Margo is joined by Jill Labieniec, an illustrator, designer, and endlessly curious maker living on Vashon Island in the heart of the Pacific Northwest. Working primarily with watercolor, Jill's whimsical illustrations and patterns have found homes on everything from fabrics and home goods to books, stationery, and editorial projects. Alongside her illustration practice, she has a deep love for working with her hands—sewing dresses, making shoes, and shaping clay—guided by a belief that art should help people create spaces where they can rest, daydream, and grow.

In this episode Jill reflects on her winding creative path—from a homeschooled childhood centered on making, through art school and freelance work, to building a creative career that prioritizes curiosity, balance, and day-to-day happiness over rigid labels or prestige.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• Jill's creative beginnings and how family life and early making shaped her career
• Moving through art school, freelance work, and product-focused creative paths
• What it really means to build a sustainable creative career over time
• Letting go of fancy titles and external validation in favor of daily fulfillment
• Balancing freelancing, creative freedom, and personal happiness
• Jill's thoughtful, intuitive approach to social media and sharing work online
• Working both digitally and analog—and the joy of seeing art come to life on physical objects, especially ceramics
• Embracing curiosity, trusting the creative process, and tuning out the noise

Connect with Jill:

• Website: https://www.jill-labieniec.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jill.labieniec/
  
  

Connect with Margo:

• Website: www.windowsillchats.com
• Instagram: @windowsillchats
• www.patreon.com/inthewindowsill
• https://www.yourtantaustudio.com/thefoundry

In this 300th episode of Windowsill Chats, Margo sits down for a special solo conversation—answering thoughtful listener questions that span creativity, confidence, career longevity, leadership, and the magic that keeps artists going.

With over two decades of experience in the creative industry, Margo reflects on how her relationship with art has evolved, what she's learned from running The Foundry, and the advice she returns to again and again when mentoring artists.

Margo shares:

• How she makes space for her own creativity—and what her personal art practice looks like now
• Ways to quiet imposter syndrome and trust decades of lived creative experience
• The artistic work she'd most love to take to marketplace and why
• Her favorite and most challenging parts of creative work and leadership
• How the rise of AI has shifted client interest in traditionally created artwork
• The advice she gives artists most often—and what truly matters day to day
• Lessons from trade shows, licensing, and running The Foundry
• What keeps her going, where she finds creative magic, and why it's never too late to begin

Mentioned in this episode:

Get 50% off your first month of The Foundry: https://www.yourtantaustudio.com/offers/XVKbuygV/checkout

www.homeawaystudio.co

• Website: www.windowsillchats.com
• Instagram: @windowsillchats
• www.patreon.com/inthewindowsill
• https://www.yourtantaustudio.com/thefoundry

Judith Henry joins Margo for a deeply honest and life-affirming conversation about caregiving, creativity, and what can unfold when we stay open to possibility at every age. A writer, artist, and podcaster, Judith shares how caring for her parents in the final chapter of their lives became the unexpected catalyst for an expansive creative journey—one rooted in humor, grit, color, and connection.

At 61, Judith wrote The Dutiful Daughter's Guide to Caregiving, a practical and compassionate resource born from lived experience. In her late 60s, she picked up her mother's paintbrushes and fell in love with visual art. And at 71, she launched One Mouthy Dame, a podcast empowering women to embrace aging with honesty, gratitude, and good humor.

Margo and Judith discuss:

• How caring for aging parents became a powerful (and unexpected) creative catalyst

• The emotional realities of caregiving, including grief, guilt, humor, and deep connection

• Writing The Dutiful Daughter's Guide to Caregiving as both memoir and practical support

• Using humor as a survival tool during difficult seasons

• Transitioning from writing into painting and mixed media later in life

• Letting go of judgment and reclaiming creativity at any age

• Launching a podcast in her 70s to speak honestly about aging, anxiety, and visibility

• Falling in love with Kawandi-style quilting and how stitching, mending, and making can be deeply healing

• Book & Writing: https://www.JudithDHenry.com

• Creative Work: https://www.JudithHenryCreative.com

• Podcast: https://www.JudithHenryCreative.com/One-Mouthy-Dame
  

• Website: www.windowsillchats.com
• Instagram: @windowsillchats
• www.patreon.com/inthewindowsill
• https://www.yourtantaustudio.com/thefoundry