Windowsill Chats

Margo is once again joined by Lisa Congdon to kick off a series of interviews to discuss different topics surrounding creativity, business, and life. In this episode they discuss how to get yourself in front of the right people as a creative and what that even means!   Margo and Lisa chat about: Exercises Lisa gives to her creative entrepreneur students The difference between dreams and goals Havi...

Margo chats with Rochelle Porter of Rochelle Porter Design. A lifelong lover of global design traditions, the Atlanta-based artist takes cues from the breezy hues of her Caribbean roots, the stark simplicity of Scandinavian design and the bold geometrics of West African weaves to create vibrant, eye-catching textiles for the home décor and apparel markets. Her travel-inspired patterns feature joyf...

Margo is Joined by Jennifer Orkin Lewis. A deep love of color, pattern and nature are the foundation of Jennifer's work as an artist, illustrator, author and teacher. Her joyful gouache paintings of flowers, random objects, people and occasional meditative abstract musings open a colorful and enticing window onto a detail of the day one might ordinarily overlook.   Jennifer and Margo discuss:   Ho...

Margo is joined by the founder of creative agency, Creative Sparrow, Hannah Curtis. Having been in the industry for over fifteen years Hannah has worked as an Artist Agent & Creative Director, developing long term relationships with clients globally across various industries. Hannah works closely with artists developing their portfolio, with art direction at her core she brings a wealth of industr...

Margo is joined by Michelle, the creative and business brain of Allen Designs. She has always had the dream of doing something big with her art, and at a Saturday Market, years ago, Michelle marked the start of what would become Allen Designs, a World of Whimsy. Her lack of schooling did not stop her from learning everything she needed to know to grow a successful business. There is no shortage of...

Margo is joined by Christine Hoffman, owner and designer at Foxglove, the Twin Cities first exclusively local and chemical-free flower studio. In 2017, Christine also founded Twin Cities Flower Exchange, a cut flower market for wholesale buyers. As a local flowers advocate, Christine is striving to form a strong community of sustainable flower farmers, small business owners, and folks who care abo...

Margo is joined by the infamous Lilla Rogers. With a degree in fine art from San Francisco and a second degree in illustration, Lilla spent the 1980s working as a  full-time, highly successful illustrator, whose art has featured in publications including the New York Times Magazine, Vogue magazine, the Grammys and many more. She then went on to found Lilla Rogers Studio , a visionary art agency th...

Margo is joined by Bex Morley, a British-Canadian artist living on Vancouver Island with the two teenage sons and daft dog. Bex creates joyful digital art for a variety of products including bolt fabric, stationery and home decor. Her work is inspired by the lighter side of life and nature, often featuring fun animal characters and colourful botanicals. She is also drawn to nostalgic colour palett...

Margo is joined by Jane Dagmi, editor-in-chief of Designers Today magazine, a B2B magazine for interior design professionals, and also host of the brand's SAID podcast, and an avid participant in industry events and panels. Jane launched her editorial career at Country Living magazine (where we met!), which was followed by several years of freelance writing and content development for designer-foc...

Margo is meeting Maria Over in her windowsill. Maria is an artist, children's books and surface illustrator. Part Dutch, part Greek, she is now based in Munich, Germany. She comes from a Fine Arts background with studies in painting, sculpture and digital art, and her journey has taken her from the Netherlands and Sweden for her BFA to New York City, where she earned a Master of Arts degree at NYU...

Margo chats with the one and only Lisa Congdon to answer questions submitted by you and fellow Windowsill Chats listeners! Lisa is an American fine artist, author and illustrator and has worked for clients including MoMA, Harvard University, Martha Stewart Living, REI, and Chronicle Books among several others.  Lisa delves on: Finding your artistic voice Boundaries and commitments How she manages...

Margo chats with Artist & Designer, Esté MacLeod. Esté's paintings are informed by the real and the imaginary. Her background in textile and ceramic design is noticeable in the stylised, abundant and colourful forms used in still life, landscape and floral paintings. Although shapes are distorted and altered, there is a strong sense of the familiar. The variety of techniques Esté uses to layer col...

Margo chats with Elise Giordano. The long and short of it is, Elise is a photographer. But also a content creator, magic maker + natural light lover based in the PNW and she has some incredible stories. After eventually letting go of the possibility of becoming a veterinarian, she pursued both journalism and marketing, which is what gives her the edge to tell a compelling narrative through photos....

In this episode of Windowsill Chats, it's a dual interview with go-to PR gal, Beth Nydick. Beth has spent over 10 years working as an online entrepreneur and health coach, her acumen for business had been sought out by other solopreneurs that wanted to increase their authority, but their businesses were not set up for success. Beth saw a hole in the foundations of her communities' businesses and k...

Margo is joined by Leigh Standley, the artist, writer and owner of Curly Girl Design, Inc. In its seventeen years, Curly Girl Design and Leigh's line of clever and colorful greeting cards and art have taken the industry by delightful storm. Focused on the magic of the small moments, her product peeks into the corners of life and taps into the hearts of all. Leigh graduated from college around the...

Margo chats with the beautiful, colorful, and wildly creative Dayle Bennett. Dayle hails from Baltimore Maryland and resides in Atlanta, Georgia. She has Bachelor of Arts in fiber/textiles and color theory from Towson University and attended post grad studies at the Portfolio Center where she studied design and art direction and has left her mark on companies such as Hallmark, West Elm, and Center...

Margo chats with a dear friend, Contemporary Artist and Author, Lynn Whipple. Lynn is deeply grateful to live her life as an artist. Play and discovery are her dearest and most constant companions. There are a zillion tiny challenges in each art making experience and she often finds, just as many victories. Lynn and her husband John are a part of the founding family that established McRae Art Stud...

Margo meets a dear friend and mentor in her windowsill, Ingrid Liss. Ingrid is the VP of Product Development & Design at Ganz Midwest CBK - one of the largest wholesale gift holiday and home decor companies in the United States. With over 28 years in the industry and extensive experience in product design and sourcing she has honed her creative talents as an inspiring mentor and leader. Her career...

Mati Rose McDonough joins the Windowsill to talk all about her journey from legal assistant, to artist, to teaching art, and mentoring. Mati (pronounced Matey, like Ahoy!) is an artist and daring adventurer.  After wanting to be an artist for many years, but feeling like it was "impractical," at 29 years Mati took the leap and went back to art school at the California College of the Arts. Now over...

Margo takes to her virtual Windowsill to chat with THE Gary McNatton. In simplicity, the best way to describe Gary is the nose that knows, as for him, every scent tells a story. After studying art history and psychology at Vanderbilt University, Gary lived in Chicago and Los Angeles but now resides in Marin County. His resume notes launching product design firm Mottura, Senior Vice President at Ga...

Meeting Margo on her windowsill today is Eulalia Mejia. Eulalia is an illustrator, graphic designer and mixed media artist living in the rural mountains of Colombia. Eulalia's painterly illustrations are a well balanced mix between traditional and digital mediums, ranging from watercolors, gouache, acrylics and collage to Illustrator, Photoshop and Procreate. Having the ability to work in both wor...

On this episode, Margo speaks with Illustrator and Fine Artist, Kate Endle. Kate has been illustrating professionally for over twenty five years, but art has been her main focus since her toddler years. In 1995 she moved to Seattle to pursue her art career and her early illustration work, rendered in a painterly graphic style, can be found in beginning reader books for children, editorial work for...

#005: Margo sits down with the one and only, Shauna Ahern. Some may know Shauna as Gluten Free Girl, others may know her as Author of Enough. To Margo, she is a dear friend along with being an extremely creative and amazing writer. She has a massive heart, a fascinating curiosity, and holds many titles - mom, teacher, advocate for humans, and so many others.  Shauna shares about:  Being raised in...

Joining Margo in her windowsill today is Misha Zadeh Graham. Misha sketches, paints, and collages from her home studio in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, overlooking the Puget Sound. She is the founder of Turquoise Creative, whose unique line of handmade, cut-paper greeting cards and letterpress note cards debuted at the 2002 National Stationery Show and were soon picked up by high-profile boutiqu...

#003: On this episode, Margo is joined by Nataley Shepherd. Nataley is a handmade brand consultant and owner of Studio Shepherd. She graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University with an art degree (with an emphasis in weaving) and after a few random jobs she found herself landing a job on the ground floor of a local handmade start up company, Two Guys Bow Tie Co. She went from maker to operations ma...