The Friendly Unknown

In today’s episode I’m chatting with the wonderfully imaginative illustrator and musician Jim Stoten. He’s much more than both those titles would have you believe - creativity seems to just flow through him into the world in a beautiful technicolor surreal way.  You may know him from his Mr. Tweed books, my kids are big fans of those, or you’ve probably seen his work in the world for the likes of...

In this episode Pace and I discuss the metaphor of the chrysalis, how a caterpillar builds a safe container around itself where it melts down into a kind of cosmic soup before it can reform into a butterfly and take flight.  We talk about how this metaphor relates to our own lives and those periods of expansion that often feel like we turn to goo for long periods of time before we finally have a b...

In today’s episode I chat with the wonderful Tina Yip. Tina is a coach and the founder of Space to Grow, a company helping creative people make their work/life more intentional, meaningful, and expansive. After spending the last decade as a brand strategist at agencies such as R/GA and Big Spaceship and working on brands like Samsung and Mastercard, Tina realized that what she cared most about wer...

In this episode, Pace and I dive deep into the mystery to get closer to who we are. We discuss some of the important messages we’ve found in our dreams, some of synchronicities we’ve experienced and how they've influenced our paths, and some of the insights we’ve had in therapy. We talk about how these experiences are easy to miss and dismiss in our lives, but how when we pay attention, we begin t...

In today’s episode, I speak with the wonderful Katie Benn. Katie is a multidisciplinary artist from San Francisco currently living in southern Oregon. She’s inspired by all things magical and mysterious, dreamy, silly, and absurd. She explores themes relating to the human condition and her inner world. She is a painter, muralist, illustrator, textile designer, and creator of zines and various art...

In this episode, Pace and I discuss limiting beliefs, what they are, how they show up in our lives as blocks, and how we can work with them to open up our lives so that we can get unstuck and move forward into more of who we are and what we want in life.

Today I’m talking with my best friend from high school Pace Gatherer who is a fine artist and currently studying for her masters in marriage and family therapy. She’ll be joining me throughout this podcast to discuss lots of interesting topics. In this episode we discuss the topic of play, and how it can be an antidote for being stuck in life. It’s an appropriate topic since I have been wanting to...

In this episode, I chat about community with fellow San Francisco based creative Lindsay Stripling. Lindsay is an artist, illustrator, muralist, teacher, and she hosts an amazing series on her instagram called Lunch Club, where she has really wonderful conversations with fellow artists. We discuss how community has shaped Lindsay’s life and career, how having a creative community to tap into can a...

In this episode, I chat with Brooklyn based artist Grace Miceli. Grace works across multiple mediums including illustration, animation, comics, product design, murals, and she’s recently added published author to that list. She has an amazing new book coming out on May 4th, called How to Deal: With Fear, Failure, and Other Daily Dreads . Grace has worked with an impressive roster of clients includ...

In this episode, I chat with the wonderful Morgan Harper Nichols.  Morgan is an artist, poet and musician. Her process for creating work is really unique and amazing. People submit their stories to her and she creates artwork for those individuals, and then shares those pieces daily on her social channels. Although each piece is created for one person, they deeply resonate with the larger collecti...

In this episode, I chat with the enlightened duo behind Slimy Oddity, Cherie and Tim. Slimy Oddity is an art collective brought together to spread love and light into the world. Their work focuses on sharing insights from timeless wisdom found in spirituality, philosophy and the human experience. They have a friendly and playful style that makes these deeper topics fun and approachable. We dive in...

In this episode, I chat with Brooklyn based creative studio and dynamic duo, Wade and Leta. Wade and Leta do it all, they’re graphic designers, art directors, photographers, public speakers, they do event design, branding, sculpture, book design, type design, retail design, film, and more. If there’s something they haven’t done, they want to try that too.  They’re a duo who personifies today’s top...

In this episode, I chat with the amazing Andy J. Pizza. You probably already know Andy from his incredible podcast Creative Pep Talk. It’s one of my all-time-favorite podcasts and was a big part of what kept me going on my journey to become an illustrator, and what’s kept me motivated in tough times since. Honestly, I don’t think I’d be making this podcast if it weren’t for Andy. He’s been a huge...

In this episode, I chat with New York based illustrator and musician, Lauren Martin. Lauren’s sunny, smiley, vibrant illustrations and animations are full of the kind of optimism and encouragement we all need right now. Lauren’s journey to full-time illustration is a recent one, having just set out on that path earlier this year. In that short amount of time, she’s already carved out her unique st...

In this episode, I chat with illustrator and human being extraordinaire, Jim Stoten. Jim’s work is a kaleidoscopic adventure, full of vivid color, imagination and playfulness, all while maintaining a beautiful depth to it. Jim and I explore the topic of time in this episode. How Jim spends his time, How he perceives time, what advice he would give his past self, and what advice his future self wou...

In this episode, I chat with the amazing Dutch illustrator and designer Seb Agresti. Seb just returned from a transformative experience at an artist residency in Japan. As you’ll hear in the episode, he decided to embark on that journey as a way to step away from his client work and focus on creating personal work again. The residency and what he learned in the process allowed him to recalibrate h...

In this episode, I’m chatting with illustrator, designer, art director and all around amazing human being, Chrissie Abbott. Chrissie is one of my favorite creatives and a huge inspiration to me, so I was super excited to be able to speak with her and peer into her world a little bit. We talk about Chrissie’s creative journey to where she is now, our mutual love for personal growth and New Age insp...

Today I’m chatting with Tokyo based creative, Lindsay Arakawa. Lindsay possesses that magical combination of creativity and strategic thinking. She’s part freelance social media strategist and part creator of dreamy images that combine hand drawn messages and illustrations over her film photographs. We discuss the serendipitous way she came to find her creative style, how she uses social media to...

In this episode, I chat with neon artist, designer, and my good friend, Brooke Barttelbort. Brooke bends glass into all kinds of amazing shapes, and uses her pieces to help inspire others. She’s also a super talented graphic designer and glass blower. Brooke has been through a lot in recent years. At the age of thirty she went through treatment for breast cancer, ultimately having to have a double...

In this episode, I chat with Melbourne-based creative Beci Orpin. Beci’s one of my favorite creatives, her work is so positive and always makes me smile. Everything she touches turns to cute, it seems. Her creativity takes many forms, some of which are illustration, design, children’s books, murals, branding, crafts, clothing, painting, puzzles, packaging and more. Beci was such a joy to talk to,...

In this episode, I chat with illustrator and cartoonist, Leon Edler. Leon’s bright and cleverly simple hand drawn illustrations are a delight to look at. It’s no wonder he’s worked with a host of impressive clients such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, CNN, Warby Parker, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, and more. Leon is really funny, insightful and generous with his story. We discuss how a creati...

In this episode I chat with New York based illustrator, Amber Vittoria. Amber’s colorful and abstract depictions of the female form aim to dismantle societal stereotypes that are placed upon women. She has worked with clients such as Gucci, The New York Times, Adidas, Facebook, Warby Parker, K-Swiss, Snapchat and the list goes on. She also creates a lot of personal work, and that allows her to not...

In this episode I speak with illustrator and graphic designer Leena Kisonen about money. We discuss the ways both of us made the transition from working full time in an office to taking the leap into freelance life, we talk about how to discuss money with clients, resources Leena recommends for knowing how much to charge for your work, how to re-frame money in a positive way if you have negative f...

In this episode I interview my friend, Meredith Dylan. She’s an astrologist, numerologist, improve comedian, guide, and all around bright light. We dive into the topic of intuition; what it is, how you can hear your own, how you can cultivate it, how it helps you navigate your life and career, and so much more. As she says “Intuition exists in everyone, everywhere, all the time.”

In this introduction to the podcast, the script is flipped and Allison’s best friend Pace interviews her about her intentions for the podcast. Hijinks, as well as deep conversation, ensue.