What does molecular cellular biology and corporate gifting have in common? Chloe Reaumond of Bestowal Gifts. Luckily for corporate gift givers, Chloe ditched biology and pursued a successful career in real estate brokerage which she pivoted into a creative gift giving business. Listen in as we talk about her early career decisions, curating unique products, while fiercely supporting local and women owned businesses. 

Contact with Chloe and her team at https://bestowalgifts.com/

- Larry’s website Saint Germain Real Estate Consulting  for more information on Saint Germain Real Estate Consulting or direct at larry@sgrealestateconsulting.com 

- Connect with Larry on LinkedIn 

- Follow Larry on Instagram @sg_real_estate_consulting

The pandemic caused Kate Brown to do some deep soul searching - searching for happiness but finding fulfillment by starting IRIDIO her own interior design studio. Her expertise ranges from repurposing and restoring furniture at home to incorporating architectural salvage as one of IRIDIO’s unique services. 

She is also a self described maker of things; - from knitting - to dancing - to furniture restoration, and design is all she ever wants to do.  Listen in as we talk physics (yes physics), design, dancing and architectural knitting. 

Connect with Kate at:

www.iridiodesign.com 

hello@iridiodesign.com 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-brown-putaski-89700152/

Visit Rebuilding Exchange: 

https://rebuildingexchange.org/

- Larry’s website Saint Germain Real Estate Consulting  for more information on Saint Germain Real Estate Consulting or direct at larry@sgrealestateconsulting.com 

- Connect with Larry on LinkedIn 

- Follow Larry on Instagram @sg_real_estate_consulting

Rubin comes from a family of creatives and when his older brother brought home work from his drafting classes it opened this 12 year old’s eyes to the world of architecture and he was hooked. 

Ruben Gonzalez is Principle and Technical Director at IA Interior Architects in Chicago. His path of creativity continued through architecture school at IIT and his career as an architect, to being an accomplished painter of portraits, landscapes and of course architectural subjects. This creative outlet gives Rubin a mental break from the day to day aspects of his job that involves both details and big picture views of each project. As a  mentor to the younger generation in the firm, he teaches striking a balance between drawing details and seeing the overall big picture of the project all the while promoting creativity. Listen in next for a fun conversation with Ruben Gonzalez. 

- Contact Ruben Gonzalez via LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruben-gonzalez-8059b58/

- Or through IA Interior Architects  

https://interiorarchitects.com/

- Larry’s website Saint Germain Real Estate Consulting  for more information on Saint Germain Real Estate Consulting or direct at larry@sgrealestateconsulting.com 

- Connect with Larry on LinkedIn 

- Follow Larry on Instagram @sg_real_estate_consulting

If you you have been listening to this podcast, back in Episode 5 I played an audio story entitled Nov 2022 which described a life in Palm Springs, California working for clients, playing music, having gallery showings and enjoying sunrises with my wife.   

So now, Nov 2022 has become a reality and I say goodbye to Chicago with bittersweet anticipation for a life in California. 

Jessica Strang is a clinical psychologist and has her own practice.  But she is also a power forward in jewelry design with her own business, coco + peach jewelry .

The basketball reference refers to her most recent announcement that her jewelry line will be represented by Viva Stylehouse Showroom in LA, a Fashion PR boutique agency, who cater to area stylists and editorials to pull from for their shows or magazine layouts.  As Jessica explains it - it's like being a High School basketball player being drafted in their sophomore year to their dream NBA team. 

Listen in as we learn about her path to creativity, how her business donates to her favorite charity and how she still sees brick and mortar retail as an important part of her sales strategy. 

- coco + peach website can be found here: https://www.cocopeachjewelry.com/

- Follow her on Instagram @coco_and_peach_jewelry

- Ballet Chicago (listeners can look at the website to purchase tickets for the Nutcracker or donate)  https://www.balletchicago.org/

- Jessica's information about her dad, Luis Arévalo - his website is: https://luisarevalo.com/ and his Instagram is @lainchgophotography

- To donate to the Greater Food Depository visit their website https://www.chicagosfoodbank.org/

- Larry’s website Saint Germain Real Estate Consulting  for more information on Saint Germain Real Estate Consulting or direct at larry@sgrealestateconsulting.com 

- Connect with Larry on LinkedIn 

- Follow Larry on Instagram @sg_real_estate_consulting

She doesn’t name any of her 12 chickens, but they do  live in an architect designed chicken coop on their Lake Michigan property in WI . . . along with alpacas, horses, dogs and cat, and her diverse collection of musical instruments. 

On a path for veterinarian medicine until she met a bunch of architecture students and heard that creative calling. Renee Hytry Derrington is now the Managing Principal, Design, for the Formica Co. and lives both a personal and professional life of creativity, innovation and trend setting.  And she started as most creatives do, with a childhood filled with music and drawing floor plans, with a cat named Sawdust, a name influenced by her parents when building their own house.    

Renee’s long career at Formica has taken her around the globe; speaking, designing, working with world renowned architects and she has won numerous awards for her designs of Paper Terrazzo laminate and Reclaimed Denim Fiber laminate along with countless other awards and collaborations. Click below for a few short storytelling videos of how she does her design work. 

In between her travels she is spending more time at home and doing the things she loves, spending time with the animals, playing music and enjoying the view. I was fortunate enough to find her at home for this chat about her career and personal creative pursuits. 

https://www.formica.com/en-us/articles/our-products/design-story-birchbark

https://www.formica.com/en-us/articles/our-products/design-story-paperfold

- Larry’s website Saint Germain Real Estate Consulting for more information on Saint Germain Real Estate Consulting or email direct at larry@sgrealestateconsulting.com 

- Connect with Larry on LinkedIn 

- Follow Larry on Instagram @sg_real_estate_consulting

A Relationship with Creativity.

Episode 10 of the Emerging Creativity in Real Estate discusses some of my favorite quotes from Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Big Magic, Creative Living Beyond Fear. The premise of the book is a discussion about “the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness. . ..”

This book was the generator that fueled my curiosity in this podcast to find the creativity within people, outside of their professional life. I have uncovered musicians, play writes, painters, singers, conservationists, and third world volunteers. While we may all have innate creative qualities in us, we need to cultivate them and develop a relationship with creativity.

https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/books/big-magic/

Over the last few weeks, has your inbox and feed been flooded with dire news of the Magnificent Mile?  Water tower place is being taken over by the bank, across the street from water tower another empty building is headed back to the bank, and on and on down Michigan Ave.  While there are some successes with some short term leases, the overall picture of the once Magnificent Mile is more the Mediocre Mile.