should I wear Pants Today?” I’ve been wanting to get her on the show since last year and I’m so excited to share her story with you!

In the interview, we talk about process and giving yourself the time to explore creative ideas when they make an appearance in our lives. Becky also goes into detail about her first book deal and how she was able to bring that book to life even though she didn’t have a large number of blog readers or social media followers. One thing I really appreciated hearing from Becky is how she’s been able to incorporate her brand of humor into all of her work without feeling as though she’s sacrificing professionalism. We talk quite a bit about the invisible line between letting our personalities show through our work and keeping things professional and I love Becky’s approach.

You can find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s show is one of the few episodes I’ve had so far with a repeat guest! If you’ve been listening to Creating Your Own Path from the beginning, you know that Janna Marlies Maron and her husband Jeremy Maron were the very first guests to be featured on the show in Episode 1. When Janna reminded me that she would be celebrating five years of publishing her literary non-fiction magazine, Under The Gum Tree, this month I knew I wanted to chat with her for this particular segment.

In the interview, we talk about how Janna’s health issues, namely her multiple sclerosis diagnosis, have not only played a role in her professional career, but also how they’ve helped her realign her priorities in both life and business. We also chat about her publication and what it means to write and read true stories, the business side of producing an independent literary arts magazine, and the importance of being patient when it comes to realizing your goals.

Please find the full episode and show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today I’m chatting with Tina Essmaker of The Great Discontent. Tina and her husband created the online and print publication because they wanted to talk to others about the highs and lows of creative work.

In the interview, Tina talks about the big changes she had to make in her own life before she could pursue the work that was right for her. She also talks about the importance of getting out of your own way, the realities of using crowdfunding to finance creative work, and why she believes in the power of picking one thing and doing it really well before adding elements to the mix.

For the full episode + show notes, please visit creatingyourownpath.com.

I’ve got Chris Brown of Refueled Magazine on today's show to talk about his beautiful quarterly publication, which is all about community, heritage, and discovery. In the interview, we chat about the importance print publications as they fit into the context of truly experiencing the stories and art we consume.

Chris also talks about the balance between doing what fulfills us creatively and focusing solely on what the audience wants or needs, how successfully selling a neighborhood newspaper at a very young age cemented his love for storytelling, and why he has taken Refueled in a slightly different direction this year.

You can find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Lizzy Okoro of Bunch Magazine is joining me on the show today to kick off a series dedicated to those who create print publications. With Bunch Magazine, Lizzy has built entire company based on the idea that creative endeavors and business acumen are not mutually exclusive.

In the interview, Lizzy chats about how she came to the realization that her creative passions didn’t have to be relegated to hobbies—that she could actually build a sustainable business around them. She also goes into the details behind the growth of Bunch over the years, how she and her team share stories across multiple mediums and why she’s found it so crucial to be mindful about how she approaches the business.

You can find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today's guest is actor-turned-author Lisa Jakub. If you’ve ever seen Mrs. Doubtfire or the original Independence Day, you’re likely familiar with her early work. I came across Lisa a few years ago on Twitter and she has since completely changed careers. She’s now a writer living thousands of miles away from Hollywood.

When I read Lisa’s book, You Look Like That Girl…, in which she details her major life and career shift, I knew I wanted to have her on this segment of the show. You might think the story of an actor-turned-writer would be completely un-relatable, but that couldn’t be further from the truth in this case.

In the interview, we chat about how Lisa got into acting at the age of four and how she handled the period of time between leaving Hollywood and where she is today. We also talk about the tools Lisa used to understand how she could view success outside of the world of acting and filmmaking, why she feels it’s important to talk about the difficult times she’s faced over the years and what she’s working on next.

For the full episode + show notes, please visit creatingyourownpath.com.