One Creative Act

In this episode honoring Father’s Day, Mary Lyn has a beautiful conversation with the greatest influence in her life — her Dad, Dell Hill. He shares his life through stories — how he grew up and what his passion has created. His entrepreneur journey of creating Selwood Farm — his 40 year business that is also his home — is just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. Today’s episode is his walk through the past 80 years of life, 40 years of creating and developing Selwood Farm, and his heart for life and relationships.

Dell served as a lieutenant in the army, worked in the chemical corp, served in the Senate for the state of Alabama and also as Probate Judge; he graduated from Auburn University in 1964 with a degree in Chemical Engineering and still bleeds orange and blue. Among many amazing titles, the best one is Dad. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there who are leading their kids and families with love, commitment, and selflessness.

Mary Lyn Jenkins is a multi-passionate entrepreneur who coaches women to take action and create and fulfill their dream. She is an author and Certified Coach. Her past work includes 15 years in interior design; 15 years in teaching yoga, owning yoga studios and facilitating leadership development programs; 25 years in marriage and the proud momma of two teenagers. Now, the founder of Big Fish Co, a wellness company with a commitment to coach creative women to build a business that matters. She is the Host of One Creative Act.

In this solo episode, Mary Lyn guides you through the benefits and importance of claiming what you value at your core — Core Values. You’ll want a pen and paper for this as she’ll direct you step by step on how to create your Core Values for life, business or home. The seasons have changed again; and spring to summer means we’re entering the third quarter of the year. It’s never too late to get anchored in what you value. Have fun listening and get your compass tuned for the remainder of the year by creating your Core Values as we continue to create home in Season Three.

Brittany Palugod is a New Jersey native now living in New York City. She’s a creative of the best kind - wildly organized, generous, thoughtful, very detailed, and an equal visionary with a big heart and full of infectious personality. She and the expertise she offers through her company, Clean Slate, has guided me from my 11-year bricks and mortar business website to my coaching creative women website that launches this month. I actually met Brittany many years ago and we’ve worked together through leadership platforms, teaching yoga, coach training platforms, running yoga studios, volunteer work and serving on a foundation board. We’ve laughed together and cried together - but if I have to come up with a theme, ours is a friendship that proves you SHOULD work with your friends.

Today we talk a little bit about business - but more about what has shaped her and impacted her recently. As a newlywed, Brittany has been through the heartache of miscarraige and shares vulnerably and courageously what she and her husband have moved through.

With the perfect tagline — sip, ship, shop — The Sip & Ship is a neighborhood hub for grabbing a cup of coffee, an oversized warm chocolate chip cookie, while picking up a beautiful letterpress card and gift for a friend and mailing all your packages for personal or business needs all in one swoop. It’s kid friendly, dog friendly, and people friendly. Everyone inside aims to please and provide every guest with the highest level of acknowledgement, interaction and care. It’s a kindness store; and today, owner and founder, Diana Naramore shares her best practices and her story of perseverance and creating home for every foot that steps inside its door.

Kimberly Mashek is the daughter of a U.S. Navy EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Instructor and as a result, has lived all over the country. She finished her bachelor's degree at the University of Florida, and worked as an Infant -Toddler Developmental Specialist for the State of Florida's early intervention program, Early Steps. After completing her Master's of Education in Counselor Education she was hired by Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Florida, where she served three school years as the middle school counselor and for the last six school years as a high school counselor at one of the largest comprehensive high schools in the district.

Kimberly is a wife, mom, a student advocate, a yoga teacher, and an avid DIY-er. As an extremely organized creative, her talents run deep. I met Kimberly a little over 10 years ago when she walked in to take a yoga class and soon thereafter, became my student through my leadership teacher training. Her heart is for the next generation. She is committed and passionate in making a difference in the lives of kids and so it’s very fitting that today we talk about the seasons — the seasons of a school year and that another school year is wrapping up for her. We talk about how we each are the SOMEBODY a kid needs and in being that, we create a connection to home and a sense of security for a kid.

Karen Torrone has a wealth of experience in life and business. Born and raised and now a business owner in her home of Staten Island, New York, Karen has been the sole owner of her creation — 5 Boro Power Yoga — for eleven years. Karen is an innovator. After being closed for almost 400 days due to Covid mandates, the doors to 5 Boros reopened.

Hers is a perspective of seeing what needs to be trimmed in order to succeed, being a model for consistency and practicing what she wants to have happen. After experiencing the murder of her mom in 1998, she’s got a thing or two we can learn regarding forgiveness and moving forward. She’s an example of never giving up and always giving love.

Today, Karen shares what it takes — and what it took to keep a community together, connected and wanting to come back. She shares what it takes to forgive something that seems unforgivable. She shares how to stay in life living fully and fully serving no matter what comes your way.

Today’s episode is a bit of a nod to my anniversary that we celebrate this month! TF Jenkins and I have shared a 24-year journey of creating home together. We’ve grown up together over the past two decades; and building things has always been part of our story.

TF studied Building Science at Auburn University and law at Cumberland School of Law. He combined his love for building, history, restoration and law and pursued historical preservation; later, with a cross-country move, TF transitioned into finance and wealth management but kept his love for building. With our first home in Washington, second in Colorado, and third in Florida, everywhere we’ve had the opportunity to build, we’ve shared a desire to put something back into that geographical area that looks like it’s always been there; and we've loved the design-build-create home process.

Today we talk about building together and the people who supported each construction project and how special it was. From craftsmen, beloved architects who we grew to adore, and community visionaries — check them all out in the show notes below.

We hope this love story of building things together inspires you to stay together, grow together, and keep building together!

I met Beth Thomas almost 20 years ago. She was a single lady, entrepreneur, and changing the landscape of Charleston, South Carolina, by building the first power yoga studio on King Street. She’s seen a lot of change in her booming town during the past two decades and experienced the same amount of change personally — now, married, a mom, and spending time in two cities she calls home — Greenville and Charleston — Beth is now the sole owner of Charleston Power Yoga after her business partnership dissolved. Today, we talk about it; moving out of a partnership when it’s not expected and how to handle it even when you don’t know how to handle it. Through her business challenges and the impact of Covid on her team and business, Beth’s grace, leaning into faith and a deep sense of humble leadership caused the doors of her business to remain open. Rebuilding a community space that is now thriving is a necessary message for every entrepreneur and there’s no one better to learn from than Beth.

Owner of two amazing yoga studios — the original in downtown Charleston and also a location in Mt. Pleasant — wearing and living her title – Director of Solutions — not only in business but in family and life, Beth Thomas Plante has always been one to watch to see how it’s done professionally, gracefully and always with humor and fun. Today she shares why she’s chosen the high road in business for 19 years.

Luca Richards has been a refreshing friend for me for more than 15 years. Most recently, we’ve created a partnership — Lit From Within — an innovative, 300-hour live yoga teacher training platform delivered virtually for individuals wanting to lead, facilitate, teach and expand in their business as a yoga teacher or content creator; but moreso, to stand confidently in their voice and deepen their experience of living fully. Luca has taught thousands with his light heartedness and depth of knowledge of the practice of yoga and movement — and today, I couldn’t be happier to have my awesome, longtime friend and colleague to share on the podcast.

Luca is an international yoga teacher and published yoga researcher with over 20 years of experience as an instructor and instructor trainer. He is a professional coach for individuals and organizations, and has presented at internationally recognized conferences including Yoga Journal LIVE, ECA Fitness Conference, Baptiste Power Yoga Global Summit, and at the White House as part of Michelle Obama’s ​Let's Move! Campaign. He has contributed to published academic research studies on the efficacy of yoga in collaboration with the University of Miami and developed a year-long research study on the effects of yoga for at-risk youth in collaboration with Florida International University.

Luca lives in Portland, Maine, and today, he shares how he’s been called Home, how his creativity is his core, and why relationships and enjoying the journey are the experience of Home.

I met Sally my first year of living in Seattle, Washington back in 2000. Our paths crossed because someone said we had to meet — so we did. An entrepreneur and Representative of Creatives, Sally is the Founder and CEO of her own company Sally Reps — Representing Commercial Photographers, Photo Stylists and Creative Directors in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco. Sally Reps is now over 20 years old and I was lucky enough to have her as my Rep when I was designing sets. We take a stroll down memory lane and Sally shares all the details.

Sally Bjornsen says she circles around creativity — she has had major success in being a representative of creatives instead of choosing a life of creativity for herself. I see things differently. Sally is wildly creative. She is an example of how to embrace creativity and love business while supporting others living into her daily choices of humor, color, and spice.

This conversation is what happens when two best friends have an hour together. In today’s episode, we discuss raising kids — the differences from when we were growing up and the present generation, their pressures and influences, and how the impact of Covid is far from done on this present generation. We talk about music and the creative options that kids have today to pursue nontraditional education after high school. And we talk about what we, as parents, have let happen and what we can do about it to support our kids to bring back some sense of security for their future.