Trenton Reynoldsand making art, making stuff, getting started. The following was recorded on October 20th, 2016. This is episode number 25, Leather Weather. A Room in the Trees is hosted by Sabrina Ward-Harrison and me, Trent Reynolds. Show notes, including pictures, links, video, and more for every episode can be found at roominthetrees.com. If you like this podcast, please consider showing your support. You can become a subscribing patron at patreon.com backslash room. You can rate us or write a review on iTunes, which can be a very, very powerful way for us to grow our audience. That link is roominthetrees.com backslash iTunes. And this week, we have another way for you to support us and give us important feedback. At the top of each episode's show notes section on the website, you will see a button labeled "Tip Jar." If you like one episode in particular, you can throw us a tip with credit card or Apple Pay if you're on an iPhone and possibly if you're on a Mac. You listening is also a support, and we're glad you're there. Thanks for helping us build this room in the trees. And now, let's get to the conversation.
Hi. Hi. Hi.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonHappy Thursday. We're not recording on Monday morning. We're going back to our regular scheduled time for this week. Yep. Well, we actually should say we did record on Monday. And...
Trenton ReynoldsAnd it's not one for everyone. Not an episode for the masses.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonSpeaking of masses, it's so fun that we noticed since our last episode we recorded... we have 2,500 more people that are listening, which I'm just so curious, where are you listening from?
I don't know.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonAre you overseas? Like, I just want to, I want to, I was going to say, I want us all to hang out, but that would be impossible on an apartment. appropriate.
Trenton ReynoldsBut isn't it so hard to wrap your mind around that?
Sabrina Ward HarrisonYes.
Trenton ReynoldsAlmost 5,000 people.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonAnd if you feel, you know, if you're introverted like us, you may not want to reach out and tell us where you're from and, you know, just... but truly if you just felt like this leaving us a comment we're genuinely really curious about who you are you specifically you listening right now so it's cool we're and i don't know somehow maybe someone's posted about it on social media or some written about it in a blog but um whoever you are and whatever you did
Trenton Reynoldsthank you
Sabrina Ward Harrisonand thank you for spreading the word you guys it's cool we are just making this up as we go so we're just going to throw it out there today with just a few just going to catch up It's a new season, it's fall in Wisconsin.
Trenton Reynolds- Let me tell you my feelings about 90 degree weather. 90 degrees today.
Sabrina Ward Harrison- Are you serious?
Trenton Reynolds- Yes, it was getting--
Sabrina Ward Harrison- It's 90 degrees.
Trenton Reynolds- It was cooling off and it was looking like we were heading into winter and then all of a sudden, Santa Ana winds, 90 degrees, crazy.
Sabrina Ward Harrisonway too hard. That's so crazy. From here, it fluctuated really fast yesterday when I went on my adventure on my bike. It was t-shirt weather. I was in a t-shirt, but I biked home in a leather tube. Tell that story. Okay. Yesterday, I went to acupuncture. I'm so glad I just found a great acupuncturist. here in Madison. And I went to my first session with him. And I biked over there. I was like, this weather is, if you live in the Midwest and you're experiencing this, or you did this past week, it was so off the hook beautiful. Because the leaves are all yellow and golden. But then it was this warm, kind of t-shirt, tank top weather.
Mm-hmm.
Sabrina Ward Harrisonso it had this like you felt like you were just biking through a beautiful beautiful gentle post card and uh so um i bike down and it's right beside one of my favorite um thrift stores um local thrift store here in madison st Vincent DePaul thrift store on Williamson Street. And I went in, 10 minutes before the appointment, I went in and I quickly saw two great, you know when two great unopened body shop lotion butter. You're probably not familiar.
Trenton ReynoldsBut one... I love how you like suddenly retracted that. You know you wouldn't... No, you don't. You don't know.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonWell, one was ginger and the other one was apple. And I just... I was putting it out of the universe. I was... Every time I... Night before bed, I'm like, I want some lotion by my bed to put on my feet.
Yeah.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonThat's a fun fact about me. I just really like to put lotion on my feet before I go to bed, but I haven't. I just like get another freaking thing of lotion. You have it in the bathroom and have one by the bed. So there it was. Anyway, cut the lotion, zipped out of there, went to the appointment, and came back. And lo and behold, note to self, get your winter things when the store put, you know, a thrift store puts out, they've been saving up donations all year and they're putting out their fall cozy things, first of the season pickings. So I got some great, you know, cause you have to be really, you have to be kind of, it's not about, it's not about fashion here. It's about warmth in the winter. It's about fashion a little bit, but you have to be strategically warm. Oh, it's always about fashion. It's always about fashion a little bit. But, so I got some great, I got a great pajama set that was never been used before. Silk pajamas, top and bottom.
Okay.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonThis is a whole other podcast. I got some great workout things and then I overheard this one of the girls that was working there going over the loud speaker, "Welcome to DePaul shoppers. Happy fall. All leather jackets are $5. Come check out the leather jackets. They're all $5." I'm like, "No way." And I'm thinking to myself, oh, they're just going to be like old, gross, kind of long, weathered men's leather stupid jackets or 80s jackets. And I went over there and I found three, this is moving on, I found three great leather jackets. Because usually they're too big and I found two small fitted jackets. One was Eddie Bauer and one was Gap, and they'd never been used before. They must have been donated from like a store. They've never been worn before.
Trenton Reynolds- Like original tags on them type deal?
Sabrina Ward Harrison- No, they didn't have original tags. The pajamas did, but these maybe had worn, I mean, if they had worn, they'd been worn once. They were just... I'll post a pic in the show notes. But then the real score was a to-the-floor suede winter coat with not real fur but kind of big fur collar, and it tied around the waist. It probably weighs a good nine pounds. It's just solidly warm. It's like a giant leather robe. The woman's like, "Oh, you've got to get that. That's so good." Done and done. The thing of it is though, I scored so much stuff and I was on my bike. the woman at the counter was like I said well it'd be fun to figure out how do we get this home on my bike they're like no way I'm like oh yeah I'll figure it out so as before you continue
Trenton Reynoldswe need to review what you have what you have your answer you are coming out of acupuncture and you've got your your two bottles of lotion
Sabrina Ward HarrisonThey were bottles. They were jars. Jars? Yeah, jars of lotion.
Trenton ReynoldsOh, like glass jars of lotion?
Sabrina Ward HarrisonThey're plastic.
Okay. Yeah.
Trenton ReynoldsI mean, these aren't like little one-time use squeeze bottles. No, no. Yeah, okay. Okay. And then you've got the silk pajamas.
Yep.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonI have a sweatshirt that zips up a nice workout sweatshirt. I have a wool, very thin wool undershirt.
Okay. Okay.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonI had two new bags, and then I had a sweatshirt, and then I had three leather jackets.
Trenton ReynoldsThree leather jackets.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonSo two that were kind of... So... I do have these side little kind of side pockets on my bike, but I got into this conversation with this woman at the thrift store as I was checking it. She said, I know, I'm just like you. I'm an urban camper. I've got this bag right here, and everything goes in there. Sometimes even I put my kid in there. It all fits. She's like, I think we're all going back to that way of just... making it work and she told me about something called Madison Dollar that's a bartering thing in Madison where someone needs some help designing some kind of letterhead for something and then in exchange someone else will like mop your floor or sorry That's not a good example. I think that sounds pretty compelling.
Trenton ReynoldsI don't know. That's a pretty fair trade.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonYeah, I guess I would do it. Did you maybe live with like this? Do you remember the books Amelia Bedelia? you She was so into the mopping thing, I think she had some one of the books. One of the books was about that. Just making a mess, cleaning a house. Just a picture of me trying to mop someone's floor.
Okay.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonYeah, so I biked home, bottom line is I biked home wearing the, to the floor, very, very, very warm suede fur lined coat on my bike, and it was tank top weather. And a bike helmet and then two bags on the handlebars and my side packet stuff and a
backpack.
Trenton ReynoldsAnd how far was the ride?
Sabrina Ward HarrisonIt was, it wasn't bad. It was like, it was like 10 minutes, but I tried to take the back. I tried to take the back route.
Trenton Reynoldsso people would see you
Sabrina Ward Harrisonor something yeah yeah because it's like you just gotta power through it you gotta just bike on home just get done be there because I was gonna I was gonna walk at home like with the bike and I'm like it's gonna take longer I'm gonna be like I'm gonna be like be wearing this jacket the whole time just get through it, get over there but I ran into all the, they were asphalting the street because they were finally done with street construction and I just had to stop because they were in the middle of, and I just had to stop and totally get off the bike in my outfit and ask the guys, I'm like how can I cross the street? I just thought they were probably just like what a interesting look so that's that's my story about that
Oh, that's wonderful. Oh.
Trenton ReynoldsThat seems like an unusually great take for one trip to the thrift store, is it not? Or do you regularly have that kind of success?
Sabrina Ward HarrisonI did mention to the woman, I said, this was a serious, great success.
Yeah.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonIt kind of felt a little bit spiritual.
Trenton ReynoldsI love that. I love that. And I have to identify with that. I've had similar types of spiritual experiences. in my temples of commerce or whatever.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonWhat's one that comes to mind? I know, is it the container store?
Trenton ReynoldsThe container store is a place I've had spiritual feelings before. just that just just walking through the aisles you know and there's that kind of warmth feeling of possibility Yeah.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonLike you see it and it's going to fit something or more you see it and what kind of possibilities?
Trenton ReynoldsOr like you just find that one thing that you didn't know that was going to fix a problem you've had for, you know, what seems like decades, you know, and all of a sudden it's this one thing and it's it.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonAh, yep.
Yeah.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonOh my god, that's good. Can I, do you want to, can I, I just want to throw out one other thing I've just been into real quick.
Okay.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonI'm heavily into apples.
Trenton ReynoldsHeavily?
Sabrina Ward HarrisonLike they're like heavy. I got, I got about seven pounds of them.
Wow.
Trenton Reynoldsso this is like a literal weight here well yeah i'm gonna count
Sabrina Ward Harrisonstop laughing today i'm gonna count how many apples i actually have in my fridge right now because i was not really i was not really an apple person but i was listening to a podcast about eating paleo like and the girl on it was saying how she eats like so many apples a day like it's they're so good for you and then I'm like oh like the cliche line an apple a day keeps the doctor away so I've been eating apples day and night because I have to wake up in the night because I always am a little bit hungry and I lately have just been getting up and eating an apple And they're very, very, very good here. They're Macintosh apples, which are so crispy and great.
Trenton ReynoldsI imagine you've got places very close by that are...
Sabrina Ward Harrisoncan provide well I'd like apples yep my laugh is so weird but yeah I'd like to I had an entire backpack full of apples and I got yeah so apples are great did you go today to
Trenton Reynoldslives your daughter's school what happened what was that about oh today was the story reading day um it was it was fantastic where we uh we went to lives uh kindergarten class and all the kids had written a story and illustrated the story and they had a projector that that uh that projected their book as they were reading it up onto a screen so all the parents could see it. Oh. And the kids told their story, and there wasn't... Liv tried to write some words, but... Mostly they're just picture books that all the kids then told a story about with the picture. were showing.
Sabrina Ward Harrison- How great, what was one of the stories?
Trenton Reynolds- Well Liv told the story of going to get a Christmas tree and that, it kind of got my eyes watering a little bit. Just 'cause you don't, like kids you think they don't, they're not gonna remember this stuff in two years but she had this memory of last year and going to get a Christmas tree. so she talked about that. She had this little drawing of our car with the Christmas tree on top and how we took it back to our apartment. Anyway, it was pretty fantastic to see that. Yep, warms the heart.
Yeah.
Trenton ReynoldsMost of the stories were like, sounded a lot like...
Sabrina Ward HarrisonI was thinking they'd be really, like, really interesting made-up stories. Like, and then the big elephant came and was sleeping over.
Trenton ReynoldsI was actually surprised. Liv is usually very talkative and very imaginative. So, you know, were this a storytelling time at home, she could chew up in a half hour easy. But she was done in, like, 15 seconds.
Yeah.
Trenton Reynoldsso I think I think all the kids were just a little bit a little bit shy about
Sabrina Ward Harrisonshowing their books to an audience as we all are as we all are yeah
Trenton Reynoldsbut children's drawings are just wonderful to see you know I love when Laura posts them
Sabrina Ward HarrisonI and Laura is so funny with her captions it was everything her humor is just so so good and um Oh my gosh. The latest one about her lives. Just one of the... Just the funniest drawings. And then just the funny thing about the underbite. It's all the fad in kindergarten.
Trenton ReynoldsI don't think I saw that one. What did she say?
Something like...
Sabrina Ward HarrisonShe posted Liv's kindergarten picture. She's like, I guess the, like, the forced underbite, all the rage in kindergarten. And then there was a picture of Mar doing sort of the same thing. She's like, just trying to do this, you know, something. She was attempting it. Anyway, she's so funny.
Yeah. she is. Yeah.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonI want to ask you about what you've been working on this week.
Trenton ReynoldsWell, this week, um, and you've been very generous with giving your feedback, uh, on this. Um, I finally got a kind of preview or proof of concept, uh, section done on my online class that I've been working on for a very long time. I've decided to use the platform, uh, teachable.com and, uh, I feel really good about the way that the class is coming together. I have all the lessons done. I'm just finishing up some project demonstration videos. You should be. I'm just proud. It was so exciting to see it. I feel really good about it.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonIt's just so beautifully shot and paced and cohesive, and I just think it's going to be such a treasure for everyone. you know, to be used as a course within schools or it's so inspiring to see.
Trenton ReynoldsI'm not sure if I've mentioned it on this podcast before, but it's a, it's a fundamentals of visual design course. So, um,
Sabrina Ward Harrisonlet's practice, let's practice pitching it right now. So that's going to, let's hear. Yeah. Like you're just going to be, we're going to practice it because we have to become more fluid with what we're stepping into the arena to offer.
Trenton ReynoldsYes. I am so not comfortable. Yeah. So. So.
Yeah. Pitching. Yeah. okay
Trenton Reynoldshow would you do it? give me some ideas
Sabrina Ward Harrisonwell maybe we should have someone on I guess that is exactly I know where's Tracy when we need her well yeah
Yeah.
Trenton ReynoldsWhen I was first teaching, when I first started teaching after I graduated from grad school, I got my first teaching gig here at Santa Monica College, one of the first classes I taught was Fundamentals of Visual Design. And over the course of teaching it for probably three to four years every semester, it's one of those things where just like with repetition, I started to learn the things that I was teaching a lot better. And I noticed such an improvement and a change in how I was able to work with my own artwork. And not only that, but how I was able to talk about art. So it was like I was converted after teaching it for so long. I really think it's... You know, it's these fundamentals, understanding just the basics of how visual language works is so important and so empowering. It's like, you know, I shouldn't use sports metaphors because I have no right to, but it's like you hear coaches always say, "We need to get back to the basics, like to the fundamentals." And that's kind of where the force and power of these things come from. So I feel, I felt like when I thought about creating online courseware that it was just a natural place to start. So I think it's a course that will benefit not only beginning students, and it's definitely geared towards beginning students. It was a prerequisite class for all visual artists, or visual art disciplines at Santa Monica College. But from my own experience from teaching the class, I know that it's also information and just basic ideas that would be good for any artist to review and really revisit.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonSo good. Trent, that's fantastic. That's the pitch. That's something you have that recorded now. That's great. That was well done. You covered a lot and I think that was like a minute.
Well, good.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonReally? Yeah, it feels really fluid. Okay.
Trenton ReynoldsWell, thank you. Look for that in the near future, hopefully. I don't know exactly how it's going to roll out, but I look forward to sharing that with you all.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonI have a couple questions. Sure. What's kind of a feeling of like, if I was to take the class, what's the pacing of it? Would it be ideally something I would take? maybe once a week and would I be taking notes on it or would I be actively working making while I was what while I was listening to it or watching it so
Trenton Reynoldsthe basic format of the class is there are quote-unquote lecture videos like there's a videos that are meant to be the kind of information part of the of the section And then accompanying each video is a project. And part of the purpose of the class is to start introducing people to basic materials. So we do projects with ink, we do projects with gouache and with collage and transfer paper. And like we're just trying to expose people to a variety of basic art materials. So, as far as pace, I'm still trying to get a feel for that. I don't know. I think there might be some people who want to just watch the videos and not do the projects. And if that's the case, then the videos are each about 15 minutes long. So you could go as fast as you want. But I guess what it's meant to do is to essentially be what this class was in real life. And that is like once a week. Or twice a week, you know for an hour and a half type deal
Sabrina Ward HarrisonSo as you introduce these things is it starting with and then continue to add new?
Trenton ReynoldsElements and things like that kind of but not really with the with the projects. I think it's more just giving people It's going for breadth instead of depth Just kind of getting people to start using these materials and get familiar with them rather than really kind of taking a deep dive on these and seeing how they can be used together. - I'm so excited about it. - So look forward to future projects along those lines.
Sabrina Ward Harrison- So what's the latest with the studio? What's happening?
Trenton ReynoldsWell, I sent out the email this week announcing that it is going to close, that I'm not after all going to be able to continue. The six-month lease that I signed is almost up. It will be, the last day will be November 12th. And I've just got, I've got a lot of mixed feelings about it. I think I've mentioned this already here on the podcast that it was most likely not going to be able to re-sign the lease, but it is official. And this week, I sent out that email announcing that, and I've just gotten a lot of really interesting messages. responses and just in myself in retrospect looking back on this experience and trying to make sense of what it was and what it was supposed to be and my expectations and stuff like that.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonSo let's break those three down. What was your expectation?
Trenton ReynoldsI had a very clear vision of of how things would like how my workshops would be how the classes would be in the space of getting other artists involved and And I had some fantastic success. I had people coming here for workshops and And I tried a bunch of different formats But it never really felt like it Clicked right it and I never really felt like I was telling the story that that needed to be told and I just found out over the course of this last six months that there's so much effort and so much of my time had to just go into making enough money to pay rent and I wasn't able to even accomplish that just rent here is insanity and that put a lot of pressure on me and on the decisions I was making about workshops and stuff like that so there were these lessons that I learned just about what I want from a space from developing a company
Sabrina Ward Harrisoncommunity. And can I throw one thing in there about rent as far as that, you know, thinking back in the seventies, it's like you would have been able to get a space for maybe, you know, 50 bucks a month. Like it's just, you know, the reality for artists, the amount of money that artists have to pay to have a place to just, and invite people to make work. It's, it's impossible you're a slave to that every studio I've ever rented I ended up having to leave for that exact reason every single one because the pressure to make the rent took over to the creativity
Trenton ReynoldsYeah. Well, and that's why there's a, you know, pretty stereotypical cycle of artists moving into a poorer area because rents are lower. And then when they're there for a while, little shops start to be built up and then bigger shops start to be built up and then it starts to raise and then artists have to move out. And it's kind of this, you know, this this cycle.
Yeah.
Trenton ReynoldsSuch a shame. I knew coming in here that the rent was really high, and I was hoping that just the location, being in Santa Monica, would draw enough people here to be able to offset that cost, and it just didn't. It just wasn't enough. This is all to say that I had these moments throughout this past six months where I had people come in, and they have continued to come in and have wanted to be part of the space, and we've had conversations, and David Lloyd coming here to teach on Saturdays, and he's been on our podcast before. Yeah. There have been these people that have come in that I felt like I had a very strong feeling like I was meant to meet these people. It was that thing of putting yourself out there and... you know, having the universe kind of respond and, you know, people be drawn to you. Like, just kind of crazy. It seems like almost random that these people were able to find me the way they did, like Craigslist, you know? Yeah. And they're all people that I really like. And I didn't have anybody come in that, you know, just felt like the wrong fit. And so that has been meaningful to me. Like it has felt like this, the time here has been a success because I'm starting to see something take shape. And it's not the shape that I had anticipated or that I thought I wanted, but it feels natural. It feels like what's supposed to be rather than what I expected it to be. it's kind of a wonderful thing to to witness I just got a call yesterday from David Lloyd and he wants he wants to continue teaching workshops so he's looking for another space and we talked about possibly collaborating on you know finding finding a different space and you know we can find a smaller space for cheaper rent and it would you know meet both of our needs and like the goals have changed for me the of what the space needs to be. And I think I'm only able to understand that because of the experiences I've had over the last six months. And we've got a pretty solid core group of people who I've really enjoyed working with that are interested in moving to a new space too. Oh, that's so exciting. It's like you've
Sabrina Ward Harrisoncreated the tribe and the tribe can move. The tribes don't stay in one place.
Trenton ReynoldsAnd it's not about, yeah, it's not about a place. It's about the relationships between
Sabrina Ward Harrisonpeople. That's a big shift of perspective for you
Trenton ReynoldsI'm sure. It is. It is very much so. I sent you that email exchange that I had with somebody this morning. There's that kind of correctness this rightness of when you meet somebody that you kind of feel is in your tribe. It's just like... you know, kind of the feels, feels like I've always known you type feeling. Yeah. Anyway. So it is sad to think of losing the space and it's overwhelming to think of having to move again and just... you know, strike camp, but, but, um, I'm also just tremendously grateful for, for the, the time that I've had here and the people that I've met and really excited about what might come
Sabrina Ward Harrisonnext. So, and how relieving, you know, and did not have that financial weight of it.
Trenton ReynoldsIt has caused a lot, a lot, a lot of stress. Um, so yes, that will be a good thing. Yeah. I was talking to one of the people that is here, his name's Brian, today, and it came to me that this new thing that's starting to take shape, I kind of know what it is. I kind of have feelings of what I want it to be, but it feels so fragile. like it And I've had this experience before where like you kind of intuitively know that if you try to force it to be something or if you try to push too hard or if you try to get people like push on people to kind of get things going too much like it could just really easily fall apart. Yeah. And I... That's what I feel right now is I feel like there's this thing that wants to take shape and that's kind of starting to resolve a little bit, but it's so fragile. And if I do... If I kind of push too hard in one direction or if I try to force it to be something that it's just... The bubble's gonna pop and it's... The time is going to pass. So anyway.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonThat's an amazing thing about intuition, isn't it? You know, because there's the subtle shade difference between kind of not stepping into the arena and then trying to sort of push the river a little bit when you... you know, didn't trust, stepping back and trusting the flow. Right. And the emboldening. And yeah, you can't, once you're in, it's like once you get in the ring arena, you can't, you can't, there's nowhere to hide. Right. And then, but also you can't, and,
Trenton ReynoldsThat's a really good point, and I hadn't really thought about the fact that, you know, this fragile thing that I'm talking about isn't—it's in the arena, right? Yeah. I don't know. It feels like I have to be patient, and I have to kind of stand still and have— I don't know. It seems like stillness wouldn't be part of being in the arena, but I think there are times when—
Sabrina Ward HarrisonWell, it's standing versus like crumpling to your knees and rolling up to a tiny, tiny, tiny ball. And you're like, don't kill me! Like with the bowl, you know. Because we all know the bowl's there.
Trenton ReynoldsThe bowl's in the arena.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonThat's what I'm specifically thinking of. There's like a big old bowl in the arena and you're by yourself in there. So...
Trenton Reynoldsand intuitive as well. So how are you, how are you in the arena, Sabrina?
Well, Oh,
Sabrina Ward Harrisonwhen, well, this just a little side note about being the arena. Yeah. because that made me then think about CrossFit, is I had a cool little moment happen the other day in CrossFit where I had met this great couple a few weeks ago at one of the classes and said to them, like, they had two kids there that were up in the kind of kid play area upstairs while they were doing their thing. And I said, you guys just seem like a really great couple. I'm like, I'm such a dork to say that to somebody. Whatever. So I saw them a few weeks. But I had the feeling like, I want to be friends with these people. It seemed great. And then maybe it was on Tuesday this week, I was there and And the girl said, oh, I overheard, are you an art teacher also? And I said, yeah. And she said, I am too. And this other girl, Beth, is also. And she said, I love it. There's three art teachers at CrossFit. We should, you know, and it was just a cool moment of where we exchange information. That's cool. And I was like, yes. She's like, we should have teachers that say art, you know, art teachers at CrossFit. But just to begin to... You know, put myself out there to meet new people. Creatively expand my creative community at Madison.
Trenton ReynoldsThat is a fantastic voice. I don't think I've ever...
Sabrina Ward HarrisonI can... That's a very funny voice. It's Edith and... It was an old Saturday Night Live skit by... Lily Tomlin, and she did this character. My name is Edith Ann, and she sat in a really big rocking chair, she was really small. I've been doing that for her since I was young.
- That's fantastic.
Sabrina Ward Harrison- I've really wanted to always have, since I was even a little girl, I wanted to have a, I wanna have, well I wanted to have a sweater store, but I want to have a home line, like I love I love making a home. I love sheets and duvets and curtains and texture and color. And I love picking and choosing and putting together and the differences. And it's just totally in my wheelhouse. I just love it. It's intuitive to me. Hmm. the design part of it, the color sensibility, I just, I want to be doing that. I just want to be expanding in that way. So, my stepping into the arena stuff is I'm just, I'm just ready to do that. I wanna do it, I get into, I kind of do that deer in the headlights thing where I'm like, I don't quite know where to begin with, I don't want it to be because I kind of could have I've been wanting to do this basically for the past eight years I would say I first started talking about this about eight years ago and I do this weird thing and I maybe other people can relate I just kind of talk myself right on out of it that I can't do it I don't know how I don't know how I don't know how it's all like my mom used to say when I first made Spilling Open, I was working and I thought, if they're gonna suddenly wake up, I'd be like, what the heck are we thinking? She can't do it. And she said, God wants you to make this book, it will be in the world now or 50 years from now. So I would prefer the home line wasn't 50 years from now. That'd be good. So I'm stepping into the arena with excitement and openness to collaborate. And I think I'm just ready to be used, again, kind of circling back to the designing part, I'm ready to be used in the best way I can.
Trenton ReynoldsSo you posted on your Etsy story, you posted two things that represent the beginning of your home line?
Sabrina Ward HarrisonJust kind of a little sampling platter. I have some pillows that could be ordered and some totes. And it's just fun to see them on different shapes of objects. But I see it so much more evolved than in that shape. It's because I need to be... with the right tribe of people who make those things. It's knowing what you're good at and what you're not good at. I kind of want to just hand it over to a company where I'm creatively collaborating to produce a line. But there's people that are, it's like making a book, that are more the production designers. There's people where I'm editing along with. Right. I'm mocking up, I'm creating a story palette. I would like to parlay the work I have made and the colors and the textures, and I would like to see them be on... Like, I see them on kids' pajamas. Is that weird? I see them on, like, kids' pajamas. I want to make duvets. I want to make, um, tablecloths that are also skirts, like, wrap skirts that you can use as a tablecloth because I've done that many times.
Um.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonI would like, I just would like, I would like to see, I think my work is like kind of even within my home right now, it feels like it's jumping off the walls. Like, come on, make me do something more than just be a piece of artwork. Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. So licensing feels like a natural fit for me. I'm more interested in doing projects like that than I am having an art show in a gallery. I've never been that interested in that part of it. I would much rather say, take this huge piece that I've done my work on and roll it up, take it in, turn it into fabric exactly like it is, and I'm going to start making some stuff with it. That's what I think.
Okay. - Fantastic. I believe you.
Sabrina Ward Harrison- Thank you for listening this week, you guys. And I love, we got a message from someone named Kate for submission saying we were asking what people were doing while they were listening. And we got a very clear response. Walk, clean, cook, journal.
Boom. - I love that. - Thank you, Kate.
Sabrina Ward HarrisonSo if you're doing any of those things, thank you for bringing us along on the journey. And if you're doing other things, we just appreciate you listening. And we will include show notes, links, stuff. And we have a new window bar that shows archive shows so you can go back and listen to other. episodes. I'd love to know which ones are your favorites. So that's at roominthetrees.com and if you would like to be a patron for $2 or $5 a month, it would really help us out and that's patreon.com forward slash room and iTunes, guys. It would be so cool if you left a review or rated us. It really helps. You can go to do that at roominthetrees.com forward slash iTunes. and I'm really looking forward to the conversation. Hopefully we'll be recording this week with my first photography teacher, Chris Johnson. He was a huge mentor, significant, wonderful, wonderful professor of mine when I was writing Spilling Open. So I'm really looking forward to that conversation. go eat some apples they're really good this time of year and check out your local thrift store and possibly swing by the container store see if anything spiritual happens in their location report back thanks so much you guys talk to you next week That was good.