Samantha Bakall is a food, diversity, and travel writer currently based in Portland, OR. Sam is from Chicago, IL, where she was raised by her Chinese grandparents. Food became an important part of her life in her youth, and she has been obsessed with it since she was a teenager. She then made that obsession into a career when she went to journalism school and started writing for The Oregonian.  Connect with Vania Vananina at vaniavananina.com and on Instagram @vaniavananina! Produced by Puddle Creative Music by Megan Diana Art by Vania Vananina and Maia Buzbee

Magical Humans

Samantha Bakall: Food, Diversity, and Travel Journalist

In this episode, the final episode of season one of Magical Humans, I talked to Drea Johnson and Alyssarhaye Graciano. This episode was a special presentation taped live as a part of Portland Textile Month at Portland Center Stage at The Armory. These are two textile artists, two women of color, and two insightful and thoughtful human beings that I was so excited to talk to. Alyssarhaye is the woman behind BlackSheepMade, a fiber art business based in Portland, OR. What started as a way to fund an internship abroad while in college has become a business that puts on public installations, pop-ups, and traveling workshops. Plus she just finished writing a book! Drea is the woman behind Hidden Opulence, a Design House focused in apparel sustainability and upcycling. The business works with brands for small batch production and batch alterations, as well as individuals for tailoring, mending, or reimagining garments.  Connect with Vania Vananina at vaniavananina.com and on Instagram @vaniavananina! Produced by Puddle Creative Music by Megan Diana Art by Vania Vananina and Maia Buzbee

Live Episode with Drea Johnson and Alyssarhaye Graciano

Hana Nobel is a writer, storyteller, and adventure seeker about her career. Hana is a freelance writer who writes her own pieces as well as writing copy, blogs, newsletters, and more for other brands. In 2015, her article about eating at the worst-reviewed San Francisco restaurants on Yelp went viral! Hana goes on the most AMAZING adventures and her life is filled with color and silliness. Connect with Vania Vananina at vaniavananina.com and on Instagram @vaniavananina! Produced by Puddle Creative Music by Megan Diana Art by Vania Vananina and Maia Buzbee

Hana Nobel: Writer Part 2

Hana Nobel: Writer Part 1

Rachel Burke is an Australian artist, designer, and mom. Rachel has a huge Instagram following, where she posts photos of her amazingly colorful, joyful creations: jackets and dresses made of sparkly rainbow tinsel, floral headdresses, wild jewelry, and pom poms. In addition to her business making clothing and accessories, Rachel also has an art project called Apomogy, which features anonymous apologies - both lighthearted and heartbreaking - attached to brightly colored pom poms.  Reserve your seat for our live recording of the season 1 finale! Connect with Vania Vananina at vaniavananina.com and on Instagram @vaniavananina! Produced by Puddle Creative Music by Megan Diana Art by Vania Vananina and Maia Buzbee

Rachel Burke: Artist & Designer Part 2

Rachel Burke: Artist & Designer Part 1

Corissa Saint Laurent is a powerhouse of business and marketing. As a speaker and trainer, Corissa helps female entrepreneurs transform their lives and their businesses. Her new project called Hear Me Roar is helping women find their voice and use it in a powerful way in whatever realm they choose.  Connect with Vania Vananina at vaniavananina.com and on Instagram @vaniavananina! Produced by Puddle Creative Music by Megan Diana Art by Vania Vananina and Maia Buzbee

Corissa Saint Laurent: Speaker, Trainer, Entrepreneur Part 2

Corissa Saint Laurent: Speaker, Trainer, Entrepreneur Part 1

Patty Delgado is the CEO and designer behind Hija de tu Madre, a brand that celebrates being Latinx. After the 2016 election, Patty wanted to take a statement and create a wearable statement about her identity, so she sewed a sequined Virgen de Guadalupe to the back of her denim jacket. She got such a positive response that she decided to create a business making Latinx fashion statements.  Connect with Vania Vananina at vaniavananina.com and on Instagram @vaniavananina! Produced by Puddle Creative Music by Megan Diana Art by Vania Vananina and Maia Buzbee

Patty Delgado: CEO & Designer

Karen Pride is a chef and wellness entrepreneur. Karen started her career off by opening a restaurant in Portland, which is no easy task. One restaurant quickly became three and was followed by a yoga studio called Yoga Pearl. Karen still owns Yoga Pearl but sold her restaurants late last year. She’s enjoying her freedom from the food industry - she bought a van and has been driving around the country, traveling for fun and to pursue her love of adventure.

Karen Pride: Chef & Wellness Entrepreneur

Today on the podcast I am talking to Paloma Medina, a coach and owner of 11:11 Supply. Paloma wanted to combine her love of retail with her passion for psychology, neurology, and how those things can make our workplaces and our lives better. At her store 11:11 Supply in Portland, OR, Paloma curates office supplies and other organizational tools to help her customers boost productivity and happiness. The shop also hosts workshops that share knowledge not only about productivity, but also creativity, inclusivity, and more. 

Paloma Medina: Trainer, Coach, and Entrepreneur

I'm taking a little break. Maybe you should too! Connect with Vania Vananina at vaniavananina.com and on Instagram @vaniavananina! Produced by Puddle Creative Music by Megan Diana Art by Vania Vananina and Maia Buzbee

Take a Break

Claire and Alanna Saunders are two Pacific Northwest natives who are now actors based in New York City. Claire and Alanna are identical twins who, along with their three brothers, started their musical lives at a very young age. After attending Carnegie Mellon (Claire) and University of Miami (Alanna), the sisters moved to New York City to pursue acting and had immediate success upon their arrival. Claire was cast in the Robert De Niro film The Intern, and Alanna was cast in Peter Pan Live as Tiger Lily. Connect with Vania Vananina at vaniavananina.com and on Instagram @vaniavananina! Produced by Puddle Creative Music by Megan Diana Art by Vania Vananina and Maia Buzbee

Claire & Alanna Saunders: Actors

This year I created an exhibit for Design Week Portland called All The Feels. What is all the feels? Listen and find out what kind of art it is, and why I love making work like this. Design Week Portland runs April 6-13, 2019, and All The Feels is open every day during the festival from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Connect with Vania Vananina at vaniavananina.com and on Instagram @vaniavananina! Produced by Puddle Creative Music by Megan Diana Art by Vania Vananina and Maia Buzbee

All The Feels: Design Week Portland 2019

Emily Fassler is a production manager and sound designer based in the Bay Area. Emily has had a love of the theater since she was young, playing James in James and the Giant Peach when she was just five years old! Later in life, with the help of a few key mentors, she discovered aspects of theater other than being on stage that she loved. She now is on the production management team in the theater department at UC Berkeley and spends her summers as a production manager at The Ground Floor, Berkeley Repertory Theatre's incubator program. Connect with Vania Vananina at vaniavananina.com and on Instagram @vaniavananina! Produced by Puddle Creative Music by Megan Diana Art by Vania Vananina and Maia Buzbee

Emily Fassler: Theater Production Manager & Sound Designer

How do artists come up with ideas for their next painting? How do CEOs disrupt industries? How do chefs combine unexpected ingredients? Find out what made them think, “I can do it.” Visual artist and creativity expert Vania Vananina talks to all kinds of magical humans to inspire you to take the leap and lead a creative life.