Stitches & Picks S1:Ep 10 - Creating Your Environment for Creativity and Productivity
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Episode 10 - Creating Your Environment for Creativity and Productivity
[This transcript has been lightly edited to ensure readability]
Dave Dougherty:
- Hi, welcome to the latest episode of "Stitches and Picks." Today, we're going to talk about creating an environment for you to be creative or more productive, how we go about that.
And I mean, this was a topic that we brought up in one of the previous episodes, so we're doing kind of a fast follow. Kristen, how are you? What's going on?
Being Motivated By and Loving the Blank Slate
Kristen Juve:
- I'm good. I've actually been thinking about this a lot. So, and maybe it was because the seed was planted in our previous conversation, but in thinking about like motivation and one of the elements for me is definitely the space, right? Like, over the last couple of days, I haven't been working.
I had time off to spend with my sister and we were having breakfast at this little place and next door was this empty building and it had like a storefront. And just seeing the empty space, I love looking at empty spaces. I don't know what it is. Like, there's just like a blank canvas.
Dave Dougherty:
- Because you see the potential.
Kristen Juve:
- Yeah. And you can do anything you want with it. I mean, and you don't have to even think about the nuances of how, like, things would fit together, right? It just has this...holds all this potential that it gets like really exciting. Which is funny because when we purchased this house, we absolutely loved the blank canvas that this was, and then we moved in and we're like, nothing fits. Like, the orientation of stuff doesn't fit.
But I love the idea of the potential. I love the idea of a blank slate. And I actually am going to be moving my office, the one I'm sitting in now, to our guest bedroom. And so now I have this challenge ahead of me of what am I going to do to make this space like mine that I can feel creative in? And that is my biggest theme that I'm like working on for that space. It's not going to be like, yes, functional is a piece of that, but really for me it's like, how do I create this space that's going to feel like my space to be creative?
And it feels a little daunting. I was actually talking about my sister too since she was here visiting. She was like, "Oh, I was putting my office together and I have to decide what colors I want to paint the wall." And we were talking about like interior design essentially. And she was talking about how she got advice from someone, I believe it was, that you shouldn't pick out colors based on what you like.
You should pick out how you want to decorate your office based on how you want to feel when you're in the room. Because obviously there are colors that are associated with certain feelings. There are a bunch of different elements. So, if you wanted to feel like you're in nature, you'd probably want more plants or you might want to paint it green.
Like, things of nature. So, I have been thinking about that lately, and, like, I really just want a blank slate. I want a room where I can walk in and be like everything, it's clean, and there's nothing there. Obviously, I need a desk and a computer, but also I have all this yarn. So, like, I'm trying to figure out what that looks like.
Dave Dougherty:
- Are you the type of person that clutter bothers you? So, having a storage room full of yarn would be better than having it just out in the open?
Kristen Juve:
- If you could see the room that I'm sitting in now, you would know that I have to like step... I probably shouldn't admit that publicly, but I'm notorious for...I don't want to like... I'm like that artist type that's like, I can use that for something, so I don't throw stuff away.
I will go in like purge modes and I'll purge stuff occasionally. And I've been getting better at that. But a lot of the stuff that I have in this room has deep memories and like photographs and like things that were someone else's. And it's hard for me to purge. It's very emotional. So, I think I'm looking at this move to being into my other room, like the time to purge things or the time to organize things to make a cleaner slate.
I haven't figured out what the level of yarn and/or like bookcases that will be acceptable to feel this creativity still.
Dave Dougherty:
- Do these knitting needles bring you any joy?
Kristen Juve:
- They all bring me joy. Actually, only my interchangeable set bring me joy.
Dave Dougherty:
- Well, then get rid of all the other ones.
Kristen Juve:
- I have a bunch of metal ones, but they're my grandma's. They were my grandma's and she didn't knit, she crocheted, but she was very near and dear to my heart.
Dave Dougherty:
- It's funny because I used to feel that way and I had a number of guitars going into the pandemic where it's like, "Oh, my guitar teacher gave me that one as a, you know, high school graduation gift," or, "that was, you know, my first base, or my first guitar, or whatever. Of course, I'm going to keep it.”
And then I just realize I'm never picking it up. I'm never playing it. You know, I would never record with it because either it doesn't fit into the style or the sound quality out of it isn't good because it's a, you know, starter thing. So, I got rid of three amps and a number of guitars. Yeah.
And so just like ripping off the bandaid and just being like, honestly, I haven't used this. I'm not about to use it. I'm just going to get rid of it. I'm going to sell it for whatever I can because I know it's a loss. You know, one of the amps was I got my first summer job to exclusively be able to afford this amp. It was my first “big boy amp,” the signature series of one of my favorite guitar players.
Took me three months all summer long working outside to be able to afford the thing. And so, you know, basically out of spite for that hot summer, I kept it forever and ever. But the problem was it is too loud for normal, you know, everyday use or, you know, even jam sessions with friends. Even when I'm, you know, in the rehearsal space, I can't put the volume much above like two because it just destroys the room.
It's so loud. So, I need something a little more usable to get that and punch through. And so now I have a couple of guitars that are purely decoration, but other than that, each one of them has a purpose. They're to a different tuning. They're used for a specific thing.
And that's it.
Kristen Juve:
- Do you feel more creative when you have more clutter, or when you have certain things around you, or are you like the blank slate type of person?
Dave Dougherty:
- Well, I mean, what you're seeing now is a very curated shot, but if you could see beneath on the floor, it's a work in progress. So, I tend to just buy the tools that will enable me to do the things that I want to do. That's kind of my viewpoint.
I have dedicated spaces, so this is kind of setting the environment. You know, I do my work-from-home stuff here just because of the desk and the monitor and the nice speakers and everything else. But then I also do all of the, you know, video editing and everything else. So, I've set this room up in particular for Zoom meetings doing these recordings, recording the BGO stuff.
So, you know, this wall is for lighting and backdrop and whatever else. And then I went so far as to design it where once I get rid of a bunch of other stuff, but, you know, it's a process. I'll be able to have three distinct shots in one room depending on setup so then I can have a different look and feel depending on what I'm trying to do.
But that's been a huge long process in order to, you know, to your point, go through all of the random boxes you kept for whatever reason, go through all the random books and papers you kept for whatever reason, and then, you know, move on. So yeah.
Does Functionality Increase Your Creativity Within a Space?
Kristen Juve:
- You're speaking about the functionality.
Dave Dougherty:
- Mm-hmm.
Kristen Juve:
- So does that functionality then increase your creativity?
Dave Dougherty:
- I think so. Well, you know, we've talked a number of times, just you and me, in terms of like holy sh*t, how do you do what you do with everything going on, right? Just the volume of production. And a lot of that really is just I have the room set up, I can walk in, turn on my device, and boom, be into whatever I'm doing right.
Because the environment is set up. And then before I leave, you know, like you would on a stage, you tear down your equipment and get it set up for whatever the next thing is. So, like there's very much the processes of this space is for this activity and that's it. So, I think, you know, when we talked about bringing up this topic, we at least in my mind, I break it into three separate things.
So, there's the processes and environment for creativity. The second one would be like the editing because that's a totally different kind of skill set. And then the third one is more the promotional pieces of the creative. And this is true whether or not you're, you know, an artist trying to sell your work or doing thought leadership kind of stuff with businesses or even, you know, selling products.
It's the same stuff.
Kristen Juve:
- I like that you separate, like, you have different areas for different processes because I think that really speaks to a lot of like human nature too. It's like when you go to bed...when you go into your bedroom, you know it's for sleeping. Like, your brain makes associations with certain spaces, and that probably then enables you to be more productive, which in turn you could classify, in some ways, more creative too, I would imagine. This is a part that I don't think I have down yet.
Like, I know my processes and I have different areas for them, but they're not really conducive for me to be like really productive. My kitchen table is an eight-person kitchen table, and we intentionally did that. We're a family of three. We intentionally bought a massive table for a space to have family and friends come and visit and eat good food and play games, but it has turned into essentially another desk for me, but mainly knitting.
Like, all my knitting projects start to like pile up at the one end that we don't eat at very often. And I have a special drawer in the built-in that is all for my knitting stuff too. So, that ends up being where my active projects are sitting and that's in an area that I'm in a lot. I was thinking that would really help me in terms of staying creative, and staying on top of stuff, and it isn't the answer to that.
It doesn't hurt, but it isn't the answer to that either. Then in my office here, I have this is my office for my 9 to 5. So, like, I think I make so much of a strong association with that, that I am not willing to come down here and work on my knitting stuff because I've already been here for eight hours.
And so I need to figure out a different way around this. But I have a laptop, so my laptop can go anywhere else. It's not like I have to be stuck here, but now that I'm processing and realizing that if I just move everything upstairs, it's still going to be the same scenario of that's the room that I spend all my time in. Do I really want to go back into it?
Dave Dougherty:
- Yeah. And I think for me when I say, you know, I have dedicated spaces for it, it is literally just like this is my one room, you know, for the guitar equipment and the day job stuff. And then to your point about the kitchen table, that's where I do all my creative writing stuff is down at the kitchen table.
I have a bit of a ritual when it comes to writing. And so, you know, that involves making tea and setting up a particular playlist that gets me into a certain head space. And then, you know, I do that for journaling. I do that for creative writing. I do that for, you know, that's just my writing piece. There are no screens. I do it, you know, longhand.
Kristen Juve:
- Oh, really? With no screens.
Dave Dougherty:
- Pen and paper. Mm-hmm.
Kristen Juve:
- Oh my gosh.
Dave Dougherty:
- Yeah. You know, I'm the annoying person that has, you know, there's no TV in the bedroom. There never will be.
Kristen Juve:
- Same.
Dave Dougherty:
- Yeah. Each room is functional. And I was doing this kind of stuff even in college. So you don't have to have, you know, a multi-room house. You can do it in a tiny dorm. You know, and you might use the neighborhood coffee shop to do the same thing, right? Like, if you're a fan of Starbucks, go to a different one for when you do, you know, a particular task.
And then that way, your head space is just, "All right, I'm doing this now." You know, you can trick yourself.
Kristen Juve:
- Now I'm just really nostalgic about going to a coffee shop. Not only because of COVID but because I have a toddler and I have time only when she’s napping. Man, the autonomy to just go to a coffee shop feels like creativity, feel other people's presence.
Dave Dougherty:
- It'll come back. It'll come back.
Kristen Juve:
- I know.
Dave Dougherty:
- She's still pretty little though, so it's fine.
Vibing On Your Creative Process and Off the Environment Around You
Kristen Juve:
- Yeah. And this is a...my sister and I were talking about co-working spaces too, and she's like, that's why she loves co-working spaces because you go in, it's a separate space. You feel like the vibe of other people like doing their work, being creative, and working on their own stuff. And a lot of them are small businesses themselves. And how that is like a whole...and it's great cause you don't have to then clean it or anything too, right?
I don't know. That's just, like, if I could...I don't know. There's an element of like creativity too that I am thinking about it. Like, in college, when I felt the most creative was when I'd go to the studio. Even if I was by myself, it was a different place that was specifically set up for whatever art class I was taking at the time. And even if there were other people in the building, you could still like sense that, feel that. That was nice.
But like, it actually just...I think it amps you up more to actually do stuff. Be productive, be creative.
Dave Dougherty:
- Yeah. And there's also moments of spontaneity. Like, that was the thing I was realizing the other day because, for the first time in a while, I've had the opportunity to actually be with co-workers again. And just, you know, when you're at home doing all the stuff or you're, you know, working by yourself, you forget the number of ideas in the hallway or whatever else. And I know there's a lot of debate in the news right now on whether or not, you know, people should go one way versus, you know, companies wanting another thing. And, you know, I do whatever makes you happy. At this point, make that decision yourself.
But yeah, depending on the work that you need to get done, I feel it just helps to have that setup. And, you know, trying things out to discover your process like we've talked about before. And then, you know, when it works for you, don't apologize for it. Just do it.
Kristen Juve:
- I think that's part of the fun though too of, okay, you feel like I want to be more creative and thus, more productive. Trying things out in itself can be really creative. Because I think we've talked about this before, creativity thrives with constraints.
Dave Dougherty:
- Yeah. It's funny because some of the more diehard guitar teachers will be, you know, you need dedicated practice and you're only, you know, doing one thing. And that's true if you're doing a particular thing, you need to learn it quickly. You need to get it down, you know, fast.
But I will say one thing that I do that I know I will be yelled at for, but whatever, it works for me, as part of...like, if I'm getting ready for a gig, I'll make sure that I have all the songs down. I'll make sure that, you know, the set is locked in.
And then I'll go play it in front of the TV because then you get that visual cues because when you're on stage and you're at a bar, you have people standing up, they're walking out, they're taking pictures with each other, they're not, you know... They're being loud. You have all these things going on, you know, in your rehearsal space that you wouldn't have to pay attention to, right?
But just to get that, "Okay, do I have it locked down?" Yes. "Do I have it locked down to the point where I can, you know, watch the person cross the room, still sing and play at the same time and, you know, not miss a beat?" That's a different story. So, that was one kind of hack that I've done where it's like, go find some like really obnoxious, loud, you know, visually stimulating thing to put on TV and then, you know, do your practice around that just to try to distract yourself for the performance.
I've never heard of anybody else doing something like that. I would be interested to find out if anybody else has. So, you know, let me know. Hit me up on the socials. But yeah.
Kristen Juve:
- It's interesting when I hear you talk about performing or anything really related to music, I can almost always find a thread with photography. It's so crazy to me. Like with that, when you're a photographer, like, you prep all your equipment before you go. I'm talking about portrait photography, in particular, I guess, in this instance.
But you don't know what you're going to get, especially if you're a family photographer and you have little kids that you're photographing, they may be screaming bloody murder at you and you have to figure out on your toes how to do all that stuff and deal with distraction and still stay on point and still direct people and still... And there's a lot of similarities to that. Like, can your brain handle knowing what you need to do and then also like the distractions that are in front of you?
It's just so fascinating to me, like, there are so many things that are...
Dave Dougherty:
- Well, didn't you say... I think you told me a story one time of being in a wedding of inevitably somebody's cousin or uncle would be like, oh, I'm a photographer, blah, blah, blah. And you have to try to get good shots while being like, uh-huh, yeah.
Kristen Juve:
- Yeah. Yep. Engaging in a pissing contest with somebody's uncle about how it's a full frame...they have a full-frame camera, but I don't. So, therefore, I don't know...
Dave Dougherty:
- They should have been the ones to do…
Kristen Juve:
- You know what, man, if you want to photograph a wedding, go out and do it. That's probably the hardest photography job. And people who actually really love it are like, bless them. Bless them for that. Yeah. The distraction of having to like direct people while someone's chirping in your ear about stuff, it's... Yeah.
Dave Dougherty:
- That is a very particular skill set that I don't... Okay, so this might be something to dive into. When I'm focused in on something, and this is something especially when I'm in the kitchen, and this is where it shows up most often just because I'm in the kitchen with people more often than in my creative spaces.
When I'm focused on getting the meal prepped and out, do not mess with my kitchen. Get out of it. There's no loitering. There are no suggestions. No: “What are you putting in that?”
I'm not small talking when I'm doing stuff. Get out!
And it can be a bit jarring because it's like I will be the nice friendly, like, “I'm glad you here let's eat! Dave” when I'm done cooking. But while I'm in it: buzz off.
Kristen Juve:
- Oh, man. No, totally, that resonates. But I'm the person that's going to try to...I still want to talk and engage with people and I haven't, I don't put a boundary and limit on myself, and so, like, I screw things up. Well, like, I'm making food and I screw things up and I'm like, you know what? It's going to be fine.
I just made a vegetarian dish the other day and I cooked the butternut squash way too long.
Dave Dougherty:
- It's pretty easy to do.
Kristen Juve:
- Well, it was unintentionally intentional. I knew that I had to bake it twice because it was a one sheet pan situation and I accidentally put it on for the amount of time that it was supposed to be put on for the second time. So, it worked out.
Dave Dougherty:
- I know it. Anything with enough butter is fine.
Kristen Juve:
- There was no butter in it.
Dave Dougherty:
- Oh, that's right. Because of the whole... Yeah.
Kristen Juve:
- But there was oil. So, it was very good. I don't know, you talk about the kitchen too, and I feel like that's a really good example I feel like a lot of people could relate to.
Dave Dougherty:
- Yeah. Well, the big thing for me, the reason I get that way is because when I'm juggling a ton of things in the moment, I focus in on like, okay, if I have three particular things with the meal that all have to come out at the 20-minute mark, I'm doing that stuff. So I don't need anybody talking about it because, you know, I've got the three things happening, right?
But yeah, like, if I'm doing like a quick appetizer thing or I'm just like chopping onions or something, yeah, we can talk, you know, whatever. But then, yeah, I think it's with the dedicated space too. Like, I don't do any of the writing, the creative writing, or the journaling or anything until I'm alone and everybody else is asleep because I go to bed so much later than everybody else in my household. Right?
So, there's not just the space, but also is there a dedicated time. And this line of thinking works for certain personality types. I'm only talking to my experience and what works for me. So, if it resonates with you, great. If it doesn't, find your own thing. And, you know, I'm not going to bad mouth it.
Yeah. But I've had to figure out, and we talked about this in a previous episode too, like, what are the chunks of your day where you could do these things, right? So, the reason that I have the really dedicated space is the way that I have my approach is so that I can squeeze out as much as I possibly can with the time that I have so that, if my kid goes to a friend's house down the road, then I can run upstairs, I can quick-shoot something. Or I can finish the transcript for the podcast and launch it and be good to go. Since I don't have to be at the friend's house. Or, you know, whatever it is, right? Yeah.
Kristen Juve:
- Yeah. So, we're talking about like..Okay, having a space where you can be creative, be productive, it's a mindset space, it's a physical space and there’s so much that can really like change.
You have a lot of control over your environment to set yourself up for success. And I hear you talk about you're, like, I want to do something quick and get something like pumped out. And I'm so like the opposite. I'm like, I have a minute, I'm going to just sit down, which like...
Dave Dougherty:
- The other day I was laying down, right? I have one of the meditation apps and was like, all right, I have five minutes, I'm going to meditate just to try to be healthier and be better and, you know, whatever. So, then I'm doing it, and then all of a sudden I'm like, God, that must have been five minutes, completely taking myself out of it.
And I looked down at my iWatch, no, it'd only been two minutes and I was already ready to go do something else. So, you know, need some practice, need some practice, but it's just funny, you know?
Brainstorming Ideas for Kristen’s Workspace Redesign
Dave Dougherty:
- So, I think instead of kind of rambling and just trying to find a point, let's either…What about your space, in particular, do you think would be more conducive to balancing not just like the anchor gig thing, but then also when you have some time and when you have the mental capacity and whatever else where you could walk in, do a video shoot or something for your knitting, and then walk out and feel like you've done the thing and you're good.
Kristen Juve:
- Yeah. I mean, actually and doing this like rambling and talking to you, I've come to the conclusion that I think I need to have two separate spaces. One for my 9 to 5 and one for my knitting. And if I can't do that, I need to get really creative with that. That there's one wall that I essentially look at during my 9 to 5, and then I'm able to turn and like look at a different colored wall in our room for my knitting stuff.
Does that make enough of a difference? I'll have to experiment with that and see. Like, our house is like a decent size. It's not like we're in this size that's not super conducive. And this space we're talking about turning into something very purposeful. So, it won't be an option for me necessarily, but I don't know... So, we don't have to your point too, like, you said you don’t have a TV in your room and we don't either. We are talking about putting the TV down here and having a theater-type thing, and then like, we could remove our TV from the living room, which then could be a space for me. I can't be in a room with the TV and not turn it on. One of my vices. So, I know that about myself. So, I think I need separate spaces.
And I don't know exactly what that means yet, but I do need separate spaces. I need to feel like there's a blank slate in separate spaces. I think those two things are the things I'm going to go after first and see where that leads me next, I think.
Dave Dougherty:
- So, in my journey with this room. I've had to redo the shelving. I've had to, you know, buy all new furniture over the last three years.
It's a slow process because you have to wait until you have the cash and you have to wait until you have a moment to schlep 120 pounds upstairs. So, I have found graph paper to be awesome for me at least when I was thinking of, okay, if I have the lights in a particular spot, what do I want that visual to be? Right?
If I got a second desk for like the 9 to 5 within the space, how could I do that so that it's more of a bland kind of business look? Because depends on the person, whether or not they like seeing, you know, guitar amps in the background in a normal, you know, 9 to 5 thing. It's created a lot of interesting conversations, but at the same time, you know, you're always optimizing to the lowest common denominator when it comes to internal stuff.
So, yeah, I do a whole lot of versioning and, you know, you'll love this with the agile methodology stuff. You know, you build a prototypes and then you realize, no, won't work or whatever else.
So I mean, I've done that as well and then figured out, okay, I can do, you know, this version…or this iteration of this room for 70 bucks if I do it this way, or, you know, $150 if I do it this way. And then just like slowly, you know, build, build, build. And I take a similar approach to setting up a website or even creating a PowerPoint presentation.
I sit down with a blank sheet of paper, bullet things out and do it in a way where I can rearrange things before it's like kind of final. Like, you will not see just move a shelf to a spot to see what it looks like and then move it back. No, I'm touching the thing once.
Kristen Juve:
- I will totally move it. I'm going to move it and then look at it and sit back. I may even live with it for a day and I may even move it back then. I want to move the physical furniture. I want to actually feel it where it's at.
Dave Dougherty:
- Interesting.
Kristen Juve:
- Yep.
Dave Dougherty:
- Yeah. And like, I've thought about putting stuff behind me, but then again, when I'm facing that screen when I work, I don't want things above me to distract so that way, you know, it's focused in. So, it may not be as interesting to look at, you know, when we're doing these types of things, but again, I think it reflects, you know, the space and what it's for. So, that's what I use it for. That's how I like to do it.
And I remember in my creative writing class in college, we talked about...oh, what's his name? Billy Collins, I think. He was the poet laureate, national poet laureate like a number of times. I think it was him, if not, this might be slanderous.
But one of the poet laureates was talking about their process and how they would go into a room. They would light a bunch of candles, turn off the unnatural lights, and then strip naked and just write for however long And I mean, you hear that and you're like, ooh, okay. Don't know if that'll work for me.
But it always struck me as okay, first off, how do you get to the point where you realize that that's your process?
Kristen Juve:
- Yeah.
Dave Dougherty:
- I'm a little curious as to that. I don't want to, you know, dive too far into that, but, you know? But then the output of it clearly worked, right? He got to the pinnacle of what you can do with poetry. So, you know, it is as individual as the person. So, no matter what your output is, an e-book presentation, or product copy.
You might not have to go to that length if you're writing, you know, “These socks come in a pack of six and if you buy them, these are the features and benefits…” You know, you can do that from a coffee shop. You know, but if you want to go deeper, you got to do other things.
So yeah, anyway.
Kristen Juve:
- I keep envisioning like, okay, so the space that I'm moving into has blue walls, baby blue walls. Our entire upper floor looking baby blue.
Dave Dougherty:
- That's a problem.
Kristen Juve:
- I have no problem painting. So, I love painting and I'm like, I'm torn because part of me wants to just paint it white because it's a blank slate then, right? And I'm like but white is also so boring.
Dave Dougherty:
- Is it though?
Kristen Juve:
- It is, but it isn't. And so I have to like figure out...and I keep envisioning this... This is going to sound crazy. This is going to sound totally crazy. I keep envisioning this space as being a place where I can paint.
Dave Dougherty:
- Then why wouldn't you do white?
Kristen Juve:
- I do paint, I haven't painted in a long time, but I feel like that's my definition of creativity. Like, it allows me to...I'm not a painter, but I have...
Dave Dougherty:
- So you need a multimedia room. It's not just a... Yeah.
Kristen Juve:
- Yes. But I want it to be like empty.
Dave Dougherty:
- So you're thinking traditional studio like your photography background?
Kristen Juve:
- Yeah. I think that studio feel is what I want in this room and I need to figure out how to have that feeling with still having desks in there, probably two. One is more of like the desk that I'm on right now is actually a drawing desk.
It has a special place for lighting underneath. So you can actually like trace if you need to. And it's white. It's all light-colored. And I'm going to get another...I think I have to get a standing desk because of ergonomics. So, now I'm like, now I'm in planning mode. I'm like thinking of all the things, but I now know that I need to make it feel more like an actual studio.
That's what I want. And that's what I've always wanted, like an art studio, but where I sit on my computer.
Dave Dougherty:
- So you want one of those reclaimed manufacturing things in the middle of Minneapolis that has the windows from 1912 and...
Kristen Juve:
- Yes. That's exactly what I want. Exposed brick. The hardwood floors I have that are super old from the '60s. I've got that. That's the only thing I've got. And it's a bedroom, but it has a huge picture window, which is amazing.
Dave Dougherty:
- So then, yeah, you kind of have to go like an off-white or like, you know, a really light gray.
Kristen Juve:
- That's why I was like, what if I put color on it? What if I just like did pink?
Dave Dougherty:
- You won't have the studio feel. Now, if you did like a pink via Jackson Polluck, then maybe. It's literally a splash of color on the wall. That might make it a little more creative depending on how you'll respond to stimuli like that.
Kristen Juve:
- Or I could just turn my wall into a canvas. I could also do that. Just one of the walls. Paint everything white.
Dave Dougherty:
- You know, I love writing on walls. Like, a floor-to-ceiling whiteboard is a dream for me.
Kristen Juve:
- Yes.
Dave Dougherty:
- Yeah. So, I would totally do that. You might consider that. Do a whiteboard wall so that you can draw or, you know, splash things on there and erase it if you need to. And then that way it's not just...
Kristen Juve:
- Yeah, I mean, the whiteboard will definitely be incorporated because it's like, I'm obsessed with whiteboards. You can't tell, but like there's a gigantic one on that side. And then I have one in the kitchen. They're everywhere in my house.
It's a large one in the kitchen too. It sits vertically and it has all of the stuff that we're doing during the week, including meals and who's making what. It's a great way to stay organized. I had a problem with having that in the space at first too because I was like, I want my kitchen to like look nice. Although anyways, but I was like this will really...it actually helps us a lot. So, it's like literally the thing that keeps us together.
Dave Dougherty:
- Yeah. I was having a conversation with somebody the other day about how annoying it is that everybody thinks they have to have like magazine-quality design.
Kristen Juve:
- That's a really good point.
Dave Dougherty:
- You know, where it's just like you don't need to have that shot. There's a reason those are aspirational. You know, I don't see...like, if you have a good-looking kitchen that looks lived in, that means you're normal.
Kristen Juve:
- Mine looks more than lived in. It looks like pretty dirty.
Dave Dougherty:
- I mean, if you have a tomato soup on the wall or something, then yeah, that's a problem. Clean it.
Kristen Juve:
- The main reason why I feel like it looks dirty is we have large tiles for our countertops. It's disgusting. I hate that. Anyways, we're off-topic. I think that this conversation has been extremely helpful for me to think about how I want to create my space moving forward. And it's been something I've been really thinking about lately and I just couldn't like process and get over what I needed.
And now I know that I just need an art studio. That's how I conceive it.
Dave Dougherty:
- This is also sort of related to some of the other things we've talked about recently in terms of like...well, especially with the 5 Why episode, where you start with the big thing and then you figure out what are actually the subsets, you know? So like, what do you want?
I want an art studio. Well, can you afford the rent? No. All right. So, what about the art studio do you like? You know, how can you incorporate those things? Is it just a simple, you know, thing of paint for 80 bucks or whatever it goes for these days?
You know, or do you have to go into these other elements, right? What do you have to have in order for the space to be usable? And usable for what?
Kristen Juve:
- Yep. That's the thing I feel like the art studio element is something that I want to feel, but it's not what I want for like if I'm shooting a video or something. But like we said earlier, I just have to try some things and figure it out.
Dave Dougherty:
- Okay. So here's probing and testing assumptions here. So obviously, your new space, part of the consideration will be the background for whatever future episodes we do with this.
Kristen Juve:
- Totally.
Dave Dougherty:
- Aside from that, the videos that you would do for casting knits in my mind are, and I know...you don't have to give me that face. In my mind they're like the closeup of the needles, which means you don't really have to have a background other than maybe, you know, a black sheet over your lap if you don't want your legs like seen as, you know, a backdrop.
Am I far off on that assumption or is that kind of close or...?
Kristen Juve:
- To be completely honest, I have put my video strategy completely in the back of my mind for my knitting stuff lately.
Dave Dougherty:
- So, it's not a consideration at all. So, good.
Kristen Juve:
- Not really a consideration at all.
Dave Dougherty:
- You are good to go.
Kristen Juve:
- Yeah. And now I'm feeling bad. No, I purposely did that cause I was, like, I want to focus on one thing at a time just to the point of getting this thing launched type of situation. And I still haven't done that, but like that was my strategy to like get this thing launched and obviously that's not working, so I need to figure out a different thing to that.
But yeah, my video strategy is essentially like, okay, if I think about it in terms of TikTok, because I'll probably be doing a lot more TikToks than anything else because, like, we've talked about, the barriers so low, it's doesn't really matter. An art studio background for TikTok wouldn't actually be a bad thing. It's not going to be overly curated like a lot of the content creators have, but like, there's probably something I could...because even with TikTok, you can go like get pretty close to your face and not have to have too much of a background if that's the way I choose to go with it.
So yeah, I guess it's not really a consideration. "Stitches and Picks" is the only consideration.
Dave Dougherty:
- As it should be!
Kristen Juve:
- But I can get you guys to do it. Follow-up episode in a year because that's probably how long it's going to take.
Dave Dougherty:
- Yeah, exactly. I'm only halfway up the stairs.
Kristen Juve:
- Yeah. So, all I have to do is take down the air mattress that's in there, but we have a wall that has like weird plywood over it. So we're pulling that off and then we're trying to figure out if we need drywall over it or what's underneath it.
Dave Dougherty:
- Interesting.
Kristen Juve:
- The whole thing.
Dave Dougherty:
- Yeah. There's a guy in the guitar community named Rick Beato. I think I brought him up before. He recently posted a thing on the studio that he shoots all of his YouTube videos from and, you know, the recording studio that he has, you know, for when he was a music producer and doing that full-time.
And it showed like from 2005 when he gutted the entire thing and then built it into what has to be done. Because if you're doing a recording studio, you have to have certain acoustic treatments, which is a totally different consideration than, you know, a lot of other places. Actually, and in saying that, I would say some resources for anybody who stuck around this long through this episode, Wistia, which is W-I-S-T-I-A, it's a video hosting company that you don't have to buy the service, but they have a fantastic learner, like content learning area with their blog.
So, if you have any like photo or video lighting questions, they'd be a good place to go. And they even have somewhere like, we're going to create lights, you know, from Home Depot instead of going to the camera places. So, go check them out they’re a good resource.
What else? But like microphones and stuff, but, you know, we weren't talking about that. You could go to... Hit me up, I'll give you some links for other things if you want that kind of stuff.
Kristen Juve:
- We'll do a whole...we got a whole episode full of like good tech stuff that we can jump into too.
Dave Dougherty:
- Cool.
Kristen Juve:
- All right. Well, now that I have a plan and I know exactly what my office is going to look like, we can leave it there. And then like I said, in a year, we'll come back and you can see at that time.
Dave Dougherty:
- Anybody who wants to engage with us online, feel free to, you know, randomly shoot Kristen a message, "How's that office?"
Kristen Juve:
- Exactly. Yeah. I'll give updates on it. Here's how empty it is. Look, we painted it one wall white. We haven't got to the other walls yet. We have to paint the ceiling too.
That ceiling is because it's blue.
Dave Dougherty:
- Ceilings are the worst.
Kristen Juve:
- It's all old hat for me. My dad had a painting company while I was growing up during the summers because he was a teacher. I've been painting since I was 7. Painting houses.
Dave Dougherty:
- Doesn't mean there are any... Doesn't mean ceilings don't suck.
Kristen Juve:
- That's fair.
All right. Hit us up on social. Love to hear if have any questions. Love to hear others people's process for creativity or production or spaces. What do you do for your spaces because if I'm in the process of like putting mine together, I want as much feedback as possible. I want to know.
Dave Dougherty:
- Right. Yeah. I mean, even if it's just, you know, keeping a section of the kitchen table to yourself, you know, because sometimes that's a struggle enough.
Kristen Juve:
- Yep.
Dave Dougherty:
- Cool. Yeah. Appreciate it. We'll see you next week and take care.
Kristen Juve:
- Bye.
