The Stories – “The model to succeed is tough unless you are backed by a conglomerate, or LVMH.” “The place that was smaller, at that point, was Michael Kors. I interned there for two years. It was a dream. Michael Kors showed me how to be a boss – he was nice, kind, funny, and personable.” “My mother would require us to make dinner one night a week so we could learn some basic cooking.” “I wanted every recipe to have a photo. When I look at a cookbook and there’s no photo representing a recipe, not only do I not know what that recipe’s supposed to look like, I also feel like, this author must not think this is an important recipe.”

The Backstory – “I sat at family dinner one night, when I was in the fifth grade, and made the announcement that I wanted to be a fashion designer.” “In 2006 I was working with two different design teams. It was crazy busy; I was fully in the mix. It was full minestrone!” “Cooking was something I’d been doing the whole time. When I was a fashion designer, I was always coming home and cooking, having dinner parties… it was something that kept my feet on the ground in what can be a crazy industry at times.”

Wisdom Rains – “All the focus that began for me in the fifth grade, had turned into blinders. Then I allowed myself to have another dream.” “There’s a point when you’re on the diving board and you need to take that leap of faith, and know that hard work and some level of talent will yield a soft landing. Once you start doing something, your heart catches up with your mind.” “It's almost like the protein is the Little Black Dress. Now how do you accessorize it?"

On Inspo – “Growing up in the Bay Area in San Francisco, in the 70’s and 80’s, it was a really amazing time for creativity and for self-expression, and I felt like I was in the right place at the right time.”

On Tommy Hilfiger---“Tommy, as a person himself, was an amazing mentor, in terms of him really seeing that I had the potential.”

On recipes and putting together his cookbook, Family Style – “I would wake up at 7, 8 in the morning and get to recipe testing. My refrigerator was a Jenga set from hell.” “Five Spice Chicken is one of those Tuesday meals that you can just throw into the oven.” “Knowing it was inspired by my heritage and Cantonese roots, I felt it would be amazing to find an Asian photographer; there’s a common language and experience.”

What Else – “I have a couple of things coming down the turnpike that are in the fashion world."

Obsixed – a collection of Peter Som’s current obsessions.

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petersom.com

Family Style: Elegant Everyday Recipes Inspired by Home and Heritage by Peter Som 

⁠Burlap + Barrel Peter Som Blends⁠

When The Going Was Good by Graydon Carter 

Todd Snyder Italian Wood Block Paisley Neckerchief 

Lipault luggage

Stan Smiths | navy

Rombauer Chardonnay

La Double J table linens

Atelier Saucier table linens

Matouk table linens

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follow @storyandraintalks and @storyandrain on Threads

all about the host

The Stories — "I dyed the bottom of it Manic Panic raspberry-red. I had a belly button pierce. I wore a lot of midriffs. I was a kind of Jewish Shakira, trying to have some influence from Erykah Badu or something, but I was not cool in that way at all.” “I really wanted to be in that movie. I just love Sofia Coppola so much. At the time I didn't have a child. I didn't know much about mothering, and because the writing was so good, I think I knew what to do.” “I want Ida to know that the world is a field of relations. It's cause and effect. Things don't come from nowhere. People don't come from nowhere. Everybody has a heart. It means that she has the ultimate safety in me and in Ben, my husband.”

The Backstory — “When I started doing improv and excelled, it was like realizing that you could run really fast or something.” “[SNL] was a necessary opportunity for me to take. I saw a lot in myself that I didn't expect to see. Though challenging, it completely pointed me in the direction of my own natural success.”

Wisdom Rains — "Every time we love a piece of art, that's our achievement. The original creation is the achievement of the artist and the people who may have helped them, or made them feel encouraged or inspired… the beauty and offerings of their world at that time.”

On Inspo — "When something is ready to be expressed outside of my personal life, there tends to be no hesitation in terms of either putting it in standup or putting it on the page.”

On playing the best friend in both It Ends With Us and Dying for Sex —  “Other than me playing them, I think it's totally two different pieces of work, two different writers… totally different. I'm often cast as people who are 'the funny person,' but in Dying for Sex, what was offered to me was such an incredible combination of character traits.”

On Dying for Sex — “It was a real moment in understanding my own self-defined legitimacy… backed up by Liz Meriwether and Kim Rosenstock writing it. They're so incredible. I thought, Michelle wants me to be here, and she sees me. She's not like seeing hope for what I will be. She's watching my work. She's connecting with me. We're glad we're here. It felt so good. I felt really enrobed in my character.”

On her latest book, Lifeform — “I'd found it really hard to write anything that felt like it could breathe and progress. I found it hard to say something interesting, and that wasn't just me having a tiny little shit fit. That's cruel to say about myself, I know, but sometimes it's just that way. Then, in the summer of 2023, my daughter was two-and-a-half, and I could suddenly just catch a wave.”

What Else — “I really want to write another kid's book, not a Marcel book, but another picture book. And I'm writing a screenplay right now. I would also like to write a theater piece for myself. There's always a lot that I'm trying to do all at once, in small doses, and then something will overtake everything else.” At The Sea, an upcoming film with Amy Adams.

Obsixed —  A collection of Jenny Slate’s current lifestyle obsessions.

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Dying For Sex on Hulu

It Ends With Us on Netflix

Lifeform by Jenny Slate 

Little Weirds by Jenny Slate

About The House by Ron Slate + Jenny Slate

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On: Things About Me by Jenny Slate + Dean Fleischer Camp 

Marcel the Shell: The Most Surprised I've Ever Been by Jenny Slate + Dean Fleischer Camp 

Chani Nicholas and the Chani App

Caron Callahan Carissa Shirt

Caron Callahan Lila Skirt

Tulsi Rose Tea 

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all about the host 

The Stories — 

Strecker: “I hadn’t had a partner who was socially savvy until I found Taylor.” "Taylor has a quiet, calming confidence that’s really important when you are working with people who are talent. It’s nerve wracking to be in front of a camera.” “I spent so many years doing morning radio. I would just wake up, roll out of bed. I didn’t even have time to think about what went into getting energized for a show. I didn’t have time to get nervous.” “The entertainment industry is very dramatic, and for a really long time I was addicted to the drama.” 

Donohue: “You could tell by talking to her for two seconds that the things that come out of her mouth are insane. We became friendly and I learned that she had this amazing job at Sirius XM. I was this 26-year-old kid, and I started working for her more and more. We’re total opposites of the spectrum, because I’m behind the camera.” “It’s being proactive versus reactive. And she’s talent, I can only push her so far as her wife and co-worker if she’s exhausted after two or three shows a day and an event.” “Something I’ve learned about myself is that my body needs to recharge. I used to give, give, give, all the time.”

The Backstory — The Taylors met while filming a food video for a chef friend.

Wisdom Rains — Donohue: “Celebrating the small wins with your partner is huge.”

Who Inspires? — Strecker: “Ironically, because they would all say I was their inspiration for getting into podcasting or some form of audio, Stassi Schroeder, @girlwithnojob, and Hannah Berner – all of my best friends.”

On Working Together Every Day — Donohue: “It can be 24/7 so it’s hard to stop. Tay is usually making dinner while I’m wrapping up. And then we love to watch a show at the end of the day. The beautiful thing is we can work from anywhere. The terrible thing is we can work from anywhere. But the thing too, is that a lot of our work is fun.”'

What’s It Like To Have Your Creative-Creator As A Partner, In One Word? — Donohue: “Lucky.” Strecker: “Kismet.”

What Else — Live shows, writing a book, and building The Taylors brand.

Obsixed — A collection of Taylor Donohue and Taylor Strecker’s current lifestyle obsessions.

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Taste of Taylor

Sony record player

One Line A Day journal

Auvon Tens Unit

Converse Chuck Taylors in red

U Beauty Resurfacing Compound

Coleman Saluspa inflatable hot tub

Hulken Rolling Tote Bag

Free People We The Free Good Luck Barrel Jeans

Discover the episode and more on storyandrain.com

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follow @storyandraintalks and @storyandrain on Threads

all about the host

The Stories: “The class is very methodical and purposeful and scientific in the way that it's designed. The hour is not, ‘I worked out for an hour because that's going to bring me to the body shape that I want.’ It's, I'm committing the hour to self with no phones and with movement in my body. My communication is deeply healing on a lot of levels.” 

“Fake it ‘til you make it? That didn't work for me. Faking it ‘til I make it just evokes too much imposter syndrome. I study until I’m confident. I was thrust into a position where, all of a sudden, I had a successful studio and I was hiring more people. I became focused on reading, learning, taking my own classes, and discovering how I could be better.” 

The Backstory: "Shackles on, shackles off." After landing in Hollywood, and a lot of soul searching, the one-time actor from Canada stepped into her purpose when she tapped into teaching and what made her feel whole. 

Wisdom Rains:  “I believe that carving out sixty minutes of focusing on self, body, and being, is a type of neurological healing that is also a nervous system healing.” 

“Ten minutes of moderate movement after you eat is more effective than thirty minutes of moderate movement at another time of day.” 

On Inspo: “Allow yourself ebb and flow. That's really important. The concept that we have this schedule that's going to last through every life shift and change, and when we fall off, we're bad? We have to remove that thinking because it puts us in a constant state of distress. Where is your space to achieve? Where is your space to explore? Where is your space to have a victory? Those are the things that get us out of bed.” 

On the Fitness Industry: “We've had our own little industrial revolution from 2014 until now. Boutique fitness hadn't had the boom it has had now.” 

On Drew Barrymore: “She's trained with every famous person you can imagine, and she kept being drawn back to the way that I work because of the conversation I ask clients to have with their bodies.”

What Else: Marnie shares the details for how she does life: sleep and morning routines, weekend routines, skin rituals, what she eats, how she detoxes, the self care and body treatments she believes are worthwhile, and how it’s all about waterwaterwater. 

Obsixed: A collection of Marnie's current lifestyle obsessions and brands.

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M/Body by Marnie Alton 

Genmaicha Tea

Heritage Store Organic Cold-Pressed Hexane-Free Castor Oil

Away Hardside Carry-On

Smart Water

Organic Lemons from California 

Silicone Freezer Trays

The Stories: “Usually we'll hear from folks when they're having a big life event, like leaving the city. People will say, ‘you've been a part of my life for the past 11 years.’ Or, ‘I’m moving to LA. Can you recommend something for me there? Do you have any plans of opening there?’ The love is really wonderful."

“Am I doing a good job? What does competition look like? Are we telling the story as good as we used to? I used to pack a lot of the boxes; I cared about the quality. How do we make sure that those quality standards are maintained?”

The Backstory: “No doubt, the pandemic was this real accelerant for what we were doing. It really changed people's habits overnight. We had been trying to get press for years, then, suddenly, press was flocking to us.” 

“My father is a lifelong natural products and natural food entrepreneur. That was what I grew up around. I saw him building out these small-footprint, pre-Whole Foods kind of grocery stores, filled with natural products.” 

“The nice thing about being young and naïve is that I was like, ‘how can I make a million dollar business? The foolishness of that was what made it so fun, the possibilities so endless.”

Wisdom Rains: “What this is doing, at a minimum, is getting people to think about how their health is connected to how they feel and what they eat. We've become very disconnected with it, because people are no longer growing up in the kitchens of their grandparents, learning how to cook.” 

“Customers drive the innovation. Listen to the people you're delivering to. What do they want? That’s kept me busy for the past 11 years.”

On Inspo: “I always come back to and try to remind myself about why I’m doing this. What's really exciting and fulfilling to me, especially being a young founder in an industry where a lot of competitors raised a ton of venture capital and we really have no right existing, it’s been fulfilling to me to go back to the mission of, how do we take the food that I was selling myself at the farmer's market and seeing the issues of customers who would come to the farmer's market. I felt like if there was a few of them, there were many, many more out there who would want this kind of product. And my mission was how do we create this and make it something that is sustainable and profitable.”

On Farmers: “Our farmers are incredible. I think people forget this, but the farmer's job is one of the hardest. There are no days off. Food is something that is highly perishable, growing all the time.”

The Stories: “Literally no one would know who I was in Australia at all! It wasn't until very recently that it changed. It's not something I focus on. I'm quite a private person and quite protective of my life. It's funny to finally feel embraced by the country that you always wanted to work in. I can't say that I haven't had some of those earlier struggles, where there was a juvenile resentment for not feeling important enough in your own country.” 

“I think I have a healthy relationship with wellness and balance where I want to be as healthy to myself as I can, but in terms of more tangible wellness practices, I think moving your body is always a good thing. I do pilates, yoga. I think trying to take care of your mental health is important. I’m someone who has my own struggles with anxiety and trying to manage that in a healthy way. I do a lot of journaling. Art is also really helpful for me.”

The Backstory: “I had very early exposure to the arts growing up. My mom was a children's television writer and my dad was a musician. So that definitely reinforced and encouraged a lot of creative pursuits from a very early age.”

Wisdom Rains: “What I’ve learned in my work, is that so much is out of my control, creatively. There’s something to be said about learning to embrace the wave; the flow of things.”

On Inspo: “I always go in with this idea that you’re always trying to be as honest as you can; you’re finding the essence of truth. My process and my style is to make sure I’m doing the best job and justice to the character – and that means working from a place of real honesty and truth.”

On Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar: “People are drawn to the complexity of the wellness and medical industries, and we all know someone who has been affected by cancer or a serious illness. Not only are we constantly bombarded by new information about health and wellness all the time, the chase for eternal youth and wellness is everywhere and so pervasive in our lives. Apple Cider Vinegar really touches on the complexities of conventional and nonconventional medicine.”

What Else: “Creativity has been so imbued in my life, and I feel like I have a strong idea of my taste, so directing is something I'm wanting to explore more. Obviously, it's quite hard to get your foot in the door, so I'm going to try to write – in order to facilitate it.”

Obsixed: A collection of Alycia's current lifestyle obsessions and brands.

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Watch Apple Cider Vinegar on Netflix⁠

⁠Watch Saint X on Hulu⁠

⁠Watch Fear the Walking Dead on Netflix

Christopher Esber Gondola Mini Tote

SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic

Leset Yoko Pocket Pant

Tulips

We’re ranting live from Industry City in Brooklyn and from The Female Founder’s Collective’s annual Female Founder’s Day. Tamara sits down with Sarah Beth from the team to answer some questions she has about career and building a brand. We grab FFC Co-Founder Rebecca Minkoff between sessions at the gathering of 500+ plus founders for this episode on out-of-the-box thinking and career paths, risk-taking, having perseverance, and sticking to your vision as a founder.

Tell us a little about your early career and how you’ve navigated career moves over the years, to get to where you are now? What was the catalyst  for creating Story + Rain? Can you tell us how the name ‘Story + Rain’ came about? With decidedly differing answers, Tamara and Rebecca answer one of our favorite questions: What is a story about your career that you’ve never had the opportunity to share before? Is there a moment in your career when you found yourself having to stick to your vision and it paid off in spades, in terms of authenticity and your brand? What kind of creativity goes into putting together an event like Female Founder’s Day? 

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The Female Founder Collective 

Rebecca Minkoff wears West Booties in black

Tamara carries the Dior Changing Bag

Spanx Booty Boost Active Leggings

Petite Plume Silk Sleep Mask

Beautybio Get That Glow Glowpro Facial Microneedling Discover Set

Supergoop! Play Everyday Lotion SPF 30

On this episode, we go BTS and talk with filmmaker Edward Burns' go-to costume designer, Rosemary Lepre Forman to discuss tricks-of-the-trade and working on his latest film, Millers In Marriage with its star-ensemble cast. She shares details around their longterm collaboration, how she's learned to be resourceful and creative in her work, and how she leaned into the 1990s and a 'quiet luxury' look for the Millers cast of stylish, complex characters living between NYC and upstate New York. Tamara and Ro dive into the creative heartbeat of a 20-day shoot, how accessories bring a character to life, and why fashion is a powerful tool in storytelling.

What’s the look and feel of Millers In Marriage in four words? Where did you get crafty and resourceful in terms of pulling wardrobe for Minnie Driver, Gretchen Mol, Julianna Margulies, Patrick Wilson, Campbell Scott, Benjamin Bratt, and more? How did you learn to become resourceful, did the job teach you? How can people make the Millers look their own? What is your personal take on quiet luxury for the film? Wrapping a project + letting go of the creative process. 

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Rosemary Lepre Forman

Millers in Marriage

The Stories: “On my first day as a CFDA member, I stood up in front of then-president Diane von Furstenberg and Steven Kolb and I asked what our industry’s plans for sustainability was. I remember the Olsen twins sitting in front of me and turning around, staring at me. Everyone was staring at me. ‘Who is this girl?’ Diane and Steven looked at each other and said, ‘We have none.'"

The Backstory: Grew up with two creative grandmothers and aunts; one grandmother who was an award-winning quilter and who had hand-selected the rocks that her grandfather built their house with. Her mother is an ‘overachiever,’ former lawyer who creates watercolor art and who spent hours with Melissa as a child making food for her Barbie refrigerator. “My dad, although he isn’t crafty, is very intellectually creative.”

Wisdom Rains: “I tend to look at the shifts and the circularity of my business – marked by what some people might call ‘trauma’ – as opportunities to rebuild better. Even though they’re really challenging to go through at the time, you really learn what’s important, and what you want.”

On Inspo: “The way that we make jewelry is so influenced by traditional Mexican silversmithing techniques. I don’t do a lot of casting. We hand-make, hand-form, hand-hammer using a lot of the same tools that are used in Mexico. I really appreciate their craft and attention to detail.” Names her mother as ‘super-inspirational’ for how she’s reinvented herself to achieve many different things over the years.

On Community + On Her Store: “People really enjoy getting together and talking about things, trying stuff on and having fun. I’ve only been in business for as long as I have, because of my community. I’ve built really strong relationships that have carried me through really challenging times, so I feel like nourishing those, intentionally. My wholesale partners have become a strong focus, so has creating the same type of partnership and energy within my store.”

What Else: “There is a lot of technical detail within what we do that doesn’t scream, ‘look at me.’ It’s an understated elegance that allows each person to put their personal stamp on my jewelry when they wear it.”

Obsixed: A collection of Melissa’s current lifestyle obsessions and brands.

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melissajoymanning.com

Veteran fashion editor, stylist, and author Sasha Charnin Morrison and Tamara sit down to get granular on fashion then and now. From magazine jobs to signature style, fashion experts and fashion week, the pair pick apart what it took (and takes) to rise to the top in fashion and in publishing – and more.

When you think about your time at Vanity Fair, what story comes to mind?  Learning on the job. The exclusive editorial positions at fashion magazines. You have worked with the most talented people in the business, who stands out in your mind?  Talking Mirabella, Liz Tilberis, Paul Cavaco, Janice Min. Fashion shows and the 90's fashion scene in Paris. What is lacking in fashion content? What do you think makes for a great fashion editor or style expert now?

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Secrets Of Stylists by Sasha Charnin Morrison

Simone Rocha Ruffle Detail Parka

Norma Kamali Kenny Jumpsuit

The Frye Company Campus Boot in silver

Chanel Sycomore Eau de Parfum

Laura Geller Kajal Longwear Eyeliner in Deep Black

About-Face Smoke Stick in Smoking Gun