In this episode of House of Style, Grant Alexander sits down with internationally acclaimed artist Brendan Fernandes to explore the powerful intersections of style, identity, and creative expression. Brendan, known for his groundbreaking work that merges dance, visual art, and social activism, shares his journey from childhood to global recognition. He delves into how his unique background as a queer, Kenyan-Indian-Canadian artist influences his approach to style—not just in art, but in life.
Tune in as we discuss how Brendan challenges traditional norms, redefines authenticity, and uses his art to inspire change and foster collaboration and connectedness. Whether you’re an artist, entrepreneur, or anyone seeking to embrace your multifaceted identity, this conversation offers valuable insights into the dynamic nature of style and the importance of staying true to yourself.
A big shout out to Tim Salm of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty in Chicago — THANK YOU for letting us use this INCREDIBLE penthouse in Chicago. If you’re looking to buy or sell luxury real estate, Tim is absolutely an elite choice (https://www.sothebysrealty.com/eng/associate/180-a-1253-4020826/tim-salm)!
Transcript
For me, style is a way of, like, creating an identity.
Speaker A:When I walk in something and I feel it, you know, it becomes an extension of my body.
Speaker B:Style is more than just the clothes you wear.
Speaker B:It's the essence of who you are, and it's in everything you do.
Speaker B:Discover it here and unleash your style beyond what you wear.
Speaker B:Hey, everyone.
Speaker C:Today we have a truly exceptional guest, and I'm beyond excited to introduce Brendan Fernandez.
Speaker C:Not only is he an internationally recognized artist, but he is a creative force who's making waves at his own intersection of dance, visual arts, and social activism.
Speaker C:His work is powerful and thought provoking, and he's someone who challenges norms.
Speaker C:And he uses his art to inspire change, to create collaborations.
Speaker B:And what I like most of all.
Speaker C:He tries to bring people together in a world that often pushes us to fit into a single box.
Speaker C:Brendan reminds us that our identities and our styles are multifaceted, dynamic, and worth celebrating in all their complexity.
Speaker C:Trust me, you don't want to miss what he has to say.
Speaker C:His journey, his insights, and his vision are not just inspiring.
Speaker C:They're essential for anyone trying to understand the deeper layers of style and what it means to truly be authentic.
Speaker C:And he's a wonderful friend and person who happens to be a legit influencer who gets hookups from places like Tiffany's and Tom Brown.
Speaker C:So, without further ado, let's dive into an incredible conversation with the one and only Brendan Fernandez.
Speaker B:Hey, Brendan's here today and really excited.
Speaker B:He's become a good friend over the last couple years, and I'm so excited to have him on.
Speaker B:He's a creative genius and welcome to the podcast.
Speaker A:Well, thanks.
Speaker A:That's very, very, very kind.
Speaker A:I'm super excited to be here with you and to get into it, I guess.
Speaker B:So I heard some very exciting news that you recently got tenure.
Speaker A:I recently got tenure.
Speaker A:Tell me more about the process.
Speaker B:Yeah, the process.
Speaker B:I know, it's great.
Speaker B:I mean, it's such an accomplishment.
Speaker B:So tell me about it, what it was like and what it was like finding out.
Speaker A:Okay, so I'm a professor at Northwestern University.
Speaker B:Amazing.
Speaker A:In the department of Art Theory and Practice, and was going on for the process of tenure, which was one of the most grueling, craziest applications package I've ever made in my life.
Speaker B:Why?
Speaker A:Because basically everything I've ever done in my artistic practice, whether it's someone's writing a review or any exhibition I've done, I had to, like, prove it and, like, make this, like, package.
Speaker A:Then I also had to write These essays about, you know, why am I a good teacher?
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:What kind of, you know, support do I provide to the university?
Speaker A:What is my community service to the university?
Speaker A:So just like these, like, kind of long, kind of like arduous essays just to tell them, like, take me on it.
Speaker A:But it's funny.
Speaker A:So I, you know, I submitted in September.
Speaker A:It took a whole year.
Speaker A:So apparently after that, then they sent it out to a number of different other departments in those universities around.
Speaker A:Across the country.
Speaker A:And then those people, like, kind of rank me with this from this package.
Speaker B:How'd you do in the rankings?
Speaker A:I got.
Speaker A:I got it.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I got this letter from the dean's office that said, I am now indefinitely hired by Northwestern University.
Speaker B:That's pretty cool.
Speaker A:It's kind of crazy.
Speaker B:I grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, and Northwestern was always like, the school for all the smarty pants.
Speaker B:And, you know, it's really neat that.
Speaker B:To see someone that I know be a professor there forever and ever.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I love it.
Speaker A:You know, obviously, like, I'm so indebted to the school, my department, and I love teaching.
Speaker A:But just knowing that I have this now, like, this kind of position, it's sort of a little bit medieval in a certain way.
Speaker A:Like, is it kind of like this letter comes and it says, like, you're indefinitely hired?
Speaker A:So there's that kind of the tradition of American universities and this idea of being bestowed this title.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker B:So this is all about style that goes way beyond clothes.
Speaker B:And you're also an incredibly stylish person, and we'll get into that, too.
Speaker B:But how did your.
Speaker B:I kind of want to know, how do you define your style in art, in the visual arts, and how that impacted your journey, you know, from when you started to tenure?
Speaker A:Well, you know, I grew up in Nairobi, Kenya.
Speaker A:My family, you know, emigrated to Canada when I was nine.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:But I think, like, you know, this idea of, like, having had the ability to live in different places, having the ability to experience different cultures, you know, is something that kind of like, kind of has built like.
Speaker A:Kind of like the foundations my art practice.
Speaker A:And then as an artist, you know, I trained as a dancer as well when I moved to Canada.
Speaker A:So my work is sort of kind of hybrid, intersectional.
Speaker A:It's kind of.
Speaker A:It's never really defined, which is also how I like to describe myself.
Speaker A:You know, I'm not one thing.
Speaker A:I'm many things.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I think just the kind of foundation of having many types of experiences.
Speaker A:And then this idea of, like, kind of placing my work in between spaces.
Speaker A:It's not dance.
Speaker A:It is dance.
Speaker A:It's visual arts, but it's not visual arts.
Speaker A:So kind of playing with that kind of hybridity in my work.
Speaker B:Is that how you stand out as an artist?
Speaker A:I hope so.
Speaker A:I think there's something unique to the way that I create also.
Speaker A:As a maker, I'm always trying to always sort of, like, think about the next way of thinking about something.
Speaker A:So, like, even within my work, like, you know, a lot of it is sculptural, performance based, live dance.
Speaker A:But I'm making, like, work right now with, like, architects.
Speaker A:Intersections between my work and collaborations with architecture and the body, I'm also making work that is, you know, like, I'm playing a lot with light, like, light and sound.
Speaker A:And so I'm kind of just trying to always sort of, like, think of other ways of making and experimenting.
Speaker B:Experimentation, for me, has always been a big thing, and I am a super perfectionist.
Speaker B:When I'm designing a suit, the amount of time I spend on what color the thread should be, even if it's just a shade different or which buttons I should be using, it's, you know, but it.
Speaker B:For me, it was always that experimentation is what led to better and better results.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And I think, you know, even, like, just we know when we've worked together, like, you'll say, like, hey, I have this idea.
Speaker A:And I'm like, oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy.
Speaker A:And then I'm like, oh, actually, that's really cool.
Speaker A:Like, do you remember the white tuxedo pants?
Speaker A:And I was like, I can't wear these.
Speaker A:This is too much.
Speaker A:And I love those pants.
Speaker B:I've gotten.
Speaker B:I'm getting funkier and funkier with some of my designs, but it's still within kind of my style of design with this kind of timeless.
Speaker B:But I'm definitely trying some funky things.
Speaker B:And that's how you end up.
Speaker B:I think so many people are willing to try more than they're doing.
Speaker B:What I hear from clients is that they just don't know how to do it all and how to put something together.
Speaker B:And so when you say, no, this is just gonna work, I don't know.
Speaker B:Just because I'm a stylist, they listen.
Speaker B:So it kind of works well.
Speaker A:You're the authority, right?
Speaker A:So that's the thing.
Speaker A:I listened to you.
Speaker A:I was thinking too, about, you know, even this.
Speaker A:The way that, you know, like, even the insides of, you know, the jacket that, you know, you made for me, you were like, what about this print?
Speaker A:And I was like, let's just go with a straight black.
Speaker A:And you're like, no, let's think about it.
Speaker A:And then now, like, it's my little, like, opening moment.
Speaker A:I'm like, hey, look what's inside here.
Speaker A:It's the best.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:But when you have a monogram, that's fun on the inside, you can read something.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:That's why I stopped putting my name on the inside of my jackets.
Speaker B:And I just have funny sayings or quotes now.
Speaker B:It's way more fun.
Speaker A:Do you remember what we put in my jacket?
Speaker B:No, what did we put?
Speaker A:It's a quote from Jenny Holzer.
Speaker A:It says, protect me from what I want.
Speaker B:Oh, I do remember that.
Speaker B:That was a good one.
Speaker A:Because that sentiment always kind of, like, rings with me.
Speaker A:And I was, like, thinking of getting it as a tattoo, and I'm still.
Speaker A:And it's funny because a friend of mine wrote me a couple weeks ago.
Speaker A:She's like, when are you going to get that tattoo?
Speaker A:You've been asking for it for, like, 10 years.
Speaker B:Do you have other tattoos?
Speaker A:I have one.
Speaker B:What is it of?
Speaker A:Oh, boy.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I like this story.
Speaker A:No, it's nothing that interesting, but it's a schooner, so, like, a ship on the back of the shoulder.
Speaker A:So when I was in grad school, friends of mine, we were, like, during grad school, our MFAs in this town outside of Toronto, and we were trying to figure out how to get out of this town.
Speaker A:Cause we just didn't.
Speaker A:It was just like, kind of like, we were just kind of sucked.
Speaker A:It basically just sucked.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:But we.
Speaker A:We were finishing our schooling, and there's a schooner, which was like a historic schooner.
Speaker A:It's actually on the dime coin in Canada, and it was docked in this town or outside of this town, and it was just, like, kind of sinking.
Speaker A:And so we were like, when we get out, let's get the schooner to remind us to never be complacent, to always have to continue our journey and not just sort of be this sinking ship.
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker B:So is the one on your back kind of sinking, or is it fully.
Speaker A:No, it's fully.
Speaker A:It's in motion or it's static because it's a tattoo on my back.
Speaker A:But I remember my friends.
Speaker B:Do you go like this, or when you're dancing.
Speaker B:It's moving.
Speaker A:It's moving.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:You know, a little shaky, shaky.
Speaker A:But I was going to get it on my arm.
Speaker A:Grateful I didn't.
Speaker A:But the Tattoo artist was like, your arms are too small.
Speaker A:I can't fit it on your arm.
Speaker A:So we put it on the back.
Speaker B:That's a good call.
Speaker B:I'm sure it looks great there.
Speaker B:I, for the longest time have wanted sleeves.
Speaker B:I love tattoos.
Speaker B:I think they're beautiful.
Speaker B:My.
Speaker B:I just know as soon as I get one, I'm gonna full body sleeves.
Speaker B:And I don't know that I'm really ready to commit to that.
Speaker A:I think it's a commitment.
Speaker A:I have a couple of friends who are like, are super addicted to it.
Speaker A:And my goal is now to just get them, get them all to get tattoos of my work on their bodies so that there's.
Speaker A:There's some kind of like.
Speaker B:Is that egotistical at all?
Speaker A:No, I love it.
Speaker A:Ownership, you know, those sort of things.
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker A:I mean, for me or just my signature.
Speaker B:Well, that's a good one too.
Speaker B:That's really egotistical.
Speaker B:I love that there's some guys that put their signature as their monogram on the shirt.
Speaker B:And I think it's the douchiest thing ever.
Speaker B:I don't even like when clients ask me to put initials on the cuff of their shirt.
Speaker B:There's a nice.
Speaker A:That's an old school thing though, right?
Speaker B:I think it's like an American banker thing to do because it's a show off.
Speaker A:It's like that Brooks Brother thing, you know, like that if you're gonna put.
Speaker B:A monogram on a shirt, there's an elegant way to do it.
Speaker B:You kind of put it right there and then it looks really nice.
Speaker B:And people are like, oh, you got something on your shirt.
Speaker B:And you're like, yeah, it's my monogram, but it's not shoving it in their face.
Speaker B:Yeah, that was kind of always my.
Speaker B:One of my biggest early on style things that I learned in fashion because I didn't originally start in fashion.
Speaker B:I was a consultant, a communication and change management consulting.
Speaker B:And so when companies did things that affected their employees, we went in and spun it and made it sound great and.
Speaker B:But I loved clothing.
Speaker B:I loved dressing up.
Speaker B:And eventually I moved in across the hall from a clothing designer.
Speaker B:And, you know, that led me to where I am now.
Speaker B:But early on, those little details of the monograms and you know, where people put what tattoos and everything like that, I thought it was beautiful and like, part of it's what I wanted my style to be.
Speaker B:Even though I still have no tattoos.
Speaker B:I'm working on it.
Speaker A:Are you going to get one?
Speaker B:I'm considering it I think what I will actually do is there are temporary ones I've heard of.
Speaker A:You can also get those, like, kind of like, stocking sleeves that you can kind of test them out.
Speaker A:It's just like a.
Speaker A:It's like a shirt.
Speaker A:Like a.
Speaker A:Like a.
Speaker A:I don't know about that.
Speaker A:Like Spanx with, like, tattoos on them.
Speaker B:I think I'd probably look pretty good in Spanx.
Speaker A:Stop it.
Speaker B:But, yeah, so tattoos will get one eventually.
Speaker B:I think temporary is the thing to go.
Speaker B:The other problem, they take so long.
Speaker B:If you're going to get a sleeve, you have to do it in processes.
Speaker B:I think what I would want is them to put me under and just do a little.
Speaker A:Do it all.
Speaker B:I don't know that they'll do that.
Speaker A:I don't think they'll do that, but I think you can pay.
Speaker B:They do that.
Speaker B:Okay, they do that.
Speaker B:That's fantastic.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because the recovery is intense.
Speaker B:What if they just keep you asleep through the recovery, too?
Speaker A:Hey, I'm sure there's.
Speaker A:I'm sure there's an island somewhere where you can get this done and they'll feed you and take care of you and everything like that.
Speaker B:That sounds awesome.
Speaker B:Something new to consider.
Speaker A:Hey, I'll come with you.
Speaker B:Then maybe once this podcast takes off, somebody's just gonna be like, hey, I'll do this for you.
Speaker B:Might do it.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's a great way of thinking about it.
Speaker B:Okay, so let's get a little bit more back to style.
Speaker B:How did your.
Speaker B:I mean, you're a bunch of minorities.
Speaker B:How did.
Speaker B:I mean.
Speaker B:So you're a queer person of color.
Speaker B:You're from Kenya.
Speaker B:You're Canadian, American.
Speaker B:You got a lot going on.
Speaker B:How did that impact your style, and how did that affect your development from everything early on to becoming where you are now in your career?
Speaker A:Yeah, that's interesting.
Speaker A:I think style for me has always been a big part of just my upbringing.
Speaker A:My grandmother was a seamstress, and we came from modest upbringings.
Speaker A:And she always said, though, you need to dress in a way that gives you character and almost create a personality with your style.
Speaker A:And so I think if you meet my sisters or my mot, everyone is just like, you know, we like to dress up.
Speaker B:I would love to meet your mom.
Speaker B:I feel like she'd be absolutely fabulous.
Speaker A:She's fabulous.
Speaker A:My friends all, like, know of her because I talk about her all the time.
Speaker A:She's hilarious.
Speaker A:She loves basketball.
Speaker A:So she will just talk to me and about basketball, and I will look at her, and I'm like, And I'm like, mom.
Speaker A:And she's like, so now I actually want to.
Speaker A:I record her.
Speaker A:And then she'll like.
Speaker A:And then she'll notice I'm recording.
Speaker A:She's like, stop it.
Speaker A:What are you doing?
Speaker A:But she knows everything.
Speaker A:And she, like, loves basketball.
Speaker B:That's awesome.
Speaker A:You know, like, she's a 78 year old, like, you know, Kenyan Indian lady who loves basketball.
Speaker A:But that's because she wants to.
Speaker A:She wanted to impress my nephew and.
Speaker A:But now she's really gotten into it.
Speaker B:That's fun.
Speaker A:It's cute.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:Yeah, but you know, my grandmother taught us how to dress.
Speaker A:You know, she made all of our clothes.
Speaker A:And in Kenya there was a lot of tailoring and you could kind of get that stuff done.
Speaker A:So when we traveled as a family, we used to all wear like matching Von Trapp suits together, but all in a variations, like.
Speaker A:Cause like, you know, my two sisters would have matching dresses, but then there'd be like some kind of plaid, like, like detail that kind of like, was different.
Speaker A:Everyone kind of had their own sort of like uniform.
Speaker A:But within that uniform, we kind of had our own kind of personal touches.
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's fantastic.
Speaker B:I think for me, why I was always interested in style and clothes.
Speaker B:Our mom, so I have three brothers, I'm number two and our mom, like, we couldn't leave the house if we didn't iron our clothes.
Speaker B:And she never said.
Speaker B:Everything's about first impressions.
Speaker B:You have to look nice all the time.
Speaker B:But we went shopping before school each year.
Speaker B:And similarly, we were from modest means.
Speaker B:There are four kids, so you know, that.
Speaker B:And buying clothes for four kids.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's a lot.
Speaker B:I can't even after having two kids, I can't imagine how they had four.
Speaker B:Blows my mind every day.
Speaker B:But there was always such an important thing to look nice when we went out and to make sure that we were matching.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Now I break matching rules all the time, but I at least know the rules to break them.
Speaker B:But I think that influence and having somebody in the family is really important.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I think that was our grandmother.
Speaker A:Our whole family is very much about that, as I mentioned.
Speaker A:But I think also for me, it grew and changed as you know, then I got into the art world or the dance world.
Speaker A:You know, I remember like growing up in Toronto when I was dancing and studying art, but I really got into like the punk rock scene in Toronto and you know, like the kind of.
Speaker A:Is it a big scene in Toronto?
Speaker A:Yeah, I would say so.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But I remember like, you Know, like, that's when I started to, like, you know, dye my hair and get piercings.
Speaker A:And that was a whole other situation.
Speaker A:But it also kind of, like, allowed me to understand style in a different way, but also, again, a way of identifying.
Speaker A:For me, style is a way of, like, creating an identity.
Speaker A:When I walk in something and I feel it, you know, it becomes an extension of my body.
Speaker A:And that's also when I make my dance work.
Speaker A:You know, I work with a lot of designers to make, you know, costumes for my dancers, but the costumes themselves also become kind of, like, conceptually a part of it, because they affect the way the dancers move.
Speaker A:It gives them a sense of authority.
Speaker A:And I really kind of think that's really, you know, a big part of, you know, again, another extension of how style manifests itself in my.
Speaker A:In my work.
Speaker B:I even, like, I think really early on, and I probably said this to Naya and team above, I think even seeing you, like, walk, you, like, walk nicer.
Speaker B:Like, your walk style is nicer than other people.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Like, when I'm wearing a skirt, I just feel powerful.
Speaker A:I'm flowing.
Speaker A:I'm flowing.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it just.
Speaker A:It just comes out.
Speaker A:It's like, yeah, there it is.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Beautiful.
Speaker B:I should really work on my walk style.
Speaker A:I can teach you.
Speaker A:We can do this.
Speaker A:We'll do some walks.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:So I love.
Speaker B:I think guys that can pull off a skirt is amazing.
Speaker B:A lot of clients will ask me silly things or, you know, say they can't wear a hat.
Speaker B:I'm like, just put it on and walk out the door, and you're wearing a hat.
Speaker B:Just smile, even if you don't, you know, feel it.
Speaker B:I think anyone that it was same thing.
Speaker B:When I.
Speaker B:Before I started painting my nails, that was even a risk for me.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:You know, I wasn't sure.
Speaker B:I loved the idea of it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I never knew if I could.
Speaker B:I just don't know.
Speaker B:Yours are fantastic.
Speaker B:Do you do them yourself?
Speaker A:No, I get them done because it's.
Speaker A:It's a.
Speaker A:It's a.
Speaker A:So I started doing my nails because I should bite my nails.
Speaker B:Me too.
Speaker B:Oh, it's the number one reason.
Speaker A:So now this is like.
Speaker A:And I, for the first time in my life, have healthy nails.
Speaker A:And now I just kind of like doing my nails as, like, a treat.
Speaker A:I go get them done, and it's just part of it.
Speaker A:But I think for me, like, you know, what you're saying is, like, you know, wearing a skirt, you know, all of these things, like, might have had like, you know, a little bit of a reservation perhaps, but like, you know, within my style, I'm kind of like non binary.
Speaker A:I kind of like wear whatever like I'm going to like Janet Jackson tonight and I'm gonna like, I'm like, I might wear a full on dress, I don't know, like, you know, I want to be like that tight black dress in Rhythm Nation, you know.
Speaker A:But like I just experiment and play and it's for me it's fun, you know, like.
Speaker B:Did you ever get pushback when you first started trying?
Speaker B:Were you extra self conscious?
Speaker B:Because I know like the first time I wore nail polish, I actually think Mike, the guy behind the camera, he I think we have done did it together or we were together when I bought the black ones and it was right after he just had done them and I remember putting them on and like not hiding them from the world, but I was definitely nervous.
Speaker B:So like, do you think when you first started kind of, I don't know, pushing the limits and going more towards that non binary way of dressing, were you self conscious about it?
Speaker A:I think so, I think.
Speaker A:And also I think this was, I was doing it when I was like, you know, like a younger teenager where I was not fully aware of who I was, you know.
Speaker A:Now you know, my nephew who's you know, so dear to me, we were in a train.
Speaker A:So when I go home for the holidays to Toronto, we spend a day together, we go into the city and we buy clothes because he's like really into like his, but he has his own style.
Speaker A:And I kind of like.
Speaker A:So if I buy him something, he's like, I don't want that.
Speaker A:So we just go together and he buys whatever he wants.
Speaker A:But he was like, do people make fun of you because you paint your nails?
Speaker A:And I was like, I'm like, no, I just don't even care about it anymore.
Speaker A:He's like, you know, I have like, you know the one aunt or uncle who will be like, he's painting his nails and I'm like, yeah.
Speaker A:And I can do whatever I want because I'm a grown up, you know.
Speaker A:So like is that, that's things.
Speaker A:I don't think it, but I think it doesn't bother me.
Speaker A:But I think it would have bothered me like if I was like a teenager and someone said like, you know, oh, that's what girls do or you're gay.
Speaker A:Something like that would have probably like affected me but.
Speaker A:And at this point in my life I'm just like, nah, yeah, I Think.
Speaker B:One thing that, like, one of my goals and things that I would love to leave behind is helping younger people, like, get to the point of wisdom of being in your 30s, 40s, like when you're an adult in getting that early on to know that all the crap and BS you go through as a teen and go through high school and whatever it is, none of it matters at all.
Speaker B:And that the only thing that really does is just being yourself.
Speaker B:And it will help you so much more if you can get there quicker.
Speaker B:I think that's one of my life goals would be to help young people act like you're 30.
Speaker A:Absolutely, I think so.
Speaker A:And I thinking that maybe it is changing and kids, like, because I think my niece and my nephew, like, are open to that.
Speaker A:Like, they kind of.
Speaker A:They already see it, like, you know, they experience it.
Speaker A:Like, you know where I think for me, like, you know, growing up like in the suburbs of Toronto in the 90s, like, you know, it was like, still, like, you know, I didn't know any other open kids.
Speaker A:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, I bet that's.
Speaker B:I can't even imagine, like, how different it is now since it's actually talked about.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I think for me, like, you know, being in a dance school and dancing, like that was like my safety in my community because I met other people like me in that space.
Speaker A:And so that was really important for me was like my dancing life.
Speaker B:So do you like dance more?
Speaker B:Do you like the visual arts?
Speaker A:It's just both together.
Speaker A:Like, it's just.
Speaker A:It's just together.
Speaker A:Like, I love going to the ballet and watching it, but what I do isn't that, you know, I don't make work on stage.
Speaker A:I make kind of weird, non defined performative gestures, you know, like, it could be on the street, it could be like, it's never traditional, but I love watching traditional dance.
Speaker A:But what I do is just kind of like a mix of those things.
Speaker B:So some of them have been live, right?
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:Do you watch people's faces to see the reactions?
Speaker A:Huh?
Speaker A:Do I watch people's faces?
Speaker B:Because I feel like there's the two schools of thought.
Speaker B:Like you're watching people's faces to gauge their reactions or you're watching it to make sure it's perfect.
Speaker A:I am both, I think, because also my work is like durational.
Speaker A:And then I'm always like, are people getting bored?
Speaker A:Are people getting bored?
Speaker A:Like, I can, like that's the kind of thing.
Speaker A:Then I'm also like, worried about my dancers.
Speaker A:I'm like, are they okay?
Speaker A:But, you know, I'll sometimes hear people say, because it's like in a museum space, you know, someone walked into a piece and was like, this is stupid.
Speaker A:And I was like, I made this, like, kind of thing.
Speaker A:Like, you know, my sister said to me, because she was at an opening, this is at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and people were just, like, saying things.
Speaker A:And she was like, how do you do this?
Speaker A:And I was like, do what?
Speaker A:She's like, you're in the space, your work is happening, and people are just.
Speaker A:Are saying things.
Speaker A:And I was like, well, you just have to be tough and just kind of, you know, that's part of the game.
Speaker A:You know, the critique people have will always have opinions.
Speaker A:But she was like, oh, wow, it's really intense.
Speaker A:And because people just were, like, talking, like, someone came up to me and said, I like the other artists work better in the same gallery space as you.
Speaker A:Great, thanks.
Speaker B:You're welcome to your opinion.
Speaker B:Back off.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker B:Don't talk to me.
Speaker A:And my sister was like, back off.
Speaker A:I'm going to come after you, family.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B:So while we're talking about your work, I actually was like, you know what?
Speaker B:I should.
Speaker B:I was.
Speaker B:I forgot where I was.
Speaker B:But I was like, you know what?
Speaker B:I should check this out.
Speaker B:And I got Brendan's monograph.
Speaker B:So where'd you.
Speaker B:That one.
Speaker A:Because that's brand new.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker B:It's February, right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So my first question is, what's a monograph?
Speaker A:A monograph is like a catalog or based on, like, just one person.
Speaker A:So it's like.
Speaker A:So a friend of mine makes fun of me.
Speaker A:He's like, you have all these books, these monographs.
Speaker A:Because people write about my work.
Speaker A:So there's a collection of essays, but it's all on my work.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I went through Naya and I went both through it, and I thought it was really interesting reading other people's contributions, because I just naturally would have thought it was everything straight from you.
Speaker B:So kind of reading about what other people thought, I thought that was really interesting in itself.
Speaker B:And that's kind of what made me think, like, what do you.
Speaker B:How do you react to people?
Speaker B:Do you look for those reactions?
Speaker B:Do you just pull the best ones and toss them in a monograph?
Speaker A:Well, for this book, it's curated in a way that I have to like.
Speaker A:It's responding to a specific film and a specific exhibition.
Speaker A:So the monograph was being created and made, and I have the opportunity to invite people to write.
Speaker A:So I'M actually asking people who I really care about to write about my work if they can.
Speaker A:But it's really important because it gives me new perspectives.
Speaker A:It lets me, you know, like, how the way people think about the work or write about the work, you know, opens up new ways of thinking, allows the practice to grow as well.
Speaker A:So for me, it's really important to have this kind of writing.
Speaker A:It also creates, like, a legacy for the work, an archive for the work in a different form.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I thought, you know, I'm.
Speaker A:Going to drink this water from this little.
Speaker A:My little cup.
Speaker B:So I'm big.
Speaker B:One of my favorite things in style, generally, is birds.
Speaker B:Well, birds, absolutely.
Speaker B:Since moving to the suburbs, I became quite the amateur birder.
Speaker B:But I think just juxtaposition and having we're in this ridiculous space.
Speaker B:s hard to, but It's, I think,:Speaker B:It is some fantastic penthouse.
Speaker B:1500 North Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.
Speaker B:It's beautiful.
Speaker B:It has this unbelievable terrace that we got to stand on.
Speaker B:All the rooms are.
Speaker B:Everything about this place is ridiculous.
Speaker B:So I thought some bird cups would be pretty fun.
Speaker B:But one of the things I thought that was really interesting from reading this was art is subjective, and everybody has their own.
Speaker B:But I like sometimes to be guided where to think and how to think of things.
Speaker B:When I look at some of the work, if I was just looking at the photos, I wouldn't have thought of anything even close to what these people had.
Speaker B:And I think reading it helped me understand the work more.
Speaker B:It helped me learn more about art.
Speaker B:Your style in just possibilities and kind of thinking through, like, oh, I like that idea.
Speaker B:How can I use that in clothing?
Speaker B:Or how can I use that in what I'm doing, too?
Speaker B:So I love the idea of using it as a way to learn and continue to develop it.
Speaker A:And I think that, you know, I think that's why also I fit well into, like, the academy, like, the university, because my work is very much about research and process.
Speaker A:And when I work with, you know, people writing about my work, as I said, it builds up these new ideas and these ways of, like, thinking or me understanding and giving new perspectives, which I think is so important for an artist to then have material to then kind of, like, generate the next work.
Speaker B:You know, how many.
Speaker B:One thing I've always kind of thought of, like, are you, like, I'm going to produce this many works this year, or is it just when something comes to you?
Speaker A:Yeah, I think it comes.
Speaker A:When something comes to Me, like, you know, right now in my career, I'm really fortunate that I get invitations for exhibitions, but I need to, like, make sure that I can.
Speaker A:I schedule them with time in between, because I need that time within my process to then kind of cerebrally think and make.
Speaker A:One of the things was like,:Speaker A:I had seven solo shows, which was really kind of too much.
Speaker A:And then:Speaker A:And everyone was like, what are you going to do next?
Speaker A:And I was like, I do not know.
Speaker A:I do not know.
Speaker A:And then, you know, the pandemic happened.
Speaker A:Obviously.
Speaker A:It did.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It was this thing, but it gave me respite.
Speaker A:I was like, the world has shut down.
Speaker A:So even though I'm in this, like, really precarious, depressed state of being, it gave me a moment to kind of stop and rethink.
Speaker A:And I started making all these, like, kind of writing about what I.
Speaker A:About ideas and things.
Speaker A:And then now I'm just kind of being, like, taking those and actually making them happen.
Speaker B:That's cool.
Speaker A:Yeah, I.
Speaker B:For me, one of the things that drives me nuts is inaction and coming up with an idea and not seeing it through.
Speaker B:Not being able to see it through, or just kind of letting it sit for a while.
Speaker B:This whole venture that I'm starting, House of Style, is.
Speaker B:To anyone that's heard it, it's wild, it's enormous, it's.
Speaker B:It's crazy.
Speaker B:And it challenges everything about retail and fashion today.
Speaker B:And most people will tell me it's crazy or do the standard, if it's so great, why hasn't it been done?
Speaker B:If it's so easy to do, why hasn't it been done yet?
Speaker B:And if you talk about.
Speaker B:If you share those things early and you get that feedback, it's really easy to just let something sit, and then I'm excited when I'm thinking about it.
Speaker B:I'm coming up with ideas every single minute, but then a lot of them don't come to fruition.
Speaker B:And it was probably two, three weeks ago.
Speaker B:I mean, I've been talking about doing this podcast for a while now.
Speaker B:I mean, I've been working on Haas of Style for a year and just started telling people about it almost a month ago.
Speaker B:I kept it pretty private because.
Speaker B:And like I shared with you earlier, there's a group that I shared it with, knowing that the feedback wouldn't be, why are you doing this?
Speaker B:And it would be encouraging.
Speaker B:But there are a whole bunch of ideas I haven't gotten to yet.
Speaker B:And one of Them was the podcast, and Mike texted me a few weeks ago, like, are we doing this yet?
Speaker B:I'm like, you're right.
Speaker B:Let's actually do it.
Speaker B:And so for me, action and being able to do those things, that's.
Speaker B:It's so rewarding.
Speaker B:That's what leads to success.
Speaker B:Because I think everybody has ideas.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And being able to see your ideas through is one of the most important things.
Speaker A:And I think that, you know, that's something that, as an artist, you know, I get to do, like, make my weird ideas come to be.
Speaker A:And I'm at a place again in my career where I'm like, let's do this.
Speaker A:And then we.
Speaker A:And then we do it, and it's just kind of like, okay, yeah.
Speaker A:So I kind of love that part that I can now where before, you know, I like the hustle.
Speaker A:Like, I've always been a hustler, and I think that the hustle was like, you know, how do I get to do those?
Speaker A:How do I get that opportunity first to make something, but then how do I do it?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And now I have, like, you know, I'm in a place where I get invitations and I can do things, but I can also just, like, kind of come up with something kind of, like, bizarre and, you know.
Speaker B:All right, so we're gonna do that.
Speaker A:What do you have in that?
Speaker A:But on the side, there's a lot.
Speaker B:Here's a little canvas.
Speaker A:Oh, boy.
Speaker A:Oh, boy.
Speaker A:So am I supposed to draw you?
Speaker B:We're gonna.
Speaker B:So I heard.
Speaker B:I did hear that.
Speaker B:That's the trend right now is on TikTok.
Speaker B:Apparently, it's to draw each other, but.
Speaker B:So we can do that, or we can.
Speaker B:You can come up with something bizarre right now on the spot.
Speaker B:And we're going to draw that, and whoever wins, wait for it.
Speaker A:What do you mean?
Speaker A:I'm supposed to, like, draw, like, tell you to draw something?
Speaker B:Yeah, you said I can just come up with something bizarre.
Speaker B:So the winner gets that.
Speaker A:Oh.
Speaker B:We have 96 crayons.
Speaker A:Oh, my God.
Speaker A:Okay, hold on.
Speaker B:What are we drawing?
Speaker A:I got to think about something.
Speaker A:It's not that bad.
Speaker B:Okay, you can have a minute to think.
Speaker B:You can have a minute to think.
Speaker A:Wait, what are your drawing skills?
Speaker A:Do you have good drawing skills?
Speaker B:I can't decide if I should tell you.
Speaker A:I know.
Speaker A:I need to know the competition.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:I would say we'll go back to the.
Speaker B:I started off in the corporate world, and I got into fashion rather than just being in a creative role right away.
Speaker B:So I'll say they're pretty fair.
Speaker A:Okay, we're gonna draw a butterfly.
Speaker B:I can do that.
Speaker A:I figured you.
Speaker B:Aspen, my older daughter, loves butterflies.
Speaker B:And I've watched encanto so many times.
Speaker B:Oh, boy.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:I know what all those mariposas look like.
Speaker A:Oh, my God.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:I feel like now there's a lot of pressure to nail this.
Speaker B:Aspen's gonna really judge this.
Speaker B:See, even, you know, this seems.
Speaker B:I say there's no such thing as a stupid question.
Speaker B:I say this all the time to people because I do believe that you should just ask the questions that you're thinking.
Speaker A:Are you looking at.
Speaker A:Are you looking at mine?
Speaker A:Is that what you're doing?
Speaker B:No, I'm.
Speaker B:Which side am I supposed to use?
Speaker B:I feel like this side for sure.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:The texture side.
Speaker B:I just wanted to make sure.
Speaker A:Is there.
Speaker A:Are we being timed?
Speaker A:Like.
Speaker A:Are we being like.
Speaker A:Is this, like, a race?
Speaker B:No, we can take.
Speaker A:Okay, so I can go.
Speaker A:I can go slow then.
Speaker B:I don't even know if I should be doing wide.
Speaker B:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker B:I didn't think this through.
Speaker B:There's so much pressure.
Speaker A:Well, I'm almost done.
Speaker B:I mean, I have more stuff in.
Speaker B:In the, you know, Mary Poppins bag, but it's like I've all of a sudden forgotten how to draw a butterfly.
Speaker A:Because you're nervous.
Speaker B:Which is funny because I don't often get nervous, you know?
Speaker B:So I started doing more TV and some segments on the news.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah, I've watched you on the news.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:And, you know, it's weird.
Speaker B:I thought the first time I was nervous for sure, but since then, I really haven't gotten nervous.
Speaker B:And it's more just like a really fun energy.
Speaker B:I do feel a little.
Speaker B:I see as soon as I, like, think about my family, my kid, that's when I'm like, okay, there's a little.
Speaker A:Bit more pressure when you see your family and kid on tv.
Speaker B:No, like, I'm thinking.
Speaker B:And I know now.
Speaker B:I know this is so silly, but right now I'm like, when Aspen sees this, or if I give this to her.
Speaker A:Oh, that's sweet.
Speaker B:It's logical, because Nora doesn't know what a butterfly is yet, but if I were to give this to her.
Speaker B:There was one time I was drawing something on an Etch A Sketch and I thought it was fantastic.
Speaker B:And Corey did, too.
Speaker B:And Aspen looks at it, and I was like, what do you think of it?
Speaker B:And she just goes, not good gut punch, right?
Speaker B:And we use it as a joke about everything.
Speaker B:Now.
Speaker A:That is hilarious.
Speaker B:I'm like, she's gonna see this butterfly and think, not good.
Speaker B:So I'm all.
Speaker A:You're nervous.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:This is pretty terrible.
Speaker B:But it can get better.
Speaker B:That's the other thing.
Speaker B:I think making mistakes is a fantastic thing.
Speaker B:I think failure is taboo, and people don't talk about failure enough.
Speaker B:And as soon as I think it becomes a little more.
Speaker B:A little easier for Aspen and fam to comprehend and understand what failure is and the benefits to it, I want to sit around the table and, like, what'd you fail at this week?
Speaker B:And, like, how.
Speaker B:You know, how did you get past that?
Speaker A:And how do you get past it?
Speaker A:And I think there's a huge fear, a failure right now in this world and these generations of the kids.
Speaker A:And now I sound like an old man as I'm coloring.
Speaker A:I'm making a butterfly here.
Speaker A:But I think there's this idea that everyone has to succeed.
Speaker A:I have my students who say to me, what if I don't get a job in the field?
Speaker A:Then you figure it out.
Speaker A:I'm grateful that I can work in my field, but that.
Speaker A:That just isn't always the case for everybody.
Speaker B:I think part of hustling, you get this.
Speaker B:I think most people that know me know that I'm a hustler.
Speaker B:I think part of the hustle mentality is you do whatever you need to do to get to where you want to go.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:I think, like, for me, when I think of style, I think about my work style and how I treat people every day, like, that's my style.
Speaker B:Like, I'm.
Speaker B:My skills are styling people with clothing, and my skills are designing, and I do a great job of it, But I think it's so much more than that, and it's one of the reasons I wanted to do this and talk with people, that it's not just about.
Speaker B:It's not about clothes.
Speaker B:It's how you talk to people is a style.
Speaker A:Well, I think, like, you know, and someone's.
Speaker A:Erin's style is different.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And so, like, when you do this kind of work, like, you know, like, it's about a conversation, a dialogue, a collaboration.
Speaker A:Like, you're collaborating with people because the way someone dresses is so important to make them to understand and to make their personality in a certain kind of way, right?
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:You know, like, somebody's not gonna be comfortable in a skirt, and you probably won't put them in a skirt.
Speaker A:I mean, so, like, that's.
Speaker B:Unless I don't like them.
Speaker B:I would never do that.
Speaker B:How's yours coming along?
Speaker A:I was gonna Say, how's yours coming along?
Speaker B:I'm.
Speaker B:If I had to guess a percentage, I would say I might only be 10%.
Speaker B:Done.
Speaker B:How about you?
Speaker A:I would say 35.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:I'm not that far behind.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:That makes me feel a little bit better.
Speaker A:I kind of just.
Speaker A:I just made that up.
Speaker A:I'm almost done.
Speaker A:No kidding.
Speaker B:We have plenty of time.
Speaker B:I do.
Speaker B:Like, I always liked coloring.
Speaker B:Ring.
Speaker B:Ring.
Speaker B:I always liked coloring, but I was never great at it, and I never had to do it for work.
Speaker B:You know, everyone thinks like a clothing designer sketches everything out.
Speaker B:You're like, no, I have clients.
Speaker B:Or I look at fabric swatches, and then I think about what I want all the details to look like pretty much in my head.
Speaker B:I'll put a few buttons on them to see which buttons I want to use, and then I enter it into my factory's computer system where I place the order.
Speaker B:And that's the extent of my design process.
Speaker B:You know, I can see the design in the bigger picture in my head, but that's about.
Speaker B:That's about it.
Speaker A:Someone's really wanting to get a hold of us.
Speaker B:We, like, should we.
Speaker B:Should we go answer it?
Speaker A:It would be great.
Speaker A:She'll pick it up and be like, hello.
Speaker B:No, probably not.
Speaker B:That works.
Speaker B:I mean, you can.
Speaker A:Where's that lady?
Speaker B:We don't know who lives here, so we don't know.
Speaker A:But no, there was that lady that was here.
Speaker B:The residence.
Speaker B:We just go with that.
Speaker B:We could just go with that.
Speaker B:I think that's totally fine.
Speaker A:But also, like, don't you only let it ring for like, two minutes and then like, 15 rings?
Speaker B:When will it go to voicemail?
Speaker B:Maybe?
Speaker B:There is no voicemail.
Speaker B:It's an old phone.
Speaker B:Rotary.
Speaker A:It's a landline.
Speaker A:Rotary phone.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:And there's three.
Speaker B:They have three rotary phones next to each other or in different.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:So those each have different purposes then?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:There it goes again.
Speaker A:I think.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:Where's the lemon food?
Speaker B:You want to go check?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Not like, I don't.
Speaker B:You know, it sounds nice.
Speaker B:You don't get to hear that style of ring anymore.
Speaker B:Really?
Speaker B:This is the penthouse suite.
Speaker B:How can I help you?
Speaker B:Oh, you're interested in this?
Speaker B:Let me tell you about it.
Speaker B:How many beds?
Speaker B:Six beds.
Speaker A:Six beds.
Speaker B:Six.
Speaker B:Eight.
Speaker B:Eight.
Speaker B:Eight point five bed.
Speaker B:That seems like too many beds.
Speaker B:And how do you have a half bed?
Speaker B:You don't have a half bed.
Speaker A:Half bed.
Speaker A:A big.
Speaker B:I think this is coming together.
Speaker A:Are we going to do our unveiling.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, obviously.
Speaker A:Duh.
Speaker B:I had this, you know, not this theory or dream that over time I might do enough of these where I can get good at it.
Speaker B:Or at least if somebody else, you know, says, let's do a butterfly, I'll have a.
Speaker B:I'll just try to copy.
Speaker A:Copy what I did.
Speaker B:What did Brendan do?
Speaker B:And I'll just do that.
Speaker B:That's pretty much.
Speaker B:Do you ever.
Speaker A:Do I ever.
Speaker B:I don't want to say, because this is a terrible, terrible term, especially with all the.
Speaker B:We'll just skip over what I was going to say, but I didn't want to say the word plagiarism, but do you ever get.
Speaker B:It's getting inspired by other people's work and using it in your work?
Speaker A:I think obviously you have inspirations, you know, the same way that you might have, like, fashion inspirations.
Speaker A:So I wouldn't say, you know, I would take their work, but I would, like, kind of be inspired and kind of make it my own in a certain kind of way.
Speaker A:Yeah, but there's definitely people that inspire for sure.
Speaker A:Like, you know, like your heroes or things like that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Who were some of your.
Speaker A:Who are some of my heroes?
Speaker A:I love David Hammons, Carol Walker, you know, I think, like Kerry James Marshall, like, just, you know, a lot of, like.
Speaker A:And again, their work is so different than mine.
Speaker A:If you looked at their work, you wouldn't even, you know, like, I just appreciate, you know, Nick Cave.
Speaker A:I think their work is so different, but also there's still similarities in it.
Speaker A:For me, mine's getting.
Speaker A:I think I need to start stopping because my mind's getting kind of crazy.
Speaker B:What's wrong with that?
Speaker B:We like crazy.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:For me, I.
Speaker B:There aren't ton of brands or designers.
Speaker B:You know, I think I'm a little bit different of a stylist and designer than most.
Speaker B:Like, given my journey to this point, because I didn't go to fashion school, I didn't grow up, you know, wearing or knowing anything about designers.
Speaker B:And really, to this day, I don't do a lot.
Speaker B:I mean, I know a lot of the designers and I know a lot of their work, but a lot of them don't give me tons of inspiration.
Speaker B:And I find myself overly critical of tons and tons of designers.
Speaker B:But the ones I do love, I really love.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker A:Who do you like?
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:Tom Ford is so brilliant.
Speaker B:I think just the.
Speaker B:The details.
Speaker B:Also, numerous times when I've taken Tom Ford jackets of clients to my tailor to get alterations done, every single time, it's like, oh, this was the most beautiful thing I've seen.
Speaker B:It was such beautiful detail in construction.
Speaker B:And, like, he walks me through all of the details in, you know, he'll show me other.
Speaker B:Other jackets and be like, look at this compared to this.
Speaker B:And I see it, and it really is stunning, the amount of care and attention to detail that goes into Tom Ford pieces.
Speaker B:I just.
Speaker B:And I think one thing I really didn't like back in the day.
Speaker B:The skinny lapel thing.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Skinny lapels work on someone like you because you have a really small frame.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Because it's proportional.
Speaker B:Skinny lapels on a big dude look stupid.
Speaker B:And I think most.
Speaker B:Most American designers and a lot of what's mass produced today are narrower lapels.
Speaker B:And I like Tom Ford.
Speaker B:He has big, old wide lapels, and they look awesome on people.
Speaker B:And I just think some of the risks that he's taken.
Speaker A:But even the way he did, like, women's wear, like, his women's wear was, like, really?
Speaker A:When he did, like, Gucci, like, that was, like, just, you know, very for me.
Speaker A:I loved it, you know, like, fashion for me.
Speaker A:Like, there was a show in Canada when I was growing up called Fashion Television, and it was just like, you know, like, Jeannie Becker was the host, and she would just go to different fashion shows, like, around the world, and then they would tape them.
Speaker A:And that's become, like, one of the, like, the one main archive of, like, seeing, like, fashion, like, now.
Speaker A:But, like, that show was, like, really important to me.
Speaker A:Every Saturday afternoon, I'm like, I gotta go home and watch Fashion Television.
Speaker A:And that's like, I learned about McQueen, and I learned about Dior, and I learned about, like, you know, all of the things.
Speaker A:That's when I learned about who Isabella Blow was and all of those kinds of things.
Speaker A:And so I think that was a really another extension of why and how I got into fashion was through this, that television show.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:McQueen is also one of my faves.
Speaker B:I love Cuccinelli, but who can afford Cuccinelli?
Speaker B:You know, it's absurd, but McQueen definitely fave.
Speaker B:I have.
Speaker B:I mean, there are a handful I like, and I think for me, one of the things that I was always cognizant of was I didn't want to be the stylist that just tries to put everybody in the same brand.
Speaker B:And, you know, there are a ton of stylists, and to each their own, and it's not a bad idea.
Speaker B:But you can get some.
Speaker B:You can get awesome commission if you're taking people to the same couple.
Speaker B:Stores.
Speaker B:I know many stylists that do that and they make a ton of money and that's how they.
Speaker A:But that's not styling.
Speaker A:That's just like, that's like, that's like, that's another form of capitalism.
Speaker B:It's like you're, you're a salesperson and just, you know, independent from, from the actual store.
Speaker B:And to me, like, when I see stylists in, like, just head to toe, like, I saw a stylist, I forgot it might have been Gucci, but there was a stylist in a Gucci jumpsuit.
Speaker B:And all the comments in their posts were like, so stylish, so cool.
Speaker B:I'm like, you're wearing a tracksuit.
Speaker B:It's like a plain tracksuit.
Speaker B:There's nothing stylish about this.
Speaker B:You're just wearing a brand.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker B:And like, the, for me, kind of being anti brand, I.
Speaker B:I think one of the things that defines me is anti everything that people like.
Speaker B:And that's kind of.
Speaker B:I mean, I'm the person at the restaurant when they're like, do you want to hear what's, you know, our specials or, you know, these are favorites?
Speaker B:I'm like, I don't want to hear your favorites.
Speaker B:What's the chef's favorite thing?
Speaker B:Like, what is the least ordered thing?
Speaker B:Like, what's the best thing on the menu?
Speaker B:Not just what's most ordered.
Speaker B:I find that that kind of went into my life and sometimes now I have to be aware because it could become so strong that I won't just do what's.
Speaker B:I don't know, not best, but like, I'll be.
Speaker B:So no, I won't do this because other people like it, that it actually hurts me and like, what I can do or develop.
Speaker B:And I'm not thinking through especially, you know, some of the house of style stuff.
Speaker B:When I think through those ideas, I have to think of things as a consumer and as the person that's going to be using all these, entrapping it this mega center that I'm, you know, going to be creating.
Speaker B:And you can't just be anti you or so stuck in your own style.
Speaker B:You have to understand and appreciate other people's style and where they're at as well.
Speaker A:I think so.
Speaker A:And I love that you said, you know, like, some of the things people think style is like a brand, right, that you have to wear like the brand name.
Speaker A:But I also think it's about, like, mixing and matching and putting things together.
Speaker A:Like, I love to find vintage stuff and put it together with you Know, like, you know, maybe a Gucci blazer or something like that.
Speaker A:But I also think that stylist has such a.
Speaker A:Such an important, kind of complex way of like, just understanding, you know, like, silhouettes or understanding, like, how things will fall or what's good for your body, you know, I don't think most people know how to size their clothing.
Speaker A:Like, we'll wear things that are way too big or way too small sometimes.
Speaker B:Definitely the biggest problem is wearing too big.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:How are you doing?
Speaker B:I'm almost done with a wing.
Speaker B:I'm trying to catch up, so I'm.
Speaker B:I'm not gonna go into more detail.
Speaker B:I'm just gonna, like, color.
Speaker B:Just one color to fill this.
Speaker A:I'm kind of peeking.
Speaker A:It's looking pretty good.
Speaker B:Thanks.
Speaker B:You know, like, as I'm going, I just realized one of the dots and circles I had was the same color that I'm filling in with.
Speaker B:So now I have to come up with a different color.
Speaker A:You can put another color on top and change it.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Yeah, mix colors.
Speaker B:Oh, I like that.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker A:We're all helping out here.
Speaker B:I need it.
Speaker B:One question.
Speaker B:I love hearing from other people that get it and I think are open to talking about it.
Speaker B:What are some of the things that scared you early on or still scare you when you're putting something together?
Speaker B:Whether it's, like, putting yourself out there?
Speaker B:What scares you?
Speaker A:What scares me?
Speaker A:I think what scares me is this idea of, like, you know, like, what do you do next?
Speaker A:Like, after you do a project and you finish it and you're like, then I gotta do the next one.
Speaker A:Like, it's like, kind of the idea of, like, where to next is a big thing.
Speaker A:I think early on, a lot of fear as a young artist was like, you know, like, survival.
Speaker A:Like, how do I get that paycheck so I can, like, pay my rent in New York?
Speaker A:Cause that's where I was for the last 15 years before I moved to Chicago.
Speaker A:And so as a young artist, it's kind of like.
Speaker A:Kind of.
Speaker A:That was, like, kind of a fear, I think.
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:It's funny because I was talking to some of my students about it yesterday, and they're like, well, what happens after this?
Speaker A:You know, it's like.
Speaker A:And I was like, well, the thing is, like, we are resilient, you know, especially being artists and creatives.
Speaker A:It's like we have to push what we're doing.
Speaker A:And so I think there's something about that where if you just kind of, like, kind of like it sounds kind of cheesy, like, when you manifest it, but if you really have an angle and you're making actions to take you somewhere, something will happen.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:You might not know what that action is going to be or what that could be.
Speaker A:So I just think, like, you know, just putting yourself out there.
Speaker A:What we do as creatives is also super vulnerable because it's just like, you know, and it's in the public, but also there's this thing that, you know, and everyone will have an opinion about it.
Speaker A:You know, like, that's not good.
Speaker A:That's bad.
Speaker A:You know, like, so just kind of taking that and, you know, understanding that that's the process.
Speaker A:But, you know, you just keep making those actions to kind of take you to the next phase, I think is really important.
Speaker A:So fear.
Speaker A:For me, I think I don't fear as much.
Speaker A:I think I fear more.
Speaker A:There's definitely anxieties, but I think there's not a fear anymore.
Speaker A:I think the biggest part for me was of this idea of, like, how does one cope and survive?
Speaker A:You know, specifically then that way, now that I'm in a certain place, I have the tenure track job that guarantees that I will have a home.
Speaker B:That is nice.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So that's a big part.
Speaker B:That is nice.
Speaker B:I need to get tenure.
Speaker A:You need to get tenure.
Speaker B:I don't know what I would profess.
Speaker B:Someone did call me, and I should probably trademark this, and now I have to do this right after this episode.
Speaker B:Damn it.
Speaker B:The professor of Style.
Speaker B:That's pretty cool.
Speaker A:That's cool.
Speaker A:I like that.
Speaker B:That's pretty cool.
Speaker A:I want to teach a class.
Speaker A:I'm not sure what it is.
Speaker A:One of the things at my school, I get to, like, make a lot of my courses, and I'm trying to find a way of incorporating fashion into, like, a fashion course.
Speaker A:Like, it doesn't have to be like.
Speaker A:But I don't want it to be like a histography of, like, the fashion world by trying to figure out a creative way.
Speaker A:I do teach a class where I get the students to.
Speaker A:It's called print performance and protest.
Speaker A:And we made sweatshirts, which we screen printed with some kind of, like, words or slogans that they would wear their protest and then walk around the campus and do like, a kind of like a.
Speaker A:This is our protest that we're wearing on our body.
Speaker B:Did anyone protest the project?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:Because I think they were excited about it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But I'm sure there's somebody in the future.
Speaker A:They're gonna be like, I'm protesting this.
Speaker A:Project.
Speaker B:That would've been my absolute first response.
Speaker A:I'm not doing it for sure.
Speaker B:How can you say no to that?
Speaker A:It's like, it's part of the.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's part of the action that is allowed in this.
Speaker A:In this.
Speaker A:In this.
Speaker A:In the class.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Are you done?
Speaker A:I'm done.
Speaker B:I can't look yet.
Speaker B:All right, I'm catching up.
Speaker B:I'll just, you know, we're going to go with some.
Speaker B:Some big designs.
Speaker B:Are you happy with yours?
Speaker B:Would you make any changes to it?
Speaker A:Yeah, I think I'd always make changes.
Speaker A:I can also keep going, but I'm also like, there's a certain moment, you're like, I need to just stop.
Speaker A:That's something that's really important for me in my life is like, you know, like, I do so much, and it's really important to take the stoppage, when to say no, when to say know, when to be still, when to kind of be in my.
Speaker A:In myself.
Speaker A:And I think that's something then perhaps that, you know, not a fear, but something I'm just, like, more aware of is like, I can give myself time now to do things slower and to not do everything.
Speaker A:Where I think in the past I was like, I'll do everything because I was in that hustle mode.
Speaker B:Would you still do it the same way if you went back, or would you take more time?
Speaker A:I have no regrets on how it was done.
Speaker A:You know, it was definitely an adventure, and I think, yeah, I just kind of want to kind of just go with.
Speaker A:Go with it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I still.
Speaker B:I don't sleep much.
Speaker B:I still work most of the day.
Speaker B:I love it.
Speaker B:It's absolutely not work to me.
Speaker B:And I think that hustling is what allows you those freedoms and to take a step back, but to be in a better position to do so and be comfortable when you're.
Speaker B:When you're at that point.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:I love.
Speaker B:I love hustling.
Speaker B:I love.
Speaker A:I love working.
Speaker B:I love working.
Speaker A:So that's something I've also learned to say to myself, is like, I like working.
Speaker A:It's something that I do.
Speaker A:And that's because, you know, that's just kind of like the mentality of, like, how I was brought up, but also, like, being a dancer, there's a certain kind of rigor and expression that you have to do, because if you don't, then you're not.
Speaker A:You don't get it.
Speaker A:But so I've kind of.
Speaker A:I've lived in that, so I appreciate it.
Speaker A:But also I love my work.
Speaker A:What I do for a living is really exciting.
Speaker A:I remember when I graduated from college, I started working at this, at the university I graduated from in the administration.
Speaker A:And I was like, this is the worst ever.
Speaker A:And I was like, I will never work this kind of job again.
Speaker A:Like, I will be like, you know, and I've never done a 9 to 5 like that ever again.
Speaker A:Because I was like, I can't.
Speaker A:That's not for me.
Speaker A:Question for you.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:What's your, what's your.
Speaker A:What's your astrological sign?
Speaker B:Pisces.
Speaker A:What day?
Speaker B:I'm March 20th from the last day.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:I am hardcore Pisces.
Speaker B:I'm the emotional, I am the creative.
Speaker B:It is very much.
Speaker A:You know what I am?
Speaker A:Can you guess?
Speaker A:Do you know astrological stuff?
Speaker B:I'm not great with all the dates.
Speaker A:I'm.
Speaker B:I want to say your what?
Speaker B:You're what?
Speaker A:I'm to a T.
Speaker A:My, my star.
Speaker B:Now I feel like there's pressure.
Speaker B:I want to say my first thought was like a Libra vibe, but then I was like, no, that's not right.
Speaker B:Taurus.
Speaker A:Close.
Speaker A:So my moon and my rising are Taurus, but my like birth is Capricorn, so I'm all Earth.
Speaker B:Do you ever think about that in your life?
Speaker A:All the time.
Speaker A:I ask people that question all the time.
Speaker A:Like, it's like, I'm like, even like, especially in dating, I'm like, ooh, Gemini, no.
Speaker A:Run away.
Speaker A:No, thank you.
Speaker A:Like, I have to be like, you seem like a nice human, but you're a Gemini.
Speaker A:This is not gonna work out.
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker A:So, yeah, no, I definitely think about it.
Speaker A:Does it show up in my art practice?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:But like, I can get a little witchy.
Speaker A:Woo woo.
Speaker A:You know, like I'm kind of like, you know, like thinking about like the manifestations of things.
Speaker A:But like, I definitely read people through their signs.
Speaker A:And you know, I have a friend and we'll kind of.
Speaker A:He'll read my cards and sometimes we'll like write our intentions and then we like burn them and like blow the ashes off my roof.
Speaker B:That's cute.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's just, you know, it's a little thing.
Speaker A:I love my crystals.
Speaker A:You know, I.
Speaker A:I love crystals.
Speaker B:So I do believe in crystals.
Speaker B:I do believe in the energy and all that.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:As much as people talk about manifesting these days, I've always believed in it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Is as long as I can remember, I've believed in.
Speaker B:And I do think that it leads to success or leads to whatever you want it to.
Speaker A:And I think it's Also, like, it's not just about the.
Speaker A:It's about putting that work out there.
Speaker A:But once you put that work out there, you can also, like, make it happen.
Speaker A:Like, you.
Speaker A:I mean, that's.
Speaker A:That's the action that will help it become.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay, reveal.
Speaker B:One last thing.
Speaker B:One last thing.
Speaker A:We're revealing to each other or to the camera, but to each other first.
Speaker B:Then first or each other first?
Speaker B:We are here for each other.
Speaker A:We're here for each other.
Speaker B:Oh, wait, that's not what I want to do.
Speaker B:All right, good enough.
Speaker B:All right, ready?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:You gonna count it?
Speaker B:One, two, three.
Speaker A:Oh, damn.
Speaker B:See the detailing in your.
Speaker A:I love the flower.
Speaker B:That was my last.
Speaker B:The flower was the last second edition.
Speaker B:And you can know when I just said, oh, crap, I messed up, instead of making the green stem at first, I circled, you know, the middle of it.
Speaker A:There's no rules.
Speaker B:There are no rules in art.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker A:Like, I'm just.
Speaker A:I just made a whole bunch of weird eyes all over.
Speaker B:I like that.
Speaker B:So I.
Speaker B:So I was going to ask.
Speaker B:Are those eyes?
Speaker B:Are they just random?
Speaker A:I think they're eyes.
Speaker B:I like it.
Speaker B:It's pretty solid.
Speaker A:It's for you.
Speaker A:Now you can have it.
Speaker B:We can have each other's.
Speaker B:Wait, sign it.
Speaker A:Oh.
Speaker A:Oh, the signature.
Speaker B:Oh, gosh.
Speaker A:We're allowed.
Speaker B:We're allowed.
Speaker B:Oh, man.
Speaker B:I'm.
Speaker B:I'm not great at signing.
Speaker B:It's one thing I'm working on.
Speaker A:I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to.
Speaker B:Like, I'm just gonna.
Speaker B:I'm gonna make it some sort of a G with a little scribble.
Speaker B:That's how most are, right?
Speaker B:See, yours looks.
Speaker B:See, I'm just going with that.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:That is totally just a scribble.
Speaker A:Mine is geosignature.
Speaker B:I mean, this is a scribble, too.
Speaker B:Let's be real.
Speaker A:But I can.
Speaker A:I can.
Speaker A:I can do it again.
Speaker B:I can scribble again, too.
Speaker B:I think that's one of the unique things about my signature is it's different every time.
Speaker B:Pretty sure that has no legal standing.
Speaker A:Love that.
Speaker A:Love that.
Speaker B:Okay, we might need to make some room because we have the next thing.
Speaker A:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker B:I was thinking about doing it earlier, but then I forgot, and then we got coloring.
Speaker A:Should I put these in here?
Speaker B:Oh, I mean, we can just.
Speaker B:That seems like so much work.
Speaker A:Here, I'll put them in here.
Speaker A:Wait.
Speaker A:So who gets the cup?
Speaker B:You get the cup.
Speaker B:Obviously.
Speaker B:Yours is way better than mine.
Speaker B:Yeah, I don't think there's any question about that.
Speaker B:So I was thinking since I've started this amazing and will be the biggest, you know, Venture & Co.
Speaker B:Sometime in the next five to 10 years and that you just got tenure and since we're wonderful, we should probably have some champagne to celebrate.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Because I knew that you.
Speaker A:Oh, wow, look at this.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I busted out the crystal too.
Speaker A:I love the crystal.
Speaker A:So I'm gonna move this here.
Speaker B:I'll take those because I figured, you know, they.
Speaker B:The crystal goes perfect with the bird cups too.
Speaker A:I know this is.
Speaker A:This, this is.
Speaker B:And we were out of normal sized, so we also.
Speaker B:We're gonna.
Speaker B:We're gonna share with.
Speaker B:With the crew too.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I feel you bought a Magnum.
Speaker B:I think somebody gave it to us, so I don't know that I.
Speaker A:But it's a Magnum.
Speaker B:It is.
Speaker A:It's a lot.
Speaker B:And if.
Speaker B:Well, I mean, if we had plenty of time, I feel like you and I can definitely finish this together.
Speaker A:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker A:We need to do one of those long lunches again that we just like sit and chat and eat and drink and all those things after this.
Speaker B:I mean, that's quite.
Speaker B:See, these are quite the pores.
Speaker B:We don't have enough crystal for, you know, everybody.
Speaker B:So you guys get pictured up.
Speaker B:I also.
Speaker B:There's so much foam.
Speaker B:I had no idea how much is in it.
Speaker A:No, it's very light.
Speaker B:The good thing is there's more.
Speaker B:Hey, that there is.
Speaker B:Oh, that.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Oh, gosh.
Speaker B:I'm also.
Speaker B:I'm much more of a listener than a toaster.
Speaker B:Let's go to everlasting style, success and friendship.
Speaker A:Amazing.
Speaker A:Cheers to that.
Speaker B:Thanks.
Speaker B:That was pretty decent.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker B:I was.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:Cheers, guys.
Speaker B:I was really.
Speaker B:I've been thinking about, you know, when I'm eventually famous and I don't want to be.
Speaker B:I say that, but I don't care about being famous.
Speaker B:I think it's a something that happens when you do something successful.
Speaker B:And I want to impact the lives of millions of people in a positive way.
Speaker B:And I think House of Style is going to do that.
Speaker B:So I think naturally fame comes with it.
Speaker B:And I'm trying to be on TV to help people and it's part of it.
Speaker B:And I mean, you have way more followers than I do, so you understand that, you know, people know you and, you know, there's something about it.
Speaker B:So I say this from, I don't care about being famous.
Speaker B:It's something that happens.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But when that time comes, I feel like that's when you can.
Speaker B:I Don't remember where I was going.
Speaker B:Actually, I lost it.
Speaker A:Hey, I think the fame thing is kind of interesting because being an artist, people know your work.
Speaker A:They don't know your face or your body to go with it.
Speaker A:So sometimes as artists, we can be kind of, like, under the radar.
Speaker B:One of my dreams early on, and this was before House of Style became an idea, was that I was going to be a famous designer that nobody knew.
Speaker B:So, like, after Fashion Week, you know, the show would go, and when the designer walks, there'd just be no one.
Speaker B:And it just be the music still be going.
Speaker B:When I would be walking, that was always going to be my thing.
Speaker B:But then someone was like, well, you're going to lose out on a lot of marketing and money opportunity if you just don't do that.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Like, all right.
Speaker B:It is, at the end of the day, sort of about that, you know, Like, I do House of Style because I want to impact millions of lives, but because I.
Speaker B:And I think that it will.
Speaker B:It will change fashion in retail forever.
Speaker B:But I'm also doing it to support my family and to make a ton of money.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And I think that's, you know, even, like, for me, like, art is.
Speaker A:And the creative side is like, something that I came into, but it's also like my business, you know, like, it's my.
Speaker A:And I think that's something I need to tell my students as well.
Speaker A:It's like that art is.
Speaker A:Becomes a business.
Speaker A:Like, when my.
Speaker A:When my dancers come and.
Speaker A:Come and dance with me, they say, we're going to work because, like, you know, we started out as, you know, dances, like, recreational, but now it's our profession.
Speaker B:You know, that's an interesting way to think about it, because I think about that way, I think designers.
Speaker B:And I think one of the problems with Fashion school is there's not enough business that's taught.
Speaker B:But I don't really ever think of it from a dancer's perspective.
Speaker A:Dancer's perspective.
Speaker A:Or if you think about, like, dancers, too, like, when we're professionals, we go straight from, like, ballet schools or our dance schools into, like, a dance world.
Speaker A:And then that's what we're doing.
Speaker A:Like, we're laboring and working as dancers, but when we retire, which is sometimes very young, then we're like, what do we do next?
Speaker A:You know?
Speaker A:So I think that that's something that I'm really trying to support as well, is to support the idea of, like, what can be.
Speaker A:What can happen after we decide to not be dancers anymore?
Speaker A:What can we.
Speaker A:But Also, my grad students who are visual artists, they're like, you know, we need to learn how to write grants.
Speaker A:We need to learn how to write statements and things like that.
Speaker A:So that kind of professional practice part is also something I can really kind of support in my classroom and with my students and everything.
Speaker B:What is common after dance?
Speaker A:Oh, my God.
Speaker A:Lots of things.
Speaker A:I think.
Speaker A:I think, you know, I know people have gone, become teachers, physical therapists.
Speaker A:I have two friends that became pilots.
Speaker B:Really?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:They became pilots.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Interesting.
Speaker A:I have another friend who became a dominatrix.
Speaker B:That's cool.
Speaker A:Because, you know, there's that discipline, the mastery of the form.
Speaker B:I mean, one of your projects.
Speaker A:Pieces.
Speaker A:Master.
Speaker A:Master and form, I think we're talking about.
Speaker B:Yeah, the one that kind of paired with ballet.
Speaker B:With bdsm.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:So how did.
Speaker B:How did you think of that?
Speaker B:Why did that.
Speaker B:Were you scared about putting that one out in the world?
Speaker B:There's.
Speaker A:I wasn't.
Speaker A:I was a little nervous about that one.
Speaker A:But I think just for me, like, I was, like, seeing the relationships between the mastery, the fetishization of the body, the submission, the domination of figures.
Speaker A:Like, you know, we call our teachers ballet masters.
Speaker A:You know, there's an authority in that space.
Speaker A:And so.
Speaker A:And just from being in a ballet school, in a ballet world, like, I was like, there's definitely, like, relations of hierarchies and systems of power in ballet that is no different than a bdsm.
Speaker A:But, you know, we can watch ballet because it's beautiful and romanticized, and we don't really think about that in.
Speaker A:In other ways.
Speaker A:But when we see, like, bdsm, there's a taboo to it or something.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I started thinking about that and made that whole body of work.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, I love the idea of, like, to me, that's the kind of just a position that is interesting and makes for something worth talking about.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:That would put.
Speaker B:Like, that, to me, is something that would put an artist on the map and, you know, get them recognition.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I think that was a big project where I was nervous about it, but I was also like, this is what I want to kind of do.
Speaker B:Yeah, I love that.
Speaker B:And because for me, at this point, I don't.
Speaker B:I don't care what people think about me and not the idea.
Speaker B:Like, I want everybody to like the ideas and what I come up with, but I don't care if they do or don't, because everybody's entitled to their own opinion about everything.
Speaker B:And as long as I'm doing what I Think is.
Speaker B:Is right.
Speaker B:Is right for.
Speaker B:For me at the time and is helping me expand creatively and try something new.
Speaker B:And it's fun.
Speaker B:Like, to me, everything goes back.
Speaker B:Like, if you're having fun, you're winning.
Speaker A:And I think that also, like, you know, if you're having fun, you're winning.
Speaker A:Also, like, when I make work, like, not everything is good, and that's okay to know.
Speaker A:You know, I think.
Speaker A:I think for me, it was like, everything has to be perfect and it has to be good.
Speaker A:There's some work that I, like, prefer more than the other and, you know, like.
Speaker A:And some are more successful, but other people will have a different opin.
Speaker A:But I just think that's also a really important thing, that not everything has to be good or successful, again, depending how you want to define that or not.
Speaker B:I love that it's kind of like.
Speaker B:I mean, I have outfits all the time that could have been better.
Speaker A:Oh, I've seen.
Speaker A:I've seen pictures, and I'm like, oh, I think I looked amazing.
Speaker A:Then I looked a couple years later.
Speaker A:I was like, what was I thinking?
Speaker A:Like, also, like, you know, when I was a teenager, I was blonde for most of high school.
Speaker B:No way.
Speaker A:And I was just like, now look at those pictures.
Speaker A:And like, not a good, like, bleach job.
Speaker A:Like, it was like, you know, I did it in the kitchen.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:And so, like, I said by the stuff called Blondissima, and it was just, like, peroxide, and my hair looked like this crazy yellow, and I thought it was so cool.
Speaker A:And I look back and I'm like.
Speaker B:At the time, it probably was a choice.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Definitely make a lot of choices now.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:But, you know, some of them are great.
Speaker B:Like, you said it.
Speaker B:Some of them are good, some of them aren't.
Speaker B:And to me, learning what isn't is almost more important than things you like.
Speaker B:And I say that to clients all the time.
Speaker B:When I'll show them 10 outfits or 10 pieces, I'll say, tell me.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:Like, tell me what you like.
Speaker B:Tell me which ones you don't like, because that helps me learn so much about.
Speaker A:And that's what I mean.
Speaker A:Like, your relationship with the person is getting to know them and what they're going to like and what.
Speaker A:So you're building, like, or rapport.
Speaker A:Like, you're almost like.
Speaker A:You're like a therapist, right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But for me, like, you know, sometimes I'm like.
Speaker A:Because I get to go to parties and events, and I'm like, I want to go over the top.
Speaker A:And sometimes I'm like, you know, it's like, you know, there was a lot of misses on the Runway this year at the Met Gala.
Speaker A:I was like, oh, that was not a good choice.
Speaker A:But, like, you know, sometimes I'm like, yeah, give me that.
Speaker A:Let me wear that.
Speaker A:You know, and then I'll wear it.
Speaker A:And I'm like, you feel cool in it.
Speaker A:But then after you see the picture, you're like, no, it's not the best choice.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:What's your opinion on Met Gala?
Speaker B:I get asked this as a stylist all the time.
Speaker A:I think it's changing from what it was, what it used to be.
Speaker A:I got invited in:Speaker A:Because of the pandemic.
Speaker A:So I think that was.
Speaker B:Why haven't you gotten invited again?
Speaker A:I know.
Speaker A:Anna, where's my invitation?
Speaker B:Anna, are you slacking?
Speaker A:I don't know if I'm slacking.
Speaker A:I just.
Speaker A:Maybe I'm slacking now.
Speaker A:I have fear.
Speaker A:You just made me have fear again.
Speaker B:paign, Brendan, for MET Gala,:Speaker B:It's happening.
Speaker A:Happening.
Speaker A:It's a manifestation.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:No, I love it.
Speaker A:For me, it's like, you know, it's.
Speaker A:Again, this kind of pomp and circumstance.
Speaker A:Is it opulent?
Speaker A:Is it maybe, like, too extravagant, perhaps?
Speaker A:I just like watching and seeing what people are gonna come up with.
Speaker A:You know, for me, it's really.
Speaker A:It's fun.
Speaker A:You know, actually, this year, I went with my friend to a baseball game, and it was my first baseball game ever.
Speaker A:And we're like.
Speaker A:We're both in the stands, like, watching the Met Gala instead of watching the game.
Speaker A:And I was like, oh, that's.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:That's good.
Speaker A:And then we're like.
Speaker A:We're like, oh, my God.
Speaker A:There's this whole.
Speaker A:Everyone's, like, you know, like, cheering for the Cubs, and we're just, like, watching.
Speaker A:And then we, like, laughed because we were like.
Speaker B:And then you start cheering for an outfit you see, and the Cubs just.
Speaker A:Well, we just left, so.
Speaker A:We just left because we were like, yeah, we're not really enjoying this.
Speaker B:I get that.
Speaker B:It happens.
Speaker B:Sports is an interesting thing for me.
Speaker B:I grew up playing every sport.
Speaker B:I loved sports growing up.
Speaker B:And I think I've gone through this weird thing with sports the last few years where, I mean, I have two daughters, and not to say, like, I'm big on.
Speaker B:They should be in sports class.
Speaker B:They should be doing all the things because they can, and.
Speaker B:But even by the by age 3 in Aspen's sports class, she was the only girl in sports class at age three.
Speaker B:What a sports class for three year olds.
Speaker B:It's a multi sports class where they basically show them how to throw a ball, how to run the bases, running from one wall, play red light, green light.
Speaker B:They're really, you know, that's part of it.
Speaker B:But she's the only girl at age 3 and so not like I don't want to play into the stereotype that, you know, I, as a dad of two girls don't have to watch sports anymore.
Speaker B:But it's just become so much.
Speaker B:I don't do fantasy football like I used to.
Speaker B:To me, that was, that was the only thing that kept me sticking to watching the NFL.
Speaker B:But it was time, it was time away from work.
Speaker B:It was on the weekends instead of working on Sunday.
Speaker B:I was, I was watching football and I just cared less and less.
Speaker B:I thought I, you know, for me it was, I think a lot of the macho I no longer cared for probably coincided with when I started painting my nails, you know, something like that.
Speaker B:But sports is a really interesting one and I think there's a unique place for it.
Speaker B:Fashion's not great in sports.
Speaker B:It is for some of the players.
Speaker A:Some of the players maybe like after, like.
Speaker A:Yeah, for me, like, you know, I didn't.
Speaker A:The only sport I play was ballet, you know, and I love to acknowledge that ballet is a sport and we're athletes in the way that we condition and perform.
Speaker A:But that was, that was the one thing I got into other than that, you know, this year I started.
Speaker A:My friend Chloe takes me to hockey games and I love watching hockey because it's like, it's like watching like a.
Speaker B:Dance and like stereotypically you're Canadian so you have to.
Speaker A:Well, I think it was a big thing on social media when I posted my first hockey game and people were like, but you're Canadian.
Speaker A:And I'm like, I know.
Speaker A:But also, you know, hockey is not our national sport.
Speaker B:What is the national sport?
Speaker A:Can you guess what the national sport of official national sport of Canada is?
Speaker B:Curling.
Speaker A:Pretty good guess, but no.
Speaker B:Backgammon.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:One more further.
Speaker B:Oh, gosh.
Speaker A:I think you're close.
Speaker B:So curling is close.
Speaker A:I know you're going to say bobsledding.
Speaker B:I was going to say.
Speaker B:I was going to say luge and that's.
Speaker A:I saw you, I saw you go in your head.
Speaker A:I was like, he's going to say bobsledding or luge.
Speaker A:That was exactly.
Speaker B:But I was like that's not close to curling at all.
Speaker B:No, I feel like there's something close to curling.
Speaker B:I just don't remember the name.
Speaker A:I think I'm going.
Speaker A:No, I think I threw you off.
Speaker A:It's lacrosse.
Speaker B:Really?
Speaker A:Lacrosse is our national sport, but it should be hockey, like, because every Canadian plays hockey.
Speaker B:Does the US Have a national sport?
Speaker B:I feel like you can't because you have all these national leagues.
Speaker A:Not sure.
Speaker B:No idea.
Speaker A:Sports.
Speaker B:I mean, my friends make fun of me now because I don't watch sports and I feel like secluded from conversations.
Speaker B:They're like, oh, about this player and this player.
Speaker B:The only players or teams I care about are the ones that I dress and help.
Speaker A:That makes sense.
Speaker B:It's kind of like a fair weather fan, but it's more just like I'm a work fan and I'll root for you guys because I want you all to be successful.
Speaker A:Because that makes success for you, right?
Speaker B:Yeah, ideally.
Speaker B:Yeah, that would be.
Speaker A:That must be kind of fun to dress like the players because, like, their bodies are like, you know, are so unique.
Speaker A:Unique, yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I think it's a lot of fun.
Speaker B:And it's cool being in that.
Speaker B:In that world and seeing how it works.
Speaker B:Like, to me, one of the most enjoyable parts of this job is getting to see all the different worlds that, that I'm in.
Speaker B:And especially lately, doing more tv.
Speaker B:I love.
Speaker B:It is magic how talk shows work.
Speaker B:It's news, it's.
Speaker B:It's brilliant how perfect they have to be and how choreographed it needs to be and how on all the hosts have to be.
Speaker B:It's remarkable to me, seeing.
Speaker B:That's awesome seeing how both the players in an organization, but also the back end and how those work together.
Speaker B:I love seeing that.
Speaker B:I think that's been one of the most fun aspects of what I've been doing the last decade.
Speaker B:And definitely there are perks.
Speaker B:I happened to get a call from the concierge at the Ritz a couple years back and they like, hey, need you to stop what you're doing.
Speaker B:Help someone shop right now for the Coldplay concert coming up.
Speaker B:And I was like, this is so one of my favorite movies.
Speaker B:It's silly, but I want.
Speaker B:I don't know if it's one of my favorite.
Speaker B:I think it was one of the most impactful movies.
Speaker B:It was Jim Carrey's yes man, where he had to say yes to everything.
Speaker B:It actually changed how I went about work, and it made me start saying yes to so much more.
Speaker B:And it's one of the things when Young entrepreneurs ask me for a few things of advice.
Speaker B:I say, say yes.
Speaker B:Say yes to everything.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And that's what I mean, like, when I talk about the hustle.
Speaker A:Say yes to everything.
Speaker B:Everything.
Speaker A:Because now I pick and choose what I need to do, because I went from doing all of the things and.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Building that opportunity, building that portfolio, building that, like, resume, all of those things.
Speaker B:You know, I think it's so important to say yes.
Speaker B:So, like, yes, man.
Speaker B:One of it's, you know, a so.
Speaker B:So movie.
Speaker B:But the message is critical, and I think saying yes and being able to, like, that's what gets you into these organizations.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:So when I got that call, it was a Friday afternoon.
Speaker B:It was, I think, Friday at 2 or 3pm and they're like, we need you to drop what you're doing right now.
Speaker B:I was in pajamas at my kitchen table in the condo when we were still in the city.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:On a Friday afternoon.
Speaker B:You gotta come now.
Speaker B:Like, can I really turn it on all, like, just.
Speaker B:I'm like, we're gonna do it.
Speaker B:And sure enough, they're good friends with Chris Martin, and they gave us tickets to.
Speaker B:And we got to go to the after party.
Speaker B:And, you know, anywhere on the field, it was amazing.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker B:And so I think there are those opportunities.
Speaker B:And same thing with players, you know, getting to sit.
Speaker B:Getting to sit in the.
Speaker B:Whether it's an owner's box or with the families, you know, in the arena.
Speaker B:Those are awesome opportunities that happen because I say yes, because, you know, you're.
Speaker A:Going for it, but they also support what you're doing for them.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So it's like an exchange.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'm definitely biased and think that my value.
Speaker B:I know, but I also believe that my value is far more than what they even see right now or see what's in front of them.
Speaker B:A lot of people think, oh, it's just clothes.
Speaker B:But I think a lot of my clients would say that it.
Speaker B:It changes how they go about everything in their life and.
Speaker B:And how it affects their success, what they do.
Speaker B:And so I'm hoping, especially as, like, this, you know, gets going when I'm reaching out.
Speaker B:You being, you know, the first guest, I was like, I need somebody that I can talk with that I love.
Speaker B:And I won't feel nervous about.
Speaker A:Candid.
Speaker A:This is a conversation.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B:I won't feel nervous.
Speaker B:I won't.
Speaker B:I won't feel anything negative.
Speaker B:It could just be me.
Speaker B:And I think I needed that for my first.
Speaker B:But thinking about and reaching out to more and more guests because if you're going to do a podcast, you have to be consistent.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And it's scary to start because when you reach out to people, I want to have inspiring guests.
Speaker B:I want guests that are successful.
Speaker B:When you're reaching out and you're like, hey, it's me.
Speaker B:I do this.
Speaker B:And I know I have that value.
Speaker B:I know what I can do for them, for their clients.
Speaker B:I know what I can do.
Speaker B:A lot of people don't think, oh, like, there's going to be some reward in it for me.
Speaker B:I will do every single thing I possibly can to support those that support me now.
Speaker B:And that's something I've always believed in.
Speaker B:Everyone that helps me now, I will take to the top.
Speaker B:When House of Style, when anything I'm working on takes off, they will all be right there with me.
Speaker A:Love it.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And so I think that's one of the things.
Speaker B:I'm like, I'm going to do this.
Speaker B:I can do this for you.
Speaker B:Half of them are like, no.
Speaker B:I like, I reached out to.
Speaker B:Justin Timberlake is going to be in town this week.
Speaker B:It's like, why not?
Speaker A:Why not?
Speaker B:He's going to be at the United center on Saturday.
Speaker B:Like, why not?
Speaker B:They're going to say no.
Speaker B:But I also don't believe in having shame about asking people.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Why not just ask?
Speaker B:Because if they say no, you're in the same exact place.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker B:They said his assistant said no, but, you know, next time.
Speaker B:And it was because of a scheduling thing.
Speaker B:I actually think they would have said yes if.
Speaker B:I think because of the news that's going on right now with him, if.
Speaker B:I think it's completely unfair, the coverage he's getting.
Speaker B:But he was arrested for driving while drinking in the Hamptons.
Speaker B:And I don't think it's super fair, the coverage he's getting, because media never covers it, really, except when it's a celebrity.
Speaker B:But I think he's not going to be in town when.
Speaker B:I think he's getting in Saturday instead of when he was originally.
Speaker B:I'm hoping.
Speaker B:I'd like to think.
Speaker B:And I'm going to think that he would have done it had this not happened.
Speaker B:So next time we met.
Speaker A:Yeah, for the next time.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:Next year, Justin Timberlake's gonna be on the show manifesting.
Speaker A:I'll be.
Speaker A:I'll hang out, too.
Speaker B:You can absolutely hang out.
Speaker B:You could be one of his dancers.
Speaker A:Oh, God.
Speaker A:Or me.
Speaker A:Yeah, both of us.
Speaker A:The two of us will be his dancers.
Speaker B:I couldn't admit that's something I would never do.
Speaker B:Never ever do.
Speaker B:I could.
Speaker B:Like, there are a lot of things that I don't.
Speaker A:We should do, like, a dance class the next time where we put you and we make you do some dance moves.
Speaker B:That's about it.
Speaker B:So Naya has seen some of my, like, at home, at my desk, dance moves.
Speaker B:So she's seen more dancing.
Speaker A:Like, and you're.
Speaker A:You're mortified.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Like, her reaction is usually like, okay, stop.
Speaker B:Like, all right, that's good.
Speaker B:It's normally enough.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:But I do like dancing.
Speaker B:It's like, if I was in.
Speaker B:If I was probably intoxicated in some sort of club or loud music setting, I.
Speaker B:I let loose and feel it.
Speaker B:I would also love to be a fantastic ballroom dancer that I want to learn.
Speaker A:Should we take classes?
Speaker B:We could.
Speaker B:I think one of the reasons I'd.
Speaker A:Have to lead, though.
Speaker B:I'll see that.
Speaker B:I don't know about that.
Speaker A:You're really tall.
Speaker B:Because of my need to.
Speaker B:It's not a need to control.
Speaker B:It's a need.
Speaker B:Like, I generally believe that I do things in a particular way.
Speaker B:And I'm very like, if I were to start ballroom dancing in six months, if I were doing it, I'd be a damn good ballroom dancer because I throw myself into it.
Speaker B:But it's such a commitment, and I think that's.
Speaker B:To me, it's.
Speaker A:I like watching because it's also a form.
Speaker A:I just.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:But, like, there's a certain kind of, like, again, like, a history or tradition.
Speaker A:Like, there's like, you know, like, those things that people kind of.
Speaker A:The way they move, where you're kind of like, okay, I'm like, how does that body move?
Speaker A:Because, like, in a ballet, it's very held in a different kind of control.
Speaker A:But, yeah.
Speaker A:So I'm just, like, curious about it.
Speaker B:Yeah, I would love to.
Speaker B:But part of it is also if I know that I'm not going to be great at it and I don't have enough time to invest in it, I'm like, I can't pick up that hobby.
Speaker B:Birding is something you can get into because you're just looking.
Speaker A:So identify these birds on these cups for me.
Speaker B:We have a toucan, and we went with a cockatoo for that one.
Speaker A:So are you, like, watching or are you, like.
Speaker A:Cause there's an app.
Speaker A:My friend has this app, and you take a picture, and then it'll be like, that's this bird.
Speaker B:Merlin.
Speaker B:Merlin.
Speaker B:It is my favorite.
Speaker B:There is no app on my phone that I think has more value Than Merlin.
Speaker A:And it's just birds, right?
Speaker B:Just birds.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You can record them, which is hard right now because of all the cicadas.
Speaker B:It's really messing with my birding.
Speaker B:But you can also submit pictures.
Speaker B:And when I'm traveling, it's like, my favorite thing to do.
Speaker B:I'll be like, sh.
Speaker B:Stop talking.
Speaker B:I'm recording.
Speaker B:And just hear all the birds.
Speaker B:Sunday mornings walking Paddington, our mini poodle.
Speaker B:Sunday mornings are beautiful because it's silent in our neighborhood in the burbs.
Speaker B:And so you can just.
Speaker B:You can hit the record button, leave it on for 15 minutes, and see all the new birds that come by.
Speaker B:And right now, it's migration season and breeding season.
Speaker B:So the birds that are coming by.
Speaker A:You are taking this.
Speaker A:I'm like, I love it.
Speaker A:It's mating season.
Speaker A:So is that supposed to be in the springtime when birds have their little babies?
Speaker B:We have some of those, too, in our backyard.
Speaker B:We have a lot.
Speaker B:I have quite the setup in our backyard, and that's really how it started.
Speaker B:We have, like, six or seven feeders now, and I didn't know at first there are different types of feeders.
Speaker A:Do you have cardinals?
Speaker B:Tons of cardinals.
Speaker A:I can.
Speaker A:I can.
Speaker A:I know the sound of a cardinal.
Speaker A:I don't know why.
Speaker B:Cardinals are beautiful.
Speaker B:We have lots of cardinals.
Speaker B:Lots of blue jays.
Speaker A:I was just going to say, I've never seen a blue jay in Chicago come out, but they make the most annoying sound.
Speaker B:Oh, it's terrible.
Speaker A:Yeah, blue jays are annoying.
Speaker B:Yeah, I do it.
Speaker B:I don't.
Speaker B:I can do it.
Speaker A:Do the sound of a blue jay.
Speaker A:Oh, do it.
Speaker B:It's kind of like a.
Speaker A:Come on.
Speaker B:No, it's not.
Speaker B:It's like.
Speaker A:I just know it's, like, a terrible sound, but I wanted you to do it.
Speaker B:I'm gonna go to the Merlin app, and now.
Speaker B:This is cheating.
Speaker A:I just want you to just keep.
Speaker B:Well now.
Speaker A:Okay, well, then listen to the Merlin app, and then you have to do it.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:That's fine.
Speaker A:That's fine.
Speaker B:We can.
Speaker B:We can agree to that.
Speaker B:So this was from West Virginia.
Speaker B:It may:Speaker A:Higher.
Speaker B:Yeah, higher.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker B:Here's a different call.
Speaker A:Make a difference.
Speaker B:That's what I was trying to do.
Speaker B:Like, that's.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker B:That's a blue J.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Do the make.
Speaker A:Find a cardinal and do the cardinal.
Speaker B:The cardinal.
Speaker A:And then do a pigeon.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So Mike is an unbelievable whistler, and he can whistle all this stuff probably much better.
Speaker B:It's cardinal.
Speaker A:That's very hard.
Speaker B:Like, if anyone heard that One in between.
Speaker A:No, you have to do it now.
Speaker B:That was.
Speaker B:That was my.
Speaker A:You have to either whistle it or do it with your voice.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Not bad.
Speaker A:I wanted to embarrass you, but.
Speaker A:Okay, you know, I can't whistle.
Speaker B:I was.
Speaker B:So Mike actually gets me thinking about this, because he's the best whistler I know.
Speaker A:Yeah, that was really good, Mike.
Speaker B:He's amazing.
Speaker B:But I whistle through my teeth, and I don't.
Speaker A:I saw you, and I saw the side of your mouth.
Speaker A:You're like.
Speaker B:And I don't think that's sarsaparilla.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's not how people whistle.
Speaker B:And then I tried whistling, like, what I think is normal whistling, and I can't, but I think I used to be able to.
Speaker B:And then I don't know when this teeth thing started again.
Speaker A:Sarsaparilla and suey.
Speaker A:I think the champagne's getting to me.
Speaker B:Oh, perfect.
Speaker B:I was just telling Naya about.
Speaker B:Have you ever seen the show Drunk History?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:I thought it was one of the best shows.
Speaker B:Is it still on?
Speaker A:I don't know if it's on, but it's.
Speaker B:It's pretty hilarious, the fact that someone was like, let's just talk about history, but just get someone completely.
Speaker A:All these comedians who just like, shit face.
Speaker A:And it's so funny.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's really good.
Speaker A:You should.
Speaker A:You should watch it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Do you have any.
Speaker B:I wanted to make sure that, you know, people are getting as much out of this as possible.
Speaker B:What are a couple things that you think are critical for success?
Speaker B:And, you know, if you can frame it in the terms of someone's style and, like, the style the.
Speaker B:Which they go about something.
Speaker B:Bonus points.
Speaker B:But just what do you believe are some big keys to success?
Speaker A:Well, I think success is defined by you.
Speaker A:There's not one way to be successful, but I think you need to, like, identify what that means for you.
Speaker A:And so that could be, you know, for me, it was always to be, like, internationally, like, known, like, artists, like, I.
Speaker A:You know.
Speaker A:But if it's about showing your work in, you know, community engagement or social engagement, that's also successful.
Speaker A:I think it's really about, like, how you want to include yourself into what success means for yourself.
Speaker A:So that's the main thing.
Speaker A:And I think that builds a sense of, like, that there's not a oneness to it, that there's many ways to do it, but also that it gives you, you know, this idea that you're empowering yourself.
Speaker A:So when you think about style, there's a sense of empowerment.
Speaker A:So I'm like, how do you empower yourself to feel the best that you are in the means that you want to be defined in?
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker B:That makes a lot.
Speaker B:Like, for me, that makes a lot of sense.
Speaker B:I think one thing I lose sight of is your first point about defining your own success.
Speaker B:I think for so long, I measured success comparing myself to others.
Speaker B:And I think as an entrepreneur, it's, you know, when you're.
Speaker B:When you start a business, it's so easy to.
Speaker B:To do everything from looking at other people in that space to be like, oh, I know my stuff is just as good as them, but I'm not at, you know, why.
Speaker B:Why am I not getting XYZ or.
Speaker B:I think one of the most common entrepreneurial, you know, problems is the.
Speaker B:If I had $10,000, I'd be able to do this, you know, right away.
Speaker B:And I think you just start comparing yourself, and what you realize is that success doesn't mean the same thing.
Speaker B:I remember when.
Speaker B:When I was sharing about House of Style the first time with two of my brothers, they were both kind of like, why do you need to, you know, make a billion dollars?
Speaker B:I was like, what do you mean?
Speaker B:Like, if I want a private jet, like, that's what I'm going for.
Speaker B:Like, how could.
Speaker B:How could you not want that type of money?
Speaker B:And they're like, I'd be fine with, you know, just this.
Speaker B:Like, I just.
Speaker B:I want to send my kids to whatever school, you know, they want to or whatever program they want to do.
Speaker B:I want to be able to live comfortably.
Speaker B:And for a while, that almost bothered me.
Speaker B:Like, how could they not want to be more successful?
Speaker B:And it took me a minute to say, like, that's not.
Speaker B:Not successful.
Speaker A:No, exactly.
Speaker B:Like, not at all.
Speaker B:All of my brothers are successful in their own way, in.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And again, it's success to their wants and their desires, and so they feel good and they like.
Speaker A:And again, like, you know, like, what I do is so different than what, you know, my siblings do, but they're totally successful and happy, and they do what they want they need to do, and we can support each other, but, like, sometimes it's also, like, understanding what we do.
Speaker A:Like, you know, like, I don't know, hopefully what they do.
Speaker A:They don't know what I do.
Speaker A:But we're maneuvering it, but we're finding our own definitions.
Speaker A:I think that's really important.
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker B:Especially, like, for family.
Speaker B:To me, at this point, the most important thing is that they just kind of understand what I'm working on and why I'm working on it and not think about it from like a.
Speaker B:Is it working or is it successful at this point standpoint?
Speaker B:Because like when you're starting something as big as House of Style, it takes.
Speaker B:It's going to take an enormous village to make it happen.
Speaker A:And so you build it and you're kind of creating it and there's so.
Speaker B:Many pieces to it that I just want.
Speaker B:I want the people to just understand why I'm doing this.
Speaker B:It's just out of all a love for.
Speaker B:I love that for all, all of what I'm doing and what I'm trying to do for others.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I think that's like.
Speaker B:I think this was fantastic.
Speaker A:I love this.
Speaker A:I love our home and I think.
Speaker B:Yep, that's everything in there.
Speaker B:Do I have anything else?
Speaker A:More tricks.
Speaker B:Thank you so much for being a part of this.
Speaker B:And you know, I know we're friends and we can talk about anything, but still, you know, coming on something that is new is always a risk.
Speaker B:It's always.
Speaker A:It's super exciting and I look forward to seeing it manifest, grow and us just taking it on, being included in more.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's going to be fun.
Speaker A:Thanks.
Speaker B:They can watch more on any platform that you Stream on and YouTube and what I was looking for one in specific, but it's fine.
Speaker B:We can cut and do another one.
Speaker B:Where are you releasing behind the scenes content?
Speaker B:Patreon.
Speaker B:And we'll be releasing some extra exclusive bonus footage on Patreon.
Speaker B:So head over there and you can catch some of that now.