Today I am joined by the founders of Park and Oak, Christina Samatas and Renee DiSanto! Christina and Renee were brought together by design — and a touch of fate. After starting their respective careers in PR and marketing (Christina) and photography, baking, and content creation (Renee), the two joined creative forces to build what is now a nationally sought-after design brand. The pair’s complementary yin-yang energies and multi-layered skill sets prove to be the foundation of everything they’ve created both in style and practice. Park & Oak’s timeless, classic approach to design mixes styles, influences, and materials to create unique spaces that feel sophisticated, yet comfortable and welcoming — a true reflection of the brand’s founders.

In this episode we chat about how they met, why they decided to go into business with each other, how they built their design business, their cocktail lounge, partnerships & collaborations, where they see their business going, and so much more!

Park and Oak Website

Park and Oak Instagram

Park and Oak Collected Website

Park and Oak Collected Instagram

The Parlour Website

The Parlour Instagram

Today I am joined by Soon Hagerty! Soon is a serial entrepreneur, brand strategist, small business owner, and philanthropist. Soon and her family fled Vietnam when she was just four years old, which is an experience that continues to shape her purpose, leadership, and commitment to giving back.

Soon has co-owned multiple PR and marketing firms and her career spans global brand strategy for some of the world’s most recognized brands.

A firm believer in “doing well by doing good,” Soon founded The Good Bowl, a mission-driven Vietnamese restaurant launched in Traverse City, Michigan in 2018. The restaurant donates $1 from every bowl sold to charity, allowing guests to choose from rotating local, national, and global nonprofit partners.

For nearly 20 years, Soon helped shape the brand strategy at Hagerty, supporting the company’s purpose to save driving and fuel car culture for future generations. She played a key role in the company’s evolution from a small specialty insurance business to a global, publicly traded lifestyle brand, which joined the New York Stock Exchange (HGTY) in 2021 with a valuation exceeding $3 billion.

In 2023, Soon transitioned from her executive role into a consulting capacity to focus on supporting female founders and leaders through Boundless Futures Foundation, which she co-founded with her husband, McKeel Hagerty. The foundation provides financial support, leadership resources, and community to women building businesses designed for both growth and good.

Boundless Futures Foundation

Soon's Linked In

Today I am joined by Meghan Donovan! Meghan is the creator behind lifestyle site wit & whimsy and substack The Noteworthy Edit. Created in December of 2006 to develop her passions of fashion, beauty and travel, wit & whimsy has grown to be a place where Meghan loves sharing more about her outfits, her life in New York City, her pursuit of a clean beauty routine and her love of Paris. With Meghan's content you can expect to find fashion inspiration, the best beauty products, travel recommendations, great sale items and more noteworthy items to help elevate your every day.

Meghan is a Francophile at heart and also the founder of En Route to Rêverie – a bespoke travel atelier for France & England.

Originally hailing from Chicago, Meghan has lived in London, Paris & spent eight years in California. She now resides in Brooklyn Heights. She is one of four children and has a severe case of wanderlust. Meghan owns too many pairs of shoes, considers photography her hobby and is always on the hunt for good croissants.

In this episode we chat about Meghan's 20 year career in the influencing/blogging industry, her career in PR, her love of travel, starting her travel business, tips for planning trips in France and England, what it means to be a travel specialist, and so much more!

Meghan's Instagram

Meghan's Website

Noteworthy Edit Substack

En Route to Rêverie Instagram

En Route to Rêverie Website

Passport to Rêverie Substack

Domestic Violence Hotline

Join me for March's book club pick: The Stolen Queen! This is a historical fiction book set in two different times -- 1936 and 1978. In 1936, we are introduced to Charlotte, a young student working in archeology in Egypt. In 1978, we meet Charlotte once again as an older woman working at the Met. When a mysterious artifact is generously loaned to the Met, no one bats an eye.... except for Charlotte, who recognizes the artifact as something she thought had been left at the bottom of the Nile River.

It is a bit of a mystery & I loved the fast pacing! A very easy book to get into. If you have read it I'd love to know your thoughts!

Next month: Beneath by Ariel Sullivan

Today I am joined by Gray Ellender! Gray is a luxury travel advisor and honeymoon specialist, owner of Go With Gray Travel, based in Charleston SC. She is a "one man show" with hundreds of clients!

In this episode we talk about how to become a travel advisor, why Gray chose to specialize in the honeymoon travel industry, her favorite honeymoon destinations, why you should hire a travel advisor, and so much more!

Gray's Website

Gray's Instagram

Alzheimer's Association

Today I am joined by Jessica Peddicord! Filling homes with color and whimsy, Simply Jessica Marie offers classic prints and florals, city art prints, personality-packed heirloom family crests and thoughtful watercolor gifts.

Founded in August 2013, Simply Jessica Marie’s Lifestyle Shop provides charming, high-quality products that fill each day with beauty, ranging from watercolor art prints to personalized stationery, calendars, wallpaper and more.

The creative business also features the Crest Bar, bringing the stories of couples, families and businesses to life through cherished crests personalized with hand-painted floral, color, monogram and icon selections and transformed into investment pieces that last a lifetime.

Simply Jessica Marie is founded and owned by Jessica Peddicord, a Grandmillennial watercolor artist, crest designer and mama to two who is dedicated to preserving family memories and decorating intentionally.

In this episode we chat about her journey to becoming an artist, her crest bar, resources for other artists, and so much more!

Jessica's Instagram

Jessica's Website

East TN Children's Hospital

Etsy Class

Watercolor Classes

Digitizing Watercolors

Vendor Guide

Today I am joined by Suzanne Cunningham! Suzanne is a professional calligrapher with 32 years of experience. She was co-editor of the 25th edition Speedball Textbook and is a Calligraphy Masters team member. Suzanne has taught in-person workshops with numerous guilds throughout the country. She currently teaches a variety of online classes through learncalligraphy.com. She specializes in flourished Copperplate script, wedding invitation designs, and monograms.

In this episode Suzanne and I talk about how she got her start in calligraphy, what her 30+ year career in calligraphy has looked like, her tips for getting started with calligraphy, and so much more! Y'all are going to love Suzanne!

Suzanne's Instagram

Shylee Smiles

Ariel Sullivan is the author of Conform and Beneath. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two sons, and their two French bulldogs. Growing up a military brat, Ariel moved every two years as a perpetual new kid; Ariel often observed from the outskirts, where a deep love of reading was born. When she isn’t writing, Ariel loves to read everything from poetry to psychology, bake with her sons, listen to live music, and travel.

In this episode, Ariel and I talk about how she came up with the idea for Conform, why it is a trilogy of trilogies, the art of writing a love triangle, her best writing advice, her new book Beneath, and so much more!

Ariel's Website

Ariel's Instagram