Behind The Pixel: Closing The Animation Communication Gap · 2024-07-17 · 39 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
42 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Jennie Davis (Direct Studio) and Kaci speak about launching Mothers of Mograph, a community addressing the invisible struggles of mothers working in motion graphics and animation. The conversation goes beyond motherhood-specific issues to highlight how lack of workplace flexibility, unfair mental load distribution (schools calling mothers first, mothers approving doctor's appointments), and creative industry demands create friction for all caregivers. Jennie shares how her studio implements project-based rates and milestone-driven work rather than rigid 9-to-5 schedules, while Kaci explains how her current fully remote role with a trusting employer became a game-changer post-pandemic. Both discuss transferable skills mothers develop - boundary-setting, time management, anticipating needs, communication - that actually strengthen them as motion designers and project managers. They also highlight the visibility problem: mothers in the industry were largely invisible before Mothers of Mograph, deterring prospective female talent from considering motion design as viable with family. The discussion includes practical advice for partners supporting creative mothers and acknowledgment that creative bandwidth shrinks during early motherhood, requiring self-compassion rather than guilt.
Schools and doctors call mothers first, mothers must request approval for childcare-related absences, and there's significant invisible mental load managing schedules - yet studios often lack empathy for these realities, viewing parents leaving early as lack of commitment rather than legitimate life management.
Using project-based rates and milestone-driven work instead of hourly 9-to-5 requirements ensures accountability while giving parents flexibility; employees deliver at key milestones rather than being present all hours, which works when built on trust.
Boundary-setting, time management, anticipating client needs, communication skills, conflict de-escalation (comparable to handling client tantrums), and project management - mothers juggle multiple family schedules simultaneously and still deliver, making them efficient project leads.
Yes, research suggests that motherhood temporarily changes brain efficiency (parts actually shrink) to optimize other functions, but creativity returns; feeling uncreative in those early years is normal and doesn't require guilt, just patience.
Create space and remove the burden of figuring everything out by saying "I've got this, go do something" - early motherhood requires partners to actively push mothers toward personal creative time rather than waiting for them to ask.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode offers genuine insights about workplace flexibility, motherhood in creative industries, and specific skill transferability (boundary-setting, time management, anticipation of needs). However, much of the content is anecdotal storytelling and relationship advice rather than densely packed, non-obvious claims. The discussion meanders frequently and includes filler conversational padding.
there's a lot of like mental management that needs to go into having children. And I think when studios have like lack of empathy for that, or when you have to get approval to take your kid to a doctor's appointment or to the dentist or to a school trip
I think that also the motion design industry is a great place because you don't necessarily have to get that four year degree to get into it, you know, So you can work your training around your mom's schedule in a flexible way than having to go say to university
The episode relies heavily on well-worn themes: workplace flexibility, work-life balance, motherhood challenges, and the value of community support. While the Mothers of Mograph community itself is a novel initiative, the underlying insights (mothers deserve empathy, trust helps, boundaries are important) are mainstream wisdom in 2024. The conversation lacks contrarian takes or first-principles thinking.
we are better at setting boundaries and saying no, which is is key. It's a great skill to have
I think that motherhood has informed my work, even like, you know, I have pretty loud branding and a lot of my values are wrapped up in supporting other women
Jennie Davis (Direct Studio founder, Hamilton Ontario) and Kaci (full-time digital ad agency employee, mother) are practitioners in motion graphics with real operational experience. However, neither is a notable industry figure or operating at exceptional scale - they run a small studio and work agency roles. They offer solid mid-level practitioner perspective rather than C-suite or category-defining expertise.
I'm Jenny Davis, and I run a small studio called Direct Studio based in Hamilton, Ontario, where we do primarily branding, immersion designing
I am currently working full time at a digital ad agency and I am a full time mom
The episode includes some concrete examples (specific clients who rejected pregnant characters, nipple cream animation, making Midwest event, logo collaboration with Rocky from BlackRock) but relies largely on generalization and anecdote. Few dollar figures, specific metrics, or detailed case studies. The discussion of policy (Canadian maternity leave, Colorado/New York/Oregon/California policy differences) is vague and not substantiated with data.
There's one client that had the coffee shop thing or something, and I put a pregnant woman in the order and she's like the main character. And they're like, No.
I know that with my studio I try to book freelancers on project rates, and that way we adhere to milestones. The last two, like the specific 9 to 5, and that's very helpful
The host asks reasonable opening questions and shows genuine interest, but rarely pushes back, challenges claims, or digs deeper with follow-ups. The conversation meanders pleasantly without sharp intellectual friction. The host accepts anecdotes at face value and doesn't probe systemic issues rigorously (e.g., the parental leave discussion lacks specificity; no challenging of the guests' assumptions about industry bias).
So just for the guys who aren't familiar, what does the cream do specifically?
what sorts of challenges mothers are facing when they're working creatively and that maybe most like employees or clients or employers don't even know about or don't realize
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
In this episode, we're joined by Kaci Smith and Jennie Davis, co-founders of the Mothers of Mograph community, to discuss the unique challenges and triumphs of balancing motherhood and a career in the creative industry. They share insights into their organization's aim to helpi mothers navigate the complexities of the creative industry. The episode delves into the specific challenges faced by creative mothers, such as the mental load of balancing work and parenting responsibilities, and the need for more empathy and understanding from employers. Kaci and Jennie advocate for policy changes to create more flexible and supportive work environments, sharing examples from their own experiences. If you have a topic or question you’d like us to cover, you can submit it to Learn more about this podcast here: EMedia produces the podcast in Easthampton, MA.
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
00;00;00;06 - 00;00;01;06 Motherhood was this thing 00;00;01;06 - 00;00;04;10 that I was so, like, afraid of embracing in this industry. 00;00;04;10 - 00;00;09;22 And then the minute that I did embrace it, it has been like my slingshot forward. 00;00;09;29 - 00;00;11;22 This is just a call to say that 00;00;11;22 - 00;00;15;19 like when somebody says they're fine, it's most likely incorrect. 00;00;15;22 - 00;00;17;27 And there's a bunch of things that are going on under the surface, 00;00;17;27 - 00;00;36;23 but we don't necessarily stand around and voice them because we've got shit to do.
00;00;36;26 - 00;00;39;02 Hello, Welcome. 00;00;39;02 - 00;00;40;12 Thank you so much for being here. 00;00;40;12 - 00;00;42;10 We're so happy to have you both. 00;00;42;10 - 00;00;44;23 Thank you 00;00;44;23 - 00;00;49;09 So definitely for for our audience who might not be familiar with you yet, 00;00;49;09 - 00;00;52;09 but are, I'm sure going to be very excited to get to know you.
00;00;52;15 - 00;00;56;14 A Please tell us a little bit about who you are, what you currently do, 00;00;56;22 - 00;01;01;05 and then we'll get into the existence of Mothers of McGrath. 00;01;01;07 - 00;01;03;20 So, Casey, I'll let you kick things off. 00;01;03;20 - 00;01;07;27 I am currently working full time at a digital ad agency 00;01;07;27 - 00;01;14;01 and I am a full time mom, and Jenny and I have started this community. 00;01;14;01 - 00;01;16;14 Mothers in McGrath.
Wonderful. 00;01;16;14 - 00;01;17;08 So I'm Jim. 00;01;17;08 - 00;01;20;22 I'm Jenny Davis, and I run a small studio called Direct Studio 00;01;20;22 - 00;01;24;16 based in Hamilton, Ontario, where we do primarily branding, immersion designing. 00;01;24;18 - 00;01;28;27 I've got a daughter and husband and a dog, and we started managing McGrath 00;01;29;00 - 00;01;32;20 about ten months ago now, and we've just created a community 00;01;32;20 - 00;01;36;11 that's about support and no judgment and just being there for one 00;01;36;11 - 00;01;38;03 another and highlighting people 00;01;38;03 - 00;01;40;24 that don't necessarily always get to be in the spotlight.
00;01;40;24 - 00;01;41;22 That's fantastic. 00;01;41;22 - 00;01;45;22 I think this is it's the first time I've ever seen 00;01;45;22 - 00;01;48;28 in a motion graphics piece because I saw somebody post it. 00;01;49;01 - 00;01;50;27 I've never seen animated nipple cream. 00;01;50;27 - 00;01;56;14 So that's the first that I was very welcoming of this year.
00;01;56;14 - 00;02;00;27 Misha did a mission lead, did one, and I think that's the also did 00;02;01;00 - 00;02;02;08 I don't know if there was nipple cream. 00;02;02;08 - 00;02;04;26 There was definitely nipples though. 00;02;04;29 - 00;02;06;10 I love like yeah 00;02;06;10 - 00;02;09;18 the the amount of like I guess boobs that we've had in our 00;02;09;18 - 00;02;13;04 animation has been kind of funny and it's really great. 00;02;13;04 - 00;02;16;15 I just love also, it was so funny at this last conference 00;02;16;15 - 00;02;20;19 we were at, we had that animation playing like on a loop on our table 00;02;20;19 - 00;02;25;19 and we'd be talking to somebody and you would see them be like, 00;02;25;21 - 00;02;27;03 double take the screen.
00;02;27;03 - 00;02;29;17 It was pretty it was pretty entertaining on it. 00;02;29;17 - 00;02;32;28 So just just for the guys who aren't familiar, 00;02;33;01 - 00;02;36;01 what does the cream do specifically? 00;02;36;06 - 00;02;39;22 I love Let us educate you. 00;02;39;24 - 00;02;45;12 Breastfeeding can be a really, really painful thing for women to do.
00;02;45;15 - 00;02;48;15 In fact, it causes lots of chapping and 00;02;48;18 - 00;02;51;16 and you can get very dry and cracked nipples. 00;02;51;16 - 00;02;53;05 A lot of bleeding can happen. 00;02;53;05 - 00;02;56;02 And so nipple cream helps with that. 00;02;56;02 - 00;02;56;25 Got it.
00;02;56;25 - 00;02;57;14 Yeah. 00;02;57;14 - 00;03;01;27 That's that's not something that's talked about often, but it is of 00;03;01;28 - 00;03;05;17 it was it's a significant hardship for some women as they're breastfeeding. 00;03;05;18 - 00;03;07;16 It's one of those things that when you have a kid 00;03;07;16 - 00;03;10;14 it's like I feel like somebody should have mentioned. This, right?
00;03;10;14 - 00;03;13;19 Yes. You get there and you're like, why wasn't I warned? 00;03;13;26 - 00;03;16;19 Right. And it makes perfect sense.
00;03;16;19 - 00;03;21;04 It kind of ties into a question I have, which is what sorts of challenges 00;03;21;04 - 00;03;26;13 mothers are facing when they're working creatively and that maybe most 00;03;26;13 - 00;03;30;29 like employees or clients or employers don't even know about or don't realize. 00;03;31;03 - 00;03;33;00 So there's there's two parts to this question. 00;03;33;00 - 00;03;34;20 So first of all, I, 00;03;34;20 - 00;03;39;02 I think one of the really important things that Lisa and I have come up against 00;03;39;09 - 00;03;40;14 when we started this group 00;03;40;14 - 00;03;43;17 is that really a lot of the things that we're talking about.
00;03;43;23 - 00;03;48;05 Yes, we're talking about it from the perspective of mothers, but it 00;03;48;08 - 00;03;53;13 100% doesn't only have to do with mothers. 00;03;53;13 - 00;03;55;05 I mean, you've got parents, you've got people 00;03;55;05 - 00;03;57;03 that are taking care of other people. 00;03;57;03 - 00;04;00;27 You've got just like a regular person that doesn't have any responsibilities, 00;04;00;27 - 00;04;04;04 but also has to have their own balance and right. 00;04;04;04 - 00;04;07;04 So I think a lot of the struggles are are are similar.
00;04;07;08 - 00;04;11;26 And from our own perspective, I think, you know, moms have a lot to do. 00;04;11;28 - 00;04;17;10 There's a lot of responsibilities and as much as I would love to say that, 00;04;17;17 - 00;04;20;22 you know, society sees us as equal partners 00;04;20;22 - 00;04;22;22 in the relationship with our child schools. 00;04;22;22 - 00;04;25;08 Call me first that playdates. 00;04;25;08 - 00;04;26;24 They call me first.
00;04;26;24 - 00;04;29;03 The doctor's appointments, they call me first. 00;04;29;03 - 00;04;32;29 So it's in the end of the day, there's a lot of like mental management 00;04;32;29 - 00;04;35;02 that needs to go into having children. 00;04;35;02 - 00;04;38;04 And I think when studios have like lack of empathy for that, 00;04;38;04 - 00;04;42;07 or when you have to get approval to take your kid to a doctor's appointment 00;04;42;07 - 00;04;45;27 or to the dentist or to a school trip or stuff like that, then 00;04;46;02 - 00;04;49;10 it can be very frustrating for parents in general.
00;04;49;12 - 00;04;52;22 Yeah, I think it's frustrating for people who aren't parents as well, 00;04;52;22 - 00;04;57;21 because I know before I became a mom, I was definitely one of the people 00;04;57;21 - 00;05;01;03 giving the side eye to parents who were leaving early or whatever. 00;05;01;03 - 00;05;06;14 But our big thing is that we have been trying to get people 00;05;06;17 - 00;05;09;12 to kind of see the whole picture and have empathy. 00;05;09;12 - 00;05;11;20 So maybe they'll be a little less side.
00;05;11;20 - 00;05;13;17 I don't know. 00;05;13;17 - 00;05;18;05 I and like I said, I was 100% part of that before I became a parent. 00;05;18;07 - 00;05;21;04 So as I say, what kind of mechanisms have you seen 00;05;21;04 - 00;05;22;27 or that you've implemented in your work? 00;05;22;27 - 00;05;26;26 The other side of your work to mitigate some of those like random things 00;05;26;26 - 00;05;27;22 that happen?
00;05;27;22 - 00;05;28;25 Similar idea. 00;05;28;25 - 00;05;31;25 I think we were on the same page about like how your current situation 00;05;31;25 - 00;05;36;11 informs policy and how policies need to be changed at different studios. 00;05;36;11 - 00;05;37;25 And yeah, just curious. 00;05;37;25 - 00;05;41;19 So I think there's a lot of like levels to that and I don't think 00;05;41;19 - 00;05;46;11 that every studio or agency or freelancer can change everything now, 00;05;46;11 - 00;05;48;17 but there are a lot of programs and systems 00;05;48;17 - 00;05;51;25 that are starting to come into play, like the four day workweek or stuff like that.
00;05;51;25 - 00;05;54;12 That gives people a little bit more flexibility. 00;05;54;12 - 00;05;57;22 I know that with my studio I try to book 00;05;57;22 - 00;06;02;01 freelancers on project rates, and that way we adhere to milestones. 00;06;02;04 - 00;06;06;15 The last two, like the specific 9 to 5, and that's very helpful, 00;06;06;18 - 00;06;11;07 especially if like I need to step away or like if we have a milestone 00;06;11;07 - 00;06;14;20 that's at 4:00, then I know like at 4:00 I'm at my computer 00;06;14;20 - 00;06;17;28 ready to accept things and go over whatever.
00;06;17;28 - 00;06;19;00 But that doesn't mean 00;06;19;00 - 00;06;22;17 that I need to be there the entire day or and the same for them. 00;06;22;21 - 00;06;24;27 I think a lot of it comes down to trust. 00;06;24;27 - 00;06;27;11 You have to trust the people that you're working with. 00;06;27;11 - 00;06;30;04 If you're lucky enough to find those people, then you are 00;06;30;04 - 00;06;33;03 kind of you're in a good spot to make those changes.
00;06;33;08 - 00;06;36;27 I think it's really just about creating like flexibility 00;06;36;29 - 00;06;40;10 and trusting your employees to give back what you give to them. 00;06;40;10 - 00;06;44;03 I'm a true believer that if you can like practice what you preach, 00;06;44;03 - 00;06;46;18 they appreciate it and they kind of give it back tenfold. 00;06;46;18 - 00;06;49;20 And I've seen that multiple times with people that I work with. 00;06;49;20 - 00;06;53;13 So yeah, I have experienced a little bit 00;06;53;13 - 00;06;56;16 of all of the flavors of this industry.
00;06;56;16 - 00;06;59;29 Like when I first had my daughter, I was working full time 00;07;00;02 - 00;07;03;16 in the visual effects department and then I went full time freelance. 00;07;03;16 - 00;07;06;08 So I have that experience and now I'm at another full time job. 00;07;06;08 - 00;07;10;19 But you know, things have changed so much throughout these last few years. 00;07;10;26 - 00;07;14;22 I actually ended up having to quit that full time job because it wasn't 00;07;14;22 - 00;07;18;09 providing me the flexibility that I needed to be a parent.
00;07;18;09 - 00;07;20;15 Essentially, I think I would have stayed there 00;07;20;15 - 00;07;24;04 much longer if I could have worked from home a couple of days a week. 00;07;24;04 - 00;07;28;00 But that was not an option at that time because it was pre-pandemic. 00;07;28;03 - 00;07;31;20 So I ended up jumping full time freelance, which gave me the flexibility 00;07;31;20 - 00;07;37;12 to set my own schedule to not have to work 40 hours if I don't need to. 00;07;37;15 - 00;07;40;00 Luckily, I have a really supportive partner 00;07;40;00 - 00;07;44;16 and at that time he was doing a lot of working and I was able to kind of 00;07;44;18 - 00;07;47;29 sit the work in around the rest of our life.
00;07;48;01 - 00;07;52;27 But then when the pandemic hit, I was working so much he actually quit his job. 00;07;52;27 - 00;07;56;11 So he was the primary parent, like the stay at home parent. 00;07;56;16 - 00;07;59;23 And so our roles shifted quite a lot. 00;07;59;26 - 00;08;04;01 And now that we're in a post-pandemic world and work from home 00;08;04;01 - 00;08;09;11 is a more available option, my full time job is 100% work from home 00;08;09;11 - 00;08;14;09 and it is such a game changer for for parenting.
00;08;14;12 - 00;08;18;11 I can run to the post office or run to the to the grocery store 00;08;18;11 - 00;08;22;20 or pick her up from school if she's sick or whatever the situation may be, 00;08;22;27 - 00;08;26;25 and also get my work done and hit my deadlines and do the things. 00;08;26;25 - 00;08;31;11 I also have a really great employer who who does give the trust 00;08;31;11 - 00;08;35;11 as long as my work is turned in and it's quality work, 00;08;35;11 - 00;08;36;24 then we're all on the same page 00;08;36;24 - 00;08;39;05 and we do our check ins and I have a meeting schedule.
00;08;39;05 - 00;08;41;20 Obviously I can fit things in around that. 00;08;41;20 - 00;08;45;18 But yeah, I think it comes, it really does in all of those scenarios comes down 00;08;45;18 - 00;08;49;13 to exactly what Jenny just said, which is trust and flexibility. 00;08;49;20 - 00;08;53;26 And I think that that goes a long way for most people in most positions. 00;08;53;29 - 00;08;59;00 So through somebody who maybe is a mother that hasn't gotten into motion 00;08;59;00 - 00;09;01;28 graphics yet but wants to I'm sort of curious 00;09;01;28 - 00;09;05;29 what sort of the transferable skills you think there are there that can like 00;09;06;04 - 00;09;09;28 totally help make them even an even stronger candidate 00;09;09;28 - 00;09;12;06 for employment in animation?
Oh, yeah. 00;09;12;06 - 00;09;15;18 We actually think that the motion design industry is a great place to be a mom 00;09;15;18 - 00;09;16;29 because of the flexibility. 00;09;16;29 - 00;09;20;20 There's a lot of other industries that don't provide that opportunity. 00;09;20;23 - 00;09;24;08 I think that also the motion design industry is a great place 00;09;24;12 - 00;09;28;06 because you don't necessarily have to get that four year degree to get into it, 00;09;28;06 - 00;09;32;26 you know, So you can work your training around your mom's schedule 00;09;32;26 - 00;09;37;12 in a flexible way than having to go say to university, 00;09;37;14 - 00;09;41;12 we wanted to make sure that we could pull all of the moms 00;09;41;12 - 00;09;45;00 out of their hiding spaces, because I think there wasn't 00;09;45;00 - 00;09;48;25 very much visibility on the moms before we started this.
00;09;48;27 - 00;09;53;04 And so there might have been a lot of mothers or even young women 00;09;53;09 - 00;09;56;22 who might be considering family, who might not have realized 00;09;56;22 - 00;10;00;12 that this actually is a viable option because you couldn't really see it. 00;10;00;14 - 00;10;01;18 From our perspective. 00;10;01;18 - 00;10;06;06 We we've noticed that we are better at setting boundaries and saying no, 00;10;06;08 - 00;10;08;13 which is is key. 00;10;08;15 - 00;10;09;24 It's a great skill to have.
00;10;09;24 - 00;10;11;00 Let me tell you. 00;10;11;00 - 00;10;13;04 I did not learn it until I had my daughter. 00;10;13;04 - 00;10;14;12 I did not. Learn it either.
00;10;14;12 - 00;10;18;18 And I'm very good at it now, you know, standing, standing your ground, 00;10;18;21 - 00;10;19;29 learning to communicate. 00;10;19;29 - 00;10;24;17 I think a lot a lot of the skills that you pick up when you're, you know, 00;10;24;17 - 00;10;28;16 explaining to a six year old having a tantrum about something, 00;10;28;24 - 00;10;30;21 I don't know that's going to come off really weird. 00;10;30;21 - 00;10;31;23 But like. 00;10;31;23 - 00;10;33;27 I think you can say clients throw tantrums.
00;10;33;27 - 00;10;34;19 So I'm just. 00;10;34;19 - 00;10;38;11 Going to say no ability to like, mitigate that conversation. 00;10;38;11 - 00;10;41;12 And it's like, okay, like this is this is what you're seeing 00;10;41;12 - 00;10;42;27 and this is what I'm telling you. 00;10;42;27 - 00;10;45;14 And let's figure out a way to like push forward.
00;10;45;14 - 00;10;48;20 So I think communication skills and boundary setting, 00;10;48;20 - 00;10;51;20 those are all transferable skills and time management. 00;10;51;24 - 00;10;56;02 Something that's very overlooked is moms have a lot to do 00;10;56;05 - 00;10;59;06 and they tend to have less time to do it in, but yet 00;10;59;06 - 00;11;00;21 they still get everything done. 00;11;00;21 - 00;11;03;12 So, oh yeah, we've got like multiple schedules. 00;11;03;12 - 00;11;04;28 We're juggling usually.
00;11;04;28 - 00;11;07;15 So we've got the families schedule. 00;11;07;15 - 00;11;12;13 So I have a lot of calendars that I'm really good at setting up calendars. 00;11;12;13 - 00;11;13;25 Yeah, another skill too. 00;11;13;25 - 00;11;17;24 I know I've talked about it in other places, but after I became a mom, 00;11;17;27 - 00;11;22;12 anticipating needs was a big one that I learned with her, 00;11;22;20 - 00;11;25;29 but also I found transferred, especially in my freelance work 00;11;25;29 - 00;11;28;29 because I was managing a lot more of the projects on my own.
00;11;29;01 - 00;11;34;09 I felt like my ability to anticipate the client needs grew 00;11;34;09 - 00;11;37;18 and so that was another one that I think is a good one. 00;11;37;20 - 00;11;40;26 Big anticipating also like needs of the people that are working with you 00;11;40;26 - 00;11;44;19 and just have to understand like what they're going through as well. 00;11;44;19 - 00;11;47;19 And we were at making Midwest, for example. 00;11;47;25 - 00;11;50;16 We all had snacks in our 00;11;50;18 - 00;11;51;23 kitchen.
00;11;51;23 - 00;11;55;22 Oh my gosh, traveling with a group of moms was like an absolute dream. 00;11;55;22 - 00;11;59;17 Everybody was anticipating everyone else's needs, like all the time. 00;11;59;19 - 00;11;59;27 It was like 00;11;59;27 - 00;12;03;24 I got in really late and Jenny had, like, dinner waiting for me when I got there. 00;12;03;24 - 00;12;06;12 And then, like, there was a morning where we got to let her sleep in 00;12;06;12 - 00;12;07;26 and I had breakfast waiting for her.
00;12;07;26 - 00;12;08;14 It was 00;12;08;14 - 00;12;09;28 it was like an absolute dream. 00;12;09;28 - 00;12;11;22 Everyone should travel with a pack of moms. 00;12;11;22 - 00;12;15;00 I think it's the only way to travel. No, 00;12;15;02 - 00;12;17;02 it's just the best way to travel.
00;12;17;02 - 00;12;17;12 Yeah. 00;12;17;12 - 00;12;21;02 There's some kind of, like, weird app idea out there. 00;12;21;02 - 00;12;22;27 That's now, you know, Airbnb. 00;12;22;27 - 00;12;25;12 Airbnb experience.
Yeah, exactly. 00;12;25;12 - 00;12;26;09 Travel together. 00;12;26;09 - 00;12;29;28 That's exactly why it was so great, though, too, to travel with the people 00;12;29;28 - 00;12;34;05 who like at a work event with a group of people who are like me, 00;12;34;05 - 00;12;39;29 I didn't feel like I had to hide any part of myself in this trip. 00;12;39;29 - 00;12;45;00 Yeah, and like, not that I'm like, actively tucking away my motherhood, 00;12;45;00 - 00;12;49;08 but I do think before mothers demographic, I was pretty actively 00;12;49;08 - 00;12;52;20 tucking that away and I didn't really talk to people about that experience.
00;12;52;22 - 00;12;55;22 And it was so amazing on this trip to be like, 00;12;55;26 - 00;12;58;20 like I could show off a picture of my kid and not be afraid 00;12;58;20 - 00;12;59;17 that someone's going to be like, 00;12;59;17 - 00;13;02;19 Oh my God, They just talk about their kid all the time, you know? 00;13;02;19 - 00;13;08;13 Like we were all like, like minded people and we all got to be our full selves. 00;13;08;13 - 00;13;09;17 And I truly felt like that 00;13;09;17 - 00;13;13;22 was the first time in this industry at an event that I could do that.
00;13;13;22 - 00;13;15;03 It was pretty special. 00;13;15;03 - 00;13;19;28 I think we've also noticed a lot since we started Mothers of McGrath, 00;13;19;28 - 00;13;25;06 a lot more chatter on on social media about with designers, emerging designers 00;13;25;06 - 00;13;29;01 coming out and saying that like I'm a mom or showing off their kids 00;13;29;01 - 00;13;32;14 or showing off their kids artwork or stuff like that. 00;13;32;14 - 00;13;34;06 And I think that's 00;13;34;09 - 00;13;37;02 I don't know if I'm just more I notice it more now, 00;13;37;02 - 00;13;41;11 but I don't remember seeing a lot of it before we started.
00;13;41;14 - 00;13;44;15 I honestly have been seeing more dads doing it, too. 00;13;44;15 - 00;13;47;15 Yeah, like just parents in general are talking a lot more about 00;13;47;15 - 00;13;51;15 this other side of themselves and it's been really cool to see. 00;13;51;18 - 00;13;56;21 Speaking of dads, let's let's talk about dudes. 00;13;56;23 - 00;13;58;06 Did you go out about.
00;13;58;06 - 00;13;58;27 Enough. 00;13;58;27 - 00;14;03;16 And feel like I feel like we're we're kind of oppressed? 00;14;03;16 - 00;14;07;02 I don't know. 00;14;07;04 - 00;14;09;00 Oh, I mean.
00;14;09;00 - 00;14;12;12 It's Yeah, well, so you mentioned your your partner. 00;14;12;12 - 00;14;14;09 I just wanted to get a sense of, like, 00;14;14;09 - 00;14;18;06 what advice would you have for dads to show up for moms in a creative space? 00;14;18;06 - 00;14;20;27 Because I think there's that's happening often. 00;14;20;27 - 00;14;25;07 I think a lot of my dude friends are having creative partners 00;14;25;09 - 00;14;29;01 and sometimes with children, and they might feel like 00;14;29;01 - 00;14;32;01 they don't know how to support the creativity side.
00;14;32;05 - 00;14;34;06 What are your thoughts on that? Sure. 00;14;34;06 - 00;14;38;23 What works for me is when I'm given space and I remember 00;14;38;23 - 00;14;42;16 when my daughter was very young, it was hard to find space for creativity 00;14;42;16 - 00;14;46;06 and it was hard to find space to do things for myself. 00;14;46;06 - 00;14;47;22 And I remember my husband at the time 00;14;47;22 - 00;14;51;00 just kind of like pushing me out the door and being like, You go do that.
00;14;51;00 - 00;14;54;13 And it didn't really matter what it was, but just taking off 00;14;54;13 - 00;14;57;23 the pressure of having to like, figure everything out 00;14;57;23 - 00;15;04;25 and just fully committing and saying, I got this, go do something else. 00;15;04;27 - 00;15;06;02 I think that's 00;15;06;02 - 00;15;10;09 when I kind of started like finding myself again. 00;15;10;12 - 00;15;15;01 And I'm curious to hear what Casey has because I'm in Canada 00;15;15;01 - 00;15;19;17 and our mat leave is is pretty extensive, especially compared to the state.
00;15;19;17 - 00;15;22;02 So what kind of things help you with beginning? 00;15;22;02 - 00;15;25;16 I will say that for the first few years of motherhood, for me, 00;15;25;16 - 00;15;28;19 I didn't feel creative at all. 00;15;28;20 - 00;15;31;29 I kind of felt like I had lost my creativity there for quite a while. 00;15;31;29 - 00;15;36;06 I didn't have the bandwidth to think about it, and I was actually 00;15;36;06 - 00;15;40;17 reading something recently about like how in motherhood, your your brain shrinks.
00;15;40;17 - 00;15;43;20 I need to look into this more, but like part of that shrinking 00;15;43;20 - 00;15;47;25 is like the creative part of it and it all comes back right in it. 00;15;47;25 - 00;15;50;27 And what it is doing is essentially 00;15;50;29 - 00;15;53;21 trying to make other parts of your brain more efficient. 00;15;53;21 - 00;15;55;15 But anyway, I don't know the science behind that, 00;15;55;15 - 00;16;00;07 but it was making sense to me because when I was in those first couple of years, 00;16;00;09 - 00;16;05;13 I felt so guilty because I let go of a lot of my creativity.
00;16;05;13 - 00;16;08;03 And it was really hard 00;16;08;03 - 00;16;10;13 being in this field because it's 00;16;10;13 - 00;16;13;27 such a creative driven industry 00;16;14;00 - 00;16;17;21 because I wasn't exploring anything outside of the work that I was just doing. 00;16;17;21 - 00;16;18;15 And even sometimes 00;16;18;15 - 00;16;21;24 when I was doing the work, I was not feeling very inspired by it. 00;16;21;24 - 00;16;26;02 And I was I was finding it very difficult to find inspiration.
00;16;26;04 - 00;16;31;26 So I think that a big part for me and this is not necessarily a partner thing, 00;16;31;26 - 00;16;37;11 but I needed to give myself some grace there and and just have patience 00;16;37;11 - 00;16;41;09 and know that it will come back and something will spark eventually again. 00;16;41;12 - 00;16;44;00 But it's really easy to beat yourself up for that. 00;16;44;00 - 00;16;49;02 Yeah, my partner did give me a lot of space to do the things I needed to.
00;16;49;02 - 00;16;51;23 I would agree with Jenny that space is an important thing. 00;16;51;23 - 00;16;53;10 Like you have to get out of the house 00;16;53;10 - 00;16;57;21 and not be responsible for other humans for, like, a small part of your week. 00;16;57;23 - 00;16;59;23 Yeah. Yeah.
00;16;59;25 - 00;17;02;27 And just be able to, like, take care of yourself in that moment 00;17;02;27 - 00;17;06;28 and not have to worry about feeding and diapering and all of things. 00;17;06;28 - 00;17;09;07 And it's really hard to do that in those first couple of years 00;17;09;07 - 00;17;14;26 because those little humans are very difficult to take care of and 00;17;14;29 - 00;17;16;01 there's a lot to do. 00;17;16;01 - 00;17;20;29 And like your house gets let go and your, you know, like the yard is not been mowed 00;17;20;29 - 00;17;24;23 for three months and and it just feels like an overwhelming 00;17;24;23 - 00;17;26;18 amount of things you have to do all the time.
00;17;26;18 - 00;17;30;09 So I think anticipating needs comes in again there. 00;17;30;09 - 00;17;34;18 I think it's sometimes challenging for folks to do that. 00;17;34;25 - 00;17;38;05 But oftentimes, especially in that early motherhood 00;17;38;07 - 00;17;42;01 phase of life, you don't even know what you need yourself. 00;17;42;04 - 00;17;44;08 You're like, you're having a hard time figuring it out.
00;17;44;08 - 00;17;48;11 So if somebody else can come up and be like, Hey, I made dinner, like 00;17;48;11 - 00;17;51;21 you want to take it out on the back porch while I put the baby to bed 00;17;51;21 - 00;17;55;17 or whatever, then that is super helpful. 00;17;55;17 - 00;17;59;15 But like, I need to not have to ask for all of those things because 00;17;59;15 - 00;18;02;17 I don't often know. Yeah. 00;18;02;19 - 00;18;03;05 Another 00;18;03;05 - 00;18;06;14 really important part of this conversation 00;18;06;14 - 00;18;10;15 is that it's important for both partners 00;18;10;15 - 00;18;14;21 to understand their parental rights in a company.
00;18;14;24 - 00;18;18;01 So, for example, like, don't quote me on this 00;18;18;01 - 00;18;22;10 because I don't remember the full legalities, but in Canada, 00;18;22;13 - 00;18;27;24 the father can also take paternal leave, as can adoptive parents. 00;18;27;24 - 00;18;32;13 Or there's like a plethora of people that can take the same advantages 00;18;32;13 - 00;18;33;22 as the maternity leave. 00;18;33;22 - 00;18;37;10 And I think those are really important conversations to have as a couple 00;18;37;12 - 00;18;42;03 to understand how that time is divided.
00;18;42;03 - 00;18;49;00 And I wish that it was more common for dads to take paternal leave 00;18;49;02 - 00;18;52;09 and their studies, hundreds of studies that show that 00;18;52;09 - 00;18;58;01 if your partner is home with you for the first month or two 00;18;58;01 - 00;19;02;24 when you have a baby, then moms are able to recover 00;19;02;24 - 00;19;07;02 quicker, They're able to sleep, which is incredibly important at the beginning. 00;19;07;02 - 00;19;10;02 You don't get that option a lot.
00;19;10;03 - 00;19;14;07 And having a supportive partner, being able to to allow you to sleep 00;19;14;07 - 00;19;17;24 and give and help you feeding or all of those things 00;19;17;24 - 00;19;21;17 like know your rights, understand them and talk to your companies. 00;19;21;17 - 00;19;23;28 Like a lot of companies have parental leave. 00;19;23;28 - 00;19;29;08 I know that even in the states where the parental leave is is useless 00;19;29;11 - 00;19;32;25 and but some of them have those options for you and take them, 00;19;32;25 - 00;19;34;03 take advantage of them.
00;19;34;03 - 00;19;38;02 It's not only for you and your bond with your kid, but your partner needs 00;19;38;02 - 00;19;39;12 help. Yes. 00;19;39;12 - 00;19;39;23 Yeah. 00;19;39;23 - 00;19;43;02 We were fortunate in our situation.
00;19;43;04 - 00;19;44;11 This sounds so stupid. 00;19;44;11 - 00;19;47;11 First of all, I was fortunate to have been laid off from my job, so 00;19;47;11 - 00;19;50;11 I got a longer time at home 00;19;50;16 - 00;19;53;11 being supported by unemployment rate. 00;19;53;11 - 00;19;57;19 So how lucky for me I got laid off so I could be home with my daughter. 00;19;57;19 - 00;20;00;23 But also how lucky for my partner to have banked 00;20;00;23 - 00;20;04;02 as much sick time as he did because he was able to be home.
00;20;04;02 - 00;20;05;19 I want to say for like five weeks. 00;20;05;19 - 00;20;09;16 He had so much sick time built up that he was able to use for that. 00;20;09;22 - 00;20;13;15 But he didn't get pattern like he didn't get paternity leave. 00;20;13;18 - 00;20;15;24 He got sick time, he didn't.
00;20;15;24 - 00;20;19;05 And he would have got whatever he had not everybody happens 00;20;19;05 - 00;20;23;06 to have five weeks of sick time built up because he really never gets sick. 00;20;23;09 - 00;20;25;20 So he knows it's a. Nice thing to have. Yeah.
00;20;25;20 - 00;20;28;15 He's got a great immunity system, not as great. 00;20;28;15 - 00;20;31;01 Now that we have a little person that sneezes in your face, I'm. 00;20;31;01 - 00;20;33;02 Just going to say with a child. 00;20;33;02 - 00;20;35;26 At that time, he was able to bank a lot of that time.
00;20;35;26 - 00;20;37;25 And that's the only reason I got to have him home. 00;20;37;25 - 00;20;41;09 And he got to be home and have that bonding time with her. 00;20;41;11 - 00;20;44;00 How lucky for us that. We.
00;20;44;00 - 00;20;46;29 You know, that I was laid off and he had sick time. 00;20;46;29 - 00;20;51;04 So that's it's such a silly thing, but it was actually a very fortunate thing 00;20;51;04 - 00;20;52;12 for us. Yeah. 00;20;52;12 - 00;20;55;15 I mean, you're bringing up some great points here about and it goes 00;20;55;15 - 00;20;58;15 a little bit back to something you said earlier about 00;20;58;15 - 00;21;02;15 feeling like you had to in the hiring process.
00;21;02;15 - 00;21;07;04 I'm curious about how moms might be hiding themselves 00;21;07;04 - 00;21;11;24 from the reality of saying I'm a mom and I'm, you know, applying to this job 00;21;11;24 - 00;21;16;13 because it might have some preconceived notions about the expectation 00;21;16;13 - 00;21;19;24 or like, you know, the employer might just have some bias around that. 00;21;19;24 - 00;21;24;29 So I'm kind of curious what you wish either clients or employers would keep in 00;21;24;29 - 00;21;28;27 mind when they're hiring mothers for creative roles.
00;21;28;29 - 00;21;32;00 Employers and hiring like h.r. 00;21;32;00 - 00;21;35;04 But like government. 00;21;35;06 - 00;21;36;10 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00;21;36;10 - 00;21;37;23 Let's wrap them into yes. 00;21;37;23 - 00;21;37;28 Yeah. 00;21;37;28 - 00;21;40;08 Like, I you know, I'm I have a small business 00;21;40;08 - 00;21;41;01 and I know 00;21;41;01 - 00;21;44;08 I don't have full time employees, but if I were to have a full time employee 00;21;44;08 - 00;21;45;01 and they were take off 00;21;45;01 - 00;21;49;26 a year, I'd be like, that can cripple small businesses in the States again. 00;21;49;26 - 00;21;53;04 Like, I don't think the laws are as helpful.
00;21;53;07 - 00;21;54;26 And it's state by state here too. 00;21;54;26 - 00;22;00;05 So like every state has its own set of rules and regulations 00;22;00;05 - 00;22;00;27 and things like that. 00;22;00;27 - 00;22;05;17 And New York just passed a great thing for maternity paternity leave. 00;22;05;17 - 00;22;10;05 But didn't Shana also say something passed in Denver as or in Colorado?
00;22;10;08 - 00;22;11;06 It might have been. 00;22;11;06 - 00;22;15;21 I know like California has some pretty good maternity policies. 00;22;15;21 - 00;22;20;21 I live out in Oregon and there are some helpful programs here as well. 00;22;20;21 - 00;22;23;21 But they're also very convoluted programs and like, 00;22;23;22 - 00;22;26;22 it's very difficult to get into them and.
00;22;26;29 - 00;22;27;11 Like, no. 00;22;27;11 - 00;22;29;19 There's nobody to help you figure it out either. 00;22;29;19 - 00;22;33;23 And so it's not an easy process to take advantage of the things 00;22;33;23 - 00;22;35;15 that are available. 00;22;35;15 - 00;22;39;04 Yeah, I think for like hiring managers and stuff, I don't I don't know what the 00;22;39;05 - 00;22;40;08 I don't know what the answer is.
00;22;40;08 - 00;22;46;08 And so there's proper systems in place to help them. 00;22;46;10 - 00;22;47;21 I don't know what the answer is. 00;22;47;21 - 00;22;51;11 I can tell you that when I was thinking about having children, 00;22;51;14 - 00;22;54;29 I was working at a company and I knew I was going to have children. 00;22;54;29 - 00;22;59;03 In fact, when I signed the papers, I believe I was already pregnant.
00;22;59;06 - 00;23;00;10 Did you tell them? 00;23;00;10 - 00;23;01;25 I didn't. I didn't. 00;23;01;25 - 00;23;04;05 I had been freelancing for them for a while, 00;23;04;05 - 00;23;07;11 and I think the person that hired me, I think in hindsight 00;23;07;16 - 00;23;10;28 probably knew I was like a day and a half pregnant or something.
00;23;10;28 - 00;23;15;13 At the time, it wasn't like a it wasn't it wasn't real yet. But, 00;23;15;15 - 00;23;17;07 you know, I never mentioned it. 00;23;17;07 - 00;23;21;24 I knew I knew I wouldn't get the job if I said I was leaving in nine months. 00;23;21;27 - 00;23;26;20 And I know a lot of women that stay in a specific job or take a job 00;23;26;22 - 00;23;31;02 that is not up to their skill level or paying them less 00;23;31;02 - 00;23;35;02 because they know that safety net before they go off for maternity leave.
00;23;35;02 - 00;23;39;03 And, you know, just having a steady income coming in is very beneficial. 00;23;39;03 - 00;23;40;24 I honestly I don't know what the answer is. 00;23;40;24 - 00;23;42;16 I think, like if 00;23;42;16 - 00;23;46;12 if mothers are demographic would do one thing, it would be change policies 00;23;46;15 - 00;23;48;28 like everything governments around the world. So like.
00;23;48;28 - 00;23;49;13 I hear. 00;23;49;13 - 00;23;54;02 That yes, it's happening just yet, but it would be a nice to have. 00;23;54;04 - 00;23;58;13 We have we've definitely learned over the last year or so the information 00;23;58;15 - 00;24;01;28 especially can help inform policy change, which is pretty cool. 00;24;01;28 - 00;24;07;27 So yeah, like making an animated video to be able to explain to city Council 00;24;07;27 - 00;24;11;22 what this policy change would mean and what impact it would have a great idea.
00;24;11;25 - 00;24;14;23 Yeah, you've done it for like the environmental health sector 00;24;14;23 - 00;24;16;19 and it's like to see something. 00;24;16;19 - 00;24;19;18 Then pass was like, oh, we, we can help with that. 00;24;19;18 - 00;24;20;05 That's cool. 00;24;20;05 - 00;24;22;22 Yeah.
That, that can move a needle in a different direction. 00;24;22;22 - 00;24;25;10 So yeah, yeah I think, 00;24;25;13 - 00;24;27;26 I mean that Let's do that. 00;24;27;26 - 00;24;30;06 Casey Yeah. Right.
00;24;30;06 - 00;24;31;16 Yeah. Well, and we support it. 00;24;31;16 - 00;24;33;06 One of the really wonderful things 00;24;33;06 - 00;24;37;15 that has been happening in this community since it started and, and this is like 00;24;37;21 - 00;24;41;01 it's been such a fun thing because Jenny and I started the community, right? 00;24;41;01 - 00;24;44;25 But it's blossomed into its own building and like, 00;24;44;25 - 00;24;48;04 the women in it have taken it and ran.
00;24;48;04 - 00;24;51;01 And so there's been some really beautiful 00;24;51;01 - 00;24;54;23 collaborative projects that are taking off that Jenny and I are like, hands off. 00;24;54;23 - 00;24;57;19 We're not even like the logo, the logo animations. 00;24;57;19 - 00;25;01;06 One of the women, she was on our panel, Rocky's from from BlackRock. 00;25;01;06 - 00;25;03;01 She's just like, Hey, do you want to do a logo collab?
00;25;03;01 - 00;25;05;03 I'm like, That's great. I don't have time to deal with this. 00;25;05;03 - 00;25;06;18 Can you do you want to do it? 00;25;06;18 - 00;25;10;16 And she's like, Yeah, and I'm and I said, And even at the time I'm like, 00;25;10;16 - 00;25;11;03 you know, it doesn't it?
00;25;11;03 - 00;25;12;26 We don't have to like set a date on it or anything. 00;25;12;26 - 00;25;15;19 She's like, Oh, I thought it would be great for making Midwest. 00;25;15;19 - 00;25;19;15 And I'm like, You're right, let's do that. 00;25;19;17 - 00;25;21;13 And it was so great.
00;25;21;13 - 00;25;22;09 It was beautiful. 00;25;22;09 - 00;25;26;04 And there was like the Mother Day animation that Emma Rhodes organized. 00;25;26;04 - 00;25;28;25 I didn't even know about it until like the day of. 00;25;28;25 - 00;25;32;01 I felt bad Jenny somehow got left out of the channel, but it was 00;25;32;01 - 00;25;33;13 it was happening.
00;25;33;13 - 00;25;35;04 And then I was like, Oh, time to post. 00;25;35;04 - 00;25;38;09 And Jenny's like, What's this story sighted? 00;25;38;09 - 00;25;41;02 I was just like, Oh my God, these are beautiful. Yeah.
00;25;41;02 - 00;25;45;03 And so I think it could be a really impactful collaborative project. 00;25;45;03 - 00;25;48;24 Yeah, maybe some of our community members could jump on and help out with because. 00;25;48;25 - 00;25;49;28 Yeah, sure. 00;25;49;28 - 00;25;52;08 Yeah, you could do so state.
00;25;52;08 - 00;25;53;15 By state basis. 00;25;53;15 - 00;25;54;22 Yeah, I know. 00;25;54;22 - 00;25;57;11 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Giving you more work.
00;25;57;11 - 00;26;00;16 Speaking of work, I wanted to get to the sort of creative 00;26;00;16 - 00;26;04;10 because I've seen some really cool stuff on the channels you guys post. 00;26;04;10 - 00;26;07;25 So how does being a mom inform the creative work that you do 00;26;07;27 - 00;26;12;26 specifically either personal or, or what you do on a day to day basis? 00;26;12;28 - 00;26;14;27 That's a good question. That is a good question.
00;26;14;27 - 00;26;17;23 I would say on my personal work, 00;26;17;23 - 00;26;21;09 it informs a lot more of what I'm doing. 00;26;21;11 - 00;26;26;01 And I feel like, you know, conversations with my daughter and stuff in Spark, 00;26;26;01 - 00;26;29;28 something like we had a conversation one day about unicorns and how 00;26;30;00 - 00;26;31;20 she decided that they weren't real. 00;26;31;20 - 00;26;34;08 But then we just got into like this entire conversations 00;26;34;08 - 00;26;38;03 about, like unicorns and the tooth fairy and Santa Claus, 00;26;38;05 - 00;26;41;29 you know, that kind of like, spark, like a creative outlet for me afterwards.
00;26;42;05 - 00;26;45;21 And I think some of my branding and the direction that I decided to take 00;26;45;21 - 00;26;47;15 my company has come from either 00;26;47;15 - 00;26;51;16 my daughter or from realizing what Mothers or McGruff is. 00;26;51;18 - 00;26;55;14 So I think it definitely informs that part of my work a lot, 00;26;55;16 - 00;26;58;00 a lot of the times that I have clients that will come to me 00;26;58;00 - 00;27;00;06 and they'll be like, We need this, this and this.
00;27;00;06 - 00;27;03;24 There's one client that had the coffee shop thing or something, and I put a 00;27;03;26 - 00;27;07;06 pregnant woman in the order and she's like the main character. 00;27;07;06 - 00;27;08;12 And they're like, No. 00;27;08;12 - 00;27;10;25 And I'm like, Come on, she's awesome. 00;27;10;25 - 00;27;15;13 So, you know, it was like, I mean, I understood 00;27;15;13 - 00;27;18;21 they were trying to go for, like, young and hip and whatever.
00;27;18;24 - 00;27;20;26 And moms are not those things. 00;27;20;26 - 00;27;25;03 Come on, come on. We can do it. Yeah.
00;27;25;05 - 00;27;28;20 No, we've had similar experiences with, like, trying. 00;27;28;20 - 00;27;30;15 Especially with characters. Yeah, Yeah. 00;27;30;15 - 00;27;33;17 Trying to be intentional about creating, you know, more 00;27;33;17 - 00;27;36;17 opportunity or creating like, you know, 00;27;36;22 - 00;27;40;09 just different takes and a fresh take on putting characters in.
00;27;40;09 - 00;27;43;13 And yeah, it's, it just depends on the client sometimes. 00;27;43;13 - 00;27;44;17 Oh, 100%. 00;27;44;17 - 00;27;47;27 I mean it does I mean some, you know some companies do a beautiful 00;27;47;27 - 00;27;51;06 job of it I mean beyond and new fangled they do a beautiful job 00;27;51;10 - 00;27;55;06 of of introducing inclusivity to their characters 00;27;55;08 - 00;27;58;05 maybe I just I'm not like bold enough to be like, 00;27;58;05 - 00;28;01;17 this is happening.
00;28;01;20 - 00;28;03;29 Yeah it's I think a lot of creatives deal with this 00;28;03;29 - 00;28;07;14 where it feels like they might not have in certain projects 00;28;07;18 - 00;28;11;26 a feeling of control over what they can say or their voice has 00;28;11;26 - 00;28;16;15 like impact behind it because sometimes it's like, do the work, okay, get it done. 00;28;16;15 - 00;28;17;24 Goodbye. 00;28;17;24 - 00;28;20;22 So I think it's just a matter of finding the clients who are more open 00;28;20;22 - 00;28;23;04 to that collaborative idea and saying, Yeah, 00;28;23;04 - 00;28;26;02 we want your creative expertise on this and we want that, 00;28;26;02 - 00;28;28;19 that feedback and pushback because we know it'll make it better.
00;28;28;19 - 00;28;31;09 So yeah, I think sometimes that just comes. 00;28;31;09 - 00;28;35;00 That's part of the course for navigating finding the right client. 00;28;35;06 - 00;28;36;14 Totally. 00;28;36;14 - 00;28;36;24 Yeah.
00;28;36;24 - 00;28;39;00 And I think that's kind of what kind of influenced 00;28;39;00 - 00;28;42;22 my work is that I have been actively seeking out people 00;28;42;22 - 00;28;46;24 that I want to work with and not necessarily coming to me 00;28;46;24 - 00;28;50;22 and people that I mesh with like that were in the same. 00;28;50;28 - 00;28;52;11 You guys have the same values? 00;28;52;11 - 00;28;54;09 Yeah, the same values and stuff like that. 00;28;54;09 - 00;28;58;07 I think that like for that it has definitely pushed me 00;28;58;10 - 00;29;01;11 to seek those people out for me.
00;29;01;11 - 00;29;04;28 My journey into motherhood has been 00;29;05;01 - 00;29;07;07 after some trials and tribulations. 00;29;07;07 - 00;29;11;17 It's been a very empowering thing for me. 00;29;11;17 - 00;29;14;17 I have found a lot of my confidence in my motherhood. 00;29;14;21 - 00;29;18;05 I would say that it's informed my work in an industry 00;29;18;05 - 00;29;22;18 where there are not as many women I've really embraced, like wanting 00;29;22;18 - 00;29;26;15 to be a representation of the women in the industry.
00;29;26;15 - 00;29;30;22 And I want my daughter to see what I can do and what she could do 00;29;30;22 - 00;29;31;24 if she wanted to. 00;29;31;24 - 00;29;36;12 And so in that way, I think motherhood has informed my work, 00;29;36;12 - 00;29;40;15 even like, you know, I have pretty loud branding and a lot of 00;29;40;15 - 00;29;44;05 my values are wrapped up in supporting other women and those kinds of things. 00;29;44;05 - 00;29;45;24 So like, I just started. 00;29;45;24 - 00;29;48;00 Like stopped apologizing.
Yes. 00;29;48;00 - 00;29;50;03 Yeah, stopped apologizing. 00;29;50;03 - 00;29;53;02 What was it that I said recently? Like, I'm not asking anymore.
00;29;53;02 - 00;29;55;07 I'm just telling people what I'm doing. Yeah. 00;29;55;07 - 00;29;57;02 Yeah. Like, I'm done asking.
00;29;57;02 - 00;29;59;24 And that all has been that has all come up 00;29;59;24 - 00;30;03;05 through through my journey and being a parent. 00;30;03;08 - 00;30;07;11 Motherhood was this thing that I was so, like afraid of embracing in this industry. 00;30;07;11 - 00;30;11;13 And then the minute that I did embrace it, it has been like my 00;30;11;16 - 00;30;14;07 slingshot forward. So 00;30;14;09 - 00;30;14;18 maybe 00;30;14;18 - 00;30;15;08 that's a lesson to 00;30;15;08 - 00;30;19;10 everyone that if you're a little afraid of a certain part of yourself, 00;30;19;10 - 00;30;23;08 like don't be the authenticity really, like goes a long way.
00;30;23;13 - 00;30;26;18 And I think especially in our industry now and especially in the state 00;30;26;18 - 00;30;30;19 of this industry, like people are looking for that authenticity and. 00;30;30;21 - 00;30;33;07 And being a genuine whole person. 00;30;33;07 - 00;30;34;06 Mm hmm. 00;30;34;06 - 00;30;36;03 Yeah, It's a beautiful thing.
Awesome. 00;30;36;03 - 00;30;37;07 Yeah, I think. 00;30;37;07 - 00;30;37;25 Yeah, I know. 00;30;37;25 - 00;30;40;22 And I want to be mindful of time.
Yes. Yeah. 00;30;40;22 - 00;30;42;22 But I do think that. 00;30;42;22 - 00;30;47;10 Well, a we, I think we both applaud you for the work that you've been doing 00;30;47;10 - 00;30;52;19 and just for being some really kick ass moms in the motion graphics space.
00;30;52;19 - 00;30;55;00 Like it's, it's a wonderful thing to see it. 00;30;55;00 - 00;30;58;11 I think it's informed a lot of people it's informed a lot of business owners 00;30;58;11 - 00;31;01;00 about what to do better, what like how to make change. 00;31;01;00 - 00;31;03;14 And everything you're doing is helping to 00;31;03;14 - 00;31;05;09 to move the needle in the right direction. 00;31;05;09 - 00;31;10;06 So I really appreciate both of what what you bring to the table all the time.
00;31;10;06 - 00;31;14;08 And like any way in which, you know, people who don't have kids 00;31;14;08 - 00;31;15;11 can support that. 00;31;15;11 - 00;31;16;18 That's always a great thing too. 00;31;16;18 - 00;31;18;24 So I'm here to support however we can. 00;31;18;24 - 00;31;20;16 But yeah, thank you.
00;31;20;16 - 00;31;21;23 That's that's all I can say. 00;31;21;23 - 00;31;22;21 Thank you for saying that. 00;31;22;21 - 00;31;25;11 That means, you know, that means a lot to us. 00;31;25;11 - 00;31;28;22 You know, just add that when Kiki and I started this, 00;31;28;22 - 00;31;30;29 we wanted everybody in the Slack channel.
00;31;30;29 - 00;31;34;07 We wanted like, you know, just to start conversations 00;31;34;07 - 00;31;38;29 because we figured the best way to make changes, to have conversations. 00;31;38;29 - 00;31;43;29 And we quickly understood that that wasn't giving our moms the space. 00;31;44;02 - 00;31;47;22 So we did end up closing down the Slack channel to two moms. 00;31;47;25 - 00;31;49;21 And it's been it has been wonderful.
00;31;49;21 - 00;31;52;28 But that is why it's so important for us to be on podcasts like this. 00;31;52;28 - 00;31;56;10 The purpose of that was not just to be like, Oh, here's another demographic. 00;31;56;13 - 00;31;59;23 It was to create those conversations and to have this 00;31;59;23 - 00;32;01;05 get it out into the open world. 00;32;01;05 - 00;32;02;28 And being like, This is what's happening.
00;32;02;28 - 00;32;04;07 We're not saying that it's better 00;32;04;07 - 00;32;07;27 or worse than your situation, but we're telling you from our perspective. 00;32;07;29 - 00;32;12;19 And I think that our perspective also touches on a lot of other people 00;32;12;19 - 00;32;15;19 that don't necessarily fall under the category of mother. 00;32;15;21 - 00;32;19;10 And there's a lot of broken things in our system and we need to change them. 00;32;19;10 - 00;32;22;15 And if we're not talking about them and we're not talking about what's hard 00;32;22;15 - 00;32;25;13 and what's not working, then we're never going to see any movement.
00;32;25;13 - 00;32;29;28 So yeah, that that's really the purpose of all. 00;32;29;28 - 00;32;31;26 Yeah, we had two main goals when we started this 00;32;31;26 - 00;32;36;10 and it was to bring the moms together in a community 00;32;36;12 - 00;32;41;16 and it was to put Spotlight on some new names and faces and voices. 00;32;41;16 - 00;32;44;12 And then it was to help educate the greater community. 00;32;44;12 - 00;32;46;04 So those were.
Our. 00;32;46;04 - 00;32;47;26 That was that was what we went in for. 00;32;47;26 - 00;32;49;25 I think we've been doing pretty okay at it. 00;32;49;25 - 00;32;51;06 I think so.
00;32;51;06 - 00;32;53;04 I would I would add another pillar there. 00;32;53;04 - 00;32;57;05 Whenever you get a chance to shame other dudes 00;32;57;07 - 00;33;01;21 and want to give it time to help them, 00;33;01;25 - 00;33;06;21 I know I think there's a lot of guys out there again who I talk to like, you know, 00;33;06;23 - 00;33;10;19 what's going on with your spouse or your girlfriend, like what's going on? 00;33;10;21 - 00;33;12;13 And I feel like they're a little bit lost.
00;33;12;13 - 00;33;14;06 And I think there's there's got to be 00;33;14;06 - 00;33;18;02 something that you guys can do to be like, hey, this is how you could help us. 00;33;18;02 - 00;33;20;00 Just letting you know, like, I think. 00;33;20;00 - 00;33;22;16 But that's exactly what my demographic is like. 00;33;22;16 - 00;33;24;04 We're not here to shame anybody.
00;33;24;04 - 00;33;28;03 Like, you know, like everybody goes through their own journey. 00;33;28;03 - 00;33;31;16 Everybody has their own family situation, their own financial situations. 00;33;31;16 - 00;33;33;22 Like we're not here to shame anybody, and we're not here to say 00;33;33;22 - 00;33;38;05 that our perspective is better or harder or easier than anybody else's. 00;33;38;05 - 00;33;42;26 We're just telling you how it is from the way that we see the world 00;33;42;29 - 00;33;45;20 and whether you choose to listen and take that 00;33;45;20 - 00;33;48;06 into consideration into your life, that's up to you.
00;33;48;06 - 00;33;51;02 And then like for those dads out there, that's why we're here, 00;33;51;02 - 00;33;56;06 because I think a lot of the times women don't share share our feel. 00;33;56;07 - 00;33;58;24 You know, everything's fine. You know. 00;33;58;24 - 00;33;59;07 What's wrong?
00;33;59;07 - 00;34;00;10 It is fine. 00;34;00;10 - 00;34;04;01 Ask me any day of the week and I'm fine. Yeah. 00;34;04;04 - 00;34;06;05 You know, this is just a call to say that, 00;34;06;05 - 00;34;10;02 like when somebody says they're fine, it's most likely incorrect.
00;34;10;04 - 00;34;12;10 And there's a bunch of things that are going on under the surface, 00;34;12;10 - 00;34;15;13 but we don't necessarily stand around and voice them because we've got scheduled. 00;34;15;20 - 00;34;16;00 I would. 00;34;16;00 - 00;34;21;20 Yeah, I would echo that by saying that I think if like for any dudes out there, 00;34;21;20 - 00;34;22;26 it's like if you see 00;34;22;26 - 00;34;26;01 what's going on in Mothers and McGrath, you can take that information 00;34;26;01 - 00;34;29;01 and share it with your fellow dudes like that's on you.
00;34;29;04 - 00;34;30;10 Like, Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00;34;30;10 - 00;34;33;26 And that's, that's something I say all the time about our own podcast 00;34;33;26 - 00;34;38;19 is this podcast isn't just for moms, it's just from the perspective of moms. 00;34;38;21 - 00;34;42;16 So like, I think everyone can glean something from, 00;34;42;19 - 00;34;46;02 from our stories and our discussions and talks. 00;34;46;04 - 00;34;49;27 And we have always, like from the very beginning, we've always wanted this 00;34;49;27 - 00;34;53;05 not to be like an us versus them situation because it's not.
00;34;53;05 - 00;34;54;18 We're all in it together 00;34;54;18 - 00;34;58;27 and we try approach everything with a pretty high level of empathy and 00;34;58;27 - 00;35;03;28 and we hope that by doing that, others will feel empowered to do the same, 00;35;03;28 - 00;35;08;09 because I think that everything really comes down to empathy in the end. 00;35;08;12 - 00;35;14;28 Right now on all of us, on all sides of it, of all of the things. 00;35;15;00 - 00;35;16;13 You hear that dudes wants to.
00;35;16;13 - 00;35;18;01 Be, Yeah. 00;35;18;01 - 00;35;19;00 Have empathy. 00;35;19;00 - 00;35;22;08 Mean empathy. Listen, listen.
00;35;22;11 - 00;35;24;09 Yeah, yeah. 00;35;24;09 - 00;35;25;11 As so, yeah. 00;35;25;11 - 00;35;29;03 So just to wrap up, we're going to give you a chance to just tell people. 00;35;29;03 - 00;35;34;02 So if if they are moms, if they're not moms, how can they get in contact?
00;35;34;02 - 00;35;36;03 What's the what's the process there? 00;35;36;03 - 00;35;37;25 Where can they find you? 00;35;37;25 - 00;35;39;02 Give us all the stuff so. 00;35;39;02 - 00;35;42;10 You can find all of our links on mothers, a monograph dot com.
00;35;42;10 - 00;35;43;26 You can sign up for the newsletter. 00;35;43;26 - 00;35;45;24 It's big both in right in your face. 00;35;45;24 - 00;35;47;26 We do a monthly newsletter. 00;35;47;26 - 00;35;50;08 You scroll down to the bottom, you can get to the rest of the links.
00;35;50;08 - 00;35;53;02 If you're a mom, please join our slack. We'd love to have you. 00;35;53;02 - 00;35;56;14 There's a little form there asking like two questions. 00;35;56;16 - 00;36;01;03 Also, if you're considering motherhood, think please, please join.
00;36;01;05 - 00;36;04;18 We've got a few moms in there that are, you know, fly on the wall, 00;36;04;19 - 00;36;06;13 kind of listening to conversations. 00;36;06;13 - 00;36;09;00 We've got our Instagram mother's demographic. 00;36;09;00 - 00;36;13;22 And if you really want to help us out, we launched our merch store, 00;36;13;24 - 00;36;16;17 which you can also find our mother's demographics. 00;36;16;17 - 00;36;19;24 And there.
It is. Oh, I'd love those. 00;36;19;26 - 00;36;20;19 Those are great. 00;36;20;19 - 00;36;22;21 Yeah, we've got some great stuff on there.
00;36;22;21 - 00;36;27;01 Emma Rhodes and Saint Louis have both contributed some designs on there 00;36;27;01 - 00;36;31;10 that are so fresh and cool and have been very popular. 00;36;31;17 - 00;36;36;12 And the money that we get from that goes to support our community 00;36;36;12 - 00;36;39;11 and also gives a bit of a kick back to the artists involved. 00;36;39;11 - 00;36;41;11 So that's been really great. 00;36;41;11 - 00;36;42;20 Oh well, thank you.
00;36;42;20 - 00;36;45;02 So yeah, no, no, this is. 00;36;45;02 - 00;36;48;13 Thank you guys so much for giving us a space to talk about things. 00;36;48;13 - 00;36;50;18 I think we could talk about these things all day long. 00;36;50;18 - 00;36;53;09 Well, you're welcome back any time, so.
Yeah. Yeah. 00;36;53;09 - 00;36;54;11 This is really wonderful. 00;36;54;11 - 00;36;57;11 I think we've taken a lot away from this and like.
00;36;57;13 - 00;36;58;22 And I know that our 00;36;58;22 - 00;36;59;21 our audience will also 00;36;59;21 - 00;37;02;28 take a lot away from it, especially those who were like clients 00;37;02;28 - 00;37;07;03 who want to support mothers that are, you know, doing some impactful work. 00;37;07;03 - 00;37;10;03 So, yeah, I'm glad that we could all cross connect. 00;37;10;06 - 00;37;12;11 Yeah. Thank you for taking the time.
We'll have to check in again. 00;37;12;11 - 00;37;15;04 And I'm like, yes, yes, it see happen. 00;37;15;04 - 00;37;16;10 One last question. 00;37;16;10 - 00;37;19;09 Do you have to be a motion designer to join this group?
00;37;19;12 - 00;37;22;27 No, it's motion designers and adjacent industries. 00;37;22;27 - 00;37;26;01 We've got sound designers, we've got copywriters, 00;37;26;01 - 00;37;30;25 we've got producers, we've got illustrators, voiceover actors. 00;37;30;27 - 00;37;33;27 It's motion design is where we came from. 00;37;33;27 - 00;37;35;09 So that's kind of how it started.
00;37;35;09 - 00;37;38;18 But there are so many things that go into motion design, VFX 00;37;38;18 - 00;37;41;22 and selling animation and traditional animation, everything. 00;37;41;22 - 00;37;47;08 Like if it, if it moving or it doesn't, if it's come on, it's creative. 00;37;47;11 - 00;37;47;21 Shoot. 00;37;47;21 - 00;37;51;18 There is like I was seeing not too long ago on LinkedIn, 00;37;51;20 - 00;37;54;26 there was a gal talking about the game 00;37;54;26 - 00;37;58;13 development industry and how hard it is over there as a mom too.
00;37;58;13 - 00;38;00;08 And I was like, Please join us. 00;38;00;08 - 00;38;04;17 We have so many similarities in our field and I think that we can make this 00;38;04;17 - 00;38;05;12 a wider net. 00;38;05;12 - 00;38;09;00 So awesome. Yeah, I mean, let's see.
00;38;09;02 - 00;38;10;20 Yea, I bet there's a lot. 00;38;10;20 - 00;38;11;26 We're going to have a lot of changes. 00;38;11;26 - 00;38;13;17 It's only been ten months so far. 00;38;13;17 - 00;38;15;23 So like I'm like.
Yeah, I know. 00;38;15;23 - 00;38;18;06 Congratulations on everything and we're really excited. 00;38;18;06 - 00;38;20;02 Thank you. Happy to support in any way we can.
00;38;20;02 - 00;38;21;19 So thank you. 00;38;21;19 - 00;38;24;19 And so, yeah, I think I think we'll wrap it up 00;38;24;19 - 00;38;28;27 there. 00;38;29;00 - 00;38;32;06 This episode was brought to you by EA Media. 00;38;32;09 - 00;38;33;25 Our producer is Jackson Foote.
00;38;33;25 - 00;38;37;03 Our music was created by Hidden and licensed through premium BET.com. 00;38;37;05 - 00;38;39;23 And until next time. Stay honest.
00;38;39;23 - 00;38;41;18 Stay creative. Stay open. 00;38;41;18 - 00;38;41;26 Open. 00;38;41;26 - 00;38;42;11 Pick cities.
00;38;42;11 - 00;38;45;09 We will see you in the next episode. I.
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