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Creativity isn’t tidy—it’s risky, chaotic, and full of surprises. It’s full of breakthroughs and breakdowns, moments of flow and moments of doubt. Join Mishu Hilmy for unfiltered conversations with artists, filmmakers, musicians, and fearless makers who thrive in the unknown, embrace imperfection, and create at the edge of possibility.
This is your front row seat to the self-doubt, unexpected wins, and messy emotional work of making something real. But craft isn’t just about feeling—it’s about problem-solving, process, and the devotion behind mastery.
Subscribe now for weekly episodes that celebrate the unpredictable, the playful, and the deeply human side of making things. Join the mailing list at mischiefpod.com
Email anytime at podcast@ohhmaybe.com and follow us @mischiefpod
Mishu Hilmy (00:03.244)
Welcome to Mischief in Mastery, where we embrace the ups, downs, and all around uncertainty of a creative life, and that steady, and sometimes not so steady journey toward expertise. Each episode we talk candidly with people I know, people I don't know, folks who produce, direct, write, act, do comedy, make art, make messes, and make meaning out of their lives. You will hear guests lay out how they work, what they're thinking about, where they get stuck, and why they snap out of their comfort zones and into big, bold, risky mo-
So, if you're hungry for honest insights, deep dives into process philosophies and practical tips, plus maybe a little mischief along the way, you're in the right place. For more, visit mischiefpod.com.
Hey everyone, it's Mishu and welcome to Mischief and Mastery. Today we're chatting with Erica Duffy, who is a trailblazing entrepreneur who founded Camera Ambassador in 2014, which is one of only a few women owned equipment rental houses in the United States. She has grown into Chicago's most dynamic hub for filmmaking, fostering collaboration, mentorship and community alongside providing film gear. Through hands on workshops, networking events and mentorship programs, she's helped
cultivate the next generation of storytellers. Beyond Camera Ambassador, Erica has also served as the executive director of the Midwest Film Festival from 2019 to 2025, which has deepened her impact as a champion for Midwest filmmakers. If you haven't been to the Midwest Film Fest, please check it out. It's every month and great place to meet Chicago filmmakers as well as other filmmakers throughout the world who premiere and show their work there. As for this episode, Erica and I chatted about what it means to grow Camera Ambassador into a creative hub.
her leap from leading the Midwest Film Festival into expanding her own company, as well as how intuition, risk, and reinvention shape her path in Chicago's film community. We also talk about design, mentorship, having a kid, and why she believes in failing fast. You can check out Erica's company at cameraambassador.com, as well as follow them on Instagram, at cameraambassador. You can also follow erica at hello.erica.duffey on Instagram, and I'll have all that in the show notes.
Mishu Hilmy (02:10.669)
So without any delay, this was an absolutely lovely conversation with Erica. Always a delight to get to spend some time chatting and I hope you enjoy. Here it is, me and Erica Duffy.
You know, it's interesting times right now because Chicago is doing, I think, better than some of the other film cities. Definitely everything I've heard better than The Close. So it's, you know, I kind of feel guilty a little bit for feeling good, but also I think it's like good positive momentum that the industry does need. But I think, you know, everything in Chicago, you know, we are in a bigger market. So when the industry at whole slows down, we still kind of stay consistent. Yeah. I'm feeling, I feel good. That's wonderful.
And you moved to like a new space, like what prompts that move? How are you feeling, know, mid move, like what's been going on?
that. Yeah, it's been a really crazy year so far. At the end of January or December 1st, 2024 was my last day at Midwest Film Festival after five years as executive director and it was such a great run. I'm so grateful for my time there, my experience. I learned so much being on the distribution side of filmmaking having come from the rental pre-production production side. But it definitely, you know,
During that time, I only had a limited amount of bandwidth that could be invested in things like bird's-eye business expansion. ending that and knowing I was going to go into this year with more time, I really didn't math it out. It was just like, I knew I'd have more time. I was going to see how it went. And I actually remember for the first time in like March, mid-March, I was like, wow, I don't know what to do today. Like I caught up.
Erica Duffy (03:48.658)
Finally, after five years. And then everything with the new space just happened super organically. was really exciting. So our old space that we were in on 14th street, we were there for 11 years. That was our first location and I own the building. So it was never this idea of, you know, go out, know, leases up, find a new spot. But it had definitely become a thing where the building wasn't best serving the company anymore. We just grew to a point where, you we need more room. We need more room for.
gear storage, we need more room for clients, employees, et cetera. And I actually had, what came to be is I had a dream, like a real asleep dream. in that dream, I dreamt that we moved into Cine City Studios. And it makes sense, you know, that I was thinking about this in my dream, not consciously, but you know, I'm over at Cine City a lot and I'm friends with everyone there. And we were helping out with this virtual production demo that they were doing. So I'd been here like every single day.
And I had this dream and then I woke up and I was like, shit, this is kind of a good idea. Like a lot of our clients already read production offices here. do a bunch of events here. So I mentioned it to the owner, Dan, for those of you who know him. And he was like, yeah, I got, I got a whole floor for you. Let's do it. It was so like relaxed or like non-official and there wasn't like, we could see or, know, it was like, yeah, I got you. And so from that.
point forward, that was, I think that was May, like around, right around May 1st and July 30th right now. So this was not that long ago. And it was every step of the way with it. It was so funny because there was never a sit down, like, you know, you do your pros and your cons list. There was never that moment of like, we're going to decide if we move in. We just kept saying, we're going to explore it. We're going to explore it. Or, you know, let's see if it makes sense. then just fast forward.
They did a, you know, a build out. was such a pleasure for me. really love design and, you know, space efficiency design vibe, you know, that kind of stuff. And so having this thousand square foot blank canvas was a play day for me and 11 years of experience of this is how a rental house layout could look like. yeah, we got, you know, I was able to do all of the, the design and the layout and then.
Erica Duffy (06:10.392)
Stan's team came in and did an incredible build out for us. And then we came in at the end and, you know, we did a huge 50 foot mural and we brought in our hue lights and we brought in a bunch of the natural wood and a pool table and, know, a bunch of the things that are like our vibe and what makes, you know, when someone comes into our space makes them feel warm and welcome and special. And yeah, now to what we've been for. Our official launch was at SoamScape. So it was about a month ago and yeah, it's been so exciting. And it's just.
It's really wild thinking back where a lot of the things throughout my career have never been, you know, I sat down and consulted with strategy to figure out what the next step was, but rather was just extremely open to opportunities as they came and didn't pretend like I had it all figured out, but just decided to take a leap of faith and work hard through it. And this is just another example of that.
Yeah, so is it more kind of like an intuitive process for you or it's like in general you trust that like, all right, the gut feelings there, let's just do it rather than kind of, you know, hyper strategizing and really just doing too many list making. like analysis, paralysis, et cetera.
Yeah, definitely. think, I say all the time, one of my mottos is fail fast. This would probably have been a really, really big decision and could have really hurt if it fails, which I don't think it will. But just kind of in general, that is my mentality. Because I think like what you said is that like kind of decision making paralysis. I think artists and creatives have that a lot. And it's something I've always tried to resist for myself because you you can make a decision, you can try something, experiment.
If it doesn't go well, try something else. And I think that is something throughout the 11 years working in the rental industry where I haven't always pretended like I know exactly what to do. I've never worked at a rental house before. A lot of stuff was, let's reinvent the wheel. Let's not do it just because that's how everybody's always done it. And that is definitely, yes, it's how I live, how I run the business for better or for worse, but I guess it's working.
Mishu Hilmy (08:12.91)
Yeah. So like, guess like I'm curious in terms of reinvention, like design wise, like what, like how did you approach at least redesigning the space that would make it more conducive to sort of renting for say, you know, clients and whatnot. Like what maybe experiments or best innovations kind of are coming from this new, at least new opportunity.
It was, first I'm going to say, so much fun. my husband like found me at like three in the morning on a Saturday morning, one morning down at the counter, you know, moving walls around on a digital floor plan designer. And like, that's how excited I was because it was such an opportunity to be able to create something for our clients and for the community that was, you know, one step up a notch above. And so some of the things was really, well, one, just more space and
Even though we were building walls and we were making office spaces and sections and whatever up the space, it was really important to me that it really felt open and large. And now that we're in the space, there's not a lot of scale. So you look at the main area that's kind of open and it doesn't even look as big as it is because it's all just big and it's all just open. So having a lot of open space, when ACs are coming in, DPs are coming in to do their preps, there's a lot of carts, there's a lot of people that needs to be maneuvered and moved around.
So having a lot of room was just, when a prep's not in here, it looks big and empty and maybe why would you leave that space open? But when there's a prep in here and there's, you know, a first and second, you know, maybe doing a two camera shoot, there's cases and stuff everywhere. And we've already shown that that layout has worked really well. We also kind of reinvented how our space used to be as our employee workspace, like where our techs work.
was right next to the client workspace, but it wasn't sectioned off in a way that felt super inviting to go and, you know, for a client to ask for maybe an ad on or, you know, help with a bill. So we built this, you know, kind of open floor plan. And then in the very middle of it, we call it the pod. And on one half of it is, you know, traditional offices for marketing or whatever. But the other half of it is our employee workspace. And within that space, we used like storage locker roller doors.
Erica Duffy (10:18.606)
So there is two or three of them that are windows and two of them that are doors and so during the daytime when we're here working all of those are just wide open. So there's the two that are on the side facing the client work area, the prep phase, and then there's one that's facing the front door which is the front desk. But it kind of works where, you know, like if you imagine a car dealership.
and you go up to the service counter like asking for, you know, the muffler or whatever part you need. It's really functioned like that and it's created a much more collaborative space. Everyone has room to do their work, but it isn't so much of this thing where a client has like kind of like peek around the door and be like, hey, I don't mean to bother you. It really, it's opened up and been much more collaborative. And it's, so, you know, it was part of the, you know, design concept.
and being in here for a few months now, we've seen it work so well so far. I'm so, pleased with that.
That's great. And yeah, in terms of like the, the move effort, is that 100 % done? Like all your stuff is like in the space and like, is, how does that like schlepping, imagine a lot of gear.
I'm getting PTSD just thinking about it. No, I'm just kidding. Yeah, I think everything is 100 % moved. We're totally out of the other space. I'm actually, I'll do a quick plug and then I'll go into the answering the question. The other space is available for rent. We're looking for, you know, a production company, someone who maybe wants to shoot in there, plus have offices, maybe a five or six person company that spaces around 4,000 square feet. So the other space is available and it's,
Erica Duffy (11:46.38)
right in the hub of Sydney cities, Sydney space, as parking, you know, there's a lot of, think it's, it's a great space for someone working in the industry. So we are looking for someone at the other space. And when we were moving, I was, there was many a moments where there was something in front of me that I was like, that I wish that's a later problem. And I kept saying, this is the now problem and just deal with it. So, you know, when we have someone interested in the space, it's available.
So it's, yeah, it's completely cleaned out. You know, had repainted, it's all freshened up. Actually, once we cleaned it all up and, you know, painted and did all this stuff, I was like, wow, this baby looks good. This is not space. That's great. Yeah, so it was a lot moving. I think moving next door opposed to down the street was definitely, you know, a blessing for us and made it a little bit easier. But yeah, I mean, our entire business is the premise of it is having stuff. Like we rent things. So it was pretty brutal.
And we'd never moved. We'd been there for 11 years. So just no context of like, just how much there was. And I'm also a Tetris queen and I've learned through the move process of like a room, like our genie room, like it didn't look like that much stuff. And then once we had it like out in a truck and you know, loaded, you know, in a pile and so was perfectly organized in a closet. It was so much, so much more than we even realized we had. So yeah, it was a lot. We did it in.
We basically did it in a week and then had a couple movers come in and help us for like three days as well. But yeah, it was a lot. And all of this, you know, maybe kind of leading into our next topic, I was six months pregnant doing this. So I keep saying it's like the ultimate nesting where most people are like, let's build a cute nursery. And I'm like, let's build a four times larger rental house.
Right? Like we asked, like, how is that sort of energy given like, you know, multiple transitions occurring in your life? How did you at least approach it or, you know, is it still mostly intuitive or, know, what sort of support mechanisms or conversations are you having with your partner or yourself or, you know, whatnot around like all the changes that are circulating?
Erica Duffy (13:54.51)
don't even think it's fully, like think when I go on maternity leave and I'm like sitting at three in the morning with this baby, I'm gonna have some moments of just like total like tears. Just in gratitude and also disbelief of where this year took me. And I do think the, you know, this is my first child and I've wanted, you know, we've talked about this in the past. think a lot of people I've been pretty open in the industry with about my interest in starting a family and
having a career and being able to be a mother, think it's such a privilege to be able to do that. And yeah, I do think she has greatly influenced a lot of these decisions where I, on one side of the coin, feel like this urgency to, you know, build a bigger empire and build a bigger, you know, legacy of, you know, she's, she deserves and already I want to give her the world, you know, it's that feeling that every parent wants and build a better life and
you know, or better, you know, anything. It's just elevation. And then the sense of like, maybe there's like a timeline because my life is about to change. And, you know, in the past I can just, you know, I can have two mostly full-time jobs and I can do it. Like I, that's what I've been doing for a long time. And now I just won't, well, I won't be able to, but I also don't want to. Like it's a new chapter for me. And so I think subconsciously, like these things weren't, you know, like I said, I didn't sit down in January and like map out, like what is.
What are my goals or what am I looking for? What does expansion look like for me or growth look like for me this year? It's all just organically happened. But I think very subconsciously, you know, it has made a major impact on my life and she's not even born yet.
Yeah. Cause also like you've been at it running multiple businesses over these past 10 years. Like how, like to me, I just think the void of like, how do I trust the void? Cause it's like, you're going to be entering a period of like maybe some distance or some leave. like, maybe it's too early to question, but how do you think you're going to deal with that? Like, I'm not working for X number of months, et cetera.
Erica Duffy (15:58.03)
It does scare me to be totally vulnerable and transparent because so much of my identity is attached to the film industry and supporting and being a resource for artists and building resources for artists. That's something I care so, so deeply about. And it is this weird thing where it's a different, and I don't know yet. This is my first, so.
It'll be so interesting to follow up on this question in six months. But there, yeah, there is definitely fear in that, you know, sometimes I'm in a great mood at end of the day, cause you know, I met a new client or I made a recommendation for this, you know, production from out of town for a crew and they booked them and they had, they both loved each other. And like, that's a relationship now that's going out to flourish. And like those things make me feel good. They make me feel like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing on this planet. And
with motherhood, like everybody says, it's going to be a whole nother level of just feeling important and feeling needed and feeling, you know, that you have a whole new responsibility that is hard, but also so rewarding. But I just like, I don't know. I don't think there's anything quite like it based on people who I know who have kids describe it. And there is definitely a nervousness of like identity. And how do I also keep my identity while having a kid? And, know, I think for me,
as I continue to progress and you know, I do want more than one kid even where, you know, how can I continue to be a leader and inspire people? Because that's a lot of what I've done is, you know, being a woman, especially in the rental, specifically rental, but industry at large, doing what I do, there's just not, you know, a lot of women doing it. A lot of minorities doing it. And so always trying to create space and try to be a leader in that space. Yeah, I want to continue to do the same when I have
children of like trying to create ease of potential of the people are like, you know, I want to have a family, but this industry is crazy. How can you work 12 hour days and see your kid? And like, I do think it's possible. I don't know how yet, but I know I'm going to figure it out. And I hope when I do that continues to be part of my story and how I can inspire women and you know, even mothers and fathers, how can you, how can you have a career in this industry and accomplish personal life goals as well?
Mishu Hilmy (18:21.238)
Yeah, I think it's such a interesting thing to inspect, especially around identity, because it seems like you were speaking earlier around like, you really value nurturing and nourishing and serving artists in this capacity through, you know, either EPing or rental, your rental housework. So it's like a similar energy of nourishing and servicing a family, but it's maybe just a new identity to form around it. But yeah, I think it's an, like, I'm just hung up around like.
12 hour, I don't believe in like a 12 hour day, like that's my own maybe personal laziness, but like, yeah, how do you, know, what is enough when you might be leaning toward a very either ambitious approach or an approach around like, value the challenges that come through trying to accomplish things. I love climbing mountains and it's a very fun process. Like, you know, what kind of work do you do around the seasonality of like a year or a life of like, okay, maybe I'm not able to clock, you know.
six, 12 hour days really hustling and grinding. And what does that mean about what's enough to me right now?
Yeah, and I think too, it's like, I mean, I'll echo that. I don't believe in 12 hour days either, you know, that's because people have always done it that way. they, and like 12 on some types of productions is like, that's an easy day, you know, we're looking at some of that union stuff gets crazy, like 16, 20 hour days. And yeah, I don't think that's healthy for anyone involved. that's.
you know, where anytime I've been in a position of decision making, working on a set, trying to change those norms. And yeah, I think it's, yeah, it's definitely one of those things that it can be done. It just has to have a little bit more planning and intention behind it. And I think it's, I think it's going to be the same way with having balance of lifestyle too, where I have been in a period for 10, 11 years of a lot of hustle and a lot of putting those chips in.
Erica Duffy (20:12.594)
and I really am going to try to lean into longer maternity leave. Actually putting up the auto reply, we'll see how it goes because I love my work so much. I feel like I'm going to miss it. But that's what feels good when I'm in it, already putting in the work to then be able to have this season. There's so many inspiring women and men who have kids that are in this industry that I've
you know, they'll talk to Angie Gaffney and Brittany Moore and Michael Monar. Like all these people have kids and they've, you know, they've talked to me about their experience with it. And like, you know, if you don't know them that well, you might not even know they have kids. Like they make it work and they do. They have whole other lives that we don't even as industry kind of colleagues, you don't even realize. And so there are people I think that really are paving the way. And like once I got pregnant or I started talking to people about how I wanted to start a family, people...
And we're really honest and open and transparent about their experiences and the challenges with it. But I think all those challenges are worth it, you know?
Yeah. Like, what's your relationship with patience? I'm curious, because it just seems like lifestyle is like a thing of like, well, this is a lifestyle I've been living and, kind of trying to build or create. Where does the sort of navigating the patience of, yeah, well, if you're going to do this, then things might have to take a little bit longer than your original timeline.
my gosh, I can't even believe you are asking that question because we have like this little like squares pool that is with everyone who works here and like some clients and family members of the betting on the birth date of the baby and it's a $10 buy-in. It's like a whole silly thing. Like let's make labor and delivery more fun. Like someone's winning a pot of money. And we're just, know, like, vending on each other super casual.
Erica Duffy (22:04.888)
But it was funny because Nate Wilk, my lead lens tech, my lead lens optician here at Camera Investor, he was trying to pick the date that he wanted to buy for his square. And he was like, well, you know, knowing Erica Duffy.
I don't think any offspring of hers is going to have patience. So he picked like the earliest due date out of anybody I'd picked because they were like, there's just no way that if she made her and she's been cooking her for nine months, she's going to have any patience. So it's just really funny that you bring that up because you know, it's, it's, it's funny because it's not even something until, and this was literally yesterday. This was like 24 hours ago that this conversation came up and I,
never really had that self-reflection of that I'm not patient. But then once he said that and was like, you know, it was a funny, was a playful like thing. But then once he said that I was like, man, am I not patient? Like I started thinking about it more. And it's funny because I think like my ambition or my feel fast mentality maybe translates to like, I'm not patient with things. But I kind of frame it also like as a superpower. Like I don't feel like it's like a negative thing either.
But yeah, it'll be interesting to see because also I think with things like camera master or a film festival or a movie, you know, you're as the creator, the owner, whatever, you're driving it. So your pace in which you decide what's patients or not is determined by you from everything everyone's told me is. even when I first, you know, got pregnant, I was like, it's like so annoying. I can't control this or, know, I don't know. And my doctor saying to me like,
just get ready because this is only going to get worse. And so once, you know, kids come into the mix and it's a baby or a toddler or whatever age they're at, it's not your control anymore. It's a whole other person that has opinions. And, know, it will be a really, I think, beautiful experience for me to learn from her and hopefully translate some of those things into my other work as well.
Mishu Hilmy (24:05.87)
Yeah, totally. Yeah, think it's like, maybe it's just partly the entrepreneurial spirit or being the type of person's like, I don't like having a boss. like, I think partly it's impatience of any sort of like bureaucratic structure. What's like, wait a minute, why, why do I have to wait for this? Like, I'm just going to do it myself and, you know, take accountability and responsibility for my own failures. But also I think the element of control too, it's like impatience of control. And maybe that just drives certain types of folks like ourselves into like creating their own businesses and doing it their own way. Our own way. it's.
I see like a problem and I'm like, well, I'm gonna fix it. I'm not just gonna accept that that's a problem. Like totally mentality is, well, let's change it. Let's invent something new. Let's get a group of people together to say like, let's do it differently.
Yeah. So it's also like that thing of like, yeah, being in an environment where you're used to a certain degree of control and then creating an environment where it's like, well, this is a kid, this is a baby. And like, yes, you'll, you'll serve, but your sense of maybe control will be very altered for the next, for the rest of your life. So I think it's an exciting, you know, exciting period, exciting challenge, but yeah, it's the lessons to be learned will, you know, be a life's journey, which is exciting.
Yes, exciting, scary, all the entire range of, I think, emotions. I honestly, I think it's going to be, which it's similar in business too, where it really, it's waves and it shifts a lot from day to day. Where some days I feel like a total bad ass at work and I'm not like, I'm really crushing it and I'm, you know, I've got it figured out what people are looking for and what clients need. And then other days, you know, I feel like I'm totally failing and you know.
we're almost not making payroll even after this long. Like it is still like the struggle of making it work. And I think it's going to be such a peril to where as, you know, even in relationships, know, personal relationships, not even just relationships with like your kids, but it's like some days you feel like you're totally crushing it and you had great communication and you know, you're in the same sink and it's going to be the same way in relation with kids too. And yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
Mishu Hilmy (26:11.158)
Yeah, I think there's like just maybe a missing out on just a certain forgiveness and self-forgiveness. Like the beauty, the beautiful thing about being around kids is to see sort of how emotionally mercurial they are and how the environment really impacts how they feel. So it's like giving oneself that kind of grace, like to just reflect like, yeah, every day can't be like a 99 or a hundred percent day. And I think that hopefully it helps reinforce that spirit of like forgiving oneself, like, yeah.
I wasn't able to crush it at work. was kind of a little bit rude today. Whoops. I'll try better this hour or tomorrow.
Yeah, that's really beautiful. I love just thinking about that and leaning into that.
How over these past 10 years have you developed your own sense of trust when it comes to delegating and then given a leaf coming up, what's the scary things for you about crossing that threshold? Because I imagine you're going to be in a situation where you're like, I don't think I've ever delegated this task before. Now I'm just kind of doing it. So what's been your relationship to cultivating trust within yourself to delegate?
I feel really, really good about the next six months of my life. And I think there's multiple factors that have gone into it in relation to the question of delegation and trust, because I won't be managing stuff in exactly the same way. That is one thing that maybe I have planned better or maybe planned with more intention is where it's been such a long time coming. I've wanted to start a family for such a long time now.
Erica Duffy (27:35.406)
where this was kind of always in the back of my head. And I also give a lot of credit to the opportunity that I had with Midwest Film Festival, where for five years, and I remember taking that role and there was like a standing team meeting and everyone who was working at camera the rest of the time sat in on this. And I explained like, this is a big responsibility that I'm taking on. Like I will not be able to be here in the same capacity. And I was asking them almost like permission of like, do you have my back in this? Like if I'm not,
available all the time. Are you guys ready to step up and you know really play integral parts of me being able to take this opportunity? Everyone was all in and you know a lot of the people that were there then are still here now. We have some new people as well but there's two people that are in our management circle, our leadership circle that have been here since then. And so it was kind of like for five years Midwest Film Festival was the pseudo baby.
forced me to actually let go of control with camera ambassador in certain elements because I just couldn't. I had commitments that I'd made there. I had commitments to filmmakers. I had commitments to the board. And I really wanted to pour my heart and soul into it so it would succeed. It wasn't just like a side little thing that I thought about once in a while. So that really, I think, set the
trajectory towards camera ambassador moving in a way that it can function at least day to day, you know, when the phone rings or you send an email or you come in for a prep, all of that stuff is handled by other people already. And really it's, you know, coming back into it this year and only having mainly this besides the projects I'm producing as my main focus. It showed me how much like as the business owner or the entrepreneur in this space is like I can do growth. And that's really what's like.
my main focus. You know, lot of my day to day is, you know, I do our bookkeeping, which I'm to do that at home still. I'm still going to be on top of that stuff. But like a lot of the stuff that I really do as my job here is, you know, meeting with clients, grabbing lunches with people, talking about those larger orders. I do most of our feature films. So it's like working with the producers on like, you know, they've got a project in six or 12 months instead of, know, our, team is here doing, Hey, I've got a project next week.
Erica Duffy (29:51.354)
And so we already have that kind of built in and just, yeah, my team is so incredible. like I can't even, like words can't fully articulate how much of a place of gratitude and privilege I feel for the people that are surrounding me here. I do completely blindly trust them. If they say it, that's what happened. If they need it, I'm there for them. And we just have this like really
wonderful, you know, over the last five years, because I had a partner before that I bought out six years ago now. And at that time, I really sat down and said, like, what do I want this company culture to look like with me as the only person at the main decision making? This is 100 % my business now. What are the things that are important to me? And I learned a lot from my first five years of what I didn't want to do and what I didn't appreciate and what unknowingly my leadership was building within culture.
And I've made major shifts in that. Yeah, so six years of, you know, it doesn't happen overnight. It is a long, gradual build of trust and vulnerability and realness with each other from employee-employer relationships. yeah, it's, you know, right now sitting in this position, I feel like that hard work and that intention behind that is totally setting me up to be like, I love you guys. I can't wait to see you, but.
you know, I'm going to be focusing on something else for little while. And they got it. Like a hundred percent they got it. Like all of our clients and customers are in equally as good care.
Yeah, that's great. Cause I think also like coming into your own in terms of like what you want your culture to be does take, you know, not only intention, but that practice. like, how did you step away from maybe the default of like, well, this is what rentals, know, rental studios or rental houses are like, and this is what the sort of the patriarchy of a masculine industry is, you know, how to approach it or whatnot. Like how did you move from maybe the default way things were to creating intention and like actually acting on it to make, you know, and build teams that are,
Mishu Hilmy (31:51.776)
more aligned with your values.
It's a long, slow process, I would say, where, and it's very delicate too, because when you think about client relationships, whether you're a freelancer or you're working for a company, servicing clients, whatever it is, there is a level of arm's length, because the max length of a project might be, I don't know, like a long project might be a month or two, but really you don't see each other every day. You don't know that person's ups and downs of nuance of their personality potentially.
their struggles, what they're going through. You might know some of it, but it's very different where the relationship within coworkers, employee, employer, people that are seeing each other every single day and whatever the hierarchy of who their relationship is. And I think even more delicately so as the employer to the employee is it's so delicate. What I think I've learned and what has really made the biggest difference is creating a space in which like truly like love.
and the acceptance of wherever that person is, whatever they need, they have permission to be themselves in that or ask for what they need. Even if it's not, you know, in the company policy or, you know, and it was really cool too. actually like can think back on like some moments this year. Like I remember the morning of our launch event at film scape that Saturday morning, we have a little like text thread that's everyone who works here. And like I
said verbatim, like, love you guys. Like, there's not a lot of employers who say I love you. And like, that's a careful thing. Like, you can't just throw that out there. That could be, you know, considered like inappropriate in the workplace. so it's creating a space in which that is known how that is communicated and what's meant behind that. And you can say that with true admiration of the people that work so hard to make it what it is.
Erica Duffy (33:43.884)
And then I think it's like, once you start having, you know, cause it's, think one of those things where, you know, a couple of my employees who have been here for a really long time since I did the buyout, they, they now carry that on. until a new comes in, it's not just me trying to extend this place of where people feel like they belong and they accept, but it's now like, it's other people get it too, and they feel it too, and they can extend that. And it's so much easier.
once the ball's rolling with that type of culture being built that extends and then it's like one more layer is done like, okay, if the core team all is aligned in that and all functioning as a unit in those types of values, you can extend that to the clients. And it's not even always a thing that you can like write down a list. Like it's not like, okay, camera investors, company culture is, know, authenticity and you know, belonging and whatever. It's an energy in which people.
truly just feel like they're taken care of and they can be themselves.
Right. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I talked to my partner a lot about it and I'm like, love is action. Right. So it's like, it's not, it's not a vision statement or like a value statement. It's like, it's through action and like, yeah, it takes a certain degree of self-awareness at the employer level to go, you know, we need to understand the boundaries of the relationship and at the same time, how do we create a culture that allows for that? think Gary Boehner-Chuck refers to as kind candor, know, candor with kindness. it's like we.
We can see each other's human needs and maybe sometimes they're not aligned with the business needs at the moment. And to go, well, how can I serve my colleague where they might not be the best fit for this role long-term, but I see them as a person and be of service with them as a person rather than just kind of like, well, you need to provide maximal value because you are my, you are my employee. So it's like such an impressive fee. And that's, think the beauty of maybe owning or running your own business is you can create that culture through your action.
Mishu Hilmy (35:33.364)
navigate that and then create sort of advocates of it through all the sort of senior members of the team. And then it just like builds upon itself through action rather than just like, I don't know, that's, that's something that's written on the wall that we're supposed to do authenticity. it's doesn't matter if like people at the leadership levels aren't, you know, emulating it or modeling it through action.
Yeah, totally. And I kind of think about it in the same way too, like film sets. I would say kind of prefacing also this topic in general is I think the bigger the company is, the harder it gets to do. There is some big companies that are doing a great job at it, but I do feel very lucky. Like we're a small and mighty tight team where, you know, it's been easier to do because
of the dynamic of the size of the team. But, you know, when you think about starting to scale that or in relation to like a film set, one of the things here that has become really important part of the culture and like caring for each other in this space is, you know, we don't always all have the capacity to do everything that needs to get done. And what has started to happen is when one person needs, you know, someone else or multiple someone else's to step in and help with whatever that's.
things going on, maybe they're just having an off day or maybe something just happened in their family or, you know, whatever. We all step up and do that for each other. So then when you're the person that needs to be vulnerable and needs to say, I need help or I'm struggling, you feel that level of trust because you already extended that to them. And I think the same thing can happen. And I've seen it on some really incredible film sets here in Chicago, where it's like, that is so prevalent. Like we're not all perfect every second of the day.
and creating that space in which you want to be there for someone else because they were there for you is just such a beautiful thing.
Mishu Hilmy (37:13.902)
Yeah, mean, like love is action, trust is action. So it's like to make that important because I think that's partly why, you know, I enjoy at least some elements of the creative industries because you're around sort of passionate, ambitious, curious people and maybe communication is something that's just generally valued versus I think most corporate environments are like fear driven and distrust driven where it's like, oh, I can't tell this to Erica because if they see it.
where I'm at today, they'll be like, wow, they're not meeting those expectations. And maybe I'll get them on the pipeline to get fired versus like, how do we just have candor with each other and be open and honest and go, and same with the sets, right? Like to build that trust so injuries don't happen. exactly.
Yeah, just to be human. Yeah, that environment is just so icky to me. it's like a very continual present part of every space that I'm a part of, whether it's, know, Camera Investor is the owner, and I was part of a film festival serving on a board. Like, I am constantly aware of that really toxic type of energy that is so prevalent in our industry, but so many industries. And how can we start small and
each kind of do our part in whatever spaces we're going into to try to really fight against this. Because it's just so, so exhausting. Totally. No one should have to go through that every day.
Right. Yeah. And like, so like Cuda sort of kind of building an organization that is mindful and aware of it versus like, all right, we just, we're just in it for, in it for the money. Like I think, you know, making, you know, earning a living is important. So like in terms of like the, the money part or the vision part, like what's your relationship with enoughness or growth like around what is capable of your business? I mean, you don't have talk about it. It's more like too dreamy. So like, how do you, how do you relate with hyper growth versus, you know,
Mishu Hilmy (39:03.246)
3 to 5 % or 3 to 20 % profit year over year, it's good enough. What's your sort of strategic vision on where you want to see camera ambassador, other endeavors you're sort of building and taking.
Yeah, I think, you know, we've always grown at the pace in which we could afford to, which is something that's a little bit different than maybe some other rental houses where, they go out and get these big loans or, know, the demand is there, so they do it. And then there's a season of a strike and then they're in trouble. And we've never done that. And I'm very appreciative of this approach. But when I think about really the real benefit of it is when you grow at the
pace in which you can afford to grow, you make mistakes at the same pace in which you are growing. And so, you're not making a million dollar mistake, you're making a hundred thousand dollar mistake or whatever that example is.
Yeah, I think it's, you know, it's going to continue with the move into this space. did do a huge, I mean, a major, major expansion of gear. We really wanted to take this opportunity of a new space where maybe people, you know, maybe they know we exist, but they haven't worked with us in a long time. And, maybe they worked with us because, you know, a producer, you know, had the relationship with us and they were like bummed out because they had an older model. And we really wanted to say with this, you know, investment into a space.
is also an investment when you leave our space, what is your experience going to be with our equipment on set? We also built out a lens projection room and Nate Wilkis, mentioned before, lens optician, he is very, very experienced in doing lens calibration repairs. So there's like, you know, it's kind of like a three part thing where it's the space and the vibes and the energy that we've really wanted to continue to expand on. It's the service side of things where
Erica Duffy (40:53.198)
when something's down or something goes on set, you have an elevated experience because of our text experience and then also the quality of the gear. you know, buying like the new stuff, like every day there were shipments coming in. felt like it was Christmas. was, I was like, no one opened that. Like I want to open it. Cause I was so excited about things. it's like all the toys, like the nerdy side of me just was so excited to get a lot of this stuff and just really proud to, you know, when someone asks for a quote.
Or when they come in from the prep, they're like, oh yeah, I saw it was that model, but that's the brand new Flanders model that no one has. I wasn't sure it was really gonna be that. And so that's a really satisfying thing to be able to, Chicago, our community here, they deserve it. The graders here deserve this level of support and quality and the new toys. And so that part of it's been really fun. And I think,
This was kind of the biggest expansion of gear that we've done at one time, which is an interesting time because I think a lot of people in the industry right now, rental specifically, but also injury history at large are kind of taking a pause because everyone's really scared. What's going to happen with AI hasn't fully recovered. Hollywood's burning. Like there's all this fear with it. And I really just felt like, you know, it was like this intuition thing, like this saying that you talked about earlier where it was like, now like now's the time to lean in. so far, you know,
It's been really rewarding, the response from the community has just, it's already come back tenfold.
Totally. Next, I imagine rental houses are pretty capital intensive endeavors where you're buying these high tech pieces of inventory and equipment and then you're hoping to recoup over the rental periods over X number of years. So it seems like the risk reward calculation this time around was pretty intuitive.
Erica Duffy (42:39.692)
Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And it's already, you know, there's been a couple of projects that, you know, there's no way to have a crystal ball and look back and say, but I do feel very strongly, you know, we just wouldn't have got the bid. Like we hadn't been doing all the things that we were doing in conjunction with this expansion and growth. You know, it just would have gone somewhere else. would have gone, you know, it could have even gone to a house from out of town and they ship gear in. And so, you know, some of the stuff we bought is like stuff like a lens set that no one else in town has. Like there was just not access to it here.
So that's been really cool too, just to kind of see that like the vision was there. And then when you can see the vision coming to life and actually working, it's like affirmation of like, okay, you're going in the right direction.
Right. And is that something consciously you like research into, you know, whether the local sort of rental scene or like what different houses might be lacking and go, you know, if we're stocking up on some inventory, maybe look into something that's clearly not there. Is that like a, an approach, an arbitrage approach that you typically do as well?
Yeah, for sure. Like I do all of our buying, it's not with a, you know, a narrow lens because I, know, a lot of rental houses are owned or run or buying at rental houses is done by people who are maybe DPs or historically were DP or an operator. And so there's like a vested interest in like, they're interested in that tool. Like they think that lens that's the coolest one. And for me, you know, I'm on the other side of things. I'm more on the producer background where, you know, I don't,
Not to say don't care, but like, I get what my clients want. know, Matt and Nate, Matt's our operations and marketing director here. They, you know, are very, very influential. Every single piece of gear, there's a conversation with them. They're the first line. And then, you know, we reach out to people. And that was a lot of the stuff that we bought in this big expansion was reaching out to local ACs. And I think it's also there's a lot of value. And when you ask a local AC DP operator,
Erica Duffy (44:36.792)
whatever there is gaffer, what gear that they're missing that isn't an easily accessible, affordable arsenal locally. And then they tell you what it is and then you go buy that. Like that's awesome. Like it's a really cool thing to be able to do that with somebody. And yeah, definitely, you know, I don't want to oversaturate the market here. Like our rental market here is so special. All of the rental houses are like, we're
truly friends. Like we have each other's cells. Like when, you know, when something goes wrong, we all get on a call together and like, that's not how other markets here. I'm super, super protective of that as well. So yeah, it's kind of looking at like, if another rental house has six of that body or, you know, that camera body, you know, like we probably don't need two more in Chicago. Like let's get something else that they don't have. So when they get a request for it, they can get it from me and fulfill the rest of the job with their equipment and maybe just the one set for me.
Right. I think we might've talked about this a year ago or so, like the sort of the challenge of the size of the community, the relationships within the community, the leads you sort of generate and the clients and the relationships. how do you still, you know, stay connected when you might be putting out bids for opportunities that are exciting, but then a different rental house just gets it because they have, you know, either the different gear just can go a little bit lower on price wise. how do you navigate maybe the relationships you have with, you know, crews or producers?
I mean, it's again a delicate relationship because of course, especially when it's someone that I feel is loyal, I really am a person that values loyalty in all my relationships. And so, know, like kind of staying defined like, man, they're not just a client, they're a friend. And maybe I didn't even get the chance to bid at like, it's, not gonna lie. I'm not gonna sit here and say like, that doesn't like sometimes like literally hurt my heart. But at the end of the day, what's
I think is important and what I really try to lean into is that this is a larger industry thing. So if, you know, another rental house wins a bid, it's like the, what's that saying? Rising tides raise all ships or whatever it is where it's like, it's not really necessarily about that one project. It's about.
Erica Duffy (46:39.714)
are there new projects shooting here? Is Chicago a sustainable, is Illinois a sustainable film economy? And that's where I think my work is a little bit more diversified. I'm not just a rental house owner and I'm just trying to make money off of gear. Like I'm trying to build an industry here and this has been a huge part of my career here is where people can have a career here. You don't have to go to New York or LA or Atlanta to have a career. So for me, it's like when there's a project that we end up not getting that bid.
And there's other things, like sometimes what happens is, it's a passion project pro bono and someone, we bid it and we gave a huge 75 % discount or whatever and then they call me and I always appreciate the communication. Like, just call me, like, let's just be real. Like, don't, I don't wanna hear about them through the grapevine or I don't wanna like, I don't wanna feel like I'm being like, there's a facade of what's really going on. Just be honest with me and that's what I most appreciate. But I have friends call me be like,
Well, so-and-so, whether it's an owner op or another rental house, they said they'd do it for free. And I'm like, quick, lock that in. I want them to win. And whatever they can do to make their project the best it can be, that's what they got to do. And that's what I want them to do as well. So it's kind of putting like this ego or this like starvation kind of mentality first and saying like, what's best for the project. And if that's not working with us on this one.
I hope we get a chance to do it on the next one.
Yeah. I mean, I think that's the only sort of, in my opinion, long-term relationship mindset around power negotiations too. Just like, it's your job to just want what's best for whoever you're working with, client, teammate, employees or whatever. So it's like, if you're acting against that, it's like kind of deceptive relationship rather like, yeah, you got it for free or a better rate.
Mishu Hilmy (48:30.006)
Maybe next time, but it's more important that you're taking care of your needs versus us trying to guilt trip you into like, no, no, but this package, look what we'll do.
Yeah, Yep, thousand percent.
And then you've also been on the other side, it's sort of the producing side and executive producing. know Camera Ambassadors has also been sort of like a production slate for different things, but as a predominantly been through Camera Ambassador, RIV also produced sort of outside of, you know, Camera Ambassador as well.
It's been a little bit mixed. know, Camera Ambassador definitely comes on as a producer, an executive producer on a lot of stuff, just by default of like how to get your project done. And you know, there's other value that sometimes you can barter, know, kind of example that's not just monetary. So there's a lot of projects and then, you know, I think it was 2017.
I wanted to get more into producing. I had only, you know, been on the rental side of the industry. And one, I think there's a lot of value in any, anyone who works at a rental house, whatever role you're in, to also have that experience. when the client leaves our doors, what they go out to is like the wild west and like what people accomplish in the time that they pick up and return. I'm like, you're superheroes.
Erica Duffy (49:47.336)
And I would never have that context unless you like put yourself in someone else's shoes. And so even like the techs that work here, like, you know, they're all also, you know, people that have worked on set or their ACs. And so in 2017, I made a pact that year that I was going to say yes to any opportunity of working on set, producing, PA-ing, whatever it was that I could. Even stuff that I didn't think maybe was like aligned with what I would do or wasn't enough money or whatever the reasons you tell yourself as a creative. And it was like,
one of the most transformative years I did so many awesome, cool, weird things. And since then, you know, after that year, I've really been able to then take projects on that either are a bucket list script or a bucket list team and individually also go on and produce that. Over the last couple of years, I predominantly have worked with a group of people producing children's TV content and virtual production. And it's been so fun because I'm learning.
a new avenue of our industry, virtual production. I've also found that I absolutely love making kids content. It's so fun and forgiving. The songs that are in the show, I know them all. It's about being a good person. It's just an uplifting opportunity to be able to be in. That's really what I've mostly done the last couple of years. It's definitely a place of privilege to be able to be selective on what projects I'm taking on.
And it also is something I have to be careful with too, because I do have these other things and especially the years that I was at Midwest Film Festival too. You know, I remember the first TV pilot that I did that was during the festival. And when I was at Cameron restaurant, I was like, I can do two, I can't do three, like full time jobs. And I learned how to balance it a little bit better after the first one and kind of.
set different and better expectations about what I could actually do or, you know, maybe needing a production coordinator in addition to a line producer if I was coming on in that capacity. So yeah, I do produce on my own as well. And I really enjoy it. It's something that I feel really, really lucky to be able to do, you know, couple of projects a year and a half.
Mishu Hilmy (51:51.47)
Absolutely. then like, you find, cause it's like, know, producing is very, very challenging and also, you know, the rental industry, I also mentioned is very, very difficult too. So like, it's in the industry, but it can be seen as maybe not necessarily as a directly creative as say, you know, you know, being on set or being in an editing base. So like, how would you sort of speak to like the creativity of, you know, serving a story through the rental house capacity and serving a story through the sort of producing capacity?
Yeah, I I always kind of say like my art form is, and you used this word earlier, like nurturing people, nurturing relationships and that, because I think everyone thinks like of art or art forms or creatives and like these very traditional mediums, like I'm a painter or I'm a gaffer or I'm this and like art is.
what you decided is. Like that's what's the coolest thing about it. So yeah, I always look at like creating space or creating vibe or creating relationship or creating communication in a way of like that is my art form and I truly look at it that way. So I think it translates exactly the same in the rental house space too where you know the colors and you we have we also have like hue lights and like that's like I always do like these little color patterns of like whatever my mood is.
You know, it's like, I can't say I'm like a light designer, because I'm not, I'm just expressing myself through my way of expressing art in little ways that show up, you know, whether it's on set or, you know, at the rental shop.
I think I relate to that a lot in like the practice of becoming medium agnostic, where it's like, think for a long period of time, so I can only get my creative jollies through theater making or performing or filmmaking. And then to move away from that fixation of like, needs to be tied to a specific medium versus like, it's the meaning I make out of what I do. So like the fact that you're present and in a process of like today I'm going to play with some fun hue lights and then nurture this, you know, young, a talented.
Mishu Hilmy (53:49.56)
group that's trying to make a music video on cheap. Like that's a certain degree of meaning making that can sort of extract yourself from the identity of artists and more of like the identity of like, no, I am nurturing, you know, how I connected my community and people and make meaning through that.
That is so well said.
thank you, thank you.
It's like you put how I feel to words. So thank you.
Oh, happy to hear. Given like how sort of uncertain the industry is. I know we talked about AI briefly and, you know, making some capital moves by making some purchases. Like how, how are you staying motivated in A, a very uncertain industry and B, a very uncertain world? Like how do you take care of motivation?
Erica Duffy (54:30.072)
Yeah, my personality type is definitely I try not to put energy, whether it's thought or physical energy into things that I can't control or make change to or like actually do something about. And, you know, it is, I would definitely preface this and say like that as a privileged position to be in as an artist, creative, human entrepreneur, anything, but it's where I am right now. And for me, you know, I can kind of get caught up in.
the uncertainty of AI, like, literally rental houses not gonna exist in 10 years is what I love and do every day, literally gonna be obsolete. And I'm sure a bunch of creatives can go down that very, very dark rabbit hole right now. And then you kind of zoom out and it's like, it's even more grim where we're at as a culture and a society and a nation right now, or as a globe. And it's very, I think, easy to get caught up in a negative.
headspace in which you feel like there's nothing you can do.
Cause there in some ways, like there is like this on a grand scale. It's, it's a lot of it's out of our control. Right. Cause they're really out of their things are unprecedented right now. It's like scary to say, but it seems like it's actually getting worse instead of getting better. And so I try to, you know, I give myself permission and space to say, okay, I'm going to feel those feelings or I'm going to, you know, look at, you know, the internet for this amount of time. And I try to put these containers on it.
And then I try to leave those containers and say that exists, that all is hard and it's breaking my heart and I feel confused and scared. But like, what can I wake up tomorrow and do to make my world and everything that's touching my world a better place to be in, in a more enjoyable place where people feel inspired and people want to treat each other well. And so yeah, just kind of trying to focus on what we can control and what we can do to make impact and even the tiny little things like.
Erica Duffy (56:30.722)
You know, you're driving in Chicago, like Chicago drivers totally drive me nuts because they never stop for people in crosswalks. And it's like this little like thing that like bothers me. So like I try to like look out for crosswalks more to like just stop for someone. You know, it's like a stupid dumb thing. But like that does help me stay grounded. like we're we're still rooted in humanity and treating people with kindness.
Right. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it makes sense. Like you can sort of, I think there's an odd kind of narcissism to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders as if you are the one person who can solve it all versus you are the one person who can do the best thing you can today to your community and those around you. And I think it's like, it's easy to feel overwhelmed, scrolling and just like, all right, I'm just going to rot in my chair rather than, okay, this exists. And at the same time I also exist and I'm going to do the little thing is that I can become more present and aware.
especially if I'm driving, all right, if I don't like doing this as a walker, then when I'm driving, I better emulate and model the behavior I want to see in the world, know, little simple things like that.
Yeah, and like when someone stops for me to crosswalk like you better see my big ways like I'm gonna build a I'm like, thank you. I get so worth it. It's like a silly thing about
Well, Erica, thank you so much for chatting and sharing. This has been just lots of fun.
Erica Duffy (57:46.496)
Yeah, thank you so much for this opportunity. This is honestly one of the best conversations I've had recorded or not recorded in a long time. Wonderful. I just thank you for having me on here and just being able to share a little snippet of where I'm at in life right now. I hope it inspires someone. We can continue just building this wonderful, creative community that we have here. We're so blessed. We're so lucky, just even relationships like you and I have had over the years. Yeah, thank you.
Mishu Hilmy (58:18.67)
Before sending you off with a little creative prompt, I just wanted to say thank you for listening to Mischief and Mastery. If you enjoyed the show, please rate it and leave a review on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your support does mean a lot. Until next time, keep taking care of yourself, your lightness, curiosity, and sense of play. And now for a little mischief motivation. Okie dokie, let's do a prompt. Foul fast list. This is a list on how you can foul fast.
I know take a couple minutes, five minutes to write down three small risks you could try this week, whether it's an art, work or life, and circle one of them and commit to testing it within the next 48 hours. The goal is not success. Just to get information. I think there's this idea of reframing failure as just a feedback means a way to get some feedback and input. So hopefully it lowers avoidance and builds some resilience. So there it is. Take five minutes to write down three little risks you can take.
You can try and hopefully fail it and then see what you learn from it. There you go. It's not failure, it's feedback. All failure is success if you learn how to grow from it, et cetera. All right, that's enough from me. I'll see you at the next one. Bye.