Catching up with Ilana Kohn

Catching up with Ilana Kohn

Our first ever "where are they now" with our first podcast guest on Creativity in the Time of Capitalism, Ilana Kohn. It's been a year and a half since we last spoke, and in that time Ilana: closed her namesake brand, filed for bankruptcy, got married, and started a new apparel line called Samet. In our conversation, we pick up right where we left off. Ilana walks us through the final days of her clothing brand and brick & mortar, Ilana Kohn to now—running Samet as a nimble, founder-run brand with the support of her husband, Ryan Leyba. Operating blissfully and intentionally employee-free, we will learn what life is like for the designer as she eschews scale for quality of life. If you missed our first conversation, catch up there first [https://redcircle.com/shows/f5a1b121-a64b-487d-929c-3fefbed9779d/ep/825fa103-a438-47b3-9409-be691e327c2b], or just dive in today—the ground we cover today will also catch you up to speed.

A Summer Update

Miranda here popping in with several updates in between our next long form interview! A new Ask an Expert with Dr. Kristie Wood [https://creativityinthetimeofcapitalism.substack.com/p/ask-an-expert-dr-kristie-wood-on] on People Pleasing is now live! Upcoming interviews with: Cass Marketos [https://therot.substack.com/], Alex Elle [https://www.alexelle.com/], Ilana Kohn [https://samet.nyc/], and...Me! I will be sharing my story later this Summer.  We also touch on a new project, composting my Miranda Bennett Studio deadstock [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYKw2P7Akdz/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D&utm_source=ig_web_copy_link]! Literally, composting.  Also! I just launched a new project called Milky Time [https://milkytime.substack.com/] about being a new parent, if that speaks to you, take a look :)

A Conversation with Amanda McCarty, Host of the Clotheshorse Podcast, Part Two

Today we continue our conversation with Amanda Lee McCarty, host of the Clotheshorse Podcast [https://clotheshorsepodcast.com/episodes/] and Clotheshorse Consulting [https://clotheshorsepodcast.com/consulting/]. If you missed part one [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-conversation-with-amanda-mccarty-host/id1794027758?i=1000771147607], please pause and begin there.  ++++++++ In case you missed the launch of the new suite of programming here on Creativity in the Time of Capitalism [https://creativityinthetimeofcapitalism.substack.com/], I recently aired two special preview episodes from our newsletter, which I consider the home base of this project. It included our new Ask an Expert [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/special-preview-episode-ask-an-expert-with/id1794027758?i=1000768382656] interview series, where we unpack a theme from the previous long form conversation, and our new hotline episode [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/special-preview-episode-citc-hotline-audience-mistakes/id1794027758?i=1000769631305], where audience members like you share personal experiences about the same topic.  Our new theme, based on this conversation with Amanda, is people pleasing. We will discuss this topic as well as its origins and the ways in which it can manifest in our personal and professional lives, first with our next Ask an Expert interview with psychologist Dr. Christy Wood, then our following hotline episode with your audience stories will follow. And this is where you come in. If people pleasing is something that you have felt affected by, embodied, or overcome, I would love to hear from you. I've personally only recently uncovered the depth of influence that people pleasing has had on my own life—from growing up as a little sister to many, many foibles in people management. Being liked is linked to our capacity for survival in so many ways. In my case, I found it to be a magnet that drew me away from my own center for most of my adult life.  To participate in the hotline episode, you can record a voice memo sharing your own people-pleasing insights or experiences, and email it to me at hi@creativityinthetimeofcapitalism.com [http://creativityinthetimeofcapitalism.com/]. Don't worry about speaking perfectly or having some very concise and super polished statement. What's most important is just sharing something honest and authentic to your experience. Your stories will be compiled and shared in the next hotline episode on the Creativity in the Time of Capitalism newsletter [https://creativityinthetimeofcapitalism.substack.com/]. I cannot wait to hear from you and thanks again for being here. Until soon.  ++++++++

A Conversation with Amanda McCarty, Host of the Clotheshorse Podcast, Part One

++++++++ PROMPT ALERT: Our next hotline prompt is about people pleasing. Do you have a history of people pleasing? If so, when did you realize it? What have you done to remedy it? What does people pleasing bring up for you? There are no wrong answers here. Record a voice memo of your answer and email it to: hi@creativityinthetimeofcapitalism.com [hi@creativityinthetimeofcapitalism.com] and it will be included in our next hotline episode [https://podcasts.apple.com/az/podcast/special-preview-episode-citc-hotline-audience-mistakes/id1794027758?i=1000769631305]at the end of this cycle. ++++++++ Calling all sustainable fashion fans! This week on Creativity in the Time of Capitalism [https://creativityinthetimeofcapitalism.substack.com/]we are joined by fast fashion buyer turned activist, consultant, and podcast host, Amanda McCarty [https://clotheshorsepodcast.com/about/]. Their podcast, Closehorse [https://clotheshorsepodcast.com/], is a masterclass on what actually goes on in the opaque underbelly of the fashion industry. Amanda is also especially gifted at reminding us all that with every purchase, we shop with our dollars, and in this way, We have the means to deploy ethical consumption under capitalism. Amanda spent close to two decades inside the fast fashion machine, working as a buyer for major brands and startups alike, helping companies like Urban Outfitters decide what clothes we'd obsess over for a few wares and then quietly discard. Behind the glossy campaigns, they witnessed the burnout, the cutting of corners, the sad desk salads, and the emotional dysregulation that set the tone for far too many workplaces. For Amanda, as their awareness grew that so much of what they were helping to bring into the world would ultimately end up in landfills, so did their disillusionment with the fashion industry as a whole. When the pandemic hit, they were laid off from their role as the original buyer at the recently launched apparel rental company, Nuuly. What had felt like a crisis at the time ultimately cracked open the possibility of a very different way of working, one that would disrupt Amanda's entire career trajectory up to that point. In this episode, Amanda shares how losing that job forced them to reckon with a lifetime of scarcity thinking, the belief that work was only about survival, and their deep disillusionment with an industry that had never felt like home. To go behind the episode and to learn more about this project, visit the Creativity in the Time of Capitalism newsletter [https://creativityinthetimeofcapitalism.substack.com/] for bonus content and more

Special Preview Episode! CiTC Hotline: Audience Mistakes

This is a special preview of the kind of content that is typically only available to paid subscribers of the Creativity in the Time of Capitalism newsletter. In this episode, listeners from this audience called in to share their own mistakes, how they felt, and what they learned. For around $1 a week for annual subscribers you can receive more conversations like this (and and without ads!). I hope you enjoy this preview and if you'd like to learn more, you can visit CreativityInTheTimeOfCapitalism.com. Thanks so much and onto the show.