MOUTHWASH

Our last episode of Season 4 finds us meditating on the ins and outs of creative burnout. How can we manage to remain consistent in our creativity despite obstacles and deadlines? The team finds answers in habit and accountability, among a myriad of other practices.

The best work is often made not so much in spite of limitations, but because they were there in the first place. Before lamenting the limited money, time, or collaborators available to you, remember the old adage: necessity is the mother of invention. This episode finds the team diving into the pros and cons of constraints in work, and how setting guardrails can help narrow your focus in future projects.

What is collaboration? Is it partnership, sharing desk space, or just the creative industry's most overused buzzword? This episode of the podcast has us digging in and finding answers—appropriately, together.

Episode 3 looks at what it takes to create opportunities for yourself, and how we have done it as a studio in the past. From being proactive in your approach, to leaving room to pivot, how are you making sure you've established a space for you to succeed?

What does it take to finish a project? To go from 0 to 100? The team explores reward theory, managing expectations, and the importance of starting the right projects. Don't be shy, come and listen. Photos by Sean Davidson

We're back. And we're changing things up a little bit. Season 4 of the MOUTHWASH Podcast is here — shorter episodes where the MW team hang out and talk about what's been on our minds. Episode One is all about Getting Better Over Time. Let's dive in.

Wrapping up the last episode of Season 3, the MOUTHWASH Team sits down with Jared Hogan and Christian Schultz; the dynamic-duo that makes up Good. Podcast. With no real agenda, we spent our time talking about films, what it means to run a podcast, and how we've grown creatively.

Cliqua is the directorial duo made up of Raul Sanchez and Pasqual Gutierrez. Working with artists like Bad Bunny and Rosalia, we sat down and talked with them about their roots, where they’re drawing inspiration from, and how they’re continuing to push their creative limits.

In this episode of the MOUTHWASH Podcast, we sit down with our long-time friend: Tori Hinn. Tori is a Graphic Designer and Creative Director of Figma. In the past, she’s had her hands in projects at Red Antler and Google Creative Lab. Tori talks to us about how the internet has formed many of her relationships, why she doesn’t tweet about graphic design, and Women of Graphic Design, which has been an ongoing project in effort to close one of the largest gaps in the industry. Tori loves people first and foremost. Everything else comes after that.

Jermaine Craig is a designer of systems and experiences. In the past he’s created A-Mood, a simple way to curate and gather references. Other Shapes, minimal one-page website templates for creative workers and teams. And right now he’s building Kwanda, a modern collection pot for black communities. Kwanda is a non-profit company that is dedicated to improving the quality of life for these communities through different projects that are organically formed through the discussion amongst its members. Jermaine talks with us about the role design plays in forming these dialogues and the importance of removing obstacles for more diverse solutions to shine on our modern-day problems.

We spent some time chatting with DP Andrew Palermo. Andrew has had his hands on many projects over this last decade, from Romantic Dramas such as '6 Years', to ethereal pieces such as 'A Ghost Story'. More recently, Andrew is wrapping up on 'The Green Knight', set to release later this year. Andrew took some time to explain how he fell into filmmaking, his inspirations, and how we can continue to break down barriers to tell more interesting stories.

Carmen Winant is a practicing artist, a professor at The Ohio State University, and the Mother of two sons. Her work involves the appropriation of documentation as a means to explore Feminine Studies. Carmen educates us on the power of the found image, how bravery plays a role in artistry, and how parenting aligns with her current practice.

Michael Goldberg walks us through the founding of Something Special Studios, a full-service creative agency based in New York. From Spatial Design to Branding and Strategy, they've worked with established companies such as Nike and Calvin Klein. Michael explains how he has approached instilling a culture within his agency, building a community around his work, and the importance of leaving room for personal projects and collaboration.

Claire Cottrell is a practicing Director and Photographer. Claire breaks down the role travel has played in her career, the importance of documentation and memory, and how she maintains an intimacy throughout the body of her work.

Caleb Flowers finds himself doing it all. He’s created Hathenbruck, a concept-store that explores fashion and product design. Within Hathenbruck, he’s created BigData, a Zipfile available for purchase that contains a curated internet archive. He’s also managed to drop a full-length album, Mystery Ranch, towards the end of 2019, as well as help start Bruhler’s, a company founded by friends that makes headgear. At the center of all these projects, and the focus of our conversation, are two simple questions: What do people want, and how can we get it in their hands?

Are.na is a visual organization tool designed to help you think and create. It lets you build simple collections of content by adding links and files of any kind, and connect ideas with other people by collaborating privately or building public collections for everyone. Charles Broskoski, otherwise known as CAB, is the leading voice behind Are.na, with the help of a small team at his back. On this episode, we hear about how he’s set out to make a more mindful internet, one that is rooted in intentional exploration and the sharing of information.

Four years ago Adrian Martinez was a recent college graduate writing for a local newspaper in Orange County. Now, he is the founder and Creative Director of STURDY. A creative house whose work has been spotted seen on a number of stages for music festivals like Coachella to global tours for some of the world's biggest music artists. So far they've tackled creative direction and set design for acts like Drake, Kendrick Lamar, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and so many more. In this episode, Adrian takes us from day 1 to where he hopes to go in the future.

Actual Source is the works of JP Haiyne and Davis Ngarupe. A design studio focused on the retail of well-designed objects in addition to the creation of brand identities, websites, and physical spaces for others. Even though Provo, Utah has a population just past 100,000; their team explains to us how great work can come from unexpected places. How proximity of friends who inspire us and constant dialogue about our dreams puts us in a place where we can meet success.

Chelsea Matthews hasn’t worked for anyone for eight-and-a-half years. She’s the founder of Matte Black, an LA-based creative studio; creator of Shape Shift Report and Candid Network; and partner at the eatery Highly Likely cafe. It’s an impressive list—even more impressive when you get a peek behind what it takes to build such successful projects. We talked to Chelsea about her career path, creating where you see the gaps, and above all, how tapping into your creative community makes all the difference.

Decatur Dan—Dan Hall—is an L.A-based, Atlanta-born commercial photographer and director. Once a retail worker clad I oversized shirts with a soft spot for hip-hop, Dan is now shooting the brands he wore and sold along with the people whose music he listened to—we’re talking Anderson .Paak, Nike, Future, and Versace to name a few. We spoke with him about working his way up—how did his experience on all fronts shape his career path and where he is now? What does putting in the hours actually mean, and output? Take a deep dive with us as we are reacquainted with the weight of quality, professionalism, and intention. He's leading the team at Where It's Greater, a creative studio right here in Los Angeles, California.

Andy McCune is a needle in a haystack. He’s the one you read about, the one making the most insane moves—the one who is doing too much to count. He’s the founder of Earth, a millennial-focused travel media company; co-founder of Unfold, a design toolkit for storytellers; founder of Coast9, an influencer marketing platform; and founder of several e-commerce companies, including Christmas AF. Oh, and a minor detail? He just made Forbes’ 30 under 30 list. Whoa is right. We wanted to dig a little deeper and see how, beneath all of the accolades, Andy is does it all. No, not just the work, but how does he deal with feeling overwhelmed? How has he overcome failure? What hobbies leave him feeling full? Listen in to hear those answers and more from the man himself.

Last week, we put out a call on our social: what have you been dying to ask the MOUTHWASH team? We’re of the mindset that taking in “a breath of fresh air” can’t happen in a silo or be high-level all the time. So while we’re usually off chatting with people in the industry that we admire, it’s important to us to talk candidly with you all regularly, too. Join the whole crew—Alex, Mackenzie, Abe and Bianca—unpack questions about everything from creative confidence to fostering community and more.

Alright Studio is a lot like us. Three friends that are learning and navigating in a world of advertising giants, but still making it work. This week we get to talk to them about their humble beginnings and the things they've learned along the way after their first year of being an independent design studio based in Brooklyn, NYC. Thanks to Garrett Derossett, Hope Derossett, and Ian Hatcher-Williams for taking the time to chat this week.

Puno is a creative entrepreneur in Los Angeles, CA. She's the founder of People Map and ilovecreatives, two tools that help people get connected to one another much faster than the every day encounters. This week we were able to talk to her about good design, and how it can build trust and confidence with our peers, clients, and everyone in between. Buy her cat calendar if you have some extra cash. It's dope.

Salomon Ligthelm is a filmmaker and director based in NYC. This week we got to riff on a little bit of everything from life, career, and how we manage expectations in order to get the results we wish for.

David Sherry is the Founder of Death to the Stock Photo, a nontraditional stock photography platform that he's been working on for the last 5 years. This week we talk about about building community and why attention is the new social currency.

This week we chat with Chris and Jonathan Schoonover. Two brothers that also pair as creative partners about working together and how it has shaped their paths, starting with Instagram as a creative outlet to lining up commercial photography and video projects.

Abe, Alex and Mackenzie kick off Season 2 discussing where they've been, what they've learned and what to look forward to this upcoming season.

This week the guys chat with Jessica Zollman, also known as @jayzombie on the internet. Jessica was Instagram's 5th employee when she served as the Community Evangelist. She now is a full time freelance photographer, specializing in commercial and lifestyle imagery. She chats with us about what it's like to take jumps, risks, and face uncertainty.

Ben Zank is a photographer based out of New York City. This week we talk about what it looks like to not only create an image, but rather your own world.

The secret is out. We got to chat with one of the two people behind the popular Instagram meme account "9Kelvin" about their real lives outside of making memes and what it looks like to not take yourself too seriously as a creative person.

Ani Acopian is a freelance filmmaker and photographer based in NYC. Ani has spent time working for companies like Snapchat and Sweetgreen, and was nominated for "Snapchatter of the Year" in 2017. This week she chats with us about the idea of content versus true art.

Lauren Marek & Carra Sykes are multidisciplinary artists living on the countryside of Texas. This week they chat with us about living simply & what it's like to lean into the strengths of each other when tackling projects.

This week, Max Kütz chats with us about his growth as an artist and why he believes taste is more important than the medium at hand. Max is currently practicing photography in Dallas, Texas.

Carter Moore is a photographer and writer who currently works with Apple in London. This week he chats with us about what he's learned after spending nearly 5 years building one of the world's largest creative communities at VSCO.

As a former Marine, journalism major, and now full-time freelance photographer living in LA, Emari Traffie talks with us about the difficulties in navigating male-dominated industries.

This week the guys had a chance to sit down with Patrick Chin, a freelance commercial photographer based out of Winter Park, Florida. Patrick sheds light on the lessons he's learned through his journey and why you should play the long game in your creative career.

This week, Alex and Abraham sit down with photographer Samuel Elkins. Sam gives us a look into his story, taking risks, and learning how to separate yourself through the art of practice and discipline.

This week the MOUTHWASH team introduces themselves, explains what MOUTHWASH is, and discusses the importance of leaning into the strengths of others in the creative industry.