Hey Maker!

Are you finding yourself in frequent waves of burnout? We can relate! Today we have Taylor Morrison, founder of Inner Workout, on the show and she helps us get to the bottom of this icky cycle.

Taylor Elyse Morrison graduated cum laude from Vanderbilt with a double major in Human Organizational Development and Spanish. She is the founder of Inner Workout, she hosts the Be School Podcast, and she is the founder and CEO of Jubilant. Did ya get all that? We also did not mention all of the other day to day life (relationships, personal care, etc.) sprinkled in.

Taylor keeps quite busy and she describes herself as a competitive person. Busy and competitive make a pretty good recipe for burnout, which is what ultimately led her to create Inner Workout. Inner Workout invites people to “listen within and respond in the most loving way possible”. The classes revolve around dimensions of wellbeing and involve movement, breathwork, and meditation....

Hey Maker!

Have you ever wanted to know about some of the materials and chemicals you use in the studio? If yes, then you won’t want to miss this episode!

During this week's conversation, I chat with Dr. ElizabethShaw and Lucy Derickson! They are both a part of Ethical Metalsmiths, a community for responsible jewelers to connect, take action and provide education for more ethical and safer studio practices. 

Two years ago, Wellness for Makers® was invited to join forces with this duo to create the CriticalSmiths Research Series Project. CriticalSmiths was created to inspire jewelry students to think critically about studio safety issues and their personal work habits. 

Before we dive in, here's a little bit about our lovely ladies from today’s episode. 

Liz is a contemporary jeweller and metalsmith. She is a Senior Lecturer in Fine Art and Head of the Jewellery and Small Objects department of Queensland College of Art Griffith University in...

Hey Maker!

I am beyond excited to share this episode with you! Why? Because Wu Hanyen is combining Art and Movement to redefine what it means to interact with fitness equipment!

 Wu Hanyen is the creator of Work in Use, a company offering high end handmade movement tools that are designed with longevity in mind. Wu completed her Graphic Design degree and went on to receive an MFA in Furniture Design from Rhode Island School of Design. She moved to New York City where she worked as a furniture maker. Ultimately, an injury in the studio, hours of self reflection, and a passion for movement is what crafted the vision and creation of her own business, Work in Use. 

Work in Use offers movement tools that are unlike generic fitness equipment. These tools are handmade from natural materials by Wu herself, in collaboration with local artisans. The intention of these tools is to introduce variety to daily movement. Additionally, they perfectly marry functional use and...

Hey Maker!

Calling all Potters! Do your hands get irritatingly dry after hours spent creating at the wheel? Well, Cara Steinbuchel created Potters’ Skin Butter and Lotion just for Makers like you! 

Cara grew up with skin that required some extra care so she was always aware that some lotions could be better than others. Fast forward to a few years ago, Cara was challenged by a fellow maker to create a lotion of her very own. Through this push and some loyal support, Cara began experimenting on butters and lotions specifically for Potters. She shares with us how the Potters’ Butter and Lotion work and why no Potter should go without it! 

Tune in as we hear about Cara’s exciting journey about creating her own business as well as tips to maintaining balance between operating one’s business and creating. Your hands and skin will also thank you for learning more about Potters’ Butter and Lotion! 

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Potter’s Skin Butter &...

Hey Maker! 

My friend, Beth Ireland shows us what it means to be a resilient maker. On this week’s episode we hear about some cautious tales from Beth. One of her stories results in the loss of a critical sense due to her years in woodworking. Can you guess which sense she lost access to? 

Beth is a woodturner/sculptor. She graduated from the State University College of Buffalo and after graduation began working jobs illustrating in Boston. In order to find a job that fit into her diverse schedule, she ventured into becoming a carpenter. Now, most of her profession revolves around woodturning and sculpting. 

 She tells incredulous stories about her early years as a carpenter when she broke her back and how in 1996 she was developing a body of work for 2 years that would ultimately result in her loss of smell senses. Beth was working with a dangerous product that unbeknownst to her would alter her life forever. We can all agree that your sense of...

Hey Maker!

Do you want to protect the creations that you make? I hope you do! You work hard, Maker, so your artistry deserves to be protected! Nicole Swartz is an attorney, maker, and entrepreneur that works to help creatives just like us preserve our hard work. She has her own law firm dedicated to women entrepreneurs called  Sprout Law. Nikki helped me trademark Wellness for Makers® and so much more! 

Nicole started as a corporate attorney. She attended Tulane Law School and then worked at the Securities and Exchange commission. She shares quite the interesting plot twist to her story, however, when she tells us that she soon started her own skincare company! During this fascinating journey, she learned how to build a brand that could utilize her law degree in a way that helps women entrepreneurs and makers. 

Though this may not seem like your average Wellness for Makers® podcast episode, it is an important one. We may not be talking about the wellbeing...

Hey Maker!

I am so excited to introduce this week's guest! Carson Demers is a Physical Therapist, life long knitter, and Author of the book Knitting Comfortably: The Ergonomics of Handknitting. 

Want to learn more?  In this conversation, Carson shares how he's worked tirelessly to study the efficiency of knitters and their working environments. 

Carson comes from a long line of craftsmen and has been around knitters for as long as he can remember. He is now a physical therapist who gets to share and teach his knowledge of the body with his fellow knitters.

Carson got involved with ergonomics through an unfortunate injury and he jokes that since the injury catalyzed this love for ergonomics, he “hasn’t come up for air since”! He shares with us how we can all be more efficient in our craft but more specifically he hones in on how to knit safely, wisely, and productively. Luckily, Carson’s injury laid the foundation for the work he does...

Hey Maker! 

Ever feel like your health and wellbeing is not a priority because of the lofty price tag that often accompanies it? We totally get it and have definitely been in that mindset before. I mean, why does the dentist have to feel like such a luxury sometimes? Thankfully, we have Shannon Donnell with us to tell us about O+ (O Positive) Festival; an event dedicated to providing healthcare to artists and musicians. 

Listen in as Shannon takes us through her exciting career journey and the twists and turns her dreams have taken to get her to where she is today, especially with O+ Festival. Her dreams began in music to become an orchestral flutist and then slowly shifted to becoming a Registered Nurse. Shannon offers universal health knowledge for people, especially artists and musicians, everywhere. 

Shannon’s story, as well as O+ Festival’s message, offer hope that you do not have to sacrifice your health for your creative vision and vice versa. For...

Did you know that your skin is the largest organ of your body? As Makers we tend to put our skin at risk. We forget the importance of taking care of ourselves, especially in regards to skincare as self care. Pastry chef turned Body Stone maker, Kate Mcleod, reminds us of the value in taking a moment to turn in and nourish our skin. 

Kate believes we are a collection of all of our passions and past experiences, and boy, does she have quite the interesting collection of passions and experiences! She began in finance but slowly migrated to culinary school where she became a pastry chef. Kate tells us how this chapter is where she founded her true passion of creating moisturizing Body Stones based on her introduction to raw cocoa butter. She also tells us how she makes these beautiful creations and why they are so special. Spoiler Alert: these Body Stones melt on contact with the skin leaving you feeling moisturized and cared for.. We could all use some more of that! 

Kate...

Do you experience low back and neck pain from hunching over the potter wheel? Have you wondered the ways in which creating at the wheel can affect your own body? In this podcast episode of Wellness for Makers with Stephanie Wilhelm, we discuss the ways in which you can create a practice at the wheel that is sustainable and in alignment with your body. 

We were introduced to Stephanie Wilhelm at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts where Stephanie was an Artist in Residence. She is a lifelong artist from Maryland whose study abroad in Mexico founded her love of clay. Stephanie holds a BFA from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania and an MFA from the University of Florida. She has been a production potter, spent years in the wood-firing community, has worked at multiple community clay centers and institutions, and has had her work exhibited throughout the U.S. and internationally. Currently, Stephanie is a part of the Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana as one of their 2019-2020...