Ep. 043 – Chris Piascik – The Accidental Illustrator and the Power of Making Work Every Day

Most creatives have heard the advice a hundred times. Pick a lane. Niche down. Be known for one thing. But what happens when the thing you're known for is just you? Doodles one day, glossy dimensional lettering the next, hot pink whenever the brief allows it, and a pencil hair clip you designed because you wanted one to exist. In this episode, we talk with Jess Goldsmith, the Brooklyn-raised lettering artist and illustrator behind Chick of All Trade and the founder of Women of Type. On the su...

Illustration is supposed to be a solo sport. One person, one style, one desk. So how does a studio at the bottom of Africa keep a whole team of illustrators working under one name for fifteen years without the egos getting in the way? In this episode, we talk with Clinton Campbell, co-founder and creative director of MUTI in Cape Town, South Africa. Clint tells us how MUTI grew out of a streetwear label he started with his brother, and why the early internet mattered so much when your clients...

The dream we were all sold was going out on your own. Your own clients, your own hours, your name on the door. But what if freedom looks different once you've lived that dream for a while? In this episode, we talk with designer and CROP founder Matt Dawson about his first-ever CROP Field Trip to Cleveland, his guitars and records, and a band that sounds like Weezer and the Pixies had a baby. Underneath it is a bigger story. After seven years of running his own thing, Matt realized his p...

Most of us were told the same thing. Make something every day, share it, and the people will come. But what happens when you do exactly that for years, the numbers stall, the platforms change the deal, and the thing you love starts to feel like homework for an algorithm? In this episode, we talk with illustrator, teacher, and author Tom Froese about building a very public career as a self-described introvert. It starts with camera presence and resting dad face, then turns into a bigger conver...

Most people see a slackline, a motorcycle, or a recurve bow and think, “That’s not me.” Chris DeLorenzo sees the same things and signs up for lessons. He taught himself to slackline one summer. He has a motorcycle license he has never used. For a while, he wondered if he was quietly training for the apocalypse. In this episode, we talk with Chris about his years as lead designer and art director at Johnny Cupcakes, his move into illustration for places like The New York Times, and the 500-foo...