S02E04 – Have Some Fun Today with Stephanie Taormina

[00:00:00] Hello dreamers, thinkers and doers, welcome to Ideate with Florian.

[00:00:10] In this season we discover where good ideas come from, whether it's for a new feature,

[00:00:14] product or company.

[00:00:16] I'm your host Florian Hoornaar.

[00:00:18] For over 25 years I work with small and medium sized companies in engineering, sales and

[00:00:23] management.

[00:00:24] During that time I connected with many professionals to grow together.

[00:00:28] That makes me excited to explore the journeys of our guests with you, so let's dive in.

[00:00:33] Episode 4 Have some fun today with Stefanie Taormina

[00:00:38] In this episode of the Ideate with Florian podcast we feature Stefanie Taormina.

[00:00:43] The entrepreneur behind Have some fun today.

[00:00:46] Inspired by her father's uplifting mantra, Stefanie turned this phrase into a positive

[00:00:50] lifestyle brand.

[00:00:52] The brand is rooted in meaningful artistic expression and aims to connect people and

[00:00:57] impact lives.

[00:00:58] Stefanie talks about balancing being a doer and a visionary, and how this attributes

[00:01:03] to a strong work ethic and artistic perspective.

[00:01:06] She emphasizes the importance of inner work and living a creative life.

[00:01:11] Despite initial outsider status, the brand gained recognition, especially in New York

[00:01:16] City where Stefanie values the dynamic energy for growth.

[00:01:20] Stefanie's ultimate goal is to connect people and lives through the Have some fun

[00:01:23] today concept and the power of art.

[00:01:27] For an inspiring talk about spirituality, creativity, hard work and entrepreneurship.

[00:01:37] Stefanie, welcome to the podcast.

[00:01:39] Thank you so much Florian for having me.

[00:01:42] Thank you for being on the show.

[00:01:43] I'm honored.

[00:01:44] You are a true entrepreneur.

[00:01:46] You've had many businesses before and you are now the owner of the brand called

[00:01:51] Have some fun today.

[00:01:52] What kind of brand is it?

[00:01:54] Have some fun today is a positive affirmation lifestyle brand that uses fashion as its

[00:02:05] platform for sharing this positive message that I really believe the world needs to

[00:02:11] hear and to remember and to employ as often as they can.

[00:02:16] Right.

[00:02:17] So there's already a number of facets there and a few number of layers where you've

[00:02:20] got the positive affirmation that's basically what you want to carry.

[00:02:24] And then you used fashion as a platform to do that.

[00:02:27] And with an ultimate outing, I see a T-shirt behind you.

[00:02:30] There's a podcast, so it's audio only, but there's a T-shirt behind you.

[00:02:33] There's a cap on top of it.

[00:02:35] And that's your fashion brand.

[00:02:36] Yes.

[00:02:37] What kind of products are in that brand?

[00:02:39] We started with like a tote bag, a wristlet and some T-shirts, some sweatshirts,

[00:02:47] a coffee mug, you know, various things that people use in their daily,

[00:02:52] casual, everyday lives.

[00:02:54] And I immediately think about my mobile phone.

[00:02:57] Well, you know, we actually did start with a phone case.

[00:03:02] We stopped making them because we couldn't keep up with how often the

[00:03:05] phones were switching.

[00:03:06] And so we kind of said goodbye to that product.

[00:03:09] That's the reality of practical life.

[00:03:12] Yes.

[00:03:13] Yeah.

[00:03:13] Too many switches of the technology.

[00:03:15] I heard your story and I know where the phrase comes from.

[00:03:20] I'm not going to spoil it.

[00:03:21] I'm going to let you tell the story.

[00:03:23] Have some fun today.

[00:03:24] It's a slogan invented or made up by your dad.

[00:03:29] What's the story there?

[00:03:30] Somewhere, probably about 20 years ago, my dad just started using this phrase,

[00:03:38] have some fun today.

[00:03:40] And he would say it to every single person that he spoke to every day at

[00:03:46] the end of his conversation.

[00:03:47] So instead of saying goodbye, see you later, he'd look you right in the eye

[00:03:52] and he'd say have some fun today.

[00:03:55] And it was like this, you know, first it took people, you know,

[00:03:57] kind of off guard and they would kind of pause and say, oh, yeah,

[00:04:02] okay.

[00:04:03] And he just did it every single day for over 20 years.

[00:04:08] And so it was such an integral part of his personality when people thought

[00:04:13] of my dad, often they would think of this positive energy that he always

[00:04:18] carried at the company that he owned.

[00:04:21] It was the thing on their answering machine when someone called the business.

[00:04:27] It was on the punch cards when employees would check out.

[00:04:30] I mean, you know, clock out in the afternoon.

[00:04:34] He was so dedicated to sharing this phrase to everybody he talked to that

[00:04:42] it was like when he passed away and over a thousand people came to my dad's

[00:04:47] funeral, that was something that everybody kind of shared.

[00:04:52] And it was kind of going around our little town about my father and

[00:04:58] his positive energy and all the people he affected.

[00:05:02] And it was a couple months after my dad passed when I was doing a meditation in

[00:05:08] the morning and I had this vision of these words on a painting because I'm

[00:05:14] also an artist and I use words in my painting.

[00:05:18] And it just came to me that I was going to start a brand that shared

[00:05:23] this phrase on everything we do.

[00:05:26] And that was the beginning of the brand.

[00:05:27] I called my mom a few minutes after I had this vision.

[00:05:31] I mean, I saw the products in my head.

[00:05:34] I mean, it was a complete vision of something that I knew through my whole

[00:05:38] body that I had to do.

[00:05:40] How long does it take you to come up with a brand just in terms of order of

[00:05:45] making this like days, weeks, months, minutes?

[00:05:48] Well, in that morning when I had the vision of the brand and

[00:05:53] I actually had the vision of the initial pieces that I designed from

[00:05:58] that moment and letting my mother know because this was something that I felt

[00:06:03] was a legacy for my family, for my father.

[00:06:07] So I really wanted to share this wonderful idea with my mom.

[00:06:13] And after that she helped me out with an initial investment and

[00:06:19] I went up to Manhattan and I, because I went to school at Parsons School of

[00:06:23] Design.

[00:06:24] So that was my connection.

[00:06:26] I went right back there and I researched how I could get the different

[00:06:31] products made because there was a t-shirt, there was a handbag,

[00:06:36] there's a mug.

[00:06:38] There were all these different types of products.

[00:06:41] It wasn't like I had to go to one place to make these things.

[00:06:45] I found out that I had to deal with many different manufacturers.

[00:06:50] So by the time we got our first products and

[00:06:54] we uploaded them onto our first website, it was about six months.

[00:06:58] That's from ID to a website?

[00:07:01] Yes.

[00:07:02] But from like zero blank to the brand name and that vision of the painting?

[00:07:08] I got the impression that was like an instant.

[00:07:10] Yeah, I mean I knew in my head what I was going to do and

[00:07:15] that's kind of how I work as an artist and a designer.

[00:07:18] I don't know about you but I see it.

[00:07:21] I see the vision of it like whether I'm designing a room or

[00:07:24] I'm making a painting or I'm designing a handbag or a t-shirt,

[00:07:28] whatever.

[00:07:29] I see it in my head, I put it on paper and then I find out how to make it.

[00:07:34] And that's the process.

[00:07:35] The fascinating part for me is that I had a conversation and

[00:07:39] also a podcast interview with Patrick Williams.

[00:07:42] He is an artist from Omaha also in this season and he talks about

[00:07:47] you need to build a sort of a substrate of foundation as an artist.

[00:07:51] So you've got your room, you've got your pencils, you've got your easels

[00:07:55] but then you also have to prepare your mind so that when inspiration strikes

[00:07:58] you can immediately like acknowledge it and understand that it's there.

[00:08:02] And that's what I very much heard in your story as well

[00:08:05] because you've been an artist and working with materials

[00:08:08] and designs and ideas for a long time.

[00:08:11] Can you take us what your artistic story was?

[00:08:15] I think for me I resonate the most as an artist

[00:08:20] and have some fun today is purely an artistic expression.

[00:08:26] It's combining mediums, it's combining artistic ideology,

[00:08:32] almost poetry and spiritual messaging.

[00:08:35] And so that's one component.

[00:08:37] It is artistic in that it is like I actually put my art on my pieces

[00:08:43] as well as from a very technical design standpoint.

[00:08:48] We have to know how to make all these things

[00:08:51] and how to find the materials and all of that.

[00:08:53] So it's a very integrated process.

[00:08:56] So to go back as a young girl, I think Paper Dolls is really my first memory

[00:09:03] being like maybe like three.

[00:09:05] I believe the story is that I cut all my hair off using my Paper Doll scissors

[00:09:10] or at least part of it.

[00:09:11] My mother was very upset about that.

[00:09:13] Yeah, I can imagine.

[00:09:14] You know, I've always just been this really creative kid.

[00:09:18] You know, I saw crayons and I saw coloring books

[00:09:21] and wow, I could be lost for days.

[00:09:24] You know, as a young girl we had Barbies.

[00:09:27] We would take days to set up these elaborate houses

[00:09:31] using tissue boxes and improvising things around the house

[00:09:36] to make furniture.

[00:09:37] And these are all creative processes, you know, as little children.

[00:09:41] So, you know, always been an artist.

[00:09:44] You always took extra art classes, you know, throughout grade school,

[00:09:48] always won art awards.

[00:09:51] Art has always been something that just resides inside of me as a person.

[00:09:58] No matter what I am doing, I always go back to creating art.

[00:10:03] And how does an artist become an entrepreneur?

[00:10:06] First of all, my father, you know, when we was first born,

[00:10:11] he was a teacher, a Catholic school teacher and a coach.

[00:10:14] You know, so very low salary, really had to do side hustles.

[00:10:19] So my dad was side hustling, doing coaching,

[00:10:23] doing whatever he could to make extra money.

[00:10:25] So there is an entrepreneurial spirit in that my mother was a hairdresser

[00:10:31] and she ran her own hair salon out of our house growing up.

[00:10:35] So I was part of that.

[00:10:37] As a young kid, leading, you know, when your parents are leading by example,

[00:10:41] we're absorbing, you know, all that.

[00:10:43] So, you know, I grew up in a house where my dad is doing what he can

[00:10:47] to bring money home to support our family.

[00:10:50] My mother too had her own business and I would even have to like shampoo

[00:10:55] her clients, you know, like she needed help.

[00:10:58] We were the kids, we did what we had to do.

[00:11:00] We cleaned brushes and also my mother's mother, my grandmother,

[00:11:05] were very close to her and I actually named a handbag after her in my current line.

[00:11:10] And she was a real entrepreneur.

[00:11:14] She was really into real estate.

[00:11:16] She bought and sold antiques.

[00:11:18] She had a grocery store.

[00:11:21] I mean, that is just in my DNA.

[00:11:24] That's entrepreneurship right there.

[00:11:27] I mean, unhonestly, when I was 16 years old, I couldn't wait to work.

[00:11:32] So like as soon as I could get a job, I got a job and I was excited about it.

[00:11:38] You know, like it made me feel powerful.

[00:11:41] It made me feel like I was, you know, master of my own destiny kind of thing.

[00:11:46] So with that backstory of that entrepreneurial backstory,

[00:11:50] with that art backstory, I do want to go back to the really

[00:11:54] the starting of the painting of Have Some Fun Today.

[00:11:58] And what I find striking in the story is that you say you're doing your meditation

[00:12:02] or your spiritual moment.

[00:12:03] What how does that help in bringing that vision to you?

[00:12:08] Well, you know, some time I think I was always a spiritual person,

[00:12:12] but I don't think I really understood what that meant.

[00:12:15] And as I, you know, started to get a little bit older,

[00:12:19] I had my children in my thirties.

[00:12:22] You know, I was always kind of searching for answers.

[00:12:25] And like what I was really meant to do in my thirties,

[00:12:30] I think I was going through that a lot.

[00:12:32] And when I got into my forties, I changed my life a lot.

[00:12:37] I got divorced and I really delved into my own business as a designer.

[00:12:45] And along with that, I realized that we are very integrated as humans.

[00:12:52] And I really feel that, you know, our physical bodies and our physical energy

[00:12:58] is very tied to our emotional energy and also our intellectual evolution.

[00:13:06] And I believe very much in all of this

[00:13:08] needing to be integrated to have like this really good life.

[00:13:12] So I started, you know, I went to yoga seminars.

[00:13:17] I got really into yoga.

[00:13:19] I learned about meditation.

[00:13:22] I started integrating this stuff for a while.

[00:13:25] And then we had this experience with my father, you know, passing.

[00:13:30] And I had a rely on that kind of spiritual healing energy

[00:13:36] to kind of grieve my father and to sort of ask myself,

[00:13:41] what is next for me?

[00:13:43] And in doing that and taking that time in the morning to do a gratitude practice,

[00:13:49] you know, to think about the things that we're grateful for.

[00:13:52] Because I know when people do that, it really opens up more coming to us.

[00:13:57] We receive more abundance when we're showing gratitude

[00:14:02] and we're really, you know, acknowledging the things that are already abundant in our lives.

[00:14:08] So it just opens our minds and it opens our hearts to what else is possible.

[00:14:13] And that is when I found that I could see that I had

[00:14:17] I had an opportunity to do something with all the stuff

[00:14:22] I had been studying with spirituality, with living a good life,

[00:14:26] with health and wellness.

[00:14:29] And to me, all of those things are joyful.

[00:14:32] You know, when we can when we can master having those experiences

[00:14:37] and being aware of the beauty of them,

[00:14:40] that opens us up to this whole expression of have some fun today.

[00:14:44] We all have to work.

[00:14:46] We all have to do things that are hard.

[00:14:48] But if we can also appreciate the things that we do have,

[00:14:52] we can experience joy every day.

[00:14:55] Right. And that is really the essence of have some fun today.

[00:14:59] Can I imagine that you have that as a daily practice?

[00:15:02] Is it a daily credit to practice or is it a weekly how?

[00:15:06] No, it's daily.

[00:15:07] And, you know, I've also been in the past few months

[00:15:11] have also been adding on meditation at night before I go to sleep

[00:15:16] and also when I wake up in the morning.

[00:15:18] So a spiritual practice to me is very grounding.

[00:15:23] It's very grounding and it helps me shut out like the chatter,

[00:15:27] you know, because the world is very loud right now, very polarizing.

[00:15:33] And so I really believe in shutting out that noise

[00:15:39] and really feeling what what I need as a human.

[00:15:43] Doesn't it also help you or your creativity and what are the dice there?

[00:15:48] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:15:49] Because, you know, to design products for have some fun today

[00:15:54] that will lift somebody else's spirit.

[00:15:57] I have to really be very centered in my gratitude

[00:16:01] in the space that I can be to to create something

[00:16:05] that will resonate, will be useful,

[00:16:09] because I don't want to just make stuff.

[00:16:11] You know, that is there's enough stuff in the world, right?

[00:16:14] There there's more than enough stuff.

[00:16:16] And I would say that that is something that as a designer and a maker,

[00:16:21] I do struggle with that.

[00:16:23] It's like, oh, you know, I don't want to be one of those people

[00:16:26] who are who are just adding more stuff to the world.

[00:16:30] I do want to add meaningful.

[00:16:33] And so that's a little bit of a struggle, I would say, you know,

[00:16:37] making something that is useful and meaningful

[00:16:40] as opposed to just making something.

[00:16:42] You mentioned before that before the show started

[00:16:46] that you live in New York City and you live in a town called Waiomissing

[00:16:52] which is which is near Reading, Pennsylvania.

[00:16:55] I can imagine that New York City has a little bit more bustle

[00:17:00] and hustle than Waiomissing.

[00:17:03] And when you talk about centering and and coming back to yourself

[00:17:08] and shutting out the noise from outside,

[00:17:12] how is that different between those two cities?

[00:17:15] You know, it's actually amazing.

[00:17:17] I love to go to New York City

[00:17:20] to really be stimulated with the energy of the world

[00:17:25] because it's such a melting pot.

[00:17:28] I walk out the door and I am confronted with every single ethnicity,

[00:17:34] you know, gender, sexual identities.

[00:17:38] I mean, it's all there and to me it's all beautiful

[00:17:43] and it's very stimulating to me to be around

[00:17:48] all this worldly culture.

[00:17:51] So I love going there for those reasons.

[00:17:55] It's kind of awe inspiring, really, to be walking down a street

[00:18:00] and just to experience all the different facets of humanity.

[00:18:05] So I love being able to go there and get stimulated,

[00:18:10] go to amazing art shows, have wonderful food

[00:18:14] from all over the world to speak to people who,

[00:18:18] you know, are strangers.

[00:18:20] But like there's like a common humanness.

[00:18:22] And I experience like great beauty in the world when I'm in New York City.

[00:18:28] I mean, there's also a lot of things that are hard

[00:18:31] because you do see the harshness of the world.

[00:18:34] But I think that that too has a place in what I take in as an artist

[00:18:40] because it's life, right?

[00:18:41] There's good and bad.

[00:18:43] Sure. You can have blinders on.

[00:18:45] You really have to have an awareness of what's really happening

[00:18:49] and to also have compassion and empathy for where we can do better as people.

[00:18:55] And to see all parts of life and not pick and choose

[00:18:59] whatever you think fits best in your worldview.

[00:19:02] Yeah, you know, and then living in why I'm missing part of the time,

[00:19:05] which is where I have my art studio.

[00:19:07] And that's the other part of the cycle, I guess, right?

[00:19:09] Yeah. And that's where I can employ working, doing the work, you know,

[00:19:16] doing the paintings that lead to inspiration for the brand.

[00:19:20] You know, here in the in why missing, it's very beautiful.

[00:19:24] You know, it's green, lush grass and trees and old trees

[00:19:29] and very quiet streets and not a lot going on.

[00:19:33] So it's such a contrast.

[00:19:35] So for me, the two worlds are very essential to who I am as an artist.

[00:19:41] How do you how do you see the difference of setting up a fashion brand

[00:19:46] from why missing versus New York City?

[00:19:49] Because you first, you were just in why you're missing.

[00:19:51] And now you're also New York City and Los Angeles.

[00:19:54] How has that changed?

[00:19:56] Well, it's interesting because we just got this place in New York in April.

[00:20:01] So it hasn't been that long.

[00:20:02] And running the brand from why I'm missing, I mean,

[00:20:07] I would go to New York City all the time.

[00:20:09] Both of my daughters live there.

[00:20:11] And so I've been taking them there since they were three years old.

[00:20:16] I mean, I love New York.

[00:20:17] I feel like New York is where I live, you know, in many ways.

[00:20:22] I feel very New York.

[00:20:24] So really for the first nine years of the brand being based out of why I'm missing,

[00:20:29] you know, I kind of liked it.

[00:20:31] I am not a follower.

[00:20:33] I am a disruptor and I love that I was this outsider, you know, doing this thing.

[00:20:43] I mean, celebrities were wearing are wearing our brand like me.

[00:20:48] The cooness of video is going viral wearing this hoodie.

[00:20:52] And it was, you know, me doing this in little why I'm missing Pennsylvania.

[00:20:56] So I like the way it started.

[00:20:58] So I'm all good with that.

[00:21:00] Now that I'm also in New York, it is changing the brand because I'm just having

[00:21:06] coffee with people and they're like, how can I help you?

[00:21:10] So I do believe that if you want a business, especially in fashion or art,

[00:21:17] you do have to have some proximity to a place where it's really happening

[00:21:23] in terms of growing the brand from within the brand.

[00:21:27] But, you know, the idea of being here and designing the brand and working it,

[00:21:33] I think it was it made it more unique.

[00:21:36] You know, it gave it a different a different edge and I like it.

[00:21:48] The future of work is flexible.

[00:21:51] If you are being mandated to return to the office fear not.

[00:21:57] There are things that you can do to create flexibility for yourself.

[00:22:01] And there are things that you can do to prepare for the inevitable

[00:22:05] flexibility that is coming your way.

[00:22:08] Collaboration Superpowers helps people and companies work better together

[00:22:12] from anywhere, and we've got a free remote working success kit to get you started

[00:22:18] from personal user manuals to team agreements, virtual icebreakers

[00:22:23] and more.

[00:22:24] Download the remote working success kit at collaboration superpowers.com.

[00:22:30] We'll see you online.

[00:22:33] I'm going to make a little crossover between two shows.

[00:22:36] There's another show called Collaboration Superpowers,

[00:22:40] which is hosted by my wife, Lisette Södeland.

[00:22:42] And that show is all about working remote, remote collaboration,

[00:22:46] remote teams doing great things.

[00:22:48] And here you're saying like, no, you really need to be you need to be

[00:22:52] in your case in New York and have coffee with people in person.

[00:22:56] Why doesn't the Zoom call do the trick?

[00:22:59] I would almost ask, you know, I think there is something about being

[00:23:04] in the city and someone saying, let's meet for coffee.

[00:23:09] It's different than if you're going to schedule a Zoom call.

[00:23:13] I think that you can do a lot of great things with Zoom calls.

[00:23:17] Don't get me wrong.

[00:23:19] For example, we just had a meeting yesterday on a Zoom call with one

[00:23:25] of the women who does all the events at Soho House in Miami

[00:23:30] because we are planning something for our basketball.

[00:23:33] We've got a scoop here.

[00:23:34] Yeah, we have a really cool scoop here.

[00:23:37] And that was amazing that I could have this meeting with this woman

[00:23:41] who I've never met before and we can start to make something happen.

[00:23:45] You know, Miami to PA.

[00:23:48] But when you are living in a city and you can impromptu schedule

[00:23:54] that coffee or have that drink or have lunch, there is a I think

[00:24:00] people want to help you.

[00:24:01] You know, you'll be talking about personal stuff, but then

[00:24:04] there'll be that point where they say, well, tell me about what

[00:24:06] you're doing.

[00:24:07] And then they want to sit on the table with you.

[00:24:09] Yeah, they want to offer something if they think that

[00:24:12] they can.

[00:24:13] Yeah.

[00:24:13] And I have found that every single time I have met with

[00:24:17] someone in New York, I have walked away with them offering me

[00:24:21] some way to help me.

[00:24:22] And I haven't had that as much doing Zoom calls and living here

[00:24:28] and why missing only it's taking longer to do what I need to do.

[00:24:34] So the New York City move is OK.

[00:24:37] For me, I believe that time is of the essence.

[00:24:40] But this is a perspective.

[00:24:42] Why are you missing the New York City?

[00:24:43] That's about a three hour drive.

[00:24:45] It's about a two and a half hour drive.

[00:24:47] So it's not the end of the world.

[00:24:48] You could just I'll see you in the afternoon, right?

[00:24:51] That's that's how it could be.

[00:24:52] I could easily do that.

[00:24:53] Yeah.

[00:24:54] And yet it's different.

[00:24:56] It is because I just have found like trying to nurture certain

[00:25:00] relationships with people who are in New York who could help me.

[00:25:03] It's just taking longer because it's like, oh, when I come back,

[00:25:06] we'll do that, you know?

[00:25:07] And so it just changes the dynamics.

[00:25:10] So another dynamic that I want to talk about and thank you for

[00:25:13] for using that word and I can make a segue out of it is that the concept

[00:25:17] of on one hand, you got visionaries who come up with the groundbreaking ideas.

[00:25:22] And on the other hand, you got integrators who make those ideas a reality.

[00:25:27] Hearing your story, I have to feel that there's a little bit of both in you.

[00:25:31] Yeah, definitely.

[00:25:33] How did you balance that or melted together or keep that apart?

[00:25:38] Or how can you be a visionary value also just doing the stuff needs to be done?

[00:25:43] Yeah, I hear you next year.

[00:25:46] Well, I mean, it's a it's a I've never had that question asked to me before,

[00:25:50] but it's a really great question, Florian, because I kind of go back to high school.

[00:25:56] I was like that student that really studied really hard.

[00:26:01] I don't know.

[00:26:01] Maybe I was like super geeky.

[00:26:03] I don't know.

[00:26:04] But I would come home from school or from practice

[00:26:07] because I also did like every sport you and every activity you could do.

[00:26:11] You know, I was that kid, but I had a study really hard.

[00:26:15] It just I couldn't go into a test and not prepare for it.

[00:26:19] I wasn't one of those kids who could ace a test without trying.

[00:26:23] I had to try really hard.

[00:26:25] So I think that it became habitual to me to really know what I was going to do,

[00:26:36] like study for the test, work hard on the paper, the research paper.

[00:26:41] I never winged anything.

[00:26:44] I don't really wing things like now, maybe after doing this brand for nine years

[00:26:52] and having been an artist and a designer my whole life, I can wing a conversation about.

[00:27:01] But so so I was that person who was very Taipei, you know, so that's the doer.

[00:27:08] I got to get this done.

[00:27:09] I know how to do it being the the person who dreams up the idea and has the creative

[00:27:17] freedom in my head.

[00:27:18] I think that comes from being an artist also.

[00:27:23] Yeah.

[00:27:24] And, you know, right now and for many years, my main style of art is abstract expressionism.

[00:27:34] So I think to be an abstract expressionist, you have to have a very bold and free

[00:27:44] and a lot of confidence in what you're going to put on the canvas.

[00:27:49] And I have that.

[00:27:50] And how do you do that at the same time?

[00:27:53] How can you be like that type a doer with a busy head and all the other

[00:27:59] hand, do that free expression?

[00:28:03] Well, I think that's where the spiritual practice comes to play because I do a lot

[00:28:08] of inner work.

[00:28:10] I have done a lot of inner work for roughly 20 years.

[00:28:15] I mean, it's not a new thing.

[00:28:17] I somehow I think in my my personal struggles in my 30s, I think I realized

[00:28:26] that I needed to do something and I needed to figure some things out.

[00:28:31] And so I think that was really something that I learned to do out of like survival

[00:28:38] in my head.

[00:28:38] And so I think it's the spiritual practice that I've cultivated over a long

[00:28:44] period of time and experimenting with different types of spirituality and

[00:28:49] meditation and, you know, different types of practices that we all have learned about.

[00:28:55] I think that has given me this permission to explore the the concepts that come

[00:29:03] into my head visually with confidence and experience knowing what this process entails.

[00:29:11] That word permission is a very interesting word in the creative process.

[00:29:16] Do you give yourself permission to be free, liberated from,

[00:29:20] untatted from the rest of the world and just in your own mind and

[00:29:23] expressing yourself boldly?

[00:29:25] I guess. Speaking of creativity,

[00:29:28] have you heard about Rick Rubin's new book called The Creative Act?

[00:29:33] No, I have not. No.

[00:29:35] Rick Rubin, he's just a profound personality.

[00:29:39] He's like one of the greatest living music producers in the world.

[00:29:45] He's the co-founder of Def Jam Records and I'm a huge fan of his.

[00:29:51] And he recently released this book and it's almost like a Bible on creativity.

[00:29:56] Earlier in the fall, I started reading The Artist's Way because as a founder

[00:30:02] and a creative director, I want to take in all of these different

[00:30:08] philosophies that will help the act of creation in my own life and understanding,

[00:30:16] how we process our inspiration and what we do with our inspiration.

[00:30:22] So being free in creative expression,

[00:30:28] artistically is the end all.

[00:30:31] And so I work very hard in having that freedom and having that confidence

[00:30:37] to put things down on paper and explore the significance of that.

[00:30:41] That makes a lot of sense.

[00:30:42] And again, it's that years and perhaps decades of preparation because you can't say,

[00:30:49] hey, I'm going to wake up and let's be creative now and let's invent a new product.

[00:30:54] You know, there is sometimes if this scenario here is that you go to the office

[00:31:00] and your manager says, hey, I want you to come up with a new widget and I need it

[00:31:04] before tomorrow, how does creativity work in this scenario?

[00:31:09] How do you reflect on that?

[00:31:11] Yeah, I mean, creativity is a way of being.

[00:31:15] It's it's how I it's how I breathe.

[00:31:19] It's how I wake up.

[00:31:20] It's how I get dressed.

[00:31:22] It's how I exercise.

[00:31:24] It's how I eat.

[00:31:25] It's how I think.

[00:31:26] It's how I speak.

[00:31:27] It's what I read.

[00:31:28] I want to read about other ways of being creative.

[00:31:31] I want to implement rules on how I'm going to do a project just for the

[00:31:37] creativity. Those rules will create in my work.

[00:31:42] It's it's everything.

[00:31:43] It's how I set up my house.

[00:31:45] It's the trip site.

[00:31:47] Right.

[00:31:47] It's the restaurant I go to.

[00:31:49] It's the movie I watch.

[00:31:51] It's a way of living your life.

[00:31:53] When I look at the hoodie that is behind you in a different font than the cap

[00:31:59] that's on top of that.

[00:32:00] So there's a different style there.

[00:32:03] How does the process work?

[00:32:05] Do you have like a brainstorm with your team and says, Hey, what kind of

[00:32:09] problem do we need? And they say, hoodie.

[00:32:11] And then you go off three days on the retreat and come back with a design or

[00:32:16] what's the process there?

[00:32:18] The process for me has been that I start thinking about something.

[00:32:23] Some idea will come into my head and it'll just kind of percolate there.

[00:32:28] And I won't talk about it.

[00:32:30] I'll just see it along with a million other things that are happening in my life.

[00:32:34] And it'll stay there and it'll kind of get little flashes of development.

[00:32:41] Literally, as almost as if I have a computer program running in my head

[00:32:46] and I have the tab open.

[00:32:48] OK, so let's say I'm thinking about a new affirmation

[00:32:53] or graphic that I need to do, which is clearly it's actually something I need to do.

[00:32:58] So I know what I want to do because I've already decided intellectually.

[00:33:03] Oh, this is what we have to do next.

[00:33:05] So that's been decided on knowing I have to do it, knowing it makes sense

[00:33:10] in the in the pipeline of what we're doing.

[00:33:13] Then I'll start to think about it.

[00:33:14] It'll be there. It'll sit there.

[00:33:16] I'll get little flashes and because I have so many other things running

[00:33:21] and I don't have a design staff, it's literally me.

[00:33:26] I definitely speak with my younger

[00:33:29] daughters who are in their 20s and live in Manhattan.

[00:33:32] And, you know, they have definitely been influential in my design because I love young.

[00:33:38] I love the youthful mind.

[00:33:41] I really appreciate really all minds.

[00:33:44] I appreciate what my mom and older people than my mother think.

[00:33:48] I appreciate things that my contemporaries are thinking.

[00:33:52] I'm very interested in culture.

[00:33:55] I think that's why I love being in New York.

[00:33:57] I love being here.

[00:33:58] I love looking at social media.

[00:34:01] I my mind, my computer chip in my head is seeing as much as I can see.

[00:34:08] And all the while this design is running in my subconscious.

[00:34:13] The design is happening.

[00:34:14] At some point, I will realize that now it's time to put this on paper.

[00:34:20] And that is really the hardest part for me because I'll know I have to do

[00:34:25] something I'm designing it in my head.

[00:34:27] I'm not speaking about it.

[00:34:29] There's no conversation about it.

[00:34:31] And then one day I sit down and I knock it out.

[00:34:34] And I do that every single time with every product I design.

[00:34:38] And every single time it's immediately it's done right or?

[00:34:42] Oh, yeah. Yeah. I get down there.

[00:34:44] I sketch it out.

[00:34:45] I send it to my factory and I say this is the design.

[00:34:49] And then he comes back.

[00:34:51] He comes back with a sample.

[00:34:53] I'll either love it as is or I'll make some tweaks.

[00:34:57] But that's the process.

[00:34:58] That's amazing.

[00:34:59] That's so again, there's a long time of preparation and then like Ka-Blamo.

[00:35:04] That's that's the moment where you put it on.

[00:35:07] Yeah. The moment you put it on paper, is that stick the get up in the morning?

[00:35:11] Do you credit your practice and then 9 a.m.

[00:35:14] You go to your studio or is it midnight at night?

[00:35:16] Any time can happen or do you schedule that in your calendar or how does that work?

[00:35:21] Sometimes I write it on my calendar due designs today.

[00:35:28] I don't know why it's like I have to like push.

[00:35:31] It's like a part of me has to push myself to sit down and do sketch.

[00:35:36] I guess I don't know why I don't know why.

[00:35:39] And then and I'll get it down be like, oh, thank God, you know, I just finally did it.

[00:35:43] It's like I'm procrastinating in my subconscious.

[00:35:47] You know, yeah, it's kind of funny.

[00:35:49] And I have a bunch of stuff currently that that's happening.

[00:35:53] Like I'm I'm designing an affirmation art piece of art in my head.

[00:35:57] But and I know I know the theme.

[00:36:01] I know the colors.

[00:36:03] I have the ideation, but I need just to get down there and do it.

[00:36:07] My background is in software development.

[00:36:10] And the fun thing with software is that you can just toss out the version in the

[00:36:14] open, even if it's crappy, because next week you can have a new version

[00:36:19] which has improved and better.

[00:36:21] You know, and it can still be a bit crappy, but it's OK because the week after that

[00:36:24] you just you overwrite it with a new version, right?

[00:36:27] Uh-huh.

[00:36:28] Your t-shirts and hoodies and caps and tote bags and coffee mugs.

[00:36:34] That's harder to do.

[00:36:36] You can't just toss something out in a week later.

[00:36:38] I think this is I got a better idea.

[00:36:40] You just recall all your merchandise and products and everything and re-ship

[00:36:46] that new.

[00:36:47] Yeah, you can't do that.

[00:36:49] Physically impossible.

[00:36:51] They have created a certain level of stress because they're

[00:36:54] only give stress with software developers who are very hesitant of shipping their

[00:37:00] product. How do you deal with that?

[00:37:02] You know, I think the most important thing when you're designing products is

[00:37:08] to really have a lot of trust in your manufacturer.

[00:37:13] So I think the fact that I have a lot of trust

[00:37:18] in the people I'm working with that if there is, you know, I know that they're

[00:37:25] going to make my product in a very high quality way.

[00:37:32] I have had bad experiences working with factories who have ruined my designs

[00:37:39] at times and, you know, I've had those experiences and luckily most of the time

[00:37:46] they make it right.

[00:37:48] So so you have to system set up in the way that you wanted to be set up quality wise.

[00:37:54] Now, you work with the factories who can do what your vision is and you are no

[00:37:59] longer working with the factories who have the lower quality.

[00:38:02] Yes. Yes.

[00:38:03] And you have the vision.

[00:38:05] You give it to them.

[00:38:06] It's almost like you put it on a conveyor belt or your product and it goes

[00:38:09] to the next station, next station.

[00:38:11] But the moment that's on the conveyor belt,

[00:38:13] you can trust the system that you build.

[00:38:16] Yeah, I mean, that is that is the goal.

[00:38:20] And it takes sometimes it takes time.

[00:38:22] Sometimes you work with people who don't do that.

[00:38:24] And that's right.

[00:38:26] You have to learn the hard way, unfortunately.

[00:38:28] And I know I've had many things over the nine years because,

[00:38:32] you know, it wasn't like I came from a brand background already.

[00:38:37] I was I was an interior designer who decided to go back into fashion for a very

[00:38:44] specific reason that was greater than than not doing it.

[00:38:51] And I made mistakes, you know, I made mistakes.

[00:38:55] I did the best I could.

[00:38:57] I was very honest with people when a mistake was made.

[00:39:01] And that's all you can be.

[00:39:03] And you just have to be accountable.

[00:39:06] And, you know, for any customers who experienced a product of mine that was,

[00:39:12] you know, lesser than it should have been, I did whatever I could to make it right.

[00:39:17] And that's all you can do and learn from your mistakes and try to work with

[00:39:22] people who really are quality and give you what you ask for and give you what

[00:39:28] you pay for the team that you have around you is very close to you,

[00:39:32] I believe, right?

[00:39:33] Yes. My partner, Jay Schwaid, has is really has been amazing and has helped me

[00:39:41] navigate growing this business incredibly just in a year and a half.

[00:39:47] We have upgraded every system that we have with marketing and fulfillment

[00:39:54] and production and budgeting and finance.

[00:39:58] So we have we have grown a lot in the past year.

[00:40:02] Thanks to working with someone who is really dedicated to making this a worldwide success.

[00:40:10] It's just an amazing story about art.

[00:40:12] It's an amazing story about entrepreneurship, about where you came from.

[00:40:16] You know, the artistic drawing and playing with dolls and cutting off your own hair

[00:40:22] when you were a child all the way to your the way that you express yourself

[00:40:26] through art now, it's so amazing.

[00:40:28] There's this one last topic that I want to touch on and that is an entrepreneurial

[00:40:32] topic, and that's about the economics of the kind of business that you run.

[00:40:36] Because you mentioned that she was the interior design.

[00:40:39] And the way that I'm used to that how it works is that you you get a client,

[00:40:45] you do work for them, you send an invoice two weeks later, you get paid.

[00:40:49] How does this kind of world work?

[00:40:53] Not talking about figures, but just in general, what's the concept here?

[00:40:56] Yeah, well, it's very different structure.

[00:40:59] Being an interior designer was a great.

[00:41:03] I loved doing that and I love the structure.

[00:41:06] It was great.

[00:41:07] I didn't have to put so much out personally.

[00:41:10] When you're manufacturing, it's 100 percent different.

[00:41:14] We have to pay for everything up front.

[00:41:17] So, you know, for a clothing brand or for our lifestyle brand, because we make

[00:41:21] bags, we make clothing, we make hats, we make a lot of stuff.

[00:41:25] And to make any one thing, you have to make a minimum.

[00:41:29] So it's not like I'm going to make 10 handbags, you know, I need to make 300.

[00:41:36] Sometimes you have to make a thousand.

[00:41:38] And so you have to pay for that.

[00:41:40] And then you have to market that, which costs a fortune.

[00:41:46] And then you have to wait for people to buy it on your website or wherever they

[00:41:51] shop. So it's a very different structure.

[00:41:53] It's definitely a longer game.

[00:41:56] But it's what I believe in, and it's what I'm not doing this to make the kind

[00:42:04] of money liquid that I made when I was a designer.

[00:42:07] I'm doing this for a much deeper meaning.

[00:42:10] So I'm willing to sacrifice what I have to to do this.

[00:42:16] I think that brings the story nicely full circle back to the vision and mission

[00:42:21] that you have of have some fun today enriching people's lives.

[00:42:26] Yeah, so that is what our goal is to do.

[00:42:30] We want to expand the brand.

[00:42:32] I mean, the concept have some fun today

[00:42:36] that could reach people's lives in so many ways.

[00:42:40] I don't think we've even really begun to tap all the ways that that could

[00:42:45] be meaningful for people.

[00:42:48] And one other thing that we also hope with our success,

[00:42:54] our continued success is to do some really special inspirational charity

[00:42:59] projects that involve fashion, art and charity and fun.

[00:43:06] I think they are some wonderful parts of humanity.

[00:43:12] And we are working on a special project called the Elsie project,

[00:43:17] which we did one in New York City in June, where we shared one of my designs

[00:43:24] with a group of artists and they each took a handbag.

[00:43:27] It was an Elsie bag and they used it as their canvas to create a work of art.

[00:43:32] And then we had a big event where people could come bid on these handbags

[00:43:39] and then we donated 100 percent of the proceeds to a charity.

[00:43:44] And so we see activations as part of our brand as a way to connect people,

[00:43:52] to connect the celebration of art with the the impact that fashion can have.

[00:44:00] And all the ways that we can make the world a better place

[00:44:04] through so many charities that exist in the world.

[00:44:07] And so we are hoping to partner with Soho House and do our next one at Art

[00:44:11] Basel, Miami and then hopefully to go on from there and do them at all the Soho

[00:44:17] houses in the world.

[00:44:19] So that is kind of the vision I have to use fashion as a platform for helping

[00:44:26] other people and spreading joy.

[00:44:29] It's an amazing story.

[00:44:30] I'm so happy that I had an opportunity to talk with you.

[00:44:33] Thank you very much for being on the show.

[00:44:37] I will put links to your website, to your LinkedIn,

[00:44:41] to wherever you want people to go into the show notes.

[00:44:44] And if you have any follow up questions, just feel free to ask them there.

[00:44:48] Stephanie, thank you very much.

[00:44:50] Thank you, Florian.

[00:44:51] It was so lovely meeting you and talking with you.

[00:44:54] Have some fun today.

[00:44:57] And there you have it, another inspiring episode of the ID8 with Florian podcast.

[00:45:02] As always, I encourage you to visit our website at ide8 with Florian.com.

[00:45:07] That is ID8 with Florian.com.

[00:45:11] Here you will find links related to this episode as well as other episodes.

[00:45:15] My name is Florian Horna and I hope the story inspired you.

[00:45:19] Thank you for joining me and until next time.