Making Ways: The Art of Music

On this episode of Making Ways , we’re joined by printmaker, surface designer, author, and teacher Jen Hewett. Jen’s path is a winding one. She began her career working in education, started a stationery business, later moved into the technology world doing HR and operations for an e-learning company, and only recently began pursuing her creative passions full time. Today, Jen creates highly tacti...

It’s the 25th episode of Making Ways podcast! Since the show began, we’ve been joined by amazing artists, founders, designers, engineers, and makers of all stripes. So at this significant quarter mark, we look back at some of the stories and advice guests have shared around fostering creativity, conquering challenges, making change, and finding flow. You’ll even hear some new insights never before...

Steve Vassallo is a lifelong builder, maker, and designer. These days he’s helping startups design a better future as a general partner at venture capital firm Foundation Capital. From his early days playing with Legos to his time engineering products for Cisco, Nike, and BMW at renowned agency IDEO and his startup success with Immersion and Ning, Steve has always been mercilessly focused on the u...

On this episode of Making Ways , filmmaker Tim Nackashi joins the show to talk about his first steps into the world of film, share behind-the-scenes commentary about some of his acclaimed music videos, and deliver great advice for aspiring filmmakers. Tim is a self-taught director. He grew up playing in bands, studied painting in college, and first earned his stripes working on his documentary Dir...

On this episode of Making Ways , the podcast all about the unexpected paths to a creative career, host Rob Goodman is joined by Kimberly Bryant, founder and executive director of Black Girls Code. Kimberly’s path to starting the organization was anything but a straight shot. After an illustrious career in engineering spent working for Genentech, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Merck, and Pfizer...

As the executive director of Root Division, a San Francisco-based visual arts nonprofit that connects creativity and community through education, exhibitions, and studio space, fine artist Michelle Mansour has dedicated much of her professional life to helping artists thrive and cultivate their work. Her own paintings investigate the interior world of the body and the overlapping realms of science...

Samantha Hahn started working nine-to-five for a magazine right out of college, a job she thought she would love. But the office grind didn’t suite her, so she quickly began plotting a course that would one day lead her to a freelance commercial art career as a fashion illustrator. Today, Samantha’s clients include Marc Jacobs, Teen Vogue , Glamour , Elle , Marie Claire , and quarterlane books. On...

Gregg Schigiel decided he wanted to draw comic books when he was in elementary school. Although most people don’t make such important career decisions at that young an age, Gregg has doggedly pursued his goal ever since those days spent drawing characters on the chalkboard. Through a blend of his amazing talent, hard work, and some friendly faces he’s met along the way, Gregg has charted a course...

On this week’s episode of Making Ways, you’ll hear the extraordinary, unexpected, and still unfolding path of freelance design consultant Arianna Orland, whose career has taken her from Friendster to Zynga to recent clients Twitter, NerdWallet, and Mozilla. Arianna didn’t set out to live her life as a designer, but as she followed her internal compass, it became evident she was meant for design, t...

Josette Melchor operates best in a space loosely defined and without labels, hence the name of the nonprofit she founded, Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, which is dedicated to applying art and technology to create social and civic impact. On this episode of Making Ways, Josette talks about her unconventional upbringing in the desert of Indio, California (best known for hosting the Coachella Val...

Shanna Tellerman hasn’t approached her career with a game plan in mind; instead, she’s been on a journey to pursue the opportunities she is most passionate about, the things she can’t not do, which may account for her love of both the engineering and design aspects of business and product development. On this episode of Making Ways , Shanna recounts her path from art-loving teenager to engineer en...

This week on Making Ways we’re live at San Francisco Design Week with acclaimed hand-lettering artist and designer Erik Marinovich. Based in San Francisco, Erik is a founding member of Friends of Type and the workspace Title Case. He has worked with big brands like Nike, Target, and Google as well as smaller clients including his neighborhood shops in San Francisco’s Mission District. In a wide-ra...

On this week’s episode, design leader and vice president of creative at brand experience agency FreemanXP Katie O’Brien joins the show for some real talk on the life of a creative captain. Katie discusses her every-which-way path in design, which led her to ultimately tackle events and live experiences, and the life-shaking moments that rocked her free of a narrower, more control-oriented mindset...

At first glance, the life of a film director might seem glamorous and otherworldly. But Scott Kirschenbaum has chosen a path that is as real, raw, and of the earth as you can get. On this week’s episode of Making Ways , Scott talks about how he left mainstream screenwriting behind for the pursuit of cause-driven documentaries like his upcoming film Of Woman Born , an intimate depiction of one woma...

On this episode of Making Ways , product leader, entrepreneur, founder, and military veteran John Yi shares the story of his unlikely path to working in tech, starting his own companies, joining Facebook in its early days, and the lessons he’s learned about leadership along the way. John also discusses his time in the military and how he came to open Code and Canvas—a workspace for both artists an...

  You might not have heard of award-winning commercial composer Ravi Krishnaswami, but you have likely heard his music in your favorite TV shows and video games. Ravi joins  Making Ways  to talk about creating tunes for Super Bowl commercials and best-selling video games, his challenges in college, and his first steps into the music industry. Along the way, Ravi shares the passions that fuel his c...

Tara Donne joins Making Ways to talk all about her journey from a food-loving kid in the wilds of Connecticut to a travel, food, and lifestyle photographer touring the world shooting for some of the most esteemed magazines and culinary brands. Listen in to hear how Tara captures breathtaking images that bring moments in time to life for clients, the catalysts that led her to embark on a freelance...

Career coach and mentor Andy Whelan joins Making Ways to talk all about his path from pre-med student to Second City comic, how he turned a side hustle doing building maintenance into a full-fledged business in New York City, and his realization that his passion for performing and helping people was perfectly suited for teaching and professional development. This episode is also chock-full of advi...

Virtual reality animator and interactive music video artist Tyler Hurd joins Making Ways to talk all about his journey from video game designer to award-winning VR pioneer, lauded by Sundance, Tribeca, Wired , and more. Tyler creates hyperrealities in VR meant to stimulate all the senses and elevate music to a full-body, emotionally transformative experience. Listen in to hear about Tyler’s early...

Projection mapping designer and artist Craig Winslow joins  Making Ways  to discuss the illuminating work that has become his passion, the Kickstarter campaign that turned his cross-country trip into an art project, and his series  Light Capsules , which he developed during a year-long creative residency with Adobe. Listen in to learn all about projection mapping (a different kind of augmented rea...

Building and running a successful restaurant is no small feat. In today’s episode, Lana Porcello and Dave Muller share the creative path that led them to launch Outerlands, one of San Francisco’s most acclaimed culinary venues. During our wide-ranging conversation, Lana and Dave share their unique approach to realizing a creative project, the way feeling drives their goal setting, the passions tha...

Watercolor paint maker, artist, and store owner Alexis Joseph joins Making Ways to discuss her journey from making childhood art projects to her studies in architecture and graphic design and shares the chance visit to a store in Berlin that ignited her passion for pigment, leading her to create her very own paints. Listen to learn how Alexis brings her focus on process to her art, business, and e...

James Tucker, artist and letterpress printmaker, joins Making Ways to discuss how he came to open up his own shop, The Aesthetic Union, his bumpy academic days in high school, how a vocational graphic design school opened up a world of opportunity for him, and the very first steps he took in his career that, with persistence (and a little luck), eventually led him down the right path. James also f...

Acclaimed food and lifestyle photographer Sara Remington, whose clients include the New York Times , National Geographic Traveler , Ogilvy, Häagen-Dazs, and Starbucks, joins the show to talk all about the love of her life: photography. If you’ve ever been curious about what it takes to be a professional shot-taker, the reality of running a creative business, or how to turn your Instagram habit int...

If you’ve ever wondered what goes into building a brand or a career as a namer, tune in to episode two for an inspiring story from our very special guest, Rob Meyerson, principal and founder of brand strategy agency Heirloom. Rob joins the show to talk about his journey to becoming a naming and brand specialist, ditching the “family business” in academia for a professional life working at some of...