December 2, 2020 • 11 mins
It's me, Stephanie, your host of First Coat! This week I'm sharing my Gift Guide based on my experience as an artist, podcast creator, and creative business owner. I link to everything I I share in the show notes. Let me know what you're gifting this year -- email me at Stephanie(at)distillcreative.com.
Show Notes: https://distillcreative.com/blog/2020/11/28/gift-guide-for-artists-and-podcasters
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Stephanie Eche (00:02):
Welcome to First Coat. Where we explore public
realm art, how it's made and whyit matters. I'm your host
Stephanie Eche, an artist andentrepreneur based in Brooklyn,
New York. I run DistillCreative, where I curate and
produce site-specific artprojects for real estate
developers. I focus on creatingmore equitable and inclusive
projects, and I want to get moreexposure for the artists and
(00:23):
developers doing this work. Thisweek on First Coat, I thought
I'd do something a little bitdifferent. Instead of an
interview, I'm going to share agift guide for artists and
podcasters. If you've beenlistening to this podcast, then
you know that I've been doingeverything myself from prepping
interviews, recording, editing,and promoting. My gift guide is
based on the items that I'vefound helpful to making a
podcast and includes things thatare on my own wish list. I link
(00:44):
to all the items in the shownotes and I also have a video
version on my YouTube channel.
Just search for Distill Creativeon YouTube. Okay, ready for my
gift guide for artists andpodcasters? Here are my top
picks for the artist in yourlife. Number one, a sketchbook.
This is a pretty obvious thing,but not all sketchbooks are the
same. If you know that theartist in your life uses both
dry and wet media, by which Imean pencil, charcoal, markers,
(01:04):
ink, watercolor, even acrylic,then I suggest the Stillman &
Birn Multi Media Sketchbook. Youcan also get the Canson
multimedia sketchbook which is alittle bit cheaper. Both of
these will be great because theycan use them with both wet and
dry media and they can also usethem if they like to collage or
scrapbook. I also suggest awatercolor pan set. I have the
(01:25):
Windsor & Newton watercolor panset on my wish list this year.
It's a bit expensive, theydefinitely have smaller, cheaper
versions but this is my upgradepick. If you know someone has
been doing watercolor but maybeisn't using the highest quality
of paints, you can give them theWindsor & Newton watercolor pan
set. Even though we're not doinga lot of travel this year, you
might want to give someone asmaller sketchbook that they can
(01:45):
take on the go. I like to have afield artist sketchbook that's
five inches by five inches orsix by six in my bag or purse
all the time so I can always doa quick sketch on the go. It's
also great for wet and drymedia. So if you know that
someone likes to watercolor onthe go, you can give them this
little mini sketchbook and theycan take it everywhere they go.
Number two, micron pens. I usemicrons all the time and even if
(02:07):
someone has micron pens, theyprobably would really like
having more because you runthrough them pretty quickly if
you use them a lot and they'rejust a really useful thing to
have in different widths. Numberthree, a paint making set from
Kremer pigments. Kremer pigmentshas really awesome workshops
that teach you how to make yourown paints. These are not going
on right now in person,obviously, but they do have
(02:27):
paint sets that you can purchaseand gift. There's an oil making
paint set and a watercolormaking paint set and both of
these are on my wish list. Ithink it would be super fun for
any artist to get this set andmake their own paints. Number
four, an artisan made rug byPorfirio Gutirrez y Familia. I
studied with the Gutirrezfamily in Oaxaca a few years
ago, and it was one of the mostamazing experiences of my life.
(02:50):
My husband and I bought one oftheir rugs for our living room
and it's a really beautiful andmeaningful addition to our home.
I think any artist would reallyappreciate a handmade, naturally
dyed, artisan made rug. Thetapestries are a work of art in
and of themselves. And they canalso be hung on the wall as a
wall hanging. Number five, thebook Organizing for Creative
People by Sheila Chandra. I havethis book and it's been really
(03:13):
guiding me in how to organize mylife, especially with having
multiple things going on whetherthat's a creative project or a
business project and I highlysuggest it for anyone who is an
artist or running a creativebusiness. Number six, a
Skillshare subscription.
Whenever I have a creative blockor I just need a little boost of
inspiration, I go to Skillshareand browse the classes. They
(03:36):
have everything from newpainting techniques to marketing
classes, and even though I mightnot finish the class, it always
really helps inspire me. So, ifyou know someone is either
looking to learn a new skill orjust is an artist, they probably
would really appreciate asubscription to Skillshare.
Number seven and this is asplurge item, an iPad Mini,
(03:56):
Apple Pencil, and Procreate. Iuse this every day, I always
have it in my purse and theprocreate app is really great
for any artist who wants to dodigital, really anything.
Definitely an awesome digitaltool that makes a lot of things
easier, especially when you'redoing mock ups. I love my Apple
iPad Mini. Number eight, asubscription to an art magazine.
I know it's pretty popular togift people books, and that's
(04:20):
great. I love getting books, butgifting someone a subscription
to a magazine will give theminspiration multiple times a
year and it's less of acommitment. When I get a
magazine, I can just browse it,reference it later, I don't feel
stressed out that it's a bookthat I need to read. So I
suggest a subscription to an artmagazine. I really like the
Brooklyn Rail, I'd also suggestCreate! Magazine and Flow.
(04:41):
Number nine, a mask withoriginal artwork or that is
handmade. I have a whole roundup of masks by independent
designers and or with originalartwork, like one by myself, on
my blog at Distill Creative, soI'll link to it in the comments
and you can check them out.
Those are my picks for theartist in your life. Now for my
top picks for the podcaster inyour life. These are great gifts
for anyone who has a podcast,who has been talking about
(05:04):
starting a podcast or who isjust starting out making a
podcast. Number one, a workshop.
So I have a few workshop pickson my list. One of them is
Heartcast media course onpodcasting. And then the other
two are BRICs, Intro toAudition and Intro to Premiere
Pro. I took all of theseclasses, they're all great and
(05:25):
they all helped me withdifferent aspects of making a
podcast. The Heartcast Mediacourse on podcasting really
helped with knowing what to setup before I even recorded my
podcast. The BRIC audition classreally helped me with knowing
how to record audio and editaudio. And the Premiere Pro
class by BRIC really helped mewith video editing. It taught me
everything I needed to knowabout video editing, and it was
(05:47):
really fun to do with otherpeople online. Number two, this
is a free thing. Buzzsprout hasa really great guide to
podcasting and they also have apodcast about how to make a
podcast. You could print out theguide and gift it as a little
handmade package and it's agreat free gift and can give the
podcaster in your life someextra tips and inspiration to
get their podcast started.
Number three, a microphone. So,I have both the Blue Yeti and
(06:11):
the Audio-Technica ATR 2100,which is this right here. It's
what I'm using to record today.
I keep the Blue Yeti in mystudio where I do my podcast
recording and then, actually, Iused the Blue Yeti in my kitchen
when I was recording my podcast,so it worked pretty well and
(06:31):
then I use the Audio-Technica athome as a backup. I forget what
number I'm on. Number five, aZoom H5 portable recorder. This
is not Zoom, the online videoconferencing app, this is a
device, a audio recorder andit's really great because it's
pretty small. As you can see Ihave really small hands, and it
(06:52):
is handheld, and you can take itanywhere. The one I got from B&H
came in this nifty little caseand it's great for someone who
wants to record on the go. Alsosomeone who just wants to kind
of up their recording gear,especially if they want it to be
more portable. Number six, aexternal solid state drive. I
(07:13):
got this one, it's a Samsung,the Samsung T7 Touch Portable
SSD. It's super portable, it canhold a ton of stuff, I put all
my video and audio recordings onit and then I also back
everything up on Dropbox and Ihave a second SSD, the same one
that I use as a backup for mycomputer. Number seven, Brooklyn
Botany Brown Sugar Scrub. I havebeen in the market for a sugar
(07:35):
scrub. I think a sugar scrub isa nice gift for anyone who is
working really hard on a projectand might need some
encouragement to relax. Also onmy list is a Handmade Habitat
candle. Gifting a candle,especially by an independent
maker is a great gift. Anythingyou can gift the podcaster in
your life, or the artist orcreative business owner in your
life that gives them a littlebit of an excuse to just chill
(07:58):
out and relax is a great gift.
Number eight, a MacBook Pro. So,this is another splurge item for
a podcaster in your life orreally for an artist or anyone
doing creative work. I have beena Mac person for a while, so I
am definitely biased, but beingable to seamlessly have your
photos sync up and just do audioand visual projects on your
(08:22):
computer without it crashing isreally really awesome. I linked
to the refurbished Mac store,which has refurbished Macs, and
with the new Mac that just cameout, you might be able to get a
really great 2020 MacBook Profor not as expensive as when
those first came out. I use myMacBook Pro every day and it is
super portable, super fast andit allows me to do all the
(08:46):
creative work I do. Number nine,a subscription to Adobe Creative
Cloud. So if you want to givesomeone an ongoing gift who's
working on a podcast or anycreative project, Adobe Creative
Cloud is awesome. It's what Iuse to do all of my creative
work and artwork. I use AdobeIllustrator, Adobe Audition,
Adobe Premiere Pro, Lightroomfor photo management, Photoshop
(09:09):
and InDesign. I use a lot ofAdobe products. Gifting someone
Adobe Creative Cloud is anongoing expense but it's also a
really sweet way to kind ofsponsor their creative work and
tell them that you want them tokeep doing the work they're
doing and you don't want them tolack the best software to do
their creative projects. Andnumber 10, a gift certificate to
B&H. B&H has everything thatanyone doing audio or visual
(09:35):
projects would need. It's whereI got all my microphones, my
camera that I'm using right now,which is the Fuji xT 200. A gift
card to B&H is awesome. Itallows the podcaster in your
life to get whatever they needto work on their podcast, and
it's a great item that you cangive them even digitally or if
you're far away, you can justemail them the gift certificate
(09:58):
or print it out and write them areally sweet card. I know I
would love a B&H giftcertificate because there's
always some new equipment thatI'm looking to purchase and it's
just a nice surprise. I hope youliked my gift guide for artists
and podcasters. If you havesomething else that you would
add or if you want to sharesomething that's on your wish
list, please email me, Stephanieat Distill Creative. Let me know
(10:19):
what you're gifting the artistor podcaster in your life, I am
really curious to know, maybe Ican add it in on my list. Also,
I have a whole Pinterest boardof all of my picks. So if you
want to see it on Pinterest orrepin anything for yourself, you
can check that out. I'll be backnext week with another interview
with a mural artist for the nextepisode of First Coat. Don't
(10:39):
forget to subscribe to the FirstCoat podcast wherever you listen
to podcasts and to our YouTubechannel on Distill Creative.
Thanks for listening to thisepisode of First Coat. If you
liked this podcast, please leavea review. Make sure to subscribe
to the First Coat podcastwherever you listen to podcasts.
And follow us on Instagram@firstcoatpodcast or
(11:00):
@distillcreative. First Coat isa production of my company,
Distill Creative. Check us outat distillcreative.com.
Welcome to First Coat. Where we explore public
realm art, how it's made and whyit matters. I'm your host
Stephanie Eche, an artist andentrepreneur based in Brooklyn,
New York. I run DistillCreative, where I curate and
produce site-specific artprojects for real estate
developers. I focus on creatingmore equitable and inclusive
projects, and I want to get moreexposure for the artists and
(00:23):
developers doing this work. Thisweek on First Coat, I thought
I'd do something a little bitdifferent. Instead of an
interview, I'm going to share agift guide for artists and
podcasters. If you've beenlistening to this podcast, then
you know that I've been doingeverything myself from prepping
interviews, recording, editing,and promoting. My gift guide is
based on the items that I'vefound helpful to making a
podcast and includes things thatare on my own wish list. I link
(00:44):
to all the items in the shownotes and I also have a video
version on my YouTube channel.
Just search for Distill Creativeon YouTube. Okay, ready for my
gift guide for artists andpodcasters? Here are my top
picks for the artist in yourlife. Number one, a sketchbook.
This is a pretty obvious thing,but not all sketchbooks are the
same. If you know that theartist in your life uses both
dry and wet media, by which Imean pencil, charcoal, markers,
(01:04):
ink, watercolor, even acrylic,then I suggest the Stillman &
Birn Multi Media Sketchbook. Youcan also get the Canson
multimedia sketchbook which is alittle bit cheaper. Both of
these will be great because theycan use them with both wet and
dry media and they can also usethem if they like to collage or
scrapbook. I also suggest awatercolor pan set. I have the
(01:25):
Windsor & Newton watercolor panset on my wish list this year.
It's a bit expensive, theydefinitely have smaller, cheaper
versions but this is my upgradepick. If you know someone has
been doing watercolor but maybeisn't using the highest quality
of paints, you can give them theWindsor & Newton watercolor pan
set. Even though we're not doinga lot of travel this year, you
might want to give someone asmaller sketchbook that they can
(01:45):
take on the go. I like to have afield artist sketchbook that's
five inches by five inches orsix by six in my bag or purse
all the time so I can always doa quick sketch on the go. It's
also great for wet and drymedia. So if you know that
someone likes to watercolor onthe go, you can give them this
little mini sketchbook and theycan take it everywhere they go.
Number two, micron pens. I usemicrons all the time and even if
(02:07):
someone has micron pens, theyprobably would really like
having more because you runthrough them pretty quickly if
you use them a lot and they'rejust a really useful thing to
have in different widths. Numberthree, a paint making set from
Kremer pigments. Kremer pigmentshas really awesome workshops
that teach you how to make yourown paints. These are not going
on right now in person,obviously, but they do have
(02:27):
paint sets that you can purchaseand gift. There's an oil making
paint set and a watercolormaking paint set and both of
these are on my wish list. Ithink it would be super fun for
any artist to get this set andmake their own paints. Number
four, an artisan made rug byPorfirio Gutirrez y Familia. I
studied with the Gutirrezfamily in Oaxaca a few years
ago, and it was one of the mostamazing experiences of my life.
(02:50):
My husband and I bought one oftheir rugs for our living room
and it's a really beautiful andmeaningful addition to our home.
I think any artist would reallyappreciate a handmade, naturally
dyed, artisan made rug. Thetapestries are a work of art in
and of themselves. And they canalso be hung on the wall as a
wall hanging. Number five, thebook Organizing for Creative
People by Sheila Chandra. I havethis book and it's been really
(03:13):
guiding me in how to organize mylife, especially with having
multiple things going on whetherthat's a creative project or a
business project and I highlysuggest it for anyone who is an
artist or running a creativebusiness. Number six, a
Skillshare subscription.
Whenever I have a creative blockor I just need a little boost of
inspiration, I go to Skillshareand browse the classes. They
(03:36):
have everything from newpainting techniques to marketing
classes, and even though I mightnot finish the class, it always
really helps inspire me. So, ifyou know someone is either
looking to learn a new skill orjust is an artist, they probably
would really appreciate asubscription to Skillshare.
Number seven and this is asplurge item, an iPad Mini,
(03:56):
Apple Pencil, and Procreate. Iuse this every day, I always
have it in my purse and theprocreate app is really great
for any artist who wants to dodigital, really anything.
Definitely an awesome digitaltool that makes a lot of things
easier, especially when you'redoing mock ups. I love my Apple
iPad Mini. Number eight, asubscription to an art magazine.
I know it's pretty popular togift people books, and that's
(04:20):
great. I love getting books, butgifting someone a subscription
to a magazine will give theminspiration multiple times a
year and it's less of acommitment. When I get a
magazine, I can just browse it,reference it later, I don't feel
stressed out that it's a bookthat I need to read. So I
suggest a subscription to an artmagazine. I really like the
Brooklyn Rail, I'd also suggestCreate! Magazine and Flow.
(04:41):
Number nine, a mask withoriginal artwork or that is
handmade. I have a whole roundup of masks by independent
designers and or with originalartwork, like one by myself, on
my blog at Distill Creative, soI'll link to it in the comments
and you can check them out.
Those are my picks for theartist in your life. Now for my
top picks for the podcaster inyour life. These are great gifts
for anyone who has a podcast,who has been talking about
(05:04):
starting a podcast or who isjust starting out making a
podcast. Number one, a workshop.
So I have a few workshop pickson my list. One of them is
Heartcast media course onpodcasting. And then the other
two are BRICs, Intro toAudition and Intro to Premiere
Pro. I took all of theseclasses, they're all great and
(05:25):
they all helped me withdifferent aspects of making a
podcast. The Heartcast Mediacourse on podcasting really
helped with knowing what to setup before I even recorded my
podcast. The BRIC audition classreally helped me with knowing
how to record audio and editaudio. And the Premiere Pro
class by BRIC really helped mewith video editing. It taught me
everything I needed to knowabout video editing, and it was
(05:47):
really fun to do with otherpeople online. Number two, this
is a free thing. Buzzsprout hasa really great guide to
podcasting and they also have apodcast about how to make a
podcast. You could print out theguide and gift it as a little
handmade package and it's agreat free gift and can give the
podcaster in your life someextra tips and inspiration to
get their podcast started.
Number three, a microphone. So,I have both the Blue Yeti and
(06:11):
the Audio-Technica ATR 2100,which is this right here. It's
what I'm using to record today.
I keep the Blue Yeti in mystudio where I do my podcast
recording and then, actually, Iused the Blue Yeti in my kitchen
when I was recording my podcast,so it worked pretty well and
(06:31):
then I use the Audio-Technica athome as a backup. I forget what
number I'm on. Number five, aZoom H5 portable recorder. This
is not Zoom, the online videoconferencing app, this is a
device, a audio recorder andit's really great because it's
pretty small. As you can see Ihave really small hands, and it
(06:52):
is handheld, and you can take itanywhere. The one I got from B&H
came in this nifty little caseand it's great for someone who
wants to record on the go. Alsosomeone who just wants to kind
of up their recording gear,especially if they want it to be
more portable. Number six, aexternal solid state drive. I
(07:13):
got this one, it's a Samsung,the Samsung T7 Touch Portable
SSD. It's super portable, it canhold a ton of stuff, I put all
my video and audio recordings onit and then I also back
everything up on Dropbox and Ihave a second SSD, the same one
that I use as a backup for mycomputer. Number seven, Brooklyn
Botany Brown Sugar Scrub. I havebeen in the market for a sugar
(07:35):
scrub. I think a sugar scrub isa nice gift for anyone who is
working really hard on a projectand might need some
encouragement to relax. Also onmy list is a Handmade Habitat
candle. Gifting a candle,especially by an independent
maker is a great gift. Anythingyou can gift the podcaster in
your life, or the artist orcreative business owner in your
life that gives them a littlebit of an excuse to just chill
(07:58):
out and relax is a great gift.
Number eight, a MacBook Pro. So,this is another splurge item for
a podcaster in your life orreally for an artist or anyone
doing creative work. I have beena Mac person for a while, so I
am definitely biased, but beingable to seamlessly have your
photos sync up and just do audioand visual projects on your
(08:22):
computer without it crashing isreally really awesome. I linked
to the refurbished Mac store,which has refurbished Macs, and
with the new Mac that just cameout, you might be able to get a
really great 2020 MacBook Profor not as expensive as when
those first came out. I use myMacBook Pro every day and it is
super portable, super fast andit allows me to do all the
(08:46):
creative work I do. Number nine,a subscription to Adobe Creative
Cloud. So if you want to givesomeone an ongoing gift who's
working on a podcast or anycreative project, Adobe Creative
Cloud is awesome. It's what Iuse to do all of my creative
work and artwork. I use AdobeIllustrator, Adobe Audition,
Adobe Premiere Pro, Lightroomfor photo management, Photoshop
(09:09):
and InDesign. I use a lot ofAdobe products. Gifting someone
Adobe Creative Cloud is anongoing expense but it's also a
really sweet way to kind ofsponsor their creative work and
tell them that you want them tokeep doing the work they're
doing and you don't want them tolack the best software to do
their creative projects. Andnumber 10, a gift certificate to
B&H. B&H has everything thatanyone doing audio or visual
(09:35):
projects would need. It's whereI got all my microphones, my
camera that I'm using right now,which is the Fuji xT 200. A gift
card to B&H is awesome. Itallows the podcaster in your
life to get whatever they needto work on their podcast, and
it's a great item that you cangive them even digitally or if
you're far away, you can justemail them the gift certificate
(09:58):
or print it out and write them areally sweet card. I know I
would love a B&H giftcertificate because there's
always some new equipment thatI'm looking to purchase and it's
just a nice surprise. I hope youliked my gift guide for artists
and podcasters. If you havesomething else that you would
add or if you want to sharesomething that's on your wish
list, please email me, Stephanieat Distill Creative. Let me know
(10:19):
what you're gifting the artistor podcaster in your life, I am
really curious to know, maybe Ican add it in on my list. Also,
I have a whole Pinterest boardof all of my picks. So if you
want to see it on Pinterest orrepin anything for yourself, you
can check that out. I'll be backnext week with another interview
with a mural artist for the nextepisode of First Coat. Don't
(10:39):
forget to subscribe to the FirstCoat podcast wherever you listen
to podcasts and to our YouTubechannel on Distill Creative.
Thanks for listening to thisepisode of First Coat. If you
liked this podcast, please leavea review. Make sure to subscribe
to the First Coat podcastwherever you listen to podcasts.
And follow us on Instagram@firstcoatpodcast or
(11:00):
@distillcreative. First Coat isa production of my company,
Distill Creative. Check us outat distillcreative.com.
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