Windowsill Chats

From wholesale home furnishings, to wholesale and retail artist, to tv host, to actor, to restaurateur, there aren't many things Aaron Foster hasn't dipped his toes into as a serial entrepreneur. Aaron and Margo go way back to a time where Aaron didn't even consider himself creative. That was until he began making license plate art which has been his main gig for the last 17 years. Aaron likes to...

This week, Margo is joined by multi-passionate creative, middle-aged first-time mama, impostor syndrome warrior, Korean BBQ connoisseur and the CEO and creative director at Dear Handmade Life, Nicole Stevenson. Nicole's desire to help other creatives pursue their dream business and discover the joy of making led her away from her own handmade business and into teaching, consulting, running her own...

Playing small will rarely get you far but Nedira Hansen is living proof of what can happen when you trust your gut, invest in yourself, and believe in your work whole-heartedly. In this episode, Margo speaks with Nerida about her early career in textiles, business as both a creative and an agent, working with major design houses such as Disney, Mattel and Warner Brothers, and her newest endeavor,...

This week, Margo chats with artist and illustrator, Mara Penny. Mara's love of art began when she was young and spending days with her grandmother, an artist and astrologer, further fueled her artistic leanings. She eventually went to study both jewelry design and interior design in college, and now runs her own successful art business and is represented by Lilla Rogers Studio. Her artwork starts...

In this episode, Margo is joined by jewelry maker and owner of Grace Gow, Cat McCadden. Inspired by where the city meets the sea, Cat McCadden transforms oceanic forms into an extension of her modern and sophisticated style. Cat's art practice draws inspiration from the natural environment, the sea, and coastal culture. In her work, she mixes traditional metalsmith fabrication techniques, the lost...

In this episode, Margo is joined by maker and creator of Urban Craft Uprising, Kristen Rask. Kristen opened her first store, Schmancy in downtown Seattle in 2004 just before she started curating an annual show titled Plush You! at the shop that soon got international recognition.  In its second year she received a book deal with f+w publishing to publish Plush You!: Loveable Misfits to Sew and Stu...

Margo is joined once again by Lisa Congdon. This time, to discuss pushing past your limiting beliefs and doing the hard things. Lisa specifically shares her experience of getting involved in gravel racing and recently competing in one of the hardest gravel races in the world - The Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder Race. Although this challenge was not directly related to her career necessarily, there is...

Margo goes solo in this episode and shares all about niching down. From practicing what you like, to understanding what you're good at, finding success in your creative career will require a niching of some sort. Margo dives into the many challenges of feeling novice in your business and how niching can actually help you expand as well as ways to reflect growth and the old adage, practice makes 'p...

This week Margo is joined by Elizabeth Silver, a professional surface pattern designer and a licensed artist for the stationery, gift, and textile markets. With 18 years in the industry and hundreds of designs in her portfolio, she also teaches beginner surface pattern designers how to move past overwhelm and obstacles to create a profitable creative business in her 'Start Your Surface Pattern Des...

This week, Margo is joined by not one but two guests, mother daughter creative duo, Lori Siebert and Kenzi Elston. Lori has a very whimsical design sense and loves to play with color to give each collection that and she designs its own unique personality. She started taking private art lessons at the age of 7 and continued to study art throughout high school. This led to a degree in graphic design...

Margo sits down with pattern designer, block-print artist, and the owner of BEENANZA, Bethany Andrews-Nichols. After graduating with her BFA in 2006, Bethany worked several graphic design jobs rounding out her corporate career as the Associate Creative Director for an in-house agency that supported several breweries in the U.S. In 2017, she took a trip to Jaipur, India to learn about the ancient a...

Margo is once again joined by the wonderfully creative Lisa Congdon to discuss what it means to have a visual vocabulary, accepting and giving yourself permission to be you, and ways to hone in on your own creative voice and style. Lisa Congdon is a Portland, Oregon-based fine artist, illustrator and author known internationally for her colorful drawings and hand lettering. Her playful work is rec...

All of Beth Snyder's life she's been driven by her creative impulse to be a maker. As a teen in the mid-nineties, her first business "Beth's Bauble & Beads" was successful enough to put her through college, while her sisters both worked at the local truck stop. Between then and now, the great creative project of starting and growing a business has inspired multiple endeavors including iconic stati...

Margo chats with artist, designer, and ceramicist, Molly Hatch. Molly began her career as a studio potter, infusing her tableware and home decor items with contemporary sensibilities and classical charm. With a formal education in ceramics and drawing, Molly launched her first tableware collection from her home studio in 2010. Her signature blend of 18th century aesthetics with modern whimsy quick...

Margo chats with previous guest Nataley Shepherd. Nataley is a handmade brand consultant and owner of Studio Shepherd where she helps makers elevate their businesses into sought after brands through simple, intentional, and scalable practices. Margo and Nataley are discussing action taking, creative business, creative community, and the things it takes to push forward and find your success. Togeth...

This week Margo is joined by Ana Bianchi, an artist, designer, illustrator and children's book author. Ana started creating when she was 5 and first learned printmaking from a master printer. From branding and illustrated graphic design projects to personal art projects and everything in between, color is the common thread. Ana has exhibited her art in Mexico, Italy, Netherlands, India, Greece and...

Joining Margo in her windowsill is published illustrator, product designer, and artist, Jamie Kalvestran. Jamie brings her inspiring artwork to life making "creativity" a daily practice. A graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Jamie is known for her skillful use of color and pattern, authentic design, and integrity of materials. Her expansive portfolio includes 3 design patents an...

This week Margo is joined once again by her neighborhood friend, Shauna Ahern to discuss finding joy in enough and the things that really matter. Shauna has won a James Beard award for one of her three cookbooks as well as awards for teaching. She currently runs her own teaching, coaching, and editing business on Vashon Island. The best of all her experiences is the joy of creating and being in co...

Margo is joined by artist, designer, and creative coach, Melanie Stimmel. Melanie spent 20 years as a freelance street painter and muralist and has been awarded top prizes in some of Europe's most prestigious competitions, including the title of Maestra Madonnara (Master Street Painter) in both Italy and Germany. In 2012, Melanie and her husband founded We Talk Chalk, a 3D street painting company....

This week Margo is joined by Michael Schultz. Michael is the co-owner and creative eye of Cursive New York, a retail shop based in New York City. Cursive is a tightly focused concept with the simple mission to Cultivate Joy. Michael along with his partner and husband Douglas Duncan have established Cursive as a strong and forward voice in the industry. Cursive offers gift and lifestyle products of...

This week Margo is joined by artist, illustrator, and teacher, Sarah Hand. Sarah teaches at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, art retreats, and online. Her work has been featured in Somerset Studio magazine, and she has had many solo exhibits of her art. She is the author and illustrator of the book, Art Makers - Papier Mache: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Mo...

Margo is joined by Toronto based painter, illustrator, and designer Carolyn Gavin. A flower child of the 60's, Carolyn grew up in South Africa, left to travel and relocated to Canada where she currently lives with her family. She is a principal designer for Ecojot . A family run eco-friendly paper business. She also freelances and licenses her work for fabric, house-wares, packaging, bedding and b...

Margo is joined by Emily McDowell to discuss the less glamorous side of running a creative business. Emily is a writer, illustrator, speaker, and entrepreneur who is fiercely committed to NOT doing all of those things at the same time. In 2012, after a decade working in advertising, Emily founded the stationery and gift brand, Emily McDowell Studio. In January of 2021, the brand changed its name t...

Margo is joined by Katherine Quinn of New Zealand. For as long as she can remember she has loved drawing and making things and was lucky to grow up with parents who said she could do whatever she wanted as long as she cleaned up when I was finished. Through years of working a full time job outside of being an artist she always found time and energy to also focus on her art daily and put one foot i...

Margo is Joined by jewelry designer Jill Schwartz of Elements Jill Schwartz. Jill's career as a jewelry designer began when she was just 3 years old. Forbidden to have pierced ears, she craftily resorted to gluing beads to her ears. While her design education from Cornell and Pratt gave her discipline, it was her travels through Europe in her early 20s that ignited her passion. Her love for shoppi...