May 12, 2020 • 36 mins
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Side Hustlers Podcast. I'm your host from
I Heart Radio Carla Murie. Each week we talked to
a new guest who is following a passion outside of
their day job. So this at some point became my
side hustle because my day job is hosting the Carla
Murie and Anthony Show on one or six point one
Kiss FM in Seattle. You can listen to it from
(00:21):
anywhere on our free I Heart Radio app. You can
also listen to it on your smart speakers. It's pretty cool.
But we've got all the info on how you can
do that on my Instagram. You can follow me at
the Carla Murray. This week's guest is Zoe. Zoe is
actually the writer for a magazine locally here in Washington
called four to five Magazine. That is her day job,
but her side hustle is Flora and Phrase, where she
(00:43):
uses her grandpa's original typewriter to type out poems, saying
she even does custom work on paper, puts it onto
pieces of wood, and then she takes dried flowers and
puts it on there is she creates this entire masterpiece
and it's wild how she does it. You've got to
hear is always story for a lot of people. You know,
(01:03):
why are you way? Do you know what you want
to do? And this is something you want to do?
Do it. I'm a hustle side side hustle. Do it.
I'm a hustle hustl do it. I'm a hustle hustlove.
Come on, ask about me, yo yo. It's the side
Hustless podcast we call the Root. Okay, So, coming to
(01:24):
me from not far into Cooma is Zoe Branch. Hello, Zoe, Hi,
Carla Marie. How are you. I'm good. So we are
obviously practicing social distancing at the time of recording this podcast.
I wish we could be doing this in person, but
obviously we're being safe. So you are the mastermind behind
Flora and Phrase, and I want you to explain what
(01:44):
it is. But how if someone said to me, what's
Flora and Phrase? I'd be like, oh my god, it's
so cool. She uses a typewriter and she types either
fun sayings or poems and then she puts dried flowers
on them. But I know that there's probably a better,
more artistic way to explain it. So I want you
to link to everyone what Flora and phrases. Yeah, I
wish that I had a very very to sink artistic
(02:07):
way of putting this. But I use my great grandfather's
one Remington noiseless typewriter to do poems, sayings, quotes, all
sorts of things. Type them up on the typewriter and
I mount them on sanded birch wood and then I
put press flowers with the sayings and they hang on
the wall or you can put them on a bookshelf.
(02:29):
I also do greeting cards, earrings, sometimes I make candles
with sayings on it. So it's just it's kind of
a big amalgamation of a lot of different things. Either way,
at the end of the day, what you do is
super unique. It's super creative. And for people as they're
listening to this podcast, the links for everything we talked
about are always in the description, but you can follow
(02:50):
along on Instagram. It's Flora dot and dot phrase and
this obviously, Zoe is your side hustle. This isn't you
know what you do full time? You're full time to
job is working for four to five magazine, which is
huge here in the Pacific Northwest. If you're not from
here and you're listening this is a huge magazine here,
and you are a full time assistant editor for the magazine,
(03:11):
And I feel like the two jobs are essentially links,
you know, words and type, like it goes back to
the root of I guess what your what your day
job is. So let's talk about your day job a
little bit. What is your day to day like at
four to five Magazine? Well, it's drastically changed in the
last couple of months, but I've been working full time
(03:32):
for four to five magazine for two years now, and
until very recently, my full time job was as a
staff writer. I interview a lot of people, and I
search out local stories in the Seattle area in the
Tacoma area. So basically my job right now as assistant
editor is still a lot of those things, but I'm
also doing more on the editing side, more big picture
(03:54):
in terms of what an entire magazine looks like, a
kind of tone that we're trying to go for. So
I actually first started Flora and Phrase in a way
that was kind of connected to the job because I,
as a writer, was writing a piece on the founder
of the Tacoma night market, Leah Morgan, and at that
(04:16):
point I had not yet started the business, and I
had an interview with her and we just talked for hours.
She's an amazing, wonderful person. So then when I first
kind of started making things, she was front of mind
on my radar in terms of like a big goal
that I had was to get into this market, and
I just interviewed her, and so I was able to
(04:37):
text her and kind of a you know, how do
I apply what does this look like? So when I
first got in, I think, you know, I really kind
of had no idea what I was doing. And I
think I got lucky in that I had just met
Leah and I wrote a story on her. It was
on the cover of sassaun Business magazine and now aligned
with the same time as I started doing the Tacoma
(04:58):
night market, and if I wasn't in the job that
I'm currently doing, I wouldn't have had that connection. So yes,
they do work together, and that a lot of connections
are serendipitous, And I want to talk about at some
point how you and I got connected. We're going to
get to that because it is kind of crazy. But you,
obviously then are normally on my side of this. You're
the one asking people questions about what they do. So
(05:21):
is it weird for you right now? Because to be
on this side talking about your side hustle when you're
the one trying to get this information out of people normally.
This maybe my first ever official interview being on this side,
and I think it's it's probably a lot like people
who are photographers, like when they get their photo taken,
it's very weird, even though they're around it all the time.
(05:42):
So yes, I'm used to asking the questions and not
to answering them. Okay, So what question would you ask yourself? No,
I'll let you interview you yourself, and I'm just gonna
use no. No, we're not going to do it. Okay.
So take me back to December when Flora and phrase
a fish Lee launched. What was that very first piece
(06:03):
and how did it happen and why December? I had
my great grandfather's typewriter for about a year. My mom
gave it to me the previous Christmas because she had
found it in my grandparents basement and it was something
that I played with a time when I was a kid.
You know, it was kind of in disrepair and not
really working very well, and she did all this research
(06:25):
to fix it up and basically made it working like
a brand new typewriter and gave it to me. And
I had had it sitting on my shelf for about
a year, and that December, my grandfather, whom very close with,
he had just gotten a cancer diagnosis. I was trying
to think of a really meaningful gift that I could
give to him for Christmas that year. And he is
(06:48):
a big word person, and that is something that he
and I have always had in common, and for big
life moments for me and for everyone else in my family,
will write limericks and and get up and and perform
them in front of everybody. And that's that's kind of
always been his thing. And so I thought that it
would be really great if I could write a limerick
(07:10):
about him and his life and all this cool stuff
that he's done. And so I wrote this limerick and then,
you know, instead of just performing it in front of everyone,
which I did, I also wanted to give him like
a physical copy of it, and so I typed it
up on the typewriter which had to his father, and
you know, put a pressed flower with it. And then
(07:33):
I also ended up writing a poem for my grandmother
and mounting that on birch wood with a flower and
and figuring out how to to hang it, you know,
drill holes in it. And so the first two pieces
that I ever made were for them, and that felt appropriate.
And then a few of my friends saw them and
they were like, oh, well, you make this for me,
(07:53):
Like I want these Christmas gifts and so so yeah,
basically that first December, I was just making stuff for
my friend. That's how it starts, though, Yes, And then
I applied for the Tacoma Night Market because I had
just interviewed Leah, not expecting to get in. It's a
it's a very competitive market to get into and it's
huge and just like this lively cool event. Then Leo
(08:16):
let me in and I just kind of figured out
how to bend from there. I had never done it before, um,
and so I kind of was flying by the seat
of my pants. That's a big stage to be for
your first stage. Yes, yeah, And I'm so grateful for
her for believing in me that I could handle it
and figure it out. And even now, like I look
back on the first table that I did and I'm like,
(08:36):
oh my god, my setup was such a mess. Like
what was I doing? But even at that first market, like,
I did really well. I made way more money than
I thought I was going to And it was this
really awesome moment of feeling like, oh, I'm putting these
poems out here in words. And I think a lot
of times I worry that people in today's world like
(08:59):
don't slow down to read those things, like don't hold
as much value as they once did. But I've been
so encouraged by people at markets and online to who
who like do read poems and do want to slow
down and take that in and and who will spend
on a poem to put it on their walls so
(09:21):
that they can look at it every day, Like I
think that is really cool and is something that's really
encouraged me about doing this is that people still want
those things. So it's kind of crazy, like Flora and
phrase is obviously it's creative, it's your side hustle, but
it's so much more. And you can tell that just
by from going to your website without even knowing your story.
(09:42):
There's so much more to it. But this idea that
you have loved typewriters since you were a kid got
your journalists so Obviously you love words. I mean journalists
years and years ago, we're obviously using typewriters to put
out new stapers, you know, being in this industry. Even
I don't obviously write articles, but I know the passion
(10:04):
behind typewriters. I think typewriters are cool. I played with
them as a kid, so I get it. So not
only do you have that part of it of where
it's clearly a path you've been on your whole life,
but you have the connection with your grandpa, and that's
just it's so cool how it's something he kind of
instilled in you and your family and now you're giving
it back to him. He must be so freaking proud
(10:27):
of everything you've done. I mean, it's got to be
the coolest thing for him to see his granddaughter start
her own business because of something he instilled in her.
I mean, have you talked to him about that? Yeah,
he is proud. And I think that both of my
grandparents they're just surprised that I'm able to make money
with this typewriter. You know, they think it's really special
that you know, it's started off with me making gifts
(10:49):
for them and that I'm like actually using the literal
typewriter that you know, I played with in their basement
when I was a kid. And I'm also very proud
of them, and you know, proud to be related to
them and proud to have them have instilled those things
in me. Like you said, well, yeah, you've done so
(11:10):
much with it obviously. So the Tacoma Night Market, you
have your first night, you sell your first items. Did
you have a website yet at that point I did.
I had just set up. So I had a friend
who works in digital marketing who helped me set up
my website. We like launched it literally that day that
I had the Tacoma Night Market that night, because I
(11:30):
was like, this needs to be live because I put
this freaking website addressed on my business cards, like the
pressure is on. So she helped me do that, which
I was very grateful for because I've never set up
a website. But since then, um, yeah, I have a website.
I've an Etsy and those I try to keep fairly updated,
(11:52):
but it's definitely one of the things that falls on
the back burner because I'm a one person business and
so I'm doing everything from curate the content to cutting
and standing the wood to doing my taxes, which is
and so it's own its own thing, and it's all
on the side, you know, So I'm working full time
(12:12):
as well too, But yeah, the website component has been
a fun thing to kind of learn the ropes of
a little bit, and I'm glad that I had someone
to help me with that. Initially, a lot of people
have been on this podcast we'll talk about how they
outsource their website because it is it's a job in itself,
because it really is difficult. So you are lucky, yes
(12:33):
that you did have someone help you with it. But
you mentioned obviously this is something that you do on
the side. So how long does it take you to
make one piece? Because I thought it was originally cards
at first when I saw them, So are you do
you do cards? You do pieces on the birch would
like you're saying you do obviously ear rings. Now there's
so much more to it, So what kind of work
goes into a piece. It's kind of hard to figure out,
(12:55):
like exactly how much time it takes to make one
because I kind of do each step of the process
in in like a bulk type of way. So for example,
I'll have like a wood cutting day, um, where I,
you know, sit down with my little portable wood cutting
(13:15):
machine that I literally just put on the floor of
my square foot apartment and I'll just cut wood for
maybe like an hour, and then I'll have like a
standing day. And that's actually probably what takes the longest,
is like sanding all of the wood. But then once
I have all of that prepped, I cut paper to
(13:36):
fit the size of the wood, and then I drill
the holes and I tie the strings. So once I
actually am sitting down to make the piece, it probably
and like all of that has been done. It probably
takes me end of fifteen minutes to make one of them,
and that's typing the words, mounting it on the wood,
getting the flower on there. But there's like days worth of, yeah,
(14:00):
of just like kind of mindless labor that goes into
it before like the creative part actually kicks in. Just
so people can see what we're talking about. Also, I know,
we shout out your Instagram, but it's Flora and phrase
dot com, so they can see what we're talking about, because,
like you said earlier, it's very difficult to explain to
sink like what it is that you do. And I
(14:21):
know Earlier we were saying poems, and when people hear
poems they think these long, gorgeous, which they are poems.
But there's one on your website that is it says
stay stay sexy and don't get murdered. Is something that
someone can buy and I love that. So I want
to clarify when we say poems, there are very you
have long, you have limericks, but then there's stay sexy
(14:42):
and don't get murdered. And that's just like the coolest.
I think it's fun that you've taken like this beautiful
art form. You've got this beautiful dried flower on there
and that's what it says, and it's great and it's
super cool. And like I said earlier, it is so unique.
You don't find that everywhere. What you're doing, the amount
of work you're putting into it, it's just insane. It's
it's but it's amazing and it's cool that you're able
(15:03):
to do this. It really is an art. It's not
just a side hustle in a business. To you, yeah,
thank you. I I when I describe it kind of
the tone to people, I say, like serious and snarky.
I think the reason that's kind of manifested in in
my business in that way is that's very much so
how I am like, I love poetry, and I love
(15:24):
all that serious, more serious stuff and the beauty of that,
and I love how that can be made tangible with
like a typewriter and with wood and with flowers. But
I'm also very snarky person. And I mean your journalist
of course, yes, And I mean one of the greeting
cards that I have that people love says, I love
(15:47):
that we hate all the same people and you know,
like friends, yes, exactly, And that's what like people out
of market. Well, the reason I think I miss doing
markets so much is because people see my table and
it predictably like it will be this like oh, these
like poems and this is beautiful, and people are standing
(16:07):
there reading stuff and then they come across something that's
totally unexpected and it makes them laugh and it makes
them pick it up and like show it to their friend,
and and I love that, you know, the dichotomy of
that of just like this is the platform for both
of those things. And I think there should always be
room for for humor and ridiculousness and everything. So I
(16:31):
try to make plenty of space for that in in
what I create. Well, you've done it, and you've done
a great job at it. It's gorgeous and funny at
the same time, and that's very hard to find and
people and and work. So so I appreciate what you've done.
Thank you. So when it's not social distancing, So let's
go back to when life was normal and you have
you have this full time job, and then you just
(16:53):
described everything that you do for Flora and phrase whether
it's cutting the wood and standing all that, what is
that like? Do you just come home from work and
then immediately start doing like what is your week? It's
going to be crazy. Yes, I would say that I'm
like working all the time, but I also think I'm
in a very fortunate position to be doing things that
(17:15):
don't feel like work to me. And I have always
been kind of like this workaholic type person and have
always preferred to have like an overly full plate, even
if it means that it's stressful, because I love having
all these like creative outlets for things. I mean, so
much of my job as a journalist is it's like
(17:35):
my dream job to be doing, and I just get
to talk to people all day, and then I get
to write about it. A lot of the time that
job doesn't feel like a job. And then my business,
there are parts of it that's very much so feel
like a job, like like the taxes part of it.
Every time I have to do that, every time, I'm like,
oh my god, I hate this part, you know. But
(17:56):
for the most part, I love finding the passages. I
love finding the poems. A lot of some of the
poems that I put out are my own, and so
I get to sell my own poetry like that doesn't
feel like work. So there's no right or wrong answer
to this, But is your plan to always keep Flora
and Phrase a side hustle or their bigger goals one day?
(18:17):
That is something that I have asked myself recently, and
I really don't know. I think that it has potential
to grow into something bigger, but as of right now,
I'm I'm so happy with the balance between the creative
work I get to do full time and the creative
work I get to do. It's a side hustle that
I'm not looking to expand it right now. But I
(18:38):
think that if I were to try to switch my
career and you know, was unemployed for a while, I
think that I may look at, Okay, how can I
grow this? How might this make sense on a bigger platform?
But right now I kind of love that it's small
enough that it can all be done in house, and
it's great well doing things on a time writer, but
(19:00):
true because if you did grow it, at some point,
you'd have to start adding more people to your business.
Exactly what you do now is so very intimate in
every single step that it will be very hard for
you to hand any of that over to someone else.
And rightfully, so I get it. I completely I am
terrible at delegating. And my producer, who is probably listening
(19:22):
to this as he's editing, is saying, yes, So I
completely get it. And when it's something so intimate as
to what you do, I mean, it's your your words,
your type, like you're never gonna want to give up
the typing part of it, you know what I mean.
So it will be tough in that sense. And I
fully understand the idea, the love and the want to
keep it small and intimate, because that's just what this is.
(19:45):
I feel, Yeah, I think that, and I get this
a lot at at markets too. I mean we were
talking about how like it's hard to describe, and it's
it's nice to see photos of it, but also people
who have seen photos of my work when they see
it at am market or like see it in person,
will say, like, this is so different in person because
you can kind of tell when you hold it that
(20:07):
this is like this intimate, handmade thing. And and and
I think that I could absolutely ramp up my production
time if I were just printing a typewriter font out
from online onto a piece of life exactly like sitting
and like letter by letter, typing every single thing painstakingly.
(20:29):
But I think that you can tell, like when you
when you hold something, that I've made. This took time
to make. This was hand typed, It was handcut, handstanded.
Like I walk around my neighborhood. I like pick flowers,
I pressed them in I still flow there made but
stolen flower. You know, We've got a ton of flowers.
(20:52):
I think that it would lose so much of its
specialness if it if it wasn't intimate. And that doesn't
mean that it necessarily wouldn't be able to still be successful.
I mean we see things successfully mass produced all the time.
But I don't know if that's necessarily like what I
want to be doing, you know, So where did the
name come from? I was just kind of messing around
(21:14):
with ideas of of what I thought might sound good
or cool back in December team and I was kind
of like, should I make an etsy, like thinking beyond
just selling to my friends, and and thinking that my
my own name wouldn't work for something like that, And
so I was just thinking of words that felt like
(21:36):
they kind of succinctly described what I was doing. You know,
there's the floral element of all the pieces that I make,
and it's also it all also all has to do
with words, and whether that's poems or quotes or phrases
or snarky jokes, and those are all in a way
phrases and and so I think once I kind of
(21:57):
landed on those two words, I just liked how they
founded together. I thought they had a nice ring. I agree.
And there are a lot of businesses that you'll see
out there, and like being the person who I sound like,
I can't talk right now, but sometimes that's where I can.
Being on the radio, when you go to say a
business name, you're like, did you say your business name
out loud before you decided that was going to be
(22:17):
the business. So I feel like you kind of have
a leg up being on the media side of it,
knowing what works, what it Florida and phrases catchy. It's
something you remember and it makes sense and it perfectly
describes your business as well. So I was curious where
it came from or if there was, like, you know,
something that dated back in the family, but now it
was just you being a genius throwing around words. Well,
(22:38):
I think that, I mean being a word person. Something
like the name of a business or something. It's like
so important. And then I think that, like as someone
who writes poetry, like the way that something sounds out loud,
and the rhythm it has to it and just like
the vibe of it. I don't really know how to
describe it, but that is like an important thing. And
(22:59):
so when I lay ended on that, it just felt
like the right. It was like, oh, yeah, that's it,
there it is. It's great. I do have a silly question.
Do you still have typos when you're typing on a typewriter?
Are you? Yes, Yes, I do. Every typewriter has its
own weird, finicky thing. About it. Remington noiseless. Sometimes if
(23:22):
I type too fast on it, it will add spaces
where I don't like, it will skip, and a lot
of the time the c key on my typewriter doesn't work,
And so I have to go slowly enough that I
know that there's like not yes, that there's not like
extra spaces, and also that there aren't like random missing seas,
(23:44):
because sometimes when I'm like really churning stuff out, I
go back and I like skim back over and I'm like,
oh my god, there's no seas in this poem, like
what happened. So I definitely have to go slowly. I
I have way fewer typos than I did when I
first started. When I first started, I would probably in
typing one poem have to start over like three or
(24:05):
four to one because also once there's a typo, they're
back to new new piece of papers to start over
from square one one finger one letter. That's how I
would do it, But that's no fun. Yeah, I definitely
had a lot of experiences of like getting to the end,
you know, like five stanzas of poem and then I'm
(24:26):
typing the author's name, and I like, you know, there's
a skip or I hit the wrong key, and it's
it's just like, okay, start over. So the fact that
I use a typewriter basically every day now means that
I make way fewer mistakes than I originally did, but
I still make them and I still have to start
(24:48):
over when I do. I think you should write some
of your five magazine articles on that typewriter. How that goes?
Absolutely not never do that. It's the scanned version of it.
I would love, I would love for God. Okay, well
you can put it. You can make a custom request,
(25:09):
well do you do actual custom work at for Flora,
and phrase like if I came to you and said, hey,
I wanted to say my cat's names or something I
do like people can give me, can make like ask
for commissions for basically anything. It's cool because sometimes people
come to me and they I've had people come to
me and say, like, I wrote this poem and I
(25:31):
want to give it to my mom, and you know,
then I can type up the poem that this you know,
it's like it doesn't get more personal than that, and
I love that. And you know, sometimes people come to
me with specific requests for a quote that they love
or a poem that they love or yeah, sometimes people
just want their name on something like you said, or
(25:52):
their cat's name or something silly like that. So it's
like it's the only limit is like that I can
that it's words that I can type on the typewriter,
you know. So it's cool that there's a lot of
flexibility and that each piece is individually made. So I'm
kind of like, I don't really care what it says,
like it can be anything. You put your own poems
(26:14):
on your work, But you also mentioned something about putting
an author in there, so who if it's not you,
who else is it? Well, a lot of the times
it will be just writers that I know and love.
But I think that one of the things that I'm
proudest of of my business is that I also have
what I call a featured writer's program where I partner
(26:37):
with young, local emerging writers who don't have their don't
have their work published, and don't really have a big
platform for getting their work out there, and so I
partner with them. I pay them for their work. I
pay them fifty of every sale that I make of
a piece that they've written, so basically to try to
get their poetry seen by more people, and also to
(27:00):
pay them for their creative endeavors. And so in that
I try to center people of color and queer people
and people with marginalized identities to partner with, because I
also think that often poetry can feel inaccessible to people,
or people can say like, oh, well, I don't read
poetry because it's not for me, or I don't connect
(27:23):
to it. But I think that everybody can connect to poetry,
and it just is a matter of reading a poet's
work who has a similar experience to you or is
speaking to something that matters to you. I can write
poems that speak to a certain group of people, but
there's a whole group of people whose experiences I could
(27:46):
never capture, and so I think having that diversity in
the work that I'm representing is really important to me.
You know, a lot of the works that I can sell,
they have to be published before nineteen eighteen because of copyright,
and so unfortunately, a lot of the people riding before
(28:09):
nineteen eighteen were white men, right, And so a lot
of the things that I can put out there are
written by dead white men. And even though I think
that like they have, like they were talented, but I
know most likely I'm not relating to that like I
love Walt Whitman, like I love that stuff. But it's
(28:29):
also like I think that if that's the only thing
that is there plus my stuff, then it's like that
can only appeal to so many people. It's very smart.
So I really appreciate the writers that I get to
work with. They have such an amazing perspective, and they
have such talent with their words and with the way
(28:49):
that they put their work together, and I feel really
honored to get to work with them and to try
to promote what they're doing. So, if someone is a
writer and they want to write for you, how do
they sign up for that? Yeah, So on my website
flora phrase dot com, there's a tab that kind of
talks about the featured Writer's program what I'm trying to
(29:10):
do with it, and also there's, uh, there's instructions on
basically how you would apply for it, which is just
emailing me a few samples of your work and if
it's something that I think would be a good fit,
then I'll, you know, open that conversation with that person
and talk about, you know, what they want to get
out of it as well, and so I really want
it to be like a mutually beneficial relationship. And that
(29:33):
is something too that I think if I were to
grow my business, I would really want to focus on
that side of it because I want to be partnering
with erful people and with other young writers who might
not have as much of a platform as they want
to have, but as they grow, you know, and as
(29:53):
we get older, I definitely want to keep cultivating those
creative relationships because I see all of these people doing
amazing things and going really far. It's not easy to
grow a platform, let alone grow a platform in the
area that you have, and the fact that you then
are sharing it is crazy, so good for you. That
is incredible that you're able to do that and give
(30:15):
them a place for their voice and their work to
be heard. But you also do something super cool. It's
on your website it says five percent of all profits
go to the Sierra Club Foundation. So why that and
what made you want to do that? A lot of
my journalism to focuses on the environment and environment also
say umbility. It's just something that I am very into
and I've always been drawn to, and I picked the
(30:38):
Sierra Club Foundation, because I was doing research on nonprofits
that have a really good reputation for actually using like
the bulk of what you donate to them, and so
the Sierra Club basically has like an a rating of
like when you give them money, it's like nine seven percent.
(30:59):
I don't don't quote me on that, but I remember
it being like like I really I didn't even know
that was the thing actually going look up, So thank you. Yeah, yeah,
because it's like you don't ever really know when you
donate to someone, like what exactly happens with your money.
And some nonprofits have a better reputation than others is
being like this is going to on the ground programs
(31:20):
versus like into some executives pocket and so I did
some research on that. And because the environment is just
something that I care a lot about, and because I
think a lot of my poetry and the poetry that
I put out there on these pieces has to do
with nature. And you know, there's also we're going to
be best friends. Can tell already just by everything that
(31:41):
you're saying. I'm like, oh my god, we're going to
go on a hike, and we're gonna get all the flowers,
go to steal them. You're going to put them on cars,
and I'm gonna exactly feel like, can you write these
all these curse words on one card for me? Thank
you exactly. So I think that was just my like
I wanted to give back in some way have an
(32:02):
element of that, especially because in everything that I do
in my business, I try to do it as eco
friendly as possible, but also at the end of the day,
like I'm using like wood and paper, you know, to
make all of my stuff. And so it's just one
way that I tried to balance like the resources that
(32:22):
I use and you know, give back a little bit
to something that I really care a lot about. So
Flora and phrase dot com is where people can go
to check out all of your work, put in their
custom orders, and reach out to you. But we always
talked about on this podcast how I've gotten connected with
the guests, and oftentimes it's through someone else who has
been on the podcast, But how you and I I
(32:45):
need to tell my side of it, how you and
I got connected. So I was sitting in the exact
scene I'm sitting right now, and I was scrolling through
Instagram and I looked at my notifications and it said
that Zoe Branch started following me, and I clicked it.
For some reason, I would just click on who follows
me normally just to see where they're from. Why are
you just following me? Now? Like that's the process that
(33:06):
goes through my head. And then I saw that you
worked for four to five magazine. I was like, oh,
that's so cool. And then you had Flora and phrase
tagged and I clicked on that and I was like, well,
this is clearly a side hustle. Let me message her
and I put everything off all the time, so I
immediately was like, you know what, I'm just gonna do it,
and I hit message. And when I went there to
message you about asking if it was your side hustle,
(33:27):
I saw that you had literally just messaged me asking
to do an interview with me four or four to
five magazine. I was like, well, this is perfect and
it was super cool to me to be able to
make that connection with you, and I was like, well,
this is easy. That was the easiest guest find ever.
But on your side of it, we obviously at this
point of recording, we haven't done the interview yet. I'm
(33:48):
hoping you still want to interview me at this point,
it's it's terrible. So what was you, like, why A
did you say, well, I gotta follow this girl and
interview her. Like where did it all come from then?
On your end? Yeah, So I had been talking with
my editor about people who we wanted to interview basically
for a Q and A that would go in print
(34:10):
in four to five magazine, and she brought you up.
She was like, oh my god, Carla Marie of the
Carla Marie and Anthony Show would be great. She does
stuff on side hustles and so we have a creativity
issue that's coming up this summer, and she was like,
she would fit perfectly into that. Like she tried to
see if you can get a hold of her, and
so sometimes people are easiest to get ahold of through
(34:31):
email and sometimes it's like if you just like reach
out to them on social media, it's way more immediate. Yeah.
So I after my editor and I had talked about that,
I was like, I'll just you know, follow her on
Instagram and like shoot her a d M and see
if she's interested. And so that is how I came
(34:52):
to you. And I also, you know the fact that
you do the side Hustlers Podcast as someone with a side,
SOO was excited to talk to you and to get
to interview you because that's obviously something that I have
a perspective on. So I was also flattered that you
wanted to talk to me. Well, I love how like serendipitous,
Like when things happen like that, it's super cool. So
(35:13):
I am grateful for you being on this podcast. I
am proud of what you've done. I've never even met
you in person, but I'm so proud of what you've
been able to create. It's really really cool to see
people follow a passion when it's something they truly believe
in. In In love, so it's Flora and phrase dot com.
And then when the article is out for four to
five Magazine, I'm obviously going to share it. But if
(35:33):
you're listening right now and you want to check out
four to five magazine, it's four to five Magazine dot com.
So thank you so so much for being here. Hopefully
we'll get to see you at It's a coma night
market or another night market in Western Washington. Soon we'll
finally get to meet in person, I hope. So yeah,
thank you, thank you so much for listening to Zoey's episode.
You can always support anyone who is on this podcast.
(35:55):
I appreciate it when you do that. You can go
to Flora and phrase dot com to shop anything Zoe creates,
or you can go to Flora dot and dot phrase
on Instagram to follow her and support her. Just by
doing that, I say it every week, but just by
following and liking and sharing thanks you see on Instagram,
it helps these small businesses, especially right now. So go
support Zoe. You can always follow me on Instagram at
(36:17):
the Carla Murie. I've always got updates there. Thank you
so much for being here and if you have any
suggestions at all, at the Carla Murie on Instagram. Until
next week, keep hustling
Welcome to the Side Hustlers Podcast. I'm your host from
I Heart Radio Carla Murie. Each week we talked to
a new guest who is following a passion outside of
their day job. So this at some point became my
side hustle because my day job is hosting the Carla
Murie and Anthony Show on one or six point one
Kiss FM in Seattle. You can listen to it from
(00:21):
anywhere on our free I Heart Radio app. You can
also listen to it on your smart speakers. It's pretty cool.
But we've got all the info on how you can
do that on my Instagram. You can follow me at
the Carla Murray. This week's guest is Zoe. Zoe is
actually the writer for a magazine locally here in Washington
called four to five Magazine. That is her day job,
but her side hustle is Flora and Phrase, where she
(00:43):
uses her grandpa's original typewriter to type out poems, saying
she even does custom work on paper, puts it onto
pieces of wood, and then she takes dried flowers and
puts it on there is she creates this entire masterpiece
and it's wild how she does it. You've got to
hear is always story for a lot of people. You know,
(01:03):
why are you way? Do you know what you want
to do? And this is something you want to do?
Do it. I'm a hustle side side hustle. Do it.
I'm a hustle hustl do it. I'm a hustle hustlove.
Come on, ask about me, yo yo. It's the side
Hustless podcast we call the Root. Okay, So, coming to
(01:24):
me from not far into Cooma is Zoe Branch. Hello, Zoe, Hi,
Carla Marie. How are you. I'm good. So we are
obviously practicing social distancing at the time of recording this podcast.
I wish we could be doing this in person, but
obviously we're being safe. So you are the mastermind behind
Flora and Phrase, and I want you to explain what
(01:44):
it is. But how if someone said to me, what's
Flora and Phrase? I'd be like, oh my god, it's
so cool. She uses a typewriter and she types either
fun sayings or poems and then she puts dried flowers
on them. But I know that there's probably a better,
more artistic way to explain it. So I want you
to link to everyone what Flora and phrases. Yeah, I
wish that I had a very very to sink artistic
(02:07):
way of putting this. But I use my great grandfather's
one Remington noiseless typewriter to do poems, sayings, quotes, all
sorts of things. Type them up on the typewriter and
I mount them on sanded birch wood and then I
put press flowers with the sayings and they hang on
the wall or you can put them on a bookshelf.
(02:29):
I also do greeting cards, earrings, sometimes I make candles
with sayings on it. So it's just it's kind of
a big amalgamation of a lot of different things. Either way,
at the end of the day, what you do is
super unique. It's super creative. And for people as they're
listening to this podcast, the links for everything we talked
about are always in the description, but you can follow
(02:50):
along on Instagram. It's Flora dot and dot phrase and
this obviously, Zoe is your side hustle. This isn't you
know what you do full time? You're full time to
job is working for four to five magazine, which is
huge here in the Pacific Northwest. If you're not from
here and you're listening this is a huge magazine here,
and you are a full time assistant editor for the magazine,
(03:11):
And I feel like the two jobs are essentially links,
you know, words and type, like it goes back to
the root of I guess what your what your day
job is. So let's talk about your day job a
little bit. What is your day to day like at
four to five Magazine? Well, it's drastically changed in the
last couple of months, but I've been working full time
(03:32):
for four to five magazine for two years now, and
until very recently, my full time job was as a
staff writer. I interview a lot of people, and I
search out local stories in the Seattle area in the
Tacoma area. So basically my job right now as assistant
editor is still a lot of those things, but I'm
also doing more on the editing side, more big picture
(03:54):
in terms of what an entire magazine looks like, a
kind of tone that we're trying to go for. So
I actually first started Flora and Phrase in a way
that was kind of connected to the job because I,
as a writer, was writing a piece on the founder
of the Tacoma night market, Leah Morgan, and at that
(04:16):
point I had not yet started the business, and I
had an interview with her and we just talked for hours.
She's an amazing, wonderful person. So then when I first
kind of started making things, she was front of mind
on my radar in terms of like a big goal
that I had was to get into this market, and
I just interviewed her, and so I was able to
(04:37):
text her and kind of a you know, how do
I apply what does this look like? So when I
first got in, I think, you know, I really kind
of had no idea what I was doing. And I
think I got lucky in that I had just met
Leah and I wrote a story on her. It was
on the cover of sassaun Business magazine and now aligned
with the same time as I started doing the Tacoma
(04:58):
night market, and if I wasn't in the job that
I'm currently doing, I wouldn't have had that connection. So yes,
they do work together, and that a lot of connections
are serendipitous, And I want to talk about at some
point how you and I got connected. We're going to
get to that because it is kind of crazy. But you,
obviously then are normally on my side of this. You're
the one asking people questions about what they do. So
(05:21):
is it weird for you right now? Because to be
on this side talking about your side hustle when you're
the one trying to get this information out of people normally.
This maybe my first ever official interview being on this side,
and I think it's it's probably a lot like people
who are photographers, like when they get their photo taken,
it's very weird, even though they're around it all the time.
(05:42):
So yes, I'm used to asking the questions and not
to answering them. Okay, So what question would you ask yourself? No,
I'll let you interview you yourself, and I'm just gonna
use no. No, we're not going to do it. Okay.
So take me back to December when Flora and phrase
a fish Lee launched. What was that very first piece
(06:03):
and how did it happen and why December? I had
my great grandfather's typewriter for about a year. My mom
gave it to me the previous Christmas because she had
found it in my grandparents basement and it was something
that I played with a time when I was a kid.
You know, it was kind of in disrepair and not
really working very well, and she did all this research
(06:25):
to fix it up and basically made it working like
a brand new typewriter and gave it to me. And
I had had it sitting on my shelf for about
a year, and that December, my grandfather, whom very close with,
he had just gotten a cancer diagnosis. I was trying
to think of a really meaningful gift that I could
give to him for Christmas that year. And he is
(06:48):
a big word person, and that is something that he
and I have always had in common, and for big
life moments for me and for everyone else in my family,
will write limericks and and get up and and perform
them in front of everybody. And that's that's kind of
always been his thing. And so I thought that it
would be really great if I could write a limerick
(07:10):
about him and his life and all this cool stuff
that he's done. And so I wrote this limerick and then,
you know, instead of just performing it in front of everyone,
which I did, I also wanted to give him like
a physical copy of it, and so I typed it
up on the typewriter which had to his father, and
you know, put a pressed flower with it. And then
(07:33):
I also ended up writing a poem for my grandmother
and mounting that on birch wood with a flower and
and figuring out how to to hang it, you know,
drill holes in it. And so the first two pieces
that I ever made were for them, and that felt appropriate.
And then a few of my friends saw them and
they were like, oh, well, you make this for me,
(07:53):
Like I want these Christmas gifts and so so yeah,
basically that first December, I was just making stuff for
my friend. That's how it starts, though, Yes, And then
I applied for the Tacoma Night Market because I had
just interviewed Leah, not expecting to get in. It's a
it's a very competitive market to get into and it's
huge and just like this lively cool event. Then Leo
(08:16):
let me in and I just kind of figured out
how to bend from there. I had never done it before, um,
and so I kind of was flying by the seat
of my pants. That's a big stage to be for
your first stage. Yes, yeah, And I'm so grateful for
her for believing in me that I could handle it
and figure it out. And even now, like I look
back on the first table that I did and I'm like,
(08:36):
oh my god, my setup was such a mess. Like
what was I doing? But even at that first market, like,
I did really well. I made way more money than
I thought I was going to And it was this
really awesome moment of feeling like, oh, I'm putting these
poems out here in words. And I think a lot
of times I worry that people in today's world like
(08:59):
don't slow down to read those things, like don't hold
as much value as they once did. But I've been
so encouraged by people at markets and online to who
who like do read poems and do want to slow
down and take that in and and who will spend
on a poem to put it on their walls so
(09:21):
that they can look at it every day, Like I
think that is really cool and is something that's really
encouraged me about doing this is that people still want
those things. So it's kind of crazy, like Flora and
phrase is obviously it's creative, it's your side hustle, but
it's so much more. And you can tell that just
by from going to your website without even knowing your story.
(09:42):
There's so much more to it. But this idea that
you have loved typewriters since you were a kid got
your journalists so Obviously you love words. I mean journalists
years and years ago, we're obviously using typewriters to put
out new stapers, you know, being in this industry. Even
I don't obviously write articles, but I know the passion
(10:04):
behind typewriters. I think typewriters are cool. I played with
them as a kid, so I get it. So not
only do you have that part of it of where
it's clearly a path you've been on your whole life,
but you have the connection with your grandpa, and that's
just it's so cool how it's something he kind of
instilled in you and your family and now you're giving
it back to him. He must be so freaking proud
(10:27):
of everything you've done. I mean, it's got to be
the coolest thing for him to see his granddaughter start
her own business because of something he instilled in her.
I mean, have you talked to him about that? Yeah,
he is proud. And I think that both of my
grandparents they're just surprised that I'm able to make money
with this typewriter. You know, they think it's really special
that you know, it's started off with me making gifts
(10:49):
for them and that I'm like actually using the literal
typewriter that you know, I played with in their basement
when I was a kid. And I'm also very proud
of them, and you know, proud to be related to
them and proud to have them have instilled those things
in me. Like you said, well, yeah, you've done so
(11:10):
much with it obviously. So the Tacoma Night Market, you
have your first night, you sell your first items. Did
you have a website yet at that point I did.
I had just set up. So I had a friend
who works in digital marketing who helped me set up
my website. We like launched it literally that day that
I had the Tacoma Night Market that night, because I
(11:30):
was like, this needs to be live because I put
this freaking website addressed on my business cards, like the
pressure is on. So she helped me do that, which
I was very grateful for because I've never set up
a website. But since then, um, yeah, I have a website.
I've an Etsy and those I try to keep fairly updated,
(11:52):
but it's definitely one of the things that falls on
the back burner because I'm a one person business and
so I'm doing everything from curate the content to cutting
and standing the wood to doing my taxes, which is
and so it's own its own thing, and it's all
on the side, you know, So I'm working full time
(12:12):
as well too, But yeah, the website component has been
a fun thing to kind of learn the ropes of
a little bit, and I'm glad that I had someone
to help me with that. Initially, a lot of people
have been on this podcast we'll talk about how they
outsource their website because it is it's a job in itself,
because it really is difficult. So you are lucky, yes
(12:33):
that you did have someone help you with it. But
you mentioned obviously this is something that you do on
the side. So how long does it take you to
make one piece? Because I thought it was originally cards
at first when I saw them, So are you do
you do cards? You do pieces on the birch would
like you're saying you do obviously ear rings. Now there's
so much more to it, So what kind of work
goes into a piece. It's kind of hard to figure out,
(12:55):
like exactly how much time it takes to make one
because I kind of do each step of the process
in in like a bulk type of way. So for example,
I'll have like a wood cutting day, um, where I,
you know, sit down with my little portable wood cutting
(13:15):
machine that I literally just put on the floor of
my square foot apartment and I'll just cut wood for
maybe like an hour, and then I'll have like a
standing day. And that's actually probably what takes the longest,
is like sanding all of the wood. But then once
I have all of that prepped, I cut paper to
(13:36):
fit the size of the wood, and then I drill
the holes and I tie the strings. So once I
actually am sitting down to make the piece, it probably
and like all of that has been done. It probably
takes me end of fifteen minutes to make one of them,
and that's typing the words, mounting it on the wood,
getting the flower on there. But there's like days worth of, yeah,
(14:00):
of just like kind of mindless labor that goes into
it before like the creative part actually kicks in. Just
so people can see what we're talking about. Also, I know,
we shout out your Instagram, but it's Flora and phrase
dot com, so they can see what we're talking about, because,
like you said earlier, it's very difficult to explain to
sink like what it is that you do. And I
(14:21):
know Earlier we were saying poems, and when people hear
poems they think these long, gorgeous, which they are poems.
But there's one on your website that is it says
stay stay sexy and don't get murdered. Is something that
someone can buy and I love that. So I want
to clarify when we say poems, there are very you
have long, you have limericks, but then there's stay sexy
(14:42):
and don't get murdered. And that's just like the coolest.
I think it's fun that you've taken like this beautiful
art form. You've got this beautiful dried flower on there
and that's what it says, and it's great and it's
super cool. And like I said earlier, it is so unique.
You don't find that everywhere. What you're doing, the amount
of work you're putting into it, it's just insane. It's
it's but it's amazing and it's cool that you're able
(15:03):
to do this. It really is an art. It's not
just a side hustle in a business. To you, yeah,
thank you. I I when I describe it kind of
the tone to people, I say, like serious and snarky.
I think the reason that's kind of manifested in in
my business in that way is that's very much so
how I am like, I love poetry, and I love
(15:24):
all that serious, more serious stuff and the beauty of that,
and I love how that can be made tangible with
like a typewriter and with wood and with flowers. But
I'm also very snarky person. And I mean your journalist
of course, yes, And I mean one of the greeting
cards that I have that people love says, I love
(15:47):
that we hate all the same people and you know,
like friends, yes, exactly, And that's what like people out
of market. Well, the reason I think I miss doing
markets so much is because people see my table and
it predictably like it will be this like oh, these
like poems and this is beautiful, and people are standing
(16:07):
there reading stuff and then they come across something that's
totally unexpected and it makes them laugh and it makes
them pick it up and like show it to their friend,
and and I love that, you know, the dichotomy of
that of just like this is the platform for both
of those things. And I think there should always be
room for for humor and ridiculousness and everything. So I
(16:31):
try to make plenty of space for that in in
what I create. Well, you've done it, and you've done
a great job at it. It's gorgeous and funny at
the same time, and that's very hard to find and
people and and work. So so I appreciate what you've done.
Thank you. So when it's not social distancing, So let's
go back to when life was normal and you have
you have this full time job, and then you just
(16:53):
described everything that you do for Flora and phrase whether
it's cutting the wood and standing all that, what is
that like? Do you just come home from work and
then immediately start doing like what is your week? It's
going to be crazy. Yes, I would say that I'm
like working all the time, but I also think I'm
in a very fortunate position to be doing things that
(17:15):
don't feel like work to me. And I have always
been kind of like this workaholic type person and have
always preferred to have like an overly full plate, even
if it means that it's stressful, because I love having
all these like creative outlets for things. I mean, so
much of my job as a journalist is it's like
(17:35):
my dream job to be doing, and I just get
to talk to people all day, and then I get
to write about it. A lot of the time that
job doesn't feel like a job. And then my business,
there are parts of it that's very much so feel
like a job, like like the taxes part of it.
Every time I have to do that, every time, I'm like,
oh my god, I hate this part, you know. But
(17:56):
for the most part, I love finding the passages. I
love finding the poems. A lot of some of the
poems that I put out are my own, and so
I get to sell my own poetry like that doesn't
feel like work. So there's no right or wrong answer
to this, But is your plan to always keep Flora
and Phrase a side hustle or their bigger goals one day?
(18:17):
That is something that I have asked myself recently, and
I really don't know. I think that it has potential
to grow into something bigger, but as of right now,
I'm I'm so happy with the balance between the creative
work I get to do full time and the creative
work I get to do. It's a side hustle that
I'm not looking to expand it right now. But I
(18:38):
think that if I were to try to switch my
career and you know, was unemployed for a while, I
think that I may look at, Okay, how can I
grow this? How might this make sense on a bigger platform?
But right now I kind of love that it's small
enough that it can all be done in house, and
it's great well doing things on a time writer, but
(19:00):
true because if you did grow it, at some point,
you'd have to start adding more people to your business.
Exactly what you do now is so very intimate in
every single step that it will be very hard for
you to hand any of that over to someone else.
And rightfully, so I get it. I completely I am
terrible at delegating. And my producer, who is probably listening
(19:22):
to this as he's editing, is saying, yes, So I
completely get it. And when it's something so intimate as
to what you do, I mean, it's your your words,
your type, like you're never gonna want to give up
the typing part of it, you know what I mean.
So it will be tough in that sense. And I
fully understand the idea, the love and the want to
keep it small and intimate, because that's just what this is.
(19:45):
I feel, Yeah, I think that, and I get this
a lot at at markets too. I mean we were
talking about how like it's hard to describe, and it's
it's nice to see photos of it, but also people
who have seen photos of my work when they see
it at am market or like see it in person,
will say, like, this is so different in person because
you can kind of tell when you hold it that
(20:07):
this is like this intimate, handmade thing. And and and
I think that I could absolutely ramp up my production
time if I were just printing a typewriter font out
from online onto a piece of life exactly like sitting
and like letter by letter, typing every single thing painstakingly.
(20:29):
But I think that you can tell, like when you
when you hold something, that I've made. This took time
to make. This was hand typed, It was handcut, handstanded.
Like I walk around my neighborhood. I like pick flowers,
I pressed them in I still flow there made but
stolen flower. You know, We've got a ton of flowers.
(20:52):
I think that it would lose so much of its
specialness if it if it wasn't intimate. And that doesn't
mean that it necessarily wouldn't be able to still be successful.
I mean we see things successfully mass produced all the time.
But I don't know if that's necessarily like what I
want to be doing, you know, So where did the
name come from? I was just kind of messing around
(21:14):
with ideas of of what I thought might sound good
or cool back in December team and I was kind
of like, should I make an etsy, like thinking beyond
just selling to my friends, and and thinking that my
my own name wouldn't work for something like that, And
so I was just thinking of words that felt like
(21:36):
they kind of succinctly described what I was doing. You know,
there's the floral element of all the pieces that I make,
and it's also it all also all has to do
with words, and whether that's poems or quotes or phrases
or snarky jokes, and those are all in a way
phrases and and so I think once I kind of
(21:57):
landed on those two words, I just liked how they
founded together. I thought they had a nice ring. I agree.
And there are a lot of businesses that you'll see
out there, and like being the person who I sound like,
I can't talk right now, but sometimes that's where I can.
Being on the radio, when you go to say a
business name, you're like, did you say your business name
out loud before you decided that was going to be
(22:17):
the business. So I feel like you kind of have
a leg up being on the media side of it,
knowing what works, what it Florida and phrases catchy. It's
something you remember and it makes sense and it perfectly
describes your business as well. So I was curious where
it came from or if there was, like, you know,
something that dated back in the family, but now it
was just you being a genius throwing around words. Well,
(22:38):
I think that, I mean being a word person. Something
like the name of a business or something. It's like
so important. And then I think that, like as someone
who writes poetry, like the way that something sounds out loud,
and the rhythm it has to it and just like
the vibe of it. I don't really know how to
describe it, but that is like an important thing. And
(22:59):
so when I lay ended on that, it just felt
like the right. It was like, oh, yeah, that's it,
there it is. It's great. I do have a silly question.
Do you still have typos when you're typing on a typewriter?
Are you? Yes, Yes, I do. Every typewriter has its
own weird, finicky thing. About it. Remington noiseless. Sometimes if
(23:22):
I type too fast on it, it will add spaces
where I don't like, it will skip, and a lot
of the time the c key on my typewriter doesn't work,
And so I have to go slowly enough that I
know that there's like not yes, that there's not like
extra spaces, and also that there aren't like random missing seas,
(23:44):
because sometimes when I'm like really churning stuff out, I
go back and I like skim back over and I'm like,
oh my god, there's no seas in this poem, like
what happened. So I definitely have to go slowly. I
I have way fewer typos than I did when I
first started. When I first started, I would probably in
typing one poem have to start over like three or
(24:05):
four to one because also once there's a typo, they're
back to new new piece of papers to start over
from square one one finger one letter. That's how I
would do it, But that's no fun. Yeah, I definitely
had a lot of experiences of like getting to the end,
you know, like five stanzas of poem and then I'm
(24:26):
typing the author's name, and I like, you know, there's
a skip or I hit the wrong key, and it's
it's just like, okay, start over. So the fact that
I use a typewriter basically every day now means that
I make way fewer mistakes than I originally did, but
I still make them and I still have to start
(24:48):
over when I do. I think you should write some
of your five magazine articles on that typewriter. How that goes?
Absolutely not never do that. It's the scanned version of it.
I would love, I would love for God. Okay, well
you can put it. You can make a custom request,
(25:09):
well do you do actual custom work at for Flora,
and phrase like if I came to you and said, hey,
I wanted to say my cat's names or something I
do like people can give me, can make like ask
for commissions for basically anything. It's cool because sometimes people
come to me and they I've had people come to
me and say, like, I wrote this poem and I
(25:31):
want to give it to my mom, and you know,
then I can type up the poem that this you know,
it's like it doesn't get more personal than that, and
I love that. And you know, sometimes people come to
me with specific requests for a quote that they love
or a poem that they love or yeah, sometimes people
just want their name on something like you said, or
(25:52):
their cat's name or something silly like that. So it's
like it's the only limit is like that I can
that it's words that I can type on the typewriter,
you know. So it's cool that there's a lot of
flexibility and that each piece is individually made. So I'm
kind of like, I don't really care what it says,
like it can be anything. You put your own poems
(26:14):
on your work, But you also mentioned something about putting
an author in there, so who if it's not you,
who else is it? Well, a lot of the times
it will be just writers that I know and love.
But I think that one of the things that I'm
proudest of of my business is that I also have
what I call a featured writer's program where I partner
(26:37):
with young, local emerging writers who don't have their don't
have their work published, and don't really have a big
platform for getting their work out there, and so I
partner with them. I pay them for their work. I
pay them fifty of every sale that I make of
a piece that they've written, so basically to try to
get their poetry seen by more people, and also to
(27:00):
pay them for their creative endeavors. And so in that
I try to center people of color and queer people
and people with marginalized identities to partner with, because I
also think that often poetry can feel inaccessible to people,
or people can say like, oh, well, I don't read
poetry because it's not for me, or I don't connect
(27:23):
to it. But I think that everybody can connect to poetry,
and it just is a matter of reading a poet's
work who has a similar experience to you or is
speaking to something that matters to you. I can write
poems that speak to a certain group of people, but
there's a whole group of people whose experiences I could
(27:46):
never capture, and so I think having that diversity in
the work that I'm representing is really important to me.
You know, a lot of the works that I can sell,
they have to be published before nineteen eighteen because of copyright,
and so unfortunately, a lot of the people riding before
(28:09):
nineteen eighteen were white men, right, And so a lot
of the things that I can put out there are
written by dead white men. And even though I think
that like they have, like they were talented, but I
know most likely I'm not relating to that like I
love Walt Whitman, like I love that stuff. But it's
(28:29):
also like I think that if that's the only thing
that is there plus my stuff, then it's like that
can only appeal to so many people. It's very smart.
So I really appreciate the writers that I get to
work with. They have such an amazing perspective, and they
have such talent with their words and with the way
(28:49):
that they put their work together, and I feel really
honored to get to work with them and to try
to promote what they're doing. So, if someone is a
writer and they want to write for you, how do
they sign up for that? Yeah, So on my website
flora phrase dot com, there's a tab that kind of
talks about the featured Writer's program what I'm trying to
(29:10):
do with it, and also there's, uh, there's instructions on
basically how you would apply for it, which is just
emailing me a few samples of your work and if
it's something that I think would be a good fit,
then I'll, you know, open that conversation with that person
and talk about, you know, what they want to get
out of it as well, and so I really want
it to be like a mutually beneficial relationship. And that
(29:33):
is something too that I think if I were to
grow my business, I would really want to focus on
that side of it because I want to be partnering
with erful people and with other young writers who might
not have as much of a platform as they want
to have, but as they grow, you know, and as
(29:53):
we get older, I definitely want to keep cultivating those
creative relationships because I see all of these people doing
amazing things and going really far. It's not easy to
grow a platform, let alone grow a platform in the
area that you have, and the fact that you then
are sharing it is crazy, so good for you. That
is incredible that you're able to do that and give
(30:15):
them a place for their voice and their work to
be heard. But you also do something super cool. It's
on your website it says five percent of all profits
go to the Sierra Club Foundation. So why that and
what made you want to do that? A lot of
my journalism to focuses on the environment and environment also
say umbility. It's just something that I am very into
and I've always been drawn to, and I picked the
(30:38):
Sierra Club Foundation, because I was doing research on nonprofits
that have a really good reputation for actually using like
the bulk of what you donate to them, and so
the Sierra Club basically has like an a rating of
like when you give them money, it's like nine seven percent.
(30:59):
I don't don't quote me on that, but I remember
it being like like I really I didn't even know
that was the thing actually going look up, So thank you. Yeah, yeah,
because it's like you don't ever really know when you
donate to someone, like what exactly happens with your money.
And some nonprofits have a better reputation than others is
being like this is going to on the ground programs
(31:20):
versus like into some executives pocket and so I did
some research on that. And because the environment is just
something that I care a lot about, and because I
think a lot of my poetry and the poetry that
I put out there on these pieces has to do
with nature. And you know, there's also we're going to
be best friends. Can tell already just by everything that
(31:41):
you're saying. I'm like, oh my god, we're going to
go on a hike, and we're gonna get all the flowers,
go to steal them. You're going to put them on cars,
and I'm gonna exactly feel like, can you write these
all these curse words on one card for me? Thank
you exactly. So I think that was just my like
I wanted to give back in some way have an
(32:02):
element of that, especially because in everything that I do
in my business, I try to do it as eco
friendly as possible, but also at the end of the day,
like I'm using like wood and paper, you know, to
make all of my stuff. And so it's just one
way that I tried to balance like the resources that
(32:22):
I use and you know, give back a little bit
to something that I really care a lot about. So
Flora and phrase dot com is where people can go
to check out all of your work, put in their
custom orders, and reach out to you. But we always
talked about on this podcast how I've gotten connected with
the guests, and oftentimes it's through someone else who has
been on the podcast, But how you and I I
(32:45):
need to tell my side of it, how you and
I got connected. So I was sitting in the exact
scene I'm sitting right now, and I was scrolling through
Instagram and I looked at my notifications and it said
that Zoe Branch started following me, and I clicked it.
For some reason, I would just click on who follows
me normally just to see where they're from. Why are
you just following me? Now? Like that's the process that
(33:06):
goes through my head. And then I saw that you
worked for four to five magazine. I was like, oh,
that's so cool. And then you had Flora and phrase
tagged and I clicked on that and I was like, well,
this is clearly a side hustle. Let me message her
and I put everything off all the time, so I
immediately was like, you know what, I'm just gonna do it,
and I hit message. And when I went there to
message you about asking if it was your side hustle,
(33:27):
I saw that you had literally just messaged me asking
to do an interview with me four or four to
five magazine. I was like, well, this is perfect and
it was super cool to me to be able to
make that connection with you, and I was like, well,
this is easy. That was the easiest guest find ever.
But on your side of it, we obviously at this
point of recording, we haven't done the interview yet. I'm
(33:48):
hoping you still want to interview me at this point,
it's it's terrible. So what was you, like, why A
did you say, well, I gotta follow this girl and
interview her. Like where did it all come from then?
On your end? Yeah, So I had been talking with
my editor about people who we wanted to interview basically
for a Q and A that would go in print
(34:10):
in four to five magazine, and she brought you up.
She was like, oh my god, Carla Marie of the
Carla Marie and Anthony Show would be great. She does
stuff on side hustles and so we have a creativity
issue that's coming up this summer, and she was like,
she would fit perfectly into that. Like she tried to
see if you can get a hold of her, and
so sometimes people are easiest to get ahold of through
(34:31):
email and sometimes it's like if you just like reach
out to them on social media, it's way more immediate. Yeah.
So I after my editor and I had talked about that,
I was like, I'll just you know, follow her on
Instagram and like shoot her a d M and see
if she's interested. And so that is how I came
(34:52):
to you. And I also, you know the fact that
you do the side Hustlers Podcast as someone with a side,
SOO was excited to talk to you and to get
to interview you because that's obviously something that I have
a perspective on. So I was also flattered that you
wanted to talk to me. Well, I love how like serendipitous,
Like when things happen like that, it's super cool. So
(35:13):
I am grateful for you being on this podcast. I
am proud of what you've done. I've never even met
you in person, but I'm so proud of what you've
been able to create. It's really really cool to see
people follow a passion when it's something they truly believe
in. In In love, so it's Flora and phrase dot com.
And then when the article is out for four to
five Magazine, I'm obviously going to share it. But if
(35:33):
you're listening right now and you want to check out
four to five magazine, it's four to five Magazine dot com.
So thank you so so much for being here. Hopefully
we'll get to see you at It's a coma night
market or another night market in Western Washington. Soon we'll
finally get to meet in person, I hope. So yeah,
thank you, thank you so much for listening to Zoey's episode.
You can always support anyone who is on this podcast.
(35:55):
I appreciate it when you do that. You can go
to Flora and phrase dot com to shop anything Zoe creates,
or you can go to Flora dot and dot phrase
on Instagram to follow her and support her. Just by
doing that, I say it every week, but just by
following and liking and sharing thanks you see on Instagram,
it helps these small businesses, especially right now. So go
support Zoe. You can always follow me on Instagram at
(36:17):
the Carla Murie. I've always got updates there. Thank you
so much for being here and if you have any
suggestions at all, at the Carla Murie on Instagram. Until
next week, keep hustling
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