E146 - Vanessa Harnick
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Beth: [00:00:00] Record
Hello, my creative friend. Welcome back to another episode of Create Today with Beth Buffington. You know I always love to bring in interesting guests, and I have someone that I cannot wait for you to meet. Her name is Vanessa Harnick, and she is the managing director of Notes and Queries, the stationery family business founded by her father, Alan, and she's the creator of the Note Nest.
This is a community stationery exchange that fosters handwritten connection. And as a trustee of the Paul Feely estate and the grandchild of the renowned artist, she balances preserving creative legacies with grassroots community building. She's driven by a passion for art and [00:01:00] celebration and human connection.
Vanessa views creative expression as a vital bridge. Me too. She believes art and letter writing transcend boundaries. They link people across generations and across diverse backgrounds, and it cultivates empathy, understanding, and lasting ties. And oh my gosh, does our world need to cultivate empathy right now, Vanessa.
I am so glad that you are a guest here on Create Today. Thank you so much. Come to your microphone and introduce yourself. I'm so glad you're here.
Vanessa: Hi. Thank you so very much, Beth, for having me. Yes, I am Vanessa Hartnick, and and we were lucky enough to meet at the Greeting Card Association Conference
it is true that I do a wide variety of different sorts of things in my life, and so I appreciate the opportunity to chat about some of them.
Beth: Well, I'm so glad you're here. This is gonna be a really great conversation. [00:02:00] You're gonna want to stick around from the beginning to the very end, because we're gonna cover a lot of territory
Vanessa: today. And I, and I talk a lot, so I, and I... and so just a warning for everyone.
Beth: Okay. Well, and, and you're in good company,
So first things first, let's tell everybody w- where you are, and just a little bit about your background. What made you the creative person that you are today? Tell us a little bit about that.
Vanessa: I do come by it, naturally. My mother, is a really creative person. she is an anthropologist, and she is one of the most creative thinkers I know. My grandmother, maternal grandmother, was the most creative person I'd ever met, and she made clothes.
She made mosaic tiles tables. She- painted, she did mosaics, she created a fluorescent glow in the dark outfit for her dog so that the dog went out at [00:03:00] night she could see him. She painted helicopter covers with huge faces. Her mother was an art educator and also painted, and her own birth mother above that was also an artist.
And I come from a family where you simply made things. When I was about five or six years old, I got a little baby Singer sewing machine. And so at five years old, little cranking one, so I was making little quilts for my dolls and little dresses for my dolls, and I l- I was taught how to knit and kinda crochet, and I got a little weaving loom.
God, all these things that one did in the '70s, right? Yeah.
Beth: Yeah.
Vanessa: And we made cards all the time. Yeah. Yeah. So I came by it naturally. And the fact is actually, you know, it's a funny thing to work for my father for the last, I just realized, 30 years this month because in fact actually when my parents met, my mother was making handmade cards, and she sold to a store that my father eventually actually ended up kind of selling too.[00:04:00]
But suffice to say that being creative was always ever present. That's what I have to say. When I was in college, I was a fiber art and design minor, religious studies major. I studied paper-making in college. I learned how to weave. And when I got out of college, it was important to me to continue to do and make things, and so I made handmade books and I've made quilts and all badly, by the way.
I just wanna kinda point out that there's none of this with any sort of skill set. and I happen to actually be married to someone who knows that about me and wants to make it happen. Because when we first got married, we had friends who were g- getting pregnant, and I said, "Oh, why don't we design a stuffed animal?
And then we'll make the stuffed animal, and we're gonna take the stuffed animal throughout Baltimore, and we're gonna take pictures of the stuffed animal going places in Baltimore, and we'll make that into a cloth book." with a baby quilt. So all my friends got a stuffed animal, a little cloth book about the [00:05:00] stuffed animal, and a little stuffed animal monster by the way, and a baby quilt.
That's kind of the world in which I live in. So I come by it naturally. And I've been working for my father for 30 years, and, we are the leading importer of design oriented paper products from 20 different publishers from the UK. Some people who are printing in their basement and some people who are larger.
And we are blessed with lots of really amazing design. And I'm also the granddaughter of Paul Feeley. He was one of the first troops that went into Nagasaki after the bomb was dropped, and so he died prematurely at the age of 56. Oh, yeah. my cousin and myself and my brother inherited all of his artwork when we were young, and we're responsible for my grandfather's legacy, and he was an abstract expressionist.
He started the art department at Bennington College, and he taught there from about 1938 I think, if I recall to when he died in 1966. And so he has all this really [00:06:00] beautiful artwork, and I work with galleries and I work with museums and so that's the other component to things that I do.
So a lot of different sorts of creative things. Oh my gosh. Does that answer that question?
Beth: Oh, yes. So basically you're a person that is wearing a lot of creative hats. All of these hats are amazing, they're beautiful, and they have a lot of purpose behind them, so that keeps life pretty interesting for you I am sure, right?
Vanessa: I'm constantly trying to balance these things because not all of these things are fun, right? in working for my father, one can't just, look at product all the time. One actually has to run a business. Yeah. Or if I am dealing with the estate it's not just talking about Paul Feeley's artwork
It's also, or even coming up with creative ideas on where we're going to sell artwork or what kind of new things and marketing and so on and so forth. There's some hard stuff. I hate some of the financial component. It's not really what I'm really [00:07:00] good at.
Yes. To have a successful creative business You have to be able to handle the business, and not all business is creative in a sense that you get to use your imagination and play.
Beth: It is something that has to be done at a certain time, and paperwork that needs to be filled out, and, a lot of rigid, structured things that a lot of creatives push against. But it can't be avoided, and it can't be something that you just think about tomorrow.
It has to get done correctly in order for your business to do the other things that are creative.
Vanessa: I leaned into something that I knew that I, that I wanted to be able to do but I wasn't really good at.
And so here I am in a business within my father's company, to be clear, I don't actually produce anything, right?
We just work with really amazingly talented people, and they show us design, and I think, "Gosh, aren't I lucky," right? everyone has different sorts of [00:08:00] skills, and I love to make things, and I don't actually profess to be actually good at it.
However, and that needs to be a part of my life, and the flip side is, you know, when you see something that's really good, which I do from our brands that we represent, I wanna make sure that everyone knows about it. Like, I am actually my family's and these brands' biggest advocate. And that passion is contagious, and so people feed off of my enthusiasm.
So I just wanted to be able to clarify. I wish I could take credit for any of this creativity, but I do surround myself with creative people. That's really important.
Beth: Okay, I wanna talk about first of all, your bravery to say, "The things I do that are creative, I don't do well."
I mean, you said that more than one time. Like, uh- Yes. Yeah ... "I'm doing this, I don't do it well." But here's the thing, th- that having a creative passion doesn't mean that you have to do it well. It just means that when you do it, you get so much enjoyment out of it that it feeds your soul. Totally. And that you get into [00:09:00] that flow where you look up and you go,
Where did the last couple hours go? Or it's something that you can't stop thinking about- And you can't wait to do again because you enjoy it so much. Yeah. You don't have to be good at it,
You just know that you're doing it and it is considered, you know, quotation marks, "creative." And that can be anything from sewing and sculpting and I think I have friends who their creative, skill is making spreadsheets. I mean, it's great, right? Oh,
Vanessa: I really envy. spreadsheet craft.
So I hosted a crafternoon for, I don't know, 15 years or so with women from many different backgrounds and in my neighborhood. And I would have friends saying, "I'm here to do Excel craft." And I said, "Excellent." Yes. Excel craft, right? Whatever it takes because it's different for different people.
Beth: It totally is. There's a lot of creativity in anything that is mathematical. I mean, music, that's all music is, is a special kind of math [00:10:00] that's put together that creates a sound that's beautiful, but it, underneath all of that is a lot of math. So-
Vanessa: Yes ...
Beth: right? Okay. Yeah. The other thing I wanted to point out was the word advocate.
our world could not survive without advocates. everyone that does something creative that needs to be seen and shared needs help getting seen and shared, and those messages are so vital to get out into our world. And if we didn't have people who were advocates that their creativity is sending out a spotlight, shouting at the top of their lungs, "This is important.
This needs to be seen. You need to have this. This is a card you need to send to someone," those advocates are vital in our world to make our world a better place. So the fact that is your wheelhouse, and you are good at that. That is something that is creative in its own sense.
It's [00:11:00] in its own right. Because you're able to look at something and go, "Woo, that is good
What would our world be without people who can take that goodness and make it into something that is even bigger than it could have been, should have been, would have been, right?
Vanessa: I think it's a fair point. I actually had a good friend of mine suggest that maybe if I wanted to try something else with my life is that I could run an arts nonprofit, in Baltimore.
And she knew. She said, "I know a lot of nonprofit organizations that would benefit from having your skill set." And I think she was talking about that, that actually to have someone who is an advocate in that regard speaks volumes. I mean, as it happens, I wouldn't have come here to work for my father if it wasn't for my father.
That's the honest truth, and clearly I'm glutton for family punishment because I also manage my grandfather's estate, because family businesses have their own level of complication. but to be here for 30 [00:12:00] years,
And having that vision to be able to see something, and not just see it as being exciting in of itself, a product, a card design, a gift wrap but how it actually also sits with other things that we represent.
because you can't see arts in a vacuum. That is the honest truth either, right?
You can't just see one card design and and talk about what the potential is. You need to be able to see the collection, and you need to see the collection in relation to the other collections you carry. And I do think that's actually one of my superpowers.
We all have superpowers.
Beth: Yeah.
Vanessa: And I do think that's one of my superpowers that I can actually visualize it, not always as successfully as I would like. But you gotta have someone who's passionate about what you do, that's what people feed off of, right? They're interested in talking to people who really enjoy what they do,
Everyone needs an advocate because I guarantee you I'm not my own best advocate. That would be the truth too. Hmm. But for anyone else [00:13:00] I'm a good person to have on your side. Yeah. That's, that would, that's be what I would say.
Beth: Well, in my Going Forwards framework, the last word in the framework is release, and release is the hardest thing for so many artists because it is that moment where you've gotta suddenly put your own work on a pedestal and show it to the world.
And having someone who is an advocate for your work is so helpful at that point because a lot of artists-it's hard to show their work. It helps them find the confidence in someone who will say, "I see what this could be.
Let me help you." And it helps get that, that project released to the world so that their voice, their message can be heard.
Vanessa: I think having another perspective and surrounding yourself with really... I mean, I'm really lucky. I surround with myself with, what I say to my friends, only smart people, right? Only smart, creative, empathetic, strong human beings. I'm really lucky. I have a support [00:14:00] system who I can count on at any time.
And I think actually having someone have another set of eyes to be able to give you the honest truth, for good or for bad, right? Mm-hmm. You know, when I talk to brands about product, I say, "Talk to me about what inspired this," because you can see something and say, "God, that looks good," but
You can tell when something doesn't have your heart in it, And I can tell that. something might look commercial, but I know it's been designed to be commercial, but you can tell that it doesn't have passion, enthusiasm, and it came out of the rote kind of, "I need to do this.
I need to create a," I don't know, "new home card," right?
it's not interesting. And so, and I think having, being, surrounding yourself with people who could be really honest about what is working and what is not, and also see something in yourself that you don't actually see-
Beth: Yeah ...
Vanessa: that's a skill.
That's what I think, and I'm lucky that I have friends who are honest who do that with me, and I like to imagine that I do that with them, and brands, and my father. That's the [00:15:00] benefit for a family business is that one can actually, or at least in my family business generally speaking, one can be really blunt.
That's actually really important. And so that allows an opportunity to be creative and be a kind of a creative thinker, and to be able to brainstorm because then you'retalking about real stuff, authentic stuff.
Beth: Yes.
Vanessa: you're not talking in hyperboles, which I can't stand personally.
Beth: having some rules and some guidelines, and someone to say, "Okay, I like what you're doing here, but have you thought about this?" Or, "I think maybe you got a little lost here," those things are super important.
Vanessa: Oh, yeah. No, totally. Yeah. I mean, I was thinking about... I actually had a, a series of meetings. We meet with our trading partners all the time. And, um, and so I met with a couple this week, and I said, "I have a lot of respect for what you do," because how talented do you have to be to recreate a greeting card when the most popular [00:16:00] imagery is a cake, a present, candles, right?
or for Christmas cards, snowmen and Santa and, a dove and ivy. Imagine all the many different ways in which one has to now interpret that in a new, different way that's going to grab someone's attention. Mm-hmm. That's really, really hard. It is. And actually, in the conversation that I had with this publisher yesterday, I said, "I always know, I always know where the origin came from."
Like, what was the spark? When you look at a card collection, you always know where the spark came from, and inevitably it's always card number one, right? if you do a series of a collection... Now, granted, I don't design anything, but if you notice a kind of a collection of cards,
I always know that card number one is the one that they... that's where it all started, right? Because that's actually why it's called one. it gets a lot harder when you're in number 16 or, 24 or 156, right, [00:17:00] within a particular collection. Harder to reinterpret the wheel. But card one, that's where it started, and that's what you gotta kind of lean into.
what was working in that card? What inspired you to create this card and have the special finishes and foils or special envelopes, right?
Beth: Looking at, like, a pivotal role that you play in what you're working on, and if you wanna take a look at this and, like, explain it in different areas, like how does, how is creativity helping you with Notenest, and how is it helping you with your grandfather's legacy? Do you wanna talk a little bit on just-
Vanessa: Yeah
Beth: how you're dealing with that?
Vanessa: So, with The Notenest, I mean, The Notenest is actually a really interesting thing because,
Beth: the, that- Yeah, basically let's, let's look into that. What, what is it, how is it, and how should we get excited about it?
Vanessa: Oh, a- oh, I love The Notenest. Um, it came about because actually here at Notes and Queries we have donated excess inventory to hospitals and to schools, and so on and so forth.
I'll [00:18:00] bring excess cards to my friends. They always know that I always have something available. I love the little free libraries that have popped up," right?
Mm-hmm. Like, the idea that there's some sort of free art exchange and the little free art galleries, and all just little... It's just they're so adorable. And I suddenly had this revelation, wouldn't it be cool to have it for cards? So I talked about it, I talked about it, and my family was like, "Enough already."
Like, "You gotta do something. It's a good idea." So my husband sketched it out, and the logo of the Note Nest is one that my niece, who is now 15, designed, and that was slightly modified by our graphic designer here. And I got Open Works, which is a maker space here in Baltimore that's awesome.
Shout out Open Works. They're so good. Such a good organization. and they created this Note Nest with... And so the idea initially was, I'm gonna put excess samples. Um, I have one in front of my house and one in front of the Open Works, and, [00:19:00] we'll just do excess samples.
But what's really extraordinary to me about the whole thing is that people have been making handmade cards mailing me handmade cards, and, um, like postcards that they've actually stamped. They put it in the Note Nest. They w- leave anonymous notes for people saying, "You are strong," and, "You are important."
Honestly, I just got this love note from the Note Nest where this woman was talking about how her daughter was out of the house. She's a single parent. Her daughter had gone off to college. She's a single parent, and she's trying to remember what it meant to be 20-something, right? Younger, without a kid, without all these responsibilities.
And so she's now been attracted to going back to crafting. And now she and her friend write letters in the voice of Jane Austen. And I thought, "That is absolutely fantastic." So she wrote me this note thanking me. She said, "The Note Nest has brought me so much joy." She ended it, Note Nest Forever. And I was like, Note Nest [00:20:00] forever?
Beth: Oh.
Vanessa: So, so great. I mean, and so this is one example of kinda the impact. The other, another story was, uh, last week or a couple weeks ago, because I publicize the Note Nest, and people can get free Note Nests. You can contact me about that. That Notes and Queries is sponsoring. But this guy, uh, wrote me, and he said, "You know, I'm located in Waco, Texas, and the poverty rate is close to 30%, and I want to be able to put stationery in there which is stamped for homeless people and poor people to send to their family."
And actually, honestly, that makes me cry. Yeah. That's the honest truth. And that actually this, the impact of writing someone and reaching out to someone, and we desperately needconnection, and how powerful that is that this person in Waco, Texas felt this was something that would be really important for his community.
And so it's morphed into all this other stuff, right? Handmade cards and these anonymous notes, and I can hear kids [00:21:00] walk up to the Note Nest and they're like, "Oh, mom, can I pick a card for my cousin Jack?" And I think, "Oh," 'cause my windows are open and I hear all of this.
My husband says, "Did you record it? You should record this. This is good." but it's it's unlike, you know, donating cards
I actually hear people who receive them, who get them, where it matters. And actually, that one-on-one connection has been very buoying for me. So I've been now, as a result of, all the enthusiasm about it, I've been thinking about, all right, what are other ways in which we can do this within our communities?
And there's a ripple effect, right? And you hope that actually, uh, my enthusiasm for the Note Nest, um, gets other people to kind of think about this opportunity and writing. And in fact, what it does also is that you've got young people, you've got kids who have never sent or mailed a card, who are now learning how to address.
So you've got younger people who are now slowly believing that that's actually good. I mean, my daughter grew up [00:22:00] with this, by the way. Like, she's always made handmade cards and has written cards. My whole family has. But to see it from people who are in my community who are not used to that, that's pretty, pretty amazing.
So-
Beth: I, oh, I was just thinking about the story you told about the guy in Texas. To think that there might have been someone who wasn't able to tell their family where they are or how they are- Because the price of a stamp.
Vanessa: Exactly. Exactly. it actually takes your breath away.
That's actually what I think from my perspective.
Beth: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That is chilling. It's really chilling. So it's, and it is often the little things in life that make an explosive difference in other people's worlds, you know, the things you can do. I, I love that. I've got questions about Notenest.
So-
Vanessa: Yes ...
Beth: you if you're someone who, is given approval to receive a Notenest-
Vanessa: Uh-huh ...
Beth: then what is your [00:23:00] responsibility for the care and upkeep of the,
Vanessa: the- The, of the Notenest. Mm-hmm. So you get a box of samples or discontinued cards from us, but it is their responsibility to maintain it, um, so to fill it with their own kind of excess cards or stationery.
And I actually, I have been kind of blown away by how all of us, or most of us, have boxes of cards and postcards that they have hidden in the attic But their responsibility is to maintain it, and so once they get those cards, they need to maintain it with stationery and cards. But the, the key issue is getting the word out. And it's solar, by the way. It glows at night, which is really cool. Oh,
Beth: man.
Vanessa: Um, it just looks- So fun. Love it. It's so cute. Yeah. And so people come up, and they, it takes a second for them to realize, "Oh, what is this? It's a Little Free Library, but for stationery.
actually, I have a lot of artists who contact me all over the United States, and they love the Notenest, so they send mail to the Notenest, but many of them are interested in being able to have it in their [00:24:00] own community so that they have a venue to be able to support that level of connection on their street or in their neighborhood.
Beth: so they come to the Note Nest and they open it up, and they get to pick something that they want t- to send a, a card to a certain person.
Vanessa: Yeah.
Beth: So they find that match. And then the Note Nest person, are you helping out with the stamps?
Or is that- No ... something that's your decision to make?
Vanessa: That's their decision to make. And inevitably, people are dropping off stationery in the Note Nest. Like, I came home actually yesterday or a couple days ago, and I saw that, that someone had driven up on my block, was double parked in my street, and they were stocking the Note Nest with their own cards and their own stationery.
Oh, fun. That's so fun. They said, "Well, we love the Note Nest." And I said, "That's so great. I love the Note Nest." So they said, here's some new stationery that we made." And I said, "That's fantastic." So.
Beth: That is really cool. Okay. More of
Vanessa: a give and take.
Beth: Okay. So people are then, they're picking out the card, and they take that back to their house to fill out and address- Yes
and then put in the [00:25:00] mail. Okay. That's cool. And then I was wondering w- I could see how you could have a Note Nest in your area, and then you could get in touch with schools to say, "The Note Nest is here. I would love it if the school would help me keep it filled- Totally ... with cards that the kids are making, you know?
Birthday cards and-"
Vanessa: Absolutely. It... Wouldn't that be fantastic?
Beth: Yeah.
Vanessa: Or if there was a collaboration between a school and like, let's say, a shelter, a women's shelter and stuff, like I just I think art to, art is a really powerful tool to be able to connect people. Yep. there's a, there are a lot of opportunities there.
I completely agree. Great ideas. Yeah.
Beth: Yes. Oh, I've, I truly believe that if you're someone that has just, the tiniest little seed of creativity in you, if there's something you make or create or produce, it is your responsibility to make sure that it gets out into the world to do whatever it was made to do.
And that, that's something that you need to [00:26:00] look at as your responsibility.
Vanessa: I think that's true. I, I honestly, I... It is one of the reasons why I surround myself with really creative people, because it's hard to be creative all the time.
Beth: Yeah.
Vanessa: So I, you know, if one went into my office, and I've got a lot of stuff going on in my office.
I need to be inspired. So I need to be inspired by all sorts of art and design, and I need to be inspired by working with people who I think are really creative that I can glean something from.
And the honest truth is that it's hard to be creative all the time. But I think you need to push the envelope. See, I think part of this is that it is easy to become complacent.
Beth: Ooh,
Vanessa:
Beth: Yeah ...
Vanessa: so easy, right? we go home from work, and we wanna go sit on the couch, and we don't wanna get up from the couch, right?
and we binge-watch something kind of terrible. And by the way, I do that. Me too. But I do actually think one has to lean into something that makes you feel good, but also lean into the new and uncomfortable. And I travel a lot for work. I go to [00:27:00] Europe because all of our product is kind of European or British.
I go to England about four or five times a year. And I'm constantly traveling, as people know and that's in spite of the fact that I hate to fly. I hate to fly, but I travel all the time because I can't allow my fears to get in the way of doing something that's really important. traveling helps broaden my perspective on things.
And, you know, I use the expression with some of my friends that I love vistas. Like, when I travel, I want a good vista, right? And so those vistas can look really different for different people. But that, but I find that helps kind of reset my worldview on things and allows me to be open-minded, which I think one has to be to try something new.
It's hard to be uncomfortable. Trying something new requires you to be uncomfortable, and so... And it may not come naturally, and so you still have to just lean into it and do it anyway. That's actually what I think.
Beth: [00:28:00] Yes. K- okay, there's a bunch of stuff in here I wanna talk about too. Yeah. Um, first of all the vistas, the travel, the seeing things from a different perspective, that is how one becomes empathetic.
'Cause when you only sit and stew in your own juices all the time, then you have one thought pattern that you believe is correct, and why doesn't everybody think this way? But when you can travel and see how other people are living and eating and going about their life You understand that other people can live a different life and be just as kind as you are or be just as interesting as you think you might be or as you would like to be.
And it makes you understand that people who are different from you, you can still have a lot in common with. But you can only find that out if you get away from where you're sitting right now. So travel is real important and I love that you were open about the fact that you don't like to fly. I don't either.
I, I don't like airports. But [00:29:00] I make myself go and do that because on the other side of that plane ride is an experience that I know I need to have.
Vanessa: Yes.
Beth: Right?
Vanessa: Yeah. without question. And I say this because I travel for work and so there's that.
And so there's a, there's an issue where I have had the opportunity to have my work kinda pay for this. This is part of my job. Mm-hmm. With that said, I would be traveling anyway. You know, the most transformative experience of my whole life was living in Indonesia for six months. And I lived with a family and the second, uh, half of the trip I was on an island off of Bali called Nusa Penida that was a penal colony up until the turn of the century. And in fact all crazy people and criminals were kind of sent there.
And the last time a Westerner had actually been on that island had been at least a year earlier,
and it was known actually on this island in the mountains that there was someone who knew how to weave a particular type of cloth that's called trebuk that's used in religious ceremonies. And I got it in my head, right, that I am going to [00:30:00] learn this type of cloth.
I gotta say, you know, navigating a country where you barely know the language and your, and the social norms and the cultural norms are are very different, and that's hard. But I did it. and actually it was life transforming. My life has actually never been the same since then.
And because you, you put yourself in a different sort of element. if we all can keep maintained in that small bubble, as comfortable as that bubble is, it actually doesn't do us any good in the long term.
Beth: It doesn't. It doesn't. It won't make you happier. But getting outside of your comfort zone- While it's awkward at the moment, what it does to change you into a new and different and better person is worth every struggle, every, every moment of, "I don't know if I like this or not.
I don't wanna get on that plane tomorrow." The day before I fly, I'm always like, "I just wanna stay home. I just wanna walk my dog-" Oh,
Vanessa: totally ...
Beth: go in my studio, and [00:31:00] have dinner with my husband. I don't really need to do this new thing And every time I go, I come home going, "I can't believe that I ever thought that wasn't a good idea."
You know? It just, you don't regret the ride. It's...
Vanessa: Oh, yeah. You know, actually related to that, I'm about to leave for about two and a half weeks, and I go next week, and I always get kind of anxious before I fly, and there's this kind of flurry of energy and anxiety and stuff. And then I have to map out in my head, all right, what are things that I can do to make myself kind of look forward to the experience, right?
So I'm gonna be partially in Italy for a period of time. I mean, honestly, for God sakes, this sounds so bougie of me, right? I'm really looking forward to it. I just don't like to fly. But I'm going to the Dolomites. I've never been to the Dolomites before, right?
Like, and I think hiking, new vistas, that's pretty extraordinary.
And I've got my journal so that means when I'm traveling, whether it's in London or whether it's in Paris or, whether in Turin or or the Dolomites, I'm gonna have an [00:32:00] opportunity to record my experience in a visual way that will be meaningful to me.
and it'll force me to notice things that I might not have forced otherwise.
Beth: it does something extra to the brain that will generate more creative energy than a just snap the picture, move on kind of a thing, you know?
Vanessa: my next question for you, which is- Yes ... about community how important it is to surround yourself with the people that can support you with your creative ideas.
Beth: you also wrote in your questionnaire you have friends that you can text at 5:00 in the morning to talk about some creative struggle or a celebration that you just feel inclined to discuss at 5:00 in the morning because you're a morning people and you know you've got people at 5:00 that will be on board to talk to you at that time.
So talk to me a about your idea about community and how you cultivate your own people.
Vanessa: [00:33:00] Oh, that is absolutely so core to who I am.
And the irony, I should put the context, is that I was a really quiet kid.
Beth:
Vanessa: And I didn't have a lot of friends. And I say that because actually it's not something that's kind of come naturally to me. However, community was always everything, and I had family, my mother and my grandmother in particular, kept in touch with all these people she knew, all, all these many, many different parts of her life.
And I found that- Amazing. And that was what I wanted to emulate, and I do. I joke with friends that that I only know smart, strong, warm, loving, empathetic people, and I surround myself with them and I would do anything for them. I'm really, really, really lucky, I've got people who I've known for a lifetime, right?
I have my college friends. I've got my post-college friends. I've got my community of people who are the mothers of friends of my daughters who I'm still in touch with, and then I've got new friends.
And by the way, developing new friendships in one's 50s is really hard.
Beth: Yeah.
Vanessa: I think [00:34:00] good people need to know other good people, and so I invite many of the same people to my husband's chili cook-off, to my birthday picnic, to, fancy dinner parties, under really strange themes, like the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera wedding dinner.
I do write a Substack on a pretty regular basis, which is my way of getting all that stuff in my head out, and I started it in October, and it used to be once every other week, and now I write daily. That's been a helpful exercise, and my community of people who read this is so varied.
It's really interesting. It's people I used to work with, people who I work with now, they're brands, publishers that I used to work with who I haven't or we don't work with, with sales reps from England, sales reps that are here friends I've known for a lifetime, friends who I just met with in the last two years, neighbors.
it's so varied, and yet I find myself having this kind of broader Community, For [00:35:00] me personally, that's everything.
I am a, I've become a more social person.
Beth: Yeah.
Vanessa: But it allows me to be more creative and think about more ideas, because I'm so buoyed by what other people are doing, because people, there are a lot of people who are doing some extraordinary things, right? And I think that's really cool, and I wanna do more extraordinary things just like them.
Beth: Oh my gosh.
Yeah, so fun. There's so many things you can do with that to just cultivate that community feeling.
Oof, that's so many good ideas there. But so community, that, that is something real important. I love that you brought in your idea about Substack. It is, a place where you are cultivating how you're seeing the world and you're always on the lookout to what your next Substack's going to be, yeah?
Vanessa: I'm really grateful actually because it's been a really helpful exercise for me. It's been a really important outlet. And I think it's been important for other people in ways that I haven't really understood. And I say that because the [00:36:00] world is really small and I think people are dealing with a lot of stuff.
Beth:
Vanessa: And I think we don't want to feel alone. I think a lot of people feel alone. and I tend to be really blunt as you can kind of tell. I don't like, falseness and hyperbole and stuff. And so a friend said she feels that when she reads it that she hears her own voice, but that I'm articulating something that maybe she felt uncomfortable to even articulate out loud.
Beth: Yeah.
Vanessa: And I think that's a helpful thing. I think being vulnerable, is really important in the creative process. But how hard is that, right? Like to actually put yourself out there because you're subject to everything else and you have to have your own kind of confidence to not personalize some of the feedback which may or may not be what you want from that kind of dialogue.
Beth: I, yeah, what you just said there is so, so big. When you're writing daily and you are being vulnerable what you're doing is you're allowing people who are feeling very isolated or stuck or worried to have them go, "Oh my gosh, me too.
I think that too," [00:37:00] or- Yeah. Yeah ...I'm not alone. I am not the only one." And it's opening up those thoughts that help people so much think, ah, okay, here's someone else who has the same worries or the same problems or the same thoughts or the same dreams.
Vanessa: Yeah.
Beth: Yeah. And here's what they're doing with it.
Maybe I can do something with this problem as well.
Vanessa: Yeah. I, I'd like to imagine that it can strike a tone, depending upon what the topics are. I mean, generally my themes are sometimes I talk about running a small business. That would apply to running a small organization.
That applies to anything in one's professional life. And sometimes I talk about what it just means to be human, right? Yeah. And deal with bigger issues or what it means to be a woman who's in your 50s, right? But I think it's been a creative outlet in a way that I certainly didn't expect,
I think it's helpful to be able to put it out there. Because i- in putting it out there, whether in writing or in art or in music shows a level of confidence. And so then you become that [00:38:00] person, or you come closer to that person that you want to be. Yeah. I think it's important to be able to strive, right?
Right. We need to be always growing. That's
Beth: what I think. Well, and I think when you have a calling, it's a combination of two extremes. it's suddenly something you can't help but do. right?
It's just stuff that you, i- it's helping get it out of your head and out someplace else-
Vanessa: Yes. Totally ...
Beth: so that you can think of other things. Absolutely. Right?
Vanessa: Oh 100%. 100%.
Beth: Yep. so there's that.
But secondarily, when it's something that you share, you are allowing it to be seen by other people, and your message is getting out, and the hope is it will reach the people who need to hear it.
Vanessa: I think the world is a really small place. and I see also there are various different bubbles, these intersecting bubbles in our lives, right?
There's a professional life, and there's a personal life, and there's the familial, the people that you met, you know peripherally in some sort of industry, and then there are people who you just met. And you never know [00:39:00] actually when you meet people Who's gonna stay, right? What are the moments or what are the exchanges that are actually going to stick with you for the rest of your life?
The person who you just met, is this a temporary thing or is this something that is going to last a lifetime? And I'm really lucky that I really spend a lot of time nurturing the friendships and relationships I have in my life. They're absolutely anchoring for me.
But you never know in that moment when you're meeting people, until you try to engage because you don't know what will actually kind of happen. And I think it's important to be able to express when you have a moment, even if it's temporary, that someone actually said something or did something or gave you something or made something that made a difference, whether it was direct or not.
And as a creative person, or wanting to be creative, you need to be able to lean into that, right? 'Cause you don't know, like you, what the impact will be. But I'm, 100% tell you that it [00:40:00] has a profound impact on people you don't even know.
Beth: Indeed.
Vanessa: They won't even re- you don't even realize actually the kind of impact that you have on someone, people's lives.
Yeah. That's
Beth: what I think. And success can be one person found what you said helpful or funny- Totally ... or brighten- Absolutely ... their day. It doesn't have to be a viral experience that, oh, I have hundreds of thousands of people every day saying, "Write more, send more, do more, draw more." It can be just one person that sends you a note and says, "I gotta tell you how much this meant to me."
Vanessa: Yes. we get these on occasion actually with our greeting cards. People will write and say, "Thank you so much for offering such great product." And I said, "Oh, don't thank me. Let me get you in touch with the publisher," right? Like, they're the creative ones.
But I'm really glad for this relationship. Over 40% of our business in notes and queries comes from retailers who have bought our line for over 25 years. That's, that level of loyalty doesn't kind of come about. And I think about that a lot [00:41:00] because people have lots of choices in their lives. and so we can choose to support the people that are important to us in these various different kind of elements and stuff.
but you have to express it. Don't hold it in.
So that's my big message is that don't wait. Don't wait to share that.
That's it's critical. That's it.
Beth: Oh, my, oh, my gosh, so important. So- Let, everyone know, uh, right now, Vanessa what are some of your passion projects that you want people to know about? And then especially the ones where they can interact with you and help you or find you, or watch you, or listen to you, or read about you.
What are some of those projects?
Vanessa: All right. So there are lots of really wonderful things that are actually going on. I feel really lucky. So the number one thing is actually I am Notes and Queries is on Instagram and it's on Facebook. You can support our product at so many independent small businesses across the United States as the [00:42:00] anchor of our business.
So that's one way to on a tangible level. But for me personally, I am on Instagram and I am on Facebook. And I do have a Substack, and I do write all the time, and I encourage people to follow me on Substack. It's Vanessa Harnick. And I want feedback, right?
Let's see. Other ways in which we've got the Note Nest. So if you want a Note Nest in your area, write me. And I get mail for the Note Nest all the time. Write me and we'll see what we can do, because I'm really proud of the fact that my company is sponsoring a free Note Nest.
you have to pay for the freight on it. But, and you have to put it together, but you get to paint it so it looks like one of your own. It's really cool.Okay. And you got to support it.
ask for Notes and Queries product at your small independent business- we're always looking for more. So we are, we are a family business.
So when you buy a Notes and Queries card, just know that the money actually means something. that's my other little highlight. It's important. Oh. Supporting local is important.
Beth: I love it. And for everybody who is watching [00:43:00] or listening to this episode, go to the show notes and I will have the information that Vanessa has just shared. It'll all be there for you to, uh, get in touch with her about Note Nest or, or any of the other pieces that she's, she's talked about, her Substack link, and et cetera.
So check out the show notes. And one last thing I would love to ask you, Vanessa, what kind of advice would you give to someone who is in any stage of their life thinking, "I wish I were more creative"?
What advice would you give them to help them do better in what they're pursuing, whether that's, just for, fun or whether it's for profit? what kind of advice would you give them?
Vanessa: I think it's really easy to be overwhelmed by the by the question, I need to be more creative in my work, right?
Honestly, I find myself kind of overwhelmed by that kind of stuff. So I think there are a couple of things, but you should start small, bite sized, right? That means recording in a [00:44:00] journal a couple of things that you've noticed that day.
That was actually a piece of advice that my grandfather did, Paul Feely, did in his class. He said, "Notice what are three things that you noticed today?" And I have started doing that practice. That, that changes your worldview. That's actually what I think, and that will have a ripple effect on other things.
So it can be bite sized. It could be, you know, I like the idea of painting watercolor on tea bags. I know that seems weird, but that's a thing, right? doing small little drawings, doing some level of little bit of writing, trying a new recipe. Start small.
Surround yourself with creative people, and actually get to know new people. there are so many talented people in this world, so you gotta get to know new people, and that means putting yourself out there. But traveling a lot. get out of your element and travel and see art and go to museums and listen to music and go to a comedy show.
Like, honestly, there's a comedy place that's opening up in my neighborhood. I thought I've never been to a comedy, you know, a comedy place. But [00:45:00] I thought, Why not? 'cause that'll actually reset you.
and ultimately reach out to people you don't know or to connect, because that is the foundation, right? what does this matter if we can't actually connectthat's what I think is actually foundational. Yes. We don't connect with other people then we have a real problem.
and That may mean, connecting with people you haven't seen in 20, 30 years. if they were really nice people,
if they really meant something to you, write a letter and say, that exchange meant something to me." So- Bite-sized steps connect with people, and lean into new, and just expose yourself to new experiences
Beth: That's, actually more than I expected to say.
No, it's all good things.
find out why it's important to get out of your comfort zone and see new things, because the growth that you feel makes you a little bit different person and a little bit better person every time you experiment.
Vanessa: 100%, I completely agree.
Beth: Yeah.
Vanessa: you packaged it up Really well, Beth, so thank you. [00:46:00]
Beth: Oh, Vanessa, I think we could talk for the rest of the afternoon. We have just scratched the surface on things I think could be, incredibly valuable for our listeners to hear.
So now everyone knows where to find Vanessa and learn more about her. If you found her fascinating today, go and find her Substack. If you're curious about how you could do a note nest in your community, go down into the show notes, find her address, and send her a note saying, "I think I want a note nest in my area."
I think this is such a great idea. I would love to see note nests everywhere. Um, I I just love this idea so much. So take a look at what you're doing with your creativity right now. What can you do in a small, snackable way that is going to get you out of your comfort zone and have you experiment with something that you're curious about?
Could you take it from something that you're curious about into something that makes a calling for you, I love that so much. So [00:47:00] everyone, get out there and find out what you need to get out and release into the world so that you can stay creative. Thanks so much for coming, Vanessa.
You've been an absolute delight. Thank you. Thank
Vanessa: you. Thank you. Thank you so very much.
