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