Windowsill Chats

Margo is joined by illustrator and designer Shannon Snow. Shannon makes colorful art for the colorful-at-heart and since starting her design career, she's been nurturing her love for highly illustrative surface design, maximalist color, and bold typography. Currently, she finds herself in the world of product development as Senior Graphic Artist at Natural Life alongside licensing her work. Born and raised in rural Georgia, Shannon loves an ice-cold cocktail on a humid day. She lives in the beautiful city of Savannah, GA with her husband and two daughters.

Margo and Shannon discuss:

• Internal perfectionist tendencies and how Shannon manages it
• How to get noticed (beyond social media)
• The good and bad sides of social media and how she uses it intentionally
• Using her art as a way to bring people together rather than divide
• How she learned the skill of finding quick, creative solutions and problem solving when it came to creating
• Her favorite mediums for creating
• The importance of flexibility, adaptability, and be willing to say yes to things that are scary
• Why 30-day challenges can be life changing
• Balancing life and what moves your art into a place that feels good to you
• Truths and myths around licensing

Connect with Shannon:

https://www.instagram.com/hello.shannon/

https://helloshannon.shop/

https://www.naturallife.com/

Margo is joined by fine artist and surface pattern designer, Sarah Golden. Based out of Sacramento, California, Sarah paints abstracts, botanicals, and designs fabric for Andover Fabrics. She loves working on multiple projects and getting paint on her hands as well as the freedom and intuitive workflow of abstract painting. For her surface design work, block-printing, painting both traditionally and digitally, and pen on paper are her mediums and she has a deep love for Scandinavian design, a simple and clean aesthetic, vintage fabrics, geometrics, and low-volume prints. Sarah is a habitual maker and learning enthusiast. Her studio practice is dedicated to deep work, experimenting, working in a series, and play.

Margo and Sarah discuss:

• Her creative path and making it work when life throws curves
• How and why she follows her gut
• The power of consistency and how it's played a role in her own creative evolution
• What it means to have a good foundation in order for people to discover you
• How her work has translate into licensing
• What work-life balance means to her
• How she dedicates her time to deep work and experimentation

Connect with Sarah:

www.sarahgolden.org

www.instagram.com/sarahgoldenart

www.tiktok.com/@sarahgoldenart

Connect with Margo:

www.tantaustudio.com

www.instagram.com/windowsillchats

www.instagram.com/mtantau

Margo is joined by cousins Ben Braden and Nick Sadler, otherwise known as Strange Hotels - the writers and producers of Need Your Trouble, featured in the introduction for every episode of Windowsill Chats! After touring for years as a part of Portland's iconic touring band The Lower 48, Ben and Nick formed their indie-electro duo Strange Hotels in early 2018, and within weeks of forming the duo, they had the opportunity to open for Billie Eilish and Finneas at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland. Their songs have been featured in several TV shows including Shameless, Viceʼs King Of The Road, and Conan O'Brien's Needs a Friend. Nick & Ben describe Strange Hotels as the most collaborative project they have been a part of- and are a sonic blend of dance, R&B, vintage pop, and indie rock. They have taken a very DIY approach to recording their songs, recording and producing their music solely on iPads. They moved to Los Angeles in 2019 quickly booking a residency at their favorite club, writing new songs, and releasing their second EP, Mixtape II.

Margo, Ben and Nick discuss:

• The transition from The Lower 48 to Strange Hotels
• Moving to LA 5 months before the pandemic heat and how it affected their work
• How being able to do what they enjoy at an early age benefitted them
• Their willingness to be broke and commonality for being bad at having a boss and how it aided in their success down the road
• Finding different ways to share their music
• How the music industry currently works, streaming platforms, and finding new ways to be financially successful
• The unglamorous side of the entertainment industry

Connect with Strange Hotels:

Get Mixtape III for free by texting 'Heard you on WC I'd love Mixtape III' to 651-538-6961

Listen to Strange Hotels on Spotify

https://www.instagram.com/strange_hotels/

Here's a preview from a new podcast, Death of the Artist, that explores a tragedy in the art world. For more than 35 years, accusations of murder shrouded one of the art world's most storied couples: Was the famous sculptor Carl Andre involved in the death of his up-and-coming artist wife Ana Mendieta? Host Helen Molesworth revisits Mendieta's death, taking a closer look at how she might have fallen out of the window of Carl's 34th floor New York apartment, and the following trial which has divided the art world since 1985. Hear more from Death of an Artist at https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/artist?sid=chats.

Margo is joined by her podcast producer and editor Katie Anderson. Katie is the founder behind HomeAway Studio - a creative studio dedicated to supporting business leaders, content creators, and impact driven entrepreneurs through branding, web design, and podcast production. Formerly known as Katie J VA, her business stemmed from the desire to have her own outlet while being able to support her hockey-playing partner in his career overseas. Through persistent curiosity and a never ending desire to learn new skills, she has enabled coaches and creatives to focus on growing and improving their own services by outsourcing time-consuming, digital marketing tasks.

Margo and Katie discuss:

• The path to launching her own business from Europe
• Leaving a career path she didn't love but learned a lot from
• How she's allowed her business to evolve over time
• Getting intentional, finding your why, and doing the work
• How living in other countries has helped her business
• Mixing the analytical, technical, and creative skills required for a business
• And more!

Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, before moving to Arizona for college in 2011, Katie now considers herself a part-time expat splitting her time between the U.S. and Europe. Outside of the U.S., she has lived in Norway, Finland, Austria, and Slovakia but her true home is wherever the Wi-Fi is. When she's not busy supporting businesses behind the scenes, you can find her getting into nature, cooking, enjoying a glass of wine, or expanding her passport stamp collection.

Connect with Katie:

www.homeawaystudio.com

www.katiejva.com

www.instagram.com/homeaway.studio

www.tiktok.com/@katiejaine111

Margo is joined by vintage lover, flower whisperer, slow fashion enthusiast and small business owner, Abbey Trujillo. In 2020, Abbey's love and joy for thrifting quickly transformed into creating a sustainable in house label called Peach Vintage as well as finding traction online through Instagram Reels. Abbey believes the best way to make your dreams a reality is to simply start. Action causes reaction and we are ever evolving. Always recreating ourselves into the next best version. Always finding our new purpose.

Margo and Abbey discuss:

• Abbey's creative background, career path and how it's grown and evolved over time
• How her theater background helps in her reel creation
• Her growing interest in sustainability and the role it plays in her business
• The learning curve and unique challenges that comes with fast growth
• Her advice on who to take (and not take) criticism and advice from
• Connecting with her online community
• Letting go of being precious, launching before you feel 'ready', and imposter syndrome
• Vulnerability and the gift in being you

Connect with Abbey:

https://www.peachvintage.com/

PV Small Business Reels Course

https://www.instagram.com/thepeachvintage/

https://linktr.ee/Thepeachvintage

In this two part interview, Margo is joined by licensed illustrator, adjunct college professor, and online course digital illustration instructor, Beth Buffington. Like many creatives, Beth has been drawing since she was old enough to hold a crayon. After graduating with a degree in art and graphic design, she began her creative career working for "in-house" corporate art departments. After years of corporate communications, she decided to focus on her personal creative passions, by starting her business, BDI-Celebrate-Today, and BDI-Create-Today.

Margo and Beth discuss:

• Wellness when it comes to working and taking care of yourself as part of the creative process
• Diving deeper into the four R's as it pertains to her creative process and what she teaches
• Mind mapping
• Giving yourself permission to step away from work
• Student accomplishments after taking her course
• How she removes overwhelm in her own life and within the course
• Celebrating life everyday

Beth's work is two-fold. She creates illustrations and home decor products—and she also instructs college and online students how to be curious about trends, color, texture, and materials—through the creation of digital illustration. She is also passionate about sharing with students her thoughts on being a healthy artist who is confident and brave about their artistic skills and their artwork.

Connect with Beth:

https://bdi-celebrate.today/ (Illustration & Product Design)

https://www.bdi-create.today/ (Learn the ART of PROCREATE)

https://www.instagram.com/b.b.buffington_celebratetoday/

https://www.facebook.com/BDIcreatetoday

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbbuffington/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFNR_jaR-CnBXIHC5RVTnQg

https://www.skillshare.com/profile/Beth-Buffington/4859209

Connect with Margo:

www.tantaustudio.com

https://www.instagram.com/mtantau/

www.instagram.com/windowsillchats

https://www.instagram.com/relishyourcreativity/

https://www.relishyourcreativity.com/

In this two part interview, Margo is joined by licensed illustrator, adjunct college professor, and online course digital illustration instructor, Beth Buffington. Like many creatives, Beth has been drawing since she was old enough to hold a crayon. After graduating with a degree in art and graphic design, she began her creative career working for "in-house" corporate art departments. After years of corporate communications, she decided to focus on her personal creative passions, by starting her business, BDI-Celebrate-Today, and BDI-Create-Today.

Margo and Beth discuss:

• The necessity of understanding your clients and their pain points
• The importance in being able to be flexible
• Perfection paralysis
• How she got into the creative education space
• Confidence: how to grow it in your creative practices because it plays a huge role in how your art work will perform
• Trusting in your talent
• Learning Procreate
• The creative process that she takes her students through

Beth's work is two-fold. She creates illustrations and home decor products—and she also instructs college and online students how to be curious about trends, color, texture, and materials—through the creation of digital illustration. She is also passionate about sharing with students her thoughts on being a healthy artist who is confident and brave about their artistic skills and their artwork.

Connect with Beth:

https://bdi-celebrate.today/ (Illustration & Product Design)

https://www.bdi-create.today/ (Learn the ART of PROCREATE)

https://www.instagram.com/b.b.buffington_celebratetoday/

https://www.facebook.com/BDIcreatetoday

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbbuffington/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFNR_jaR-CnBXIHC5RVTnQg

https://www.skillshare.com/profile/Beth-Buffington/4859209

Connect with Margo:

www.tantaustudio.com

https://www.instagram.com/mtantau/

www.instagram.com/windowsillchats

https://www.instagram.com/relishyourcreativity/

https://www.relishyourcreativity.com/

Margo is joined by artist, fabric + surface pattern designer, and mother of two creative beautiful kiddos, Jessica Swift. Jessica creates colorful, uplifting artwork that inspires others to live colorful, unique, and hope-filled lives. She creates and manufactures her own products in her studio and also licenses her artwork to others for branded products such as fabric, stationery, puzzles, books, and more. Her online classes include pattern design, color, and intuitive art-making.

Margo and Jessica discuss:

• Her creative journey and how it's evolved
• Mindset shifts and fears she's worked through around burnout and taking breaks
• How she uses her intuition in art and life
• How her husband's unexpected death plays a role in her creations and work
• Valuing her own thoughts, opinions, and self as much as she does others
• Managing multiple income streams and projects at once
• Giving yourself grace and figuring out what works for you
• Comparing current self to past self: finding radical acceptance and learning to trust yourself
• Finding belonging exactly as you are

Jessica makes things because when she does, she feels more hopeful, happy, and alive. Simple as that. She believes that art that speaks to your heart is not frivolous; it's vital. Sometimes we all need a hand, a reminder that we're not alone in this big crazy world. When you start to see that we've all got some version of messy truth alive and kickin' in our own lives, you start to realize you're not actually alone. In fact, other people get what you're going through! Making art and sharing her own real + imperfect life reminds Jessica that life is hard for everyone and we're all in this together. It comforts her to know that her work might make you feel a little more connected, too.

Connect with Jessica:

https://www.jessicaswift.com

https://www.instagram.com/jessicaswift

https://www.jessicaswift.com/pages/subscribe

https://www.skillshare.com/user/jessicaswift

Jessica's Animal Allies Oracle Decks

Margo is joined by Annie Galvin of 3 Fish Studios based out of Northern California. Annie was born and raised in Ireland, where she went to art college and then worked as an illustrator in Dublin before winning the green card lottery at the age of 23 and emigrating to the United States. Annie moved to San Francisco in 1989 (two weeks before the earthquake), and she is still happily living in California. A natural daydreamer and doodler, Annie has a constant impulse to create and spends her days making drawings, paintings, and collages that feature juicy colors and salty humor. She picked up a degree in English literature from UC Berkeley which adds a layer of storytelling to her work.

Margo and Annie discuss:

• Winning the lottery and coming to America
• Her personal creative process and what she does when she isn't connecting to her creative side
• Her inevitable love for California
• Why downsizing and/or being willing to switch things up isn't a bad thing
• The power in not being precious about one's work
• Being an accessible and affordable artist
• The mindset behind enjoying the process and the ride of a creative business
• Working with her husband
• And more!

Annie is endlessly inspired by the people and loveliness of the Golden State — the magical energy, the enormous diversity of people and ideas, as well as the natural beauty of her adopted homeland. Annie and her husband, Eric Rewitzer, also an artist, started 3 Fish Studios in 2006 and ran a gallery and studio in San Francisco for many years. In 2020 they relocated along with the studio to Amador City, CA.

Connect with Annie:

Www.3fishstudios.com

www.instagram.com/3fishstudios

https://www.pinterest.com/3fishstudios/