THE SUBSTACK PODCAST and publication
FOR THE CREATORS of the future IN ART, DESIGN, AND MUSIC
Brought to you by Struktur Society, the only peer to peer creative community that clears safe spaces to radically share ideas for forward thinking creators in art, music and design. UnStruktured brings thought leadership and conversations with professionals across the industries to help you build your emotional intelligence, creative intelligence, and business intelligence. You’ve stumbled across a truly unique community. We’re so happy you found us!
UNSTRUKTURED • THE publication
Here on Substack you’ll find insights on the artistic process, business, challenges, growth, and how we are connected through creativity. You’ll also hear about upcoming podcasts and news as well as online and in-person Struktur Events. The publication is free to all subscribers. Paid subscribers are able to comment on all posts and chat threads to become an active part of the discussion. We want to hear from you!
FIRE IN THE BELLY
The Power Tina Turner Created In Having The Courage To Tell Her Story
Tina Turner passed away this week and I did what we often do when an iconic artist dies….I spent a little time with her work and reflected on its effect on my life.
It was substantial.
But I don’t want to spend time reminiscing about her big hits, 80s hair, post-apocalyptic film roles, and incredible Amazonian stage presence. This is not an article about her career, her music, or her gorgeous legs. This is about her courage to share her story and its relevance to a young Gen Xwoman trying to find her power… READ MORE
stop trying to be like everyone else
Have the courage to be yourself and create something truly unique and meaningful
We have enough….. of just about everything. We have enough technical rain jackets, enough backpacks, running shoes, socks, pants, sweaters, sofas, gear, gadgets, radios, headphones, tvs, bikes, cars, sunglasses, and snacks. We have enough. We have abundance and we are truly fortunate. We have learned to create a gazillion things and produce them in nano time…and now we are over-stuffed. We have hit the saturation point in which there is very little innovation, just a lot of me-too iteration. We have this because we also have enough yes men. …. READ MORE.
ARE YOU BECOMING REDUNDANT?
The Journey Of Developing Self-Reliance To Remain Relevant
Lately, I have been heavily struck by two things: 1) the rapidly changing world and imminent technological and psychological reinvention of almost every system and industry, and 2) how many talented and skilled people are losing, and will continue to lose, the jobs and work on which they have come to rely and build their identity. We are experiencing massive change across all facets of life and human culture. I do not think that is an overstatement. …. READ MORE
UNSTRUKTURED • THE PODCAST
The new UnStruktured podcast brings you weekly interviews, conversations, and insights with the creators behind the things we use, watch, and listen to everyday. We will dig into the grit, grime, blood, sweat, and plenty of tears behind every project and what it means to be a creative professional in the modern world. Creators are defining the future of art, design, and music. In the podcast we will talk with professionals from across the industries and cover topics from creative identity and process to career direction and change, from business, entrepreneurship and crowdfunding to emotional intelligence and mental health, from forecasting, technology and design futures to creative leadership and making space for design….and much more.
You’ll hear from apparel designers, product designers, graphic designers, sound and voice designers, industrial designers, experience designers, brand designers, creative directors, color designers, trend and futures forecasters… artists and creators that work for new and established brands, with large and small studios and firms, and independently across music, media, gaming, film, tv, and animation, marketing, sport, outdoor, luxury and lifestyle, food and beverage, farming, sustainability, technology, trend, travel, automotive, and healthcare.
Also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Tunein, and Stitcher!
Episode 3, PART 2 / MAY 16, 2023
ALLISON ROSS, Part 2
CREATIVE DIRECTOR, FOUNDER + JANITOR, YESTERDAY
In this episode I talk with Creative Director and Graphic Artist Allison Ross, Founder and Janitor at Yesterday. Allison’s passion for good people, social purpose, and creativity with a healthy dose of humor has led her to work with some of top design firms and cutting edge brands in the industry. We’ll dig in to the career path that led her to run her own business, what she learned about remaining true to herself, the importance of going above and beyond the call of duty, and why her motto is “friends don’t let friends create boring meaningless shit”.
Episode 2, PART 2 / April 25, 2023
tsVEti enlow, Part 2
independent trend researcher + strategist
Part 2 of Episode 2 of the UnStruktured podcast is available!
Tsveti Enlow and I finish our conversation on becoming a Trend Researcher + Strategist, and the need for self care in creative fields that keep you on 24/7. After opening the first youth hostel in Bulgaria at the age of 19 a few years after the fall of communism, Tsveti went on to study international business in the United States and became an expert in identifying trends and connections across art, business, and culture.
Episode 1, PART 2 / April 11, 2023
J.J. Collier, Part 2
DESIGN LEADER + FOUNDER OF COLLIER BRANDS
In the second half of this episode J.J. and go into the stories that shaped his performance apparel design career: from pro-snowboarding to designing the first apparel line for Salomon, to having to make the difficult choice to leave behind a great thing to take on his dream job designing for Ralph Lauren’s RLX…
…from Annecy, France, to New York City where he moved his wife and two young children just post 9/11, back to the mountains of Colorado to take a design leadership role at top skiwear brand Spyder, then westward to become CDO of the high-performance made-in-America brand Triple Aught Design.
With his father’s military background and his mother’s unique flair for fashion, a childhood in the mountains and a fascination with the Porsche 911, J.J.’s inspirations drive him to high-quality active luxury and great design steeped in meaning and storytelling.
Episode 3, PART 2: ALLISON ROSS
CREATIVE DIRECTOR, FOUNDER + JANITOR, YESTERDAY
In part 2 of this episode I talk with Creative Director and Graphic Artist Allison Ross, Founder and Janitor at Yesterday, about her time at the groundbreaking sustainable brand Nau Clothing, the joys of working for cutting edge design firms with great people, bad reviews and being let go, starting your own thing, and the power of reverse swear jars and breaking backboards. We’ll dig in to the career path that led her to run her own business, what she learned about remaining true to herself, the importance of going above and beyond the call of duty, and why her motto is “friends don’t let friends create boring meaningless shit”.
Episode 2, parT 2: TSVETI ENLOW
TREND RESEARCHER + STRATEGIST
Tsveti Enlow / Trend Researcher + Strategist talks with host Michelle Rose about the power of the mind to achieve your goals, her early life in Bulgaria growing up during the fall of communism, opening the first hostel in the country, going against the odds to attend university in the United States, and becoming a sought-after trend strategist in design and business for the active and outdoor industry.
Episode 1, parT 2: J.J. COLLIER
DESIGN LEADER + FOUNDER OF COLLIER BRANDS
J.J. Collier / Performance Apparel Design Leader + Former Pro Snowboarder talks with host Michelle M Rose about snowboarding, sewing machines, and designing for the likes of Salomon, RLX by Ralph Lauren, Spyder Active Sports, Triple Aught Design and more. J.J.’s design career began as a top rider on the Pro Snowboard Tour, where he first discovered a love of functional apparel and equipment. During his last two years on tour, he bought a sewing machine and started making garments. That, combined with a lifetime of natural drawing ability and a grand imagination, led to him pursuing design and fashion as a career.
UNSTRUKTURED • THE SERIES
See how else we’ve been connecting with the creator community: check out the Struktur Society YouTube channel. See interviews, panels discussions, and talks with the creators who make the things we wear, use, and listen to everyday.
THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE DESIGNER
JASON BELAIRE, IDSA, D’WAYNE EDWARDS, PENSOLE, JULIANNE GAURON, MANUFACTURENY + DESCIENCE, KARUNA SCHEINFELD, WOOLRICH
Struktur Event 2016, Portland, Oregon.
Jason Belaire leads a panel discussion, including individual presentations by design leaders D’Wayne Edwards, Julianne Gauron, and Karuna Scheinfeld on their individual design career paths, the challenges and rewards they found along the way, and how they see the role of the designer changing into the future. A retrospective look back to where we were on this subject back in 2016. How far have we come and where are we headed today?
diversity + design = innovation
angela medlin, founder of faas design and house dogge
Struktur Event 2022 RE:INVENT / RE:CONNECT at the Ecotrust, Portland, Oregon. April 6, 2022.
Angela Medlin, is changing the face(s) of the apparel industry. Originally from North Carolina, she relocated to the west coast where she built a successful career designing and directing for renowned global brands that include Nike/Jordan, Adidas, The North Face, Levi Strauss & Co., Eddie Bauer, and Cross Colours. During her 25+ years in the industry, one of the things she wanted to effectively shift was the lack of diversity in the corporate design and creative work spaces. In 2017, Angela began a new chapter on her journey by founding FAAS DESIGN COLLAB. Through FAAS, Angela partners with other design and thought leaders with the shared goal of closing the gap between under-represented creatives and the product creation industry. Partnerships include Pensole Lewis Design & Business School, REI- Co-op, NCSU College of Design, Adidas SEED School, and a host of DEI advocates in the global apparel and footwear industry. Learn more here about how the founder of FAAS DESIGN COLLAB is ushering in the next generation of diverse innovators. Angela is also the founder of House Dogge, a small batch eco conscious brand out of Portland Oregon. Named one of Oprah’s Favorite Things in 2020!
john ly, founder of adikt
performance apparel design leader + artist
Join us for a conversation with artist, designer, and inventor John Ly, former Design Director with The North Face and founder of the innovative project ADIKT. Host and designer Michelle Rose sits down with her respected TNF colleague to dig into what it was like for both of them to design for the largest and most well-known outdoor brand, finding their identity as artists in the corporate realm, navigating the taboos of self-promotion, and channeling passions and creative addictions into their own visions. From migrating from Malaysia as a child, finding art and learning apparel manufacturing from his mother, to landing a job as an illustrator for a growing Bay Area outdoor company, ultimately rising through the ranks to become a design leader in the most successful outdoor brand in the world, John’s career path has been one of creativity and curiosity. A holder of several design patents, his never-ending desire to play, explore, find unique solutions, and create something that has never existed before has put John at the top of the game, demonstrating that to be successful as creatives we need to be true to ourselves.
UNSTRUKTUrED • THE HOST
Struktur was co founded in 2013 by Michelle Rose, designer, musician, martial artist and connector of creative minds. Michelle spent more than 30 years training and teaching martial arts, and over 20 years leading creative teams and designing performance fashion and apparel for the largest outdoor companies in the industry. With millions of her styles sold around the globe, if you’ve ever purchased outerwear from Columbia Sportswear or The North Face, it is likely you have one her pieces in your closet…still.
Following her passion to lead and mentor others in creative development, Michelle cofounded Struktur Event, the first creative conference for the professional design community of the active, outdoor, and urban industries. She is currently the founder of Struktur Society, a professional community for creators in art, design and music that includes live and online events (Struktur Event), podcasts and editorial content (UnStruktured), and design consulting (Struktur Koncept).
GIVE YOURSELF SOME unstruktured TIME
Struktur started as a yearly 3-day conference in 2014. For many years we were asked to create an online community to regularly connect creatives throughout the year, allowing us all to share knowledge, network and grow together.
The pandemic and all the new developments that came along with it gave us the opportunity to realize this request. Subscribing to UnStruktured on Substack will bring you regular newsletters on creative topics and podcasts with industry pros, plus you’ll be the first to hear about our online and in-person events, workshops, and conferences.
SUBSCRIBING IS FREE TO EVERYONE to make our creative content accessible to all. We also offer PAID MEMBERSHIPS and FOUNDING MEMBERSHIPS for professionals and creatives who are able to contribute and help support Struktur financially. Join us today. We’re excited to connect with you!