I’m back with Melanie Biehle today for another co-hosted chat! As many of you know, Melanie is the 2017 CYOP Artist Resident and today we’re talking all about taking a step back from your business in an effort to gain clarity, do some strategic planning, and figure out what’s working. In this episode, we cover a little bit about what taking a step back means to each of us in our respective businesses, what taking a break might look like from day to day, and what happens — both the good and the b...
Jul 27, 2017•45 min•Season 1Ep. 118
Today’s episode is the last in my series with Moorea Seal and it’s a powerful one. If you’re just tuning in, be sure to go back and listen to episodes 114 and 115 before diving into this one. If you’ve already listened to past episodes, you know that Moorea is an author, designer and shop owner and she has been very open about the experiences that have set her on her path. This episode is no exception. We’re diving pretty deep into some serious topics. On the show, we chat about why mental healt...
Jul 20, 2017•34 min•Season 1Ep. 117
I’m back today with another segment with author, designer and shop owner Moorea Seal. If you haven’t listened to last week’s episode yet, I highly recommend you go back and download that one first. It’s Episode 114 in the archives. In today’s interview, we talk a lot about growth and what it’s looked like for Moorea both personally and in business. She goes into detail about how her multi-book book deal came to fruition, why Moorea Seal (the shop) wouldn’t be where it is today without a team of ...
Jul 13, 2017•28 min•Season 1Ep. 116
Today, I'm talking with Moorea Seal, who is an author, designer and shop owner based out of Seattle! In today’s interview, she walks us through the early days of her career and how blogging, art, and Pinterest all played a roll. We also chat about what it’s like to name your business after yourself, how early trauma in her life set her on her path, and why our identities don’t need to be tied to our outputs. Moorea’s story is one that is full of both dark and light moments and you’ll hear a litt...
Jul 06, 2017•36 min•Season 1Ep. 115
Today is our last segment with Christine Herrin, who is a designer and hand letterer who has launched her own line of memory-keeping products. She just recently wrapped up her time as an Adobe Creative Resident and today’s episode is all about her experience. In the interview, we talk about her specific project and why she proposed it to the Adobe team. We also get into some behind-the-scenes stuff regarding how the residency works, why the public speaking aspect of the residency turned out to b...
Jun 29, 2017•24 min•Season 1Ep. 114
Today we’re hearing once again from designer and letterer Christine Herrin. If you listened to last week’s show, episode 111, you know that Christine’s passion is memory keeping and she’s built a business around designing modern products for those who love to capture and save memories. She also has a full freelance schedule as a designer and hand letterer and just recently wrapped up her stint as an Adobe Creative Resident. In today’s interview, we talk about how travel is essential for jolting ...
Jun 22, 2017•27 min•Season 1Ep. 113
I'm back today with another three-part series and this time I’m talking with graphic designer, hand letterer, and product designer Christine Herrin . You may also know her from her recent stint as an Adobe Creative Resident where she launched her shop, Everyday Explorers Co. In the interview, we talk at length about memory-keeping and why she feels that capturing bits of life is so important. She also opens up about her decision to move from Manila to San Francisco to go to grad school, why she ...
Jun 15, 2017•35 min•Season 1Ep. 112
I’m back with Melanie Biehle today for another co-hosted chat! As most of you know, Melanie is the 2017 CYOP Artist Resident and is an incredibly talented artist and designer. If this is your first time listening to the show, I want to welcome you, but I also want to advise you to go back to episode 101 and 106 to learn more about Melanie, her work, and some topics we've covered in the past. In today's episode, we cover a few topics that we both find a little bit challenging from time to time—mo...
Jun 08, 2017•47 min•Season 1Ep. 111
I’m back one final time with Rebecca Plumb and Meghan Phillips of Honey Agency, a creative agency here Sacramento that focuses specifically on food and beverage brands. Today, however, I’m talking with them about starting Sacramento’s Creative Mornings chapter. In the interview, we cover a lot of information that might be helpful for those of you who want to start a Creative Mornings chapter in your city. And honestly, it’s helpful even if you want to create an even that isn’t affiliated with Cr...
Jun 01, 2017•28 min•Season 1Ep. 110
I’m back this week with more from my interview with Rebecca Plumb and Meghan Phillips of Honey Agency, which is a creative agency here Sacramento that focuses specifically on food and beverage brands. Several months ago, they also led the charge to start Sacramento’s Creative Mornings chapter. On today’s show, we get into a pretty real conversation about how they see their business partnership as a marriage and why they’ve had to seek help from third parties like therapists and coaches as they’v...
May 25, 2017•29 min•Season 1Ep. 109
Today's show is the first in a three-part series featuring Rebecca Plumb and Meghan Phillips. Together, they run Honey Agency, which is a creative agency based out of Sacramento that focuses specifically on food and beverage brands. They are also the masterminds behind Sacramento’s Creative Mornings chapter. In the interview today, we talk about their past corporate careers and why working for a larger company helped them both develop professionally. We also chat about how a branding agency bran...
May 18, 2017•31 min•Season 1Ep. 108
Today’s show is the first ever co-hosted episode of CYOP! I’m excited to bring the Melanie Biehle back on the show every so often as a cohost. She is an incredibly talented artist and designer and she’s also the 2017 CYOP Artist Resident. In the episode, we step away from the interview format and just have an open discussion about what’s going on in our respective businesses right now, some of the big changes we’ve both made over the last few months, and how it’s all shaking out. SHOW NOTES: Che...
May 11, 2017•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 107
Today’s show is our first Tuesday Tips + Tricks episode of the season and it’s sponsored by Twenty20 , which is a stock photography site where creatives like us can go to find inspiring, authentic stock photos taken by real-world photographers. I was pretty excited when the team at Twenty20 reached out about sponsoring the show. I’ve been having trouble finding the time to stage all of the photos I need to go along with my written or audio content, but I was also really interested in finding out...
May 09, 2017•18 min•Season 1Ep. 106
On today’s show, we’re back one final time with Micaela and Dawn Marie Hoo, the mother-daughter team behind the skincare line Drifter Organics. Last week, Micaela and Dawn Marie shared how they funded the launch of their brand and were incredibly generous in sharing the resources and tactics they found useful as they navigated their crowdfunding campaign. And after all of that, I was super curious to know what might be next for these two. Today, we talk about their plans for Drifter Organics mov...
May 04, 2017•20 min•Season 1Ep. 105
Today we’re back with Micaela and Dawn Marie Hoo, the mother-daughter team behind the skincare line Drifter Organics. In last week’s show, we heard how Micaela’s career began and what led the two to launch the new brand. If you haven’t had a chance to hear to that episode, I’d recommend going back and listening to it before you listen to today’s show. Today we’re getting into the funding model for Drifter Organics. Micaela and Dawn Marie opted to use crowdfunding to launch the company and they a...
Apr 27, 2017•26 min•Season 1Ep. 104
Today’s show is the first in a series with mother-daughter team Dawn Marie and Micaela Hoo of Drifter Organics. Drifter Organics is an all-natural skin care line that launched after a very successful Kickstarter campaign. You may also know Micaela from her popular fashion and lifestyle blog, Oh My Drifter. In the interview, we talk about how Micaela got started with her creative career at the young age of 14 and how her mom, who was at stay-at-home mom at the time, was able to be there for Micae...
Apr 20, 2017•35 min•Season 1Ep. 103
We're officially getting into the swing of things this season and today’s show is our first full-length episode featuring the first ever CYOP Artist Resident, Melanie Biehle . Melanie is an artist and designer based in the Seattle area whose work is full of bright colors and bold patterns. In the episode, we talk about Melanie’s long and winding path to becoming an artist, the process behind the work she creates, and why she isn’t emotionally tied to the term fine artist. One of the things I fin...
Apr 13, 2017•34 min•Season 1Ep. 102
In today's episode—the first of Season 4—I'm sharing a few details about what you can expect from CYOP in the months to come, why I'm not throwing a huge party to celebrate hitting 100 episodes, a recap of everything that's gone down in the last several months, and a peek at next week's interview with CYOP Artist Resident Melanie Biehle. From signing an office lease and writing a book to launching an artist residency and creating a new community for CYOP listeners, I'm sharing a lot of fun new p...
Apr 06, 2017•8 min•Season 1Ep. 101
On today's show—the 99th episode of CYOP and final episode of Season 3—I'm sharing three of the big lessons I've learned over the last three seasons of producing a podcast. In the episode, I tell you my download numbers and why they matter, the original purpose of the show, the humbling side of podcasting and why getting to know those of you who listen each week has offered up the biggest lesson of all. Thank you for another great season, everyone! For the full episode + show notes, please visit...
Dec 08, 2016•11 min•Season 1Ep. 100
Today I’m chatting with Ginger Elizabeth Hahn of Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates here in midtown Sacramento. In the interview, we talk about Ginger’s past and how it shaped her love for food. We also discuss the realities of going to culinary school and the many (many) jobs Ginger took on before starting her own brick and mortar business. What struck me most during this interview is the way Ginger made things happen—even when she was stuck in the business catch-22 of needing start-up capital to laun...
Dec 01, 2016•36 min•Season 1Ep. 99
Today I’m chatting with Chandra Greer, owner of Greer Chicago , which is a stationery store in the windy city. She was recommended to me by Jessica Murnane of the One Part Podcast and I’m so happy Chandra and I had a chance to connect. She is full of thoughtful advice and has a really simple, yet lovely goal that drives her brand. In the interview, we chat about Chandra’s choice to leave a lucrative job in advertising to open her store and what she’s learned in the last 15 years. She also talks ...
Nov 17, 2016•33 min•Season 1Ep. 98
Today’s guest is jewelry designer Jen Moulton ! She's been on the show before ( Episode 65 , if you want to catch up) and I was excited to snag just a little bit of her time to talk through a big announcement she made recently—she's just opened a physical storefront! I knew I wanted to chat about both the how and the why behind her decision to open this shop. In the interview we talk about the type of retail shop she’s opening and how the opportunity came about. We also dive deep into the fear i...
Nov 10, 2016•30 min•Season 1Ep. 97
Today’s guest is Rosa Ng of Young & Able . She's the first in a new segment focused on those who create physical retail experiences. Young & Able is both an ecommerce and pop-up retail experience full of carefully curated items. In the interview, Rosa talks about the many facets of her brand and why she chose to build a platform for the creative community instead of diving into her planned career in fashion design after graduating. She also talks about the importance of testing our ideas...
Nov 03, 2016•44 min•Season 1Ep. 96
Today’s guest is Brooke Barker of the Instagram-account-turned-book, Sad Animal Facts . I’ve been following Brooke’s Instagram feed, which as you’ll hear in the episode, I came across while we were both participating in The 100 Day Project last year. Sad Animal Facts is a project that is exactly what it sounds like; facts about animals that are a little bit sad or melancholy, but with Brooke’s quirky humor driving the treatment of each fact. Her illustrations are adorable and the facts are thing...
Oct 27, 2016•23 min•Season 1Ep. 95
Today’s guest is illustrator Becky Simpson , whose work is a little cheeky and a little quirky, and completely relatable—especially for the ladies tuning in today. If you spend any time on the internet you may have seen Becky’s hilarious “Should I Wash My Hair Today?” flow chart. She’s also created other flow charts that have become favorites, like “Should I Check Email Right Now?” and “Should I wear Pants Today?” I’ve been wanting to get her on the show since last year and I’m so excited to sha...
Oct 20, 2016•41 min•Season 1Ep. 94
Today’s show is one of the few episodes I’ve had so far with a repeat guest! If you’ve been listening to Creating Your Own Path from the beginning, you know that Janna Marlies Maron and her husband Jeremy Maron were the very first guests to be featured on the show in Episode 1 . When Janna reminded me that she would be celebrating five years of publishing her literary non-fiction magazine, Under The Gum Tree , this month I knew I wanted to chat with her for this particular segment. In the interv...
Oct 13, 2016•44 min•Season 1Ep. 93
Today I’m chatting with Tina Essmaker of The Great Discontent . Tina and her husband created the online and print publication because they wanted to talk to others about the highs and lows of creative work. In the interview, Tina talks about the big changes she had to make in her own life before she could pursue the work that was right for her. She also talks about the importance of getting out of your own way, the realities of using crowdfunding to finance creative work, and why she believes in...
Oct 06, 2016•29 min•Season 1Ep. 92
I’ve got Chris Brown of Refueled Magazine on today's show to talk about his beautiful quarterly publication, which is all about community, heritage, and discovery. In the interview, we chat about the importance print publications as they fit into the context of truly experiencing the stories and art we consume. Chris also talks about the balance between doing what fulfills us creatively and focusing solely on what the audience wants or needs, how successfully selling a neighborhood newspaper at ...
Sep 29, 2016•39 min•Season 1Ep. 91
Lizzy Okoro of Bunch Magazine is joining me on the show today to kick off a series dedicated to those who create print publications. With Bunch Magazine, Lizzy has built entire company based on the idea that creative endeavors and business acumen are not mutually exclusive. In the interview, Lizzy chats about how she came to the realization that her creative passions didn’t have to be relegated to hobbies—that she could actually build a sustainable business around them. She also goes into the de...
Sep 22, 2016•36 min•Season 1Ep. 90
Today's guest is actor-turned-author Lisa Jakub . If you’ve ever seen Mrs. Doubtfire or the original Independence Day, you’re likely familiar with her early work. I came across Lisa a few years ago on Twitter and she has since completely changed careers. She’s now a writer living thousands of miles away from Hollywood. When I read Lisa’s book, You Look Like That Girl… , in which she details her major life and career shift, I knew I wanted to have her on this segment of the show. You might think ...
Jul 28, 2016•30 min•Season 1Ep. 89
