Sessions By Matte Black

A wide ranging conversation between Founder and ECD Chelsea Matthews and Sr. Designer Melina Sweet. This episode is a bit meta - talking all about the foundations of setting design foundations. Figuring out where to start is the true task of an agency, and there are plenty of great pieces of advice in this episode to point you in the right direction. Listen along to hear about how Another approaches visual strategy, sources of inspiration, and why Chelsea is master of skimming.

What do you do when you get blocked creatively? When that last line, perfect reference image, or original idea just won't come? These are the questions our Sr. Designer Melina Sweet and former Creative Director of Content Nolan Goff discuss in this episode. Starting with tricks to overcoming creative blocks, then moving on to discussions of autonomy vs. collaboration, the creative magic of naps and showers, and making progress through the process of definition.

What does true originality look like? When are you making inspired creative decisions vs. being derivative, or even worse, plagiarizing? In this episode, Founder Chelsea Matthew and Sr. Project Manager Jonathan Godinho examine how to keep an agency original, remixing creative, and how to be critical of your own process in order to become better.

And we're back with Season 4. Like all good beginnings, we are starting with the end. Or starting with the end in mind at least. In this episode, our Founder Chelsea Matthews chats with Managing Director Micah Heykoop about what meaningful goals actually look like, where our head has been at in the year since our last podcast, and what our aspirations are for a new season. Enjoy!

So you've been posting your art on Instagram...now what? We sat down with Steph DeAngelis, LA-based designer + illustrator who has worked with brand like Outdoor Voices, The Standard, and Man Repeller, to speak on the topic. Tune in to hear about Steph's creative journey, and her 5 tips on how to get your art out the wild, and the brands in your inbox. See Steph's Work: https://www.instagram.com/steph_angelis/

Thinking on how a brand maintains relevance in the market? Same for us, always. For this episode, we went to our friends over at Parks Project to speak on the topic. Listen in as Sevag Kazanci, Co-Founder of the brand, speaks to their approach to being a giveback brand, and 5 key things they do to maintain relevance in the market. Learn more about Parks Project -https://www.parksproject.us/

Let's tackle the taboos within the women's health industry. On this episode, we chat with Molly Hayward of Cora — the brand bringing healthy and organic period care to women around the world. Listen up as we talk about Cora’s origin story, and the five ways in which the brand are working to dismantle the taboos within the women’s health space. Learn more about Cora - https://cora.life

Agency friends — we've got some pro-tips on this one! On this episode, we chat with Megan Amberson, Brand Strategy Director and campaign guru. Listen in as Megan imparts her wisdom on the campaign brief process, and talks through her five key steps to getting to the core of a campaign brief; how a team should approach getting past internal assumptions to address the actual challenge at hand. Read Megan's latest in the Shape Shift Report — https://www.shapeshiftreport.co/robert-mueller

High times are ahead on this episode of SESSIONS. Tune in as we chat with Charlotte Palermino of Nice Paper — the media platform focused on cannabis education and content — about the ever-growing cannabis industry, how Nice Paper is spreading the good word about weed, and the five things fresh cannabis brands need to consider when entering the space. Learn more about Nice Paper — https://benicepaper.com/

This episode is all about the gram. We sit down with Brandy Pham, Founder of everyone's favorite Instagram planning tool — Planoly. Listen in as Brandy chats through the beginnings of Planoly, and the five ways a brand (or person) should consider using social to establish a story + setting for themselves. Get 1 month of Planoly for free, on us. Head over to Planoly.com, use PLANOLYSESSIONS at checkout, and happy planning!

SESSIONS is back, and we're kicking off the fresh season with a conversation that speaks to supporting community with the Founder of Unique Markets, Sonja Rasula. Tune in as Sonja chats about the origin of the markets, how she continues to foster the growth of the community, and her five reasons why shopping local benefits both the economy and community. Learn more about Unique Markets — https://www.uniquemarkets.com/

Let's talk about how you change marketing. On this episode, we chat with Rachel Halliburton, VP of Marketing at Beyond Yoga. Tune in as we talk about the evolution of the brand, what lies ahead for Beyond Yoga, and chat through Rachel’s five tactics to change marketing.

Refresh your sense of discovery. In this episode, we chat with Chelsea Neman Nassib, Founder of Tappan Collective, about their beginnings, how they're working to stay true to their mission statement, and for Chelsea's five ways that people can continue to discover new art + artists. Tappan Collective is reinventing the art buying experience and bringing art back into the common conversation. Learn more - https://www.tappancollective.com/

At Matte Black, "team culture" spans beyond the weekly happy hour. Tune in as Chelsea and Micah chat through the idea of company culture, and some touch points that business leaders should consider when establishing the culture for their team.

You've claimed the Instagram handle, but when is the right time to go live with the first post? Listen in to our conversation with Elena Hansen, Founder of social media marketing agency SWIM Social, for her five factors that show if your brand is ready (or not) for social media marketing. Learn more about SWIM Social - http://www.swimsocial.com/

Let's get down to business, with Facebook Business Manager. Tune in as Micah chats through the platform's marketing tool, breaks down it's key functions, and demystifies some of the confusion behind using the resource.

Take a minute to light up with Broccoli Magazine, an international print publication created by and for women who love cannabis. Tune in as we chat with Anja Charbonneau Broccoli’s Founder + Creative Director, about the magazine's roots, the evolution of the cannabis industry as it becomes more mainstream, and the five reasons why cannabis culture needs a publication like Broccoli. Learn more about Broccoli Magazine: https://broccolimag.com/

So you've hired your first creative team to tackle the brand positioning for a fresh project - now what? On this episode of The Riff, Chelsea chats through a few tactics + guidelines to successfully making things come to life with a creative team.

Let's talk about the creative path, and how one should go about finding their way. Listen in as we dive into the topic with our guest, Alex Tan - photographer, co-founder of Mouthwash, and all around creative spirit, and for his five thoughts on finding yourself as a creative. Learn more about Mouthwash: https://mouthwash.co/ About Alex Tan: https://www.instagram.com/jalexandertan/

Do it for the culture. On this episode of SESSIONS, we explore how brands fuse their products with the cultures and communities around them. Enter Stumptown - the quality coffee roasters who are known for making a mark within the cities they are located. Tune in as we chat with Mallory Pilcher, their marketing events director, about the evolution of the brand and how the team has come to establish brand filters that help them resonate with their communities.