Cold Email

Apr 22 2023 10

Cold Email Podcast artwork

Cold Email is a podcast by Basia & Olive (graphic designer-illustrator BFF combo) about navigating early creative careers & the non-linear path of “professional development.” By interviewing our peers and chronicling our own experiences, we hope to demystify some of the most opaque parts of the commercial art world for people starting out in design & illustration, as well as share some of the embarrassing but retrospectively-hilarious missteps that happen along the way.

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Welcome Back! + Mailbag Episode

Apr 22 2023 34 mins

Welcome back to Cold Email! After a much-needed break, we're here, and we’re answering YOUR questions. Basia and Olive discuss burnout, the useless things we learned in art school, ideal workspaces, and of course, the importance of taking breaks.

How to: Make a Cold Email Podcast Episode

Jul 23 2022 31 mins

In this rather unusual episode, Olive and Basia take you behind the velvet rope and onto a production phone call of Cold Email. No edits, no cuts!!! We reveal the secrets of writing and producing an episode of Cold Email. We also answer everyone’s burning question: through weddings, funerals, Covid cases, etc., & plagued by supply chain shortages, how and why do you continue maki

Getting 10 Likes <3 (The Myth of Overnight Success)

May 22 2022 98 mins

Is success as an artist determined by the number of likes you get on Instagram? Spoiler: NO!!!!!!! ❌ So, why does it feel that way? In this episode, we discuss the long-simmering trend of social companies pivoting from photo to video, debate if Instagram is dead, and attempt to figure out how to have fun online again. Amy Bravo @_amybravo_ & Bettina Makalintal

“The Spiral” AKA Dealing with Creative Anxiety

Mar 12 2022 32 mins

Have you ever felt debilitatingly anxious about the success your creative practice? If so, you are not alone!!! AND WE CAN HELP!!!!!!!! In this special “Basia & Olive” episode, we take you through “The Spiral,” otherwise known as the phenomenon in which creative people suddenly find themselves feeling burnt out, afraid, unsuccessful, unskilled, etc. We’ll talk about The S

HOW 2 GET FREELANCE JOBS & FIND TRUE LOVE!!! Not Clickbait

Feb 13 2022 94 mins

In this very special Valentine’s Day episode, we’ll reveal how to get freelance jobs and find true love!!!!! Yes, we are in fact, giving away the secrets. Later on, we get a chance to catch up with our former roommate & every pop punk band’s favorite illustrator, Stephanie O’Byrne, & chat about about full-time freelance, working in the music industry, and the value of being

Studio vs. Personal Practice

Jan 15 2022 55 mins

Maintaining a work/life balance is wildly difficult, in no small part due to contemporary expectations of “the workplace,” as well as largely-held societal ideals about how, when, & how often work happens. In the pandemic, the expectations and definitions of labor have become even more fraught. In this episode, we out ourselves as cultural Marxists (lol) and take a de

Live from The American Illustration Party!

Nov 18 2021 35 mins

We went to the American Illustration Party!!!!! & we got to talk to some insightful people while we were there. Interviews in order of appearance: Julia Feingold: @j_feingold / juliafeingold.com Griffin Reynolds: @griffinreynoldsart / griffinreynolds.art Jane Demarest: @little.boy.blueeee / janedemarest.com Maddy Price @coolfriendlyman / maddyprice.com Joy Velasco: @joyfreudear

But I Have No Money!

Nov 14 2021 91 mins

Making ambitious work while operating under financial restrictions can be challenging, but YOU (yes you) can still accomplish a ton, even whilst working within a limited budget. We spoke with three very qualified creatives with very varied practices — Jennifer Xiao @jxiaoooo (illustrator & Cheeto-tiger maker), Sadie Dupuis of @wax.nine (a poetry journal & record label), a

The Validity of Craft

Oct 31 2021 89 mins

This very spooky episode centers around “craft” — both as the idea of "skill," and as a way of creating that's said to conflict with design-centric thinking. We try to get to the bottom of what exactly craft is & we also try to settle the question of craft actually being at war with commercial design (?!). Joi Fulton (@thedaintyheart) & Adam Scheffler (

Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss

Sep 25 2021 100 mins

The holy trinity — gaslighting, gatekeeping, & girlbossing — is wildly prevalent in the creative industry. We’ll talk about our experiences with each term and give tips on dealing with all of it. Siobhán Gallagher joins us to discuss widespread gender discrimination in the workplace, feeling “gatekept," and her road from working in-house at a publishing company to beco