Creative Playdate Episode 26: Cultivating Creative Communities with Andrea Pippins

Yes, I realize that there hasn't been a new episode in MONTHS! But here I am. In the episode, I speak more about the lapse in new episodes and announce a relaunch of the show on September 1st of this year. I want to bring you the best content I can create and right now I need a little time to make it great.

I also want to know if you prefer that Creative Playdate have it's own social media accounts or if keeping everything through my own personal, illustration accounts works for you. If you have an opinion on that or on anything else you'd like to see me do with the show, please get in touch any way you like!

On to the episode! Today's interview is with the wonderful illustrator and author, Andrea Pippins. She is passionate about empowering young girls and also about helping us all create our own communities for support and inspiration. She even wrote a book about it, called We Inspire Me.

Andrea recently moved to Stockholm, Sweden ahead of the birth of her son. We talk about what it was like to leave her family when she was about to have a child and how she has been able to find some support and community in a new country. We also talk about her hopes for her son's childhood both in Sweden and anywhere else they may live in the future.

Our conversation really reminded me how important it is to have people around you for support and creative inspiration. We ALL need a creative community around us.

Creative Playdate is syndicated at IllustrationAge.com and the theme music was created by Thomas James and Jason Ritz.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram and you can see my illustration at www.michellekondrich.com.

If you haven't yet, please subscribe, rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts!

Now go play!

Creative Playdate Episode 25: Four Starts with F for a Reason - Tom and Amanda Froese

Tom’s Portrait by Sharalee Prang

The last episode of 2018 features an interview with the lovely Tom and Amanda Froese. Tom is a commercial artist whose work can be seen in publications like The Walrus and Harvard Business Review. He also creates illustrations for children's books, beer labels and even ceramics. Amanda is a Design Director at Partners & Hawes and is able to work from home alongside Tom.

Tom and Amanda tell the story of how they met, worked in the same office awkwardly, and ultimately got together. We discuss working from home with young kids and why Tom decided to move his studio from an off-site location, back into his home.

I try to get some 4-year-old advice from Tom and Amanda but, as you can hear at the beginning of the episode, 4 is just plain hard.

Tom is also a top teacher at Skillshare and we talk about his new class, Odd Bodies: Illustrating Expressive, Stylized People. If you don't know anything about Skillshare, you will absolutely want to check it out and sign up for this class using the link above. I plan on taking it first thing next year - or maybe even over the holiday break.

Creative Playdate is syndicated at IllustrationAge.com and the theme music was created by Thomas James and Jason Ritz.

I am going to transition away from the show's individual social media accounts, because it's simply too time-consuming to manage both and I think I've mostly got duplicate followers. So please follow me on Twitter and Instagram and you can see my illustration at www.michellekondrich.com.

If you haven't yet, please subscribe, rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts!

Now go play!

Creative Playdate Episode 24: Steve Folland and Being Freelance

After chatting with Steve Folland on his podcast Being Freelance last year, I knew I wanted to get him onto Creative Playdate. If anyone is mastering the art of freelancing while parenting, Steve is.

Steve started working freelance full-time when his children were young. We talk about Steve's work and how he managed to take off the entire month of August while his kids were on vacation from school and how sometimes saying no is the best thing for YOU, not just your business.

Steve also talks about when and why he started creating his weekly vlog and how it serves as a journal and sometimes as a very efficient form of therapy.

Photo by Jeremy Freedman

I also turn the tables on Steve by asking him for Two Truths and a Lie - something he does with his podcast guests. I think you'll be as shocked as I was!

Creative Playdate is syndicated at IllustrationAge.com and the theme music was created by Thomas James and Jason Ritz.

You can follow the show on Twitter and on Instagram and you can learn more about me and my work at michellekondrich.com.

If you haven't yet, please subscribe, rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts!

Now go play!

Creative Playdate Episode 20: Interview with Francesca Tortora of Doing It For the Kids

You are going to LOVE this episode with Francesca Tortora of Doing It For the Kids (DIFTK)! She has created an incredible community of freelance parents and I only wish she could do some meetup events in the US. We learn about her journey to being a parent, freelance graphic designer and founder of DIFTK.

She speaks about how her work has changed since her son came along and how it's influenced the types of clients she works with. She's had limited childcare in the past and manages to stick (mostly) to a pretty strict schedule with her clients, which has led to more clients who are happy to be more flexible. I also learned a lot about freelance maternity leave in the UK. Whenever I speak to someone out of the country, their maternity leave situation will inevitably make me incredibly jealous.

Frankie talks about the guilt we all feel as freelance parents and how she manages to rein it in whenever possible. 

Be sure to check out the DIFTK blog as well as the Instagram feed and wonderful Facebook Group. And you can see Frankie's graphic design work on her own site. And remember, DIFTK is a collaborative project, so get in touch with Frankie if you think you've got something you'd like to write.

Creative Playdate is syndicated on Illustration Age and our theme music was created by Thomas James and Jason Ritz.

Thanks, as always, for listening and for sharing with a friend. Be sure to rate, review and SUBSCRIBE on iTunes!

Now go play!