040 – Lisa and Dean Peteet of Atlas Branding on Building a Sustainable Brand and Working with Your Spouse

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Slow and steady wins the race. Instant gratification, unrealistic aspirations is just not going to cut it, at least not in a post 2008/2009 recession…we saw that, and that was our approach.

-Dean Peteet

In this episode, we uncover the story of the founders and creative minds behind Atlas Branding.

When Lisa and Dean Peteet moved to Asheville in 2008, they didn’t think they were ready to start their own design agency. Lisa felt like she still wanted 10 more years of experience working under someone else’s creative direction, while her husband Dean knew more about playing the guitar than he did about branding.

But what they soon realized is that there was no one else to work for, nowhere else to get the kind of experience they wanted in the creative world here in Asheville. So, they started building a business plan. Step by step, they took on client after client. They saved money and said “yes” to just about everything.

Since its founding, Atlas Branding has worked with many different Asheville-based businesses and events, including Chow Chow Asheville, Poppy Handcrafted Popcorn, Ginger’s Revenge, High Five Coffee, Form & Function Architecture, and many more. And now, over 10 years later, they are considered one of Asheville’s top design and branding agencies.

Here’s What You’ll Learn

  • The story of how Lisa and Dean founded and grew Atlas Branding into one of Asheville’s top branding and design agencies
  • How Lisa and Dean think about branding, design, and naming
  • The two things that helped them work together as a married couple
  • Lisa’s opinion on what it takes to be a relevant, successful designer in today’s world
  • Dean’s thoughts on how not following your passion can be equally as fulfilling
  • Their favorite places and things to do in Asheville

We hope you enjoy this episode with Lisa and Dean Peteet of Atlas Branding!

Show Notes

Atlas Branding is an Asheville-based branding and design agency. They specialize in helping food and beverage companies, restaurants, consumer product businesses, and artisans with web design, graphic design, packing design, and social media branding. Connect with them via their website, Instagram, Pinterest, and Vimeo.

A few of Atlas’s clients mentioned during the episode:

Books mentioned during the episode:
(Disclosure: The links below are Amazon affiliate links. We will earn a small commission if you purchase through these links. We appreciate your support!)

Favorite restaurants and places to go in Asheville:

Miscellaneous:

Music by Commonwealth Choir

Curious to learn more about what we do?

Making It in Asheville is a podcast where we go behind the scenes with artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in Asheville. We learn about what they’re making and how they’re making it in Asheville.

Making It in Asheville is powered by Making It Creative, our boutique marketing and business consulting agency. We help passionate small business owners build and improve their sales and communication strategies. Learn more here.

We appreciate your support!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, like, review, and/or share. Each review means than you might think as they help this episode get discovered on podcast players.

To recommend an interviewee, visit MakingItInAsheville.com/podcast

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039 – Myles Alexander of Form & Function Architecture on Doing “Okay-ish” in Asheville

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You just gotta keep doing it —if that’s what you feel called to do as a person and that’s what you want to do in the world We all got rent, we all got mortgages, and we all gotta eat, so at some point, you gotta monetize it, but that can’t be the reason you’re doing it. ‘Cause you’ll stop doing it and you’ll go find something else.”

—Myles Alexander

In this episode, we interview Myles Alexander, the founder of Form & Function Architecture in Asheville, NC.

From a young age, Myles knew he wanted to be an architect. He chose to start his own firm, Form & Function, here in Asheville because he loves helping people to solve design problems.

Over the last 10 years or so, he’s worked on just about everything. He’s built restaurants out of shipping containers, helped a family build their own home, and worked on a number of Buncombe County schools and public facilities.

But it hasn’t always been easy. In fact, this is the first year that Myles would go so far as to say he thinks he’s “doin’ okay-ish in Asheville.” You’ll hear him say that he wishes he had just become a “pediatric orthodontist.” According to him, it would have been easier and he would have made a lot more money.

Although he jokingly says, he wishes he was “the first billionaire architect,” you can tell that Myles is happy with what he has and what he’s built.

We don’t want to spoil the entire episode, but what we will say is this. Be warned: Myles Alexander is one funny guy. You’re guaranteed to giggle a lot during this episode.

Here’s What You’ll Learn

  • Myles’ journey to becoming an architect and starting his own firm in Asheville
  • A behind-the-scenes glimpse of Smoky Park Supper Club’s architectural design completed by Myles
  • Insight on what it’s like to work with an architect
  • Inputs vs. outputs
  • Doing what you love versus what other people love
  • Tips for smoking meat
  • Myles’ favorite places to eat in and around Asheville

Show Notes

Form & Function Architecture is an architecture firm that specializes in commercial, residential, state and municipal architecture in North and South Carolina. Connect with them on their website, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Vin-Yet Architecture is a collaborative studio that specializes in commercial and residential architecture throughout the Carolinas.

Sand Hill Kitchen – Restaurant in a gas station on Sand Hill Road that “has a bangin’ fried chicken sandwich”

Philip Johnson Quote – “Architects are pretty much high-class whores. We can turn down projects the way they can turn down some clients, but we’ve both got to say yes to someone if we want to stay in business.”

Atlas Branding – did F&F’s website and design

Smoky Park Supper Club is a restaurant and event space in the River Arts District. Form & Function designed their space from a shipping container.

Architect things referenced during the episode:

  • Falling Water is a house built over a waterfall in Pennsylvania. It was designed by the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. “It’s beautiful, but leaks like hell,” says Myles.
  • Louis Sullivan – “Form follows function”
  • Greene & Greene

Good, Fast, Cheap Triangle: You can’t have it all. You can have it good and fast, but it won’t be cheap. You can have it good and cheap, but it won’t be fast. You have it fast and cheap, but it won’t be good.

Asheville Trout Company

Knuckledeep BBQ Competition

Myles’ Favorite Restaurants in Asheville

  • JD’s Smoke Shack – favorite BBQ spot in Connelly Springs
  • The Rhu
  • Sovereign Remedies
  • Copper Crown
  • Mela – for the lunch buffet
  • Asiana Grand Buffet – “You can, on your birthday, eat for free…it hurts.”
  • And more… “I eat everything!”

Music by Commonwealth Choir

Curious to learn more about what we do?

Making It in Asheville is a podcast where we go behind the scenes with artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in Asheville. We learn about what they’re making and how they’re making it in Asheville.

Making It in Asheville is powered by Making It Creative, our boutique marketing and business consulting agency. We help passionate small business owners build and improve their sales and communication strategies. Learn more here.

We appreciate your support!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, like, review, and/or share. Each review means than you might think as they help this episode get discovered on podcast players.

To recommend an interviewee, visit MakingItInAsheville.com/podcast

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038 – Garnet Fisher on Creating Art from a Place of Enough

I feel that to really contribute to the art world, to make art that is pushing boundaries, you can’t be making art for the sake of making money. You have to just make art for art’s sake.

— Garnet Fisher

Born and raised in Asheville, NC, Garnet Fisher is known for her minimalist, abstract giclee paintings.

Here’s What You’ll Learn

  • The story behind how and why Garnet (aka “Nettie”) started painting and how she developed her own signature style
  • The history of the “Weird Bad Art Machine” (which we think is genius)
  • Garnet explains the process and meaning behind her paintings
  • The difference between discipline and curiosity (as an engine for creation)
  • Nettie’s opinion on “working from a place of enough” (and practicing non-dualism)
  • What art vs. design means for Nettie
  • Trail etiquette and leaving a place better than you found it

Show Notes

Garnet Fisher is a designer and artist of many things. Connect with her on her website and Instagram page. You can also buy her prints at Old North on the corner of Walnut and N. Lexington.

@weirdbadartmachine is an Instagram account that Garnet started as a way to showcase her artwork without the pressure of calling it “good art.”

Ensō – Garnet references Zen technique — “a circle that is hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes to express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create.”

Salad for President by Julia Sherman (Disclosure: This is an affiliate link.) – Inspirational cookbook with salad recipes and quotes from artists. Nettie references a quote by Tauba Auerbach from this book.

Music by Commonwealth Choir

Curious to learn more about what we do?

Making It in Asheville is a podcast where we go behind the scenes with artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in Asheville. We learn about what they’re making and how they’re making it in Asheville.

Making It in Asheville is powered by Making It Creative, our boutique marketing and business consulting agency. We help passionate small business owners build and improve their sales and communication strategies. Learn more here.

We appreciate your support!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, like, review, and/or share. Each review means than you might think as they help this episode get discovered on podcast players.

To recommend an interviewee, visit MakingItInAsheville.com/podcast

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037 – Hunter Berry of Taco Billy on Finding Purpose in Breakfast Tacos

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“The times I’ve been happiest in life have been when I felt like I had a vision or a purpose — something to chase and I went for it. And when you’re going for it, there’s not really a better feeling. Taco Billy has definitely been one of those times.”

—Hunter Berry, Founder of Taco Billy

Hunter Berry identifies as a “feeler.” When he left Texas in 2014 to build a new life in Asheville, he ended up taking his own advice. “I always told friends who were leaving Texas to open up a taco shop and spread the good news of breakfast tacos.”

So that’s what he did, feeling his way through the process. The rest, they say, is history —and an interesting one at that. If you want to learn the story behind Asheville’s iconic taco shop, then this episode is for you.

Here’s What You’ll Learn

  • The story behind how Taco Billy got its start
  • How Hunter developed the Taco Billy name and branding
  • Marketing strategy: How word of mouth and branded stickers have played an important role in promoting Taco Billy (and why it’s not for everyone)
  • Future projects for Taco Billy
  • Earthships: what hunter was building before he was building tacos

Show Notes

Taco Billy is a West Asheville eatery renowned for its breakfast tacos, cozy vibes, and fresh ingredients. Connect with them on their Website, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Hornaday Design – an Asheville-based design agency that created the Taco Billy’s logo

Everything is Unfolding Perfectly Sticker – Hunter mentions how he loves this sticker of a man sitting backward on a horse with the phrase “Everything is unfolding perfectly.” The sticker is displayed in the kitchen at Taco Billy. We did a little research and found out that it’s sold at Horse & Hero if you’re interested in getting your own!

Business Model Canvas – the method that Hunter used to build his business model.

Rob Foster at Blue Ridge Restaurant Equipment – The company that helped Hunter design a layout for the Taco Billy kitchen

Mountain Biz Works – Hunter attended a Business Planning Workshop here

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (Disclosure: This is an affiliate link.) – We mention this book when talking about what good, real food is.

Earthship – “is a ship that will keep you afloat on the seas of tomorrow.” It’s a type of “passive solar house that is made of both natural and upcycled materials such as earth-packed tires, pioneered by architect Michael Reynolds.” Before moving to Asheville, Hunter spent about a decade in solar energy and a year building Earthships.

Pickleball – a sport similar to tennis that we talk about during the episode.

Hunter’s go-to Asheville spots:

  • The Wedge (Original location)
  • Little Bee Thai
  • Wild Ginger – for their Pork Bahn Mi
  • Hot Springs and the Laurel River
  • Star Diner in Marshall

Music by Commonwealth Choir

Curious to learn more about what we do?

Making It in Asheville is a podcast where we go behind the scenes with artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in Asheville. We learn about what they’re making and how they’re making it in Asheville.

Making It in Asheville is powered by Making It Creative, our boutique marketing and business consulting agency. We help passionate small business owners build and improve their sales and communication strategies. Learn more here.

We appreciate your support!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, like, review, and/or share. Each review means than you might think as they help this episode get discovered on podcast players.

To recommend an interviewee, visit MakingItInAsheville.com/podcast

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036 – How to Set Goals that M.A.T.A. and Achieve Them in 2020

Here’s What You’ll Learn

  • Why New Year’s Resolutions often fail and how you can prevent it from happening
  • M.A.T.A. – Our system for setting meaningful, intentional goals for the New Year and sticking to them
  • How to decide what your goals should be
  • Tips for creating small wins and holding yourself accountable
  • Sneak peek into what’s to come in Season 3

Show Notes

M.A.T.A. is the acronym we use to set meaningful year-long goals and achieve them. It stands for Meaningful, Actionable, Time-Constrained, and Accountable.

Start With Be is a concept we discuss in great detail during our second podcast episode. It comes up again as we discuss setting Meaningful goals that can be distilled down to a single word and then used in a “Be-statement.”

13-Hour Offsite is a retreat format we developed as a way to take a digital detox and check-in quarterly (or every 13 weeks) with ourselves. Learn how it works and how to host your own 13-Hour Offsite in our blog post here: 13-Hour Offsite: How to Decide What To Do With Your Life 13 Weeks at a Time.

We built a worksheet you can use to follow the M.A.T.A. framework. Click here to download the FREE M.A.T.A. worksheet!

Explore all upcoming events, including the next Monday Maker Mixer networking event.

Music by Commonwealth Choir

Curious to learn more about what we do?

Making It in Asheville is a podcast where we go behind the scenes with artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in Asheville. We learn about what they’re making and how they’re making it in Asheville.

Making It in Asheville is powered by Making It Creative, our boutique marketing and business consulting agency. We help passionate small business owners build and improve their sales and communication strategies. Learn more here.

We appreciate your support!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, like, review, and/or share. Each review means than you might think as they help this episode get discovered on podcast players.

To recommend an interviewee, visit MakingItInAsheville.com/podcast

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035 – Season 2 Highlights

We know that listening to every single one of our one-hour-plus long episodes can be a challenge. Think of this episode as your sampler plate: get a taste of each episode before you listen. Then, go back and tune in to your favorites. We won’t hold it against you if you don’t listen to them all (but we think you might be pleasantly surprised by some episodes!).

Here’s What You’ll Learn

  • Listen to a short sound bite from each of the Season 2 podcast episodes
  • Hear what we loved most about each episode

Show Notes

Curious to learn more about one of these episodes?

Check out our Season 2 Podcast archives page to learn more about our guests and get links to each recording.

Music by Commonwealth Choir.

Curious to learn more about what we do?

Making It in Asheville is a podcast where we go behind the scenes with artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in Asheville. We learn about what they’re making and how they’re making it in Asheville.

Making It in Asheville is powered by Making It Creative, our boutique marketing and business consulting agency. We help passionate small business owners build and improve their sales and communication strategies. Learn more here.

We appreciate your support!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, like, review, and/or share. Each review means than you might think as they help this episode get discovered on podcast players.

To recommend an interviewee, visit MakingItInAsheville.com/podcast

 

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034 – Our Top 10 Asheville Gifts (2019 Holiday Gift Guide)

In this episode, we share with you our top 10 Asheville gifts for our 2019 Holiday Gift Guide. Whether you’re simply looking for a unique present or you aiming to shop locally, we hope this episode provides inspiration!

Here’s What You’ll Learn

  • Our top 10 Asheville gifts
  • Why we love each gift
  • The story behind each maker

Show Notes

In addition to recording this podcast, we also wrote a blog post that outlines all 10 Asheville gifts for our Holiday Gift Guide. Read the Asheville Makers Gift Guide blog post.

Asheville Bee Charmer
Chop Shop Butchery
East Fork Pottery
Everyday Oil
Garnet Fisher
Oowee Products
Poppy Handcrafted Popcorn
Sauna House
Spoon & Hook
Ware

Music by Commonwealth Choir.

Curious to learn more about what we do?

Making It in Asheville is a podcast where we go behind the scenes with artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in Asheville. We learn about what they’re making and how they’re making it in Asheville.

Making It in Asheville is powered by Making It Creative, our boutique marketing and business consulting agency. We help passionate small business owners build and improve their sales and communication strategies. Learn more here.

We appreciate your support!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, like, review, and/or share. Each review means than you might think as they help this episode get discovered on podcast players.

To recommend an interviewee, visit MakingItInAsheville.com/podcast

 

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033 – Leah Ashburn, President of Highland Brewing, on the Evolution of a Microbrewery

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“We’ve had to get a lot more focused on how we compete —and it’s made us a better company.”

– Leah Wong Ashburn

Here’s What You’ll Learn

  • The history and evolution of Highland Brewing
  • Highland’s rebranding process
  • Challenges specific to the microbrewery business
  • Highland’s marketing partnership and community building strategy
  • Sneak ‘listen’ about Highland’s new location in the S&W building, slated to open in Spring 2020
  • Leah’s advice for those trying to “make it” in Asheville

Show Notes

Highland Brewing is one of Asheville’s oldest, most beloved breweries. They are the largest brewery native to the state of North Carolina. Connect with them on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Asheville Bee Charmer is the company that worked to install beehives on Highland’s rooftop.

Brewer’s Association is a monthly trade magazine that Leah reads.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is the book that Leah was currently reading at the time of this podcast recording.

Brewer’s Craft Conference is an annual brewer’s conference that Leah and her team attend to stay up-to-date on the industry.

Master Brewers Association of America is an brewer’s organization that Highland Brewing is a part of.

Bent Creek is one of Leah’s favorite trails in Asheville

Music by Commonwealth Choir

Curious to learn more about what we do?

Making It in Asheville is a podcast where we go behind the scenes with artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in Asheville. We learn about what they’re making and how they’re making it in Asheville.

Making It in Asheville is powered by Making It Creative, our boutique marketing and business consulting agency. We help passionate small business owners build and improve their sales and communication strategies. Learn more here.

We appreciate your support!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, like, review, and/or share. Each review means than you might think as they help this episode get discovered on podcast players.

To recommend an interviewee, visit MakingItInAsheville.com/podcast

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032 – Honey of Different Wrld on Building a Brand and Community, Crowdfunding, and Inclusion

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“Somebody told me something that was very, very important. It’s that: luck is not luck —it’s preparation… Opportunities will come all day long, but if you’re not prepared, you’re not prepared… And ‘luck’ is when preparation and opportunity meet.”

-Honey

Honey’s personality and energy are so infectious that she’s built a global audience of friends, fans, and supporters. We have a feeling after you hear her story, you’ll be a supporter too.

Here’s What You’ll Learn

  • Honey’s story of how and why she started Different Wrld
  • Crowdfunding best practices (and how to compare platforms)
  • The importance of email marketing (and keywords to avoid when sending them)
  • How Honey has built a brand community through hosting pop-up events
  • Community in Asheville and Honey’s thoughts on the difference between diversity and inclusion
  • Honey’s favorite things to do in Asheville
  • Honey’s definition of “Making It” (in the Bonus Audio)

Show Notes

Different Wrld is a lifestyle brand focused on curating collections of apparel and accessories. The encourage inclusive community spaces, creator collaboration, and personal empowerment. Their products are ethically made and sourced with thought and intention. Connect with them on Instagram.

I Fund Women is a crowdfunding platform that supports female entrepreneurs.

IndieGoGo is another crowdfunding platform ideal for small entrepreneurs, artists, and creatives.

Honey’s Favorite Things to Do / Places to Go in Asheville:

Curious to learn more about what we do?

Making It in Asheville is a podcast where we go behind the scenes with artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in Asheville. We learn about what they’re making and how they’re making it in Asheville.

Making It in Asheville is powered by Making It Creative, our boutique marketing and business consulting agency. We help passionate small business owners build and improve their sales and communication strategies. Learn more here.

We appreciate your support!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, like, review, and/or share. Each review means than you might think as they help this episode get discovered on podcast players.

To recommend an interviewee, visit MakingItInAsheville.com/podcast

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031 – Appreciation, Money, and Three Ways to Price Your Product (Thanksgiving Episode)

“Appreciation means two things: It means to grow and it means thankfulness. And I do believe that appreciation is a form of currency and people can show that they appreciate you with money. One of the ways to allow for that, as a business owner, is to tell really meaningful stories about the work that you’re doing.”

In this episode, the two of us sit down and talk about the meaning behind “gratitude,” money, and three different ways to price your product or service.

Here’s What You’ll Learn

  • Why Tony doesn’t like the word “gratitude” and the word he prefers to use instead
  • A technique that can help you prioritize what to spend your money
  • Three different ways you can price your product (and why you want to understand the first two but use the third)
  • What we’re most thankful for this year

Show Notes

During this episode, we mentioned two of our favorite “money” books.

Busting Loose from the Money Game by Robert Scheinfeld – We know, we know —the title of this book is quite cheesy. Nevertheless, this read has completely transformed Tony’s relationship with and perspective on money. We highly recommend it to anyone who has ever experienced “money shame.”

I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi – Another finance book with a cringeworthy title but fantastic information. This book should be required reading for all adults! A personal finance guru, Ramit teaches you how to get your personal finances in order and shares so many genius money hacks. Open it to a random page and read for a minute and the book will have already paid for itself.

Top-Down Pricing: Revenue-focused pricing based on the market

Bottom-Up Pricing: Profit-focused pricing based on lifestyle

Appreciation-Based Pricing: About massive value creation and storytelling

Curious to learn more about what we do?

Making It in Asheville is a podcast where we go behind the scenes with artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in Asheville. We learn about what they’re making and how they’re making it in Asheville.

Making It in Asheville is powered by Making It Creative, our boutique marketing and business consulting agency. We help passionate small business owners build and improve their sales and communication strategies. Learn more here.

We appreciate your support!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, like, review, and/or share. Each review means than you might think as they help this episode get discovered on podcast players.

To recommend an interviewee, visit MakingItInAsheville.com/podcast

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