My Creative Life is a weekly interview, with the same five questions, with folks who are living authentically, creatively, and making a living out of their passions.
This week I am honored to have Jenna Park, a creative gal who wears a few different hats. The hat that I am familiar with is the one as co-owner of Whimsy and Spice, an incredible, dare I say...decadent, confectioner in Brooklyn. My personal fave is the cardamom marshmallows. Simple, yet seems like an extravagant treat!
Visit their Etsy store here!
1. What do you do? (career wise - whatever you want to share) I’m a freelance graphic designer and art director and together with my pastry chef husband, own and operate an online confectionary, Whimsy & Spice, which just celebrated its 1 year anniversary.
2. How did you prepare for this career? (formal and informal education, books, workshops?) I’ve always studied art since I was young and eventually went to art school for college. I started off as a fine art major, but also studied music comp
osition for 3 years, so I didn’t think I would end up as a designer, but this is what I’ve been doing for the last 13 years. Mark has been cooking since he was left to prepare his own meals at age 12 when his mother couldn’t accommodate his picky food preferences anymore. So she told him that he could cook his meals from now on...and he did! His career started off a bit unconventionally since he didn’t go to culinary school (he also was a music major). He held restaurant jobs since his first year in college and then trained with other pastry chefs in NYC restaurants before becoming a chef himself. He’s been in the industry for over 13 years and that experience has definitely prepared him for owning his own business.
3. Besides living according to the values of creativity and independence, what other values are you honoring by following this path? We took a a big risk in starting this business last year (we
live in expensive NYC and have 2 young kids to support), but we decided to take that leap so we can be foster a more flexible schedule so that we can spend more time with our 2 girls. Our life and business is definitely family-oriented and we feel fortunate to be able to have careers and businesses that allow for an independent lifestyle not dependent on 9-5 jobs.
4. What struggles or challenges do you face, if any? Well, along with the many advantages of a flexible, self employed lifestyle, we also deal with the downsides – an unstable income and funding our own health insurance, which in NYC is shockingly expensive. Owning your own business also can mean working long hours without rare days off which make the work/family balance often difficult, but we manage and do the best we can. Despite this, we wouldn’t trade it in for day j
obs – I think we’ve come to value the flexibility and independence too much.
5. Can you give some advice to folks who would like to do what you do? Going out on your own can be quite intimidating, but it’s important to stay focused, not underestimate yourself, and not get discouraged at the first sign of failure. Don’t be afraid to falter and take risks... and reach out to people! Working independently can often be lonely, so if not for advice or to bounce ideas with, then at least for comraderie and and good conversation - it’s so important not to be isolated.
This week I am honored to have Jenna Park, a creative gal who wears a few different hats. The hat that I am familiar with is the one as co-owner of Whimsy and Spice, an incredible, dare I say...decadent, confectioner in Brooklyn. My personal fave is the cardamom marshmallows. Simple, yet seems like an extravagant treat!
Visit their Etsy store here!
1. What do you do? (career wise - whatever you want to share) I’m a freelance graphic designer and art director and together with my pastry chef husband, own and operate an online confectionary, Whimsy & Spice, which just celebrated its 1 year anniversary.
2. How did you prepare for this career? (formal and informal education, books, workshops?) I’ve always studied art since I was young and eventually went to art school for college. I started off as a fine art major, but also studied music comp
osition for 3 years, so I didn’t think I would end up as a designer, but this is what I’ve been doing for the last 13 years. Mark has been cooking since he was left to prepare his own meals at age 12 when his mother couldn’t accommodate his picky food preferences anymore. So she told him that he could cook his meals from now on...and he did! His career started off a bit unconventionally since he didn’t go to culinary school (he also was a music major). He held restaurant jobs since his first year in college and then trained with other pastry chefs in NYC restaurants before becoming a chef himself. He’s been in the industry for over 13 years and that experience has definitely prepared him for owning his own business. 3. Besides living according to the values of creativity and independence, what other values are you honoring by following this path? We took a a big risk in starting this business last year (we
live in expensive NYC and have 2 young kids to support), but we decided to take that leap so we can be foster a more flexible schedule so that we can spend more time with our 2 girls. Our life and business is definitely family-oriented and we feel fortunate to be able to have careers and businesses that allow for an independent lifestyle not dependent on 9-5 jobs. 4. What struggles or challenges do you face, if any? Well, along with the many advantages of a flexible, self employed lifestyle, we also deal with the downsides – an unstable income and funding our own health insurance, which in NYC is shockingly expensive. Owning your own business also can mean working long hours without rare days off which make the work/family balance often difficult, but we manage and do the best we can. Despite this, we wouldn’t trade it in for day j
obs – I think we’ve come to value the flexibility and independence too much. 5. Can you give some advice to folks who would like to do what you do? Going out on your own can be quite intimidating, but it’s important to stay focused, not underestimate yourself, and not get discouraged at the first sign of failure. Don’t be afraid to falter and take risks... and reach out to people! Working independently can often be lonely, so if not for advice or to bounce ideas with, then at least for comraderie and and good conversation - it’s so important not to be isolated.
