Transcript
Speaker: Do you have a dream that is a small seed of an idea and it's ready to sprout? Or are you in the workplace, weeds, and you need to bloom in a new creative way? Perhaps you're ready to embrace and grow a more vibrant, joyful, and authentic life. If you answered yes to any of these, you are ready to re -bloom.
Speaker: Welcome to the podcast where we have enlightening chats with nature lovers, makers, and artisans as they share inspiring stories about pivoting to a heart -centered passion. Hello, I'm Lori Siebert, and I am very curious to hear from friends and artisans about the creativity that blooms when you follow your heart. And I'm Jamie Jamison, and I want to dig deep into the why behind each courageous leap of faith and walk through new heart -centered gardens.
Speaker: Each episode of Rebloom will be an in -depth conversation with guests who through self -discovery shifted to share their passions with the world. Get ready to find your creative joy as we plant the seeds for you to Rebloom. Hello, I'm Jamie Jamison. And I'm Lori Siebert. And Jamie and I are both very proud Rebloomers ourselves.
Speaker: You may be wondering what it means to rebloom. Well, both Lori and I have bloomed along the way in our careers, but we've also pivoted. And this podcast is a gentle nudge of inspiration when we hear from other people who have done the same. We want to talk to them about the creative paths that they've taken and how they have rebloomed.
Speaker: Jamie and I both love this quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It's never too late or too early to be whoever you want to be. Isn't that so true? Oh my gosh, it is so true. And I can't wait to hear from some of our friends and artisans about how they have rebloomed.
Speaker: Yeah, we've had many conversations about this recently as we're aging and we have gone through many acts in our lives and we want to hear from people who are blooming, pivoting, late bloomers, re -bloomers, all of them. That's who we want to talk with on this podcast.
Speaker: I can't wait. We can't wait. And so to start, we thought it would be best that maybe you heard from the OG Rebloomers, that would be Lori and myself. So we're going to tell you a little bit about ourselves and how we Rebloomed on this first podcast.
Speaker: And I get to be the first one to interview Jamie. So first, a little bit about Jamie. Jamie is a natural light and still life photographer with a huge passion for flowers, vintage finds and handmade treasures. If you haven't seen her Instagram, you need to check it out. Her images are gorgeous. And she is an Instagram influencer. You can find her at at all Jamie.
Speaker: She connects with other floral enthusiasts and has inspired people throughout the world with her uplifting photos. She is also a university communications instructor and was awarded the 2019 Part -Time Excellence Award for Teaching.
Speaker: Her work has been published in Country Living Magazine and many of the Somerset publications. She's amazing and she was my friend. You're amazing. Oh, thank you. And now I get to ask you some questions about your journey and how you have bloomed and pivoted and rebloomed over the years. So let's start with
Speaker: a point in your life where you feel like you were pivoting or reblooming, what made that happen? Well, I am so excited to tell a little bit about my story and also share your story as well because I think we along the way
Speaker: bloom, and I bloomed. Initially, I was in marketing, and I've been a teacher for many years, but I really felt that I needed to have some creativity in my life. My mother was ill. She had cancer, and my kids were being teenagers. And frankly, I just needed something for myself that brought me joy.
Speaker: And so, I started down a path of watercolor art. Now, unlike you, my friend, I cannot paint. I don't believe that. I believe everyone can with the right practice, but that's another path. That's a whole other conversation. But what I found in taking the class
Speaker: is that it wasn't necessarily about the medium, but it was about making time for myself to be creative. And that opened the door for me. And once that door was opened, I've never looked back. And so I started with watercolors, and then that moved to mixed media, and then that moved to photography, and then it moved to social media, and here I am.
Speaker: Wow. I love when people open themselves up to their creativity because I really do feel like that it just feeds the soul and a lot of people are afraid of it. For some reason, I always get asked at retreats that I teach or people say, I'm not an artist. Well, I don't believe that. I believe everybody is. It's all about the practice.
Speaker: So I love that you embrace that and took that leap. And so when you took that leap and you decided you wanted to explore your creativity, were there times where you felt like you were in the weeds or you you were frustrated with that or has it been like a just smooth sailing?
Speaker: definitely not smooth sailing. And I think one of the things that you discover along the ways is that you're gonna hear the word, hmm, no, or that's okay. I mean, your friends are always gonna tell you, oh, that's beautiful, that's amazing. But there's also people out there who are gonna be very real with you. And sometimes when people are real with you, that can become very discouraging. And so along the way,
Speaker: people, it's not that they were mean, it's just that they were real about where I was. I was starting in this journey. And I think that's a pivot point. You either say, oh, I'm going to stop doing this and I'm never going to do this again, or I'm going to grow. I'm going to find a way to grow along this path. And so, yes, I found myself
Speaker: with a very talented watercolor artist who said, in order to be a really good watercolor artist, you need to know how to draw. And I went, oh, that's the issue. But I don't believe that either. But again, another conversation. But it wasn't a no for me. That was a just find how you can, to your point, how you can make your hand and your brain work together. And for me, I could tell my story through photographs.
Speaker: and it was it was not a no don't do it it was oh maybe i need to pivot and find something better i also along the way when i reached a point that i needed to grow sought education whether it be an online class a retreat a friend a colleague i was never
Speaker: I never stopped growing. There was always an opportunity to me to push it a little bit more. And that was fun. And through those experiences, not only did I grow in my art, but I grew friendships. And that was incredible.
Speaker: Don't I love that because I feel like when you reach out to other people, you realize you don't need to do everything alone. Right. And when you seek out education and learnings from other people, you're adding to your own arsenal of tools that you can
Speaker: rely on and utilize so i think if people are wanting to grow or change or pivot that's probably a really good tip is seek out people that are gonna support that support your growth support your change in the other thing i wanted to comment on is
Speaker: I see obstacles as opportunities for learning. And I also think that there is no failure. Everything that you see as a failure in your own mind, you're actually learning from. So maybe you realized watercolor wasn't
Speaker: your thing totally can still, you can always go back to that. But it led you to what you have an even greater passion for, which is photography. So I think that's beautiful. It does. And I think too, when you're starting out, I love the idea of your own art journal or your own work that you create just for you.
Speaker: that nobody sees it and then you're not afraid to let your heart lead you in the creative path. I think if you think somebody's going to look at it, you may hold back. Whereas if you're like, okay, nobody will ever see this. Let's just create it for fun. Then it lets you explore all different kinds of mediums.
Speaker: and to really find that joy. And I did love watercolor. I did. And I still will do it. I still love to paint. But it's also figuring out what kind of painter you may be or what kind of artist you may be. And you're right, the best gifts along the way have been the people that I've connected with.
Speaker: It's amazing that artists really want to help other artists. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, people are always amazed, I think, probably for you and me when you respond back. I'm like, well, I'm a person at the other end who loves to. I want to support other people. I want to be a teacher. I want to help other people.
Speaker: Ask me a question, I will gladly reach out. And now granted, you may find people that are huge, too, too huge, and they maybe don't have the time. But I think more often than not, you're going to find other artisans willing to support your art and lift you up.
Speaker: And I think beyond even the art realm since we are talking generally reblooming, even if you want to become more of a like a floral stylist or a grower or whatever is calling your heart
Speaker: reach out to those people that you admire. That's something that I've done for a long time. Anybody that I think is really doing things that are sparking to me, I'll send them a direct message and just tell them how much I admire what they're doing. And then you start a conversation and
Speaker: You never know where those relationships will lead. You never know. And I'm a huge believer in direct messaging, people, artists, photographers, and it has opened more doors for me than I can even imagine. I've taken photos of an Academy Award -winning actress just by direct messaging someone.
Speaker: Are you allowed to say who that is because I know who it is and I think it's so cool. I took pictures of Diane Keaton and it was pretty cool. That's so cool. I think I can. And it was it was pretty neat. I was able to meet her and who knew that my watercolor class would lead to mixed media, that would lead to floral photography, that would lead me to an opportunity like that. And that's the thing. If you say no, you shut doors.
Speaker: If you say, yes, you open doors of possibility and your garden will grow. You may not know what you're going to grow. You may throw out the seeds and it may, you may think, okay, let's just wait until spring and see what happens. But that's the thing, throw out the seeds of creativity and see what blooms. So I love that. I love how you've shared like,
Speaker: You started out being unsure about it, but doing it from a place of joy or seeking joy and seeking something to give you more happiness. And then it took some twists and turns. And then you're photographing Diane Keaton. What?
Speaker: Who knew? Who knew? And that's the kind of cool thing along this journey is that you just want to put out what you love. Find what roots you, what grounds you.
Speaker: and see how that blooms. And then you'll see maybe how you will re -bloom, but it's having the courage to just do that. And I've talked to so many people who are like, well, I could have, I would have, I should have, whatever. Just do it. Just do it. Life is short. Get out there and find what you love. And okay, maybe that isn't something that you're going to sell, but it's okay that you're just doing it because you love to do it.
Speaker: That's fine too. It's a creative space and I think we all need joyful creative spaces in our life.
Speaker: Yeah, I always look at our grandsons and how they just dive in and just play and explore. And then you see their little personalities kind of going one way or the other. Like one loves sports and running and jumping. The other one is so into making things and being creative.
Speaker: Like children are such a great example for just embracing each day and each adventure and just doing it.
Speaker: And I think as we get older, we maybe lose touch with that side of ourselves. But if you can circle back around and just be childlike, play, don't put the pressure of an end product right away because everything evolves. It's a journey. Nothing's going to be perfect. Just like, you know, us playing with this podcast, like we're learning and exploring. We didn't know what we were doing, but here we are. No, and we were scared.
Speaker: And we were reblooming right here and right now. And this is fun because we felt strongly enough that there were some great stories to share. And I think we both have amazing stories.
Speaker: Hey folks, we are so excited to talk about our sponsor Jet Creative. They are a women -owned marketing firm committed to community and empowerment. And if you want to rebloom like we are and launch a podcast, don't wait, get started, and call Jet Creative because they have got you covered.
Speaker: Visit jetcreative .com backslash podcast to kickstart your podcasting journey. They will help you set up a website. They'll get your voice out there. Plus, huge, our listeners get an exclusive discount. So please make sure you mention the Rebloom podcast when you reach out. Don't miss this chance to let your podcasting bloom big with Jet Creative. Give them a call today. Now it is my turn to turn the tables on you.
Speaker: Um, thank you. Oh, well, here we go. Here's my story. Here we go. Here is your story. Well, if you ask Lori to define her artistic style, she says that she's a little bit of a chameleon. She started taking private art lessons at the young age of seven, and she continued to study art throughout high school.
Speaker: This led her to a degree in graphic design from the University of Cincinnati. Her firm, Olika Studios, has developed branding and design programs for influential clients such as Target, oh my gosh, Bath and Body Works, Nickelodeon, and Universal Studios. Lori began the art licensing arm of her business 18 years ago and now works with several top manufacturers in the gift and home decor.
Speaker: She creates every day in her home studio in Kentucky sewing, sculpting, drawing, painting, meeting with clients and developing concepts with her very talented design team. Her husband Steve is her business partner and she has two children, Kenzie, who is a designer, an amazing designer too, and works closely with her mom at Olika and Tanner, who is a mechanical engineer.
Speaker: She also has two grandchildren who light up her life. And she is an amazing bloomer, and re bloomer. Hi, Lori, welcome. Oh, I'm so happy to talk to you, my friend. I'm so happy that we can both share our stories. So you know, when we talk about re bloom, we often talk about somebody who has gone down a direction like myself. And
Speaker: and completely pivoted to something else. I was doing marketing and now I'm doing more photography. I'm in the art space. You have been in the art world your whole life, but you have also pivoted and rebloomed along the way. Do you want to tell us a little bit about that? Well, much to my business partner, husband, Chagrin, I pretty much pivot. It's almost like clockwork every seven years.
Speaker: So started out with in our graphic design business, really designing business to business. So, you know, plastic molding companies and banks and it was fine. But I always wanted to do things that were a little more artful. So on the side, I was doing a lot of pro bono work for the arts.
Speaker: And then I thought, well, surely there are creative companies, so I don't have to do it pro bono. I can design for them and be paid. So Pivot One was, okay, let's go after the clients that we really want to work with. So that's when we went and made appointments with Target, Bath & Body Works, Nickelodeon, the roster of clients.
Speaker: Set out, sent portfolios, made meetings and started working with those companies. And what was wonderful about it is it was way more challenging because those people were more artistically savvy and style savvy, but they pushed me and our our team and I loved that. So that was pivot number one. That's amazing, though, but that's also scary. So what gave you
Speaker: I know it's your beautiful artwork, which you had that portfolio that you felt you could walk into those meetings, but what gave you the extra courage to do that? I think it was really more, I don't know if it was as much courage as it was desire and passion and curiosity, because I thought,
Speaker: I remember when I first started my business three years out of college and coming out of the accountant's office and saying to my dad, I can't do this. That accountant was speaking Greek. I don't understand it. And he goes, what's the worst that can happen starting your own business? You know, you'll learn from it. Even if you fail, which what is failure?
Speaker: you will have learned from it, and you will be that much more valuable if you do have to go work for someone else. So I literally have been an entrepreneur since three years out of college. So I'm just curious, and I think I lead with that. So I just thought, what's the worst that can happen? And I did reach out to some companies that nothing developed from, but some that did. Exactly. And I think that's the thing.
Speaker: I mean, not everybody is going to say yes. And it's not that they don't like you. It's maybe at the time.
Speaker: what you are doing or what I'm doing is not right for them, but then they maybe circle around again. And if we let every no be our lead, nobody would go anywhere. So it's like, okay, what do you have to lose? Exactly. Okay, no. Okay. Well, next I'll go to, I mean, there's plenty of people out there who are looking for beautiful art or want to see something that an artist is putting out.
Speaker: And I've developed a pretty thick skin over the years, so yeah, it's okay. I see as a no as, well, that door closed, but there's a window right over there that I can leap through. So that's sort of how I approach life.
Speaker: But another pivot was we decided because we were an illustration based design firm, we decided we want to explore art licensing, which what that is, is we design art and pattern that gets licensed to all kinds of home decor and gift products. So anything from wall wall art to rugs to ceramics to stationary fabric, you name it. And
Speaker: So for that, again, back to that whole learning piece, I wanted to understand what licensing was first before leaping and so read books on it and then sent someone from our office to one of the licensing shows to kind of check it out and see how other people were showing their work and just, you know,
Speaker: come back with some learnings before we actually went and showed ourselves. So that's what I've been doing. But the latest pivot later in my life, and again, it was interesting when you mentioned that it came from you were looking for joy when it was with your mom. So over the last few years, I lost both parents. We sold our studio building of 30 years.
Speaker: we paid off all our debt and I turned 60. And because of all of that, I really started thinking about what do I want to be doing for the rest of my life? And although I've been blessed to be in a career that I love and I've learned so much and gained so much from it, I'm in this process of fine tuning and really, really honing in on what I love the most.
Speaker: And that is, I love travel teaching, so I'm teaching retreats in the US and out of the States and France and Italy and I love that so much and I love teaching and I love being with kindred spirits and I'm now creating art
Speaker: I always was creating for years with through the lens of what do other people want? You know, when it was our client, it's OK. How do I design to their brand and their customer? And the same with licensing. What do the manufacturers want? What do the customers want to buy? And I'm trying to design and create and paint more of what lights me up. And it's really interesting when you start to do that because
Speaker: people, I think, see the love and the passion in the work when it's coming from that place of heart. I would agree. I think it's that heart -centered work no matter what you do along your path. And I would say that you have always created beautiful heart -centered work because you can see a piece of you in everything that I see
Speaker: that you have done but it's it's beautiful to take a look at our path and life comes at you life changes and even if you're in the same field and I love the story of going from more graphics which you could have done that for the rest of your life and then fine and
Speaker: been creating logos, but you took a leap of faith. You pivoted and you're like, you know what, I'm going to try something else. And I love that. And all they can do is say no. And then it opened another door and then it opened another door. And certainly as we age, I always say, what's the view at the top of the mountain? What do you want to be happening around your life?
Speaker: My life has also changed and pivoted along the way. Laurie knows and others. We've recently just lost our daughter. And it's caused me to take a step back and say, all right, life is precious. We only have so much time here. And we need to do things that are joyful and that are meaningful to our heart.
Speaker: And by doing that, we're sharing that beauty with others, and other people need that too. Absolutely. I think that when you do operate from that place, I feel like it is in service of not only yourself, but of others, because that is sharing your God -given reason for being on Earth. When you can tap into that,
Speaker: It's amazing how the universe just opens up to all kinds of opportunities. It really is. It's pretty stunning. It is pretty stunning. And I think that if you, I think it's being open to the seeds of inspiration, going back to the garden, you know, just letting them germinate, letting them kind of sit with you, but also
Speaker: taking the time to really mind or tend your garden in the way that's not too much, and you're not scattered all over the place, that you're really being mindful about what you grow,
Speaker: and how you grow it, because it will not only enrich your heart, but it will, as we said, it'll enrich the heart of others. And I think that that is so important for not only your own soul, but also to touch the souls of others. And I think that type of heart -centered work that we can all pivot to is wonderful and joyous.
Speaker: I did want to share one other. It was a time where I intentionally pivoted because basically I hit a brick wall. It was in my mid 30s and I had two young children and I was working a lot. I owned my own business. I had a staff of people that I was responsible to.
Speaker: And I was at the time working in environmental graphics and doing signage, which meant a lot of meetings, late night meetings. And I came home one night and just kind of fell apart. And I decided to work with a leadership coach. And she was amazing because what she did was she had me
Speaker: write down all the pillars of your life, your family, your faith, your home, how you dress, you know, all the things that make up your life and write, write down where I was at the time in my mind, and write a vision for where I wanted to be. And it was at that time that we lost a lot of our staff members, like nine people left within a year and a half. So boy,
Speaker: That was a big change, which was actually a godsend because that's another thing that led to going down the art licensing path, which was more fulfilling at the time than what we had been doing before.
Speaker: But it really, I had to hit a brick wall almost and be depressed, be anxious, be all the things until I woke up and thought, okay, time for a change.
Speaker: Yeah, and I think that those weeds, as we would call them, as you and I would maybe call them, are part of life. I mean, life comes at you sometimes that you don't expect, and it does seem like you're never going to get out of it, but yet there is always a sliver of light. There is always a sliver of light.
Speaker: There are to me each time that that has happened I've I have to do the hustle to I get out there to get jobs I was teased with my husband that I got fired and I really didn't get fired but people hire you for a job and then they move on and It's a lesson for me too that I can do something and it's okay that it shifts or it pivots and I move on from that right and
Speaker: there has always been something really cool and brighter at the other end of that experience. And I've always learned from them. I mean, that's the sage wisdom of, unfortunately, us being older and having bloomed. And I think when you're blooming, you're like, oh my gosh, you're on this train. And when something negative happens, you think, oh, this is the worst thing, but it's not.
Speaker: It's just helping you to be stronger. It's helping you to see something different. And when another opportunity happens, you're going to be oh, that much wiser to move and pivot in that direction.
Speaker: And some people might be, I think fear keeps people from making change in their lives. It's so much easier to just stay put and maybe even if you're unhappy, just staying put is comfortable and change is hard and scary.
Speaker: But I think there are ways to just, like you said, just plant little seeds, you know, do some reading, exploring, reach out to people who are doing things that you're dreaming about doing, start talking to them and
Speaker: Start journaling and writing down the things that you're really intrigued with and interested in doing and little by little I feel like things in your life will start to open up for you and you can make them open up for you by doing all of those things.
Speaker: I couldn't agree more with you and all right, I'll go pick up my watercolor brush again. I'm going to give you a lesson because I paint in a way that you don't really have to be good at drawing. That's what I need. Yeah, I can do that. I'll give you a lesson.
Speaker: And that's the thing, find the thing that works best for you. And it's funny when Lori and I were together this past summer, I showed her how to arrange flowers. And that's, you know, as talented, talented as just oozing from you. You're like, this is not something that I do that often.
Speaker: But it was forever or ever. Well, there were there were just things that I didn't know. I had no idea. And, you know, I love learning. It's again, back to that curiosity thing. And you just giving me those few steps and tips and things gave me confidence. And that's what people should seek out when they're really, you know, like you said, take classes, reach out to people, explore, play.
Speaker: play or listen to others on this Rebloom podcast who have done the exact same thing because we want to introduce you to some people who have done exactly what we've done along the way. They've bloomed
Speaker: They've pivoted, they've rebloomed, and we have some incredible guests that are going to join us throughout this podcast that we think that you will love and will give you amazing inspiration to get out there and rebloom yourself.
Speaker: So, I can't believe it. We have actually done this, Lori. We have not only bloomed, but we've re -bloomed as podcasters. Oh my gosh. Our first episode. So proud of us. Thank you all for joining us. Thank you for getting to know both Lori and myself a little bit more and how we have bloomed and re -bloomed. We want to leave you with a quote after each episode. And this one is from Alice Walker.
Speaker: Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your soul. Thank you all for joining us today. We are so excited. This is our maiden voyage, and you came here and listened. Thank you for that. Until next time, I'm Lori Siebert. And I am Jamie Jamison. Peace, love, and rebloom, dear friends.
Speaker: Life is too short not to follow your passions, so go out there and let your heart plant you where you are meant to be and grow your joy. We will be right here sharing more incredible stories of reinvention with you. Make sure to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode of Rebloom. Until next time, I'm Jamie Jamison. And I'm Lori Siebert. Peace, love, and Rebloom, dear friends.
Speaker: We love to connect with our Rebloom fans. Find us on Instagram at Rebloom underscore podcast or a private Facebook group of Rebloomers. You will find both links in our show notes as well as information about our sponsors. Huge thanks to Urban Stems and Jet Creative for making this episode possible.
