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It’s a big book day! Today I sit down with two authors with two new books on two interrelated topics. David Berry (H ow Artists Make Money & How Money Makes Artists ) and Raymond Biesinger ( 9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off: An Informal Self-Defence Guide for Independent Creatives ) are here with me today. David Berry  profiled and critiqued the book, film, music and theatre scenes for a local alt-weekly, and then nationally for the National Post, and has contributed essays, criticism and features to the Globe and Mail, The Walrus,  CBC, Hazlitt and many other places, a few of which also still exist. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta. His first book, On Nostalgia, was published in summer 2020 by Coach House Books. When not writing, he spends his time editing, community organizing, and attempting to parent. Raymond Biesinger  is a Montréal-based illustrator, artist, and author. He has completed more than one thousand assignments for magazines, newspapers, and ad agencies since 2002. Other interests of his include minimalism, maximalism, world and local history, equality, diversity, economics, music, science fiction, historic buildings, pictorial maps, Canadiana, and preserving a 145-year-old home, etc. His 2022 collection of drawings 305 Lost Buildings of Canada  was a national non-fiction best-seller and his latest joy is a noteperfect and 2:3 scale recreation of a 1960 Civil Defence booklet titled Your Basement Fallout Shelter . In this conversation you’ll hear the macro and the micro of economics and art; David and Raymond share history’s most interesting examples, alongside personal examples of the ways in which art and money are intertwined. We talk challenges for early career creatives, artists vs. AI, and what it means to create in a rapidly-shifting media ecosystem. There’s so much richness in this conversation, so many incredible insights, and so much food for thought. If you consider yourself an artist, a designer, an author, a creative… you won’t want to miss this one. Let’s listen in… About Our Guests: David Berry  profiled and critiqued the book, film, music and theatre scenes for a local alt-weekly, and then nationally for the National Post, and has contributed essays, criticism and features to the Globe and Mail, The Walrus,  CBC, Hazlitt and many other places, a few of which also still exist. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta. His first book, On Nostalgia, was published in summer 2020 by Coach House Books. When not writing, he spends his time editing, community organizing, and attempting to parent. Raymond Biesinger  is a Montréal-based illustrator, artist, and author. He has completed more than one thousand assignments for magazines, newspapers, and ad agencies since 2002. Other interests of his include minimalism, maximalism, world and local history, equality, diversity, economics, music, science fiction, historic buildings, pictorial maps, Canadiana, and preserving a 145-year-old home, etc. His 2022 collection of drawings 305 Lost Buildings of Canada  was a national non-fiction best-seller and his latest joy is a noteperfect and 2:3 scale recreation of a 1960 Civil Defence booklet titled Your Basement Fallout Shelter . --- Music: Bubbles ( Lofi , Bright , Relaxed ) by HoliznaCC0  is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License . Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Allow me to draw your attention over there  please. (I know you can’t see me but I’m pointing in that  direction, towards the letterpress print of a manicule I  made recently, which is hanging out in my closet of a recording studio.) — I’m so thrilled to be part of the Canadian Letterpress Alliance ; a newly formed, 3x a year fun mail club for letterpress printers across Canada.  And while I don’t consider myself a letterpress printer in the same way that so many in this group are undeniable and talented professionals, I was assured that my LEGO letterpress adventures count and I can hang with the cool kids. For this January’s mailing (arriving on doorsteps across the country any time now!) I wanted to challenge myself and expand my skillset into real  letterpress printing, using tried and true technology. So I went back… wayyyyyyy back to the 1850s. With the partnership and guidance of my pals at Mackenzie House Toronto , I printed 52 postcards on their antique letterpress using wood type that’s easily more than 50 years old, maybe even more than 100 years old. The team allowed me free rein to comb gleefully through their collection of curiosities; a type cabinet filled to the brim with a variety of signs, symbols, dingbats, and illustrations. What a time to be alive! And as for my subject matter, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the manicule. Disembodied hands calling attention to important ideas? You’ve got my attention! From the E.T.-like outstretched index fingers found in Medieval manuscripts, through to the “bigger and better!” symbols of 19th Century advertising scene, through to modern day emojis, the manicule has a story as long as books themselves. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to feature such an iconic symbol on my printed postcards. I encourage you to check out www.talkpaperscissors.info/letterpress  to see the final print and some of my process on the 170 year old printing press! Let’s dive into some facts about the manicule to fill your brain with delightful typographic knowledge. Here we go!  The word “manicule” comes from the Latin “maniculum”, or “little hand”. In the late Medieval period, the manicule represented the reader; their literal hands depicted on the page. (1) The reader paired their hand-drawn mark with their thoughts tied to notable passages. The equivalent today is highlighting and annotating in a variety of ways in a diverse range of media formats, from books, to eBooks, to audiobooks.  To the knowledge of the typographic community, the manicule has a sole historian, Professor William H. Sherman at the University of York. (1) In his seminal work, Sherman poignantly connects “…the long-standing links between pointing, reading, and learning.” (6) It was the creation of the book itself in around the 4th Century—in its portability and design with generous margins in comparison to its predecessor, the delicate scroll—that encouraged note taking. The rarity of owning books meant that their owners were invested in the book, regularly “branding” them as their own, which included filling the margins with notes and underlining phrases. (Wait, doesn’t everyone still do that?! Oh, just me…). (1) While manicules were historically created by the reader, with the advent of printed books via moveable type in the mid 1450s, it took less than 25 years for the symbol to be adopted by the printer, making its way into moveable type itself and shifting from the wings of the page to centre stage. This was part of a larger trend that saw empty margin space—ideal for readers to note and reflect—to be commandeered by writers wishing to provide their own further explanations. (2) The manicule has had more than 10 distinct names: “hand”, “hand director”, “pointing hand”, “pointing finger”, “pointer”, “digit”, “index”, and “indicator”. Once adopted by the printing industry, it took on new identities still, including the much more stern-sounding “fist” or “mutton fist” that was devoid of the same bespoke personality bestowed upon their hand-drawn predecessors. (1) Some mainicules cut off at the wrist, while others include cuffs, specific to the fashion of the various eras, from flowing sleeves, to lace-trimmed cuffs, to suit-wearing business men. (1) Manicules found themselves shifting gears from reference marks to a staple in advertising, pointing to important events, venues, shops, and any featured information. As with common persuasive design sales tactics today, advertisers pushed the limits of the symbol, creating ever larger and more elaborate versions in the 19th Century. As eyes grew tired of seeing manicules everywhere in advertising, they fell out of popularity in the second half of the 19th Century and as with all stale trends, manicules eventually became used almost entirely in an ironic capacity. (1) Manicules are one of the many featured glyphs in notable dingbats fonts, including Zapf Dingabats (created by iconic typographer, Hermann Zapf and released in 1978 featuring 360 symbols and ornamental characters). The equally iconic Wingdings font (released in 1992, its name a combination of ‘Windows’ and ‘dingbats’) also featured manicules and it was designed by Charles Bigelow and Kris Holmes, both proteges of Mr. Zapf. (3) Jonathan Hoefler’s typeface “ Parliament ” features manicules unique to the style of the letters, and his process was featured in the documentary series “Abstract: Season 2”. (4) Without even realizing it, the manicule lay right under my nose—maybe yours too!— my entire computing career (from the time that I was about 8 until now). Take a look at your cursor as you hover over a hyperlink; it performs an act of transformation, switching from a triangle to a manicure-like pointing hand, indicating an area of interest and mimicking its original use in the digital age. (6) The tradition of the manicule moved forward into 21st Century become emoji-fied. The manicule isn’t called a manicule however; its official emoji names are “Backhand Index Pointing Right” and “Backhand Index Pointing Left”. There are other multi-directional manicules pointing up, down, and at the viewer. Not to mention the fact that the “Nail Polish   Emoji” (often used to convey a confident or sassy tone) feels like a delightfully feminine cousin of the manicule. 💅🏽 (5) Finally, photo sharing platform, Flickr, has a dedicated manicule group with more than 500 members and 2000+ photos (check it out at www.flickr.com/groups/manicule/ . (1) So while the manicule’s purpose and meaning have shifted with time and with technology, in many ways, it remains relevant as ever. From my outstretched finger to you… boop! Until next time… Note in the margins: The above facts come from six distinct sources: Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols & Other Typographical Marks  by Keith Houston, 2013 Point, don’t point ☛  A brief history of the manicule,  I Love Typography: Blog, 2020 Back to Font: Behind the Typefaces You Thought You Knew  by Anitra Nottingham and Jason Phillips, 2025 Abstract, S02 E06 - Jonathan Hoefler: Typeface Design   Emojipedia.org   ArchBook: Manicules  by Voytek Bialkowski, Christine DeLuca, and Kalina Lafreniere, University of Saskatchewan, 2012 --- Music: Michael Hawley - Sonata No. 21 in C Major 'Waldstein', Op. 53 - I. Allegro con brio  is licensed under a  CC0 1.0 Universal License . Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash Manicule 1:   This is a manicule found in the margin of Archbishop William Scheves's book. Courtesy of University of St Andrews Library, classmark Typ NL.A85JT (photograph by Daryl Green); Public Domain. Manicule 2:   Detail of leaf [a]6v of an incunable edition of the Bible in Latin (Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 16 Nov. 1475; ISTC ib00543000) with rubrication and ms. manicule in brown ink; Public Domain. Manicule 3: Because you can never have too many manicules. From vintage type-specimen catalogues. In the public domain--free to use.

Weeeeeeeee! In today’s episode we’re heading further down the rabbit hole—where one episode leads to the next, and new ideas lie around every corner.  In the two previous episodes in this series, I spoke with Amanda Breeze of TRIPPER Magazine ( #273 ) where she mentioned George Wylesol’s incredible grown-up choose-your-own-adventure book, taking inspiration for her own magazine’s navigational features.  So I reached out to George to learn more about his publishing and illustration work, most notably, about the book just mentioned, called 2120 ( #276 ), as well as the ways that Internet culture is a source of inspiration in his work, and how he longs for the nostalgia of early web culture and GeoCities websites… which leads us to today. So here we are, three episodes deep with the opportunity to begin today where we last left off, speaking with the creator GeoCities Memory ,  a personal and scholarly project designed to capture some of the most interesting examples of websites in Web 1.0.  Jill Blackmore Evans is a British-Canadian researcher, writer, and curator based in Berlin. She recently completed an MA in Digital Media at Goldsmiths, University of London, focusing on the digital ruins and resurrections of Web 1.0, in particular early personal websites and online communities. She is also head of curation at Pexels (part of Canva), one of the largest free photo and video libraries on the web.  In this conversation, you’ll hear all about GeoCities as a platform, as well as what Jill has found to be surprisingly similar about the web now vs. 20-30 years ago, as well as what feels different. She explains the interesting links between the maturation of the web and colonization and control, pondering “Is the Internet forever?” Finally, Jill and I ask and answer big questions about digital ownership and if future generations will event want what we’ve created online. Let’s see where this conversation takes us… About Our Guest: Jill Blackmore Evans is a British-Canadian researcher, writer, and curator based in Berlin. She recently completed an MA in Digital Media at Goldsmiths, University of London, focusing on the digital ruins and resurrections of Web 1.0, in particular early personal websites and online communities. She is also head of curation at Pexels (part of Canva), one of the largest free photo and video libraries on the web.  Her recent work can be found here:  www.jillblackmoreevans.com/writing .   --- Music: Rubiks Cube  by  John Bartmann  is licensed under a  CC0 1.0 Universal License . Sound Effect: Game Jump Sound - Boing (1 of 2) by el_boss -- https://freesound.org/s/751698/  -- License: Creative Commons 0 Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Welcome Font Friends! Today we have the one and only Alanna Munro here! Alanna is a Certified Letter Nerd and the main human behind Arcane Type Foundry —a foundry offering both an enchanting library of typefaces and charming custom type design. Alanna’s letterforms have been described as having ‘happy curves,’ which means that no matter the style, a friendly disposition is always infused into the vector drawings. But don’t mistake friendliness for frivolity; she is also a huge nerd and her fonts are always executed with the highest technical care. In addition to making fonts, she stays involved in the local Vancouver design community by teaching typography at BCIT and by co-organizing Type Brigade—a speakers series with talks on type-related topics. In this conversation you’ll hear about Alanna’s creative process for designing type, the importance of squinting, and common misconceptions about independent foundries. You’ll also hear helpful, actionable advice about font licensing and what Alanna’s working on next. And for all students here: listen up! Alanna lets type design students know how they can get professional critique on your type design work. Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Alanna Munro is a certified letter nerd and the main human behind Arcane Type Foundry—a foundry offering both an enchanting library of typefaces and charming custom type design. Alanna’s letterforms have been described as having ‘happy curves,’ which means that no matter the style, a friendly disposition is always infused into the vector drawings. But don’t mistake friendliness for frivolity; she is also a huge nerd and her fonts are always executed with the highest technical care. In addition to making fonts, she stays involved in the local Vancouver design community by teaching typography at BCIT and by co-organizing Type Brigade—a speakers series with talks on type-related topics. https://www.arcanetype.com/ https://www.instagram.com/arcanetypefoundry/ https://www.twitch.tv/alannamun https://typebrigade.com/ --- Music: Bubbles ( Lofi , Bright , Relaxed ) by HoliznaCC0  is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License . Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Calling all book lovers, both old and new! This episode is especially for you.  Today I’m joined by Andrew Huot, who is a book artist, bookbinder, printer, and conservator in Scarborough, ON. He operates Big River Bindery , a studio for bookmaking, letterpress printing, and book conservation. He holds a Masters in Book Arts from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and a Bachelor of Science in Printmaking from Portland State University. Andrew was the Conservator and Preservation Specialist at Illinois State University Library before going into private practice. He has worked at the University of Oregon Knight Library, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Wagner Institute of Science Library, and the Folger Shakespeare Library. He taught bookbinding, conservation, and preservation at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois for 12 years and is a sessional instructor for the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. His artists’ books use photographs, linoleum cuts, and text to share the humorous side of everyday life around us. His artists’ books are in collections across the country, from the Art Institute of Chicago to Yale University. In short, we’re joined by book-making royalty.  In this conversation, you’ll hear what the term “book arts” means. You’ll learn what a typical day in Andrew’s studio looks like, including his most necessary tools: from bone, to surgical scalpels, to teflon. Andrew shares how he repairs paper (my mind is blown!), the oldest book he’s ever worked on, and he debunks a popular book handling myth (again, my mind is blown!). Finally, Andrew speaks to the importance of books in a highly digital world, and he shares the best next steps for aspiring book artists, which might just be you after hearing this episode! Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Andrew Huot is a book artist, bookbinder, printer, and conservator in Scarborough, ON. He operates Big River Bindery , a studio for bookmaking, letterpress printing, and book conservation. He holds a Masters in Book Arts from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and a Bachelor of Science in Printmaking from Portland State University. Andrew was the Conservator and Preservation Specialist at Illinois State University Library before going into private practice. He has worked at the University of Oregon Knight Library, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Wagner Institute of Science Library, and the Folger Shakespeare Library. He taught bookbinding, conservation, and preservation at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois for 12 years and is a sessional instructor for the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. His artists’ books use photographs, linoleum cuts, and text to share the humorous side of everyday life around us. His artists’ books are in collections across the country, from the Art Institute of Chicago to Yale University. --- Music: Bubbles ( Lofi , Bright , Relaxed ) by HoliznaCC0  is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License . Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

It has become a Talk Paper Scissors  tradition to feature the incredible work of up-and-coming typeface designers in this space (check out Episode 026  with Veronika & Mary-Anne, Episode 113  with Nate & Sarah and Episode 146  with Nicole & Cameron, Episode 191  With Max & Cecilia, and Episode 258  with Paulina & Darrab). This work was born in the Advanced Typography course I teach at Toronto Metropolitan University. After reviewing many submissions, with work scaffolded throughout the semester, I chose today’s guests because their work was consistently thoughtful, innovative, developed and well-executed. There were lots of incredible submissions and it’s always genuinely hard to choose. As a testament to their contributions to the type community, I am awarding today’s guests (Ivana Vukmirovic and Mahrukh Saeed) the totally fictitious, highly coveted, not an actual award award: The Apostrophe!  Ivana designed a typeface called Lindworm and Mahrukh designed a typeface called Khabartoon. In the following conversation, you'll get to hear about each typeface, their perfect type pairings, sensory descriptions of each, as well as what each of these emerging typeface designers plans to do next in the world of letterforms. Let the type geekery begin!  Link to: Nazia Hassan Live Aap Jaisa Koi About Our Guests: Ivana Vukmirovic is a Canadian designer and third-year student in the Graphic Communications Management program at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is pursuing a Concentration in Packaging and a Minor in English. With an interest in illustration, typesetting, and packaging design, Ivana enjoys exploring how the intersection of visual and structural elements work together to tell a compelling story. Beyond packaging, she is interested in creative writing and tabletop role-playing games. Mahrukh Saeed is a designer who developed her love for illustration and type through exploration of design softwares such as Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Fresco. Growing up living in multiple countries with roots in both Canada and Pakistan has led her to explore typography as a means to bridge identities and celebrate diversity. As a student at TMU studying Graphic Communications Management and actively seeking design opportunities, she plans to strengthen her knowledge of pre-press and UI/UX design, while honing in on typographic and illustrative experimentation. --- Music: Bubbles ( Lofi , Bright , Relaxed ) by HoliznaCC0  is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License . Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

A few months ago I received a lovely email from a listener. It was the kind of unexpected, heartfelt, and generous note that means the world when I spend hours making this podcast, talking into the void and not knowing how (and even if!) messages are being received. I’ve grabbed a few different bits from the email, but the email sounded something like this: I just wanted to reach out and say a huge THANK YOU for producing such a fantastic podcast!!!! I stumbled across it last year while searching for resources on how to publish my first magazine!  Any time I hit a wall, I’d scroll through your episode list and there was almost always an episode for it. You’ve created such a fantastic and inspirational resource on people, publications, process, ideas, and indie shops. You really cover it all. I wanted to let you know it worked! I launched my magazine this past May—and it’s been fantastic :) Thank you again for sharing your expertise and somehow explaining something as tactile as print through an audio podcast. Talk Paper Scissors not only grounded all my ideas, it helped me figure out how to make my dream of printing a magazine a reality. — I was ecstatic to hear from someone making magazines and who’d found episodes helpful in the process. So the logical next step was to ask if she’d be interested in chatting about her own magazine making journey to add to the collection of resources for future magazine makers. I’m thrilled to say she said “yes.” Amanda Breeze is a cannabis writer based out of Toronto, Canada. Her work focuses on documenting international cannabis culture and exploring new smells. This year she launched Tripper Magazine , an adventure travel guide to the world’s cannabis friendly destinations.  In this conversation, you’ll learn about the process of making a magazine from the seedling of an idea, through to distribution all around town. More specifically, you’ll hear: The twisty windy story of Amanda’s journey in a travelling street band, hitchhiking, and how she found her way into the cannabis industry  Why Amanda chose the medium of print for this magazine How she worked with collaborators on this first issue, including advice about the importance of collaborator buy-in The importance of building in time to “panic” How she funded her magazine Aligning brand partners and their values to establish authenticity to a readership The importance of trust-building in an AI-driven world What’s next for the magazine (future issues— plural!) Where to find the mag in and around Toronto Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Amanda Breeze is a cannabis writer based out of Toronto, Canada. Her work focuses on documenting international cannabis culture and exploring new smells. This year she launched Tripper Magazine , an adventure travel guide to the world’s cannabis friendly destinations.  --- Music: Bubbles ( Lofi , Bright , Relaxed ) by HoliznaCC0  is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License . Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

If you’re a frequent listener of this podcast, you may recall an episode released earlier this fall: Episode #273 - On a Trip with Amanda Breeze of TRIPPER Magazine . Without knowing it at the time, episode 273 marks the start of a little experiment—a journey down the rabbit hole. Each conversation in this series connects in unexpected ways; each new episode spurring a new line of inquiry, like a tunnel turning off in a different direction, each with an origin that’s traced back to #273 . This episode features George Wylesol who is an artist based in Baltimore, Maryland. He currently teaches illustration at Towson University, and works as a freelance illustrator for clients like the New York Times, Penguin Books, and Adidas. He has published four books with Avery Hill Publishing - Ghosts, Etc., Internet Crusader, 2120, and Curses. In this conversation, you’ll hear about George’s grown-up choose-your-own-adventure book, 2120, that forces the reader to question who  is in control. You’ll hear how his personal experiences inspired the ‘Severance-like’ visuals in the book. You’ll hear how George used Adobe Illustrator and InDesign to make the book, including his unique process of drawing exclusively in Illustrator and the unconventional way he creates texture. George explains how early experiments with AI and its evolution helped shape the book’s content and meaning. Finally, George shares how early Internet culture is a source of inspiration in his work and how he longs for the nostalgia of early web culture and Geocities websites, that allowed users to stumble spontaneously upon things on the Internet. Let’s see where this conversation takes us… About Our Guest: George Wylesol is an artist based in Baltimore, Maryland. He currently teaches illustration at Towson University, and works as a freelance illustrator for clients like the New York Times, Penguin Books, and Adidas. He has published four books with Avery Hill Publishing - Ghosts, Etc., Internet Crusader, 2120, and Curses. IG: @wylesol_ 2120:  https://averyhillpublishing.bigcartel.com/product/pre-order-2120-by-george-wylesol Illustration work:  https://www.heartagency.com/artists/george-wylesol --- Music: Rubiks Cube  by  John Bartmann  is licensed under a  CC0 1.0 Universal License . Sound Effect: Game Jump Sound - Boing (1 of 2) by el_boss -- https://freesound.org/s/751698/ -- License: Creative Commons 0 Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Today’s guest and her team’s most recent book project is truly emotional and inspiring. As always, this episode is not sponsored, however I do want to disclose that I received an advance copy of the book and after experiencing it, I absolutely had to chat with our guest about the incredible technology, typography, and hope behind this project. In this conversation, you’ll hear from Rachel Arthur, Founder and Editor of boom saloon , “an independent publisher dedicated to democratizing creativity for good”. You’ll hear about their most recent publication (and deeply personal project) that humanizes the experiences of dementia, called “ 4,4,4&2 ”, including where the name comes from. You’ll hear about the process of co-creation central to the making of the publication, the disappearing ink technology and intentional typographic choices used to mimic the experience of living with dementia, as well as Rachel’s beautiful hope for this project and where it could lead. You’ll hear me get a little emotional during this conversation, which is a testament to Rachel’s book and her story. If anyone is on TMU campus or in downtown Toronto and would like to have a look at my copy, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Let’s listen in… --- Links to the Project: https://www.boomsaloon.com/ https://www.boomsaloon.com/product/4442/ About Our Guest: Passionate about championing the arts and creative industries at the intersection of sustainability, Rachel Arthur founded boom saloon via Kickstarter in 2016. Having previously studied fashion and design management, she initially embarked upon a stint at Conde Nast before moving to a pivotal role as Head of Content at Scotland’s fastest growing fashion tech company, where she led a small team. Here, the power and importance of data was truly brought to light whilst learnings on management and startup business were made. Three years at Creative Edinburgh further ignited her passion for nurturing creative growth across sectors whilst understanding the importance of a diverse creative ecosystem, which was further developed into boom saloon’s mission to democratise creativity for good across multiple business verticals. In her work to build a global movement around this mission, Rachel has been named as an Industry Expert for Create Hub, FIPP Rising Star in Media and Young Women’s Movement’s 30 Under 30. She has spoken for Google, Monocle, FT Strategies, Media Voices and FIPP, covering topics including environmental sustainability, how to consistently marry the vitality and possibility of data with the tangibility of print and the belonging of community, and the move from subscription to membership to movement.  https://www.instagram.com/boomsaloon/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/boom-saloon/   --- Music: Bubbles ( Lofi , Bright , Relaxed ) by HoliznaCC0  is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License . Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

I read a book a few months ago called Making Time: A New Vision for Crafting a Life Beyond Productivity. It stirred something up inside of me in the best way possible. I felt like the author, Maria Bowler, was speaking directly to me.  So I reached out to Maria to see if she'd be interested in chatting about her book, and I was thrilled that she said yes. In this conversation, Maria and I dive deep into the world of problematic ideas around productivity, the ways in which these ideas reinforce colonial systems, and how to re-imagine time, questioning the typical options laid out before us.  Specifically, Maria breaks down the core idea within her book, helping to clarify the ways we orient to the world, either as “the producer” or “the maker”. How our thoughts about the “finite” nature of time is flawed and how we can approach time with more clarity, grounded in reality. Maria gifts us with a beautiful new way of defining rest and she shares how balance, shame, control are intertwined in problematic ways. Before we jump into the conversation, I will admit that I was maximizing my time and being super productive while producing this episode, both listening and clean the house while I edited. The irony is not lost on me.  Anyhoo, let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Maria Bowler is a writer, coach, and retreat leader. She holds a masters in religion and the arts from Yale University, is a former magazine editor, and has taught creative writing at the university level. Canadian by birth, she now lives in the Driftless region of the US with her family. https://www.mariabowler.com/ https://mariabowler.substack.com/ --- Music: Bubbles ( Lofi , Bright , Relaxed ) by HoliznaCC0  is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License . Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Welcome back everybody!  We’re 6+ weeks into the fall semester and I have the great pleasure of teaching my first podcasting course at Toronto Metropolitan University! The course is called MDM Podcast Lab: Design, Develop Distribute  with around 20 students actively working to create their own podcasts. It’s been so much fun to imagine what a more linear path to podcasting than my own experience would look like, and build a workshop-style course to help guide digital media students through the process; from a seedling of an idea through to a fully-realized podcast that considers technical, creative, and entrepreneurial facets.  As part of this course journey, I invited our guest today ( Julian Brown ) to have a conversation that I recorded live in class with students watching in real time to better understand the interview process, considering both what they might bring forward into their own podcasts, as well as what they would do differently. Julian is the perfect guest for this class full of tech-forward students, living at the centre of a Venn diagram of design, art and digital media. Julian Brown is an independent motion designer and augmented-reality artist. His designs for clients like Cineplex & Sport Chek have won awards from Graphis, Adobe, The Webbys & more. His AR artworks have been exhibited internationally in galleries and public spaces. He’s also an RGD Board Member, an irreverent public speaker, and this one time he starred alongside his dog in a TV ad for pet food. It was adorable. In this conversation, you'll hear how Julian and his wife, Amy Shackleton , work together to merge the worlds of fine art and digital media to create interactive installations. You'll also hear how the design space and the fine art space differ in terms of how and when creatives are compensated for their work. You'll hear Julian’s thoughts on AI and all the ways in which it is both deeply problematic, as well as opportunistic. Julian also shares excellent, actionable money advice for young creatives. Finally, I turn the tables on Julian and we play a little game of “Never Have I Ever”. ;) Let’s jump right into the conversation… Links to Julian's Work: "Constraints" Q — Cineplex 'Hello Movies' project:   https://onthechase.com/cineplex-hello-movies "Fav Project" Q — UK residency AR project:   https://onthechase.com/scan-for-surprise UK AR project:   https://vimeo.com/994987106   About Our Guest: Julian Brown is an independent motion designer and augmented-reality artist. His designs for clients like Cineplex & Sport Chek have won awards from Graphis, Adobe, The Webbys & more. His AR artworks have been exhibited internationally in galleries and public spaces. He’s also an RGD Board Member, an irreverent public speaker, and this one time he starred alongside his dog in a TV ad for pet food. It was adorable. --- Music: Bubbles ( Lofi , Bright , Relaxed ) by HoliznaCC0 is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License . Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

We’ve come so far in this series and I’m thrilled that you’ve been along for the ride. I really, truly, unequivocally believe this important, fundamental, and transformative idea: You are a brave creative human. Full stop.  You have an innate gift to think creative thoughts and make creative things, no matter how practical or frivolous. The world needs your ideas, creative energies, and unique points of view that only you  can bring to life.  In this sixth and final episode, I asked our brave creative humans “In your opinion, what does living life as a ‘Brave Creative Human’ mean to you?”  Let’s listen in… May we be vulnerable.  May we make our worlds better, unapologetically. May we trust the process, standing back to appreciate what we’ve created. May we use our voices to amplify messages of hope, collaboration, and humanity. May we ask hard questions to discover who we are versus who we’ve been told we should be. Finally—perhaps above all else—may we remember our role as capable, resilient humans; brave creative humans.  I don’t believe that creative confidence is something you can master; rather it’s a type of magic—something you can learn to cultivate and call upon deep within yourself when you need it most.  The creative confidence journey is never-ending, but it gets easier with time, practice, and patience for yourself when Failure walks alongside you. Remember… You're brave. Bravery is about showing up with an energy that is open to whatever is on the other side of the unknown. Trust yourself and trust the process because you've got this .  ​You're creative. The world needs your work, your experiences, and your unique points of view. Give yourself permission to play. Make something uniquely you. Without a doubt, you've got this .  You're human. And they're human, too, on the other side of the table, the Zoom link, the social media feed. From one human to another, you've got this .  You are a  Brave Creative Human . I’d like to extend my most sincere thank you to the brave creative humans featured in this series: Allison MacKenzie, Kevin Shaw, Vincent Wanga, Meg Lewis, Emad Saedi, and Justine Abigail Yu, for sharing their thoughts on what living a brave creative human existence means to them. --- Music: Just Havin’ a Beatbox  - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash