Gift biz unwrapped episode 335.
Cause you love it.
Love every step of the way,
regardless of the outcome Attention gifters bakers,
crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.
Whether you have an established business or looking to start one.
Now you are in the right place.
This is gift to biz unwrapped,
helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Join us for an episode,
packed full of invaluable guidance,
resources, and the support you need to grow.
Your gift biz.
Here is your host gift biz gal,
Sue moon Heights.
Hi there.
And thanks for joining me on this week's show.
I have some great fun and inspiration coming your way today.
But before we get into that,
I want to update you on what's going on in my
private Facebook community gift biz breeze.
It's time to update the buzz book.
And if you're interested in being included,
now's the time to submit your information.
It's totally free.
The buzz book is a compilation of small handmade business owners
and provides a way for you to support each other.
You can do this by purchasing from each other of course,
but it goes deeper than that.
The main goal is to provide a way to connect with
people who make a similar product to yours,
to discuss the nuances of your industry.
It's also a way to easily find and get in touch
with fellow Breezers in your local area.
You can get together for coffee or even establish more formal
face-to-face networking type meetings.
It's a way to create collaborations.
I've seen local brick and mortar shops reach out to regional
makers to display their product in store,
helping increase visibility for both of them.
I've also watched Breezers get together and do virtual shopping shows,
offering different,
but compatible products,
thereby getting exposure to each other's audiences and let's face it.
This going live thing is a lot easier when you do
it with somebody else,
the things we can do through our connections together is far
greater than what we can achieve on our own.
The buzz book facilitates that.
And again,
it's totally free for more details and to learn how to
be listed.
Join the gift biz breeze,
Facebook group,
all the details.
Along with a video,
talking more about the program are right there,
separated as a special guide for easy access.
Today's show is all about winning my guests.
Just one big $100,000
big for that matter.
He's the latest master maker from this season's NBC show making
it. Did you watch,
oh my gosh.
So many unbelievably creative makers,
the ideas they come out with and the end products are
incredible. The out of the box,
thinking the risks to push their creativity beyond the limits.
It's such a fun show.
And if you haven't seen it,
you can still go back and catch the show now because
it's available on demand.
It's fun to hear the behind the scenes of being on
the show and you're going to get all of that,
but I want you to be a winner too,
by taking away new ideas or inspiration that you can apply
to your business.
That's always my goal with each podcast episode.
And you'll see that I had you in mind the entire
time with my line of questioning.
We dive deep into things that I know you give thought
to regularly,
the creative side of being a maker and all that comes
with that from an emotional and tactical creative level.
Let's turn now and shine the spotlight on our featured master
maker. I am so excited to introduce you to Adam Kingmen.
Adam is the most recently titled master maker.
He's the winner from season.
Three's making it show hosted by Amy Poehler and Nick Hoffman.
Adam is an industrial designer and creative director from lake Tahoe.
Growing up the mountains were his playground influencing his stewardship of
the planet and resourcefulness of craft with recycled and retired materials.
Adam is a modern day MacGyver using designing,
thinking to create simple,
intuitive solutions outside of work.
Adam loves to write stories,
direct short films and explore the Sierras.
Adam believes we're all just kids at heart and imagination is
our finest resource.
His dream is to be a Disney Imagineer and someday a
design professor,
Adam, welcome to the gift biz unwrapped podcast.
Hi Sue.
Thank you so much for that intro.
I was like tearing up.
I was like,
oh my gosh,
I've never heard anybody read it with like heart.
So thank you and great to be here.
I love what you do.
And as we were talking about in the pre chat a
little bit,
all of our listeners are right in line with you.
So I am super excited to get into the conversation,
but I have to delay it for just a short second,
because I'm going to have you participate in what has become
a tradition on this show.
And that is having you describe yourself in a little bit
of a different way through a motivational candle.
So if you were to share with us what a candle
would look like,
that speaks all about you,
Adam, what color is it?
And what would be a quote or a saying on your
candle? Such a good question.
The candle would be yellow.
Yellow is my favorite color because it is the color of
warmth of sunshine,
of happiness and the girl next door when I was five
years old and she was five years old,
she told me her favorite color was yellow.
And we have since grown up and she is the bravest
woman I know,
and my color has to this day remained yellow.
So it always reminds me of her.
And my quote would be enjoy the process because I believe
process is the most important thing.
And the older we get,
the more we think about perception and presentation and we lose
sight of why we did anything in the first place was
simply because we love the process.
And that's what I want my candle to remind you and
everybody who sees it,
Hey, do it because you love it.
You love every step of the way,
regardless of the outcome or the presentation.
Yes. I love that.
Enjoy the process.
And you know,
it's so easy to forget that because we get so involved
in taken up with like what our goals are,
forgetting that what you're doing along the way and those small
points of success and appreciation and interaction with people and all
of that.
You don't want to lose that because that's the gold.
Exactly. I'm sure Winning master maker is amazing.
That's what you were going for.
But being able to work with other contestants,
just this whole process of going through the journey with the
show and all of that was steps that I'm sure you
got a lot from along the way,
too. Absolutely.
And you bring up such a good point and it's not
often a question I get asked about the show,
but there are ideas I have we're on the show.
We're told the challenge ready,
set, go,
or now make it right.
The catch phrase.
And you know,
I start thinking through ideas and there were times where I
knew what I wanted to make.
I had this idea,
I had the vision,
the outcome,
but then I go,
wait a minute.
I don't actually want to make this.
I wouldn't have fun making this.
Like Nick and Amy would come over and they'd be like,
out of it looks like you're having a bad day.
I'm just foreseeing this happening.
And I'm like,
well, yeah,
because I don't actually like stained glass.
I would rather be doing this.
And so I catch myself and go,
Hey, even if I don't finish,
what would I love to make every minute of this show
and you're spot on,
correct. Love it.
It is the gold.
And that's where you really add your heart and your spirit
and your passion.
And it's got to reflect on what comes out through your
hands, through the creativity too.
Yeah. All right.
Well, let's back it up for a second.
Share with me a little bit about how you became a
maker by passion or profession or wherever you want to start
with that.
Sure. Good question.
I think growing up in lake Tahoe,
I lived in the woods and I was always just tinkering,
building forts,
building snow caves.
And I loved creating spaces and architecture rooms houses like anything
that I could put myself in would fascinate me because you
could create a whole experience and that's very much large-scale,
but small scale,
I also loved creating the objects within the space and how
much joy would be created by interacting with certain things in
my life.
Like I was very picky,
very selective,
very interested in,
you know,
the way things have made me feel and ultimately curiosity as
well. I just love to figure things out,
take them apart,
put them back together and understand how they worked and growing
up now I'm,
let's say 18 and I'm in college and I stumbled into
the design major at university of Washington.
I always thought I wanted to be an architect.
Right. Cause that's what I understood.
That's what I thought I liked.
And I still do like,
but I had never heard of design and I take this
class and I fall in love with it right away,
because it's all about what is objective versus subjective.
How do you solve a problem?
How do you create something that makes people feel a certain
way? And every question I had always wondered growing up with
suddenly being answered,
I didn't even know what questions to ask,
but I'm being told things that I've always wanted to know
and graduated in 2014 with a degree in industrial design,
which is all about designing products and spaces and objects that
are understandable,
intuitive that make you feel good.
That bring you joy.
Are you using that today in your professional career?
Yeah. My day job is I'm an industrial designer at a
consultancy and creative consultancy in San Francisco.
So it's a mix,
big mix of projects.
And I still have creative inches on the weekends to take
photos or direct short films or be a little sillier.
I just love working with my hands and working with people
who think like me and who don't think like me,
it's such a creative world.
And that curiosity kind of pulls me into all sorts of
scenarios. I've got to say,
I know for sure that we have listeners here who just
like, from what you're describing,
you've always had that creative vein running through you.
It gives you joy and fulfillment and all of that.
And you've been very fortunate because you've been able to continue
that on as you've gotten to be an adult in your
professional career and all.
And so many people that I know are listening,
have done other things for their profession,
become bankers or realtors,
name it,
you know,
whatever it is,
but now are gravitating back to the,
making the craft and things that they enjoy and trying to
kind of discover what's possible for them as they continue on
either in addition to what their quote unquote professional job is,
or possibly transitioning even into a business around whatever their creative
art is.
So we're in the same group,
Adam right here.
I love hearing though,
that you were able to move this into your professional life
too. And I know you have big visions for the future
as well,
which is amazing.
I've watched the whole season.
So I have known you from the beginning when you first
appeared on the show and it seems to me,
first of all are like a magnet for people.
I mean,
everyone adored you so much on the show and you're also
kind of a sensitive guy,
aren't you?
Why are you laughing?
I guess I am sensitive.
That's a new descriptor for me sensitive,
but yeah,
I do.
I feel right.
Things, you know,
emotions are a gift and if we listen to them,
that can be a huge asset.
Right? Well,
that was kind of where I was getting at with the
question is,
do you see yourself using that?
Like what you're feeling and what you're sensing and all of
that as you apply it to your creativity?
Yeah. That's such a good question.
I go back to like the rules of good design,
right? Good design.
Not only does it satisfy a function,
but it also makes you feel things.
Does it make you feel frustrated,
angry, upset?
Does it make you feel seen or understood?
Does it make you feel nothing?
Right? It almost disappears.
Like some people say good design is almost invisible because you
don't even notice that it's there.
And I just remember being on the show and the judges
would give us the criteria of what they're looking for.
And I would always add in a few more bullet points
for my own personal goals,
right? So if nobody was in this barn with me,
what would I make?
Like what would I love to have walked away with at
the end of the day?
And I would always add in can't really want it to
be interactive.
You have to be able to touch it.
You have to be able to push and pull or sit
or step into something.
So interactive first and foremost,
second, there has to be an element of surprise.
There also has to be something emotive and there has to
be story and always would try to integrate just a little
bit more into it.
And we look to our past for inspiration.
I believe we know what we love and that exists in
our memories because they stand out.
And so how do we pull from memories to create something
special? And so I think certainly a sensitivity and our emotions,
if we want them to can play really strongly.
And that goes back to what you were saying in the
beginning is it has to be something that I'm enjoying making.
And then the result is going to be the best,
which includes emotion,
past experience,
what your interests are at the time.
And now we know that you added additional goals on top
of yourself,
so super achiever,
but that was what made you happy and continued making you
challenged at all.
So we have to start now from how did you get
involved with making it,
how did this whole thing come about?
Sure. So this is now mid pandemic and my sister and
I are both home in Tahoe.
And my sister Abby starts watching this show called making it.
I had no idea what it was,
but quickly found myself with my sister.
It was our nightly ritual.
We would watch making it,
we loved it.
We got so involved and I remember being so inspired by
Justine and Justy and their creative approach and almost abstract presentations.
I loved it.
I had never seen something like that on TV before.
And I turned to my sister and I go,
oh, this looks like so much fun.
And my sister goes,
I would have fun watching you on this show.
I give her some side-eye and I go,
what, what do you mean?
She's like,
I think you'd be great on the show.
I was like,
huh. Okay.
I don't think they're looking for a guy like me.
I don't really have a thing.
I kind of just like to make cribbage boards with scrap
wood, but maybe we'll see.
And so Google casting call making it season three,
find the portal,
make a little video and submit an application.
And a few weeks later,
get a call back.
And a couple of months later,
next thing I know I'm in the barn with the makers
and we're making,
Was it surreal for you that you were there from this
idea, sitting with your sister watching to actually then being on
set had to be crazy.
It's wild.
Cause you're watching through the TV right here.
You're watching this thing and suddenly you're in it.
It's real.
And it's around you.
And it just was so fascinating and so wonderful.
And I loved watching Nick and Amy and I have never
been around actors or actresses before.
Right. Entertainment.
That's a whole world.
I know nothing about,
but to be around these two characters who are not just
entertainers, but like really,
really good entertainers,
right. They know how to read the room.
They know how to give people joy and laughter and I
found myself just so enamored watching them perform and then work
and the improv that they do and the way that they
can just have these beautiful conversations and joke around as I'm
like crocheting,
I'm sitting there crocheting like front row seat to an improv
theater. It was wild.
So yes.
Surreal is a great word.
Well, an added bonus that you weren't expecting,
I guess,
but Adam,
why didn't you think that it should be,
you, you know,
you were saying when your sister first suggested it,
you're like,
I don't know,
like me,
why would it be me?
Why would they want someone like me?
Why would you think that?
I guess I didn't think it would be me because I
have a hard time explaining what I do.
And I don't really have a thing.
I suppose we always feel like we have to have a
thing or a certain craft or a certain medium.
We have to commit to one thing and that's it.
And if we're a Jack of all trades,
then we're actually kind of useless,
which I believe the complete opposite.
Right? Like the more skills you have or materials,
methodologies are familiar with that's when you have fun.
Cause that's when you can start merging unlikely mediums and you
create these outcomes that you would never expect.
I just thought the show wanted somebody a little craftier.
I don't know what crowd.
I don't know.
Well, you know,
Well, it's interesting that you say that though.
Well, first off and the reason I wanted to ask you
that question is I think there are a lot of us
who make things who don't feel like we have what it
takes or we're not enough,
like, or it can be other people,
but it can't be us.
And then look,
you had that initial thought and now you're the master maker.
I bring it up for everybody listening who would go along
that line of thinking.
And there's no reason it can't be any of us,
except when we stand in our own way.
Because look,
if you wouldn't have gone through and just said,
oh, I'm going to apply.
Let you know,
we'll see what happens.
You know,
if you didn't do that,
someone else would be master maker.
So it was just putting yourself out there,
believing in yourself just enough,
you know,
just enough to take that action,
to see what could happen.
Yeah. I love that.
And look at you now.
And then I'm going to say one other thing.
When you say like everyone has to stand for one thing,
you know what I see you standing as the modern day
MacGyver, you know,
that is your thing.
No, because you're taking all these different types of things.
Every single thing you make is different,
but you're applying your same skills.
And that is what makes you,
you, that is your special thing.
If that makes sense and pulling from the environment,
no matter what the end result is,
it might be all different types of pieces and products and
sheds and everything else.
But it's still coming from that same source of inspiration,
right? So I'm saying you have a thing at them already.
Yeah. What I love about you bringing what guy for backup
is, and again,
you ask like,
why not me?
And I go,
I don't have a wood shop.
I don't have a studio.
I don't have a laser cutter.
I don't have a sewing shop.
Like I don't have all these tools that I think what
I assume a master maker would have.
I am always on the road.
I'm here and there and I travel light and I don't
necessarily have all these tools,
literally in my duffel bag,
I have a pocket knife and maybe a crochet hook.
And I let that prevent me from feeling.
I have a place on that show,
which as you said,
I just acted on that feeling of,
Hey, who knows?
Maybe I have something different to offer.
I think that was the push of,
okay, this may not go anywhere,
but gosh,
wouldn't it be cool to meet Nick Offerman?
That was it.
It was like,
I just want to meet Nick.
And you know,
maybe they won't pick me for the show.
Maybe Nick Offerman will see my application video and be like,
like high school.
And I'll never hear back,
but maybe I made him laugh.
That was like,
step one,
right? Like,
oh, step one,
let's just do this.
And we'll see where it,
And it's also much more like,
you know,
I'm so proud of you and so excited and happy for
you that you did that.
This is something I want everybody to think of is we
limit ourselves.
You know,
what's possible.
If we just don't stand in our own way,
you can become a star like Adam,
I Want to emphasize what you say of,
we get in the way of our own opportunity.
We dismiss ourselves,
which is so silly.
I often have to remind myself,
Hey, these ideas,
the ideas in my head,
they're invitations to create their opportunities.
And if I don't act on these ideas,
I feel like it's a disservice to myself.
It's a disservice to the world,
right? For some reason,
these things are in my head.
I should share them because nobody knows that they're up there.
And maybe somebody might resonate with this strange dream I had
or this impulse,
this thought I had driving from Seattle to Tahoe.
And the more I act on these silly ideas,
the more people are like,
wait, I resonate with that too.
And I go,
oh my gosh.
Cool. Okay.
I'll listen to those impulses.
Those feelings a little more.
Yeah. I love what you said.
The ideas in my head are an invitation to create.
I love that.
Yeah. It's beautiful.
Nobody knows what's in your head until you let it out.
It was so funny.
I like this conversation.
You're bringing up thoughts that I have long forgotten about.
I remember episode one on the theme of like getting in
your own way,
tripping on yourself.
I remember they said make a family portrait.
I'm like,
Ooh, what if I made portraits of my family?
And I used like cards or baseball cards.
I'm just going to use like objects.
I remember thinking don't do that.
That's stupid.
Everyone else is going to do that too.
Like the skin skill look like everyone else's and I drew
up a few other ideas,
but I had to act quick and I had to move
fast. And so I just ran outside and made those baseball
portraits. And then the clock was up.
They call time.
And I remember seeing everybody else's and done like holy smokes.
They're all so different.
Everybody thinks so uniquely.
And I kind of was kicking myself,
going, okay,
get out of your head out of like,
don't dismiss your first ideas.
Like, Hey,
that first idea you have,
it's often just waiting to come out.
So go with it,
see where it goes.
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, and this you've walked me perfectly into another conversation I
want to have with you.
And that is okay.
Here you are on the show.
And I'm going to just describe it a little bit for
anybody who hasn't seen the show,
but you're given an assignment and you're given,
let's just go with the last one,
which was the stats,
right? Or the porches were so fun to those porches.
Well, we'll stay with the shots.
So you're given a shed.
So everyone starts with the same base piece.
I guess I'll call it.
These are full life sheds.
They're not like a little mock up on a table for
anyone who seen the show yet.
And then there's like a place you go to pull any
product that you want to use to make your shed.
Right. And you get certain things that you're going to be
judged on,
which is how they're going to rank and decide who the
winner is for that project.
Right? So you find all of this out,
like within the second.
And then you have to go running to decide what you
want to pull back and use for your project.
How does your mind work?
Like you find out what you're doing.
You find out what you're going to be judged with.
You're running to a set of items.
How does all of that work in your creative mind?
Adam, are you thinking of what you're designing first?
Or are you running into the pile and seeing what's there
and then developing it?
How does that work?
It intrigues me that you can do that so fast.
Next we'll get a peek inside.
Adam's creative mind,
but a short break first to hear from our sponsor.
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Thank you.
That's such a good question.
I have a few different ideas popped into my mind as
you're asking that,
and I have two things.
One is the brain Rolodex and the two is the scrap
pile. And if I forget to touch either one of those
feel free to loop it back in.
But first I want to talk about the brain Rolodex.
This is what I call the internal pinup board that we
all have in our mind.
I feel like we often feel like an idea just happens
on the spot,
you know,
and just,
we just get this spark of inspiration right away.
And it happens.
And sometimes that happens.
But I think often we observe and we just start collecting
ideas. We collect materials and things and approaches that we really
like that stand out.
And we often don't really know what to do with them
in that moment of time because you know,
you're buying vegetables or you're showering.
That's why I like the shower.
You know,
it's such good ideas in the shower because you're just standing
there thinking and we have to store these ideas away.
And I remember being in the barn and being surrounded by
so many materials that I had never seen before that I
didn't even know what they were even tools.
I'm like,
I don't know what this thing is.
What's this little pizza cutter.
I still don't know what that thing is in my desk.
And you just start storing concepts,
storing crafts and materials in my brain relatives.
And so when they say,
Hey, shed hack,
I immediately go,
okay, what has been sitting in my head that would go
inside, said shed.
So meanwhile,
that's like the brain Rolodex,
it's sort of this like pinup board.
And then there's the scrap pile.
And I remember being on the show and week after week,
I would walk past this section of the barn that was
just slowly accumulating,
really nice hardwoods,
really nice pieces of ripstop lots of embroidery hoops,
great canvas fabric,
really great durable canvas,
even some steel,
some like tube steel.
And I kept walking past this pile and I would turn
to my makers and be like,
guys, what's all this stuff.
I'm like,
oh, that's the scrap pile.
And like,
what? This is a scrap pile.
This is treasure.
What are you talking about?
Like, this is good stuff.
And I was like,
wait, what's the future of all this unloved set aside material.
So that's concluding topic,
number two,
scrap pile.
And so we're told,
Hey, make a shed,
make a space,
make your happy place.
And I immediately go,
oh my happy place.
This is about for the first time in this whole show,
we're being asked to create something for ourselves,
not somebody else.
And I go,
Ooh, what do I love?
I love primary colors.
I love the playfulness of red,
yellow, and blue.
And so I'm like,
okay, that's my palette.
So I first paint the walls.
I go,
okay, what else is my happy place?
The woods.
Okay. So it's got to feel woodsy.
I go,
okay, there's some beautiful Palm trees and trees surrounding the barn.
So I have to knock out these windows.
So I cut out these windows and I cut them out
above eye level.
So you only see the tree tops and the blue sky.
So when you look out the window,
it feels like you're much higher than you actually are.
And I go,
okay, I want it to be airy.
So let's create a porch.
Let's create,
I'm going to knock out a side door because I want
people to move through it.
Right. I don't want to dead end.
So you walk in and you turn around and walk out.
I want you to walk in from the side.
You can check it out.
You can go out on the porch and it creates this
nice flow.
And I remember filming Amy turns to me before they start
rolling the cameras.
And she goes,
oh my gosh,
Adam, we've never walked in on the side before.
I'm like,
what do you mean?
She goes,
we've never walked into the side of a shed.
They've all been from entry.
And that was fun for her to say.
So meanwhile,
the shed itself is starting to take shape.
And I start looking at these materials.
I'm like,
okay, what can I do?
Okay. I need a place to sit.
I need a couch.
I have this palette.
That's primary color.
Primary color goes really good with mid-century mid-century furniture and design
aesthetic. And I love Charles and Ray Eames.
So I'm like,
okay, what would they do?
What would Charles and Ray Eames do?
And so I made a fire pit.
I made it a little asymmetrical.
I made a huge bookshelf.
And again,
with this scrap fabric laying around,
instead of painting,
I just put fabric on the back of my bookshelf.
So it kind of looked like Mondrian.
I love monitory on the painter and it's just starts taking
shape. And the scrap pile like continues to grow as I
take from it at the same time.
And so I added trellis and I add this like fo
extruded wall.
And I keep finding these there's some bowls,
there's some shapes.
I have extra lamp cord and I just add lamps.
And it was just sort of this analog,
organic growth of like,
I kept finding things and they fit and it worked.
And that's,
what's fun about the MacGyver approach mixed with a little mid-century
is it's very simple.
It doesn't have to be elegant.
It doesn't have to be too detailed,
but the details that are there,
just make sure that they're thoughtful.
I don't know.
That's it It's really interesting because when we watched the show
and of course they can't put everything on air,
right. But you were made some comments on the show that
I understand much better just by your description.
Now, like one of the things you talked about is I
kept going back to the scrap pile.
Well, now I understand better what the scrap pile was.
But another thing you said is,
you know,
the doors that you put on your shed that you described
as kind of quilt,
it was actually out of wood,
right? Or that's maybe where you use the rounds,
the frames.
I'm not sure if that's what you use,
but you made the comment about the sun coming in.
You, you were saying,
I just could imagine at sunset,
the sun coming in and reflecting all those colors.
Now I'm understanding it better because you were taking the outside
into your shed as well.
Not it wasn't just the shed itself.
It was the extensions of what would happen with what you
made in the shed.
So I hadn't gotten that before.
So that was,
that's really interesting.
That's a total side personal note from me,
but would it be right to say that you didn't have
the finished product already imagined it continued to be created over
time based on how it started to evolve?
Yes, absolutely.
And you start with a feeling and you kind of build
it out.
And because the shed was so big,
it was really hard to fathom,
like every detail that would go into it.
But you start with the hero moments,
the door,
the couch,
the bookshelf,
the porch,
and you go,
okay, now I have moments.
What moment I want within the moment.
Right? Dream within a dream.
Once you get a closer look,
then what do you discover?
Okay. So I walked through the door,
what happens now?
And I found this lovely felt also there's beautiful felt in
the barn.
And so I made these really almost like Danish style,
like slippers.
It's really quick,
really quickly.
It just stepped on some cardboard.
I made it out of masking tape.
I made a masking tape slipper and then cut it in
half. And then that became my template,
which I traced on felt,
and then made a couple of pairs of little felon slippers.
I'm like,
Ooh, I want right feelings.
Like, okay,
hospitality, that's important.
Well, what makes you feel like a guest?
Oh, slippers a gift,
a gift when you walk in.
And so it was very organic and starting big and hour
after hour seeing,
okay, well what's next and working big to small was huge.
And I think this is a really big point too,
is you don't always need to know where you're going in
the end yet.
You can build it up along the way.
Yeah. We were talking about it for a creative challenge,
but I think that's important overall.
You don't always know how you're going to get there or
what it's going to look like in the eye and you
just know the direction you're trying to take.
Right. That's what I'm hearing from you and how your creative
vision built upon itself until you got to the end.
Right? I once met a writer.
I think I was sitting at a coffee shop and this
woman was writing notebook page after notebook page.
And I've always admired story and I would love to be
a writer,
but I've always,
I don't know.
I don't quite understand.
I'm learning.
It's interesting to me,
we're Always learning.
Right, right.
And I say,
Hey, what's the best piece of advice anybody ever gave you
when writing?
And she said,
write down everything,
you know,
to figure out what you don't.
And I loved that.
And that applies to what you're saying,
Sue with this shit,
right. Start with what you know,
okay. I know I want this and this and this.
Okay. Now that you've got that out of the way,
what's next and you don't need to know every single detail
to take that first step.
So well said,
spot on.
I'm just trying to get a little view into your creative
mind. And that's what I'm coming from listening to is you
don't have to know the whole thing.
It just new ideas are generated based on what you put
together to a point,
and then you just continue layering it on.
The other thing I was hearing from you is,
you know,
when you were talking about the slippers is you thought about
what the piece or the product or the element would be,
but you also thought about what emotion would that generate,
which adds a whole nother level to what the experience,
the atmosphere or the feeling that someone gets when they're looking
or interacting with whatever you make.
So I think that that's really significant and something worth all
of us thinking about when we're making something.
Yeah. That's fun.
I like how you said that,
what emotion start with the emotion and then work backwards.
You get a certain number of hours to complete different tasks.
Right? Right.
Do you always work up to the amount of time you
have allocated or is there ever a point let's say it's
like half an hour before and you're like,
Nope, this is perfect.
Where it is.
I'm going to leave it alone now.
Or do you use up all your time?
It's a mix.
Sometimes I would finish a little bit early one episode.
I finished my hammock chair a little bit early.
And so I ran over to help Chelsea with what she
was working on.
And that was rare.
That was rare that I finished early and sometimes I'm working
right up to the clock and sometimes I would add stretch
goals, what I'd like to call them.
It's where I go.
Okay. I know I need this in order to have a
successful day to feel accomplished.
I have to finish this,
but how cool would it be if I made this as
well? Right.
So like the slippers that was like,
no way did I need to put slippers in my shed,
but wouldn't it be cool if there was slippers?
And so I think that's where I would always add these
little bullet point footnotes to go,
okay. If I have time at this.
Cause that would be cool in short the answer.
Yes. I was always working up to the clock.
It's interesting how those ideas evolved as you were working in
completing something else.
I've kind of think,
you know how sometimes if you keep going,
it ruins,
like you're adding in more than you need for the impact.
And it actually reduces the impact.
Like if you just keep adding on and adding on and
adding on Yeah.
Knowing when to stop,
Knowing when to stop.
Yeah. And I think you said it depends.
Good point.
Great question.
The baseball portraits on episode one,
I was really tempted to paint the faces because I was
doing really good on time and I had the faces assembled,
but not yet glued in place.
And I looked at them and I was like,
are these too flat?
Are these too boring?
Does it look under cooked?
And I said,
no, no,
no, no.
I think it's good enough.
Don't paint it.
Do not paint these faces.
I'm not a big painter.
And that was almost going against my own aesthetic or what
I would like.
And I was like,
no, no,
no, don't paint it.
Don't paint that finish early.
And just don't overdo it as you said,
no one to stop.
And so yeah,
there were times where you're like,
okay, I'm done.
I done walk away And total judgment call.
Right? Like you might've painted it.
And it turned out great.
But there's something to be said for leaving things to the
imagination too.
And you've just got to call it,
you decide one way or another.
So really,
really interesting.
So if we were to sum all this up,
Adam, what would you say overall about your experience now being
the master maker?
I learned to trust my gut.
You have these ideas go for it.
And as you said,
I would get in the way of my own creativity.
I'd get in the way of my own output and what
was most unexpected and most wonderful and value from this show
was realizing that my craft are so simple,
but they're more than enough.
And the comments I've gotten since the show has aired have
been so kind.
And so many people are saying,
Hey, this simplicity is great.
Or, Hey,
I understand this.
Or, Hey,
I resonate with what you're saying.
And so what I always thought wasn't enough.
People are saying,
oh, this feels great.
And I like it.
And thank you for being on that show to remind me
that this is good.
This works,
this style.
And this approach to crafting resonates with me.
And I'm inspired to create too,
which has been so great.
Well, your whole image,
like everything just feels so good about what you're doing as
a maker.
You know,
you've got your heart into it.
You're using things that you've grown up with that are important
to you in terms of the environment and all of that.
You don't have all of the professional tools at hand all
the time.
You're just counting on your gut and your skill and your
style and your personality and all of that.
Isn't just enough.
It's fabulous.
It's the best we each have that in ourselves.
And then we don't let it come out.
So you're a perfect example.
No one else can be you Adam,
but everyone else has to be themselves and being brave enough
to show that to the world like you did through the
making it show is I think a great message for us
to leave everybody with.
And you are the example.
So you are even now a double master maker.
How about that?
I love it.
Thank you.
Reminds me of that.
Is it Dr.
Seuss recess today?
You are you.
That is true.
That true.
There was no one alive,
more you are than you.
Beautiful. Absolutely.
And we all need to claim it because if we don't,
we're not allowing the world to see it.
And just like you were saying,
you know,
things that you're making,
make people happy,
give them certain feelings.
If we don't share what we have,
we're denying people of having those feelings that we're able to
offer. Yes.
I love that.
Thank you soon.
No, I'm Really serious about it too.
And that's why I'm so in love with the handmade community,
because everyone brings something different to the table.
It makes us feel good and makes us happy and is
fulfilling as a maker as well.
So it all comes full circle.
So Adam,
if people want to follow you or know a little bit
more about you after they've listened to the show here,
where would you send them online?
First Instagram,
most likely Instagram is where I'll be the most.
Up-to-date that's just Adam Kingman is my handle.
Just like it sounds okay.
K I N G M a N Adam Kingman.
That's also the same handle for my YouTube where I'm starting
to post drawing videos.
Cause I just want everybody to be excited to draw and
to overcome the fear of a blank piece of paper.
And I'd love to start uploading little maker tutorials on there
as well.
So YouTube Adam Kingman,
Instagram, Adam Kingman,
and my personal website.
If it's interesting,
that's the word?
A little bit more professional portfolio work.
That's just Adam kingman.com.
Beautiful fun links to explore and some personal,
I love directing short films and you'll find some other little
videos on there.
Wonderful. Well,
all of this information will be on the show notes page.
So if you're out and you weren't able to capture what
Adam just said,
make sure to just look at the show notes page.
We'll have all the links there.
And Adam,
I say,
we all rally behind your YouTube channel.
Is it up?
Now? There are a few videos up.
Now I have a handful of drawing videos and I'll keep
uploading. Okay.
So everybody go over to Adam's YouTube account and subscribe to
it so we can get his subscribership up.
Okay. That's when we can do for you,
for you sharing so much with us about the inside,
behind your maker world,
and really a lot of beautiful gems for us to understand
as makers of how we can trust in ourself and move
forward to great things.
Just like you've been doing Adam,
thank you so much for being with me today.
Of course.
Thank you.
This was wonderful.
Didn't you just fall in love with Adam from the second
he started talking so genuine endearing and likable.
He's also so humble and generous with his thoughts too.
I'm sure you're with me and hoping that his dream of
being a Disney Imagineer comes true.
That'll give us more chances to see his creativity at work
up next week.
I'll be sharing with you a resource which can take the
complexity of doing all the things off your to-do list.
They still get done,
just not by you tune in next Saturday to hear more
about that and as always,
thanks so much for spending time with me today.
If you'd like to show support for the podcast,
will you please leave a rating and review?
That means so much and helps the show get seen by
more makers.
So it's a great way to pay it forward and now
be safe and well.
And I'll see you again next week on the gift biz
unwrapped podcast.
I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook
group called gift is free.
It's a place where we all gather and our community to
support each other.
Got a really fun post in there.
That's my favorite of the week.
I have to say where I invite all of you to
share what you're doing to show pictures of your product,
to show what you're working on for the week to get
reactions from other people and just for fun,
because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody
in the community is making my favorite post every single week,
without doubt.
Wait, what aren't you part of the group already,
if not make sure to jump over to Facebook and search
for the group gift biz breeze don't delay.
Come join us in gift biz breeze today.