Not Just Work \\ A blog series about people that work on something inspired from their heart with passion.

Meet Ashley and Lily of Hart & Honey, not only are they awesome as an impromptu flash dance duo, super-encouragers to fellow creatives, and highly talented artists; they also, are the heart and soul of Hart & Honey. It has been our pleasure to get to know them and share a little of their amazing spirit and fervor with you.

Q: Who are you? (Not just your name, rather, how would your soul describe you?)

A: Goodness, I know I am a sass most days. I am a lover of dance parties and a have a deep desire to be surrounded by people I love.

L : As someone who loves high-fives and is often guilty of being a little too optimistic. I’m driven by the desire to tell genuine stories in a lovely way.

Q: What do you do?

A: Graphic Design & Styling

L: Photography

Q: Why are you doing this?

A: Because we couldn’t see ourselves doing anything else!

Q: What is your favorite band?

A: We both love all kinds of music but our JT, Haim and Alabama Shakes stations get the most play at the studio.

Q: What are you reading right now?

A: Do magazines count? Good. We’re always trading our latest subscriptions back and forth and are both especially inspired by Darling Magazine at the moment.

Q: What’s the next movie you really want to see?

A: Inside Llewyn Davis

L: Philomena

Q: Who inspires you?

A: My husband. He works in a hospital all day and comes home with a love of life and reminds me that life is too short to get caught up in the petty things… a reminder I need most days.

L : My community — we are surrounded by the most genuine people I’ve ever known. There is abundant honesty and grace in our friendships which is a rare gift and encourages me in every area of life.

Q: How can people follow you pursuing your passion?

A: We love Instagram!  @hartandhoney

Q: How can people engage or participate in this passion?

A: Follow our blog, we are trying to stay “real” and transparent while talking about the realities of freelance life. It’s our desire to cultivate an honest conversation among creatives — Let us know what you think!

Q: If you had something you could ask for (doesn’t matter how crazy), what would it be?

L: An endless supply of glitter and champagne.

Q: What is something super-awesome that you can do that not too many people know about?

Ashley is supa’ at Zumba and Lily knows every word to most MIA songs. #gangsta 

Q: What’s next for Hart & Honey and what is your biggest dream for 2014?

A: We’re very excited about a personal collaborative project to be released later this Spring… that’s all we can say!

Q: Behind any high expectation for success is an equal fear of failure. Courage is refusing to let the fear stop you. What inspires your brightest courage?

A: I think it’s the desire to see each other succeed. We want to see one another grow as creatives; wanting great things for someone else helps us push past our own fears and focuses our attention on the well being of those we love. Working alongside one another has been an invaluable experience.

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! We think you are awesome in every way and love sharing your brilliance with others.

NOT JUST WORK \\ A blog series about people that work on something inspired from their heart with passion.

Meet Josh, of all the people in the whole world, this guy seriously has the most contagious laugh EVER! He also is the heart and soul of Bearded Wisdom. It has been our pleasure to get to know him and share a little of his amazing spirit and passion with you.

Q: Who are you? (Not just your name, rather, how would your soul describe you?)

A: My soul is an odd sort. I think it would say I am a bit sporadic, absent minded, and possibly crazy. But then again my soul is odd so it can’t be trusted. ;)

Q: What do you do?

A: I create things. More specifically with the Bearded Wisdom, I create music built off of collaborative efforts with other artists and crowdsourced inspiration. I write, produce, and publish one song a week (using an inspiration from someone else) for an entire year in a blog that explains my creative process. I also have a photographer (Alex Giffin) that snaps a photo of each week using the inspiration that I post on my site and blog.

Q: Why are you doing this?

A: It all started as a distraction from work. It was supposed to be a “New Years Resolution” where I simply sat down with my iPhone and guitar and wrote a tune and tucked it away, possibly to be taken out at a later date and produced. But the more I told people about it the more they were interested and wanted to be a part of it, and thus the whole idea for collaboration was born. I’m in love with the project because I get to lock minds with a large net of creatives; music, photography, video, design, friends, strangers, etc; and make art. Not only that, but it has become a valuable testing ground for marketing and branding, which is what I do for my day job.

Q: What is your favorite band?

A: That’s terribly hard question to answer! Haha. I love all music and my favourite changes almost weekly, sometimes daily. Right now I am really into the Sound City soundtrack with Dave Grohl. However I think if I were to choose my most time-honoured band it would be Rush. I remember some grand days playing Rush tunes with my friends, and that’s really what made me want to be a professional musician.

Q: What are you reading right now?

A: Right now I am reading “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” in an attempt to make my already abysmal grammar less abysmal.

Q: What’s the next movie you really want to see?

A: It’s a ways away, but I am really looking forward to the next Star Trek movie.

Q: Who inspires you?

A: I think it would be have to be Trent Reznor (from NIN and How to Destroy Angels). His song writing and use of technology as a tool (not to mention his angst) are truly inspiring to me.

Q: How can people follow you pursuing your passion?

A: I have a handy website at www.thebeardedwisdom.com that I post all of my music through. I also am involved on social (@thebeardsings): Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Vine.

Q: How can people engage or participate in this passion?

A: On my website there is a “Submit Inspiration” page where you can go and submit your own inspiration for my music. This whole project is based off of crowdsourced inspiration and without it there would be no Bearded Wisdom.

Q: If you had something you could ask for (doesn’t matter how crazy), what would it be?

A: The chance to song write with one of my favourite artists. That or the ability to go back in time to riot at the premier of Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” in 1912. I believe it was the first mosh pit.

Q: What is something super-awesome that you can do that not too many people know about?

A: I love to play chess. There is something about the order of chess that I deeply admire (perhaps because I lack it in my own personality). Chess is a game that you cannot blame a loss on luck or anything other than the other player simply playing better than you. And I find beauty in that simple truth; there is nowhere to hide.

Q: What’s next for Breaded Wisdom and what is your biggest dream for 2014?

A: There is so much potential for the Bearded Wisdom. I am looking to do an album at the end of the year, I will start playing small shows in March, and my biggest goal is to write a song with Jonathan Coulton. I based this project off of his “Thing a Week” podcast so he is kind of a hero to me. But really, the sky is the limit with this kind of thing because it is not a concept many people do or are familiar with, so I am free from preconceived ideas and expectations; I can literally take this project anywhere I want to and there are so many unknown possibilities that I have yet to discover.

Q: Behind any high expectation for success is an equal fear of failure. Courage is refusing to let the fear stop you. What inspires your brightest courage?

A: My brightest courage comes from the people who love me and support me. There will always be trolls and people who simply don’t enjoy your art, and that’s fine. But at the end of the day it is always nice to hear a stranger say “wow that was cool!” or a loved one say “I’m proud of you!”. Without my support system, my family, my friends, my connections, my fans; I would be nothing. They act as a dam between myself and my fear and it allows me to put my art into the public ear.

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! We think you are awesome in every way and love sharing your brilliance with others.