THE SUBSTACK NEWSLETTER AND PODCAST FOR THE CREATORS 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 NEWSLETTER
Here on Substack you’ll find weekly news and insights on the artistic process, business, challenges, growth, and how we are connected through creativity. You’ll also hear about upcoming podcasts, workshops and events. The newsletter is free to all subscribers. Paid subscribers are able to comment on all posts and become an active part of the discussion. We want to hear from you!
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
The Isolation Of Being Yourself
Having The Courage And Audacity To Stand Out And Be Different
Artists are misfits. Punk rockers, metal heads, nerds, outcasts, social phobics. While I believe everyone is creative, I have also come to believe that those born with an artistic mindset are cut from a different cloth. There is scientific proof that artists’ brains are structurally different. One absolutely true thing: among all the artists I have ever met is a commonly shared feeling of being different than everyone else. All creatives I have connected with have shared a story of feeling odd, outcast, or rejected…. READ MORE
Mind Mapping Your Way To What You Want
Digging Into Your Past To Map Out Your Future
The other day I went hunting for a crusty old relic in my basement. I found it… a long rolled-up poster sitting bent, crumpled and torn amongst other tubes of randomness. I unrolled it carefully …or rather unbent, uncrumpled, and then unrolled it. It was the first Mind Map I had ever made and the first thing I created with my team when I started working with The North Face in 2007…. READ MORE.
UNSTRUKTURED • THE PODCAST
The brand new UnStruktured podcast will bring you 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.
We are working hard for an early Spring 2023 launch. In the meantime, check out some original podcast archives from Struktur’s early years and make sure to SUBSCRIBE to stay tuned for new UnStruktured episodes!
ALEX VALDMAN/ CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER AT RAPHA
MARTINA BRIMMER/ CEO OF SWIFT INDUSTRIES
ANTON WILLIS/ FOUNDER OF ORU KAYAK
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.
ENGINEERING CREATIVITY
JASON BELAIRE & LENISE BENT
The minds of creatives in design and music are highly tuned to merging science with art. There is a balanced right/left brained quality to the most successful creators across these fields: a blending of IQ, using logic to solve problems and strategize, with EQ (Emotional Intelligence), using emotions to empathize and communicate through artistic means.
In this episode, we bring together two successful creatives who have worked across these lines to bring product with real meaning to mass audiences, communicating emotion and beauty through scientific and digital processes. Whether it’s translating a musician’s vision, bringing forth the best sound that resonates with a large audience, or building product that looks, feels, and functions beautifully… and sells, these two have found the balance between the art of creation and the science of business.
CREATIVE MENTORING
HOWIE SCHWARTZ & KARUNA SCHEINFELD
Mentoring is a term we hear quite a lot these days but often fail to fully grasp. Understanding what a mentor is and does can be as elusive as how to find or recognize one in our own lives. Are managers mentors? Are mentors leaders or cheerleaders? What’s the difference between a coach and a mentor? How do I find a mentor? How do I become a mentor myself?
In this episode Struktur Series host Michelle Rose talks with Howie Schwartz, long-time music industry veteran and professional mentor, and Karuna Scheinfeld, leader and mentor in the world of fashion and apparel design, to discuss learning, leading, and the differences between managing and mentoring. We delve into what it takes to be a really good mentor and how having the right mentor can make a huge difference in propelling a creative career forward.
UNDERSTANDING THE ARTIST
WENDY PARR, SHELLEY MITCHELL, & TINA SUCA
What is it like to work with Prince? How does it feel to win a Grammy and then coach other artists to go on to do the same? How does it feel to design for The North Face and see your work on Jennifer Aniston? What is like to coach Tom Waits, collaborate with Shia La Beouf, or have your own solo show?
Guests for this episode include Shelley Mitchell, highly sought-after performance coach who works with actors, dancers, singers as well as designers and creatives at major companies like The North Face, Wendy Parr, multi-award-winning songwriter, world-renowned holistic artist coach, vocal producer, speaker, educator and founder of The Artist’s Circle, and Tina Suca who has worked in the entertainment industry in roles from Artist Relations Manager to COO, also working directly with Prince from his Musicology Tour culminating in his vision to perform 21 nights at the Forum in Inglewood. Michelle chats with Shelley, Wendy and Tina on their experiences working with artists, the challenges artists and creatives face in their professional environments and the tools they develop to find personal success in their field and industry.
MENTAL HEALTH & THE ARTIST
SAMANTHA PARKER & DOUGLAS DAVIDSON
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and we are focusing this episode on Mental Health And The Artist. In this episode we talk to Samantha Parker, former artist manager for the music industry and founder of Parker Consulting, providing mental health and wellbeing services for artists and talent managers, and Douglas Davidson, industrial designer, mental health advocate, and founder of his own manufacturing company and brand, The Brown Buffalo.
Working and living as creatives. with creatives, and in creative industries, both Douglas and Samantha are open about their own struggles, addictions and healing. Through doing so, both have become leaders in their fields, showing how we can turn our challenge into triumph and help others along the way.
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!