December 16, 2025 • 62 mins
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What happens when you give women five days away from their lives—with art supplies, gourmet meals, a river, a campfire, and zero pressure to be anything but themselves?
In this episode of Roar, host Danielle Davies sits down with Lisa Field—founder and director of Lucky Star, a five-day creativity and whole-living sleepaway camp for women held every fall in the Texas Hill Country. Since 2012, Lisa has welcomed hundreds of women to Camp Waldemar, where they paint, weld, write, dance, felt, play guitar, eat, float in the river, and reconnect with who they are when no one needs a spreadsheet… or a snack.
What started as one woman’s longing for community has grown into a decade-strong creative ecosystem—one that has shaped careers, sparked friendships, inspired books and businesses, and reminded women that adventure doesn’t have an expiration date.
Lisa speaks with warmth, candor, and humor about creativity, midlife reinvention, the courage to show up alone, and the magic that happens when 100+ women trust their instincts and say yes to themselves.
Together, Danielle and Lisa talk about…
🌟 The moment Lisa realized women needed more than “a break”—they needed creative community
🏕️ How Lucky Star evolved from a daydream into a thriving annual camp
🫶 Why women struggle to give themselves permission to step away from their lives
🎒 What shifts in the first 24–48 hours when women arrive—nervous, excited, uncertain—and begin to exhale
🎨 Why creativity without pressure is transformational (and why it’s never about being “good”)
👯♀️ What happens when women of all ages—20s through 80s—learn side-by-side
🔥 Why women who show up solo are “the badasses of the group”
🎤 The story behind Lucky Star’s legendary Glee Club, welding classes, tamale making, and late-night campfire moments
💛 The power of Show & Tell night—laughter, tears, courage, connection, and being truly seen
🌈 How camp catalyzes reinvention: new businesses, books, collaborations, income streams, and creative awakenings
Lisa’s work is a testament to what happens when women gather, make things, share stories, and dare to choose themselves. This conversation is for anyone craving connection, creativity, and a reminder that it is absolutely not too late to reinvent, express, or expand.
🔑 Key Takeaways
Creativity is community—women have always bonded through making.
Your life expands the moment you give yourself permission to step away from it.
Being a beginner is power, not shame.
Adventure doesn’t belong to youth; it belongs to anyone who refuses to put themselves on a shelf.
Women need spaces where they’re welcomed as they are—introverts, extroverts, hug-averse, or hug-seeking.
Reinvention often begins with one small yes.
🔗 Links Mentioned in This Episode
Lucky Star Art Camp → https://luckystarartcamp.com/
Follow Lucky Star on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/luckystarartcamp/
Camp Waldemar → https://waldemar.com/
Mandy Rowden (Glee Club & Season 2 guest) → https://girlguitar.com/
Squam Art Workshops → https://www.squamartworkshops.com/
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Want to be on Roar?https://www.danielledavies.com/be-a-g...
🤝 Want to partner with us? Let’s talk!danielle@danielledavies.com
👕 Roar Merchhttps://www.redbubble.com/people/roar...
🔗 Connect
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LinkedIn: /danie
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
Hi, I'm Danielle Davies, and you're listening to Roar, a show
that amplifies the voices of women breaking barriers, leading
change and making real impact. Keep listening for bold ideas
and stories that inspire you to find your voice and make some
noise. Hi everybody, this is Danielle
Davies, your host of ROAR. Today's guest has built the
(00:26):
thing that so many of us Daydream about, a place where
women get to run away to camp, make things with their hands,
eat gorgeous food, sit under thestars and remember who they are
when no one needs a snack or a spreadsheet from them.
Lisa Field is the founder and director of Lucky Star, A5 Day
Creativity and Whole Living Sleep Away Camp for Women held
(00:48):
every fall in the Texas Hill Country since 2012.
She's welcomed hundreds of womento Camp Waldemar on the banks of
the Guadalupe River for workshops and everything from
painting and writing to welding,apothecary, guitar, yoga and
more. Plus live music, gourmet meals,
and late night campfire conversations.
What started as Lisa's passion project has grown into a vibrant
(01:10):
community of women who stay connected well beyond that week.
A thriving network of creative women who keep cheering each
other on all year long. We're going to talk about how
lucky Star came to be, why creativity such a powerful
catalyst for women, especially for those of us in midlife, and
what happens when you put 100 plus women together in the woods
with art supplies, good music and no laundry.
(01:32):
Lisa, welcome to Roar. Hi, Danielle.
Oh my God, I love hearing it all.
Just like read out that way. It's just, especially having
just been there last week, week before last, I, I'm just, I'm
still like, it still gives me goosebumps.
Yeah, you've got to have that tingly feeling.
(01:52):
I can't, I want to not say it, but I have to.
So I was going to change the intro and be like Lisa is my
personal fairy godmother. So I, this isn't, wasn't part of
the official intro, but it wouldbe wrong for me to not mention
when the very first year Lisa gave away a tuition the, and
it's a whole long story of how we got to that point.
(02:14):
But I, me, Daniel TV's won anything in my life.
Once I won a $2.00 honor roll mention for grapes costume in a
Halloween break. And then I won lucky star, which
was a huge, huge win. And I, I will say I think it
changed the trajectory of my life.
It was like the best thing ever and I almost I'm annoyed that
(02:38):
Lisa's saying how great last week was because I wasn't there
this year and it. I hate to rub it in.
You have to rub it in, but so this is super personal for me
and I feel like every woman deserves this for themselves.
Although Lisa's going to be booked out for the next. 30
years. Every November.
(03:00):
So Lisa, let me ask you the first question.
When you first dream this up, what gap were you seeing in
women's lives? Like, what were you women
hungering for that you felt campcould give them?
So it was a little more selfish than that.
That's totally fair. It was.
Literally like what did I need at that time in my life?
(03:23):
And I was a young mother who gosh.
So my husband and I got married in O3.
So it was probably 2009 when I discovered something similar to
(03:45):
Lucky Star. And I since high school have
always loved doing events. And I, I even had like my
trigonometry teacher was my student council sponsor and we
had to do prom my junior year. We were urge of the prom.
(04:08):
And she I accredit her to teaching me how to throw an
event like manage it from the ground up.
I mean, like she taught me how to do not just a tiny little
high school event, but like how to do events.
And I have used this. I mean, this is something I use
(04:28):
in my job. It's something that I use daily
with in my life. So I've always wanted to do.
I had always wanted to do events.
And so just imagine like I'm a young mom.
I have, you know, I'm like surrounded by babies.
I have three-step kids that are 78 and 12 when we got married.
(04:53):
So they were, you know, on up there and like, so we're busy,
busy, busy. And we're living in the town
that my husband grew up in and my husband had friends and but I
was a transplant there. So I just, I wanted people.
I wanted people and I was, I hadmy babies, but I wanted people
(05:16):
and especially women friends. And like I was the, I was the
one who would like look out the window and watch for people to
walk by with strollers. And I would be like, oh, I'm
gonna go check my mail right now.
And I would strategically hi, check my mail and be like, oh,
hi. Oh, you have a baby.
I have a baby, you know, like please be my friend.
(05:39):
Please be my friend, you know, and that's just how I felt.
And I, I like, I knew I wanted to do something also just to
bring women together. I had started going to, like, a
Bible study, and I had started trying different things, you
know, So then my husband and I moved to the Hill Country to
(06:04):
Hunt, Texas, where we live now. And I started watching.
This was in the era of like. Do you remember when Martha and
Snoop first got together? OK.
So like, and my timeline is probably way out of whack, but I
remember specifically Martha Stewart's show.
(06:26):
Maybe not the Snoop part yet, but she would show these
beautiful farms where they were like artisans making cheese and
garden, you know, all the like, gardens and Whole Foods.
And then like they were making yarn from the sheep's wool and
(06:48):
all these things. And I was just like, Oh my gosh,
we're moving to hunt. We're going to be living on a
farm. Like I want to learn how to do
all these things. And so I would just start
watching like all these YouTube videos.
And, and that is when I ran across this video of an art
retreat that was at a campgroundin New Hampshire.
(07:12):
And I was like, this, this, thisis it.
And like, I'm seeing the joy on these women's faces and they're
in these classes and they're making things.
And I really had 00 art background.
I mean, I'm always like, I've always been like a Jill of all
(07:33):
trades, you know, like I can, I can figure that out.
I can do that, you know, or I would try stuff.
And I was in 4H and we did like,all kinds of little projects and
stuff. But I never ever dreamed that I
would have anything to do with arts or crafting.
(07:55):
I mean, as a business especially, but really even
like, other than just at home, like I was sewing, you know, for
my baby. Right, right.
Like you're crafting. Right.
Never did I imagine that I wouldgo down the path of an art
retreat. I mean, no.
(08:17):
But when I saw this, I'm like, OK, I'm in this beautiful place
in Hunt, TX, where it's like thecapital of summer camps.
I mean, like, beautiful old summer camps that are just
dreamy. And I was like, so dreamy,
(08:39):
sorry, possibly have the spot, right?
And then I mean, I can just start reaching out to these
people that I'm seeing on like, Martha Stewart's show, right?
And just ask them, would you come and teach classes?
And then I can just start putting it out there in the
world that I want to do this andsee what happens.
(08:59):
And so in the meantime, I decided I'm signing up and going
to whatever that place is that Ijust saw in that video.
So I did that. I went and I went for three
years. And did you really OK?
Loved it. So I first went in 2010 to Squam
(09:23):
art workshops and just fell in love with the whole idea of it
and this, the structure of it even.
And I'm like could I do this? Could I do this and after?
Guam is squam men and women. No, it's just women, OK?
(09:45):
It's women only, at least it wasback then.
I don't know. I don't know if it if they've
included men now or not. But yeah, I I went and I was
like, this is it. This is absolutely it.
And if I can get, if I can starttrying to get a little bit of a
following for this idea, you know, it's, it's just like if
(10:10):
you build it, they will come. I just started building it.
I just started a Facebook and I started, you know, doing my
trying to figure out the name ofit and all that stuff.
I just started doing it and it just kind of grew and grew and
grew a little bit at a time. I, it was a big deal when I
(10:30):
booked Vivian McMaster and Juliet Crane.
And I was just like, OK, if they're willing to believe in my
little idea down here. And I'm not saying this was my,
you know, art retreats of all sorts have been around for long
(10:51):
before I started Lucky, but thiswas yours.
This was my baby, right? So if I can get these two on
board, you know, I, I can do this.
And so I think the first year ofthe first year was in 2013 and I
think I probably had like 44 campers and plus, and you know,
(11:17):
plus some instructors, like probably 20 instructors.
I don't even think I broke 80 that year.
Really, I feel like it was more than that.
Maybe, OK, maybe I'm wrong. People ask me this and I I have
the number 44 stuck in my head for some reason.
But I also remember that scary minimum that I had to meet with
(11:37):
my contract at Waldemar. That was 80.
I had to book. I wanted to say like I felt like
it was so. Maybe. 8.
Maybe I did have 78 That that sounds probably right because I
remember them making like they were like, yeah, you made it.
You, you know, this is good. And they were so good to me.
They were really good to me. They still aren't.
(11:58):
They're, they're awesome. And, well, you know, going back
to that time, I remember, you know, first hearing about it
before I entered the contest andseeing it.
And I saw the pictures and it was like, you described dreamy.
I remember going even to get my hair cut and showing my
hairdresser, like, look at this.Is this not the most like,
dreamy thing? Like, would you not just kill to
(12:20):
go to this? And people were like, I guess
I'm like, no, no, no, it's calling me.
Like it's calling me. I have to go.
But now, before I won, and I'll tell you, even after I won, one
of the things that almost kept me back was I can't leave my
life. I've got these little kids.
I've got obligations. People have sports or Boy Scouts
(12:41):
or school and homework and dinners and all these things.
And you've watched this over theyears.
You've watched hundreds of womendebate whether they deserve that
week away. What does that hesitation tell
you about how women see themselves and like?
What shifts once they finally show up?
It has taught me a lot. It's taught me a lot because I
(13:06):
probably would have had I probably had the same exact
feeling. You know, if like I can't do
this. I I remember having to in my
mind justify it, But I also, I also am like when I got married,
(13:27):
I'm I was like, I never want number one.
I never want to marry someone that I feel like I have to ask
permission to ever. I have a father, you know, and
that was like one of my goals inlife.
And I got that with my husband. I mean, he's awesome.
So I have to consider the fact that there are lots of people
(13:50):
who are in relationships who feel like they they would need
full buy in, you know, or that they wouldn't have the support.
I'll say it like that. They wouldn't have the support
that I had and I I know this. OK, So with that said, I've
(14:11):
learned so much about women in that they may think it's that or
something like that or work or kids or whatever.
It's them. It's totally just them
themselves holding themselves back.
(14:32):
I mean, it really is us, like weare so hard on ourselves and we
think we're way more important that way.
I mean, we are obviously very important.
We don't prioritize like that. Yeah, yeah.
(14:54):
And it, and yeah, I feel like, and that's the thing, like it
took me winning it and then hearing.
And I was so I remember when I won, I was like screaming.
My little son was in the shower.My husband was like washing his
hair. I mean, this is how long ago my
son's 20 like and he's washing his hair and I'm like, I won.
Like I won this big thing. Like I won this crazy thing.
(15:18):
And I'm like, but I can't. I actually was like, but I can't
go. And my son, my little son was
like, but mommy, you have to like Q1 and it's because you
it's so hard to prioritize yourself.
I think when you're so used to prioritizing the people around
you, you know, and it's not thatI didn't, I had support.
Everybody was like get out, likeget your bags and go but.
(15:43):
And guess what? Everything was OK right when you
got that. Totally fine, and even better
actually because I was like. Better.
Yes, yes, I had that reset. Well, and tell me this too.
You know, so many women, myself included, arrive at Lucky Star
by themselves, especially the first year.
They're nervous, they're unsure.They might be a little lost.
(16:04):
They may think like I did briefly in the airport, this
could be some elaborate. Hoax.
What transformations do you see in those first 24 to 48 hours
when they settle in? Oh gosh, so that first day, you
know at well, all year long I see everyone just as a name on a
(16:29):
spreadsheet, right? Sometimes I'll see their little
Facebook picture in the Facebook, but then when everyone
arrives, there's this like electric spark of anxiety and
excitement. And, you know, everyone like
(16:52):
who's been there before, they kind of have this like
homecoming feeling, but still, you know, like excitement also.
And then all the people that arenew to it, whether they're
traveling with friends or alone,they've got this nervousness
(17:13):
that is for me, it's like magnetic because I want to go on
like a like a, you know, a bug to a light.
I'm like, hi, I'm like, ma'am. And they're like, OK, you know,
and I'm like, welcome, you know,you're here.
(17:33):
You did it. And I think it takes people just
a moment to really, you know, really I think it's that like,
there's that kind of unsure, just feeling of like, OK, what's
(17:54):
next, you know? And what is this all about?
By the next morning, really, by the next day at lunch, there's
just like this collective, like,like just a sigh of like, OK, I
(18:16):
see what this is. I thought I was here for these
classes, but this is about thesewomen in this community and this
feeling and this experience. And like, sure, the classes are
awesome, they're great and I'm going to learn a lot.
But this place, I can feel it inmy bones.
(18:39):
And these people, they're all attracted to the same place for
the same reason. And not even everybody knows
what that reason is, but they all needed it.
It was calling them. And I always say, especially
these days, I'm like, you know what?
Don't let your friend talk you into coming.
If someone calls me and they're like on the fence, I'm like, no,
(19:01):
if this is not calling you, no, you know.
You're like that full body, yes.I want to say.
Please don't come. If this is calling you then it's
not for you. Like the people that are here
are like being just sucked in and it's it's awesome and, and
(19:24):
you can feel it. And this year, so every year has
kind of a feeling. And, you know, some years were
like, honestly, we've had like at least twice now that I can
remember freshly where we've been like day after election
years, you know, so people come in and there's just some rawness
about it and you can feel it in the air.
(19:45):
We always end up being just fineand everybody ends up doing
great. But there's just that, you know,
thing this year was so amazinglychill.
Like, like that is the best way to describe it.
It was so peaceful. Everyone was so just.
(20:06):
Calm and the weather was like perfecto sorry Danielle to but
like people were jumping in the river come.
On Lisa it pour rain, everybody was mean, nobody connected These
are the. Most hateful people you you.
Didn't know. I feel like every year that I
(20:26):
went, so I've gone four years orwas it 5 years?
I can't remember. But every year that I've gone,
it's I've gotten something else out of it.
I know this sounds so woo woo, but like every year that I've
gone, I've gotten exactly what Ineeded at that time.
Yeah. Yeah.
You know, like. It's understandable I can which.
Is crazy because it's the same place like you keep.
(20:49):
Yeah, and it's the same, but butit's complete.
I don't know, it's just the energy.
It's the same place, but it's a different animal every year
because of the different women who come.
So this year we had 40 new campers.
Wow. The year before we had 65 new
campers. So like, you know, there there's
(21:10):
every year it just kind of, you know, it's just changes
organically. It does have a different energy.
I still have, gosh, I bet you atleast 40 campers who have been
coming, you know, they haven't made every single year.
But I mean, a lot of campers who've been there, at least 10.
(21:31):
Wow. That's a lot, that's a lot and,
and and well, and I it's so and it it's so first of all, I feel
like I need to say that like this is no little thing.
Like this is no like little likeyou're going someplace to an art
camp and like you think like this is like stone cabins on
this giant beautiful piece of land on the river.
(21:54):
And Lisa like flying around on agolf cart trying to get thing,
you know, drop things off to people who might need it or
managing things. So it's not this is not a little
thing. It's not like a one room thing.
You're, you're going out and about and you're meeting people
and you're having these lunches and you're having the fire and
it's just this whole thing. But you're also making.
(22:17):
And I think that part of like, Iwanted to say, what do you think
happens because you yourself said you didn't come at this
from an art background, but like, what happens to a woman
when she's creating whatever she's creating?
If it's ceramics, if it's a songwithout the pressure of being
good at it. That, that's the key, right?
(22:39):
There's no one, no one at camp that is judging you by your
artwork or any. I mean, like it's, you know, we
have artists with a capital A who come, but the majority of
(23:00):
people are there because they are drawn to creativity.
And I mean, one of the coolest things to me that happens, and
this goes back in history as something I think that is
(23:21):
paramount to women's existence and community is like, think
about the quilting table, you know, think about making food
together. So we've basically like when I'm
curating the classes, I try to get classes that are not just
art, not just craft, not just you know, so there's there are
(23:44):
things like like this year we had Tamale making.
That's another thing that it's best done as a party, you know,
it's best done with others. And so even gosh, felting like
any of these activities that youcan do while sitting around the
(24:06):
table with a bunch of women and visiting, I mean, that is what
community is all about. So it doesn't matter the medium,
it doesn't matter. I mean, you could literally be
doing anything, you know, you, you could be playing tic tac
toe, but you're sitting around atable with other women and you
(24:30):
have just, you know, 3 hours of a class time where you're
getting to be with those specific women who signed up for
that specific time. And for me, it's all very
without sounding too woo woo. It's all.
Perfectly exactly the way it's supposed to be.
(24:52):
And, and that's what I always say too about the people who
come like, if it doesn't work out for them to be here, they
weren't meant to be here, you know, and.
Exactly. Yeah, they're.
Gonna end up, You might not get every class that you hoped to
get in your schedule, but wherever you end up is where you
(25:12):
were meant to be on that particular day at that
particular time. And if you'll just sit in it and
keep your eyes and your ears open and your heart open, you
could learn something about yourself, about other people,
(25:32):
and you could make some new friends.
And you, we're not old enough. I mean, we're not too old to
make new friends. Like we're not old enough to
give up on making new friends. Like I keep wanting to remind
myself of that. Like I have a really, really
great group of local friends that I'm very tight with, but
I'm always challenging myself tomeet new people and make new
(25:58):
friends and new relationships and learn new things.
It's just that curiosity thing that I keep also reminding
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(26:21):
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(26:45):
a special discount at checkout. It's not just like healing to do
like these things that you know,but it's it's Oh my gosh, I
forgot the word that I was goingto say, but it's very rewarding
and that wasn't even it either. OK, it's completely gone.
It's fulfilling. It's it's like integrating
yourself like it's it's keeping you young.
(27:07):
You know, it's keeping us fulfilled in and it's
challenging us. And I can still not think of the
exact word, but I'm going to go on until it.
Comes back. I especially I especially love
the people like you or who who come alone.
I mean, what bigger adventure like that?
That is just like, to me, they're the badasses in the
(27:29):
crew. You know, it's like that is so
brave. And I want to know you because
you just did something really brave.
And what's really cool is like alot of people do that and then
they end up making friends thereand then they come back, you
know, and they end up bunking together.
And it's, it's really, really, it's interesting because I
(27:57):
think, you know, we can get to acertain age and that could be
midlife where we put adventure on a shelf.
And I don't want that. I don't, I don't want that.
I'm not. I don't either.
And I and I love, you know, one of the things that I love so
much is, well, first I was goingto say, you know, people come
alone and I don't know if they can sense it like, but you've
(28:19):
created a, a place that's safe to come alone like you can.
And I don't just mean physicallysafe.
I mean the people that you're, that you're cultivating the
experience is very, it's very nurturing.
And if you feel like you're like, you know, I am a bit.
I remember Lisa Seeger, rememberLisa?
See, I remember her speaking thefirst, the first camp.
(28:42):
And at the end, she said something like, when I got
invited to speak here, all I kept thinking is like, please,
no one hug me. Like this is just not, you know,
I'm not like a, a kumbaya. Like this is not my thing.
And she was like, and now like, I want to hug you all Like, so
it's just, it does bring that, that feeling, but also that
(29:04):
there's women of all different ages.
So like, we may be in midlife, but that doesn't mean everybody
there is. And that's what's cool too.
You've got this community of women.
You've got women in their 20s, their 40s, their 60s and beyond.
80s. 80s What happens when they're all making things side
by side and learning from one another?
(29:24):
I mean, you get to see that organic thing where, you know,
the wisdom is passed on and it'sso funny because, you know, the
80 year olds are usually the better listeners and and the the
younger gals are like talking, you know, talking, talking.
And then all of a sudden you'll just get this nugget from the
(29:45):
back, you know, that's like fromthe 80 something year old.
And it's like you have this so figured out.
Yeah, it's just so it's so good.I like, I love that aspect of
camp of Lucky Star in that that age range is really cool.
(30:05):
I love going around and taking pictures of people's hands
making. And I have all these great
pictures of hands of all ages making art.
And it's just really that just made me think I need to do like
some sort of a a collage or something out of that.
(30:25):
But yeah, the age range is special.
And, and, and by the way, what you just said about thinking or
feeling like I've created a space that is welcoming to
(30:46):
people who are flying solo is such a huge compliment.
Like it's the best compliment that you could ever give me
because I want everyone to feel welcome and included.
And I do, my whole team works really hard at doing that.
(31:07):
And and I think that is important for all of us.
And the more I hear that, the more I really want to, you know,
spread that out into the world beyond just Lucky Star, because
it's so important back to like the, the making of things.
(31:32):
You know, I talked about how women sitting around and making
things together is so powerful because you get that time and
the the wisdom of the the collective, right?
Well, also just the simple act of making something with your
own two hands is so empowering. And you know, we have a welding
(31:56):
class. I don't know.
Did you take welding when you? No, no, I didn't take welding,
but that's amazing. So I mean, again, it's like you
can, you can come to camp as I'm51, you could come to a 51 year
old woman and learn how to play the guitar for the first time in
your life. You know, I mean, that's pretty
(32:17):
awesome. You can.
Weld and then perform. And you could, you could do Glee
club. I mean, basically it started out
just me like thinking up all of my favorite things.
And I in choir, I was a total choir nerd and I loved all the
choreography and choir and all of our shows and stuff.
(32:38):
And I'm like, Mandy, can you please do Glee club?
And she's like, OK, I can try that.
And it has been a smash success.It has been the best thing ever.
But but let's just face it, Mandy has been the best thing
ever at at Lucky Star. But that's the thing like and
(32:59):
you, that's the other thing I was going to say, I feel like
you've created something and howdo you go like, so how?
Do you? So this is your baby, but you
relinquish enough control to be like, Hey, what are the ideas
from the outside, like from the collective?
And like, you know, Mandy, the first year she didn't know.
(33:21):
Nobody knew anything. The first year nobody knew any.
I mean, some people knew each other, but very few.
And and it was like, I don't want to say the blind leading
the blind, but no one had. We had no idea what to expect.
You couldn't have known exactly what to expect.
This is the first year, but thiswas a first year person, Mandy
(33:43):
Rowden, who I interviewed in Season 2.
And and I will of course, link to this episode, but she's now
like a a staple, like she is a staple, I want to say event in
herself. And how do you kind of identify
the women that you're that you're bringing in and that that
(34:05):
continue to not just contribute,but to also offer their opinions
to you? And how do you sort that all out
like? You know, that is all.
I mean it's different every year.
It's, it can be kind of tricky sometimes, I will tell you that.
So you know, my good friend and who's my assistant director,
(34:30):
Sean Stratman, she and I actually met at Squam Art
workshops in New Hampshire. I don't think it was the first
year, but I think it was maybe the second year.
I don't I can't remember that anyway, so Sean has been coming
(34:50):
to camp and now helping me with camp for a long time now.
So she has been like a trusted advisor.
Of course, my girlfriends that are here local, you know, I run
things past them. I have close relationships with
many of the repeat instructors who I rely on because I know
(35:12):
that they they get lucky star, you know what I mean?
Like like they just get it. And so they know what I'm what
I'm looking for. And I also love that we're kind
of are growing together, you know what I mean?
Like, let's take Shauna Martin for for example.
(35:32):
So at the time that I first started, Lucky Star, Shauna was
living here. She and her husband were living
here in Hunt, and their kids were going to the Hunt school or
mine were going to school. And so we met through school and
I was having coffee with her oneday at Starbucks in Kerrville.
And I'm like, so I have this idea and blah, blah, blah.
(35:55):
You know, well, Shauna's a really amazing artist and she
was like, wait a second, I don'treally understand the whole
concept of like the show and tell thing.
And show and tell was one of my very favorite things like in
kindergarten. So so my my old tagline was
(36:18):
Lucky Star Art Camp show and tell for Daydream believers.
Yes, yes, it's all. Me, I mean that like a lot of
people were attracted to that. Smarter people later have told
me that I need, you know, in my marketing to be more specific
about what I'm offering. So I did change that tagline,
(36:41):
but it's still is a thread that runs through the heart of Lucky
Star still to this day. But the idea was just that, you
know, you come and you have thisexperience and then on the last
night of camp, you have the opportunity.
(37:03):
You don't have to, but you have the opportunity to show everyone
your work, tell them about your experience in the class and do
show and tell if you want to. You don't have to.
And she was like, Oh my gosh, I totally get it.
Like, yes, I understand that. And she still brings that up to
(37:23):
this day. And you know, this year we had
the longest show and tell line up to the stage that I've ever
had. It was such a good, I mean, and
just tears and just laughing. And I mean, we were, you know,
you're either at camp, you're like either you're chilling,
you're into something and you'remaking something and you're
(37:44):
visiting, or you're laughing until you're about to pee your
pants or you're, you know, crying.
Like just having a moment of like, I see you with someone,
you know, or I just hear you, orI've been there or joyful tears,
you know, I mean, just all of those, all, all of the good, all
(38:05):
the best things of life. Show and Tell Night is just like
the best. I love show and tell.
I still love show and tell. Well, that's what it's going to
say because so I think I feel like people really like go
through a metamorphosis over these couple days.
Like you come in one way, you leave, you are like radiant,
(38:27):
like you are lit up. And and then, and you even warn
people like when they're leaving, you are lit up.
If you left a spouse at home with the kids, they are not.
Yeah. Like be down.
Yeah, just be gentle like in your arrival.
Because I do remember I, I, I travel, so I'm from New Jersey.
(38:48):
So when I got home the first year, my parents picked me up.
And I mean, I think I probably, they were probably like, get out
of the car like, because I was like, you know, I am
transformed. I am a new woman.
Like I have learned so many things and I have learned so
much about myself and what I maybe offer to the group and,
(39:09):
and the community. And I, I wanted to ask you like,
you know, you've done this for awhile now, right?
What do you see? Like how do people sustain that?
Can you sustain it? But how do people sustain that?
Like what kind of shifts have you seen in people's lives as
they leave? Like when they get home, Do you
hear about things? Because I feel like I've heard
(39:30):
so many people that I've the first year went to camp with,
like there have been so many huge life transitions.
And of course that's that's partially just time going by.
But I like to think some of it is because of Lucky Star.
Like I like to think some of these creative impulses are
started there, they originated there, and I just wanted to get
(39:51):
your feedback on that. The first thing that came to
mind because I thought you were just going to like, you know,
what are their experiences when they get home?
And. That's you though.
The funniest things that I've seen posted are like, I'm really
pissed off. There's no one making dessert
for me and doing doing the dishes today, you know, like.
Yes. So funny.
(40:13):
And the food, my God, the food. The food is so good and there
are people doing the dishes and we have dessert with every meal.
So, you know, there's all of that.
So many cool things. So, so many stories of really,
(40:35):
really awesome projects that have been sparked, you know, at
Lucky Star. So examples, I mean books have
been written, people have becomespeakers.
There are people who have done collabs on like, you know, using
(40:56):
certain artwork, like you provide the fabric, one artist
would provide the fabric and then the other artist would do
leather tooling and make a bag with that fabric on it.
Oh wow. Collabs like that Oh my
goodness. So there have been several
(41:17):
instances where I have like had to talk someone into coming and
teaching for the very first time.
I'm like, no, I think you're going to be really good at this
and I this could add like a new aspect to your business and a
new income stream, you know, if you can teach classes and like.
So that has happened. And then they did continue.
(41:38):
People who have actually going on to become art teachers at
like schools. What else?
I'm thinking, you know, I remember again, I, I'm sorry,
this is all about my own experience.
I'm so sorry. But freshman year, my first year
there, was it my first year there and Leslie Leslie's first
(42:01):
year there. So it would have been your first
year there because I don't thinkLeslie taught that first year,
no. No, no, she wasn't.
She wasn't even an artist. She was still the.
First year. Yes, and that's what she said.
I remember we were in a class together and and she told me
later that she said to the teacher real and she was a
(42:24):
successful photographer. That's what she was.
She was a wedding photographer. She had a successful business.
That is what she did like she wasn't coming to.
This isn't a career training. This isn't like the kind of camp
like this isn't like a. You're not getting Ceus.
Yeah, this is not at all this camp and so but she left at or
(42:45):
she while there she was like I really I really wish I were an
artist and now Leslie is an artist like that is how she.
Makes her that is one of my favorite stories and I'm so glad
you brought it up because she I mean, she just like turned the
page and she was like, I'm all in on being an artist.
(43:09):
And then she ended up teaching at Lucky Star gosh, probably 4
times. And I mean she is a full blown
working artist in Houston. And she's doing great.
I mean, I don't know how, but she, I mean, I've got 4 kids.
She's like, this is her job now.And I find that that like that
(43:31):
kind of, I mean, you can just look that on your on your
website is like this is like a testimonial, like these are
things that have happened to you.
Seriously, I, I just a Facebook post from one of my past campers
who just opened her studio and did her first website ever.
(43:54):
So she's going full time artist all of a sudden.
So yeah, in like her first year,she was unsure and and I, it's
just very, very cool to see those kinds of life changes play
(44:16):
out. Absolutely.
And and you know, that's anotherthing I wanted to talk to you
about. You know, you just mentioned the
Facebook group, so there's LuckyStar and it's a retreat, right?
It's a camp, but it also becomesa community.
People stay part of the whole year.
What do you think happens when people are gathering this way
that forge these bonds that keeps you connected all year
(44:38):
long? I mean, we're talking about 5
days here tops. You know, I think because we're
all vulnerable with one another when we're at camp.
And I mean, that's the, that's the key in building
(44:59):
relationships, period. You have to be willing to be
vulnerable with people and they will reciprocate and they will
cheer for you and they will be your biggest fan.
And I think when that happens atcamp, when we get to see each
(45:23):
other's. But OK, so you know, one of the
things that happens at camp is that you like to get to get to
be a kid again. In a sense you, I mean like it's
not unheard of to go lay on the ground in the grass under a big
(45:43):
tree and just stare there at thecanopy of the tree and just lie
there for hours, you know, or, or you know, try something
completely new, like a sound bath, you know, And like, so
when you do these new things, itlike brings emotion to the
(46:05):
surface when you are like thinking about like, I haven't
colored something since I was a child.
And like people are sitting around coloring in their tote
bags that we do every year. And I don't know, I just think
like, OK, this is so sweet. This year a new camper came to
(46:27):
me and said, this has made me feel so much like a child again
and remember myself as a child that it makes me miss my mom so
much. And I'm just like, Oh my gosh,
I, I couldn't understand that, you know?
But like getting to put all the seriousness of the world aside
(46:53):
for even just five days can makea huge difference.
It just cracks people open and reminds them of who they really
are because we just keep stacking stuff on, you know,
and, and we just get so busy andwe're just spinning out all the
time. And so when you are forced to
(47:15):
kind of slow down and be with yourself and try something hard
and maybe fail at it and like belike, Oh my gosh, I suck at
making a broom. This is really not what I'm
going to be doing for the rest of my life.
But it taught me something aboutmyself.
(47:37):
I can try hard things. I can do hard things.
I have a broom here. I did this, but it's not
necessarily going to be my new favorite hobby, but like seeing
people struggling and then winning or struggling and then
(48:02):
having, you know, like an emotional like breakthrough.
I mean, you just that those experiences that are shared just
tightens the group. I mean, and then you want to
continue cheering people on. You want to see what's going on
in their life. You want to do life with them,
(48:25):
even if it's from 1,000,000 miles away.
You just keep that little thread, that little tether and
and it's it's really cool because no one else, no one else
in your world may have anything to do with lucky Star or know a
single soul at Lucky Star. But having that little tether to
(48:50):
your people at Lucky Star, that community just gives you this
like boost of self esteem of just like it's a little secret
that you have that you keep to yourself.
I've had people come and tell meI'm not telling a soul about
this. I don't want anyone else to know
that they're like, I'm keeping this all to myself.
(49:14):
But we it's, it's really cool toget to, to see people evolve.
But I mean, you know, just like in real life, outside of Lucky
Star, people are out there in the world experiencing all kinds
(49:34):
of things, good, bad, ugly. And it's, you know, we're all
humans and we're all craving that connection.
Quick pause to invite you into the war community.
War is all about amplifying women's voices, and you can be
part of it. I share the messy, unfiltered
(49:55):
behind the scenes stuff in my emails, things you won't hear
anywhere else. Sign up at listen to roar.com
and get in on the real talk. And hey, if this episode hit
home, don't keep it to yourself.Share it, drop a comment or pass
it to that one friend who needs to hear it.
Every share helps bring more women's stories into the
spotlight. All right, let's get back to the
(50:16):
episode. I wasn't going to mention this,
but it's it's lending itself. So I'm just going to put it out
there. The world right now in 2025 is
like super volatile, like peopleare not that nice to each other
online or I mean, especially online, but it's kind of
spilling over, right? Like you just hear these
(50:37):
instances. There's there's just so much
volatility and people feel so strongly about all their all
their things, myself included. I'm not I'm not trying to shift
the blame like it's, it's a it'sa tough time in the world, but I
feel like lucky star transcends that.
And I feel like is that is community can transcend it.
(51:01):
You know, I've read like something before where people do
these dinners, like they have these dinners and I can't even
remember because it might be several examples at once, but
they'll have these dinners wherelike they invite just like
disparate members of the community who wouldn't normally
like really get along politically or racially or
gender, whatever it is. They they wouldn't naturally get
(51:22):
along, but it's really hard, hard to like be mean to somebody
who's handing you a bread basketand like, it's really hard to
not see the humanity when you'resaying, hey, will you help me
mix these paints like. Absolutely.
To me that is the recipe to the answer to all of our problems.
(51:45):
It's it's the equivalent of the like 2 fighting children in one
big T-shirt. It's like you put them in there
together and you make them work it out.
And it's not even like a forced situation here.
It's you just it's hard to be ugly to someone who is sitting
(52:11):
at the table next to you making,you know, struggling with the
same crochet as you are. You know what I mean?
And like asking the same questions as you are and having
the same joyful experiences as you are.
You it, it's easy from, you know, your desk or your computer
(52:34):
to be mean to people. I mean, it's not for me, but I
can see how it's easy, much easier, but to someone's face
when you're sitting with them and when you're having an
experience together. I think I honestly think that's
the answer to all of our problems.
(52:55):
Because it's like. Together, even if they like this
whole thing of dividing and you know, the tribal, like there's
so many things about a tribe that is good, but there's also
there, there are bad things thatcome with that.
And the division is just, it's not productive and it's just not
(53:21):
the way that I, it's not the waythat I want.
I think when you sit down and you're, you know, whether you're
talking about like your crafter,but you overhear someone say
something like, my daughter's going to really like this or
like, you know, I know I've madethings and been like, oh, I'm
going to bring this home for Ruby.
Like, you know, she's going to love this acrylic bracelet that
I just learned to make at art camp today.
(53:43):
And, and you and then someone's like my daughter too.
Does she like blah, blah, blah. And then and you get in these
conversations that are, that show how much you have in
common, you know, like there's just so much more, like we're
all appreciating this great foodand this wonderful experience.
It's just I, I, I hope you, I get, I hope you get to keep it
(54:06):
up forever because I feel like there's that too.
I hope so, too. Yeah.
We all have so much more in common than we have
indifferences. And I think if we can focus on
those things, and I always say like, leave all the BS at the
gate, you know, don't bring it in.
(54:27):
Just just don't even bring it inhere.
Well, 'cause and the rest of it,you rely on each other to
uplift. Like, and you know, thinking
about I, I, I, I've brought thisup to you before and I don't
know who this woman was because I never saw her again, but she
was the, their, she was their freshman year.
She was there the first year I was there and we were in Juliet
(54:48):
Crane's art class, which was amazing.
And at the time it was different.
It was like all day, right? Wasn't it?
All day? Like some, some of the, there
were 8 hours. Yeah, we were there like all
day. You know you are like fast
friends like. You.
You know everything about somebody's life if you spent 8
hours painting with them. And we did.
And this woman, I remember she was a local art teacher or local
(55:11):
ish. She had a son.
I don't know. She hadn't painted in a long
time. Maybe she had been an art
teacher. But I remember her and we went
in to eat and she was like, I can't show this painting to
anybody. And she actually was like
crying. She's like, this is like, and
we're like, no, no, we support you.
We love you. We know it's going to be awesome
(55:32):
to the point where she was goingto show it to us.
And I remember starting to panicbecause I was like, what if it
is as bad as she says? Like, how are we going to
counter this? Like, yeah, because we built her
up so big. We're like, it's the probably
magnificent. It should.
It belongs in a museum. And and of course, it was
totally fine. Like, it was a totally beautiful
(55:54):
painting. Like it probably wasn't going to
go in a museum, but it absolutely was not something
that you'd be like, what is thiswretched thing doing here?
And I I feel like that's the part.
Like you leave everything else at the gate and then you rely on
you kind of have to have this like trust that these women are
actually going to be here. This is not like a caddy women
(56:17):
gathering. This isn't like a Mean Girls
episode these. Those out the gate.
Yeah, it is like you are being really carried and lifted up by
the women around you. So I think that that I think
that really says something aboutwomen too, that we are willing
to be that vulnerable with each other, you know, and really put
(56:39):
ourselves in this like complete,like you said, people are either
intently working, they're laughing or they are actually
crying and not, not every place welcomes that.
Right, right. So thank you.
I have one last question and then I will go let you go and go
pick my daughter up from school.But if a woman listening feels
(57:00):
that tug, she knows she needs community, creativity or a
shift. But she's scared.
She doesn't see another strollerwalking past her front window
and decide to get in the mail. What would you tell her about
what's waiting for her on the other side of Yes?
Open arms, you know, I would saygo for it.
(57:25):
And and even if you, let's just say you try to sign up for Lucky
Star and it's sold out, you know, get on the wait list.
Number one, get on the wait listbecause we do a lot of times get
to the wait list. And if you don't get to come
(57:45):
next year, find something in your community that has that
same feel, something where you, you know, you don't have to be
good at it. Like if, if they're like, OK, so
I was just at a place having lunch the other day and I met
(58:07):
this woman. She was so sweet and cute.
And I heard her, I overheard hertalking about mahjong.
And I'm like, Oh my gosh, I'm about to learn how to play
mahjong at camp and blah, blah, blah.
You know, we had mahjong this year, by the way.
And so she's like, really, well,we do mahjong over here at this
(58:28):
place on Monday nights. You should come join us.
And like, I don't know how to play mahjong.
And it's like the Chinese version of mahjong.
And I just learned the American version of mahjong.
But I'm like, you know what? I'm not going to pass that
opportunity. This woman just told me that I
can walk into this room and thatthere will be other women in
(58:50):
there who will love to teach me how to play.
I'm like, that is what it's all about.
Like I'm just going to sign it. I'm just going to go.
I'm just going to show up. And I think I'm going tonight
actually for the first time, I think I'm going to go.
But that's the kind of be brave,be brave.
(59:12):
Make a deal with yourself that you're going to try.
And even if you go and it's a total, you know, you feel like
it's just a flop, try again. Don't ever stop trying because
you're going to find your people.
My husband kept telling me that he was so supportive.
He's like you're going to find your people That is awesome.
(59:33):
You can also create go like having hosting bunco and I
didn't know all the people in mycommunity, but I knew like 2
people and I was like, well, whowould you put on the list and
who should I invite? You know?
And so we got together and just invited a bunch of people.
(59:55):
And that is such a great game because you're trading partners
constantly, you know, throughoutthe night.
So you're getting to play with the other person being on your
team, you know, and then you switch and you're so you get to
learn, you get to meet a lot of different people and we had the
best time. So like, look for things.
I would say just look for thingswhere.
(01:00:17):
What you're really craving is not necessarily the art or the
thing. You're not.
Necessarily bunco or the broom. Yeah, you're craving the
connection with anyone. Someone.
Where are my people? We're here.
We're here. We're out there in the world.
Just you just have to keep looking and and you'll find it.
(01:00:39):
It won't be hard. When you find your people.
It won't feel hard. It'll feel easy.
Those are your people. Lisa, thank you so much.
This episode is our last 1 of Season 3 is going to come out
right before the holidays because I feel like it's like
like a good wish for good, like holiday season with your family
(01:01:00):
and like community. And it's like the time where, I
don't know, my very favorite Christmas movie is Scrooged with
Bill Murray. And he says, you know, it's not
too late. It's not too late to go like
call your old college roommate, call your friend.
And that's how I feel about Lucky Star and what you did.
So thank you for, for being partof my holiday season, but also
(01:01:23):
for, for, you know, really bringing Lucky Star to my life
all those years ago. Because I will say, I think it
it, it came at just the right time.
So thank you so much for being here.
Thank you for having me. And that's our conversation with
the one and only Lisa Field, founder of Lucky *, Curator of
(01:01:45):
Courage, and the woman who proved that sometimes the thing
you're craving is exactly the thing you're meant to build.
Thanks so much for listening. Be sure to come by next week
when we're speaking with SheldonBartlett Rumor.
I'm so excited for you to meet her.
Sheldon is CEO of This Is It, TVA Media powerhouse, champion
of female founders and the womanbehind one of the most
(01:02:05):
intentional visibility platformsfor women in Business Today.
So hit, follow, hit, subscribe, tell a friend and meet me back
here next week. We'll see you then.
Hi, I'm Danielle Davies, and you're listening to Roar, a show
that amplifies the voices of women breaking barriers, leading
change and making real impact. Keep listening for bold ideas
and stories that inspire you to find your voice and make some
noise. Hi everybody, this is Danielle
Davies, your host of ROAR. Today's guest has built the
(00:26):
thing that so many of us Daydream about, a place where
women get to run away to camp, make things with their hands,
eat gorgeous food, sit under thestars and remember who they are
when no one needs a snack or a spreadsheet from them.
Lisa Field is the founder and director of Lucky Star, A5 Day
Creativity and Whole Living Sleep Away Camp for Women held
(00:48):
every fall in the Texas Hill Country since 2012.
She's welcomed hundreds of womento Camp Waldemar on the banks of
the Guadalupe River for workshops and everything from
painting and writing to welding,apothecary, guitar, yoga and
more. Plus live music, gourmet meals,
and late night campfire conversations.
What started as Lisa's passion project has grown into a vibrant
(01:10):
community of women who stay connected well beyond that week.
A thriving network of creative women who keep cheering each
other on all year long. We're going to talk about how
lucky Star came to be, why creativity such a powerful
catalyst for women, especially for those of us in midlife, and
what happens when you put 100 plus women together in the woods
with art supplies, good music and no laundry.
(01:32):
Lisa, welcome to Roar. Hi, Danielle.
Oh my God, I love hearing it all.
Just like read out that way. It's just, especially having
just been there last week, week before last, I, I'm just, I'm
still like, it still gives me goosebumps.
Yeah, you've got to have that tingly feeling.
(01:52):
I can't, I want to not say it, but I have to.
So I was going to change the intro and be like Lisa is my
personal fairy godmother. So I, this isn't, wasn't part of
the official intro, but it wouldbe wrong for me to not mention
when the very first year Lisa gave away a tuition the, and
it's a whole long story of how we got to that point.
(02:14):
But I, me, Daniel TV's won anything in my life.
Once I won a $2.00 honor roll mention for grapes costume in a
Halloween break. And then I won lucky star, which
was a huge, huge win. And I, I will say I think it
changed the trajectory of my life.
It was like the best thing ever and I almost I'm annoyed that
(02:38):
Lisa's saying how great last week was because I wasn't there
this year and it. I hate to rub it in.
You have to rub it in, but so this is super personal for me
and I feel like every woman deserves this for themselves.
Although Lisa's going to be booked out for the next. 30
years. Every November.
(03:00):
So Lisa, let me ask you the first question.
When you first dream this up, what gap were you seeing in
women's lives? Like, what were you women
hungering for that you felt campcould give them?
So it was a little more selfish than that.
That's totally fair. It was.
Literally like what did I need at that time in my life?
(03:23):
And I was a young mother who gosh.
So my husband and I got married in O3.
So it was probably 2009 when I discovered something similar to
(03:45):
Lucky Star. And I since high school have
always loved doing events. And I, I even had like my
trigonometry teacher was my student council sponsor and we
had to do prom my junior year. We were urge of the prom.
(04:08):
And she I accredit her to teaching me how to throw an
event like manage it from the ground up.
I mean, like she taught me how to do not just a tiny little
high school event, but like how to do events.
And I have used this. I mean, this is something I use
(04:28):
in my job. It's something that I use daily
with in my life. So I've always wanted to do.
I had always wanted to do events.
And so just imagine like I'm a young mom.
I have, you know, I'm like surrounded by babies.
I have three-step kids that are 78 and 12 when we got married.
(04:53):
So they were, you know, on up there and like, so we're busy,
busy, busy. And we're living in the town
that my husband grew up in and my husband had friends and but I
was a transplant there. So I just, I wanted people.
I wanted people and I was, I hadmy babies, but I wanted people
(05:16):
and especially women friends. And like I was the, I was the
one who would like look out the window and watch for people to
walk by with strollers. And I would be like, oh, I'm
gonna go check my mail right now.
And I would strategically hi, check my mail and be like, oh,
hi. Oh, you have a baby.
I have a baby, you know, like please be my friend.
(05:39):
Please be my friend, you know, and that's just how I felt.
And I, I like, I knew I wanted to do something also just to
bring women together. I had started going to, like, a
Bible study, and I had started trying different things, you
know, So then my husband and I moved to the Hill Country to
(06:04):
Hunt, Texas, where we live now. And I started watching.
This was in the era of like. Do you remember when Martha and
Snoop first got together? OK.
So like, and my timeline is probably way out of whack, but I
remember specifically Martha Stewart's show.
(06:26):
Maybe not the Snoop part yet, but she would show these
beautiful farms where they were like artisans making cheese and
garden, you know, all the like, gardens and Whole Foods.
And then like they were making yarn from the sheep's wool and
(06:48):
all these things. And I was just like, Oh my gosh,
we're moving to hunt. We're going to be living on a
farm. Like I want to learn how to do
all these things. And so I would just start
watching like all these YouTube videos.
And, and that is when I ran across this video of an art
retreat that was at a campgroundin New Hampshire.
(07:12):
And I was like, this, this, thisis it.
And like, I'm seeing the joy on these women's faces and they're
in these classes and they're making things.
And I really had 00 art background.
I mean, I'm always like, I've always been like a Jill of all
(07:33):
trades, you know, like I can, I can figure that out.
I can do that, you know, or I would try stuff.
And I was in 4H and we did like,all kinds of little projects and
stuff. But I never ever dreamed that I
would have anything to do with arts or crafting.
(07:55):
I mean, as a business especially, but really even
like, other than just at home, like I was sewing, you know, for
my baby. Right, right.
Like you're crafting. Right.
Never did I imagine that I wouldgo down the path of an art
retreat. I mean, no.
(08:17):
But when I saw this, I'm like, OK, I'm in this beautiful place
in Hunt, TX, where it's like thecapital of summer camps.
I mean, like, beautiful old summer camps that are just
dreamy. And I was like, so dreamy,
(08:39):
sorry, possibly have the spot, right?
And then I mean, I can just start reaching out to these
people that I'm seeing on like, Martha Stewart's show, right?
And just ask them, would you come and teach classes?
And then I can just start putting it out there in the
world that I want to do this andsee what happens.
(08:59):
And so in the meantime, I decided I'm signing up and going
to whatever that place is that Ijust saw in that video.
So I did that. I went and I went for three
years. And did you really OK?
Loved it. So I first went in 2010 to Squam
(09:23):
art workshops and just fell in love with the whole idea of it
and this, the structure of it even.
And I'm like could I do this? Could I do this and after?
Guam is squam men and women. No, it's just women, OK?
(09:45):
It's women only, at least it wasback then.
I don't know. I don't know if it if they've
included men now or not. But yeah, I I went and I was
like, this is it. This is absolutely it.
And if I can get, if I can starttrying to get a little bit of a
following for this idea, you know, it's, it's just like if
(10:10):
you build it, they will come. I just started building it.
I just started a Facebook and I started, you know, doing my
trying to figure out the name ofit and all that stuff.
I just started doing it and it just kind of grew and grew and
grew a little bit at a time. I, it was a big deal when I
(10:30):
booked Vivian McMaster and Juliet Crane.
And I was just like, OK, if they're willing to believe in my
little idea down here. And I'm not saying this was my,
you know, art retreats of all sorts have been around for long
(10:51):
before I started Lucky, but thiswas yours.
This was my baby, right? So if I can get these two on
board, you know, I, I can do this.
And so I think the first year ofthe first year was in 2013 and I
think I probably had like 44 campers and plus, and you know,
(11:17):
plus some instructors, like probably 20 instructors.
I don't even think I broke 80 that year.
Really, I feel like it was more than that.
Maybe, OK, maybe I'm wrong. People ask me this and I I have
the number 44 stuck in my head for some reason.
But I also remember that scary minimum that I had to meet with
(11:37):
my contract at Waldemar. That was 80.
I had to book. I wanted to say like I felt like
it was so. Maybe. 8.
Maybe I did have 78 That that sounds probably right because I
remember them making like they were like, yeah, you made it.
You, you know, this is good. And they were so good to me.
They were really good to me. They still aren't.
(11:58):
They're, they're awesome. And, well, you know, going back
to that time, I remember, you know, first hearing about it
before I entered the contest andseeing it.
And I saw the pictures and it was like, you described dreamy.
I remember going even to get my hair cut and showing my
hairdresser, like, look at this.Is this not the most like,
dreamy thing? Like, would you not just kill to
(12:20):
go to this? And people were like, I guess
I'm like, no, no, no, it's calling me.
Like it's calling me. I have to go.
But now, before I won, and I'll tell you, even after I won, one
of the things that almost kept me back was I can't leave my
life. I've got these little kids.
I've got obligations. People have sports or Boy Scouts
(12:41):
or school and homework and dinners and all these things.
And you've watched this over theyears.
You've watched hundreds of womendebate whether they deserve that
week away. What does that hesitation tell
you about how women see themselves and like?
What shifts once they finally show up?
It has taught me a lot. It's taught me a lot because I
(13:06):
probably would have had I probably had the same exact
feeling. You know, if like I can't do
this. I I remember having to in my
mind justify it, But I also, I also am like when I got married,
(13:27):
I'm I was like, I never want number one.
I never want to marry someone that I feel like I have to ask
permission to ever. I have a father, you know, and
that was like one of my goals inlife.
And I got that with my husband. I mean, he's awesome.
So I have to consider the fact that there are lots of people
(13:50):
who are in relationships who feel like they they would need
full buy in, you know, or that they wouldn't have the support.
I'll say it like that. They wouldn't have the support
that I had and I I know this. OK, So with that said, I've
(14:11):
learned so much about women in that they may think it's that or
something like that or work or kids or whatever.
It's them. It's totally just them
themselves holding themselves back.
(14:32):
I mean, it really is us, like weare so hard on ourselves and we
think we're way more important that way.
I mean, we are obviously very important.
We don't prioritize like that. Yeah, yeah.
(14:54):
And it, and yeah, I feel like, and that's the thing, like it
took me winning it and then hearing.
And I was so I remember when I won, I was like screaming.
My little son was in the shower.My husband was like washing his
hair. I mean, this is how long ago my
son's 20 like and he's washing his hair and I'm like, I won.
Like I won this big thing. Like I won this crazy thing.
(15:18):
And I'm like, but I can't. I actually was like, but I can't
go. And my son, my little son was
like, but mommy, you have to like Q1 and it's because you
it's so hard to prioritize yourself.
I think when you're so used to prioritizing the people around
you, you know, and it's not thatI didn't, I had support.
Everybody was like get out, likeget your bags and go but.
(15:43):
And guess what? Everything was OK right when you
got that. Totally fine, and even better
actually because I was like. Better.
Yes, yes, I had that reset. Well, and tell me this too.
You know, so many women, myself included, arrive at Lucky Star
by themselves, especially the first year.
They're nervous, they're unsure.They might be a little lost.
(16:04):
They may think like I did briefly in the airport, this
could be some elaborate. Hoax.
What transformations do you see in those first 24 to 48 hours
when they settle in? Oh gosh, so that first day, you
know at well, all year long I see everyone just as a name on a
(16:29):
spreadsheet, right? Sometimes I'll see their little
Facebook picture in the Facebook, but then when everyone
arrives, there's this like electric spark of anxiety and
excitement. And, you know, everyone like
(16:52):
who's been there before, they kind of have this like
homecoming feeling, but still, you know, like excitement also.
And then all the people that arenew to it, whether they're
traveling with friends or alone,they've got this nervousness
(17:13):
that is for me, it's like magnetic because I want to go on
like a like a, you know, a bug to a light.
I'm like, hi, I'm like, ma'am. And they're like, OK, you know,
and I'm like, welcome, you know,you're here.
(17:33):
You did it. And I think it takes people just
a moment to really, you know, really I think it's that like,
there's that kind of unsure, just feeling of like, OK, what's
(17:54):
next, you know? And what is this all about?
By the next morning, really, by the next day at lunch, there's
just like this collective, like,like just a sigh of like, OK, I
(18:16):
see what this is. I thought I was here for these
classes, but this is about thesewomen in this community and this
feeling and this experience. And like, sure, the classes are
awesome, they're great and I'm going to learn a lot.
But this place, I can feel it inmy bones.
(18:39):
And these people, they're all attracted to the same place for
the same reason. And not even everybody knows
what that reason is, but they all needed it.
It was calling them. And I always say, especially
these days, I'm like, you know what?
Don't let your friend talk you into coming.
If someone calls me and they're like on the fence, I'm like, no,
(19:01):
if this is not calling you, no, you know.
You're like that full body, yes.I want to say.
Please don't come. If this is calling you then it's
not for you. Like the people that are here
are like being just sucked in and it's it's awesome and, and
(19:24):
you can feel it. And this year, so every year has
kind of a feeling. And, you know, some years were
like, honestly, we've had like at least twice now that I can
remember freshly where we've been like day after election
years, you know, so people come in and there's just some rawness
about it and you can feel it in the air.
(19:45):
We always end up being just fineand everybody ends up doing
great. But there's just that, you know,
thing this year was so amazinglychill.
Like, like that is the best way to describe it.
It was so peaceful. Everyone was so just.
(20:06):
Calm and the weather was like perfecto sorry Danielle to but
like people were jumping in the river come.
On Lisa it pour rain, everybody was mean, nobody connected These
are the. Most hateful people you you.
Didn't know. I feel like every year that I
(20:26):
went, so I've gone four years orwas it 5 years?
I can't remember. But every year that I've gone,
it's I've gotten something else out of it.
I know this sounds so woo woo, but like every year that I've
gone, I've gotten exactly what Ineeded at that time.
Yeah. Yeah.
You know, like. It's understandable I can which.
Is crazy because it's the same place like you keep.
(20:49):
Yeah, and it's the same, but butit's complete.
I don't know, it's just the energy.
It's the same place, but it's a different animal every year
because of the different women who come.
So this year we had 40 new campers.
Wow. The year before we had 65 new
campers. So like, you know, there there's
(21:10):
every year it just kind of, you know, it's just changes
organically. It does have a different energy.
I still have, gosh, I bet you atleast 40 campers who have been
coming, you know, they haven't made every single year.
But I mean, a lot of campers who've been there, at least 10.
(21:31):
Wow. That's a lot, that's a lot and,
and and well, and I it's so and it it's so first of all, I feel
like I need to say that like this is no little thing.
Like this is no like little likeyou're going someplace to an art
camp and like you think like this is like stone cabins on
this giant beautiful piece of land on the river.
(21:54):
And Lisa like flying around on agolf cart trying to get thing,
you know, drop things off to people who might need it or
managing things. So it's not this is not a little
thing. It's not like a one room thing.
You're, you're going out and about and you're meeting people
and you're having these lunches and you're having the fire and
it's just this whole thing. But you're also making.
(22:17):
And I think that part of like, Iwanted to say, what do you think
happens because you yourself said you didn't come at this
from an art background, but like, what happens to a woman
when she's creating whatever she's creating?
If it's ceramics, if it's a songwithout the pressure of being
good at it. That, that's the key, right?
(22:39):
There's no one, no one at camp that is judging you by your
artwork or any. I mean, like it's, you know, we
have artists with a capital A who come, but the majority of
(23:00):
people are there because they are drawn to creativity.
And I mean, one of the coolest things to me that happens, and
this goes back in history as something I think that is
(23:21):
paramount to women's existence and community is like, think
about the quilting table, you know, think about making food
together. So we've basically like when I'm
curating the classes, I try to get classes that are not just
art, not just craft, not just you know, so there's there are
(23:44):
things like like this year we had Tamale making.
That's another thing that it's best done as a party, you know,
it's best done with others. And so even gosh, felting like
any of these activities that youcan do while sitting around the
(24:06):
table with a bunch of women and visiting, I mean, that is what
community is all about. So it doesn't matter the medium,
it doesn't matter. I mean, you could literally be
doing anything, you know, you, you could be playing tic tac
toe, but you're sitting around atable with other women and you
(24:30):
have just, you know, 3 hours of a class time where you're
getting to be with those specific women who signed up for
that specific time. And for me, it's all very
without sounding too woo woo. It's all.
Perfectly exactly the way it's supposed to be.
(24:52):
And, and that's what I always say too about the people who
come like, if it doesn't work out for them to be here, they
weren't meant to be here, you know, and.
Exactly. Yeah, they're.
Gonna end up, You might not get every class that you hoped to
get in your schedule, but wherever you end up is where you
(25:12):
were meant to be on that particular day at that
particular time. And if you'll just sit in it and
keep your eyes and your ears open and your heart open, you
could learn something about yourself, about other people,
(25:32):
and you could make some new friends.
And you, we're not old enough. I mean, we're not too old to
make new friends. Like we're not old enough to
give up on making new friends. Like I keep wanting to remind
myself of that. Like I have a really, really
great group of local friends that I'm very tight with, but
I'm always challenging myself tomeet new people and make new
(25:58):
friends and new relationships and learn new things.
It's just that curiosity thing that I keep also reminding
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(26:45):
a special discount at checkout. It's not just like healing to do
like these things that you know,but it's it's Oh my gosh, I
forgot the word that I was goingto say, but it's very rewarding
and that wasn't even it either. OK, it's completely gone.
It's fulfilling. It's it's like integrating
yourself like it's it's keeping you young.
(27:07):
You know, it's keeping us fulfilled in and it's
challenging us. And I can still not think of the
exact word, but I'm going to go on until it.
Comes back. I especially I especially love
the people like you or who who come alone.
I mean, what bigger adventure like that?
That is just like, to me, they're the badasses in the
(27:29):
crew. You know, it's like that is so
brave. And I want to know you because
you just did something really brave.
And what's really cool is like alot of people do that and then
they end up making friends thereand then they come back, you
know, and they end up bunking together.
And it's, it's really, really, it's interesting because I
(27:57):
think, you know, we can get to acertain age and that could be
midlife where we put adventure on a shelf.
And I don't want that. I don't, I don't want that.
I'm not. I don't either.
And I and I love, you know, one of the things that I love so
much is, well, first I was goingto say, you know, people come
alone and I don't know if they can sense it like, but you've
(28:19):
created a, a place that's safe to come alone like you can.
And I don't just mean physicallysafe.
I mean the people that you're, that you're cultivating the
experience is very, it's very nurturing.
And if you feel like you're like, you know, I am a bit.
I remember Lisa Seeger, rememberLisa?
See, I remember her speaking thefirst, the first camp.
(28:42):
And at the end, she said something like, when I got
invited to speak here, all I kept thinking is like, please,
no one hug me. Like this is just not, you know,
I'm not like a, a kumbaya. Like this is not my thing.
And she was like, and now like, I want to hug you all Like, so
it's just, it does bring that, that feeling, but also that
(29:04):
there's women of all different ages.
So like, we may be in midlife, but that doesn't mean everybody
there is. And that's what's cool too.
You've got this community of women.
You've got women in their 20s, their 40s, their 60s and beyond.
80s. 80s What happens when they're all making things side
by side and learning from one another?
(29:24):
I mean, you get to see that organic thing where, you know,
the wisdom is passed on and it'sso funny because, you know, the
80 year olds are usually the better listeners and and the the
younger gals are like talking, you know, talking, talking.
And then all of a sudden you'll just get this nugget from the
(29:45):
back, you know, that's like fromthe 80 something year old.
And it's like you have this so figured out.
Yeah, it's just so it's so good.I like, I love that aspect of
camp of Lucky Star in that that age range is really cool.
(30:05):
I love going around and taking pictures of people's hands
making. And I have all these great
pictures of hands of all ages making art.
And it's just really that just made me think I need to do like
some sort of a a collage or something out of that.
(30:25):
But yeah, the age range is special.
And, and, and by the way, what you just said about thinking or
feeling like I've created a space that is welcoming to
(30:46):
people who are flying solo is such a huge compliment.
Like it's the best compliment that you could ever give me
because I want everyone to feel welcome and included.
And I do, my whole team works really hard at doing that.
(31:07):
And and I think that is important for all of us.
And the more I hear that, the more I really want to, you know,
spread that out into the world beyond just Lucky Star, because
it's so important back to like the, the making of things.
(31:32):
You know, I talked about how women sitting around and making
things together is so powerful because you get that time and
the the wisdom of the the collective, right?
Well, also just the simple act of making something with your
own two hands is so empowering. And you know, we have a welding
(31:56):
class. I don't know.
Did you take welding when you? No, no, I didn't take welding,
but that's amazing. So I mean, again, it's like you
can, you can come to camp as I'm51, you could come to a 51 year
old woman and learn how to play the guitar for the first time in
your life. You know, I mean, that's pretty
(32:17):
awesome. You can.
Weld and then perform. And you could, you could do Glee
club. I mean, basically it started out
just me like thinking up all of my favorite things.
And I in choir, I was a total choir nerd and I loved all the
choreography and choir and all of our shows and stuff.
(32:38):
And I'm like, Mandy, can you please do Glee club?
And she's like, OK, I can try that.
And it has been a smash success.It has been the best thing ever.
But but let's just face it, Mandy has been the best thing
ever at at Lucky Star. But that's the thing like and
(32:59):
you, that's the other thing I was going to say, I feel like
you've created something and howdo you go like, so how?
Do you? So this is your baby, but you
relinquish enough control to be like, Hey, what are the ideas
from the outside, like from the collective?
And like, you know, Mandy, the first year she didn't know.
(33:21):
Nobody knew anything. The first year nobody knew any.
I mean, some people knew each other, but very few.
And and it was like, I don't want to say the blind leading
the blind, but no one had. We had no idea what to expect.
You couldn't have known exactly what to expect.
This is the first year, but thiswas a first year person, Mandy
(33:43):
Rowden, who I interviewed in Season 2.
And and I will of course, link to this episode, but she's now
like a a staple, like she is a staple, I want to say event in
herself. And how do you kind of identify
the women that you're that you're bringing in and that that
(34:05):
continue to not just contribute,but to also offer their opinions
to you? And how do you sort that all out
like? You know, that is all.
I mean it's different every year.
It's, it can be kind of tricky sometimes, I will tell you that.
So you know, my good friend and who's my assistant director,
(34:30):
Sean Stratman, she and I actually met at Squam Art
workshops in New Hampshire. I don't think it was the first
year, but I think it was maybe the second year.
I don't I can't remember that anyway, so Sean has been coming
(34:50):
to camp and now helping me with camp for a long time now.
So she has been like a trusted advisor.
Of course, my girlfriends that are here local, you know, I run
things past them. I have close relationships with
many of the repeat instructors who I rely on because I know
(35:12):
that they they get lucky star, you know what I mean?
Like like they just get it. And so they know what I'm what
I'm looking for. And I also love that we're kind
of are growing together, you know what I mean?
Like, let's take Shauna Martin for for example.
(35:32):
So at the time that I first started, Lucky Star, Shauna was
living here. She and her husband were living
here in Hunt, and their kids were going to the Hunt school or
mine were going to school. And so we met through school and
I was having coffee with her oneday at Starbucks in Kerrville.
And I'm like, so I have this idea and blah, blah, blah.
(35:55):
You know, well, Shauna's a really amazing artist and she
was like, wait a second, I don'treally understand the whole
concept of like the show and tell thing.
And show and tell was one of my very favorite things like in
kindergarten. So so my my old tagline was
(36:18):
Lucky Star Art Camp show and tell for Daydream believers.
Yes, yes, it's all. Me, I mean that like a lot of
people were attracted to that. Smarter people later have told
me that I need, you know, in my marketing to be more specific
about what I'm offering. So I did change that tagline,
(36:41):
but it's still is a thread that runs through the heart of Lucky
Star still to this day. But the idea was just that, you
know, you come and you have thisexperience and then on the last
night of camp, you have the opportunity.
(37:03):
You don't have to, but you have the opportunity to show everyone
your work, tell them about your experience in the class and do
show and tell if you want to. You don't have to.
And she was like, Oh my gosh, I totally get it.
Like, yes, I understand that. And she still brings that up to
(37:23):
this day. And you know, this year we had
the longest show and tell line up to the stage that I've ever
had. It was such a good, I mean, and
just tears and just laughing. And I mean, we were, you know,
you're either at camp, you're like either you're chilling,
you're into something and you'remaking something and you're
(37:44):
visiting, or you're laughing until you're about to pee your
pants or you're, you know, crying.
Like just having a moment of like, I see you with someone,
you know, or I just hear you, orI've been there or joyful tears,
you know, I mean, just all of those, all, all of the good, all
(38:05):
the best things of life. Show and Tell Night is just like
the best. I love show and tell.
I still love show and tell. Well, that's what it's going to
say because so I think I feel like people really like go
through a metamorphosis over these couple days.
Like you come in one way, you leave, you are like radiant,
(38:27):
like you are lit up. And and then, and you even warn
people like when they're leaving, you are lit up.
If you left a spouse at home with the kids, they are not.
Yeah. Like be down.
Yeah, just be gentle like in your arrival.
Because I do remember I, I, I travel, so I'm from New Jersey.
(38:48):
So when I got home the first year, my parents picked me up.
And I mean, I think I probably, they were probably like, get out
of the car like, because I was like, you know, I am
transformed. I am a new woman.
Like I have learned so many things and I have learned so
much about myself and what I maybe offer to the group and,
(39:09):
and the community. And I, I wanted to ask you like,
you know, you've done this for awhile now, right?
What do you see? Like how do people sustain that?
Can you sustain it? But how do people sustain that?
Like what kind of shifts have you seen in people's lives as
they leave? Like when they get home, Do you
hear about things? Because I feel like I've heard
(39:30):
so many people that I've the first year went to camp with,
like there have been so many huge life transitions.
And of course that's that's partially just time going by.
But I like to think some of it is because of Lucky Star.
Like I like to think some of these creative impulses are
started there, they originated there, and I just wanted to get
(39:51):
your feedback on that. The first thing that came to
mind because I thought you were just going to like, you know,
what are their experiences when they get home?
And. That's you though.
The funniest things that I've seen posted are like, I'm really
pissed off. There's no one making dessert
for me and doing doing the dishes today, you know, like.
Yes. So funny.
(40:13):
And the food, my God, the food. The food is so good and there
are people doing the dishes and we have dessert with every meal.
So, you know, there's all of that.
So many cool things. So, so many stories of really,
(40:35):
really awesome projects that have been sparked, you know, at
Lucky Star. So examples, I mean books have
been written, people have becomespeakers.
There are people who have done collabs on like, you know, using
(40:56):
certain artwork, like you provide the fabric, one artist
would provide the fabric and then the other artist would do
leather tooling and make a bag with that fabric on it.
Oh wow. Collabs like that Oh my
goodness. So there have been several
(41:17):
instances where I have like had to talk someone into coming and
teaching for the very first time.
I'm like, no, I think you're going to be really good at this
and I this could add like a new aspect to your business and a
new income stream, you know, if you can teach classes and like.
So that has happened. And then they did continue.
(41:38):
People who have actually going on to become art teachers at
like schools. What else?
I'm thinking, you know, I remember again, I, I'm sorry,
this is all about my own experience.
I'm so sorry. But freshman year, my first year
there, was it my first year there and Leslie Leslie's first
(42:01):
year there. So it would have been your first
year there because I don't thinkLeslie taught that first year,
no. No, no, she wasn't.
She wasn't even an artist. She was still the.
First year. Yes, and that's what she said.
I remember we were in a class together and and she told me
later that she said to the teacher real and she was a
(42:24):
successful photographer. That's what she was.
She was a wedding photographer. She had a successful business.
That is what she did like she wasn't coming to.
This isn't a career training. This isn't like the kind of camp
like this isn't like a. You're not getting Ceus.
Yeah, this is not at all this camp and so but she left at or
(42:45):
she while there she was like I really I really wish I were an
artist and now Leslie is an artist like that is how she.
Makes her that is one of my favorite stories and I'm so glad
you brought it up because she I mean, she just like turned the
page and she was like, I'm all in on being an artist.
(43:09):
And then she ended up teaching at Lucky Star gosh, probably 4
times. And I mean she is a full blown
working artist in Houston. And she's doing great.
I mean, I don't know how, but she, I mean, I've got 4 kids.
She's like, this is her job now.And I find that that like that
(43:31):
kind of, I mean, you can just look that on your on your
website is like this is like a testimonial, like these are
things that have happened to you.
Seriously, I, I just a Facebook post from one of my past campers
who just opened her studio and did her first website ever.
(43:54):
So she's going full time artist all of a sudden.
So yeah, in like her first year,she was unsure and and I, it's
just very, very cool to see those kinds of life changes play
(44:16):
out. Absolutely.
And and you know, that's anotherthing I wanted to talk to you
about. You know, you just mentioned the
Facebook group, so there's LuckyStar and it's a retreat, right?
It's a camp, but it also becomesa community.
People stay part of the whole year.
What do you think happens when people are gathering this way
that forge these bonds that keeps you connected all year
(44:38):
long? I mean, we're talking about 5
days here tops. You know, I think because we're
all vulnerable with one another when we're at camp.
And I mean, that's the, that's the key in building
(44:59):
relationships, period. You have to be willing to be
vulnerable with people and they will reciprocate and they will
cheer for you and they will be your biggest fan.
And I think when that happens atcamp, when we get to see each
(45:23):
other's. But OK, so you know, one of the
things that happens at camp is that you like to get to get to
be a kid again. In a sense you, I mean like it's
not unheard of to go lay on the ground in the grass under a big
(45:43):
tree and just stare there at thecanopy of the tree and just lie
there for hours, you know, or, or you know, try something
completely new, like a sound bath, you know, And like, so
when you do these new things, itlike brings emotion to the
(46:05):
surface when you are like thinking about like, I haven't
colored something since I was a child.
And like people are sitting around coloring in their tote
bags that we do every year. And I don't know, I just think
like, OK, this is so sweet. This year a new camper came to
(46:27):
me and said, this has made me feel so much like a child again
and remember myself as a child that it makes me miss my mom so
much. And I'm just like, Oh my gosh,
I, I couldn't understand that, you know?
But like getting to put all the seriousness of the world aside
(46:53):
for even just five days can makea huge difference.
It just cracks people open and reminds them of who they really
are because we just keep stacking stuff on, you know,
and, and we just get so busy andwe're just spinning out all the
time. And so when you are forced to
(47:15):
kind of slow down and be with yourself and try something hard
and maybe fail at it and like belike, Oh my gosh, I suck at
making a broom. This is really not what I'm
going to be doing for the rest of my life.
But it taught me something aboutmyself.
(47:37):
I can try hard things. I can do hard things.
I have a broom here. I did this, but it's not
necessarily going to be my new favorite hobby, but like seeing
people struggling and then winning or struggling and then
(48:02):
having, you know, like an emotional like breakthrough.
I mean, you just that those experiences that are shared just
tightens the group. I mean, and then you want to
continue cheering people on. You want to see what's going on
in their life. You want to do life with them,
(48:25):
even if it's from 1,000,000 miles away.
You just keep that little thread, that little tether and
and it's it's really cool because no one else, no one else
in your world may have anything to do with lucky Star or know a
single soul at Lucky Star. But having that little tether to
(48:50):
your people at Lucky Star, that community just gives you this
like boost of self esteem of just like it's a little secret
that you have that you keep to yourself.
I've had people come and tell meI'm not telling a soul about
this. I don't want anyone else to know
that they're like, I'm keeping this all to myself.
(49:14):
But we it's, it's really cool toget to, to see people evolve.
But I mean, you know, just like in real life, outside of Lucky
Star, people are out there in the world experiencing all kinds
(49:34):
of things, good, bad, ugly. And it's, you know, we're all
humans and we're all craving that connection.
Quick pause to invite you into the war community.
War is all about amplifying women's voices, and you can be
part of it. I share the messy, unfiltered
(49:55):
behind the scenes stuff in my emails, things you won't hear
anywhere else. Sign up at listen to roar.com
and get in on the real talk. And hey, if this episode hit
home, don't keep it to yourself.Share it, drop a comment or pass
it to that one friend who needs to hear it.
Every share helps bring more women's stories into the
spotlight. All right, let's get back to the
(50:16):
episode. I wasn't going to mention this,
but it's it's lending itself. So I'm just going to put it out
there. The world right now in 2025 is
like super volatile, like peopleare not that nice to each other
online or I mean, especially online, but it's kind of
spilling over, right? Like you just hear these
(50:37):
instances. There's there's just so much
volatility and people feel so strongly about all their all
their things, myself included. I'm not I'm not trying to shift
the blame like it's, it's a it'sa tough time in the world, but I
feel like lucky star transcends that.
And I feel like is that is community can transcend it.
(51:01):
You know, I've read like something before where people do
these dinners, like they have these dinners and I can't even
remember because it might be several examples at once, but
they'll have these dinners wherelike they invite just like
disparate members of the community who wouldn't normally
like really get along politically or racially or
gender, whatever it is. They they wouldn't naturally get
(51:22):
along, but it's really hard, hard to like be mean to somebody
who's handing you a bread basketand like, it's really hard to
not see the humanity when you'resaying, hey, will you help me
mix these paints like. Absolutely.
To me that is the recipe to the answer to all of our problems.
(51:45):
It's it's the equivalent of the like 2 fighting children in one
big T-shirt. It's like you put them in there
together and you make them work it out.
And it's not even like a forced situation here.
It's you just it's hard to be ugly to someone who is sitting
(52:11):
at the table next to you making,you know, struggling with the
same crochet as you are. You know what I mean?
And like asking the same questions as you are and having
the same joyful experiences as you are.
You it, it's easy from, you know, your desk or your computer
(52:34):
to be mean to people. I mean, it's not for me, but I
can see how it's easy, much easier, but to someone's face
when you're sitting with them and when you're having an
experience together. I think I honestly think that's
the answer to all of our problems.
(52:55):
Because it's like. Together, even if they like this
whole thing of dividing and you know, the tribal, like there's
so many things about a tribe that is good, but there's also
there, there are bad things thatcome with that.
And the division is just, it's not productive and it's just not
(53:21):
the way that I, it's not the waythat I want.
I think when you sit down and you're, you know, whether you're
talking about like your crafter,but you overhear someone say
something like, my daughter's going to really like this or
like, you know, I know I've madethings and been like, oh, I'm
going to bring this home for Ruby.
Like, you know, she's going to love this acrylic bracelet that
I just learned to make at art camp today.
(53:43):
And, and you and then someone's like my daughter too.
Does she like blah, blah, blah. And then and you get in these
conversations that are, that show how much you have in
common, you know, like there's just so much more, like we're
all appreciating this great foodand this wonderful experience.
It's just I, I, I hope you, I get, I hope you get to keep it
(54:06):
up forever because I feel like there's that too.
I hope so, too. Yeah.
We all have so much more in common than we have
indifferences. And I think if we can focus on
those things, and I always say like, leave all the BS at the
gate, you know, don't bring it in.
(54:27):
Just just don't even bring it inhere.
Well, 'cause and the rest of it,you rely on each other to
uplift. Like, and you know, thinking
about I, I, I, I've brought thisup to you before and I don't
know who this woman was because I never saw her again, but she
was the, their, she was their freshman year.
She was there the first year I was there and we were in Juliet
(54:48):
Crane's art class, which was amazing.
And at the time it was different.
It was like all day, right? Wasn't it?
All day? Like some, some of the, there
were 8 hours. Yeah, we were there like all
day. You know you are like fast
friends like. You.
You know everything about somebody's life if you spent 8
hours painting with them. And we did.
And this woman, I remember she was a local art teacher or local
(55:11):
ish. She had a son.
I don't know. She hadn't painted in a long
time. Maybe she had been an art
teacher. But I remember her and we went
in to eat and she was like, I can't show this painting to
anybody. And she actually was like
crying. She's like, this is like, and
we're like, no, no, we support you.
We love you. We know it's going to be awesome
(55:32):
to the point where she was goingto show it to us.
And I remember starting to panicbecause I was like, what if it
is as bad as she says? Like, how are we going to
counter this? Like, yeah, because we built her
up so big. We're like, it's the probably
magnificent. It should.
It belongs in a museum. And and of course, it was
totally fine. Like, it was a totally beautiful
(55:54):
painting. Like it probably wasn't going to
go in a museum, but it absolutely was not something
that you'd be like, what is thiswretched thing doing here?
And I I feel like that's the part.
Like you leave everything else at the gate and then you rely on
you kind of have to have this like trust that these women are
actually going to be here. This is not like a caddy women
(56:17):
gathering. This isn't like a Mean Girls
episode these. Those out the gate.
Yeah, it is like you are being really carried and lifted up by
the women around you. So I think that that I think
that really says something aboutwomen too, that we are willing
to be that vulnerable with each other, you know, and really put
(56:39):
ourselves in this like complete,like you said, people are either
intently working, they're laughing or they are actually
crying and not, not every place welcomes that.
Right, right. So thank you.
I have one last question and then I will go let you go and go
pick my daughter up from school.But if a woman listening feels
(57:00):
that tug, she knows she needs community, creativity or a
shift. But she's scared.
She doesn't see another strollerwalking past her front window
and decide to get in the mail. What would you tell her about
what's waiting for her on the other side of Yes?
Open arms, you know, I would saygo for it.
(57:25):
And and even if you, let's just say you try to sign up for Lucky
Star and it's sold out, you know, get on the wait list.
Number one, get on the wait listbecause we do a lot of times get
to the wait list. And if you don't get to come
(57:45):
next year, find something in your community that has that
same feel, something where you, you know, you don't have to be
good at it. Like if, if they're like, OK, so
I was just at a place having lunch the other day and I met
(58:07):
this woman. She was so sweet and cute.
And I heard her, I overheard hertalking about mahjong.
And I'm like, Oh my gosh, I'm about to learn how to play
mahjong at camp and blah, blah, blah.
You know, we had mahjong this year, by the way.
And so she's like, really, well,we do mahjong over here at this
(58:28):
place on Monday nights. You should come join us.
And like, I don't know how to play mahjong.
And it's like the Chinese version of mahjong.
And I just learned the American version of mahjong.
But I'm like, you know what? I'm not going to pass that
opportunity. This woman just told me that I
can walk into this room and thatthere will be other women in
(58:50):
there who will love to teach me how to play.
I'm like, that is what it's all about.
Like I'm just going to sign it. I'm just going to go.
I'm just going to show up. And I think I'm going tonight
actually for the first time, I think I'm going to go.
But that's the kind of be brave,be brave.
(59:12):
Make a deal with yourself that you're going to try.
And even if you go and it's a total, you know, you feel like
it's just a flop, try again. Don't ever stop trying because
you're going to find your people.
My husband kept telling me that he was so supportive.
He's like you're going to find your people That is awesome.
(59:33):
You can also create go like having hosting bunco and I
didn't know all the people in mycommunity, but I knew like 2
people and I was like, well, whowould you put on the list and
who should I invite? You know?
And so we got together and just invited a bunch of people.
(59:55):
And that is such a great game because you're trading partners
constantly, you know, throughoutthe night.
So you're getting to play with the other person being on your
team, you know, and then you switch and you're so you get to
learn, you get to meet a lot of different people and we had the
best time. So like, look for things.
I would say just look for thingswhere.
(01:00:17):
What you're really craving is not necessarily the art or the
thing. You're not.
Necessarily bunco or the broom. Yeah, you're craving the
connection with anyone. Someone.
Where are my people? We're here.
We're here. We're out there in the world.
Just you just have to keep looking and and you'll find it.
(01:00:39):
It won't be hard. When you find your people.
It won't feel hard. It'll feel easy.
Those are your people. Lisa, thank you so much.
This episode is our last 1 of Season 3 is going to come out
right before the holidays because I feel like it's like
like a good wish for good, like holiday season with your family
(01:01:00):
and like community. And it's like the time where, I
don't know, my very favorite Christmas movie is Scrooged with
Bill Murray. And he says, you know, it's not
too late. It's not too late to go like
call your old college roommate, call your friend.
And that's how I feel about Lucky Star and what you did.
So thank you for, for being partof my holiday season, but also
(01:01:23):
for, for, you know, really bringing Lucky Star to my life
all those years ago. Because I will say, I think it
it, it came at just the right time.
So thank you so much for being here.
Thank you for having me. And that's our conversation with
the one and only Lisa Field, founder of Lucky *, Curator of
(01:01:45):
Courage, and the woman who proved that sometimes the thing
you're craving is exactly the thing you're meant to build.
Thanks so much for listening. Be sure to come by next week
when we're speaking with SheldonBartlett Rumor.
I'm so excited for you to meet her.
Sheldon is CEO of This Is It, TVA Media powerhouse, champion
of female founders and the womanbehind one of the most
(01:02:05):
intentional visibility platformsfor women in Business Today.
So hit, follow, hit, subscribe, tell a friend and meet me back
here next week. We'll see you then.
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