One of the Babes: eythink
Meet Lindsay Eyth, the founder of the lettering and T-shirt brand, Eythink. She'll be vending at our June meet!
Lettering by Ashlee J. Pryor, Photo by Amanda Stosz for Got a Girl Crush magazine
Meet Lindsay Eyth, the founder of the lettering and T-shirt brand, eythink. She'll be vending at our June meet!
Q: What inspired you to start eythink?
A: Eythink was initially just a punny URL for my freelance design portfolio site! I started an Etsy shop under that name maybe 5 years ago, with very low ambitions really—I just wanted a place to put random, little experiments out into the world. I've always been interested in lettering, but in 2012 or so, I started pushing myself to develop my skills further. Then in 2013, I did a Valentine project based on the Magnetic Fields album "69 Love Songs," and the shop grew a little then. In the summer of 2014, I made the first version of the I Don't Fucking Care If U Like It shirt, which took off, wholly unexpectedly. Now, running the shop is a big part of my day.
Q: Do you have any tidbits of advice for people with passion projects?
A: Oh gee, passion projects can be so different, depending on the person and their life's circumstances. So much of what works for one person may not work for another. I would just say: You deserve the chance to discover what you're capable of. Do your best to avoid spending time with people who make you feel like you're not enough. If you can, spend as much time as possible connecting with people who encourage/support/motivate you, people who make you feel smarter and more creative.
Q: How do you stay inspired?
A: To be honest? I don't! In my experience, inspiration is fleeting, and that's okay. I'm a human being, not a machine, you know? I try to fill my life with as much of what's important to me as possible—ranging from dear friends to my favorite rappers to social justice stuff to bubble baths (I'm serious)—and to keep my hands busy, so that when inspiration shows up, I'm ready to do something with it.
Photo by Amanda Stosz for Got a Girl Crush magazine
Q: What have been your favorite moments of creativity (possibly a time when a burst of creative energy produced something you could have never expected, etc.)?
A: The origin of the IDFCIYLI shirt is a perfect example of the type of moment you're describing. I read this essay on a Friday, and it summed up a lot of what I was feeling after a lifetime of living under the patriarchy. That Saturday, a dude I'd been on a few dates with turned out to be wildly condescending and out of line, and I spent Sunday afternoon doing some aimless lettering practice, while both the essay and that guy's behavior bounced around in my head. I drew up the IDFCIYLI design that day and had it on a T-shirt the next day (thanks, Fine Southern Gentlemen). Within a week, Ann Friedman had endorsed it in her newsletter, and I was suddenly very busy. I definitely never expected all that.
Q: When you're discouraged, what do you run to or away from?
A: Regular discouraged? A bubble bath or a hot tub, with a beer. If it's REALLY BAD? The Grand Canyon.
Your favorite band: Nicki Minaj
Current read: "Some Sing, Some Cry" by Ntozake Shange & Ifa Bayeza.
Your local Austin gem: Go get the coconut macaroon from Thai Fresh's dessert case. Also, bring me one. Thanks.
Your social media handles: eythink on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr. (It's pronounced the same as "I think.")
One of the Babes: Sound Dessert
Meet Gillian Driscoll, the babe behind the Austin-based music blog, Sound Dessert. Driscoll has curated the playlist for the June meet!
Photo by Nicola Lyon, Editing by Ashlee J. Pryor
Meet Gillian Driscoll, the babe behind the Austin-based music blog, Sound Dessert. Driscoll has curated the playlist for the June meet! Learn more about her in the Q&A below, and be sure to sneak-peek her selected tunes at the end of this piece.
Q: What inspired you to start Sound Dessert?
A: Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always loved music. As I got older and met new people, I started discovering the vastness and variety of music that existed outside of what the radio played and what my family listened to in the house. Thus began a hunger for unearthing incredible, chill-inducing music that hasn’t stopped. In college, I decide to start my own blog for fun as a way to keep track of what I was listening to and also share with my friends who were always asking me for new band recommendations.
Fast forward a couple years, and I decided I wanted Sound Dessert to be more than a hobby. I’m building Sound Dessert to be a platform for supporting and exposing artists that deserve to be heard, and to be a trusted source for music fans to enjoy a carefully curated archive of unforgettable talent.
Q: Do you have any tidbits of advice for people with passion projects?
A: My advice is to be as clear and specific as possible about what you want to achieve, as it makes reaching your goals, big or small, a lot easier. Being unclear can often lead to being in limbo, and nobody wants to be in limbo.
Sometimes, starting is the hardest part. Be easy on yourself and begin with bite-sized pieces: jot down ideas and sketches, talk things out with a trusted friend, etc. until you feel ready to take the next steps.
Q: How do you stay inspired?
A: Meeting courageous, creative people keeps me inspired—impromptu, energizing conversations that last hours, pulling off things I wasn’t sure I could do.
And art that stops me in my tracks; be it a song, concert, photograph, painting, documentary or book.
Q: What have been your favorite moments of creativity (possibly a time when a burst of creative energy produced something you could have never expected, etc.)?
A: For me, my favorite moments have been moments of clarity. When I’m really specific about something I want, the universe seems to step in and help things fall into place in strangely serendipitous ways.
Q: What have been the most challenging moments in your blogging career thus far?
A: The biggest challenge has been overcoming self-doubt. When I first started the blog I didn’t tell a soul it existed because I was concerned everyone would think it was dumb, that my writing was bad, etc. Eventually I got over that and have received such encouraging feedback in the process. There are still moments when I waver, but receiving those accolades goes a long way in re-affirming that I’m doing something right.
Doing everything myself also has it challenges since there’s only so much I can get done in a day, but I remind myself to be patient. I know I will get there in time, even if it’s not always within the timeline I intended.
Q: When you're discouraged, what do you run to or away from?
A: When I’m discouraged I talk things out with close friends and family to get some fresh perspectives. I also spend time with myself, usually going for a long walk, to reflect on what I’m trying to achieve and reassess. That and a good night of dancing can prove to be very cathartic sometimes.
Your favorite band(s): Alvvays, Sol Cat, Unknown Mortal Orchestra (listen to them all in the playlist)
Your favorite book: I’m currently reading Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Story of Pop Music from Bill Haley to Beyoncé by Bob Stanley. It’s a good read for a history book and really puts into context how radical certain music was when it was first released. Music that we view as tame today.
Your local Austin gem (can be a product, place, etc.): Stay Gold for drinks, Cheer Up Charlies for live music, End of an Ear for records
Your social media handles:
facebook.com/sounddessert
twitter.com/sounddessert
instagram.com/sounddessert