Creative Juicy

Launched in 2009, Kate Arends created Wit & Delight as a personal project to get to know herself through sharing her love for design, food, fashion, and travel. Since then, Wit & Delight has launched a range of lines at Target, taken her community on the wonderful ride of renovation with Kate's family home, and established itself as a real resource for others to feel less alone in the ups and downs of one's journey through life.  

On today's episode, Kate tells us about her path from graphic designer to entrepreneur, the relationship she's built with the Wit & Delight community, her 'big beef' with social media, the importance of home hygiene, and how it is acting as both the content AND the person in the world of Wit & Delight.

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down with Kate and learn more about her creative process. Enjoy!

MORE WIT & DELIGHT:

Lifestyle Blog: witanddelight.com

Instagram: instagram.com/witanddelight_/

TikTok: tiktok.com/@witanddelight

MORE CREATIVE JUICY:

Michelle’s Instagram: instagram.com/mich_wainwright/ 

Visit CreativeJuicyPodcast.com for show notes, transcripts and more. 

Say hello to Michelle: [email protected]

Sam Ortiz is a Brooklyn native who has been working as a professional photographer for nearly a decade with a strong focus on people and portraiture. Sam's path is a unique one - after 14 years building a career in IT, Sam started re-evaluating his life and how he wanted to live it. 

On today's episode, Sam tells us about how pivoting to photography married his technology background with his love for the arts, his role in the budding New York coffee scene and how building relationships face-to-face led him to building the community he has today, and the importance of mindset in how you approach what life throws your way.  

Speaking with Sam was truly inspirational. Enjoy the listen!

MORE SAM:

Portfolio: www.samortiz.com

Instagram: instagram.com/samortizphotos/

MORE CREATIVE JUICY: 

Michelle’s Instagram: instagram.com/mich_wainwright/ 

Visit CreativeJuicyPodcast.com for show notes, transcripts and more. 

Say hello to Michelle: [email protected]

I am so excited to introduce you to the loveliest, Kirsty Meares! She is one of the brilliant minds behind Laird and Good Company, a leading creative agency that represents the most incredible and sophisticated artists.

Kirsty’s approach to work, business, and collaboration is certainly a fresh and warm one. I’ve experienced first hand how she manages clients and admired how she works with artists, and can safely say she is the best there is. For anyone looking to work with creatives, this episode is for you!

We talk about Kirsty’s upbringing in Australia where she ran her own production agency, her advice for those looking to get into the industry, the importance of knowing when to step in or stay out, and her work ethic - this lady gets things done!

Go on a walk, have a nice listen, and enjoy hearing from Kirsty. Cheers!

MORE LAIRD AND GOOD COMPANY: 

Laird and Good Company

MORE CREATIVE JUICY: 

Michelle’s Instagram: instagram.com/mich_wainwright/ 

Visit CreativeJuicyPodcast.com for show notes, transcripts and more. 

Say hello to Michelle: [email protected]

Rinee Shah has a storied career in illustration and art direction. She is currently a Creative Director at Oatly, an illustrator with clients like the New York Times (!), and the author and illustrator of The Made-up Words Project, a visual dictionary of made-up language between friends and family, which was just the first of her multiple book deals.  

On today's episode, Rinee shares her journey as a creative from the moment she decided to call herself an 'Art Director' to being featured on the front page of The New York Times. She shares her story about going viral, and how that led to landing a book deal and literary agent whom she still works with today. Most importantly, she talks about the power of side projects and how putting yourself out there can help you find yourself creatively in more ways than one.  

I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did!

MORE RINEE: 

Portfolio: rineeshah.com

RINEE'S PUBLISHED WORKS:

The Made-up Words Project

OFF: The Day The Internet Died, written by Chris Colin 

LOL 101: A Kid’s Guide to Writing Jokes (coming this Spring!)

MORE CREATIVE JUICY: 

Michelle’s Instagram: instagram.com/mich_wainwright/ 

Visit CreativeJuicyPodcast.com for show notes, transcripts and more. 

Say hello to Michelle: [email protected]

Martin is a Swedish-born, Brooklyn-based photographer who thrives on the thrill of embarking on unknown creative journeys. His book, Suburbia Gone Wild, surrounds the search for identity among the new middle class in the world's emerging economies, and the studio he founded, InsaneLittleProjects, further explores ways of utilizing machine learning and photography to enable curiosity and creative thinking.

On today's episode, Martin shares his perspective on the way in which European countries support the arts and promote work that is more experimental and less commercial, the impetus and evolution of his anti-social media app, minutiae, which aims to help users document the in-between moments of life that one usually finds too ordinary to be worthy of documentation, among other thought-provoking topics.

I loved hearing Martin's perspective as an artist who has worked in both Europe and the States and the benefits of not limiting yourself to one particular medium. I especially can't wait to hear updates regarding the evolution of minutiae which he shared at the very end of the episode. Enjoy!

MORE MARTIN:

InsaneLittleProjects: www.InsaneLittleProjects.com

Download minutiae and get three months free with THIS LINK

MORE CREATIVE JUICY: 

Michelle’s Instagram: instagram.com/mich_wainwright/ 

Visit CreativeJuicyPodcast.com for show notes, transcripts and more. 

Say hello to Michelle: [email protected]

My first childhood friend on the pod! Meet John, one of the two co-founders of Montagave Tequila which he built with his wife, Lucie. What first started out as a creative way to symbolize their two cultures coming together in celebration of their wedding, quickly turned into a project neither John nor Lucie could shake. A couple years later and the world is lucky to meet Montagave Tequila, a wonderful collaboration of their French and Texan cultures that straddles innovative and artisanal to produce unique and extremely high quality products.

On this very special episode, John talks about the power of cold calling, their perspective on building a family business that matches their lifestyle, the joy in sharing your very own 'juice' with loved ones around you, and the vision John and Lucie have for the brand and business they have built.

I am very impressed with what John and Lucie have built to-date and can't wait to see where they take Montagave! Have a sip of the juice yourself, and order online at montagave.com. Cheers!

MORE MONTAGAVE:

Instagram: instagram.com/montagave/

E-Comm: montagave.com

Reach John at [email protected]

MORE CREATIVE JUICY: 

Michelle’s Instagram: instagram.com/mich_wainwright/ 

Visit CreativeJuicyPodcast.com for show notes, transcripts and more

Say hello to Michelle: [email protected]

Daniel Castro is the founder and creative lead of Sky Pie, a design-driven motion studio based in Brooklyn. Blending live action video, stop motion and animation, they create a secret sauce they call... fun. Sky Pie has canoodled with a broad range of clients like Pepsi, Spotify, Oatly and Fendi and, as I mention in this conversation, it is impossible not to smile when experiencing Sky Pie's work. 

On today's episode, Daniel tells us about the Rube Goldberg competition he won in high school, shares his perspective on collaboration when it comes to delivering great client work, and gives us a behind-the-scenes look at creating some recent work for Pepsi x KFC and Spotify, specifically. Click the links below to see the magic we're talking about!

WORK DISCUSSED:

Pepsi x KFC: skypie.co/pepsikfc

Spotify x Fletcher: skypie.co/spotifyfletcher

MORE SKY PIE:

Instagram: instagram.com/skypie/

Website: skypie.co/

MORE CREATIVE JUICY: 

Michelle’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mich_wainwright/ 

Visit CreativeJuicyPodcast.com for show notes, transcripts and more. 

Say hello to Michelle: [email protected]

Melina Kemph is a NY-based Art Director and Stylist in both the fashion and food media space. After styling a Nike x NBA campaign (a dream project), Melina left her role as Sr. Men's Stylist at Gilt Groupe to establish her own business. Her client roster includes Kevin Knox, Robin Arzon, Nike, Puma, Pepsi, GQ, Zola, and most recently Waffles & Mochi Get Cooking, an opportunity that fell into her inbox after a food stylist found her pottery on instagram!  

On today's episode, Melina tells us about her journey to New York and her various jobs in fashion before she found her passion in styling, the way she fosters collaboration and good vibes while on set, how putting yourself out there gets you where you want to be, and more about her covid hobby, turned career extension which is giving her all the creative energy right now. 

Melina is a bright light! I hope you enjoy listening to her wonderful story.

MORE MELINA:

Instagram: instagram.com/melina.kemph/

Portfolio: melinakemph.com/

Honey Lain Studios: honeylainstudios.com/

MORE CREATIVE JUICY: 

Michelle’s Instagram: instagram.com/mich_wainwright/ 

Visit CreativeJuicyPodcast.com for show notes, transcripts and more. 

Say hello to Michelle: [email protected]

Emily is the Founder and CEO of Starry Eyed Productions, a production company that creates dynamic video content for its clients which include Gucci, Veuve Clicquot, Fresh Beauty, The Princeton Review, and Match.com, among others.

On today's episode, Emily tells us about her early career as a dancer, the journey that led her to finding her love of video, how she started the business, and the good and bad advice she received along the way. Enjoy!

MORE STARRY EYED PRODUCTIONS:

Instagram: instagram.com/starryeyedproductions/

Website: starryeyedproductions.com/

MORE CREATIVE JUICY: 

Michelle’s Instagram: instagram.com/mich_wainwright/ 

Visit CreativeJuicyPodcast.com for show notes, transcripts and more

Say hello to Michelle: [email protected]

Ruvi Leider is a producer, writer, director and photographer with a focus on narrative, commercial and live-stream production. Ruvi produces everything from social content, multi-camera live stream, feature films, interactive digital installations and TV commercials for national and international broadcast.  

On today's episode, Ruvi shares how he got his start by responding to a craigslist listing, the role of producer and what that can entail for any given project, how he stays calm and collected in stressful situations, and some notable pinch-me moments as he looks back on the last 5 years.   

I loved chatting with Ruvi about his upbringing in the industry and also about some of his more recent accomplishments, which include his feature producing debut with Balloon Animal, the launch of his very own production company, and the development of his feature film, FREI, which is a coming of age story about Chassidic teens loosely based on his own experience.

MORE RUVI:

Ruvi's Instagram: instagram.com/ruvileider/

Ruvi's Work: ruvileider.com

MORE CREATIVE JUICY:

Michelle’s Instagram: instagram.com/mich_wainwright/

Visit CreativeJuicyPodcast.com for show notes, transcripts and more

Say hello: [email protected]