Windowsill Chats

On this episode, Margo speaks with Illustrator and Fine Artist, Kate Endle. Kate has been illustrating professionally for over twenty five years, but art has been her main focus since her toddler years. In 1995 she moved to Seattle to pursue her art career and her early illustration work, rendered in a painterly graphic style, can be found in beginning reader books for children, editorial work for travel and education magazines and advertising materials. In 2001 she began to collect decorative papers which set her on a major art style shift that included collaging hand painted and decorative papers to a stretched canvas. With this new style, she began illustrating picture books and licensing her images to home decor and paper products.

Kate and Margo discuss:

• Kate's path to professional artistry starting at a young age
• Why patience is truly a virtue and can pay off in the long run
• Possibilities that can come from working with an agent (good & bad)
• The power of community
• Reasons to not put all your eggs in one basket in the art industry
• Why sometimes it's necessary to allow yourself breaks
• Feeling uninspired (we all go through it!)
• And much much more!

Kate has had the good fortune of working with dream clients like American Greetings, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Hallmark, Klutz, Land of Nod, Madison Park Greetings, Modern-twist, Papyrus, Sasquatch Books, Sesame Street Workshop, Utne Reader and Washington Mutual. She is currently working in several different mediums (burlap paintings, punch needle and ceramics) and you can find her selling her work at her online shop at KateEndle.com, Etsy, Pike Place Market, Caspar Babypants shows and various craft shows around the Pacific Northwest.

Connect with Kate:

Kate Endle Illustration & Fine Art

https://www.instagram.com/kateendleillustration/

https://www.facebook.com/kateendleillustration/?ref=ts

https://www.instagram.com/seattleladymakers/

#005: Margo sits down with the one and only, Shauna Ahern. Some may know Shauna as Gluten Free Girl, others may know her as Author of Enough. To Margo, she is a dear friend along with being an extremely creative and amazing writer. She has a massive heart, a fascinating curiosity, and holds many titles - mom, teacher, advocate for humans, and so many others.

Shauna shares about:

• Being raised in a toxic and abusive environment
• Toxic positivity
• What gluten free and writing have in common
• Being authentically 'enough'
• The importance of connection over everything else (and her household quote - "we are for each other, not just ourselves")
• Using and sharing her vulnerabilities to create
• Abandoning anyone and everyone else's definition of success
• And so much more

Not only is Shauna a beautiful writer but she also speaks passionately and with eloquence. You don't want to skip this one!

Connect with Shauna -

www.OnBeingEnough.com

Enough.substack.com

Enough: Notes From a Woman Who Has Finally Found It

Joining Margo in her windowsill today is Misha Zadeh Graham. Misha sketches, paints, and collages from her home studio in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, overlooking the Puget Sound. She is the founder of Turquoise Creative, whose unique line of handmade, cut-paper greeting cards and letterpress note cards debuted at the 2002 National Stationery Show and were soon picked up by high-profile boutiques throughout North America and Europe such as Barneys New York, Kate's Paperie and Liberty London. Her cards have been featured in many publications including RealSimple, Lucky, Sunset, and O, the Oprah Magazine and she has also licensed artwork to online and established printed stationery leaders.

Margo and Misha chat about:

• Misha's unclear path to finding graphic design and where she found it
• The rigorous design school at University of Washington
• Some different experiences with licensing
• Dealing with copyright infringement
• The willingness and confidence to push for work you believe in
• Creating quality over quantity
• And much more!

Misha draws inspiration from her childhood spent poring over Persian miniatures and weavings, as well as the modern and Nordic influences she picked up in her studies at the University of Washington and beyond. She loves to play with color, pattern, quirky animals, and all sorts of flora. You can find her creating bold imagery adorning textiles, housewares, and of course, paper goods.

Connect with Misha:

http://www.mishazadeh.com/

https://www.instagram.com/mishazadeh/

#003: On this episode, Margo is joined by Nataley Shepherd. Nataley is a handmade brand consultant and owner of Studio Shepherd. She graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University with an art degree (with an emphasis in weaving) and after a few random jobs she found herself landing a job on the ground floor of a local handmade start up company, Two Guys Bow Tie Co. She went from maker to operations manager and was an integral part of growing and scaling TGBT straight onto ABC's Shark Tank. (Yes, they got a deal!) Nataley continued on to become the marketing director for another handmade start up, Plank and Mill and thoroughly enjoyed helping to scale this business as well except this time through creative marketing.

Margo & Nataley discuss:

• Nataley's post-college career path
• The importance of understanding your "why" as a creative
• Keeping a separation between hand making and personal worth
• Nataley's shift from hand maker to coach/consultant
• Curating your brand around the vision you have for your life
• Finding alignment, purpose, and intention in business
• And much more

Today, Nataley helps makers elevate their businesses into sought after brands by connecting the products to a deeper mission and message, developing a business roadmap conducive for scaling, and marketing simply and strategically to reach the next level of success.

Connect with Nataley:

https://www.studioshepherd.com/

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/studio_shepherd/

#002: Margo and Mandy get real and honest when it comes to creativity and finding a balance. Mandy Ford is a licensed illustrator, lettering artist, teacher, and all around creative soul living in Indiana with her husband Dan, twin boys Ben & Landon, and Siamese cat Chloe. She specializes in honest & whimsical artwork that encourages living a life grounded in authenticity.

Some topics discussed include:

• Being described as an artist at a young age
• Being your worst critic
• Finding time and balance to make a career being creative while also managing being a mom and wife
• Working with an agent
• Giving yourself permission to learn and experience new hobbies
• And much more!

When she isn't drawing, Mandy loves to art journal, pay attention to (and be surprised by) nature, and has never met a nap she doesn't like. She's currently obsessed with moon phases,

the enneagram (she's a 4), and sending snail mail covered with stickers. Mandy keeps herself running on equal doses of hope and coffee.

Connect with Mandy:

https://www.mandyford.co/

https://www.instagram.com/mandyfordart/

Creating a Vision Board in Procreate

#001: On this episode, Margo chats with Nicole LaRue, a graphic designer and illustrator whose own adventures have taken her across the world from California to South Korea to Japan and more. Now residing in Salt Lake City UT, she spends her days as the Art Director, Designer & Illustrator for Gibbs Smith Publisher & Spumoni Studio.

Nicole and Margo discuss:

• Nicole's graphic design journey
• The trickiness of managing business and creativity
• Creating the Women's March on Washington logo and how the opportunity found her
• The trickle effect of opportunity that arose after creating the logo
• How understanding human design has helped her as a freelance designer
• The importance of learning our own creative processes
• And more!

Some of her clients include: The Women's March on Washington, Chronicle Books, Abrams Books, Gibbs Smith Publisher, Oxford University Press, Compendium, Inc., Madison Park Greetings, Johnson & Johnson, Spumoni, Chatbooks, Tiny Prints, DC Shoes, American Eagle & more.

Connect with Nicole:

www.smallmadegoods.com

https://www.instagram.com/smallmadegoods/

https://www.facebook.com/nicole.larue.509

https://spumonistudio.com/

Small and Mighty - An Activist's Guide for Finding Your Voice & Engaging with the World

Girl Almighty - An Interactive Journal for Being a Mighty Activist of the World & Other Utterly Respectable Pursuits

In this introduction episode to Windowsill Chats, Margo Tantau introduces herself and tells us the premise and goals behind creating it. A podcast for artists and other creatives, Margo tells stories, shares interviews, and gives a behind the scenes glimpse into real people and their creative paths!