Creative Playdate Michelle Kondrich

Yes, I realize that there hasn't been a new episode in MONTHS! But here I am. In the episode, I speak more about the lapse in new episodes and announce a relaunch of the show on September 1st of this year. I want to bring you the best content I can create and right now I need a little time to make it great.
I also want to know if you prefer that Creative Playdate have it's own social media accounts or if keeping everything through my own personal, illustration accounts works for you. If you have an opinion on that or on anything else you'd like to see me do with the show, please get in touch any way you like!
On to the episode! Today's interview is with the wonderful illustrator and author, Andrea Pippins. She is passionate about empowering young girls and also about helping us all create our own communities for support and inspiration. She even wrote a book about it, called We Inspire Me.

Andrea recently moved to Stockholm, Sweden ahead of the birth of her son. We talk about what it was like to leave her family when she was about to have a child and how she has been able to find some support and community in a new country. We also talk about her hopes for her son's childhood both in Sweden and anywhere else they may live in the future.

Our conversation really reminded me how important it is to have people around you for support and creative inspiration. We ALL need a creative community around us.
Creative Playdate is syndicated at IllustrationAge.com and the theme music was created by Thomas James and Jason Ritz.
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram and you can see my illustration at www.michellekondrich.com.
If you haven't yet, please subscribe, rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts!
Now go play!

Tom's Portrait by Sharalee Prang
The last episode of 2018 features an interview with the lovely Tom and Amanda Froese. Tom is a commercial artist whose work can be seen in publications like The Walrus and Harvard Business Review. He also creates illustrations for children's books, beer labels and even ceramics. Amanda is a Design Director at Partners & Hawes and is able to work from home alongside Tom.

Tom and Amanda tell the story of how they met, worked in the same office awkwardly, and ultimately got together. We discuss working from home with young kids and why Tom decided to move his studio from an off-site location, back into his home.

I try to get some 4-year-old advice from Tom and Amanda but, as you can hear at the beginning of the episode, 4 is just plain hard.
Tom is also a top teacher at Skillshare and we talk about his new class, Odd Bodies: Illustrating Expressive, Stylized People. If you don't know anything about Skillshare, you will absolutely want to check it out and sign up for this class using the link above. I plan on taking it first thing next year - or maybe even over the holiday break.
Creative Playdate is syndicated at IllustrationAge.com and the theme music was created by Thomas James and Jason Ritz.
I am going to transition away from the show's individual social media accounts, because it's simply too time-consuming to manage both and I think I've mostly got duplicate followers. So please follow me on Twitter and Instagram and you can see my illustration at www.michellekondrich.com.
If you haven't yet, please subscribe, rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts!
Now go play!

After chatting with Steve Folland on his podcast Being Freelance last year, I knew I wanted to get him onto Creative Playdate. If anyone is mastering the art of freelancing while parenting, Steve is.

Steve started working freelance full-time when his children were young. We talk about Steve's work and how he managed to take off the entire month of August while his kids were on vacation from school and how sometimes saying no is the best thing for YOU, not just your business.
Steve also talks about when and why he started creating his weekly vlog and how it serves as a journal and sometimes as a very efficient form of therapy.

Photo by Jeremy Freedman
I also turn the tables on Steve by asking him for Two Truths and a Lie - something he does with his podcast guests. I think you'll be as shocked as I was!
Creative Playdate is syndicated at IllustrationAge.com and the theme music was created by Thomas James and Jason Ritz.
You can follow the show on Twitter and on Instagram and you can learn more about me and my work at michellekondrich.com.
If you haven't yet, please subscribe, rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts!
Now go play!

In episode 23, I interview children's book author and illustrator, Selina Alko. We met briefly at ICON10 in Detroit where she was serving as the VP (thanks to Scott Bakal for the introduction) and I was happy to have the chance to chat with her in a more conversational setting.

Selina grew up in Canada and lives in Brooklyn, NY. She has two children who are in the middle of adolescence and we talk about what that looks like at home. We discuss the challenges and benefits of raising biracial children in New York and we also talk about whether or not being a mother slowed down her career.

Creative Playdate is syndicated at IllustrationAge.com and the theme music was created by Thomas James and Jason Ritz.
You can follow the show on Twitter and on Instagram and you can learn more about me and my work at michellekondrich.com.
If you haven't yet, please subscribe, rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts!
Now go play.

Debbie Millman, everyone! This episode of Creative Playdate is a bit different than all the other episodes so far because this one is NOT about parenting. Debbie Millman is many things, including a designer, brand consultant and founder and host of one of the world's longest running podcasts, Design Matters.

Debbie has worked with some of the most recognizable brands in the country and has interviewed over 400 guests about the creative arc of their lives. We talk about how she got to where she is now and what it was like to be a woman in a heavily male-dominated industry.
Listen to everything this wise woman says!
Creative Playdate is syndicated at Illustration Age.
The theme music was created by Thomas James and Jason Ritz.
You can follow the show on Twitter and Instagram. And don't forget to subscribe, rate and review the show on iTunes!

Episode 21 of Creative Playdate features an interview with Canadian illustrator and super nice guy, Michael Byers. His editorial illustration is whimsical and colorful and always includes a touch of humor - as is Michael, himself. We talk about whether or not we should be properly dressed to take our kids to school and Michael mentions a lot of great writing on creativity that is worth checking out.

Michael recently created all of the illustrations for an incredible activity book for kids called "SUPERPOWERS! A Great Big Collection of Awesome Activities, Quirky Questions, and Wonderful Ways to See Just How Super You Already Are." I only wish my daughter was old enough to read and write, because it seems like a fun thing for kids to do alone or with their parents or friends.
We also talked about daily drawing and drawing from reference in a way that has inspired me to do more daily drawing and drawing from life. It's easy to get stuck on your image reference but it's nice to let your personality show through in the way you draw things straight from your own mind.
Creative Playdate is syndicated at Illustration Age.
The theme music was created by Thomas James and Jason Ritz.
You can follow the show on Twitter and Instagram. And don't forget to subscribe, rate and review the show on iTunes!