On Pride And Community-Care In Texas: Black Trans Leadership of Austin
The organizers of Black Trans Leadership of Austin share their goals, what supporting QTBIPOC communities in Texas looks like and the year-round energy of PRIDE Month.
This summer, in light of our own rebirth, we’re catching up with Future Front Texas members and friends to explore vision.
Today, we’re chatting with one of our grantees for June 2021, Black Trans Leadership of Austin. BTLA will receive $1000 from proceeds collected at this summer’s Swim Sessions.
Keep reading to learn about their goals, what supporting QTBIPOC communities in Texas looks like and the year-round energy of PRIDE Month.
Photo courtesy of BTLA
ABOUT BTLA:
Black Trans Leadership of Austin exists to create better outcomes for Black Trans and Gender Diverse people in Austin. The organization was founded July 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic, by members of the Black queer and trans community.
BTLA has identified systemic and economic issues affecting QTBIPOC communities across central Texas and works to give care, reparations, and support to our community through direct aid and community connection.
Tell us a little bit about BTLA and the work that you do.
Our mission is to create better outcomes for the lives of Black Trans people in Austin and Central Texas. Together, we are pushing for community centers, where we can connect and be in fellowship, actual affordable housing, safety in the cities we live in and the luxury of leisure—to celebrate our talents, skills, and culture.
In just the past few months, BTLA has already been able to host community cookouts and food drives to get our people fed, release $1,000 grants to over 20 community members in crisis with funds that were directly reallocated from Austin Police Department through Reimagining Public Safety initiatives.
We’ve also created the ‘Black Trans Leadership Austin Community Questionnaire for the Advancement of QTBIPOC in Central Texas,’ a survey that will help us collect data concerning our communities needs, so that we can build a more accurate snapshot of where the system has failed Black Trans people, and get our needs met—because we believe data should not be a barrier.
What's your vision for the Black queer and trans community in Austin?
We want to build a closer knit community. Trans people are usually forced to lean on each other, just to make it through hardship, but imagine what we could do if we had easier access to the resources we needed to thrive—our movement would be expansive and radical.
BTLA wants to not only bring more Black trans leaders to the surface in our city but also support Black trans in having the freedom to thrive as ourselves. We visualize not only safer spaces that we can live and succeed in, but also places that we aren't expected to be in. We want to shake up the image and idea of what leadership is expected to look and act like to something a lot more colorful and diverse.
What does PRIDE mean to you in 2021?
Pride, for us, means supporting Black trans and queer folks voices. It also means remembering our past and not letting our trans ancestors and their work be forgotten.
Pride is more like an annual call-out and protest to a system that purposefully forgets us.
While this can be a time to celebrate our unique identities, it should also be said that this is a time for us to really continue to be vocal and advocate for our needs to the cis-straight community.
How can we continue to support BTLA (and the QTBIPOC community at large)?
By recognizing that you can contribute by investing your time and skills to those who are regularly marginalized. Take whatever it is you are good at and offer it to organizations like BTLA. We are big believers in mutual aid and resource-sharing to achieve true equity. The steps can also be as small as using more trans inclusive language at home and work, normalizing and correcting anti-trans sentiments in your personal network.
Being in a state that almost passed an unprecedented amount of violent anti-trans legislation and where Black folks continue to be mistreated, we encourage everyone to actively dispelling anti-Black and anti-trans behavior and language in your personal networks and beyond.
What's next for BTLA? How do you hope to grow your programs?
We definitely look forward to participating in more in-person events and gatherings. Being able to see one another and bringing more Black trans people into the fold is such an important part of our vision for the future. Our primary focus is direct assistance to Black trans folks.
From basic needs assistance in the realms of access to everyday essentials, jobs, housing and healthcare to a shoulder to lean on and someone to encourage them to keep going, we want to be there with them every step of the way. We are always working to build the capacity for our small, overworked team to do so.
Honestly, we need the support of the entire community to keep doing the work we are doing. Donations do go a long way—we are able to redistribute that into our community, but we also want to imagine beyond simply throwing money at a really huge issue. Donated time and skill, community collaboration and true allyship will help build programs that will continue to help our community.
Want to stay involved with Future Front Texas?
Keep up with what we’re up to—from virtual events to membership—here.
On Sustainability And The Art Of Dinner: Krystal Frame
Krystal talks her favorite dishes, the environmental impact of the service and fashion industries and manifesting her own conscious lifestyle brand.
This summer, in light of our own rebirth, we’re catching up with Future Front Texas members and friends to explore vision.
Today, we’re chatting with one of our resident small business owners, creative and Sustain Frame founder, Krystal Frame. Krystal talks her favorite dishes, the environmental impact of the service and fashion industries and manifesting her own conscious lifestyle brand.
Photo of Krystal Frame by Jinni J for Future Front Texas
ABOUT KRYSTAL AND SUSTAIN FRAME:
Meet Krystal Frame! Originally from Hobbs, New Mexico, where she spent some of her childhood, Krystal has relocated to various cities over the years, such as Odessa, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, New York City, and finally landed here in Austin in 2018. Her career background is split between working in the fashion industry and multiple service positions which has ultimately led her to create Sustain Frame. Before moving to Austin, she lived in Brooklyn, New York and ran the grind in Manhattan, where she worked for multiple fashion companies like Creatures of Comfort, Anthom, and Maryam Nassir Zadeh. Moving to NYC was a pivotal moment in her career, so that she could better provide herself with the tools to launch her own clothing line. To her surprise, while living in New York, she received news that she would be expecting her first child. Taking some time and consideration for her decision, she landed on the idea of moving to Austin, Texas to make a new home for her little one.
Currently, she is now building and developing her own company, Sustain Frame, and on the side, she works full time for a non-profit, Tankproof, where they provide zero-cost swimming lessons to underprivileged youth. Of course in her spare time, she enjoys taking time for her little one to make the most of the time they have together.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and Sustain Frame.
My background is predominately in the fashion and service industry. Working in both of these industries, I found myself constantly looking for ways to do better. Ever since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to find a way to support people. I believe that seeing the good in people and believing in them is the most intentional way of living, and to say that way of thinking fed into my work life is an understatement. I’ve always been the person fighting ideas of consistency, so once I started to focus my attention on environmental issues, I felt like life went full-speed. Some issues were being left unnoticed.
So, Sustain Frame is almost like my alter-ego superhero character—here’s me going into the phone booth as Clark Kent and coming out as Superman “Sustain Frame.” SF is basically everything I’ve done in my life, as far as work goes, and leveling it up to be a company that focuses solely on environmental and racial justice issues through events, workshops and product assortments.
*Editor’s Note: Sustain Frame is a conscious lifestyle brand, built to sustain and support community through goods and services. They’re currently our resident studio-mate, which means that for one month, they get to use our space free-of-charge to host events, experiment with retail and start conversations around their work.
Photo by Riley Banks of Woke Beauty
Photo by Hannah Lasure
What inspired you to start Sustain Frame?
A moment I’ll always recall is closing a bar I previously worked at and noticing I had tossed 10 empty bottles of liquor in the trash. From that point on, I started noticing more and more how much waste I was throwing away during my shift, and I was so surprised we didn’t have recycling. Then, I began to notice the accumulation of food waste the restaurant had been taking out every night. It started to become surreal that no one was noticing the environmental impacts that the hospitality industry was having on the world. Of course, let's not forget my life in fashion—I could write essays about the number of problems I would see in my day-to-day.
With this weighing on my shoulders, I couldn’t stand by any longer. About five years ago, I started plotting the idea of creating my own retail/restaurant space that could be a template for a sustainable company that was more thoughtful. I wanted to create something that would think about the big picture, what a business does for its customer, its employees and the environment, while taking it one step further by acknowledging the domino effect of what a company can actually do for people and the planet.
Although I am currently not ready to launch a physical space, I realized when I was furloughed last year that I finally had the time to focus on developing a game plan for how I was going to get to that physical space. That was when I thought of a dinner series that would be a locally sourced three-course meal for two, centered on a theme, with a playlist, florals, movie recommendations and sometimes highlight local small business vendors. All created by me! Now fast-forward to one year in, and we are finally able to do in-person events!
How would you describe Sustain Frame in three words?
Storytelling. Community. Perspective.
What’s your favorite dish?
Hm, tricky question for me. I find my taste buds change with the season. Currently, I really enjoy a robust salad. For the hot days, I choose refreshing and light options to make it easier to manage the Texas sun. I also really enjoy the seasonal produce Texas agriculture has to offer; such as tomatoes, fresh herbs and radishes.
What do you want people to feel when they attend a Sustain Frame experience?
I always want people to take away what they connected with most at my events. I’ve never wanted Sustain Frame’s offerings to feel like a forced experience. Even if I choose to create something that is strictly educational, I don’t want to bore someone so much so that they completely forget the experience ever happened. I feel like it’s important to create an immersive experience that can connect with all of your senses, so you can feel a personal connection or a sort of fondness towards the time you spent with us.
With most of my events I want to do three things: support, educate, and explore.
I support by choosing to work with partners who I believe in or feel strongly about.
We live in a world where topics and people have either been left unsaid or unheard. So, I believe we need to educate ourselves on topics of the earth and people to foster new growth and development that will ultimately be a win for us all.
Lastly, I focus on creating a beautiful event that gives you a safe space to explore your thoughts or feelings.
Photo by Hannah Lasure
Photo by Riley Banks of Woke Beauty
What do you want the future of Texas to look like?
Texas is such a beautiful landscape; I lived here when I was younger, and for some reason, it has always felt like home. Currently, with the changes happening here in Austin, I haven’t felt as connected to the land. So, my hope is that we can all come together as a community and support our connection to the land and not forget where we came from.
What’s coming up next for you?
Coming up next for Sustain Frame is a program possibly centered around memberships, so that we can grow in a constructive way, focus on one topic at a time and really dive into what they mean. Also, we hope to create a resource hub of information and tools.
*Editor’s Note: Sustain Frame is also hosting a pop-up dinner, Guelaguetza—a three course meal featuring two traditional Oaxacan courses and one course honoring the Juneteenth celebration and the Afro-hispanic community—at the FFTX HQ on Saturday, June 19. You can learn more and RSVP here.
Photo courtesy of Sustain Frame.
Photo of Krystal Frame by Jinni J for Future Front Texas
Photo of Krystal Frame by Jinni J for Future Front Texas
Want to stay involved with creators like Krystal through Future Front Texas?
Keep up with what we’re up to—from virtual events to membership—here.
21 Questions On Kawaii Dessert, Ice Cream And Inspiration With Sarah Lim
Read our recent interview with the founder of OMG Squee, Sarah Lim, about vision—in life and in business.
What’s your vision for work? For life? For your community?
This spring, we're touching base with our members and friends about the meaning of vision. ✰ ꩜
And today creative, reformed photographer and baker Sarah Lim shares the story behind OMG Squee, her macaron shop in Austin, Texas.
Photo courtesy of Sarah Lim.
ABOUT SARAH LIM AND OMG SQUEE
Sarah Lim is the co-owner, founder, and lead arthritic hands of OMG Squee, a gluten free, Asian inspired dessert shop in East Austin. Burnt out by 10+ years as a freelance photographer, she decided she needed a new career. Commercial agencies often found her work too “quirky” to sell to their clients.
So instead of trying to convince them, she created a vision for her own brand, took a self-taught crash course in baking, and started OMG Squee out of her tiny home kitchen in 2017.
While the business has evolved in a short time, her work at OMG Squee still echos the same fun, quirky, and colorful sentiment as her work as a photographer, while also paying homage to her Asian-American culture.
21 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM SARAH LIM:
1. What’s your day-to-day mantra?
To get shit done. Everyday is a big hustle.
2. Sarah Lim in 3 words?
Creative, hardworking and a little crazy. But, I think a little crazy can be good. You have to be a little crazy to wake up every morning and have the audacity to spend your days doing something that no one's asking or expecting you to do.
3. What is your vision for OMG Squee?
Building on my photography career. I've had a vision for this business, since before I started it.
I’m also heavily influenced by my experiences as a mixed-race Asian American and third-culture kid. 90’s animes and PBS cooking shows flooded my Saturday mornings before my family visited our local Hong Kong Supermarket, where I'd stare at both the snack aisle and cute stationery vendor until it was time to leave. Food, pop culture, and art have always had a big influence on me.
4. The thing you most wish for your world is…
Immediately—a day off. 😅 Over time, I want to get back to running the business and developing new ideas. I enjoy the creative, problem-solving aspects of growing the business most.
5. What would you love to see more of from small businesses like yours?
I’d just love to see MORE small businesses, in general. Small businesses tend to put more money back into local communities than big businesses, who tend to take money away from local communities.
I also think there's a lot more space for variety and creativity with smaller scale businesses versus larger corporate entities. It's easier to move a smaller ship.
The strong support from the Austin local community in favor of small business makes it possible for small businesses like mine to thrive. But I hope that doesn't change with how rapidly Austin is changing.
6. Favorite macaron design that you’ve made?
Even though they're finicky, time consuming, and give me arthritis, I generally enjoy making pop culture, portrait macarons. It's really satisfying to see people get to enjoy their treats with both their eyes and tastebuds. I’ve done quite a few over the years, including: Janelle Monae, The Fab 5 and The Obama's (to name a few).
7. Why is collaboration important to OMG Squee?
Nothing happens in a vacuum, and collaboration generally makes ideas better. But finding the right collaborators can be really difficult. It's good to have people to bounce ideas off of, who both challenge and inspire you. By the end, hopefully everyone will have a million million-dollar ideas.
8. No. 1 muse?
I’m always reading or watching videos, so I'm constantly learning new things and gaining inspiration from a variety of sources.
9. You can never leave your house without…
A shirt, since I forget a lot of things, like keys, phone, wallet, water….
10. What have you let go of this year that’s made a positive change in your life?
I'm starting to let go of a lot of physical things I don't need anymore. It's forced me to evaluate what I want my life to look like from here forward. My life is different than it was even a year ago and VERY different than where I was 5 years ago.
Marie Condo-ing all that extra stuff is helping me look forward and focus on the path my life is currently headed and where I want it to go from here, instead of holding me back in the past of where I thought I was going.
11. You want the future of Texas to look…
More diverse.
12. What’s one thing you learned about yourself recently?
I’m endlessly surprised by how much I handle. Sometimes I think I’m taking on too much. Sometimes I manage to get things done. But I've definitely reached a few personal thresholds in the last years, and I'm learning to listen to the voice inside me that says, "OK, you've had enough for now."
13. Something you treasure?
My friendships and relationships with people. It’s special to find people you can trust and admire.
14. CURRENTLY READING…
5 different cookbooks, including one Hong Kong cookbook, two by pastry chef Dominique Ansel and a book about eggs.
15. How do you stay inspired?
I’m constantly reading, learning, talking to people. I get inspiration from all over the place and love fresh ideas.
16. How would you describe your creative and production process?
My creative process is an organized mess consisting of little piles of things in my brain (and often my desk), that don’t make sense to anyone else, except me. If people stick with me to the end, though, I think I eventually make sense to outside people.
But when it comes to production or doing the work, especially with baking, the process is all very particular and technical, so it all requires lots of planning and working clean.
I'm constantly running two programs between organization and chaos, so the two combat each other a lot.
17. Best advice you’ve been given?
There's sort of two things that work together that I think of often:
One photography professor said, “If you’re still doing this in five years, there’s no way you can’t keep doing it if you want to.” It inspired me to do photography work for at least five years. And then I gave another five.
Another piece of advice that has carried me throughout the years is from an acting workshop I was shooting, hosted by Arrested Development’s Jeffrey Tambor, who said: “Don’t let people fuck with your confidence. If something fucks with your confidence, cut it out of your life or address it." I remember I stopped shooting the workshop and started listening instead. So, I’ve just been plugging away at work over the years, as confidently as I can.
17. What does a day-in-the-life of Sarah consist of?
Lots of stuff. The early part of the week consists of planning, prepping and all the logistics. By the end of the week, we start full production to open for the weekend.
I generally work about 12-15 hours a day, at least 6 days a week right now.
19. Proudest milestone?
I just finished paying off our buyout of the coffee shop business that was here before us.
20. What are you most excited about in life right now?
I’m excited to get our shop fully operational and have more people working here. Right now, there are just three of us. We've been slowly renovating our space all last year part time, so we're excited to finally get that work done this month.
I’ll be happy to start moving forward—professionally and personally—after a hard year in pandemic survival mode.
21. What do you want people to feel when they buy/use your products?
I just want people to be very happy and feel excited about what the dessert looks like and how it tastes. We named our business “OMG Squee” partly because we had an old dog named “Squeegee” aka "Squee." But also, because “SQUEE” is an onomatopoeia for the sound you make when you’re very delighted.
We always say we're going to "double rainbow happiness." There’s an older viral video of the double rainbow guy, who's screaming tears of joy about a beautiful double rainbow. We want our customers to feel like that guy.
Want to stay involved with creators like Sarah Lim through Future Front Texas?
Keep up with what we’re up to—from virtual events to membership—here.
21 Questions On Business, Collaboration And Making Things With Chantal Strasburger
Read our recent interview with the founder of Chantal Ceramics and Read Receipts, Chantal Strasburger.
What’s your vision for work? For life? For your community?
This season, we're touching base with our members and friends about the meaning of vision. ✰ ꩜
So, we’ve invited former craftHER vendor Chantal Strasburger, who runs Chantal Ceramics and Read Receipts, to share the collaborative vision behind her two businesses, her favorite collaborations, proudest milestones and vision for the future of Texas.
Photo courtesy of Chantal Strasburger.
ABOUT CHANTAL STRASBURGER, chantal ceramics and read receipts
Chantal Strasburger is a native Austinite, multi-media artist and proud craftHER Market vendor! While her professional background is in editorial writing (working previously for Teen Vogue, Nylon Magazine, and Snapchat) she’s returned to her first love—art—and now splits her time between her businesses, which include Chantal Ceramics (@chantal_ceramics) and Read Receipts (@read_receipts).
Chantal Ceramics produces a mix of functional and sculptural handmade, small-batch pieces in her home studio. Recent highlights include having a special-edition ring dish in Boss Babes’ first CraftHer Box, a collaboration with fellow vendor New Origin Shop to make mugs for Sweetgreen’s Austin launch, and branded mugs for Austin-based Siete Foods.
Read Receipts, her embroidery business, has grown from custom messages between friends to capturing the latest internet memes and political trends. She’s also created capsule collections for labels such as Club Monaco, designed merch for companies including Netflix, and collaborated on designs for brands like Phenomenal. Through Read Receipts, Chantal has been able to donate thousands of dollars for voting rights and social justice organizations that speak to her products’ messaging.
She has a few other projects up her sleeve—so follow along on Instagram @chantagold to stay tuned!
21 ANSWERS ABOUT CHANTAL:
1. What’s your day-to-day mantra?
My work allows me to live the life I love.
2. Chantal Strasburger in 3 emojis?
🤠🧋✨
3. What is your vision for your work? Your life?
For work, I want to continue making pieces that are beautiful and have purpose.
For life, I want to travel the world and create things that bring me joy.
4. The thing you most wish for your world is…
A beautiful studio space with a lot of natural light, plants, and more shelves than I could even dream of filling.
5. What would you love to see more of from small businesses like yours?
I would love to see more meet-ups where we can share knowledge and swap ideas. It takes so much to run a business, and we’re all learning as we grow—but we don’t have to reinvent the wheel!
6. Who are your style icons?
My mother, who finds some of the most fascinating and outrageous statement pieces from all over the world. I’m also constantly inspired by my three sisters. We all share clothes and send each other fashion inspiration and learn from each other.
7. Why is collaboration important to your businesses?
Collaboration opens my eyes to new ideas and opens my brand to new audiences. It’s a way for me to rethink how I'm doing something and learn from other makers’ experiences. My favorite part is seeing how our voices and visions come together to create something new.
Photo courtesy of Chantal Strasburger.
Photo courtesy of Chantal Strasburger.
8. First thing you think about in the morning?
“Do I have any computer work to do today, so that I have an excuse to sit outside and enjoy the glorious weather?” Pretty much the only reason I’m ever excited to read my emails.
9. Craziest thing on your bucket list?
I’d really love to get a grant to study ceramic traditions in a country like Japan or Indonesia or India. Completely immersing myself in the local arts and culture (and food!) while learning another language and new techniques sounds like an incredibly challenging but fulfilling adventure.
10. What have you let go of this year that’s made a positive change in your life?
I’ve given up worrying that I'm not doing enough. With everyone seemingly learning new skills in the pandemic like baking bread and writing novels, I was stressed that I wasn’t being “productive” enough—but now I simply remind myself that I’m doing plenty.
11. You want the future of Texas to look like...
BLUE. I want fellow Texans to work on educating themselves about issues like social justice and climate change. I’m tired of Texas having the reputation of being ignorant and backwards. It’s time for a change.
12. What’s one thing you learned about yourself recently?
When it comes to being social, I’ve realized how happy I am with just staying at home. I now know the full extent of my introverted-ness and how little I miss going out to parties and bars.
13. Something new you’re trying?
Audiobooks! I stopped having time to read books when my sales picked up and so I’m now exploring the magical world of listening to books while I'm working. Life-changing.
14. CURRENTLY READING…
Zillow. Everyday I browse listings to day dream about potential future studio spaces and think about where I might go next.
Photo courtesy of Chantal Strasburger.
Photo courtesy of Chantal Strasburger.
15. Currently listening to..
I watch a lot of Tik Tok (specifically #booktok), which convinced my sisters and me to get deep into the Fantasy Fiction genre. It’s not exactly highbrow...but I’ve been listening to the audiobooks for the series A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. Very smutty, very addicting.
16. How would you describe your creative and production process?
My process involves a lot of flipping through magazines and perusing Pinterest for inspiration. I love being in beautiful spaces and interiors and seeing what speaks to me. For ceramics, I’m constantly looking for new colors for glazes, and for Read Receipts, I scroll through Twitter to see what people are talking about and what meme my next design might riff off.
17. Best advice you’ve been given?
To make sure you take breaks when you need them! I’m someone who can get very wrapped up in fulfilling orders or planning the next Big Idea and work forever. My boyfriend Ian is always like, “You need to take a break or you’ll get burned out!” So definitely prioritizing myself and my well-being.
18. What does a day-in-the-life of Chantal consist of?
Wake up and work out (I’ve recently started jump-roping every morning), have my coffee and work on my book of logic puzzles, go through my emails and Instagram DMs and spend the rest of the work day making and packing orders.
The evening ends with a trail run with my boyfriend, dinner, and, ideally, a movie or a game of Bananagrams or Settlers of Catan.
19. Proudest milestone?
One of my proudest milestones so far is making mugs for Sweetgreen in collaboration with New Origin Shop (another one of our craftHER Market vendors). Sweetgreen was my favorite place to splurge on salads when I lived in Brooklyn, so them asking me to make mugs for their opening in Austin and having it come full circle was just an extremely cool moment.
20. What are you most excited about in life right now?
I am fully vaccinated, so I’m excited to start seeing family and traveling again. I’m heading over to England next week to see my grandmother for the first time in well over a year and I can’t wait. We’ll have to quarantine for 10 days when we get there since the pandemic isn’t over yet, but fingers crossed the end is near!
21. What do you want people to feel when they buy/use your products?
With my ceramics, I want my pieces to add a sense of calm or delight to their everyday lives—when they drink out of my mug or use my soap dish. As for Read receipts, my shirts and designs hold messages that are important to me, and I hope other people feel empowered when they wear them, too.
Want to stay involved with bbatx?
Keep up with what we’re up to at bbatx—from virtual events to membership—here.
21 Questions With Erika Aldrich Murga and Temazcal Life
Read our recent interview with Erika Murga and Temazcal Life.
As part of our ongoing craftHER Market, we recently launched 21 Questions—a series of short and fun questions designed to spotlight the stories, missions and personalities of our featured vendors.
In conversation with bbatx Communication Design Intern Eunice Bao, Erika Aldrich Murga, founder of Temazcal Life, chats about walking her new pup, bathing rituals and treasuring solitude.
Photo courtesy of Temazcal Life.
ABOUT ERIKA MURGA AND TEMAZCAL LIFE
Temazcal Life is inspired by Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican rituals meant to purify the body and the mind. We believe simple self-care rituals have the power to renew our entire self.
Temazcal Life was founded in 2016 by Erika Aldrich Murga with the purpose of helping people slow down, reconnect with themselves and prioritize their wellbeing, through cherished self-care rituals and goods, while making self-care accessible to disadvantaged communities.
HERE ARE ERIKA’S 21 ANSWERS:
1. What’s your day-to-day mantra?
Progress not perfection
2. Temazcal Life in 3 emojiS?
🧘🏻♀️ 🛁 💆🏽♀️
3. Why did you start Temazcal Life?
To share with others the experience of feeling cared for and caring holistically about wellbeing–addressing mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, and social wellness
4. Craziest thing on your bucket list?
Bathe in as many baths as there are cultures with bathing rituals
5. Drink of choice?
Agua de Tamarindo
6. What would you love to see more of from small businesses like yours?
More collaborative projects
7. No. 1 Muse?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Photo courtesy of Temazcal Life.
Photo courtesy of Temazcal Life.
8. First thing you think about in the morning?
Coffee. I think I need to smell it and taste it more than my brain needs it to run.
9. Best compliment you’ve ever received?
A customer, who found the soap through a magazine gift guide, let me know that their sensitive and eczema-prone skin had not been irritated by Temazcal Life soap.
10. What have you let go of this year that’s made a positive change in your life?
Financial security in exchange for autonomy and creative freedom
11. You want the future of Texas to look like...
Diverse, inclusive and artistic AF. I want to see people from all regions feeling welcomed and exhilarated about experiencing Texas. I’d like for people to have more ways to experience art in galleries, museums, public places or theater.
12. What’s one thing you learned about yourself recently?
I like things being packed neatly more than I like things being clean.
13. Favorite soap bar/scent?
Manjar and the lemongrass aroma is something that really energizes my morning and puts me in such a good mood.
14. Currently listening to…
Photo courtesy of Temazcal Life.
Photo courtesy of Temazcal Life.
15. Currently reading…
Clean by James Hambli
16. How would you describe your creative and production process?
I research A LOT. I immerse myself in the material I'm working with, such as botanicals, oil extraction, infusions, chemistry, perfumery, native American and Mesoamerican rituals and ancestral practices. I just read a lot.
Then, I design experiments, and this involves having many conversations with my mom (she is my chemistry consultant). We have a lot of fun bouncing ideas and she gets a kick out of educating me on chemistry.
I also write a lot. Documenting my experiments and tracking data is a way to manage my product development cycles, measure my progress and improve my product often.
17. Best advice you’ve been given?
Being ruthless about respecting my R&R time. The more rested I am, the better I can be at showing up for whom and what I care about.
18. Favorite daily routine?
Walking our new pup and stretching at the end of the day
19. Proudest career milestone?
Finding the vocation to help others no matter what skill I apply to my day-to-day activities
20. Something you treasure?
Solitude. The time I spend with myself reflecting and enjoying silence replenishes me.
21. What do you want people to feel when they buy/use your products?
Deserving of the time invested on themselves without feeling guilty or selfish. Dignified and worthy of better—a balanced life, good opportunities, positive relationships, freedom to reclaim their time.
TEMAZCAL LIFE is part of craftHER Market—our creative community marketplace nurturing homegrown artists, small business owners and designers in Texas.
Want to know more about our vendors? Our digital catalogue, crafthermarket.com, is open through April 30. You can browse 120+ vendors there online 24/7.
Some of Erika’s favorites on the lineup are:
Want to stay involved with bbatx?
Keep up with what we’re up to at bbatx—from virtual events to membership—here.
21 Questions With Redeemer Small Batch CBD
Read our recent interview with Bailey Weickum and Jahna Martell, founders of Redeemer Small Batch CBD.
As part of our ongoing craftHER Market, we’re launching our first set of 21 Questions—a series of short and fun questions designed to spotlight the stories, missions and personalities of our featured vendors.
In conversation with bbatx Communication Design Intern Eunice Bao, Bailey Weickum and Jahna Martell, founders of Redeemer Small Batch, chat about their childhood career choice, day-to-day mantra and their provisioner’s production processes.
Photo courtesy of Redeemer Small Batch
ABOUT BAILEY WEICKUM, JAHNA MARTELL AND REDEEMER SMALL BATCH
Redeemer is a women-owned, small batch CBD provisioner (fronted by Bailey Weickum and Jahna Martell) based deep in the heart of Austin, Texas. Our full-spectrum CBD and CBG comes from one farm and one farm only—our family’s—using a patented, ZERO-chemical extraction process that holds more of the plant’s power. Take Care and take often.
Here are Bailey and Jahna’s 21 answers:
1. What’s your day-to-day mantra?
Take care
2. Describe Redeemer Small Batch in three emojis.
💚🤠👨🎤
3. Drink of choice?
Dosed Desert Bird (which will be featured in our pop-up shop this Sunday)
4. Why did you start Redeemer?
To spread the good herb
5. Craziest thing on your bucket list?
Shark diving. Save the Sharks!
6. What would you love to see more of from small businesses like yours?
Collaborative consciousness
7. No. 1 muse?
#FreeBritney
Photo courtesy of Redeemer Small Batch.
Photo courtesy of Redeemer Small Batch.
8. First thing you think about in the morning?
CBD Coffee
9. You can never leave your house without…?
#MaskUp
10. What have you let go of this year that’s made a positive change in your life?
The familiar
11. Favorite small businesses in Austin?
Nixta Taqueria
12. Hardest lesson learned?
Saying no is self-care.
13. Something new you’re trying?
New wellness ritual with Temazcal soap
14. What was your childhood career choice?
Airport security guard (sweet belts)
Photo courtesy of Redeemer Small Batch.
Photo courtesy of Redeemer Small Batch.
15. Currently listening to..
Supplier by Kari Faux on REPEAT
16. How would you describe your creative and production process?
Pure chaos
17. Best advice you’ve been given?
We’re all here to help each other. - Mom
18. What does a day-in-the-life of Redeemer consist of?
Mostly laughing at our dogs
19. Proudest career milestone?
Making it to Redeemer’s first birthday in quarantine
20. Something you treasure?
The West Texas desert
21. What do you want people to feel when they buy/use your products?
Better
REDEEMER is part of craftHER Market—our creative community marketplace nurturing homegrown artists, small business owners and designers in Texas.
Want to know more about our vendors? Our digital catalogue, crafthermarket.com, is open through April 30. You can browse 120+ vendors there online 24/7.
Some of Bailey’s favorites on the lineup are:
Want to stay involved with bbatx?
Keep up with what we’re up to at bbatx—from virtual events to membership—here.
On Standing Up for Yourself and Your Work: An Interview with Juanita Segovia
Enjoy our interview with bbatx resident artist Juanita Segovia.
Every year, bbatx curates a monthly residency highlighting the work of 10 to 15, Texas-based women and nonbinary visual and musical artists that create work and perform in our programs. As we move to take our programs online, we’ve partnered with Bumble to launch a digital version of The Residency. From now through November 1, 2020, you can tune in for weekly mixes, visuals and workshops from 16 women and nonbinary artists and DJs.
Today, we’ve got an interview with Juanita Segovia, the Austin-based designer and illustrator behind Shop Suerte. In conversation with bbatx staff member Margeaux Labat, Juanita talks about their artistic roots, how they remain connected to their younger self through their art, and prioritizing mental health during quarantine.
ABOUT JUANITA SEGOVIA:
Juanita Segovia (they/them) is an Austin-based creative specializing in design, illustration, and screen printing. Utilizing a stream of consciousness method of creating, Juanita’s drawings are often an unpredictable combination of reappropriated popular imagery and original designs and writing. Their work comes to life as limited edition zines, prints, apparel and other art objects— emphasizing a fun, accessible, and DIY approach to creating. You can keep up with Juanita at @suerte.universe and @goodluckjuanita on Instagram.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got into making art?
I am a designer and illustrator in Austin, Texas originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa is a really small town and there wasn't a lot to do there when I was growing up, so my parents really wanted us to have hobbies so we wouldn't get into trouble. I was a really energetic kid so I wanted to try everything from dance to music to sports, but art was the only thing that really captured my attention. My parents signed me up for "urban" fine art outreach programs, and it was one of the few times growing up that I had access to art classes and art in museums. It taught me that art could be fun, accessible, and anyone was capable of doing it!
Going to a fine arts college in Missouri and studying graphic design really tested me in terms of finding out what I was passionate about, and even made me question my ability and commitment to my craft. My design program was quite rigid and didn't allow a lot of room for exploration, to be honest it was also discouraged. Everything felt so boring and sterile after a while. As one of the few people of color at my school, who also happened to be a non-binary lesbian, I didn't always fit into these boxes other people wanted me to fit in for their own comfort. I had to learn how to stand up for myself and my work. Reflecting on my experience there now, I found it really difficult to go from growing up in a small town where I knew everyone and seeing people that looked like me to going to a predominantly white institution. It was kind of a culture shock. While there wasn't a lot of support from my peers or professors, the few friends I made there really inspired me to keep pursuing art. When I left school and moved to Austin, the ability to do whatever I wanted was so liberating. I was surrounded by other queer artists of color. I really enjoyed the freedom to be able to try everything at once without pressure or fear of critique. I love feeling connected to my younger self who enjoys creating just because it's fun.
From whom or what do you draw the most inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from literally anything and everything! Pop culture, having fun, being happy, feeling sad, and the promise that there are always better days ahead. I'm really interested in tarot, astrology, and numerology, so those things have also found their way into my work. I'm a big believer in signs from the universe and the power of manifesting. It might sound silly or naive but I really try to keep my work positive and happy, even when it's about something difficult or unsettling. Some artists I really love are Sonya Sombreuil, Jeffrey Cheung, Emma Kohlmann, Rachel Howe, Isa Beniston and Yumi Sakugawa.
How has your art evolved over time?
My art is constantly evolving because I like to try new things or else I will get bored. I am always coming up with new ideas, and I'm really fortunate to be surrounded by people who help bring those ideas to fruition!
Right before the lockdown, I got into screen printing on denim. I'm always trying to think of ways to make my practice more sustainable, and I really enjoyed the process of getting to make something new out of something that was already worn and loved by someone else. I'm hoping to work on screen printing and sewing original pieces once I'm able to get into the studio and print again. It's something I've never tried before and took a lot of trial and error. Trying lots of new things means some work and some don't. Most don't. I really enjoy that process.
Has your relationship to your art changed at all during this time of quarantine? If so, how?
When we were first put on lockdown, I had this idea that I was going to be productive and create something every day and post it on Instagram. But I was so burnt out after a few weeks adjusting to working from home, managing all of my side hustles, while navigating the pandemic and my personal life that creating began to feel like a chore for me. I really try to take time to honor my feelings and prioritize my mental health, and remind myself that it's okay to create just for me sometimes.
What is your ideal environment and headspace to be in when making your art?
Ideally, I would like to have my own studio or space to just create and explore. Right now my studio is everywhere (my kitchen, my sofa, my front porch) but I'm making the best of it. The most important thing is that I want my work to make me and other people happy.
On Creation, Stability and Refining Your Voice: An Interview with Aimée Everett
Enjoy an interview and virtual tour from bbatx resident artist Aimée Everett.
Every year, bbatx curates a monthly residency highlighting the work of 10 to 15, Texas-based women and nonbinary visual and musical artists that create work and perform in our programs. As we move to take our programs online, we’ve partnered with Bumble to launch a digital version of The Residency. From now through November 1, 2020, you can tune in for weekly mixes, visuals and workshops from 16 women and nonbinary artists and DJs.
Today, we’ve got an interview with Austin-based contemporary painter and artist Aimée Everett. In conversation with bbatx committee member A’nysha Aileen, Aimée talks about her adaptability to her respective medium, finding and refining one’s voice, and her advice for up and coming artists.
ABOUT Aimée Everett:
Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, Aimée is a visual artist whose work employs abstraction and figurative work to explore communication, gender, race, psychology, and social commentary. Aimée M. Everett lives and works in Austin, Texas.
Aimée is interested in exploring and asking the question, “What lingers in the silences we hold between each spoken word?” She believes this is where our true emotions live. She aims to examine these silences, the ones that have been handed down generation after generation and the ones acquired as we maneuver through the world. As women we have been conditioned to bear and grin the challenges we face. As a woman of color, that silence is compounded and extends beyond misogyny. To explore these issues, Aimée attempts a new way to interpret the unsaid, attempting to reach viewers in ways words cannot.
Aimée has been refining this style and language since 2012. The exploration of this nonverbal language begins with her confronting and questioning her silences in writing. Aimée confronts experiences, feelings, and thoughts from life and those that have been shared from other people’s perspectives. Employing expressive minimalism as her vehicle; line making, atmospheric color, and texture, Aimée invites the viewer to investigate the unspoken silence that lingers between words.
Can you tell me about your background, and how it impacts your art?
I am originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. I think the vibrancy of the city impacts the way I see color and texture, which in turn influences the way I approach my work.
What do you want people to take away from your work?
I think that’s a question that should be answered by the viewer. I want the viewer to make a connection that is personal to them.
Do you have any favorite mediums? And are there any mediums you have yet to explore?
I don’t approach work that way. I create with the medium that I believe is going to help me deliver the message. Right now I am working with wood, oil, acrylic, and watercolor because it’s working for me at the moment. So, I guess I will evolve to another art form when I’ve exhausted all the possibilities with these materials. When I first began painting, I strictly painted with oil on canvas. I had a commission a few years ago that was last minute. Once I finished, the piece would need to be shipped out to New York. I was like “Well, I can’t do that in oil, it takes too long to dry”. That was when I made the decision to start using acrylic paint in my practice.
Let’s talk commissions. Beyond your own personal bodies of work, what have been some of your favorite client pieces?
I created a piece for a group show honoring the Little Rock Nine at the Sheen Center in New York. This was the show that introduced me to acrylic paint. This piece was important to me because I was asked to honor one of the nine Black students that integrated Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas in 1957. Segregation is something that my Mom and other family members have gone through. So for me, it was a way to connect to her and them. It was a way to connect to the people that allowed me to move about the world freely, and it was something that I could not pass up. The piece is called The Pursuit of Equality.
Do you have any advice for up and coming artists?
I would say, first and foremost you should just create. Create without looking for any awards or accolades, just create—and you will find your voice. Secondly, I am an artist that works in the “real world.” (I call it my civilian job.) I think that helps to keep the balance. I would say to keep your feet in both worlds. Have that stability, and then also have your art life. The art world can be a very strange world to navigate. Having a regular job gives me a reprieve from the art world, so it’s good to transition between both. It’s also good to have a steady paycheck.
Who/what inspires and informs your work?
Everyday people inspire my work. My work is the translation of words because I feel like words only measure so much of our emotions and our communication, which is why it’s great to have verbal and nonverbal communication. I am attempting to find and examine the residual feelings or emotions that our verbal communication cannot capture. For example, If we can only offer words as a measurement of our emotions, and find that there are still feelings that are left unsaid due to the lack of vocabulary, I am examining a way to bridge the gap by employing line, color, and texture. All of my work is derived from thinking “What do those words actually look like? Or what is left after all has been said?” How can you impact that statement even more? My visual representations are my way of attempting to answer that question.
How have your projects grown and changed since you started?
I think I am refining my voice. I have realized that less is more in my practice. The painting doesn’t have to be this bombastic thing that has a multitude of lines and colors. It can be one color and one line and one form. It doesn’t have to be so much, and sometimes it does. So I am learning how to turn my voice up and down when I need to.
Can you describe your creative process? What is the first thing you do when you start a piece?
The first thing I do is look at words and our use of language. I write a lot. So, I write out what I want to say, and then I go into creating the composition. Everything comes to me in words first. From there I start working on the piece.
What comes to mind when you read about our current themes: reset and revitalize?
I think every day I revitalize in forms of communication. Words are one of the oldest forms of communication that we have and I am actively trying to dissect and revitalize the way I communicate. With our communities being so multicultural, we have so many nuances when it comes to the approach of language and word usage. I find that color and texture is something that transcends all languages. Your tactile senses are more primitive than your understanding of words. I am attempting to revitalize how I’m speaking to my audience, how I’m speaking to my community. I try to use connections that are similar to us all.
TAKE A VIRTUAL LOOK AT Aimée’s latest body of work, “PAYING REVERENCE TO THE ALTAR OF MEMORIES”.
On Professional Resilience And Bouncing Back: Evelyn from the Internets
To find some breathing room in the midst of global change, Evelyn From The Internets shared her thoughts on de-stressing, finding time for self-care and navigating the ebbs and flow of a creative career.
To find some breathing room in the midst of global change, we welcomed licensed therapist Davia Roberts and content creator Evelyn from the Internets (Evelyn Ngugi) in our virtual chatroom on May 30 to explore bouncing back. Throughout the talk, Evelyn shared her thoughts on de-stressing, finding time for self-care and navigating the ebbs and flow of a creative career.
ABOUT EVELYN FROM THE INTERNETS
Evelyn from the Internets is a video producer, digital storyteller and funny-girl based in Austin, Texas. On her Youtube channel, Evelyn has over 205,000 subscribers that she calls her #InternetCousins, all of which laugh with her and engage in numerous social justice conversations to water-cooler banter: from how to be a better ally for Youtube’s #CreatorsForChange to a passionate two-minute soliloquy on the excellence of Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” (which, by the way, Beyoncé loved so much she played it on every stop of her Formation World Tour). Currently, she co-hosts and writes “Say It Loud,” a PBS Digital Studios show about Black history and culture.
HERE ARE SIX TAKEAWAYS FROM EVELYN’S TALK ON BOUNCING BACK FROM PROFESSIONAL DISAPPOINTMENT AND BURNOUT:
1.) MAKE TIME TO FILL YOUR WELL.
“The things that I project to the world and give to people are like water, but I am the well. I am the source,” Evelyn says. Sometimes, it can feel like what we do is everywhere and anywhere—that in order to be good at our jobs and creative careers we must be ever-present. A key theme throughout Evelyn’s talk was remembering that you’re the source. You get to determine what you respond to and when. You get to give yourself breaks. You get to go offline. And when you’re feeling done, you deserve to fill your well.
2.) WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS, NOT HUMAN DOINGS.
As fulfilling as a creative career can be, we can often get a little lost (or consumed) in execution. How much time do we spend nurturing our creativity and curiosity? How much time do we spend meeting deadlines or trying produce as much as possible? For Evelyn, drawing her own lines around creativity, productivity and social media has been helpful.
“Inconsistency is now a little bit of my brand because it’s realistic. Not everyone is going to want to do everything all of the time, even if your job seems fun, cool or creative. After every video, I say ‘I’ll see you on the Internet somewhere’ just so that I know I’m always being honest. It might not be soon, but it’ll happen eventually,” Evelyn said. So, it’s okay to be bored, and it’s okay to feel like you’re not where you want to be. As Evelyn quoted, We are human beings, not human doings.
3.) RECLAIM YOUR TIME ON THE INTERNET.
So, how do we pull away from “the hustle” and find time to tune into our creative selves? For Evelyn, pulling back from her time online to determine what she wants has been paramount. “With the Internet, since it’s like endless almost, there is this feeling that we also need to be endless. And that’s just not true,” Evelyn said. Like a restaurant’s hours or a movie’s start and end time, you deserve to have on and off space, too.
4.) FIND A ROUTINE—AND ADAPT AS NEEDED.
Evelyn encouraged implementing a routine and centering what brings you joy, too. If you’re trying to figure out your career path or pivot out of a difficult work situation, a routine can help you start and finish the day, as well as get clear on what’s working and what isn’t. For Evelyn, this has become all the more important during a pandemic-induced quarantine.
“Everyday I have go outside, and it doesn’t mean exercise or anything other than having the sun touch my skin. I drink water throughout the day, wash my face, eat breakfast in the morning. If I don’t do certain habits, it makes it feel like one long day instead of seven separate days,” Evelyn said. Finding things that make you feel good are important for non-work hours, too. For Evelyn, this looks like everything from making Bon Appetit’s chocolate chip cookies to growing cucumbers in the community garden to binge-watching Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Evelyn also uses a hand-drawn bullet journal to stay motivated and organized. Photo via @evelynfromtheinternets
5.) TRACK YOUR FEELINGS AND CHECK IN.
Figuring out what we need and building those things into our day takes time, especially in a rapidly changing and volatile environment (like a pandemic). So, be patient with yourself, and take things a day at a time. The more you study yourself and your work, the more you’ll know when it’s time to quit or try something new.
“You can’t really pivot, unless you assess where you’re at. Realize what it is what you need or where you need to go. It took me a solid year to begin to understand that my worth was tied to my performance, and you can’t undo that in a month. It’s important to take that time to pause and understand that it’s about taking baby steps,” Evelyn shared.
6.) REMEMBER THAT CREATIVE CAREERS AREN’T LINEAR.
Our emotions, our goals and our careers are never linear. Sometimes, we might not feel good about where we are for a number of reasons. So, how do you know when it’s time to get a new job or make a change? These are a few of the things that Evelyn said pushed her to a pivoting point:
She didn’t want the position above hers.
Her full-time job schedule didn’t allow space for her passion projects.
She paid more attention to the things that made her feel motivated (or even jealous). She noticed that these things were signaling her next steps and interests.
She committed to setting goals and trying new things to explore her feelings.
She found that asking for help, brainstorming and taking breaks helped her look at her problems and negative emotions with a fresh pair of eyes—and eventually make decisions.
“Jealousy gives you a lot of information about what you’re feeling and why you’re feeling it. Use jealousy, or admiration, as a motivator,” Evelyn said. “And then, a little goes a long way. Think of some ideas to work on every day, even if it’s as you’re putting on lotion. It doesn’t have to take too long, but dedicate time to think about your business and prioritize those thoughts.”
Evelyn also recommended using an online organization tool (like Trello, for example) to break down your goals into realistic steps. Tackling a few things each day will make even the biggest of goals more tangible.
LOOKING FOR MORE?
If you’d like to keep up with Evelyn from the Internets, you can follow her on Instagram, check out her Youtube channel, sign up for her newsletter to become #InternetCousins, or go to her website to find out her upcoming events and what she’s currently doing, “somewhere on the Internet.”
Keep up with what we’re up to at bbatx—from virtual events to membership—here.
This blog post is by bbatx intern Divina Ceniceros Dominguez, a fourth-year Journalism and Entrepreneurship student at the University of Texas at Austin from Monterrey, Mexico. Currently, she's a happy Aquarius, plant mom and Texas-based writer. Click here to check out more of her writing and virtually connect.
On Rapping, Motherhood And The Music Industry: La Goony Chonga
In anticipation for her headlining performance at our CYBERBABES showcase this Sunday March 15, Goony shares some of her inspirations, her thoughts on the music industry and what it means to be chonga.
Over the last decade, La Goony Chonga has blossomed.
At the start of her rap career, she was a dancer and primarily writing in English. Then, in 2017 after the birth of her first child, she began writing in Spanish and incorporating trap beats into her sound—which transformed her music into an emblematic representation of Latin rap pop.
With every opportunity and change, though, Goony has always remained true to her chonga roots, repping for Miami and ensuring that the chonga lifestyle (popularized in the early aughts) gets the cultural recognition it deserves.
In anticipation for her headlining performance at our CYBERBABES showcase this Sunday March 15, Goony shares some of her inspirations, her thoughts on the music industry and what it means to be chonga.
who: LA GOONY CHONGA
La Goony Chonga (@lagoonychonga) is a Cuban-American recording artist/songwriter from Miami, Fl. Since beginning to record music in 2012, she has released four solo albums along with popular singles such as "Tira-Tira" and "Buena y Guapa.” As an icon in the latina community, many know her music to be empowering and energetic. Her latest release is her album Dimen5ión with JHawk Productions where she infuses west coast sounds into her latin trap style. On the album, she collaborates with different artists like Brooke Candy & La Zowi. La Goony Chonga also showcases her genre diversity with songs like "Pensamientos" and "Dejame Amarte" where she experiments with singing and more chill instrumentals. A fan favorite is her 2nd single off the album titled "Duro 2005" which brings us back to the classic reggaeton music she grew up listening to.
Goony, let's start with your career thus far. Can you take us through where you were when you started versus where you are now?
Since I started releasing music in late 2012, things have definitely changed. I started off only rapping in English and my brand was very "stripper" from like 2014 to 2017, being that I was a dancer. After getting pregnant in 2017, I stopped dancing and my brand was solely focused on chonga. In 2016, I started making music in my native language—Spanish—and it was the best decision I ever made. I basically took the same style and "trap" sound and switched it up in my language. Since then, my sound has continuously evolved into what it is now. If you go through my discography you can hear the evolution and how I have experimented with different genres. What has remained pretty much the same is the empowering feeling my music has always gave off.
Of your released projects, which are you into the most and why?
Honestly, I love them all. they are all my babies and represent different times of my life. If I had to pick my favorite it would definitely be my most recent album "Dimen5ion" because this is where I took that sound from my previous album "Dinero" and elevated it to the next level. I reached levels musically that I never thought I could reach, such as singing and even switching the topic up and making more "romantic" songs. "Dimen5ion" has so many different moods so every listener can relate somehow and thats what I love the most.
How would you describe your creative process? What gets you in the mood to create?
I get inspired by experiences and people. Sometimes, something someone may say can spark up an idea. Most of the time, though, what really gets me going is the beats. When I'm in the studio going through different instrumentals I usually let them speak to me. If the beat is fire, the words and melodies come to my mind instantly. If the beat doesn't really move me or spark up an idea, I won't even bother to force it. It either clicks or it doesn't. Once it does though, a hit is the works for sure!
The word chonga has been reclaimed over the years, moving beyond Miami and into culture as a term to describe self-empowered, kick-ass women. As the ultimate chonga, what does the word mean to you? What kind of power does it hold?
For me, chonga is a lifestyle. It's something I have always been proud to identify with growing up in Miami. It represents who I am. I first heard the word in middle school when all the Latina girls wore big hoops, gelled down ponytails with the wet hair look and the clear glossy lips with the Chinese slippers to go with it. Something about the whole aesthetic and attitude is so empowering. A lot of girls went through a "chonga phase" but for me it pretty much stuck. I will always and forever be a proud chonga.
As a mama in the music industry—and likely one of the only women in rap to publish a music video pregnant—what words of advice / encouragement do you have for other art moms and creative parents?
Being a mother is one of the most beautiful experiences for a woman. I think that as a creative specifically in the music industry, women are always encouraged not to have children especially when you are up and coming. I never planned on getting pregnant, but it happened. Many people didn't agree with my decision to follow through with it. Instead of looking at the situation as an unfortunate one, I looked at it as a blessing and as motivation to go harder. Having my child made me get a lot more serious about the business side my career, too. When I was pregnant, I worked harder than I ever did. I did more music videos and songs during that time more than any other time because I knew that realistically being a mom would set me back a little. More important than anything, women should know that even though you can take what others say and think into consideration, always go with your gut feeling and tap in to your intuition. You know whats best for you.
How do you navigate the ebbs and flows of the music industry? What keeps your head up as the structures behind it shift and opportunities come and go?
The music industry is a crazy game. It’s not always fair to say the least, but I feel like as long as I sty true to myself, work hard toward my goals and keep a strong mindset, my career will continue to flourish. Throughout the years, I have been given so many opportunities and they all led to another. Making music is what I was born to do and that is what I am doing and will continue to do regardless of anything.
What's one thing you've un-learned in the last few years that you wish you had realized sooner?
I have realized that being a successful artist means having your business in order. I used to think making good music was all it took to be successful, but in reality that’s the least important part! If you don't have your business in order, you won't be able to make a living off of music or anything really. Most creatives like myself aren't usually the most business-savvy people, but I have learned to incorporate the two in order to further my success and accomplishments.
Anything else you want to share or say?
Stream and purchase my new album Dimen5ión!!!!
want to see La Goony Chonga in-person?
Goony will be headlining CYBERBABES, our collaborative queer and femme showcase with p1nkstar and Y2K, this Sunday on March 15. Click here to RSVP.