Cold Email

Welcome back to Cold Email! After a much-needed break, we're here, and we’re answering YOUR questions. Basia and Olive discuss burnout, the useless things we learned in art school, ideal workspaces, and of course, the importance of taking breaks.

Hey again from Cold Email!!!!!!! In this episode, we discuss the JUICIEST HATE we've received, the nature of online haters vs. IRL haters, Olive's fear of reading comments, and more! NYC influencer Codey James (instagram.com/codey___/) joins us to chat about the tension between video art and social content, his filmmaking practice, and how he deals with the bizarre, rude things people say anonymously. Also, hear Basia challenge Pitchfork to throw hands. Listen now! P.S. We took a (much-needed and arguably well-deserved) break from cranking out the eps in our post-lockdown world. We're happy to be back today bringing you this unreleased one from 2022 & are stoked to bring you net-new shows soon.

In this rather unusual episode, Olive and Basia take you behind the velvet rope and onto a production phone call of Cold Email. No edits, no cuts!!! We reveal the secrets of writing and producing an episode of Cold Email. We also answer everyone’s burning question: through weddings, funerals, Covid cases, etc., & plagued by supply chain shortages, how and why do you continue making this podcast?

Have you ever felt debilitatingly anxious about the success your creative practice? If so, you are not alone!!! AND WE CAN HELP!!!!!!!! In this special “Basia & Olive” episode, we take you through “The Spiral,” otherwise known as the phenomenon in which creative people suddenly find themselves feeling burnt out, afraid, unsuccessful, unskilled, etc. We’ll talk about The Spiral’s causes and symptoms, as well as how to prepare for a spiral and how to actually manage it when it inevitably happens.

In this very special Valentine’s Day episode, we’ll reveal how to get freelance jobs and find true love!!!!! Yes, we are in fact, giving away the secrets. Later on, we get a chance to catch up with our former roommate & every pop punk band’s favorite illustrator, Stephanie O’Byrne, & chat about about full-time freelance, working in the music industry, and the value of being brave enough to say your dreams out loud.

Maintaining a work/life balance is wildly difficult, in no small part due to contemporary expectations of “the workplace,” as  well as largely-held societal ideals about how, when, & how often work happens. In the pandemic, the expectations and definitions of labor have become even more fraught. In this episode, we out ourselves as cultural Marxists (lol) and take a deep dive into the ethical rights and legal protections workers (including freelancers) are entitled to. We also remind ourselves why we shouldn’t take these rights for granted (see: “Ya gotta be alive in order to make work!”). Later, we get to speak with two incredibly insightful illustrators — Jamiel Law (jamiellaw.com / @jamiellaw_art) and Xia Gordon (xiagordon.com / @carefulblackgirl) — about maintaining the balance between working a full-time design job at the same time as freelancing for major publications and publishing companies.

We went to the American Illustration Party!!!!! & we got to talk to some insightful people while we were there. Interviews in order of appearance: Julia Feingold: @j_feingold / juliafeingold.com Griffin Reynolds: @griffinreynoldsart / griffinreynolds.art Jane Demarest: @little.boy.blueeee / janedemarest.com Maddy Price @coolfriendlyman / maddyprice.com Joy Velasco: @joyfreudeart / joyvelasco.com Robyn Phelps: @robyn_makes / robynphelps.com Janelly Rodriguez: @jellyjanelly_ / janelly.myportfolio.com/ *** Huge thanks to Ella Lupo of Purple Rain Illustrators & Cold Email Alumni Alex Citrin for making it all possible.

Making ambitious work while operating under financial restrictions can be challenging, but YOU (yes you) can still accomplish a ton, even whilst working within a limited budget. We spoke with three very qualified creatives with very varied practices — Jennifer Xiao @jxiaoooo (illustrator & Cheeto-tiger maker), Sadie Dupuis of @wax.nine (a poetry journal & record label), and Manny Lemus of @citruscityy (a cassette tape label) — and heard about how they began & currently operate their projects in the absence of major funding. A few topics covered in these discussions include: the balance of investing money and time into your practice, managing finances, and how "doing it yourself" necessitates taking on a variety of day-to-day roles that extend outside of your """job description."""

This very spooky episode centers around “craft” — both as the idea of "skill," and as a way of creating that's said to conflict with design-centric thinking. We try to get to the bottom of what exactly craft is & we also try to settle the question of craft actually being at war with commercial design (?!). Joi Fulton (@thedaintyheart) & Adam Scheffler (@aimlessarrowembroidery) join us to discuss where craft intersects with design in their practices, the differences between digitally designing and physical making, the drama of niche craft communities, & more!

The holy trinity — gaslighting, gatekeeping, & girlbossing — is wildly prevalent in the creative industry. We’ll talk about our experiences with each term and give tips on dealing with all of it. Siobhán Gallagher joins us to discuss widespread gender discrimination in the workplace, feeling “gatekept," and her road from working in-house at a publishing company to becoming a freelance artist who writes & illustrates her own books.

In this episode, we talk about dumb stuff and why it is good!!! (*We define “dumb stuff” as an inherently anti-capitalist way of living & working that is, at its core, A. existing how you want to, B. doing things that align with your own values that are usually C. in opposition to more widely-held societal ideals.) Hiller Goodspeed joins us to discuss picking through the garbage, to defend intentional slowness, and to rejoice over our shared love of doing dumb stuff all the time.

This episode is centered around “success.” We talk about how to find success (hint: persistence) through the lens of the Mets! Later, Julian Glander tells us about his “art world” origin story (which, spoiler, starts on Threadless), about still having professional fears even after becoming a  “household illustration name,” and why he would prefer to be Ash than a Pokemon.

HOW can you make enough money to live as an artist????? Brooklyn-based illustrator and musician, Jaime “Sloth” Knoth, joins us to talk about doing what ya gotta do (weird jobs) to pay rent, and the importance of allowing your “path” to ebb and flow freely. We will also affirm your choice to follow a non-art school approved career arc, and we’ll talk about why it’s OKAY (& even cool) to pursue a lot of interests.

We've all dealt with rejection in one way or another, but is it possible to deal with it better? Does it ever get easier to be rejected?? Does the rejection ever end??? We talk about some personal rejections, ways we cope with them, and find that it does get easier in time!

Art directors: If you work in a creative career chances are you've worked with them. We all know what their jobs is, but what do they really do? We talk about our experiences working with art directors of all kinds, discover we may all be art directors ourselves, and talk with Illustrator and art director, Vinnie Neuberg, about you guessed it- art direction- and his work. And by the end of this episode he… interviews us???

Part 2 of our art book/riso series! This week we ask the question: what exactly is a zine? We discuss the creation, evolution, and distribution of zines and their effects on the ever-changing art community. We also talk with award-winning illustrator, Greg Kletsel, about making zines, keeping sketchbooks, living in the world of art book fairs, and conceptual bar mitzvah videos.

Welcome to part one of our two-part art book/risograph series! This week we talk with illustrator and animator, Alexander Laird, about risograph printing, art book fairs, rejection from said art book fairs, making comics, and building community in the ever-growing zine and comics scene.

What did happen at the American Illustration Party? We chat with award-winning illustrator and art director Alex Citrin about open bars, business cards, the ins and outs of art & design competitions, and learning where business ends and the party begins! 

We discuss clout clients, how to navigate the instagram humblebrag, NYT ADs, and have a chat with Illustrator Maddy Price!

In this episode, we discuss one of the most ubiquitous feelings among young professionals - doubt. Where does it come from? Can you get rid of it?? We'll talk about some personal experiences with doubt and how we got through them.