People I Think Are Cool

Lee Hardcastle is a writer, director, and animator. He is best known for his awesomely gory claymation shorts. I first saw his work in Alamo Drafthouse's ABC's of Death. His short films are the perfect mix of blood, guts, and humor. In this episode, we talk about his career, film festivals, and his bad a** name. You can follow Lee on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Mike is the mastermind behind the webcomic Dustpiggies. He is best known for his wickedly dark humor and unique style.

In this ep, we talk about making comics (of course), how dark is too dark with humor, and what our families think about this weird comic thing we call a career. You can follow Mike on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Oh, and if you need to kill an afternoon then check out his awesome YouTube channel. I could watch him draw for hours. 

Taylor Barnes is the co-founder of Denizens Brewing Co located in Silver Spring, MD. In this episode, we talk about making beer, being a female based business, and her career change from politics to beer. You can follow Denizens beer making journey on Twitter and Facebook. 

Michael David Thomas is the assistant director for the Small Press Expo. SPX is one of the best indie comic fests in the nation! SPX 2015 is September 19-20 in Bethesda, MD. The show is so big that they have a lotto system for tables. Lotto registration is going on now until Feb. 15.

If you are a fan of SPX or are thinking of signing up then this is a must listen. We talk indie comics, the history of SPX, the lotto system, and the awesome people who make up this amazing event!

You can follow the latest updates for SPX on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr AND you can check out what Michael David Thomas is up to when he's not running one of the best shows of the year on Instagram and Tumblr. 

Tonedeff is a rapper, producer, and singer-songwriter based in New York. He is also the founder of the hip hop label QN5. We sit down and talk cats, rap battles, gaming, and Andy Warhol. He's a deep dude, and I love that about him. You can check out his latest album Polymer on QN5's site and follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @tonedeff. 

This week I chill with Octopus Tree House co-founder, Jess Petyo. She started her own print making company with her husband Paul a few years ago. Jess is seriously my little lady-geek soulmate. We talk about so many amazing things like 3D printing, vinyl toys, comic cons, and being lazy about showering every day (when you work from home these things happen!). You can check out all of Jess's awesomeness on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

This week I chat with writer Rachael Berkey. She's written for sites like Nerdist, Playboy, Huffington Post, and HelloGiggles. She also has a long running love affair with all things books. I've known Rachael for a few years now from our days at Hellogiggles. She tells her story about transitioning from writing articles for free to building up her resume and making it as a paid contirubuting journalist for Nerdist and Playboy. You can pretty much find Rachael on every corner of the internet. Check her out on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram as @bookoisseur.

Debbie Lee is a DC craft legend. She's co-created multiple craft communities including Hello Craft and the Fenton Street Market. She is also one of Crafty Bastards elite jurors. In this episode, she takes us behind the scenes on what it's like to select vendors for a major indie craft show and talks about her experience working with talent like Doctor Who's Billie Piper for Awesome Con DC. You can follow Debbie on Instagram @rocknromp.

Sarah-Jane (Ph.D, Princeton) is an EMMY-nominated screenwriter and producer. She studied screenwriting at UCLA and is associate professor of creative writing and great texts at Baylor University. SJ is a passionate abolitionist and advocate for the arts. As a story designer, she believes stories, when they are well-told, can change the world. Originally from Northern Ireland, SJ lives in Austin, TX.

Twinkie Chan is a San Francisco based crochet designer. Her delicious food accessories grew from a small business out of her house in 2005 to book deals and a clothing line. In this interview we discuss leaving her career in the publishing world to follow her love for creativity in the form of crochet. We also talk about her wildly fun fashion sense and love of sharing her craft. You can follow Twinkie on Instagram and Twitter @TwinkieChan. 

Oh and if you wanna see the crochet lipstick that left me cracking up at how awesome Twinkie is at not taking herself too seriously then click HERE.