Martina Flor’s Open Studio

Thandiwe Muriu is a photographer born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya.  As a female artist operating in a previously male-dominated field, she is passionate about celebrating and empowering her fellow women. In her CAMO series, Thandiwe showcases Africa’s unique mix of vibrant cultures, textiles and beauty norms. Through her work, she celebrates her African heritage and tackles important issues...

Doing great work is at the heart of every creative career, and is what most artists and designers invest a fair amount of time in. However, that is just one part of the equation – putting the work out there and getting noticed by the right people is equally important. In this episode, we’ll discuss on 3 strategies that you can use to showcase your work, not just for the sake of it but in a manner...

Jordan Metcalf is a South African-born, Portland-based graphic designer, creative director, and artist. After over a decade of independently designing brands and exploring new ways to help tell stories through diverse and experimental lettering projects for clients like Nike, Apple, National Geographic, and others, he made the move to a full-time position in a brand studio in 2019 to focus on larg...

In this solo episode I touch on getting better at your craft and strategies to find the time to produce work and build a portfolio.  Doing great work has always been at the core of my career as an artist, and I’ve seen that happening repeatedly with many of the artists I interview on this podcast. I advocate for this approach with my students, the members of my coaching program, and with ever...

Petra Eriksson is an artist and illustrator born in Stockholm. Petra took a journey via Dublin. Malta, Berlin and Barcelona and her work is littered with the eclectic references she picked up along the way. Petra studied graphic design at the renowned Bergs School of Communication before venturing into the world of freelance illustration. Her bold and colourful work, often dotted with confetti and...

Karan Singh, an artist and illustrator living in Melbourne, Australia. His distinct work is a contemporary and playful combination of op-art and mid-century graphic design. Through restricted yet vibrant color palettes and hypnotizing patterns, he explores and exploits our perception of depth and movement. His art lives in an eclectic variety of mediums, including prints, animation, video, augment...

In this podcast I have interviewed dozens of accomplished artists and creatives to basically answer one valuable question “How did they get where they are?”. Now, while we prepare for all the greatness that is coming on season 3, I’m releasing these special recap episode which features some of the best moments of season 2 in one place, so you can always dig deeper an go listen to one of these epis...

In this podcast I have interviewed dozens of accomplished artists and creatives to basically answer one valuable question “How did they get where they are?”. Now, while we prepare for all the greatness that is coming on season 3, I’m releasing these special recap episode which features some of the best moments of season 2 in one place, so you can always dig deeper an go listen to one of these epis...

In this podcast I have interviewed dozens of accomplished artists and creatives to basically answer one valuable question “How did they get where they are?”. Now, while we prepare for all the greatness that is coming on season 3, I’m releasing these special recap episode which features some of the best moments of season 2 in one place, so you can always dig deeper an go listen to one of these epis...

In this podcast I have interviewed dozens of accomplished artists and creatives to basically answer one valuable question “How did they get where they are?”. Now, while we prepare for all the greatness that is coming on season 3, I’m releasing these special recap episode which features some of the best moments of season 2 in one place, so you can always dig deeper an go listen to one of these epis...

Martcellia Liunic, an illustrator, art director and visual artist that lives and works in Jakarta, Indonesia. Liunic started her illustration career in 2015 and has worked for various clients such as Google, Netflix, Youtube, Samsung, Snapchat, Harper’s Bazaar, and Aqua to name a few. She’s known for her colorful, whimsical animals, creatures, girls characters and doodle-like body of work and for...

In this solo episode I touch on the 5 mistakes that every working artist needs to avoid.  I’ll speak about the frameworks that artists and creatives neglect and that can have a huge positive impact on your business. Systems have been life-changing for me and have allowed me to scale my results and impact as a lettering artist. The right frameworks can help you save time, do more of the work y...

In this solo episode I touch on one of the greatest plagues of our times: Impostor Syndrome. We’ll discuss what impostor syndrome is, what it makes and how to overcome it. We’ll address why we experience it, how it works, and what are the strategies you can implement to stop it from getting in the way of achieving your goals. If you ever experienced impostor syndrome – which I’m pretty sure you di...

In this solo episode I touch on client outreach, one of the backbones of any creative business.  Smart artists don’t wait to be discovered, they go after their opportunities. In this show we touch on why reaching out to clients is extremely important, how often you should be doing it, and what is an effective framework you could follow. I’ll also discuss the main mistakes that I see artists m...

In this solo episode I address a common question among artists and creatives: should I go freelance?. In my experience working with hundreds of artists, interviewing dozens of them on this podcast and being a freelance artist myself, I understand the reasons why an artist may want to go solo with their business. In this episode, we discuss the motivations behind most artists wanting to open their...

Lauren is a designer, letterer, and educator. A self-proclaimed "artist with a business brain", she picked up hand lettering as a hobby while studying advertising at the School of Visual Arts. Over the next few years (and thanks to the power of the internet), she leveraged a few clever passion projects into a thriving design career. Known for her bright color palettes, playful letterforms, and qui...

In this episode I feature a conversation that I had a few weeks ago on The Pencil Pushers Podcast with Mike Rosado. As you know, I like featuring accomplished artists on this podcast to unveil strategies that could help you unlock your creative potential and make a living with your skills. Now, I’m sharing this episode because it unveils my own path as a lettering artist: how I left everything beh...

In this solo episode I touch on community and how the people you surround yourself with can have an impact on your growth.  The communities I’ve been part of had a big influence on my career path and my decision making along the way. Based on my own personal experience, witnessing the impact it has had on the progress of my students, and after hearing the stories of dozens of artists I’ve int...

In this solo episode I discuss mindset and the limiting beliefs that are undermining your growth as an artist.  Your mindset can have a huge impact on your success and accomplishing your goals–I know it did for me. Changing my mindset around what I could achieve as an artist and with my business had a huge impact on my success. This has also proven to be true for many of the artists that I ha...

Income streams had a huge impact on my creative business and my capability to have control over my time, the assignments I take on or decline, and my bottom line income as a commercial artist. It has proven to be a strategy that many of the guests I’ve had on this show have used to grow their own businesses. In this episode, you’ll learn why income streams are important and why having them can hel...

In this episode, you’ll learn why systems are important and why not having them can lead to failure. I’ll tell you about my personal story and how a book changed everything at the lowest moment of my creative career. I’ll also share with you which are the systems that you can create within your work and business and how to start thinking about them. Whether you’re running a creative business yours...

Sebastian’s bright and bold work is the result of his wide experience as an animator and graphic designer. He employs cartoonish figures and playful compositions to portray ordinary scenes of life under the lens of a bright color palette. Sometimes animated, his work bounces happily between funny little GIFs, huge colorful hands on silkscreen prints or big murals where you can lose yourself in. Se...

In this episode, I list down some of the overarching takeaways from previous conversations I have had in this show. I speak about the two elements that are necessary to build a thriving career as an artist. I list that I've seen working for other creatives, for myself and that could potentially work for anyone looking to make a mark with their work. Whether you’re running a creative business yours...

Eric Friedensohn (AKA Efdot) is a colorblind visual artist and community builder based in Brooklyn, NY. Since finishing design school in 2012, Efdot has cultivated an art practice and creative studio that spans across a variety of media. His specialties range from hand-painted murals to drawings on paper to animated trading cards, all tied together through his playfully abstract style. He has crea...

In this episode of Open Studio Martina Flor and her guest Rafa Goicoechea (Rafa Goicoechea), half of @treintayseisestudio with @nina_sans (both co-funder of @36daysoftype), discuss about the keys to become a viral phenomenon, how to start a side project & monetize it, how to engage people, and the truth about instagram. 36 Days of Type is a project that happens primarily on instagram and is a...