Podcasts about wayfare

Today, as Christmas Eve settles around us, we invite you into a quiet meditation written by Tyler Johnson and published as the culmination of the advent series in the FM magazine, Wayfare, with music from the King's College Choir singing O Magnum Mysterium. This reflection draws us into the sacred reality of the Nativity—the laboring Mary, exhausted and tearful, the beauty born through pain. It reminds us that the Christ child did not come to erase suffering but to teach us how to live and love within it. So, in this moment of stillness before tomorrow's joy, we invite you to pause, breathe, and reflect on this Christmas truth: love enters our world through labor and struggle, bringing with it a deeper peace and lasting meaning.I also want to mention that you can go to the FM YouTube channel to see this meditation with beautiful nativity art by Brandon GonzalesFrom all of us at Faith Matters and Wayfare Magazine, we wish you a peaceful Christmas Eve. 

In the spirit of this Christmas season, we're so excited to share a beautiful reflection with you, written and read by Lori Forsyth, Managing Editor of the Faith Matters magazine, Wayfare. This piece is part of Wayfare's Advent series. If you've missed any parts of this series, you can still find them at  wayfaremagazine.org. You can also subscribe to the digital or print versions of Wayfare for access to the incredible essays, interviews, poetry, art and more.Advent is a time of reflection and anticipation, and Lori's words offer a powerful reminder that joy isn't about avoiding the hard things—it's about embracing the light that shines through them.We hope this brings you a moment of peace and stillness during this busy season, and we'd love to invite you back here on Christmas Eve for the culmination of the Advent series—a short and powerful meditation with music to close this sacred time.And now, here's Lori Forsyth reading Shining in Darkness.

In this episode, Chef Tyler Florence, a culinary legend with a portfolio of acclaimed restaurants and 27 years as a star on the Food Network, shares his approach to crafting immersive experiences that keep guests coming back.Listeners will learn:The three key elements of an amazing hospitality experience (01:03)How to create a restaurant that transports guests to another time and place (01:25)The importance of building restaurants that feel timeless and timely (03:48)How Tyler sourced materials, like a 100-year-old tobacco barn floor, to create an authentic atmosphere at Wayfare Tavern (06:17)Mentions:Wayfare Tavern, Tyler's restaurant in San Francisco (02:08)Rubicon, the restaurant that previously occupied the Wayfare Tavern space (03:28)The book "Wayfare," which inspired the name of Tyler's restaurant (05:46)Miller & Lux, Tyler Florence's restaurant at San Francisco's Chase Center (07:21)A few more resources: If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestions If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free. Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram. If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together. If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve! Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

'You Are' is the first release of 2024 by future folk singer-songwriter Patrick Stefan following on from his debut album, Wayfare, pre-empting his follow up album set for release in 2025. Patrick Stefan joined Alan Morrissey, on Tuesday's Morning Focus. Photo (c) Niamh Barry

This week, we're sitting down with our good friend Patrick Mason for a conversation that is as deeply challenging. Patrick recently returned from a transformative trip to Rwanda, where he was confronted with the enduring impact of the 1994 genocide. In our discussion, Patrick shares his reflections on witnessing both the unimaginable horrors of the past and the remarkable steps toward reconciliation and peace that are happening today.We also dive into the hard questions: Where is God in the midst of such suffering? How can communities possibly recover from such deep wounds? And how do we respond to scripture that seems to contradict our understanding of a loving God? Patrick draws on his experience as a peacebuilder, scholar, and a person of faith to address these issues, and we explore how the lessons from Rwanda resonate with us here and now in conflicts within our own communities.This conversation is a compelling reminder that each of us has the power to create real change in our own communities, and it urges us to confront the urgent need for peacebuilding in a world increasingly divided. Lastly, we're thrilled to share that Patrick will be speaking at the upcoming Restore conference along with his co-host for the Proclaim Peace Podcast, Jennifer Walker Thomas. You can get your tickets at faithmatters.org/restore to join us on September 5-7th. And with that, we'll jump right in. I also wanted to mention that Patrick wrote about his experience in Rwanda for the Faith Matters magazine, Wayfare. You can go to wayfaremagazine.org to subscribe. And with that we'll jump right in.

In 2017, a Utah family began discussing some of the challenging questions facing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From those modest beginnings, a multidimensional platform emerged called Faith Matters, which defines itself as a “space in which an expansive, radiant approach to the restored gospel can be considered.” The effort now includes a popular podcast, book publishing, online courses, and, coming next week, its third in-person “Restore” conference. The giant gathering at the Mountain West Expo Center in Sandy has attracted more than 3,000 paid registrants and will feature speakers, poets, musicians and artists — including Astrid Tuminez, Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, Jennifer Walker Thomas, Terryl and Fiona Givens, Mauli Bonner, Neylan McBaine, Allison Dayton and Eboo Patel. It is, organizers say, meant to “inspire, enlighten and nourish faith.” On this week's show, Zachary Davis, executive director of Faith Matters, editor of its Wayfare magazine and co-director of the conference, discusses this organization, the upcoming conference and how they appeal to, help and inspire a range of Latter-day Saints.

Since shortening its Sunday services and refocusing its curriculum more than five years ago, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has trumpeted a home-centered, church-supported approach with an emphasis on covenant-making and covenant-keeping. This shift has some members worried about a loss of community. Gone are roadshows, pageants, sports leagues, cultural celebrations and more. While there has been an explosion of temple building, there has been a slowdown in chapel building. The church meetinghouse of today has become just that — a house for staid and stiff meetings, mainly on Sunday — and not the buzzing and bustling community centers of yesteryear. Would a return to some of that past help not only the church's present but also its future? Candice Wendt, a staff member of McGill University's Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and a contributing editor at Wayfare magazine, wrote about the church's evolution from community to covenants in a recent blog post for Exponent II. She joined us for this week's episode of “Mormon Land” to talk about what she feels is lost in the church's efforts to emphasize individual covenants over community building. As she put it “I find when community connection and belonging get weak, motivation to be engaged in the faith tradition falters and religious life actually becomes a lot less relevant to people.”

I had a completely different episode planned for today, but then I saw my words in print in a magazine. So for this episode you get off-the-cuff insights and thoughts about what you feel when you see your name in print and what happens inside you when you share your story.You can find my essay, "An Expanse of Light and Memory" in issue 3 of Wayfare magazine.You can jump into my North Star course here. If you are listening to this after April 2024, use the code PODCAST24 for 30 percent off.You can find me on Instagram @bookish.editor, Facebook, and LinkedIn.Join my email list to stay up to date on the podcast and everything else going on in Bookish Edits.

When Lenore Skenazy's son was nine, he asked her repeatedly if she would let him have a solo adventure in their hometown of New York City. Her son had a specific plan for this adventure: he wanted her to take him somewhere new in the city and then let him find his own way home. Lenore took the leap of faith, and when her son burst into their apartment later, he was practically “levitating with pride and joy” at what he had accomplished.Lenore then wrote an article in the New York Sun called “Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone” — and a media firestorm ensued. We'll let Lenore share more about that particular time, but she realized then how radical and important an idea it was for modern parents to “let go.” In 2017, Jonathan Haidt, co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind reached out to Lenore with two others, all of whom shared concerns about the increasing fragility they're seeing in young people in America, and the poor outcomes that follow. They went on to launch Let Grow, a non-profit organization that promotes childhood independence.Lenore's message is that parents can sometimes become compulsive about protecting children from every possible danger, but blind to the trade-offs: decreased independence, resilience, social skills, and creativity, and increased anxiety and depression.But this message also has broader implications for our lives and our faith: while we often tend to try to micromanage everything with the mistaken belief that we can prevent anything bad from happening, deep faith can help us see that there's Something Bigger going on — and we don't always need to be in control.We found Lenore to be delightful—she's sharp, funny, and has profoundly important things to say for anyone interested in helping our next generations to be resilient and happy. We really hope you enjoy this conversation with Lenore Skenazy.———Subscribe to Wayfare here: wayfaremagazine.org

Episode 43. Zachary Davis, a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or Mormons), has been deeply involved in producing podcasts and other media about religion. In this Bonus episode, we discuss the role of religion in the public sphere. He talks about the importance of bringing your whole self into the community, and makes the distinction between scholarly work and devotional practice. Part of his own public expression of his faith is through the various podcasts and publications he produces and manages, including the Ministry of Ideas podcast and Faith Matters magazine.Highlights:·       Zach's first HarvardX work with professors at Harvard Divinity School led to years of ‘swimming in religion' and thinking more deeply about the role of faith. ·       The Ministry of Ideas podcast and Faith Matters magazine are both vehicles for discussing religion in the public sphere.·       The separation of church and state really means not establishing a state religion.·       Scholarship on religion and religious devotional practice are two different things, and not at odds. ·       The US is a unique country, given the diversity of religions. Living together peaceably and respectfully is important.  ·       Attending services and reading the holy scriptures of other religions are ways we can each learn about other paths.Social Media links for Zachary:  Website – https://www.zacharystevendavis.com/aboutMinistry of Ideas podcast – https://www.ministryofideas.org/about/Faith Matters – https://faithmatters.org/about/Wayfare Magazine –http://wayfaremagazine.org/Twitter – https://twitter.com/zacharysdavisNote: The Ministry of Ideas podcast and Wayfare magazine are both vehicles for discussing religion in the public sphere.Social Media links for Méli:Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.orgLinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271Follow the podcast!The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. Transcript – https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/13129045-bonus-religion-in-the-public-sphere-with-zachary-davisComments?  Email  Méli – info@talkingwithgodproject.orgThe Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. For information on talks, blog posts and more, go to – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org/

Zachary Davis is the Executive Director of the Faith Matters Foundation, the host of the Ministry of Ideas, Writ Large, and Making Meaning podcasts, and the editor of Wayfare Magazine. We discuss the article he published in the inaugural issue of Wayfare, a beautiful piece on the history of pilgrimage that doubles as a story about his personal faith journey.

Published 26th of March 2023 Special Shout Out to our Executive Producer! KatettheKonz! #yeah 1. It's been a rough week for the rural Trainers - Wayspotters is here to help 2. Advice on what to do if there are no Wayspots in your area 3. How do I get started with Wayfarer? 4. What, there's a test? 5. I've submitted my nomination, now what? 6. Wayfarer Specific Specific Information from Tintino and the Wayfare team 7. Wayspot of the Week 8. Coal of the week Sit back and enjoy the show and don't forget to reach out @wayspotters on Twitter! Visit out Instagram also @wayspotterspodcast Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/wayspotters/ Niantic Wayfarer Twitter: https://twitter.com/NianticWayfarer TikTok Tiktok.com/iamkewayspots Our Website: http://wayspotters.com/ Support Us: https://www.patreon.com/PokemonProfessor Wayfarer Discord: https://discord.gg/niawayfarer Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/pokemonprofessornetwork Coal of the Week Arrangement: Chris Bell Intro Music - Game Over - Danijel Zambo - Music Vine Break Music -  Hard Trap Samples, Heavy Trap Drum Loops ... - Loopmasters Outro Music - Itty Bitty 8 Bit - song by Kevin MacLeod - Spotify – Web Player Vocal recording  Copyright of Pokémon Professor 2022. Pokémon And All Respective Names are Trademark and © of Nintendo 1996-2022 Pokémon GO is Trademark and © of Niantic, Inc. Wayspotters is not affiliated with Niantic Inc. or The Pokémon Company 4. Wayspot of the Week 5. Coal of the week Sit back and enjoy the show and don't forget to reach out @wayspotters on Twitter! Visit out Instagram also @wayspotterspodcast Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/wayspotters/ Niantic Wayfarer Twitter: https://twitter.com/NianticWayfarer Our Website: http://wayspotters.com/ Support Us: https://www.patreon.com/PokemonProfessor Wayfarer Discord: https://discord.gg/niawayfarer Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/pokemonprofessornetwork Coal of the Week Arrangement: Chris Bell Intro Music - Game Over - Danijel Zambo - Music Vine Break Music -  Hard Trap Samples, Heavy Trap Drum Loops ... - Loopmasters Outro Music - Itty Bitty 8 Bit - song by Kevin MacLeod - Spotify – Web Player Vocal recording  Copyright of Pokémon Professor 2022. Pokémon And All Respective Names are Trademark and © of Nintendo 1996-2022 Pokémon GO is Trademark and © of Niantic, Inc. Wayspotters is not affiliated with Niantic Inc. or The Pokémon Company --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wayspotters/message

My friend Zach Davis (married father of three, graduate of BYU and Harvard Divinity School) joins us to talk about Wayfare—a new magazine launched by Faith Matters in late 2022. Zach talks about the purpose of and vision for the magazine and how it is a community effort and how individuals can get involved in producing content for Wayfare. Zach also talks about Faith Matters—its purpose and vision and plans for second Restore in October of 2023 (Zach shares the actual dates and location in the podcast). Zach also shares some of his personal story to find his career path and principles and perspectives to help others make their way forward. I was deeply moved hearing more of Zach's story. Thank you, Zach, for being on the podcast. Your personal story and work at Faith Matters is blessing many. And thank you to everyone involved at Faith Matters for your much needed work in our community. Links mentioned: Wayfare Magazine: https://www.wayfaremagazine.org/ Faith Matters: https://faithmatters.org/

5.33: Sorcha Richardson gives us a track-by-track breakdown of her brilliant second album Smiling Like an Idiot https://sorcharichardson.bandcamp.com/album/smiling-like-an-idiot 1.06.22: R Kitt talks about the Give Us The Night campaign, what they expected and were hoping for in the budget, and what to look forward to at Haunted Dance Hall at the National Concert Hall this weekend. shorturl.at/dgMOU 1.46.52: Dublin-based singer-songwriter Patrick Stefan on debut album Wayfare, travelling and finding music from around the world, swimming in Dublin, and more https://patrickstefan.bandcamp.com/ 2.35.09: Weekly new music section - new tunes from new artists in full, with introductions by the acts themselves. This week: Banríon - Fooling https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/banron/fooling-2 Ebben Phlo - All Nighter https://ebbenphlo.bandcamp.com/track/all-nighter Barefoot Gypsies - Be Free https://linktr.ee/barefoot.gypsies?utm_source=qr_code

1.01: Some thoughts on Another Love Story festival, which returned to Killyon Manor at the weekend. 6.32: Marketa Irglova on Lila, her first album in eight years and the third in a trilogy. She talks about her journey from Once to entering Iceland's Eurovision song contest, and some of the stories behind the tracks on Lila, and influences such as Bridgerton and other TV shows. https://open.spotify.com/artist/4SklVMGMsWTq7cJd9MixUx?si=ZDMqGoDKRUiJQAwAEmgTpw 41.06: Christy from Le Boom on supporting Denise Chaila at St John's Castle, Limerick, on Saturday, August 20. 44.14: Simon Roche, one-third of the Lumo Club night, talks about their boat party in Dublin Bay on Saturday, August 20. How it came about, what songs went down best, and was there any seasickness. We also chat about Oasis and their best songs, as Be Here Now turns 25. https://www.instagram.com/lumoclub/?hl=en NEW MUSIC!!! 1.01.24: Alice Kiernan introduces her single 'Golden', which is out this Friday, August 26. https://twitter.com/Alice_Kiernan https://smarturl.it/cxe9bt 1.06.38: Patrick Stefan introduces 'Just Another Love Song', taken from debut album Wayfare, which is released on September 23. twitter.com/patrick_stefan_ https://t.co/3xtlhlIuOA 1.12.19: Cabin aka Adam McCabe chats about 'The Parasocialite (Alternative Version)' off the just-released You're On My Mind EP twitter.com/cabin_music https://linktr.ee/cabin44

This episode features Kelly Coffin, the Founder and CEO of WayFare Foods, a company that takes the finest whole, plant-based ingredients in the world, and turns them into products that are truly Simple, Delicious, and Amazing. You'll find WayFare's food foundations are always based on whole ingredients, and nothing else. WayFare's mission is to bless our world by creating incredible products – all from plants. WayFare is sold in retail locations across the country and direct to consumer via their website. WayFare products are also used as ingredients by restaurants and bakeries in the U.S. and Canada. Show Page: https://eftp.co/wayfarefoods Newsletter signup: https://eftp.co/newsletter Follow us on Instagram Follow Nil Zacharias on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Hero's Journey: Interview with Robert Althuis We typically believe "intelligence" only resides in our mind; however, as the HearthMath Institute has scientifically proven our heart is actually also a center of intelligence including a vast network of neurons. In fact, there's more data going from our heart to our mind than the other way around. The intelligence of our heart is of a different quality though. Whereas our mind's intelligence resides in logic and linear thinking which all comes from our neocortex, our heart is the portal to our higher knowing or the intelligence of life itself. We access this intelligence through mastery of the language of the heart which is feeling, sensing, knowing (vs thinking), and intuiting. When our heart becomes the master and our mind an instrument in service to the master we come to a new level of understanding, insight, and solutions which makes us more awakened leaders. Robert Althuis is the Founder of the Sacred Wealth Institute, a mindfulness organization that provides coaching, strategies, tools, and techniques to help private clients and businesses embody their full potential. In addition, Mr. Althuis is the founder of Wayfare Holdings, a boutique impact investment firm for his personal real estate and entrepreneurial interests. Mr. Althuis is also a Venture Partner at Keen Growth Capital, an impact investment private equity firm based in Orlando, and serves as an Advisory Board Member for Bulltick's alternative investments real estate fund. In 2021, Mr. Althuis published his first book titled Never Enoughitis. Mr. Althuis launched Wayfare in early 2009 with the acquisition of a 50% ownership position in Lynxs, a leading international transportation infrastructure development firm based in Austin, Texas. Prior to acquiring an ownership position in Lynxs, Mr. Althuis was a Senior Vice President in the Airport Infrastructure group of GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS). At GECAS, Mr. Althuis served as the lead originator for the Americas Region of the Airport Infrastructure group and was instrumental in structuring Global Infrastructure Partners, a then $6 billion infrastructure investment fund sponsored by GE and Credit Suisse as well as the acquisition of numerous operating companies and real assets on behalf of GECAS where he also served as a board member on behalf of GE. Mr. Althuis started his career at GE Capital in an executive management program in 2002 and joined GECAS on a full-time basis in 2003 and was promoted to GE's executive band in 2006. In his initial role in GECAS, as a member of the structured finance team, Mr. Althuis closed in excess of $1.5 billion of aviation-related debt and equity financings. Mr. Althuis, who has dual nationality from The Netherlands and the United States, holds a B.B.A., summa cum laude, with a major in Real Estate from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, and an M.B.A., with distinction, with a major in Finance & Management from Columbia Business School in New York City. In addition, Mr. Althuis is a certified member of the CCIM Institute and a licensed real estate broker in three states. Mr. Althuis began his career in commercial real estate acquisition and development in 1995; his last position before joining GE was Vice President and Division Manager of the commercial real estate activities of a diversified real estate firm in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Althuis resides in Coral Gables, Florida, and is a father, artist, avid yogi (RYT-200), kite surfer, crossfit athlete, and an active dive volunteer with the Coral Restoration Foundation in the Florida Keys where he previously served as a Board Member. For more information about Robert Althuis and his work, go to https://www.robertalthuis.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BIO Robert Althuis is the Founder of the Sacred Wealth Institute, a mindfulness organization that provides coaching, strategies, tools, and techniques to helpprivate clients and businesses embody their full potential. In addition, Mr. Althuis is the founder of Wayfare Holdings, a boutique impact investment firm for his personal real estate and entrepreneurial interests. Mr. Althuis is also a Venture Partner at Keen Growth Capital, an impact investment private equity firm based in Orlando, and serves as an Advisory Board Member for Bulltick's alternative investments real estate fund. In 2021, Mr. Althuis published his first book titled Never Enough-itis. Mr. Althuis launched Wayfare in early 2009 with the acquisition of a 50% ownership position in Lynxs, a leading international transportation infrastructure development firm based in Austin, Texas. Prior to acquiring an ownership position in Lynxs, Mr. Althuis was a Senior Vice President in the Airport Infrastructure group of GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS). At GECAS, Mr. Althuis served as the lead originator for the Americas Region of the Airport Infrastructure group and was instrumental in structuring Global Infrastructure Partners, a then $6 billion infrastructure investment fund sponsored by GE and Credit Suisse as well as the acquisition of numerous operating companies and real assets on behalf of GECAS where he also served as board member on behalf of GE. Mr. Althuis started his career at GE Capital in an executive management program in 2002 and joined GECAS on a full-time basis in 2003 and was promoted to GE's executive band in 2006. In his initial role in GECAS, as a member of the structured finance team, Mr. Althuis closed in excess of $1.5 billion of aviation related debt and equity Financings. Mr. Althuis, who has dual nationality of The Netherlands and United States, holds a B.B.A., summa cum laude, with a major in Real Estate from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, and a M.B.A., with distinction, with a major in Finance & Management from Columbia Business School in New York City. In addition, Mr. Althuis is a certified member of the CCIM Institute and a licensed real estate broker in three states. Mr. Althuis began his career in commercial real estate acquisition and development in 1995; his last position before joining GE was Vice President and Division Manager of the commercial real estate activities of a diversified real estate firm in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Althuis resides in Coral Gables, Florida and is a father, artist, avid yogi (RYT-200), kite surfer, crossfit athlete, and an activedive volunteer with the Coral Restoration Foundation in the Florida Keys where he previously served as a Board Member. Sign up for 10% off of Shrink Rap Radio CE credits at the Zur Institute  

We didn't ask, but we bet if we had, traveler Denise Meeker would say that coming home to yourself isn't a one-time act. It's personal, on-going, and sometimes shows up in ways you don't expect. It also can include hard, internal work. But we're really thankful to get to hear her story of coming home through spending time on the road and in the outdoors to underline the importance of you telling yours.Resources From This Episode:Follow Denise Meeker on Instagram: @wayfaretowellnessDenise's blog: Wayfare to WellnessMelanin and Mental HealthJoin the On the Road, Our Way Facebook Group!Sponsor Websites & Codes:Manta Sleep - get 10% off with promo code ROADBetterhelp - get 10% off with promo code ROADDannerEnjoy this episode? Rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. It'll help other people find us. You can also share this podcast with a friend. Thank you for your support!Episodes air weekly on Fridays-- subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode. This episode of On the Road, Our Way is produced and hosted by Laura Borichevsky.Music is by Jason Shaw and Josh Woodward.A production of Ravel Media

Welcome to episode 55 of The Blogger Genius Podcast. Today my guest is Nicole Ketchum, the designer behind the acrylic chandelier craze.  In this episode we talk about how to design and manufacture a product in China. We discuss what it takes to get the word out about your new product, especially one in a brand new category, what common mistakes entrepreneurs make when designing a physical product, what it's like to have to take out a loan to fund your inventory and so much more. If you've ever dreamt of building and designing your own product, this is the episode for you!   Resources: MiloTree Chandelier by NK Oh Joy Amy Atlas Warby Parker Away Luggage Everlane Planoly Glowforge AltSummit Transcript: How to Design and Manufacture a Product with Nicole Ketchum Host 0:03 Welcome to The Blogger Genius Podcast, brought to you by MiloTree. Here's your host, Jillian Leslie. Build your Shopify sales with MiloTree Jillian Leslie 0:11 Hi, welcome back to The Blogger Genius Podcast. The response to our new Shopify popup has been terrific. If you have a Shopify store, definitely go try it. Try our popup on your blog to get people to shop on your store. If you have a friend and know somebody who has a Shopify store who could benefit from it, please tell them about it. It's all part of your subscription and it takes, gosh, less than a minute to set up. All you do is just put your Shopify URL into the box and the popup will have your most recent products show up on it. And as you know, MiloTree is the easiest way to grow your social media followers, your email list. Head to MiloTree.com, sign up and get your first 30 days free. Today, I am interviewing Nicole Ketchum. And she is one of the first people I've interviewed who has built a physical good, a real product that she sells. She sells these beautiful chandeliers, you'll hear all about it. She is incredibly honest with her journey. If you are thinking of creating a physical good, you definitely want to listen to this. And even if you're not, I think her story is incredibly interesting and insightful. So without further ado, here is Nicole Ketchum. Nicole, welcome to the show. Nicole Ketchum 1:47 Thank you for letting me be here. Jillian Leslie 1:48 Oh, wow. So we met because you reached out to me about coaching probably a year ago. Nicole Ketchum 1:57 Yes, yes. And it was a great call. You helped me in so many ways. Jillian Leslie 2:02 Oh, I'm so glad. I'm so glad. And I think it's really cool because you are one of the first people that I am talking to on the podcast about creating a physical product. And so can you tell like what your product is and and how you got started? And, you know, I'm sure my audience will go and check it out. Creating and selling a physical product Nicole Ketchum 2:24 Yes. So I design acrylic chandeliers. That's the medium I currently work in. And I had the idea in late 2011 and spent two years researching the idea that I had before pulling the trigger. I made a prototype in late 2013 and threw together a website and crossed my fingers and launched, and four years later, here I am. Jillian Leslie 2:58 Okay, first of all, what is an acrylic chandelier? Nicole Ketchum 3:02 So basically, we created a design where two pieces get cut by a laser cutter and then there are slots on each of the pieces of the chandelier. And you take the two pieces and you slap them together. They have holes at the top where you put two S hooks and you can hang it anywhere. And you can hang it with chandelier chains that you can get at like Home Depot or Lowes. Or even fishing wire. They're very lightweight, which I've said a lot but actually people still ask me quite frequently, and they're only three pounds. Jillian Leslie 3:42 Okay. And they don't light. They're decorative. Nicole Ketchum 3:46 They're decorative and it's a new concept. I apparently designed a product that didn't exist. Jillian Leslie 3:52 Okay. Nicole Ketchum 3:54 So that's very exciting but it's also been a learning curve. And they're perfect because acrylic is basically plastic, and it can go inside or outside. It can go below 20 degrees. It can be in hot weather. You can put it up anywhere that you can hang. They're perfect for weddings and parties. Jillian Leslie 4:15 Exactly. That was my next question, which is, what is the use case? Where do people use them? Nicole Ketchum 4:20 People use them for parties, events, weddings. I use them in my child's play room. They can go over a bathtub, they can go over a bed or a nursery. Jillian Leslie 4:36 I was gonna say I'd like to put one in my daughter's room. Nicole Ketchum 4:39 Yes, I have one hanging over my daughter's bed. Jillian Leslie 4:43 Okay. And your background though, is in product design. Right? Nicole Ketchum 4:48 No, actually I went to school a long time ago for English and then I worked in marketing and graphic design. Jillian Leslie 4:54 Graphic design, okay. Nicole Ketchum 4:55 Yeah, for a very long time. But it was more like corporate design. So my fantasies were I wanted to design wallpaper and home goods. And in reality, I was designing annual reports. But I eventually started to make that leap on my own and I eventually transitioned into surface design and I was designing patterns for stores. And it still didn't feel like it was enough for me. And I interviewed for Michaels Corporate a long time ago in 2011, when my husband and I had lost our jobs from the fallout from 2008. And they had challenged me. It was between myself and another designer come up with something for Halloween that's modern and that people can use. And for myself, I've always wanted to have a really fun chandelier for Halloween that I could just throw over a table. I always lived in apartments when I was younger, you know, there's no outlets and places. So that was the idea I had and I was going to do a foam core. And my husband who is a designer as well, he said, "Why don't you do acrylic?" So I designed a raven and moon chandelier for Michaels Corporate along with competing the patterns that they could use for journals. And I presented it to them and I believe they must have been on the cusp of transitioning from where they were to where they are now, and they said I was too modern. I thought that was really interesting because I know I would fit now. Jillian Leslie 6:35 Yes! Nicole Ketchum 6:36 Yeah. But back then, I thought it was still a great idea and I couldn't get it out of my head. Designing a product in AutoCAD So I spent every weekend just researching, talking to people, going to stores and eventually harassed my husband into going to his office on weekends and working in AutoCAD to come up with the two lines that I have currently, which is the octopus and the fancy. Jillian Leslie 7:04 Okay. And what is AutoCAD just for the people who don't know. Nicole Ketchum 7:07 it is a computer-based software that allows you to design in 3D. And that is not my foray. I was able to sketch the idea but he took it and made it real. And then I think we must have done that for six months straight and eventually pulled the trigger and ordered a prototype through a company that I found on the internet. Then we got to see in real-time how that worked. Jillian Leslie 7:38 Okay. And was this a company in China? Was it here in the United States? Nicole Ketchum 7:42 It's in Las Vegas. They're such a great company. I worked with them when we made our Disney chandeliers. So then we realized that we had a product that actually worked and so I ordered two prototypes -- one for the octopus and one for the fancy. Then I basically, when I totally believed this and I push it all the time, it's fake it till you make it. Jillian Leslie 8:06 I love that. Nicole Ketchum 8:07 I changed the colors in Photoshop and pretended that I had a full catalog. Jillian Leslie 8:11 I love it. Love it. Love it. Nicole Ketchum 8:14 I didn't tell anybody. But I was like, whatever, what's going to happen? And nobody ever found out and people started ordering. I mean, of course, I changed the colors to reflect whatever the Las Vegas company had and then I would get an order and then I would place the order with them. And it was both time consuming and very expensive, but it was perfect for me to just start to see who my customer base was, who was ordering my product and what they were using it for. And that was really fascinating. Jillian Leslie 8:48 So what was your assumption going in? And then what did you start to learn based on what your customers were ordering? Nicole Ketchum 8:57 My assumption was that they were going to be like me, where they were just going to use it for maybe a holiday and it took on a life of its own. Getting your first order of a product you design My very first order was from Nordstrom for a party and they used it on the table. They didn't even hang it. And I was shocked and delighted, and I even asked them. They said that they were just perfect centerpieces. I was like "Oh, okay." It's not what I designed it for, but that's awesome. And then I noticed that party stylists, event planners, they got it immediately. I didn't have to explain to them at all. And I did have to explain to like the average person at home that was just looking at home decor. So I noticed there was just that interesting correlation and also a disconnect happening between where I thought they were going and where they were actually going. Jillian Leslie 9:55 Right. So it seems like more sophisticated designer-y people got it. Nicole Ketchum 10:00 Yes. Jillian Leslie 10:00 And moms might have needed more education. Is that true? Nicole Ketchum 10:04 Yes. Because they don't have lights. There is that learning curve. "What do you mean they don't have lights?" "Well, what do you do with it?" Whereas the party stylists and event planners were like, "Oh, yeah, I'm just gonna put this over a dessert table. Jillian Leslie 10:19 Okay. That's very interesting. So what is the price point right now, if I were to buy one? Nicole Ketchum 10:25 The price point for the octopus is $59.99. And the fancy is $69.99. And I have a limited edition gold that is new and one of a kind, and that is $89.99. Jillian Leslie 10:41 Got it. Now tell me, I remember this from our conversation. Somebody... it was Disney. Somebody like got it and was like, "We want to order this." Nicole Ketchum 10:50 Yes. I basically had my coaching call with you and the very next day, I got an email from Disney. I kid you not. It was insane and so exciting. And they found me on Pinterest. Yes. And I was like, "Score! I'm doing it right." And they asked me to make 21 custom chandeliers for a new store that was opening up for visual merchandising. And three different sizes. So it was imperative that I still had that Las Vegas connection. We made a 12 by 16, a 24 by 20, and a 40 by 60, which is huge. And 12 different colors. Jillian Leslie 11:37 Oh my god, okay. Nicole Ketchum 11:38 Yes. So that was awesome. And they had a very, very, very tight deadline. I totally met that deadline. Overextended myself, over delivered, and under charged them. And they were incredibly happy when I flew down in March to see them. So they ordered at the end of December, almost mid-December, and February 1 is when they needed it. Jillian Leslie 12:07 Oh, wow. Wow! But wait, wasn't there somebody else who had discovered them too? Maybe it was Nordstrom. I don't remember. Where you were like, "Ooh," like early traction? Nicole Ketchum 12:20 Yes. I've actually had a lot of different celebrities use them. Jillian Leslie 12:23 Okay, maybe that's what it is. Okay. Nicole Ketchum 12:25 Yeah, early traction would have been Nordstrom and then right after that Michael Buble's sister used them for a book party that she had written some children's books and bought a whole bunch. And then I got picked up by the Associated Press and then I went nationwide. And then I started getting orders from there and more traction. Outsourcing production to China -- how to do it? Jillian Leslie 12:47 Okay. So you were looking at then factories or outsourcing in China, that kind of thing? Nicole Ketchum 12:55 Yes. When I had spoken to you, I was still stuck on kind of a hump of how do I do my next inventory run. My first inventory run had been successful but the company then came back to me, which actually happens a lot, you can't order this amount. You have to order thousands And that's how they get you. And so I had to take a step back. And after Disney, I decided to go on Alibaba. com and just tell them exactly what I need as an RFP, and then have people just kind of send me their company information. Jillian Leslie 13:39 What's an RFP? Nicole Ketchum 13:41 A request for proposal. Jillian Leslie 13:43 Got it. So that means you're soliciting companies to say hey, "This is what I want to make. Can you do this? You know, a factory in China, come and tell me how much this would cost." Nicole Ketchum 13:55 Yes. Now, I want to preface that with when you have a product or you have proprietary information, and I have all my designs registered with the US government, I can't patent anything because the slot technology is not new. So I had to have them sign NDAs so that I could send them my CAD files that my husband had designed because that is your proprietary information and you should never give that out willingly. So they had approved that they knew what I was speaking about, what kind of product I needed beforehand. So there was a lot of back and forth of here's some pictures of my product and what have you done. And I eventually, surprisingly, to my delight, found the largest acrylic supplier in all of China who is my manufacturer. Jillian Leslie 14:48 Wow. And then did you have to place one of these gigantic orders? Nicole Ketchum 14:54 I did not. My first run back in 2014 was for 350 chandeliers. And this new company let me just place an order for 450, which maybe doesn't sound a lot to the average user. "Okay, you only jumped 100." But as far as money goes, it was a difference of $3600 to $8500. Plus shipping. Jillian Leslie 15:21 Wow. Were you able to order them in different colors like for your inventory? Nicole Ketchum 15:25 Well, that's where they get you too. If I could, I would have done a ton of colors. Because people ask me all the time, "How come you don't have other colors and another product?" but that's what I was given. So I had to order my bestseller, which is white, and a new one which I just had a gut instinct would do well based on I used to have a mirror chandelier that sold out super quick. So I ordered a gold. And that was $12,000. How to protect yourself from knock-offs in China? Jillian Leslie 15:56 Wow, wow, wow. And is there... because I've heard this, you come up with something and then somebody in China sees it and knocks it off. Do you have that concern or kind of how have you protected yourself? Nicole Ketchum 16:13 You know, initially I did, but... not to say that our files are complicated, but they are somewhat. And it's interesting to note as a side note, when we first designed the product, it was great but we did have some breakage. And my husband and I could not figure it out. And his brother is an engineer. And one night, he was looking at our chandelier and he was like, "All these points are pointed and they need to be curved." And we were like, "What?" And so that whole sort of cyclical thing with our design, I'm not afraid of China knocking me off because it's kind of intricate. And I say, if you want to, great, you know, I have the paper trail. You know, I'm not going to worry about it anymore. I did initially and I'm just really not going to be worried about it anymore. How to market your product Jillian Leslie 17:06 I love that. I love that. Okay, so let's talk about how you have gotten your product out there. So you build this product, by the way, you did something interesting, which is you built this on a hunch. Now, again, you seem to manage your downside risk, meaning you didn't order 5,000 of these to start and you started to see how people were using them so that it could inform you, or what colors people were interested in. So I love that strategy that you were kind of going piece by piece and I love that you change the colors on your website to see what people wanted without going out and, you know, buying all this inventory. Nicole Ketchum 17:46 Right. That's a mistake a lot of people make. Jillian Leslie 17:49 Two things that I have to give you props for. One is that you seem humble enough to know that you don't know all the answers. Like that you're working with your customers to figure out what they want rather than, "Oh, I know what they want." And two, that you are scrappy. Nicole Ketchum 18:15 Yes, I am. Jillian Leslie 18:16 Because when we talked and you were in that conundrum of, "What do I do? My company that I'm working with wants me to place this huge order, and that's a lot of money. And I don't want to take on that risk." And you solved it. Nicole Ketchum 18:33 Yeah, exactly. I was almost mad and so I took that anger. And I was like, you're not going to stop me. But they did stop me for a while, I did cry for a little while. And then I just got mad. And my husband and I are like, how are we going to pay for this, and we took out a home equity loan to pay for this run. But this run versus 25,000+ is more manageable over 30 years. I can do this, I can pay it off. And that's okay. That's debt that's manageable. And so yeah, I wasn't going to let them stop me. Jillian Leslie 19:11 I love that. Scrappy. Okay. So how did you start to get the message out that you made this product? You know, whether it'd be Instagram, email, what was your strategy? And what is your strategy? Nicole Ketchum 19:26 Well, initially, my strategy was I basically sent it to every blog I could possibly find back in 2014. And I got free press from Amy Atlas and Oh Joy pinned my octopus chandelier and it went crazy viral. Jillian Leslie 19:45 So wait, so you sent them a chandelier? Nicole Ketchum 19:48 I didn't send them a physical product, this is what's so awesome. I just sent them my website and I was like, This is new, you've never seen anything like this. If it interests you, could you write about it? Jillian Leslie 20:01 Good for you. Nicole Ketchum 20:02 I know. I don't think I could get away with that now. Jillian Leslie 20:05 Why? Nicole Ketchum 20:06 I think things have changed in four years. People are demanding product plus payment. And four years ago, they were like, "Sure." Jillian Leslie 20:14 Right. Content. It was like cool. Nicole Ketchum 20:18 Just to kind of like, yeah. And it was cool and I knew that, if anything, it's different and no one's seen it before so that had it going for it. So that's how it happened. It was just a lot of free press. And then I hit a wall after a couple years. People wanted a lot of product and a lot of money. But initially, that's how it got me started and that's how my customers heard of me. Jillian Leslie 20:46 Okay. And now then, how did you... again, this is very true to social media to what happens, which is trends come and go. You know, people see it, they love it. But then all of a sudden, that strategy doesn't work anymore. So then what did you do? Nicole Ketchum 21:03 I had a business mentor who I was stressing because I'm sure just like a lot of people, they look at Shark Tank and think that, "Oh, I'm not making a million dollars. I'm not successful." And I was stressing out bad and he was like, "Nicole, it's better to build as slow as you can and as thorough as you can versus run hot and disappear." Yeah, so I took it to heart and I decided to slow down. I had paid off my whole debt for my first run. It was going slow, but I was like, nobody knows that I'm here because press had died down like you had said, so I started building my Instagram out and it's been very slow. Building my Pinterest out. I was on Facebook for a while. I've now gotten off Facebook and just focusing on Pinterest and Instagram. And now I'm trying to build my email list. And really what I did about two years ago is I reached out to party stylists and bloggers and I said, "Here, I'm going to send you some free product. Could you just test it out and use it and maybe take a picture or two?" and it's been working great. Jillian Leslie 22:19 Really? Okay. Okay. Nicole Ketchum 22:22 And now, some of them are my friends and they really tell me what they think about them. And pretty much everyone, and I'm not tooting my own horn, I'm just saying that they love it. And they've been telling me what colors they wanted and how they were using it. And then they're giving me the photography, which as you know, photography is a lot of money. So I've been saving tons of money off of that and that's how I've been doing it. It's been super slow. But I finally sold out of the best seller and the mirrored one sold out super quick. And I started getting orders from like Sugarfina and other companies like that, and I couldn't fulfill the orders. And that's when I hit the wall and then talk to you and then decided to take out my loan and find another company. If I was on Shark Tank, they would be like, "See you later because you're growing too slow at four years," but I feel like I'm finally gaining some important traction and Disney has been able to kind of give me that tailwind that I need to keep going basically. They validated me. And, you know, I'll go to my grave just being so happy about that. Thinking about the mom market to get your product out there Jillian Leslie 23:41 That's so great. Have you thought about the mom market, reaching out to mom influencers? Nicole Ketchum 23:51 Yes. I have done that in the past and I've even run contests. And I've been in, I don't know, 5 or 10 national magazines and done contests as well. And that's worked okay. But just so people know, just because you get press in a magazine doesn't equal sales. In fact, it's a misnomer and it usually doesn't equal sales. Unless you're in Oprah. And that's not happening as much anymore. Jillian Leslie 24:24 Right. And also then what you want is to be in a magazine and have them link to you in their digital form so that you can get some SEO juice. Nicole Ketchum 24:34 Yes, I recently linked with Life & Style magazine and J-14 magazine and did a contest for one of my octopuses. And it was the largest contest they ever had. There was 24,000 entries for this and they wouldn't share any of the information with me. So, yeah. So that was a good learning experience. A, it showed me people are probably interested in free product but also that there was interest in my product. And B, I have to figure out at some point down the road, more of a marketing budget for that sort of thing. And also taking out the HELOC loan last year for the inventory, we decided to jump off the cliff. And my husband and I were like, we're just going for it, guns blazing. We're going to try everything. And we hired a company that is like a Shark Tank company, so they are going to be working with me to kind of shrink my chandeliers, repackage them, approach buyers, and also kind of help me get into that mom market that seems to be pretty hard for me to get into. Jillian Leslie 25:50 Got it. Now what about though trying to get into Michaels or trying to get into boutiques? Nicole Ketchum 25:59 Yes. In its current form, they're 24 by 20, and the box is huge and it's not made for retail. I was recently on a website called Fair and basically,it's trying to be a middleman and knock out trade shows. So buyers would go in, look, buy your product and then test it out in their stores. And I was getting a lot of buyers. But they were saying, "Well, how do we put this in the stores?" And I was like, "Exactly." Jillian Leslie 26:35 What do you mean? You mean to put it on the shelf it's too big? Nicole Ketchum 26:39 Yeah, right. Jillian Leslie 26:40 The actual box is too big? Nicole Ketchum 26:43 Yes. If they wanted to use it for visual merchandising, that's cool and that's fine. They should buy it at a full price and not wholesale. So that told me that my direction, I stopped selling on there and I pivoted with this company. And they're going to shrink it to down to like, I think we're going to shrink it down to like 12 by 16 or maybe even smaller. So that it won't have the giant glorious impact it has now, but those are mainly used by party stylists and wedding planners. So the littler ones will be good for the little girls, teenagers, college students, moms. And I want to be able to have them packaged so they can slide right into the stores. And yes, we have a whole target market that we're looking at. Michaels. Target. Hasbro. Hasbro is actually in Rhode Island and my goal is to get a face-to-face meeting with them and talk about designing some princess chandeliers for them. Jillian Leslie 27:53 Oh, my god. Yes. Yes. And I feel like also somehow with Disney and all of their, you know, all that they do in terms of merchandising. Nicole Ketchum 28:02 I know. I recently reached out to my contact there and we left on perfect terms. They were very happy with me. But he also had let me know when they were there that they work at a crazy cycle. They used to work at 90 to 120 days and now they're working 30 days for a project and he can't even see straight. So he never got back to me and I don't want to bother him right now because I don't want to ruin that relationship. So I'm thinking when I rebrand and repackage because I'll be changing the name of my company too. Jillian Leslie 28:38 From what to what? Do you know? Nicole Ketchum 28:40 Yes. I just talked to the company today. So Chandelier by NK doesn't work for me because it has my initials and I want to move past just designing chandeliers. And it was hard for some people even in my Instagram like to look at it and get what it was. Not my pictures but just my handle. So we decided on Hey Girl Decor. Jillian Leslie 29:08 I like that. Nicole Ketchum 29:11 And I haven't come up with a tagline yet. Something like "modern and colorful" or something. That series or something like that. I have a trademark attorney looking now. There are several companies with the 'Hey Girl' name, but they are like tea, jewelry, a nonprofit. So nothing in the sphere I'm in. Jillian Leslie 29:30 Got it. And is that your vision? Is your vision to build out new products? Are you working on new products? In your mind are you designing them? Like, what are you thinking? Nicole Ketchum 29:42 Yes, I designed a heart chandelier. Well, it's basically just a hanging heart that slots in two. I wouldn't really call it a chandelier. And I've been dying to get that out and I've had some people buy it just on the side. And they love it. And that's the other thing that I want to impart to anyone that takes a company and is making a product. Sometimes I'll see people and they're cranking out a product, A, I don't know how they're doing that because that costs a lot of money. They must have like a slush fund or something. But in reality, I've had to take a huge step back based on, you know, monetary budget. And so I'm hoping that I can get the heart out in the next year. And yeah, I have a ton of ideas that I've had to basically shelf because I just can't do them, I can't afford to do them right now. Jillian Leslie 30:39 So what is your advice to somebody who says, "I have this great idea for a product" and they see companies like Warby Parker or, you know, these direct to consumer brands that have, you know, some sort of interesting story behind them like Away luggage. Or just even these like, I just bought a bra from a company, I forgot even the name but it's like, you know, designed by women and, you know, selling them. Everlane, those kinds of things. Like you've got this vision. And what is your advice to those people? Nicole Ketchum 31:16 I would say, go for it. And make sure that you love your product, know your product, know where your product fits, and who your potential market is. And then just go for it. Jillian Leslie 31:32 Really? Nicole Ketchum 31:34 And don't worry, just like I've had to go slower than I wanted and I'm an impatient type A person, I'd say slower is better. The tortoise does win the, you know. Jillian Leslie 31:47 Win at the end, yes. Win the race. Nicole Ketchum 31:48 Win at the end. Give yourself that grace to realize that it's not a straight arrow shot that just when you think you've climbed the hill, you are back down that hill. But don't give up. And if you hear any of those stories of the two guys that built Warby Parker or the Away luggage, they also struggled and had to raise funds and didn't know if they were going to be able to pay everybody. And then they hit their hump and they got over it. And so I would say just get that in your mind that not that it's going to be hard or easy. Just that you have to be focused. Jillian Leslie 32:32 Right. And you have to, just what you said, love your product because it's not... It can't be about the goal. Or it can't be about like, you know, making this huge. successful company. Nicole Ketchum 32:46 Correct. Jillian Leslie 32:46 It's the long slog. Nicole Ketchum 32:49 Yes. That's perfect, Jillian. That's so perfect. Yeah, it is a long slog. And you have to love it because there's been times that I wanted to give up but it wouldn't let me basically. Jillian Leslie 33:02 That's so interesting. Now, do you sell on Instagram? Nicole Ketchum 33:09 I am working with, well, let's see. I lay out my Instagram on Planoly. It looks like Planoly has a way that I can link my shop. But because I'm not on Facebook, I'm actually kind of punished for that and I can't put my prices on there. Jillian Leslie 33:24 On to your Instagram? Nicole Ketchum 33:26 Yeah. Squarespace is my website provide and they'll work with, you know, and Facebook owns Instagram. So there's all that. But yeah, that's what I would like to do. Some people, I do get customers from Instagram. But mainly my customers are either finding me online or buying through. I just got on Wayfair so they're buying through Wayfair or Houzz or AHAlife. And that's how I'm selling too. Selling your product on Amazon Jillian Leslie 33:57 And do you sell on Amazon? Nicole Ketchum 33:59 That is what my company that I just hired is going to be doing next for me. I tried to do it on my own and what ended up happening is some of my vendors threw my stuff up there without asking me. And then when I went to approach Amazon about selling, they're like, "Well, you're already on there and who are you?" And they're just giving me the worst time. So I'm having my company represent me to go forward getting me on there. Jillian Leslie 34:27 Got it. And have you ever explored Etsy? Exploring Etsy as a selling platform Nicole Ketchum 34:33 That's so funny. Yeah, my brother-in-law even worked for Etsy when I was having trouble. They were absolutely horrible to me. Jillian Leslie 34:41 Why? Nicole Ketchum 34:43 I went on there and they were like, "Well, you're not handmade." And I said I understand that. Then they had the wholesale, the Etsy wholesale, and I approached them for that. And they said, "Sure, send me all of your proprietary information, plus all of your manufacturing." And I was like, "Well, I can send you everything from my manufacturer." Like documents, logs, pictures, you know, everything that's proving that they are there, they are watching the workers. There's nothing illegal, or, you know, like a sweatshop about it. And that wasn't good enough for them. They wanted my CAD files. And I said absolutely not, and they wouldn't let me on. Jillian Leslie 35:25 That's so interesting. But now though, I feel like Etsy will let people with goods from China, for example, sell that it's no longer as handmade as it used to be. Nicole Ketchum 35:37 Oh, I agree. I thought that that was quite ironic and troubling to me that there were tons of China knockoffs and other things on there and they were giving me the hardest time and my brother in law worked for Etsy corporate. Wow. Okay. And they told me to never asked them again. Seriously, because I was gonna say, go back to them. Yeah, I mean, I don't know, maybe, maybe I can. But I got an email like a year ago. And they're like, you better not even think about asking us to get on and I was like, are you harassing me? Yeah, I don't know what happened. But Etsy wholesale failed. So maybe those people are gone. I don't know. Jillian Leslie 36:17 Okay. So now what is your kind of like, it sounds like building a product is I mean, building a physical product, not a virtual product is a lot of pushing the rock up the hill. How not to get taken advantage of building your own product Nicole Ketchum 36:31 It is and you need to arm yourself with as much information as you possibly can. Because anyone and everyone can take advantage of you. And I don't mean that in a bad way. And I'm not knocking China because everyone I've worked for in China has been wonderful and kind and hardworking. But the more you know about your own product, and that includes materials, how it's made your your files, the better, you are able to push that rock up the hill. Sign up for MiloTree and get added to my "Actionable Business Tips" email newsletter Jillian Leslie 37:04 If you want to get weekly business tips. Small digestible business tips, head to military. com, sign up for an account, you get your first 30 days free. And you also get added to my email list. Each week, I send a little nugget that will help you move your business forward. These are tips and tricks we've used to grow our two successful businesses. And now back to the show. Mistakes made building a product So what mistakes did you make the you would say, Oh, don't do this. Nicole Ketchum 37:38 Um, yeah, tons. Let me say, not knowing enough about acrylic. Jillian Leslie 37:49 Okay. The actual material. Unknown 37:50 Right? I'm not really the first time not the second time asking them point blank. What reorder number do you need? Nicole Ketchum 38:02 And what is acceptable to you? I'm finding out what would you have done differently? Unknown 38:11 I probably wouldn't have used them. Okay. Yeah, basically, they were a middleman. The owner is an American citizen who lives in Berkeley and owned a manufacturing company in China. And that China company also was like a middleman for because they have to source the acrylic, they have to source the crystal that I put in the middle of the fancy chandelier. The they have to source the S hooks and everything has to be sourced. Okay, um, and then they send those things to you. And then you look at it and they you say yes or no, this isn't fitting what I envision and I didn't know enough back then. So when I approached this second manufacturer, this time around, I had already my source all the materials from China and gotten it. Okay, so I knew exactly what it was. Yep. And I mailed them a sample, which I didn't do the first time. Okay, I mailed the sample of what my box look like, what the phone that holds a chandelier looks like what the shadow looks like, the accessories for the chandelier so that they would not mess up at all open. It was perfect. Jillian Leslie 39:26 Got it. Now, do you know other people like you who are creating products? Nicole Ketchum 39:33 Um, no. Jillian Leslie 39:35 Okay, to say it's like, I feel like other people are probably going through a lot of the same stuff. Nicole Ketchum 39:44 You know, it's been really frustrating for me, because I've joined a couple mastermind groups and everyone's either doing stationery and I'm not knocking any of that. I'm just saying they're doing like paper goods or, you know, other things that I'm not doing. And I at the level of I'm at, I need to find women or men that are already above me making more money and are where I want to be. And I haven't been able to, to find that and I need that so desperately that that camaraderie and that like ability to say, Hey, you know, I need to source this, or did you did you find I had I just had someone approached me who makes acrylic jewelry. And she's like, Are you okay, giving me that information? I was like, absolutely. Because it does nobody good for you to hold all of your sources close to your chest. You're just being selfish. And I don't believe in that kind of world. So I gave her my manufacturing contacts. Okay. I wouldn't do that. If, like some, if I'm teaching a class. I'm not going to give that to everyone, unless they pay for it. But because she was already making product, right? And was having trouble sourcing and acrylic. I gave that to her. Right. But I need that kind of, I don't know, I need to find people like that. And I'm having the hardest time that's so interesting. It's lonely, right? Jillian Leslie 41:17 Oh, I was just, I just recorded another podcast. And we were talking about that exact same thing, really general about being an entrepreneur that, you know, it's like, it's like the other moms at your kids school don't know what you do. And they don't quite understand it. And it can be it's a lot of you at a computer, right? And it can be lonely. And that's honestly one of the reasons why I wanted to do this podcast because I wanted entrepreneurs to share the truth about their lives, and to talk about struggles as well as the successes. But it's so easy on Instagram to see everybody's perfect life. Exactly. And it's not like that. But the reality is, it's the long slog. right? 42:06 It is and I've challenged myself, one of the things that I did get away from the mastermind group I was in is that I challengde myself to take behind the scenes video. So this morning, I went down to my basement. It's so glamorous, right? Show my inventory, right? Here it is, when you place an order, I go down to my large basement, and I get a box and I bring it to FedEx ups, or the post office, right, and I drop ship, but you don't see all the stuff I had to do to get to that point, or the money I had to spend, right. But here it is. And I'm trying to do that. Because people are like, "Well, can you get it in a pastel pink?" And or can you just do this? And I'm like, that's great. But I can't because I don't own a giant laser printer. Right. And cutter that I can put so right. Going to China to build your product Jillian Leslie 42:54 Right. Now, what about though either like, have you thought about going to China? Does that make any sense? Unknown 43:02 Yes, I would. That is one of my dreams is to to keep my manufacturer that I currently have and build a great relationship with them and go over there. Definitely. Jillian Leslie 43:15 And what would going over there give you? What's the benefit? Nicole Ketchum  43:20 Just seeing your product made in front of your eyes versus just having to do everything over the computer. And we used to do late night Skype sessions, right. As the time difference. Yep. Hmm. And they even walk me around the factory with their phone. So I could see that it was indeed a good place to do business with that would give me I don't know more. I'm not confidence. I don't know what the word is. Um, I would just feel more ingrained with my product. There's a little bit of me being removed. Jillian Leslie 43:53 I get it. Now. What about you investing in of laser cutter? Nicole Ketchum 43:58 I looked at a GlowGorage and that's something that I could probably use to make small products like, Yeah, but there I think their capability is like, till, like, 212 or something. Okay. Um, we looked, my husband and I, before we, we took the loan at, we looked at taking a loan out for a laser cutter, and even just making them smaller, we would still need a giant size and you and I live in the northeast, you can't put it in the basement, it would seize up and freeze. So and there's no room. Yep, yep. Yeah, so we definitely, he's, since he's a designer, he was able to, like, approach it. He builds dorms for colleges, so he was able to approach it with a very pragmatic, right, and he was like, you're just gonna have to go through China again. And I was like, you're right. So Wow. Nicole Ketchum 44:48 Yeah. Well, I guess Yes. Nicole Ketchum 44:50 Oh, I was gonna say the company that I had I hired and, and I don't mind saying what, what company is, it's called idea buyer. And they're out of Columbus, Ohio, okay. They have their own manufacturing firm in China. And if things are successful with them, which I hope they will be, I could probably do a trip with them to go and see. Teaching other entrepreneurs about product design Nicole Ketchum 45:13 Yes, I eventually, along with having passion for home decor, and, and the stuff that I'm designing. I eventually want to teach other entrepreneurs. This, I discovered that I'm equally as passionate about that. And because I'm lonely, assuming other people are lonely. So I want to take the charge and lead because I am not seeing anybody really doing that. Jillian Leslie 45:36 Okay. So if you're interested in products, reach out, reach out to Nicole. Nicole Ketchum 45:41 Yes. Or go to the all conference. Jillian Leslie 45:43 Oh, yeah. So yeah, so let's talk about that. Okay. Well, first of all, what are you most excited about right now in your business. Nicole Ketchum 45:52 The possibilities with the company that I hired and with the connections that I hope to make it all conference and just the knowledge that I have, I have new inventory, new ways to sell it. Getting on Wayfare took four months. That was a big slog, and that's super exciting. I hope to be successful with them. So that's, that's what I'm excited about. Jillian Leslie 46:18 Okay, so we are both going to be at AltSummit in March. I am going to be talking about how to start a podcast in a weekend. This is my first time at AltSummer. And I had Gabby Blair on the podcast, you know, who is Design Mom and is one of the founders of AltSummit. And, you know, she said, definitely apply and I applied and so there, there I am, and you're going to be a resident to explain expert. Nicole Ketchum 46:51 Yes, I'll be a resident expert. At some point, I actually reached out to to Gabby, just saying, hey, do you guys need some of my chandeliers like over a table. It doesn't even have to be my table just for glitz and glam. And what did she say? I haven't heard back from her. But I'm pretty sure she's pretty busy. Yeah, okay. And one of my good friends. Olivia has been there several times and, and has worked in various ways with them. So I can always just ask her to how do I do that? Jillian Leslie 47:27 Right. And if if anybody in the audience is looking for a very cool design element in their house, or for a party or for their kids room, I love one for my daughter's bedroom. Definitely check out Nicole's product because they are super cool, beautiful, you know, they're very glitz and glam. That's what I would say. Yeah. And modern. Nicole Ketchum 47:49 Yes. Thank you. Appreciate that. Jillian Leslie 47:50 Definitely. Okay. So how can people reach out to you and you know, find out what you're doing connection with you and like pick your brain. Nicole Ketchum 48:01 They can always go to my website. It's for now. It's ChandelierbyNK.com. Or you can go to Instagram and look up chandelierbynk is the handle. You can just email me at Nicole@chandelierbynk.com or DM me on Instagram and I'll get right back to you. Jillian Leslie 48:22 I love it. Well, Nicole, I am again really impressed with your journey. And thank you so much for being on the show. Nicole Ketchum 48:01 Thank you Julian. I appreciate it. I look forward to seeing you in March. Jillian Leslie 48:22 If you're enjoying The Blogger Genius Podcast, please subscribe, leave a comment on iTune, rate us, share it with your friends, email me at jillian@milotree.com and I will see you again here next week.  

If you ve ever looked at something in a store and weren t sure whether to buy it or not, apparently the question you are subconsciously trying to answer is, "Is this me " According to artist Rebecca Rebouche, that s the central question in all of our lives in the way we relate to art. How that art gets created is a whole other question. In Rebecca s method, the path from the real world to an image living inside a frame can come from a sliver of nature or the crushing heartache caused by finding out that a total stranger guy you ve been looking at across the room in bar has a girlfriend. Jerry Resse II totally agrees with Rebecca. In Jerry s opinion the heartache of unrequited imaginary love is just as crushing as the real thing. Jerry has his sights set on sports broadcasting or politics but in the meantime he s more than happy to be setting up Dat Dog franchises around the country. If you re interested in making a boatload of money from selling Dat Dogs, look Jerry up. Tell em Happy Hour sent you. Jack Miele might be the most successful New Orleanian entertainer you don t know. What you may have thought was a fun gig playing the part of Randi Wilde, the Devo lookalike singer and guitar player in the band The Molly Ringwalds, is actually serious touring band big business complete with lawyers, managers and tour buses. Despite The Molly s being a full time gig, the kicker is that it s just the tip of the iceberg of Jack s professional career which includes writing and recording Grammy and Emmy winning music. This is one of those typically surprising New Orleans conversations where you discover that the 3 perfectly normal and unassuming people you happen to sitting at the bar with wrote the music on the TV show you love, designed the pattern that s on the sheets you re sleeping on that you bought at Anthropologie, and run the business at the place you ate at last night. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Cornell roboticist and biolocomotion expert Andy Ruina decided to come to New Orleans for a physics conference he didn t plan on walking into a bar to prepare for his lecture on the physics of the self propelled bicycle and end up being suckered into a podcast conversation with a bunch of yahoos. But thanks to the evil of cocktails we now all get to learn about the physical principles behind pushing a riderless bike across a parking lot. Johnette Downing also gives us an education. You too can learn to build a poboy the way the kids in Kuwait do it. Johnette is the internatonal musical children s ambassador, or children s international ambassador of music or something similar that s harder to remember after a few drinks but whatever her title, Johnette has a charismatic and captivating way of getting your attention, and songwriting skills that create simple melodies that are deceptively catchy. After you ve heard the poboy song try getting it out of your head. Chris Klein is trying to get his music out of his head. In his series of videos with his band Chris Klein and the Boulevards, he creates what are essentially movies that are smart and sizzling. You could be the 60th person in the world to see them if you act quickly. Chris also talks tattoos he s a professional tattoo artist and even though you probably think you can imagine the crazy stuff people let a tattoo artist put on their body, you still won t believe what Chris has got to say about that. Thomas Mattera is not only the tallest guy who has ever been on Happy Hour he s also the only guest who rode his bike across the USA, twice, and lived in Nepal. If you had to be trapped on a desert island with only one other person and you could choose anybody in the world, Thomas would be a wise choice. Especially if you need to rustle up Mexican food in the middle of nowhere or build a house. Andrew Duhon cements in place the first track off his new album, "It s Alright Johnette, Leave It There" maybe not the final title . Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first thing you notice about A F The Naysayer is that he is totally mucus free. Okay, you might notice that he s tall and striking, with a head of dreadlocks but you ll find out in this conversation why he looks so healthy and how he lost somewhere between 8 and 80 pounds. Closer to 80. It all goes back to 1912 and a mucus free diet. Keith Spera is the music writer for The Advocate. As you might imagine, it s a gig that gives you a lot of nights out. Of all the memories Keith could have dredged up over cocktails, how about the night he spent with Master P in P s Beverly Hills hacienda And then there s the menories of Mo B. Dick. Though after P moved to Baton Rouge with his entire crew that may have become Meaux B Dick. The sure way to be the most popular person in just about any room is to give away free booze. Stacy Johnson is the tasting room manager at Celebration Distillation, where they make Old New Orleans Rum. Stacy spends all day giving away free drinks and concocting new cocktails, and on this show she plies everybody with extraordinary high octane and delicious rum as well as a bottle of jet fuel known as Gingeroo. This rum infused conversation darts around all over the map, from the perils of dating drummers to the lure of Missoula Montana, and a hundred stops in between. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you ever wondered what happened to Carina Nathan she s now Kevin Simons. And Karen Regis. And Crystal Sedona. And Chi Chi the lead singer of the Girl Dogs, who is actually a dog. Katrina Brees sheds some light on this fantastic array of personalities, and their wardrobes. Tank from Tank and the Bangas has her own specialty wardrobe and range of personas too. Her wardrobe doesn t extend to panties which she has given up wearing but she does occasionally wear boy shorts to boost her booty. Her personas start out with Terianne Michelle Ball in New Orleans East and extend to the woman sorting through damaged goods on aisle 4 at Walmart. Norman Spence and Merell Burket from Tank s band, Tank and the Bangas, join the party but strictly under their own names. Ricky Leman s alter ego is Frederick, his real name. Ricky could have gone with alter ego 2, Fred, but he s keeping it real, pleading "the fifth" on a range of issues. All photos on this page were taken by sunny Alison Moon at Wayfare. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kate Wright is a romance novelist. If you read romance novels you ve never heard of her. But there s a good chance you ve heard of Vivian Wood, Kate s pen name created by the way by a "mellow yat guy" . Vivian is the creator of a range of titles like "Noah s Revelation," "Gavin s Salvation," and "Taken By The Pack." These novels and novellas mostly feature covers of men who are "ripped" but not necessarily "driven" or "got their sh t together" which is the kind of guy Kate not Vivian is looking for. If you ve ever wondered it might be like spending all day every day in a sex fantasy, Kate like Noah has some revelations. And if you re wondering what men say to an erotic novelist and what kind of insight Kate has gotten about what men and women really want listen up. Alex McConduit is going straight home from this conversation to take a nap with Kate or alone at the time of writing was TBD then get up and launch his career as an erotic novelist under the name Chuck Wood. In his more sedate real life Alex is a children s novelist, author of the popular The Little Who Dat, Who Didn t. Alex s latest title, Snowballs For All is published by prestigious Pelican and is taking Alex around the world with his trumpet. Alex is planning on changing careers to become a jazz musician in about 22 years. In preparation he has quit listening to music with words and has for the first time heard of David Bowie. True story. Josh Ray from the band Hazy Ray shows up at Happy Hour with his guitar, his wife, and his 18 day old daughter, Evangelina Grace. Yes, 18 day old. As the new dad of a daughter Josh is suddenly looking at the implications of female fantasies from a whole new angle. To celebrate the occasion Josh sings a song he has been working on very intermittently for the better part of 16 years, called Just Good Sex. This is one of the most educational and informative conversations you will ever overhear in a bar anywhere, though your definitions of "educational" and "informative" have to run fairly wide of the traditional meanings of information and education. Perhaps "revealing" would be a better word choice, but we ll leave that up to the novelists. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hugo Montero is the impressario behind the art space, hip Mexican restaurant and sophisto tequila bar Casa Borrerga on OCH in Central City New Orleans. The reason the place is a joyful and riotous success on many levels is a direct reflection of Hugo s larger than life personality and intellect. Hugo started out as an intellectual and academic, spent time as a street artist, and has been a part of the New Orleans cultural scene since the early 90 s. Even pre dating the arrival of Titty Bingo, as he relates in this series of tales that include interesting observations of our steretypes about Mexicans and Mexican restaurants that you may not realize you harbor till you hear it laid out. Hugo s reference to the Titty Bingo days of yore spring from the experiences of Darcy Malone and The Tangle. No strangers to music individually Darcy has sung since childhood with her dad Dave Malone of Radiators fame this is the first go round for the band as a collective. With their new record, Still Life, out any minute the band has some decisions to make. Spotify Yes or no Their Solomonic answer might presage a new wave of music marketing. Andrew Duhon enlists Senor Montero to accompany him on a brand new song about a girl from Plaquemines Parish. From Plaquemines, takes a trip to Aziza Bayou. Don t look for that on a map, you won t find it. Aziza Bayou is not a place, it s a person. Aziza is an anthropologist who manages in a few well chosen sentences to explain the absolute insignificance of the cultural evolution of Facebook, Twitter, and the kids today. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An award winning Happy Hour ... Guy Tem is an award winning opera singer and vocal professor who came to New Orleans from Turkey in 2007 to sing in an opera and never left. Guy teaches the table how to tell a man s singing voice by looking at his neck...then "swings low" with a stirring a cappella rendition of the spiritual that nearly blows out the mics. David Lee Simmons is an award winning journalist and communications professional. As communications specialist for the Foundation for Louisiana, David Lee wants us to know about the Foundation s LEAD program, a seven week leadership workshop accepting registration for its next cycle through Friday, Feb. 10. David Lee also came to New Orleans as a visitor and never left...except for the Atlanta years, which he says gives him a unique empathy for the Falcons. Outlaw Nation is a soon to be award winning New Orleans band whose founder Christian Simeon claims most of the best music ever came out of New Orleans. Christian and co guitarist Sebastian Weston serve up three tunes so infectious you ll need a shot. Andrew Duhon says he s stuck for an album title and asks Christian to name Outlaw Nation s top 10 for inspiration. The winner "Greatest Misses." Stay tuned. Rich Collins of The Imagination Movers hosts for Grant ... and tells our favorite story about the home delivered underpants. Photos at Wayfare by Catherine King. Adam s Apple cover art Adam s Apple censored by Mark Satchwill See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do you call a jam cruise that doesn t have a jam band, but does have a funny poignant singer songwriter, a 5 string bass player bandleader, a solo act, and an artist In other words, the three musicians and an artist who walked in to Wayfare for this week s Happy Hour. While the panel never quite comes to an answer, they do make the case that no matter what form their work takes, New Orleans artists have a lot in common. Anastasia Pelias is a visual artist whose most recent exhibition, Sisters, paid tribute to great female singers. Her favorite critique came from the cable guy, who talked for 20 minutes about her work. And don t mess with her daughters Anastasia is of Greek heritage and warns the New Orleans Greek community is "a powerful association." Musician Davis Rogan knows a fair bit about New Orleans Greeks he s married to one. Davis says he got his start in entertainment reading PSAs about VD on WTUL at the age of 10, and decided to become a musician when he "wrote some funny words and then picked up a little piano." These days he handles all talent booking for the newly renovated Carver Theater. One of the acts Davis is looking to book is Naughty Professor, one of Noah Young s many musical projects. Noah is a 5 string bass player who came to New Orleans by way of Vermont to study jazz at Loyola University, where Naughty Professor got its name from a hot teacher. Noah has just released a CD with his own group, the less imaginatively named Noah Young Band. Andrew Duhon who is performing under the name Andrew Duhon until he thinks of something more clever is back in the co pilot s chair. Andrew discusses jam cruises and suggests Naughty Professor should get a cruise gig, leading to speculation about what a cruise featuring this week s Happy Hour would be called. Pinch hitting for Grant is Peter Ricchiuti, the host of another It s New Orleans podcast, Out to Lunch. Peter also teaches at Tulane s business school, and after 30 years in academia says what he really wants to be is a naughty professor. He leads the group in an insightful conversation about what it s like to be an artist in New Orleans. Photos at Wayfare by Catherine King. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Colby Fox had the benefit of growing up in paradise Destin, Florida. But when he flunked out of community college and joined the Navy, his ex military Army dad wasn t terribly supportive. He told Colby, he d rather have a daughter in a cathouse than a son in the Navy. Colby nonetheless persevered and won the old man over with his skills as a helicopter mechanic in the Arabian Gulf. When the war was over Destin wasn t much fun. So Colby decided he had to move, to some place he could get on one tank of gas. Tallahassee or New Orleans. Colby " I didn t know much about day to day life in either of those places but I was learning lots of surprising things from all the podcasts I was finding on the Stitcher app on my phone. I couldn t find many local flavor podcasts about Tallahassee but the It s New Orleans series was available then and I immersed myself in all the episodes. Happy Hour became my favorite because I really liked the premise. On nights when I couldn t sleep which were many back then I would charge up my phone and walk down the beach, an episode in one direction then turn around and listen to another episode on my way home. I liked listening to Grant and Andrew talk to people who seemed as though they were ordinary New Orleanians but from what I was hearing, sounded like extraordinary people. I decided that I wanted to come live in a city that seemed to be so full of character. So I did. The next pay day I drove to my friend s house in Algiers Point and things got a lot better for me." Katie Brasted is doing what she can to save New Orleans. Katie is Executive Director of Woodlands Conservancy, the last remaining 25 of New Orleans wetlands that acts as a barrier between hurricanes and destruction. Before that Katie worked with schizophrenics in a mental institution in West Virginia. That s where she met her husband. Khris Royal drops by, taking a break from working with his band Dark Matter on new tunes for an album due out later this year. We take a sneak preview of a track called Step Children, partially inspired by jazz orphans and weed. Andrew Duhon plays a track from his forthcoming album by request from Colby. Photos at Wayfare by Catherine King. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apparently women find men who allegedly shoot people, up to three times more attractive than peace loving guys. As a defense attorney Nandi Campbell finds herself representing these guys. Sometimes they don t have the resources to pay a first class defense attorney like Nandi and so the wife, the girlfriend and the other girlfriend come into Nandi s office to sort it out. Nandi is no stranger to the multiple partner world, having grown up with two sisters mere months apart, thanks to her dad and his two girlfriends. All three women and three sisters grew up together and still get along just fine. Brian Levy, who by the way is a black belt professional Aikido practitioner and trainer, had a related but dissimilar experience. In the process of dating two very different women Brian got to learn two languages. That s because one of the girlfriends was Swedish and the other Romanian. If you can t even believe such a thing is possible, take a listen to Brian speaking fluent Romanian and Swedish and explaining the Swedish marital common law that can see a guy get just screwed as the the world of US monogamy. Jeff Schmidtke knows something about post nuptial agreements, which can apparently get you out of being destroyed in a divorce if you and your spouse have agreed ahead of time, but still after you got married, that it s totally cool to date other people. There are apparently a number of ways you can structure a relationship these days, and they re pretty much all represented around the table here at Happy Hour. Meanwhile, in the normally more "truculent" and "bellicose" 10 bonus points if you have a single clue what that means world of rock n roll, folk and psyche pop, Jeff premieres dazzling brand new music off the new album from his band, Shadow Brother, and Andrew Duhon premieres a song he wrote just hours earlier about nostalgia for the warmth of monogamy in jail. This is an absolute classic New Orleans conversation, a must listen Happy Hour. Photos at Wayfare by Catherine King. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting strep throat when someone you know gives a third person oral sex sounds like a magic trick. Unfortunately, for Eric Hollerbach, it wasn t. Part of Eric s stand up comedy livelihood is his popular and revealing podcast Highway Diary. You can check out episode 160 where he and his ex ex girlfriend reminisce over the many issues that drove them apart. Until you have a moment to do that, you can catch up on the decidedly non magic pathology of passing diseases around the world of New Orleans entertainment. Rev Goat Carson is a whole other kind of entertainer. Claiming to have Alzheimer s, he manages to pull off a dazzling rap that he performed with Dr. John when he was writing songs with him which earned him a Grammy. Goat also recounts his adventures with a panoply of luminaries from Bob Dylan to Kinky Friedman, and recounts his run for President with Joe Walsh from The Eagles as his running mate. In a range of amazing tales, nothing is quite as stupendous as the movie Goat wrote and directed in the 80 s starring the great grandfather of rap, Melle Mel, Step Off. The sci fi thriller foretells the destruction of the Twin Towers in Manhattan, and is only now seeing the light of day with performances in New Orleans. Sharks Teeth is a band that you might not immediately peg as New Orleanian. Their many recordings are electronic and synth laden but as their performance on Happy Hour proves they are equally at home with acoustic guitars and a snare drum with a rag over it. Tyler Scurlock, Zach Meredith and Spencer Darr turn in an impressive two song set before making a case for dropping out of school and bringing back the audio cassette. Andrew Duhon returns from Canada with a new song about The soul of the Mississippi. Photos at Wayfare by Dionne Grayson. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Morgan Molthrop fell in love with Greek history at Newman high school and has parlayed that love into a model for his and your life. Morgan s hero, Alexander the Great who is actually a Greek superhero who died in 323 BC at the age of 33 not a Russian Tsar is the inspiration for just about everything in Morgan s current life. He s written a book about him, painted paintings, and has a 13 step plan for successful living for you to follow so you too can be Alex great. Boyanna Trayanova went to Ben Franklin. She didn t fall in love with any Greek gods but she did fall in love with the seminal New Orleans drummer Johnny Vidacovich. Boyanna is a fearsome drummer and leader of One Love Brass Band, a New Orleans brass band take on ska and reggae. Renee Blanchard started out after college working to bring democracy to Burma, and to get toxic chemicals out of cell phones. Having succeeded at both of those goals she came back to New Orleans. And opened Church Alley Coffee Bar on Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. Now she s moving to Mid City and might possibly get that magnolia tattoo on her shoulder finished. Renee is, by the way, bossy. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to acupuncturist and dispenser of love based medicine Noell Eanes, at one point we were all running around with three eyes. Evolution dealt us a sad blow, removing our third eye which allowed us to see emotions. Now Noell keeps her third eye open, her chakras tuned up and her Qi flowing with a number of techniques and the aid of a ring made of Shattucktite. Noell can even perform acupuncture without needles, known as Shakuju, and hangs out with witches. On paper this all might seem eccentric and weird, but the way Noell tells it, it all sounds perfectly, well, lovely. Blaze Edwards is a photographer, but that s the one thing nobody talks about in this conversation. Blaze has plenty else to talk about though, including the birth of Kemetic Yoga. Kemet is apparently the original name for Africa, and if you re wondering how Yoga, normally associated with India, came to be African, well Blaze can tell you. Since we last met her on Happy Hour, Kathryn Rose Wood has transformed from the front person in a band to a formidable singer songwriter and the city s go to person for other women singer songwriters as the host of an all woman singer songwriter night at the International House Hotel. Andrew Duhon was a woman in a past life some 500 years ago and today marks the beginning of his and Grant s journey into the world of warlocks. Photos at Wayfare by Sam Weil. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singer songwriter Justin Edward had dated and lived with Jen for 6 years before the night he came home to find she d totally trashed his apartment. The upside to his new existence is he has a whole bunch of what Andrew Duhon calls "Sad bastard heartbreak songs," but the downside is getting back on the dating scene. Justin s been everywhere from home alone to the swingers scene. Katy Dupre has the good sense to date a chef from no less a restaurant than Cochon. Katy spends her days analyzing data about the city of New Orleans and is an expert on political research. She explains why Donald Trump ended up being our President and 6 months from now she s coming back on Happy Hour to explain how she s changing the city to get us out of this predicament. And she s not kidding. If you like to go out, you need to know Michael Underwood. And if you don t know him personally, download his app, Scenehound. It tells you where to go to find what you re looking for on any given evening from a quiet place to get a drink to a rowdy fun hang. Michael is on the verge of crossing over from being a big deal in the tech world to being a big deal in the real world. Andrew Duhon tries out the third draft of a new song and hits it out of the park. No Man s Land is a beautiful place. You re going to love it. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon aka Moon, apparently. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Austin Alward aka Aus T the Franco rap star, has a plan to save the country and the world from rampant Trumpism. It involves the inernet, a Cuban cigar store owner, and a bunch of New Orleans actors and musicians. It might be just crazy enough to work. Jazz great Mitchel Forman, and singer songwriters Sam Doores from The Deslondes and Andrew Duhon have their own plan. It involves a searing rendition of I Shall Be Released, a tribute to both Leonard Cohen and the nation. Actress Teri Wyble made it out of dance school in Lafayette to become a critically acclaimed actress, a go go dancer at Harrah s Casino, and an international body painting sensation. This is one of the greatest Happy Hours in the history of the show. If you were thinking of leaving New Orlenas this will make you stay. If you are thinking of moving here, call U Haul, this will tip you over the edge. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Although the country voted for Donald Trump for President, New Orleans went 80 for Hillary. To try and drown our sorrows we assembled 3 of the most upbeat New Orleanians we could convince to come have free drinks with Grant at Happy Hour. Stasia Cymes is the 1 clutter clearing queen of New Orleans, crowned by no less an authority than Angie s List. Stasia cried all morning about the state of the nation but after 3 hours of clearing clutter and two stiff drinks she s back on top. Vocka Redu is a super star little known in his own back yard. Blending styles from P funk to Southern bounce, Vocka entertains across the country and around the world. Today he lets loose at the table, freestyling an introduction to himself. He also tells the tale of dealing with the untimely death of his mom who was run down by a car, crossing the street, just a couple of weeks ago. His new album, Mama s Boy, is due out any day. Stokley Gray gave up a life working with developmentally challenged adults, with Downs Syndrome, to open a lighting company in New Orleans. As you might expect he has a compassionate perspctive on partying and presidential politics. If you voted for President Trump and you re already happy you won t be any less happy after this Happy Hour. But if you re worrying about the future of the country, this conversation will make you feel a lot better. Suggested use consume with alcohol of choice. Photos at Wayfare by Sam Weil. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Judge Laurie White is the Chief Judge at New Orleans Criminal District Court. Because that s an elected position, Judge White refers to herself as a "politician" but nobody else in the bar is buying that. The common wisdom of a bunch of drinkers seems to be that if you are elected to a position that is involved in an activity other than politics you re not strictly a politician. Look at it this way Rob Steinberg is an actor who can t be sure if he s been in court as an actual witness or just thinks he has because he s played a D.A. and a number of lawyers on TV. So that doesn t make Rob a lawyer any more than having people vote for Laurie makes her a politician, but neither does owning a rental property make Rob actually a community destroying owner of an Air B n B property because the way you can look at it is he s actually doing his neighbors a favor by freeing up parking spaces. Also, along the same lines, it s probably better not to ask what Bruce Willis is really like. Terry McDermott has a number one song on the charts in the UK and Europe. When you hear Terry play it you won t be surprised. It s obviously a hit. Remember you heard it here first On a more somber note Terry reports that Dave Rosser, his bandmate in New Orleans, longtime member of the Afghan Whigs, and Terry s good friend has been diagnosed with colon cancer. If you;d like to contribute to the Go Fund Me campaign for Dave you can do that here. Grant has a radical idea for reforming the justice system which Judge White responds to with, "I can see why people laugh" but does admit finally, that the prospect of people telling the truth in court instead of just professing to is "a good start," which might be a good campaign slogan for her campaign for the Court of Appeal. Andrew dazzles the assembled with a 2nd draft of his new time travel love song, Cecilia Champagne. Other than Grant s less than fine legal reasoning, this might be the most intelligent gathering of Happy Hour guests in the history of the show which concludes with the official vote to endorse Judge Laurie White for Court of Appeal. 71 on your ballot. Photos at Wayfare by Sam Weil. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kim Carson, the Queen of New Orleans Honky Tonk, describes the difference between New Orleans Hony Tonk and the rest as, "New Orleans is Honky Tonkier." Kim ought to know. She plays her NOLA H Tonk all around the world. Spending more than half of the year out of the country takes its toll on other parts of Kim s life, as it does with other musicians, but apparently fewer of them are screwing groupies than you think. Dan Fox corroborates that. For some years he was the tour manager for Hooray For The Riff Raff and he s an on and off member of the Lovey Dovies. In his real life Dan is the publisher and editor of NOLA underground music and lit must read, Anti Gravity Magazine. Oh, and he s getting married in a couple of weeks. You want to know how that s going Does the sentence, "It can go die in a fire" give you a clue Joaquin Emiliano escaped a life in adult novelty retail with a wonderful education in lubricants. If you get through half of this show there s a good chance you ll come out knowing a lot more about sexual lubrication than you did coming in, for want of a better expression. In his real life Joaquin is a gifted author who specializes in downplaying his talents, in fact he has turned self deprecation into, literally, an art form. Take a look at his books, Suicide Notes From A Wedding and Stories From A Bar With No Doorknobs and see for yourself. If you buy one of Joaquin s books he reportedly makes 25c. Andrew Duhon, closing in on his new record, plays the second draft of a new song he tried out on us previously, called No Man s Land. Not suitable for weddings. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you see someone you think is attractive on social media and you d like to get to know them, the one sure fire way to get shut down is to say "Hi." The best way to meet someone is to say nothing about how attractive they are. This is dating advice by social media dating icon, Karen iKandy Tep, aka datingiKandy. "Dating Guru" barely scratches the surface of Karen s multi talents that stretch from sex s;ave warrior to author to nurse to bare handed fisher woman of the bayou. Cole Williams is loved and in love but by whom and with whom remains an open question. Jumping out of the gentrified frying pan of Brooklyn in the gentri fire of New Orleans, Cole has an interesting perspective on what s happening to the Crescent City. Oh, and she s also the Punk Empress of African Rock. Lowry Curley is the smartest guy ever to drive across Lake Pontchartrain. Raised on the North Shore, Lowry is creating human life in a lab Uptown, but not the old fashioned way that starts with an Instagram photo. Lowry is the founder of a company caled AxoSim that is literally creating human nerves on a chip to be used in drug testing inplace of animals and humans. Andrew Duhon tries out a new song off his forthcoming album, accompanied by Cole s Empress African Gumbo bongos. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the story of how Happy Hour came to endorse Kaitlin Marone for Senate. Normally we describe this show as random conversation with people who have nothing in common. Today our guests do have something in common. They are running for the United States Senate. The election is November 8th, the same day as the presidential election. Although we can t promise you the same level of dramatic fireworks as a presidential debate, our plan was to offer the unique possibility of the participants in this forum getting drunk. That s because we re having a Senate candidates forum in a bar, namely Wayfare, on Freret Street in Uptown New Orleans. Our Producer Graham DaPonte invited 7 candidates for the Louisiana Senate race to join Grant and Andrew for a debate over cocktails. Graham chose those 7 candidates from a the larger field because all 7 live in the New Orleans area. Of the 7, four accepted our invitation. Charles Marsala, Kaitlin Marone, Vinny Mendoza, and Caroline Fayard. Caroline Fayard canceled a few days ago due to a scheduling conflict. And Vinny Mendoza canceled late yesterday because he didn t realize how long it takes to drive from Alexandria to New Orleans. And so that left us with two New Orleans area candidates for United States Senator. Charles Marsala, and Kaitlin Marone. Then, minutes before the show, Charles calls with the news that he s stuck in Baton Rouge fighting a court case to try and get all the candidates on a Louisiana Public Broadcasting debate, as opposed to the 5 of the 24 candidates that the LPB are intending to feature. So that leaves us with the sole participant in today s forum Kaitlin Marone. Kaitlin Marone is a feminist, comedian and politician whose senatorial platform includes "I don t want to take your guns away but you re making me," "Pay women more than men," and "Cops need therapy." If you re undecided, this will definitely help you make your mind up. If your mind s already made up, give this conversation 10 minutes and see if you change it. We re endorsing Kaitlin Marone for US Senate. Vote Marone Photos by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The day Megan Braden Perry woke up and decided her husband smelled too bad and liked loud noise too much to stay married to him, she started mentioning it on Twitter. Her husband, some days or maybe weeks later, decided to check Twitter out for himself after his mom told him she d been reading some pretty weird stuff about him. What transpired next led Megan to get a divorce and be happily dating a bunch of guys number unknown including "a little dude down the street" from Wayfare. Rachel Vette, the singer in the band The Vettes, reluctantly admits she s married though she lost the wedding ring she never really had. Yes, it s a weird story but Rachel doesn t like peer or societal pressure and most of her life is pretty non conforming including marrying a guy whose name is a secret and ditching her ring under bizarre and half remembered circumstances. Nick Napolitano is a comedian at The New Movement Theater and the producer of New Orleans ever growing comedy festival, Hell Yes Fest. Nick almost became a tax preparer and a history teacher but booze and comedy saved his life. Photos by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sara Johnson has an app on her phone to convert kilograms to pounds and ounces so she knows exactly how much heroin she s talking about. Sara looks sweet enough, right But she s the person you want in your corner when you ve been busted with god knows how many Oz Kg of heroin and you re not guilty of anything. Swear to God. Sara shares the inside scoop on how she s going to get you off. Greg Tilton knows some stuff about substances too. And pregnancy. And a bunch of other topics that make him the best conversationalist in the city. Greg is the producer of The Rumor Flies Podcast, which is a bit like Snopes meets Myth Busters. Sunny Duval lives on the other side of what he s worried is going to be a real wall after President Trump takes over. Sunny is French Canadian. The name of today s show, Bananana, is the title of one of Sunny s quirky Summer sounding beach songs off of his 4th and latest album. We call Happy Hour "a random conversation with folks who have nothing in common," and that description is never truer than this 60 minutes of cocktail fueled meandering. Photos at Wayfare by Catherine King. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cheron Brylski has been a political consultant for years. She has gotten more women elected to what she calls "non traditional" political office than you can shake a stick at. So when she talks politics at Happy Hour, we listen. Cheron says without taking a breath to ponder the answer to the question, "Yes, President Trump." It could very well happen. Cheron has some professional advice for how Hillary could pull out a win. Take a listen and see if you think it s likely Hillary could pull it off. Bryan Batt is the biggest Broadway and TV star in town, and one of the most down to earth and nicest guys you could run into in a New Orleans bar. Bryan hasn t exactly traded in the glitz and glam of Hollywood and Broadway for NOLA but he s from here and folks who go to Hazelnut, his store on Magazine Street, expect to see him so that s where you ll often find him. In this conversation Bryan leaves the theatrical persona behind and the guy you get to talk with here on Happy Hour is the same guy you d find if you popped in to see him at home. Mikayla Braun is no stranger to Happy Hour but this time she returns to the show fronting a new band, The Crooked Vines. James Keene, the CV s trombone player, sometime booking agent, and definitely the fastest talker in New Orelans music, joins Mikayla for the first time they ve ever played acoustically, and it s a triumph. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom Cianfichi is not just the best looking man in New Orleans married to the other best looking man in New Orleans, Bryan Batt. Tom is also an accomplished actor, Broadway casting director responsible for casting some of the biggest shows on Broadway, and an acclaimed director currently staging Pippin at Le Petit Theater marking the theater s 100th birthday. And if you need anyone to stop by and make you feel good by faking the sentence, "I m amazed and loving this" like he really means it, Tom s your man. Because this is New Orleans, comedian Addy Najera recognizes Tom, not because he s a famous actor or Bryan Batt s husband, but when she finally figures it out Addy knows Tom from his dogs. He brings them to the vet clinic where Addy is the vet tech. When she s not adjusting her bangs or pulling pet hair off of her clothes, Addy is one of New Orleans funniest comedians and to make that point she s immortalizing herself at the end of the month by making a live recording of her show, currently titled Unnamed For Now aka Isn t This Fun, with no question mark. John Lisi leads a band called Delta Funk that plays around the world and, when they re home, up and down Frenchmen Street at a different club every night. Playing guitar every night is one reason John is one of the greatest players in the city, which by the way is saying something in any city but especially here in New Orleans. John plays a couple of songs on this Happy Hour an original, "Got Cleaned Up," and a Big Bill Broonzy classic. If you want to see how John does it you can find a video version of this show of this show on our Facebook page. Andrew Duhon tries out a new song from his Unnamed For Now record and gets way more of an enthusiastic response than he was expecting. This is a breezy, casua, smart and frank conversation with a bunch of people whose talent would give any one of them the right to brag. But every single one of them has most definitely checked their ego at the door. You won t get more of a refreshingly fun and energetic New Orleans vibe anywhere than this Happy Hour. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

String is the theoretical fabric that holds the Universe together and you can t see it even with a giant particle collider. That s the kind of thing you find out when you meet someone in a bar, in this case a woman who calls herself Ari and who is a microbiology student and listener to another podcast about death Death the Podcast who happened to be reading Craig s List and finds herself somewhat mysteriously at this podcast. It s pretty confusing but then so is the correct definition of Pluto. Beyond the planets on this edition of Happy Hour are two legit stars. Big Sam, the leader of Big Sam s Funky Nation, one of the city s finest musicians, and all around good guy, tells stories about hanging out with James Brown, among others, and improvises a song about defecation at Christmas Day. Cecile Monteyne is one of New Orleans finest actors and comedians. Every bit of Cecile s talent is effortlessly on display in this 60 minute conversation that roams from her latest movie to her marriage and traverses characters who speak in perfect British and Russian accents. Cecile s new movie features a song by Andrew Duhon which Andrew performs live. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let s get this straight Boyfriend takes her clothes off on stage but she s not a stripper. As a matter of fact she s not any kind of noun. She s a verb. Boyfriend is a person for whom stripping is an activity much like other activities that one performs but doesn t define you. Unless, perhaps, you re a teacher. Okay, yes, it s confusing but the simpler facts are we ve caught BF on the eve of her collaboration with Big Frieda and BF s that s Boyfriend not Big Frieda annual free birthday bash. There s a lot of good info about free shows on this Happy Hour, including how and where to catch the fabulous Bella Blue for free. Bella is the 8th most popular burlesque artist in the entire world and we re lucky enough in New Orleans to be able to study with her at her School of Burlesque. You, too, can join the sisterhood of love and glitter, but it s not all non breeding Unicorns and pasties. Unlike Bella, Matt Owens might not be ranked on the international scale of comedians, but he is officially the Second Funniest Person on the Gulf Coast. Having grown up on an island off of the coast of Georgia, selling fishing tackle, pretty much everything is funny. Matt travels more than he s home in New Orleans but he is putting on some impressive comedy shows here in New Orleans at the Joy Theater. If you are a regular listener to this show or if you ve only ever gotten all the way through to the end once you will have heard Grant say "Our Technical Director and Associate Producer is Chris Kehoe." Well, Chris is leaving the show to go become a screenwriter in Los Angeles. "Hollywood screenwriter" does sound a bit more glamorous than "New Orleans podcast technical director" so we can t hold it against him. This is Chris s first time on the other side of the microphone. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beth Patterson is the only professional bouzouki player in New Orleans who finds meaning and fulfillment in the words and music of the Canadian ensemble Rush. Yes, Rush. There s just something about Rush that speaks to Beth and somehow makes her feel less of a freaky outsider. And she really doesn t have much to feel freaky or alienated from society about other than being the author of songs like "Matchstick," about the joys of arson, "Show Me On The Doll," and going from this podcast to a recording studio to record a classical Indian version of a Black Sabbath song. Other than that, and being used, discarded, and the victim of attempted murder, Beth is just your regular Lafayette Welsh girl who moved to New Orleans and hides out in Mississippi. Other than Beth, Becky Hardin has the darkest eyes of anyone who has ever been a guest on Happy Hour. What are the chances of having the two darkest eyed people in the history of Happy Hour on the same show Becky quit a career in music promotion with gigs like Voodoo and Wednesdays at the Square, to open City Surf, the workout gym Uptown on Magazine Street where you get to simulate surfing and end up with a body as awesome as Becky s without the expense or effort of moving to Florida or California. Andrew Duhon tries out a new song about the benefits of Going Alone. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Magid grew up as he calls it, "Full blooded Carney." His father and grandfather both owned carnivals and Chuck aand his brother grew up travelling with the show, working games and rides. The first game he and his brother invented was when they were around 8. It was a duckpond where little toy ducks floated around and little kids who couldn t play any other game would come by, their parents would cough up 5 and for that the kid got to pickup a duck and get a 1 prize. Now Chuck is the guitar player and sings in The Orient Groove, an Orlando band currently on tour around the South. Chuck happenedtowander into Wayfare to see what the mxing board andmics were all about and joined in. While Chuck and his brother were working rides at the fair, Matt McCormick was also traveling the country,roping calves in the rodeo. Matt s sister is stillin the rodeo to this day but Matt went straight. Sort of. He went to law school via a stint writing about the movies for a College Station paper, then ditched a law career to tend bar at Salon in the French Quarter. His next move is to direct movies. To continue the sibling theme of this show, Jaclyn Smith no relation to but inspired by the Charlie s Angel and her "Identical Mirror Twin" sister Nicole both started careers with The Hard Rock Cafe in Mississippi. 9 yeras later, Jaclyn is Operations Manager at the Hard Rock on Bourbon Street while Nicole is zooming around the country in corporate. sure Nicole is further up the food chain but she s not married to a hot chef at Sylvain. Andrew Duhon has been thinking a lot this week about women. Well, one anyway. Namely the subject of his newest song who he s conflicted about. But the heartache and getting "tired of f ing around" has paid off with a new song that takes Andrwto a brave new level of musicality. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Orleans musician Jake Hammer McGregor fights a never ending battle with Irish cage fighter Connor McGregor. Not literally, but for recognition. Try Googling McGregor and you ll see what Jake s up against.Jake and his bass player in the eponymous band McGregor demonstrate why Connor ought to be scared, at least of pursuing a music career. If you ve never heard Jake s music you ve just made a discovery for which you ll be ever grateful. These guys Jake and bass player Sam Ferguson have got it. Sophie Lafayette materialized out of the internet in Dar es Salaam Tanzania where she has been a fan of New Orleans and a long time Happy Hour listener and materialized at our table at Wayfare. Finally realizing a lifelong dream, Sophie made it through living in New Zealand, the UK, Norway and Tanzania before making it to Freret Street in New Orleans. While she s here, Sophie s shaking things up though not in the way most new arrivals do. Sophie is an international political activist working on behalf of folks she calls "stakeholders." For many years Rien Fertel was literally a steak holder. He was a busboy at his grandmother Ruth s famous steakhouse, Ruth s Chris. Rien, or if you prefer, "Dr. Fertel," has graduated from steaks to barbecue, having just made himself heartily sick of hogs by spending years chronicling their incineration at the hands of a nationwide string of Carolina wanna bes bringing the ancient and venerated methods of Southern sweat barbecue to cooler climes of America. Andrew Duhon continues his streak of writing beautiful new songs and we continue being lucky enough to be his sounding board. See what you think of this one, "Gone So Long." If you happen to be looking for a classic barroom conversation that traverses everything from long distance love to the consideration of what makes us love certian music, to hog heaven, you found it. Photos at Wayfare by Alison Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Old folk wisdom says there are two things you don t want to see being made sausages and legislation. You might want to add kambucha to that list. According to one of the guys who makes it, Daniel Morris from Big Easy Bucha, it s made in what s called "open brewing" which is kind of like brewing beer except instead of being in a closed system it s an open vat with a SHEET over it. Yes, a sheet. A black sheet. In all fairness Big Easy Bucha, sheet or not sheet it tastes awesome. As we can attest after a rigorous taste test on this Happy Hour, sacrificing ourselves for science by adding whisky to Bucha, making what Andrew Duhon christens as Boozy Bucha. Harry Rosenberg no relation and Molly Portier make up 50 of Blonde Roses, one of the most exciting new bands in New Orleans. In fact they re so new that they ve only been around a few weeks having been reborn from an earlier outfit you ll know if you;re from Lafayette, called Wooden Wings. As you know if you listen to Happy Hour, we get to hear a lot of great music on this show these guys rate up there with the absolute best. Do you know anything about bras If you do you can decorate one and enter it into the Bodaceous Bra competition at Festi Gals, an annual festival celebrating women that Diane Lyons dreamed up to complement festivals about tomatoes and oysters. Diane s day job is an event planner with her own company Accent DMC which she describes as being like Run DMC but with less money. However, still plenty of champagne. Andrew Duhon just finished writing a song called Whatever Happened to Gray. Although by now it may be called something else, a rose and the color gray by any other name would be, well, a plant and a color with different names. If you want to know why the song induces trance like good feelings, Andrew has a musical, psychological and mathematical explanation. Phots at Wayfare by Nathaniel Trahan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.