Process The Podcast

Arielle Thomas
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to Process the podcast, where we welcome guests of all creative disciplines and bridge the gap between art and commerce as leaders in their lane. We dive into their unique process to actualize their ideas and get our hands dirty with - the work. Host Arielle Thomas hopes you love these creative conversations with some of the most celebrated names in the Australian fashion, media, and design landscape! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 3d ago

    How Merit Built a Cult Following Before It Had a Name with Aila Morin

    Aila Morin is the founding Chief Marketing Officer of Merit Beauty, one of the fastest-growing brands in the beauty industry. On this episode of Process, host Arielle Thomas sits down with Aila for a rare, in-depth conversation about brand building, marketing strategy, and product development, from Merit's earliest days as an anonymous Instagram account to its most recent Clean Volume mascara launch. Aila walks through how Merit built a loyal community before the brand even had a name, why the company skipped paid advertising entirely for its first four months, and how a single UX fix increased sales by more than 100%. She also gets candid about product failures, the emotional weight of building something people trust, and why Merit has no interest in using AI in its creative process. This conversation covers founder transparency, marketing strategy, brand building, product development, and the beauty industry from the inside, a masterclass for anyone building a brand, working in marketing, or curious how one of beauty's most consistent companies actually operates day to day. INSIDE THE EPISODE: 00:00 — Intro 00:38 — How Merit Came to Be 03:15 — Finding the White Space in Beauty 05:10 — Building a Brand That Doesn't Need the Product 07:17 — Learning to Sell from the Shop Floor 09:46 — The Secret Instagram Account That Became Merit 11:33 — Skipping Paid Ads for Community as a Focus Group 13:12 — Why Great Brands Aren't Built on Virality 16:59 — Reinventing the Foundation Stick 22:13 — Data Over Market Reports: Building Clean Volume 26:11 — The Kaizen Approach to Product Development 29:24 — Story First: How a Launch Actually Gets Built 34:15 — Why Merit Never Starts With the Grid 35:20 — Casting With a Story: Whitney Leavitt & Karen Pittman 38:10 — Self-Doubt Behind the Confidence 40:28 — Owning Polarizing Reviews 42:17 — What Hasn't Worked 44:30 — The Unglamorous Reality of Running Merit 46:22 — Building a Brand That Lasts 100 Years 49:00 — Clean Volume's "See to Believe" Sampling Strategy 50:37 — The Future of Social & Why No AI Creative 52:41 — Arielle's Personal Encounter With Merit 55:36 — Beauty: Shame vs. Belonging Connect with our Guest: • Aila Morin on Instagram: @ailamorin • Merit Beauty on Instagram: @merit • Website: meritbeauty.com Enjoyed this Episode? Join our Community! • Your host, Arielle Thomas, on Instagram,⁠@arielle.thomas⁠: • Us, on Instagram,⁠ @processthepodcast •Whatsapp Community @processthepodcast Follow us to get notified every time a new episode drops every Tuesday. See you at the next one! This episode includes third-party audio used for educational commentary and reference. All rights and ownership belong to their respective copyright holders. This content is utilized under Fair Use principles and does not imply endorsement or affiliation with Process The Podcast. For takedowns or copyright inquiries, please contact hello@cinemathom.com

    How Merit Built a Cult Following Before It Had a Name with Aila Morin

  2. Jul 21

    Petit: Why Your Portfolio Isn't Getting You Hired Anymore

    Your showreel might be quietly costing you clients, and no one's telling you that. In this solo petite episode, host Arielle Thomas walks through the exact framework she's using to recalibrate Cinema Thom: why clients now hire for problem-solving over taste, the real difference between a showreel and a case study, and the asset-mapping system replacing both. Part life update, part masterclass in founder transparency; including the six months she went quiet online, why that was a mistake, and the Tyler the Creator clip that changed how she thinks about promoting her own work. In this episode, you'll learn: The real difference between a showreel and a case study and why clients now expect bothHow to build a campaign asset map (Arielle's own team framework)Why "Rome wasn't built in a day" should be a content strategy, not an excuseThe system Arielle's team uses to keep posting consistently without her being the bottleneckINSIDE THE EPISODE: 00:00 — Intro00:43 — Why Clients Hire Me Now02:54 — Showreel vs. Case Study, Defined03:35 — Building the Asset Map05:15 — Put Out Your Work (Tyler the Creator clip)06:19 — Systems & Processes08:15 — Behind-the-Scenes Beats the Hero Shot09:15 — The Recalibration Roadmap11:04 — Who Do I Want to Be?12:12 — Closing & Community Enjoyed this Petit? Join our Community! Cinema Thom: @cinema_thom ( https://bit.ly/4fwwZI7 ) Your host, Arielle Thomas, on Instagram,⁠@arielle.thomas⁠ (https://bit.ly/4v21hby)Us, on Instagram,⁠@processthepodcast (https://bit.ly/4xJ1EKl)Whatsapp Community @processthepodcast (https://bit.ly/44pdcFf)Follow us to get notified every time a new episode drops every Tuesday. See you at the next one!  This episode includes third-party audio used for educational commentary and reference. All rights and ownership belong to their respective copyright holders. This content is utilized under Fair Use principles and does not imply endorsement or affiliation with Process The Podcast. For takedowns or copyright inquiries, please get in touch with hello@cinemathom.com

    Petit: Why Your Portfolio Isn't Getting You Hired Anymore

  3. Jul 15

    Playboy to Summer Fridays: Ali Mitton Reclaims the Female Gaze

    "If people want to work with you, they’re going to find you. So you've just got to create the work, be aligned with your own taste, and put it out there." — Ali Mitton From a darkroom in the Gold Coast to shooting global campaigns in Los Angeles, photographer Ali Mitton has built an undeniable, sun-drenched career capturing freedom, raw movement, and elevated beauty. But what happens when the high stakes of commercial advertising pull you away from your artistic centre? In this incredibly raw and transparent conversation, Ali opens up about building massive relationships with legacy brands like CoverGirl and Aerie, navigating the toxic comparison loops of Instagram, and how a devastating personal crisis, losing her dream home in the 2025 LA wildfires, sparked an existential creative reckoning. We dive deep into the differences between the Australian and American industry landscapes, the realities of high-stakes commercial sets, and why true artistry requires the courage to say "no". INSIDE THE EPISODE: 00:00 — Intro04:32 — Owning the Title Before You've Earned It07:46 — Protecting Your Signature as Jobs Get Bigger12:06 — The No-Retouching Era16:16 — Getting Dropped21:10 — How Dream Clients Actually Find You24:35 — Shooting Playboy for the Female Gaze28:29 — Legacy Clients, Celebrities & Managing Egos34:35 — Being the Client for Once36:55 — Losing the House in the LA Fires43:45 — Learning to Say No48:04 — The Impossible Shot List57:51 — Beauty's Nostalgic Rewind1:01:28 — Instagram Rewind: Behind the Shots Connect with our Guest:Ali Mitton on Instagram: https://bit.ly/4vLjmuR Website: www.alimitton.com https://bit.ly/3T12QJjEnjoyed this Episode? Join our Community!Your host, Arielle Thomas, on Instagram,⁠@arielle.thomas⁠ https://bit.ly/4v21hbyUs, on Instagram,⁠@processthepodcast https://bit.ly/4xJ1EKlWhatsapp Community @processthepodcast https://bit.ly/44pdcFfFollow us to get notified every time a new episode drops every Tuesday. See you at the next one!  * This episode includes third-party images and video clips used for educational commentary and visual references. All rights and ownership belong to their respective copyright holders. This content is utilized under Fair Use principles and does not imply endorsement or affiliation with Process The Podcast. For takedowns or  copyright inquiries, please contact hello@cinemathom.com

    Playboy to Summer Fridays: Ali Mitton Reclaims the Female Gaze

  4. Jul 8

    Inside Everyone's Favourite Creative Substack, Art Direction with Zoë Yasemin

    "If everyone draws from the same pool of images, but they don't know why they're drawing from that, the work becomes the same." - Zoë Yasemin Welcome back to Process the Podcast. This week, Arielle sits down with Dutch-based creative director, researcher, and the brilliant mind behind the viral, globally ranked Substack: The Art Direction, Zoë Yasemin.  While previous guests have masterfully explored the mechanics of still-life curation and multimedia stop-motion, Zoë’s strength is the depth of her reference pool. In this expansive dialogue, Zoë and Arielle dissect "aesthetic flattening" - the dangerous cultural cycle where creators pull from the exact same surface-level internet algorithms, leading to an inevitable sameness in modern brand output. From bidding on rare, vintage indie magazines on eBay to studying the historical representation of the female form, Zoe shares an elite masterclass on how to bridge the gap between a beautiful mood board and world-class execution. Inside the Episode:00:00 — Intro 05:22 — Decades of Visual History11:43 — What is True "Taste"?17:10 — The 57K Substack Secret Blueprint22:53 — Sourcing References Beyond Pinterest28:22 — The Visual Curriculum Framework33:10 — Finding Unexpected Creative Fuel38:10 — Heritage Brand World-Building43:49 — Inside a 3-Day Editorial Marathon49:04 — Embracing Human Craft Over AIConnect with our Guest:Zoë Yasemin on Instagram: https://bit.ly/3TixD4kThe Art Direction School on Instagram: https://bit.ly/4vgZgrZArt Direction on Substack: https://bit.ly/4gsNWp3Enjoyed this Episode? Join our Community!Your host, Arielle Thomas, on Instagram,⁠@arielle.thomas⁠ (https://bit.ly/4v21hby)Us, on Instagram,⁠@processthepodcast (https://bit.ly/4xJ1EKl)Whatsapp Community @processthepodcast (https://bit.ly/44pdcFf)Follow us to get notified every time a new episode drops every Tuesday. See you at the next one!  * This episode includes third-party images and video clips used for educational commentary and visual reference. All rights and ownership belong to their respective copyright holders. This content is utilized under Fair Use principles and does not imply endorsement or affiliation with Process The Podcast. For copyright inquiries, please contact hello@cinemathom.com

    Inside Everyone's Favourite Creative Substack, Art Direction with Zoë Yasemin

  5. Jun 30

    Petit: Creatives Are The New Athletes

    "The reason why I want to instill you guys to care about this... is not because I want you to care about basketball. It's because I want you to care about the shape of the story. It's the unglamorous, the hours and hours and hours that go into unrewarded work." — Arielle Thomas Welcome back to another episode of Process the Podcast. We are sliding right back into the studio this week, and the way we are looking at our craft is getting a little bit sharper. In this unfiltered, solo Petit, Arielle steps directly up to the microphone to strip away the soft, algorithmic romanticism of the creative life. This episode drops a massive operational framework: creatives must think and work like high-performance athletes to truly get ahead. Pulling structural parallels from the historic 53-year championship wait of the New York Knicks, Jalen Brunson’s relentless work ethic, and Kobe Bryant’s obsessive midnight training methods, Arielle breaks down how to navigate the modern wave of AI slop and self-optimisation burnout. This is a raw, grounded look at how to get excited about the unglamorous reps, master the actual volume of your craft, and build an unbreakable work ethic when absolutely nobody is watching. Inside the Episode: 00:00 Resetting the Outlook: The Creative Entrepreneurship Shift 02:04 The New York Knicks & The Half-Century Wait for Greatness 04:24 The Myth of the Short-Cut: Fighting AI Slop with Athlete Logic 07:51 The Unglamorous Reps & Staring Down Unrewarded Work 09:43 Borrowing the Engine: Inspiration vs. Disciplined Refusal 11:01 Kobe Bryant, Michael Jackson, & The Strategy of Deconstruction 13:50 Mastery in Volume: The Truth of the 10,000-Hour Privilege 17:16 Audacious Thinking & The Quest to Build the Best Creative Podcast 18:50 The Toxic Optimisation Wave: Resisting Algorithmic Laziness 21:51 Romanticising the Boring: Stripping the Workspace Back to the Greats Enjoyed this Petit? Join our Community! Your host, Arielle Thomas, on Instagram,⁠@arielle.thomas⁠ (https://bit.ly/4v21hby) Us, on Instagram,⁠@processthepodcast (https://bit.ly/4xJ1EKl) Whatsapp Community @processthepodcast (https://bit.ly/44pdcFf) Follow us to get notified every time a new episode drops every Tuesday. See you at the next one!

    Petit: Creatives Are The New Athletes

  6. Jun 23

    Encore: Vogue Receptionist to Editor in Chief with Kirstie Clements

    "You had an idea every ten seconds for Vogue. You can have an idea every ten seconds for yourself." - Kirstie Clements Welcome back to Process: Encore. In this archival series, we bring forward the timeless dialogues that laid the groundwork for Process.  This week, Arielle revisits a deeply layered, expansive conversation with best selling author, journalist, and legendary former Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Australia, Kirstie Clements. Kirstie’s 27-year trajectory at the absolute pinnacle of fashion publishing is a masterclass in creative longevity. Starting on the reception desk at age 23, she scaled the masthead to lead the iconic title through nearly thirteen years of epochal cultural shifts, international coups like anchoring Karl Lagerfeld's guest editorship and massive corporate evolutions.  In this honest session, Kirstie unpacks what happens when you step out of a rigid corporate cocoon, how she completely shed the heavyweight skin of public expectation, and what it truly means to safeguard your innate creative power. Inside this Episode:  00:00:00 - From Vogue Receptionist to Editor in Chief: A look at a legendary 27-year trajectory, proving why mastering the unglamorous nuts and bolts of an industry scales creative longevity. 00:06:29 - Building a Vision for Australian Vogue: Navigating the intricate tightrope between corporate commercial profitability and world-class aesthetic execution. 00:12:51 - Karl Lagerfeld Guest Edits Vogue Australia: An inside look into the complex, midnight operational choreography of securing one of fashion’s biggest editorial coups. 00:14:45 - Lessons from Fashion Legends: Unpacking the relentless stamina and surprisingly unpretentious nature required to keep a creative fountain thriving over a lifetime. 00:16:16 - The Pre-Social Media Era: Celebrating the legacy of keeping monumental interactions private, far away from the obligations of front-facing camera validation. 00:20:19 - Life After Vogue: The profound psychological execution of self-reinvention once you entirely decouple your identity from corporate structures. 00:35:50 - Creative Reinvention and Freedom: Moving past corporate politics to realize that your innate ability to generate ideas can never be institutionalized. 00:44:01 - Modern Pressures on Women: Deconstructing the hyper-monetized, algorithmic anxiety targeting women's aesthetics and biological timelines. 00:53:52 - Advice for Overwhelmed Creatives: Why modern multi-hyphenates must intentionally protect their artistic sensibilities from copy-and-paste digital algorithms. 01:02:44 - What Inspires Kirstie Now: Shifting entirely away from corporate consensus to find ultimate creative sovereignty in travel, freedom, and deep mentorship. Connect with our Guest: Kirstie Clements on Instagram: @kirstie_clements (http://bit.ly/4oNOVSS) Website: www.kirstieclements.com.au Substack: @kirstieclements (https://bit.ly/4eyPcEh) Read Her Books:  Why Did I Buy That? (https://amzn.to/4eCKipX) The Vogue Factor (https://amzn.to/4eyA9uk) Impressive (https://bit.ly/4fVBIoy) Enjoyed this Encore? Join our Community! Your host, Arielle Thomas, on Instagram,⁠@arielle.thomas⁠ (https://bit.ly/4v21hby) Us, on Instagram,⁠@processthepodcast (https://bit.ly/4xJ1EKl) Whatsapp Community @processthepodcast (https://bit.ly/44pdcFf) Follow us to get notified every time a new episode drops every Tuesday.  See you at the next one!

    Encore: Vogue Receptionist to Editor in Chief with Kirstie Clements

  7. Jun 16

    Encore: Georges Antoni is a Slave to the Picture

    "I don't say to my assistants that you're working for me... you're working for the picture, so everything you do is about making the picture better. The picture is my boss." - Georges Antoni Welcome back to Process: Encore. In this archive series, we spotlight the foundational conversations that continue to guide our creative landscape, unedited, uncut, and re-centred for our community today. This week, we are throwing it back to a deeply insightful conversation with one of Australia’s most in-demand commercial fashion photographers, Georges Antoni.  Georges took a beautifully unconventional route into the industry, transitioning from corporate strategy at Coca-Cola and PricewaterhouseCoopers to shooting portfolio books out of his parents' crystal-cabinet front room. Today, he architects massive productions for leading brands while fiercely maintaining a family-first philosophy. In this episode, Georges and Arielle pull apart the critical intersection of artistic integrity, active diplomacy on set, and why Australian retail is falling behind on a global scale. Inside the Episode: The Potency of Art Buying: Why conservative corporate hierarchies give local retailers a major global disadvantage. The "Picture as the Boss" Protocol: Stripping ego entirely out of production so the whole team serves the final image. The 95% Active Diplomacy Matrix: How to manage high-volume commercial mechanics while making talent feel entirely unjudged. The 1,900 Lighting Diagram Rule: Why Georges documents every single setup to avoid lazy, repetitive lighting styles. The Unified Creative Umbrella: Constructing a symbiotic stills-and-motion framework to stop fractured social media content. Selling the Sizzle Over the Brand: Shifting from flawless product form to building an identity consumers actually want to ascribe to. Connect with our Guest: Georges Antoni on Instagram: @georgesantoni Website: www.georgesantoni.com Enjoyed this Encore? Join our Community! Your host, Arielle Thomas on Instagram, ⁠@arielle.thomas⁠ Us, on Instagram, ⁠@processthepodcast Whatsapp Community @processthepodcast Follow us to get notified every time a new episode drops every Tuesday.  See you on the next one!

    Encore: Georges Antoni is a Slave to the Picture

  8. Jun 9

    Encore: Jasmine Dowling: Balancing Art, Life, and the Creative Tightrope

    "The more I want the work to be the focus, the more I pull back sharing myself. I want the work to speak." — Jasmine Dowling Welcome to Process: Encore!  In this archive series, we’re spotlighting the foundational conversations that continue to guide our creative community, completely untouched from the day they first aired!  This week, we are taking you back to a hotel room in Brisbane where Arielle sat down with one of Australia’s most distinct creative eyes: multimedia artist in still and motion creation, Jasmine Dowling.  Jasmine has spent over a decade navigating the fragile balance between commercial partnerships with global mainstays like Longchamp, Mecca, Chanel, and Hermès (just to name a few) and the highly intentional, low-fi personal practices that keep her creative spirit alive. In this unfiltered conversation, she opens up about the reality of executing work that is entirely yours. In this episode:  The 40/30/30 Split: Balancing unpaid personal exploration, client work, and paid social partnerships. The "Slave to the Eye" Paradox: The endurance required when your hands are working overtime to match the vision in your mind. The Low-Fi Medium Strategy: Ditching the heavy gear to capture her Paris Hermès project via film, a compact Sony, and raw iPhone voice memos. The Illusion of "Dream Clients": The unfiltered reality of navigating heavy corporate bureaucracy and creative revisions. The Power of the Gifted Spark: How unexpected tactile packaging triggers immediate, experimental animation concepts. The Boundaries of Curation: Treating your digital platform strictly as a workspace while fiercely protecting your private family life. The Forever Fear of Work Disappearing: Overcoming the anxiety that everything will crumble the moment you set structural boundaries.Connect with our Guest:Jasmine Dowling on Instagram: @jasminedowling Studio & Prints: jasminedowling.com Enjoyed this Encore? Join our Community! Your host, Arielle Thomas on Instagram, ⁠@arielle.thomas⁠ Us, on Instagram, ⁠@processthepodcast Whatsapp Community @processthepodcast Follow us to get notified every time a new episode drops every Tuesday.  See you on the next one!

    Encore: Jasmine Dowling: Balancing Art, Life, and the Creative Tightrope
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About

Welcome to Process the podcast, where we welcome guests of all creative disciplines and bridge the gap between art and commerce as leaders in their lane. We dive into their unique process to actualize their ideas and get our hands dirty with - the work. Host Arielle Thomas hopes you love these creative conversations with some of the most celebrated names in the Australian fashion, media, and design landscape! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Arielle Thomas
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    147
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Arielle Thomas
  • Show Website
    Process The Podcast

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