The nights were jam-packed with talks, experiences, great food and drinks, and even better international company. We reconnected with plenty of OG Members, met many new members for the first time, and were introduced to future members. Check out Working Not Working’s top highlights from this year’s Us By Night Festival.
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Us By Night: A Conversation with Emily Forgot, Leta & Wade, and Mirko Borsche
We caught up with some of the all-star speakers at this year’s Us By Night Festival. They share what they love about Us By Night, how they distill their creativity into a talk, and what they do to overcome the fear of stepping into the spotlight.
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These New Glasses Block Out the Life-Sucking Rays Coming From Your Screens
Overshare Podcast: Leta Sobierajski + Wade Jeffree
Overshare Podcast: Leta Sobierajski + Wade Jeffree
Overshare is a new WNW event series and podcast that promotes honest conversations about the realities of being an independent creative. To kick things off, more than 50 people came together in a dive bar in New York City in February to hear creative couple Leta Sobierajski & Wade Jeffree open up about everything from getting paid to getting rejected to their ongoing collaborations. There were even some highbrow detours to discuss important topics like squatty potties and choice curse words.
Leta and Wade, both Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary designers, had been married for just three weeks at the time of their conversation with WNW co-founder and heavily bearded host Justin Gignac. When asked if it is tough to be in a relationship with someone in the same line of work, Leta explained, "It’s really relieving actually. When either of us come home we’re able to talk about every minute detail of our days and the projects that we’re doing, and we understand each other completely which is great. I don’t think that I could be in a relationship where our lives are so different and so separate that we don’t understand what the fuck we’re doing."
The whole point of Overshare is to shine a spotlight on the struggles as much as the triumphs. Leta had this to say about the risks involved and impetus for clearing the slate and taking the leap into freelance: "I didn’t like the people I was working with. I didn’t like my boss. The company wasn’t doing so good, and so it just got to a point where I was like 'Fuck this. I know what I want to do. It’s time to start over.' I wiped my portfolio completely from all of the work that I had done for the past three years, and just started loading it up with personal projects. That was really scary."
It's clear that Leta & Wade can't imagine doing anything else. Wade opened up about the feeling of purpose that design affords him and why it drives him to continue to grow as a creative: "There is a power in graphic design and design in general to not only influence culture but empower people. And I think there’s something really beautiful in that."
For those of you who couldn't join us, we have good news: you can listen to the entire conversation below on our new podcast, sponsored by FreshBooks. Subscribe to Overshare on iTunes, Soundcloud, or with any other podcasting app via our RSS feed.
A heartfelt thanks to FreshBooks for sponsoring this episode of Overshare. FreshBooks is a ridiculously easy cloud accounting software for freelancers and small business owners. It makes your accounting tasks easy, fast and secure. You can start sending invoices, tracking time and capturing expenses in minutes.
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NOT WORKING: COMPLEMENTS
NOT WORKING: COMPLEMENTS
Brooklyn-based designer power couple #2846 Leta Sobierajski & #3441 Wade Jeffree have combined their quirkiness and clean aesthetics to create Complements. The photo series playfully comments on couple photos all over the internet, while also offering a humorous glimpse into the nature of their relationship. It's a product of their love and weirdness, and we at WNW HQ can't get enough.
Are you a WNW member with new work to share? Email us.
MEET #2846 LETA SOBIERAJSKI
MEET #2846 LETA SOBIERAJSKI
Designer • Brooklyn, NY
Leta Sobierajski is a multidisciplinary designer & art director living and working in New York City. She combines mediums in design, photography, art, and styling to develop tangible compositions for both print and motion. She was recently recognized as a top 20 under 30 designer in Print Magazine's New Visual Artists issue in 2014.
1. How long have you been freelancing?
I’ve been freelancing for nearly a year now. It’s something I had wanted to do for a while and finally gained enough courage to take the leap—now I’m 100% sold! It is easily the best professional/career decision I have made. The studio life was not for me.
2. Is there a time or place that you feel most creative / have the best ideas?
I primarily work from home, so many of my best ideas happen when I am sitting at my desk, taking a shower, or stepping out to pick up groceries. Taking a walk helps—a change of scenery is essential to bring out new ideas and feelings that are provoked from distraction. I used to be more of a night owl, working through most of my ideas in the wee hours of the morning, but I am slowly shifting my habits now that I am freelance. It feels satisfying to wake up early and immediately start drawing, writing, and sketching.
3. What's your ideal Working:Not Working ratio?
80% working, 20% recreation, ideally. I work a lot, and usually begin my day at 8:30 or 9 and end whenever Wade, my partner, gets home from work. I get restless when I’m not working on something, but a free week here and there is always embraced.
4. Do your parents understand what you do?
I think so. I’m an only child, so I’m very close with my parents. While they encouraged me when I decided to study graphic design in college, I think they had a different idea of what that actually meant, and they gave me a lot of pressure to apply for grad schools after I got my BFA. My mom was in college for 14 years to get her doctorate, so I think she was a little worried about my level of qualification, as well as my long term level of success (monetarily). Now that I have been out of school for four years, I think that they have learned more about what interests me and where it gets applied, so they have eased up a lot. I feel successful, not in a monetary way but in a creative kind of way. I think that they are learning that there isn’t a “cookiecutter” way of being a designer to make money, as there are so many different methods and opportunities to direct your abilities.
5. What scene from a movie makes you laugh just thinking about it?
“I fart in your general direction,” from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
6. If you were stranded on a desert island, with your computer, what 3 websites would you take with you?
Until the battery runs out, I’d say Doge2048.com (I can play it for hours), Netflix, and randomstreetview.com.
Runner up: Noisli.com, so that I can forget where I am completely and take a nap.
7. What do you do when Not Working?
For short term Not Working, I’ll usually go gallery hopping in Chelsea or visit an exhibit at a museum. Free time is usually devoted to catching up on art, film, and food, and of course, side projects. Traveling is my absolute favorite way to make use of my not working time, and I try to take advantage of it as often as I can. Our (Wade and I) goal is to make it to Australia and Japan this year for some serious not working time!
8. Do you have a hidden talent?
I wouldn’t call this a talent per se, but i’m horribly clumsy. I knocked over a four foot cactus last weekend when I was in a shop. I drop things a lot, too.
9. Any tips or advice for fellow freelancers?
People give and get a lot of shit for saying this, but I think it’s very important to build your own projects to help direct your strengths and interests. If you do what you love, and if you do it well, then people will ultimately recognize you for this and hire you because you’re good at it.