Windowsill Chats

Margo chats with Deane Christiansen of Deane Beesley Designs. Deane is a self taught artist, illustrator, designer and painter living in beautiful Alberta Canada.  Her creative story started early as a child with influences from her Mom and Gramma.  Interested in a variety of crafts, she quickly learned how to sew, crochet, paint and draw. Deane has been in the creative industry for over 25 years,...

In this episode Margo is joined by Tamisha Anthony. Tamisha is an illustrator working for various clients such as Penguin Random House, Macmillan Publishers, Little Brown, and Chronicle Books. She finds that educating little ones or the young at heart always inspires her art. She has been an educator for the past several years teaching at institutions such as the New-York Historical Society and th...

In this episode, Margo is joined by the creative mind and heart behind UK-based Illustration Agency Jehane Ltd., Jehane Boden Spiers. Jehane is a successful designer in her own right and has several designs licensed all over the world. Born in Brighton, UK, she graduated with a degree in Textile Design from Winchester School of Art in the early 1990's. Jehane was one of the first designers to use...

Margo chats with Karin Lauria is an independent artist and illustrator, Karin Lauria. Karin is from  Massachusetts and works mainly in digital, but also creates mixed media digital and watercolor art and illustrations. Her style is vibrant, colorful, whimsical, and thoughtful. She has licensed work and collaborations with several companies including Moi & Toi Studio, Amber Lotus Publishing, and Gr...

Previous guest, Bethany Andrews-Nichols joins Margo once again to discuss their upcoming Windowsill Workshop event! In 2017, Bethany took a trip to Jaipur, India to learn about the ancient art of block-printing in which she was immediately hooked. Now, she's a pattern designer and block-print artist and will be teaching others how to block print during the workshop.  Windowsill Workshops has been...

Margo is met by owner and active principal of Licensing Liaison, Alicia Dauber. Licensing Liaison is a full-service art licensing agency based in the Pacific Northwest that has been in business for the last 17 years. Alicia represents talented artists who develop imaginative concepts that are unique and specific for manufacturers who need them. As a "hands-on" principal agent, Alicia, her staff an...

Margo chats with self-taught graphic designer/illustrator, Bron Alexander. Bron has over 20 years of experience along with a never-ending passion for her craft and a curiosity that never rests, dubbing herself the Curious Illustrator. Over the years she has struck a happy relationship between her illustration and design work where her design background influences her illustrations and vice versa....

Lisa Congdon is back in the windowsill with Margo to share all the fun details on her Rockefeller Center Christmas Art Installation as well as a bit of reflection on 2021 and what she hopes to accomplish in 2022! This installation is part of Art in Focus , a series of art exhibitions produced in partnership with Art Production Fund and is on view around the Rockefeller Center campus through Januar...

This week Margo sits down with lettering artist Lynn Giunta. Lynn has been with Hallmark Cards for 37 years and discovered her fascination for cutting letters by hand during her tenured journey. She has always been drawn to positive phrases and never tires of seeing kind messages come to life. Lynn is also a graphic designer and children's book illustrator and she and Margo discuss finding inspira...

Margo chats with world traveler and natural connector, Kimber Leblicq who brings her experience as an artist, metalsmith, jewelry designer, curator, and entrepreneur together with her passion for people and the natural world. After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Northern Arizona University, she launched her art career as a professional union scenic artist in the entertainment industry. Aft...

This week, Margo is joined by Jody Collins of Feral Giant. Feral Giant is a collective of brand developers, designers, illustrators, photographers, videographers, social media strategists, writers, digital marketers, podcasters, and website designers to which Jody brings 25+ years experience. At the age of 13 he started in printing and continued with design and branding experience through a multit...

On the eve of Thanksgiving Margo goes solo to talk about her thoughts on gratitude and how they play a role in creativity. She shares some tips to help you step into gratitude such as writing a gratitude letter, shifting perspective, and avoiding comparison (aka the thief of joy) as well as some quotes and poems that are relevant to gratitude and the American holiday of Thanksgiving. Do you have a...

In this episode, Margo is joined by Productivity Coach & Online Business Consultant Chelsea Wessman. Chelsea is a popcorn obsessed, mom of 3, living next to the Utah mountains and is passionate about empowering ambitious mompreneurs to take back their time, make more money without putting in more hours, and create a life that aligns with their values. She helps ambitious women to optimize time, mo...

This week Margo sits down with dear friend Paula Joerling. Paula is an illustration and product designer whose art has been used for fabric, calendars and all kinds of home decor. To put it simply, Paula just likes making things; sometimes for profit but more often, just for the joy of it. For that reason, She thinks of herself as more of a maker than an artist or illustrator. Her inspiration most...

This week Margo is sitting down with her lovely mother, Sally Tantau. Sally is a former interior designer and all around creative being and instilled so much of her talents in Margo as well as many others. Sally and Margo have a fun and lighthearted conversation around sourcing creativity, how she got her start in interior design, what it was like to be an interior designer during that era (sourci...

This week Margo chats with the lovely Annabella Sardelis, the founder of INDIGO & SNOW an atelier dedicated to zero waste in Minneapolis. Annabella is a multidisciplinary artist and designer whose working mediums include calligraphy, natural dyes and textiles. Her focus aesthetically is on the creation of functional items, and seeing the beauty in utility. She launched INDIGO & SNOW in 2013 and sp...

This week Margo is chatting about finding joy, spreading joy, and ways in which we can seek more joy with author and illustrator, Kimberley Kay. After a busy career in the travel industry running press offices for big travel companies she decided to pursue art and illustration, partly prompted by a serious knee injury which was the catalyst for a new perspective. Her bright, colorful illustrations...

This week's conversation will have you holding on to your windowsill as Margo and her guest have an honest and expansive conversation around creativity - from distractions to mindset, habits, and so much more. Margo is joined by Maria Brito who is an award-winning New York-based contemporary art advisor, author, and curator. For several years, Maria has taught her creativity course in companies la...

This week, Margo is joined by Australian artist and award winning designer Chris Chun. Chris has an appetite for fun, adventure and great food and when he's not creating, you can probably find him traveling to some exotic destination, shopping for vintage textiles or eating something delicious. His creativity and 'say yes to everything' attitude has taken him all over the world, working for renown...

This week Margo brings on Certified Life & Business Coach for interior designers, Desi Creswell. Desi is a former interior designer and found herself at a crossroads when she was exhausted from the hamster wheel and wanted to get out of the hustle in her career, especially as a new mom. From there she found a way to get out of her busy work and became the person she wished she had in the beginning...

Margo sits down with community co-creator and handmade business consultant, Nataley Shepherd. Margo and Nataley co-lead a dynamic membership called Relish Your Creativity where they aim to help each member move their own creative needle, find community and clarity, and balance mindset and business goals. Both Margo and Nataley believe true wealth comes from shared growth, building an intentional b...

This week Margo is joined by Abby Jacobs. As far back as she can remember, art making has always been her favorite thing to do and the happiest times in her life are when she's had some kind of creative routine. Abby believed in art making as a way of life so deeply that she pursued a master's degree in transpersonal counseling and art therapy from Naropa University in Boulder after studying art a...

Margo has a thought provoking conversation with Australian artist and surface pattern designer Kirsten Katz. Kirsten's passion for art, color, nature and design took her on a journey into the world of surface design but prior to her art career she was a ballerina and came from a family of artists and performers. Kirsten studied Textile Design and Printing at The Fashion Design School in 2012, this...

Margo is joined by London based illustrator, Tracey English. Tracey loves to create her designs out of hand colored papers and can often be found creating colorful collages in her home based studio. Tracey is represented by Jehane Ltd and her work can be found on many items including greeting cards, gift wrap, fabric, books and home products.   Margo and Tracey discuss: Tracey's background and why...

This week, Margo is joined by illustrator and business owner Sarah Watts. Sarah graduated from Ringling College in 2008 with a BFA in Illustration but not without overcoming many struggles as a child including poverty. Luckily, her upbringing is what shaped her desire to have a creative (and successful) career. She landed her first job at Carter's/OshKosh, and then went on to design for Internatio...