Brand Rebellion

I sat down with Artist and Designer Tom Bond to talk about his art, art-making, and perfectionism. We crack open our copies of Art and Fear while trying to ponder questions like "Is everyone an artist?" and "How do we fight perfectionism and keep an open mind?"   Check out Tom Bond on Instagram @wellingtonprojects or online at www.wellingtonprojects.com

Alex and I talk about riding motorcycles, anxiety and depression, being vulnerable, and how she founded Focus on Health. FOH provides hospitality professionals with the tools and resources to better their lives through health and wellness education, programming, and outreach. They help food and beverage professionals create long-lasting careers in the hospitality field by encouraging them to take care of themselves physically, mentally, and otherwise.

Believe me when I say the Thistle Farms experience is powerful. Truly powerful. I went a few years back and experienced what the brand stands for in person. Ok, fine... you got me. I wanted to cry...like... the whole time I was there. Not tears of sadness, but tears of awe. The Thistle Farms website reads: "Love is the most powerful force for change in the world. It lights the way for physical, mental, and economic freedom for women who have survived childhood trauma, unjust systems, the commodifying of their worth, and believing their past defines their future." I love Thistle Farms, I love the brand story, and I love all the good Thistle Farms brings to this world. I loved hearing Dorris' story, and I hope you do too. Thistle Farms is a nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to helping women survivors recover and heal from prostitution, trafficking, and addiction. We do this by providing a safe place to live, a meaningful job, and a lifelong sisterhood of support. Learn more at ThistleFarms.org

Listen to a candid chat between Liz Giorgi, CEO of Soona, and your girl Haylee on how social media can hurt rather than help. Liz talks about how she stepped away from social media for a few weeks and what happens when you see that art exists outside of Instagram. OMG. Liz is such a badass. *turns on Tina Turner*  

I sat down with Sean Waldron, host of the Tension Theory podcast to chat over my personal tension and where it has brought me with itty bitty titty goods and my branding work. This episode is special because Sean takes over the Brand Rebellion as a guest host and interviews me! We talk about pressure, showing up, spirituality, and all that is good within the tension that meets us in our lives. You might even take away a few brand strategy and brand storytelling tidbits. Sean Waldron is a special human, a phenomenal interviewer, and he has a gift of making people feel seen, heard, and important. Thank you for holding this space for me, Sean! You know I say that every episode is my favorite, but this one is actually my favorite. I ain't lyin'.  Check out Sean Waldron's podcast Tension Theory wherever you get your podcasts.  

I adore all folk music, and when I heard John Statz I knew I needed to get him on the podcast to talk about songwriting. John and I discuss some of his song lyrics with themes of travel, friendship, love, and loss. John plays a few of his favorite songs and we dig into what spirituality means to John as an atheist.

In this special quarantine episode- (Hello, zoom call!) Hannah Moon and I talk about style and learning how to find our unique voice. Hannah encourages us to remove the narrative that we are dressing for others and to find power in dressing for the way we feel.  Hannah gives valuable tips on branding your style, and she gives me a strategy to brand my closet in a new way. I am so inspired by this conversation that I am sorting my closet out as we speak! Hannah is a confidence coach and stylist working in Denver. Find her on Instagram @styledbyhannahmoon or online at styledbyhannahmoon.com

I sat down with artist and comedian Kira MagCalen to talk about her Honest Monsters. Kira draws monsters as a way to process through uncomfortable feelings, she shares these Honest Monsters on Instagram at @turbulentflow.online If branding is all about giving an identity to an idea, Kira is killing it. She is giving these feelings a personality, and a cute face in order to deal with these overwhelming (and human) emotions in a new and productive way.  

I first met Travis Lachner on LinkedIn. What caught my eye about Travis was the way he took life experiences and translated them into business lessons. I guess you can say his LinkedIn strategy is working well. My favorite business lesson he talks about? Improv. I have been doing Improv myself for about 7 months now, and I've learned quite a lot from it. My personal favorite lessons from improv are: 1. Trust yourself. We all know you and I won't be funny or compelling if we don't trust ourselves.  2. PLAY. Holy crap. Play. Why is it so hard to remember to play in our daily lives?  3. Mindfulness. You must be present and you can't plan ahead. Get used to it, baby!  Listen to Travis talk more about the lessons he's learned from Improv for business and branding. 

I sat down with Dawn Raymond to talk about imperfection, taking risks and JUST DOING the damn thing. What's her thing you ask? Songwriting. In this episode of the Brand Rebellion, we hear Dawn's songs on love and loss while chatting about the things she's learned so far.    P.S. Dawn is my mom.     

I wanted to address the sadness, uncertainty and overall devastation that many of us are feeling during the quarantine...but I didn't want to stay there. In this episode,  I talk about creating a personal mission statement for your life. We have some extra time to connect to ourselves, and I think this is a great time to take a deep breath and refocus. How do you want to show up in the world?

In this episode, I sat down with Mike Choyama founder of Mellow Rooster. Mike is a lover of coffee and a sleep scientist wanna-be. I’m not sure I’ve laughed more in a Brand Rebellion episode. We talk meditation, coffee, and most importantly Mike gifts me a can of beans on air. What a delight! Check out mellowrooster.com

To finish off the Boobs, Butts and Branding series, I sat down with Jaclyn Fu CEO and co-founder of Pepper. Pepper makes bras for small chested women. Jaclyn and I talk startups, funding, and empowering women to be themselves.

For the fourth part of my series “Boobs, Butts and Branding”, I sat down with eating disorder recovery coach and influencer Julia Parzyck aka @fitfatandallthat. We took the time to talk about body image, branding, and her journey to body positivity. I love all that Julia stands for, and I hope this episode inspires those suffering from an eating disorder to reach for help. Find Julia on Instagram at @fitfatandallthat

The Soul-folk band, The Copper Children popped up on my Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify about four years ago. I’ve been hooked ever since.   I love the Copper Children because they take you to church without you even knowing you agreed to go. No, not like the Hosier song... The kind of church where love is the center, where connection and community grow and great stories are told.  As we build brands, we must write powerful stories. Musicians like Zea and Christopher help us open our minds to the endless possibility of our own stories. Don’t miss them at the Bluebird Theater on March 12th. I’ll be there drinking too much beer. 

I sat down with Comedian Christie Buchele to talk body image, living with a disability, and her work to rebrand how we see and treat disabled people through comedy. In this episode, we approach the topic of body image through an interesting lens... you don't want to miss it!

I had the pleasure of interviewing Professor, Psychologist, and author of Beauty Sick, Renee Engeln, Ph.D.  We had a chat about how branding feeds the beauty sickness in our culture and how to fight back. Branding runs the show when it comes to beauty sickness and body image...but as usual, there is hope.    “It's hard to change the world when you're so busy trying to change your body, your skin, your hair, and your clothes. It's difficult to engage with the state of the economy, the state of politics or the state of our education system if you're too busy worrying about the state of your muffin top, the state of your cellulite or the state of your makeup. There is work to be done in this world. Leaving the world in better shape than how you found it is more important than the shape of your body.”  Beauty Sick by Renee Engeln, Ph.D

I got a letter in the mail in May 2019 informing me that my breast implants were recalled by the FDA. In the process of learning this new information, I found out I had breast implant illness along with the FDA recalled implants. Where I am from, we call this a double whammy. This difficult journey prompted some questions in my personal life. What role does branding play in body image in our culture? Sadly, I think it might run the show. Take a listen to the series featuring Psychologist and Author Renee Engeln, PhD, Comedian Christie Buchele, Influencer Julia Parzyck and Jaclyn Fu Co-Founder and CEO of Pepper. 

Take a listen to the first-ever episode of the Brand Rebellion Podcast.  The Brand Rebellion podcast covers a variety of topics including brand strategy, graphic design as well as spirituality. I love how branding and spirituality cross over, and I crave conversations that address this. Now, keep in mind… Spirituality is not religion. Spirituality is defined as having a connection to something bigger than yourself. If you build brands, you almost always have to be connected to what moves the human spirit. I am always trying to figure out how to create beautiful brands that are also altruistic and strategic. This podcast is an exploration of these things. We are learning together from artists, spiritual leaders, scientists, and entrepreneurs. Listen to me (Haylee Jordan) talk about why I created the podcast and what is to come. 

Becca Reitz is a Designer, Illustrator, Entrepreneur, Creative Director of Spirit Daughter and owner of Rebecca Reitz Designs. Becca is a digital designer working with a variety of clients in Denver and beyond…but what is special about Becca is her spiritual practice and the way she interweaves her spirituality into her illustration and design. I loved sitting with Becca and learning more about her spiritual practice and the inspiration and meaning behind her work.