Our Style Stories

Today's conversation with Lisa and Erik Craighead of Salt Lake City, UT is primarily about location. I visited their historic downtown apartment earlier this Summer and spent the better part of an entire day with them, touring their home, snapping some pictures, exploring their garden, and enjoying great conversation over a delicious home cooked meal.

During our visit we talked a lot about location as it relates to developing a creative career. We discussed the pros and cons of living in a large metropolitan area such as New York City or LA as well as why they think smaller cities are the place to be right now, Salt Lake City especially. Lisa shared a peek into what her work life as a creative director looks like now that she's settled down in Utah. We spent a good amount of time discussing how to break into a new market and find clients as well as key lessons from both Erik and Lisa for jump starting a creative career with sincerity and humility.

Whether you live in a big city and feel slightly invisible or live in a small city and wonder if you're missing out, these folks speak from experience and have a wealth of knowledge to share about the subject. I guarantee, you won't get through this podcast without sparking some thoughts.

After yesterday's Style Story featuring Laura Busby, I'm sure you're anxious to hear more from this girl who plays mandolin, takes adult ballet classes, and experiments in videography .

In today's interview, Laura and I chat about her journey from the beginning as a shop girl at Anthropologie to her current role as a manager of e-commerce and marketing at Peacock Alley. Laura imparted some serious bedding wisdom and enlightened me on my sad, uneducated ways. (hint: what's more important than thread count?) We also discussed the seeds of Laura's interest in design and how her personal style has grown from the early and, yes, awkward phases of teenage-dom to her current outlook on things which is much more focused on meaningful quality investments over impulsive convenience purchases.

Perhaps one of my favorite discussions in the course of our conversation was on the subject of stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things. Laura is a bonafide pro when it comes to this department.

Rachel and Dave Chamberlain are today's guests and I'm thrilled to welcome them onto the podcast. Earlier this week, I shared their gorgeous Style Story and today you'll hear the rest of their story as told in their own voices.

Rachel is a portrait illustrator and writer and Dave is a cabinet and furniture builder and owner of Chamberlain Cabinetry. The two live in their gorgeous mid-century home nestled in the mountainside of Salt Lake City, UT with their children Beau, Georgia, Kingston, Gus and a big white dog named Kevin.

Our conversation is a bit more narrative than usual. To begin, Rachel and Dave shared the intimate and, frankly, Notebook-like love story from their first meeting, subsequent separation, and reunion years later. Get ready for a real life romance drama folks! It really was incredible. From there, we switched over to some more typical topics for this show - specifically, the story of their two major home renovations, a few key tips for installing herringbone wood flooring, insights into Rachel's approach to decorating, the importance of home-cooked meals and whole foods in their family life, and why getting away is the best thing you can do for your sanity.

Today we continue our visit with Cristina Lynch from last week. Her Style Story is full of such beautiful traditions and stories. As a special addition to our typical podcast episode, I'm also including photos that I took of Cristina's showroom and work studio for her company Mi Golodrina on the blog. Visit www.ourstylestories.com for the full tour.

After taking a tour of her space, we sat down to talk about everything from folk art and cultural migration to the process behind creating artisan goods, the importance of good photography for e-commerce, the power of simplicity, and the role of mentorship and collaboration in any creative endeavor.

Skyler Fike is a thoughtful guy who has a particular appreciation for challenges that help him grow. Earlier this week we saw a glimpse of his home and how he inhabits his space through his Style Story. In today's conversation, we dig deeper into the story behind his work and lifestyle. We talked about the early seeds of his interest in architecture, his love affair with photography and film, the many facets of his current freelance work and how being a member of a creative community has helped him get outside of his head, the early stages of finding his artistic voice, and how to be self-taught. This plus so much more!

Listen below or on your smart phone in iTunes to hear our conversation.

Podcast reference links:

• McKinney Bed and Breakfast
• Weld
• Rachael Currie's Style Story
• Sara & Rocky Garza's Style Story
• Cody Culberson

One last note: Our Style Stories is a project of love. I love doing it and hope my audience enjoys my work as well! I’d like to bring that joy to a few others also. By leaving a review of my podcast on iTunes, you will make my show that much more visible to new listeners. Simply follow THIS LINK and leave your review in iTunes.

This week's Style Story featuring Maryam, Jacob, and Margaux Salassi got a lot of attention for it's bold hues and playful art. I absolutely loved spending the afternoon with this sweet family and thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Maryam for the podcast. Maryam and I talked about everything from her childhood growing up in Guam, her philosophies on early art education, her favorite children's book authors, and her insights and lesson learned in the process of launching Pouf Salon which she co-founded with her cousin.

Podcast reference links:

• Pouf salon
• Hi and Hello blog
• Oliver Jeffers
• Peter Brown

One last note: Our Style Stories is a project of love. I love doing it and hope my audience enjoys joining me in the journey as well! I'd like to bring that joy to a few more others as well. By leaving a rating and review of my podcast on iTunes, you will make my show that much more visible to new listeners. Please do so by following THIS LINK and leave your review in iTunes.

In Wednesday's blog post you met Diamond Mahone, the fashion blogger behind Diamond Janae, and got a glimpse of her enviable and bold style. Today we're going to dive a little deeper into her story on the podcast. Diamond has some wonderful insights to share around courage, boldness, and maintaining authenticity in your work. Her early interest in fashion and later education in fashion marketing and management have helped Diamond hone a unique personal aesthetic. Through publishing her own blog, Diamond has also learned the valuable lesson of staying true to yourself and identifying what it is that sets you apart.

Listen below or tune in on your smart phone through iTunes.

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Podcast reference links:

• Ten Over Six
• Self Service Magazine
• Tank Magazine
• Maker Magazine
• The Gentlewoman
• DiamondJanae.com

For someone as young and fresh as she is, Catie Conlon sure has a wealth of valuable life lessons to share. In this podcast interview, Catie discusses her thoughts on the following topics:

• Decorating a diverse and unique home
• Nurturing creativity and positive energy in a work environment
• Developing mentorship relationships
• The role of humility in launching a career
• The importance of editing
• And finally, managing the guilt of downtime

If you haven't already, take a peak inside Catie's home in Dallas, TX before listening to today's conversation. It is a stunner! As is Catie and her lovely view on life.

Part two of SWOON's Style Story takes us behind the front facade of their cool work space and into the minds and musings of Sam and Joslyn, it's founder and principal designers. Join me as I dig deep into topics such as "master of craft" vs. "renaissance woman" and the process of creating a niche through diversifying their offering. I thoroughly enjoyed all of their insights and think you will too. For all those creative entrepreneurs and developing business folks out there, this one's for you!Listen below or on your mobile device for the whole conversation.

Ruthie Lindsey and I sat down to chat at her dining table a month ago after touring her home for her Style Story feature. During our conversation, Ruthie opened up about her journey from being the victim of a serious car accident and undergoing multiple subsequent spinal cord surgeries, to her life today as a decorator and stylist in Nashville, TN. After opening up about her struggles with the world through her blog and social media last year, Ruthie discovered the overwhelming joy and blessings accompanied by true authenticity. Since then, she has made it her mission to share messages of pain and purpose, brokenness and beauty through her work as a creative entrepreneur.