Out Is In: Recent Episodes
Garrett Finney
TAXA is having far ranging conversations about what inspires you to get outside; how that happens and why it is important. Hosted by CEO + Chief Design Officer, Garrett Finney, these campfire conversations will focus on the importance of NATURE in the way we design our lives – ecologically, socially, psychologically, physically, creatively, intellectually and in real life.
Garrett offers a brief send-off to season one and looks forward to returning soon with more interviews about the outdoors.
Margaux and Walter Kent of Peg and Awl are collectors of history and creators of objects of beauty. On this episode, they discuss the marriage -- literally and figuratively -- of the dreamy and whimsical with the practical and utilitarian in designing their products from found materials.
“Which way do you put the welcome mat at your house? Do you welcome people into your house, or do you turn it around and welcome the people in the house to the outdoors?”
Scott Coe, founding partner of Cultivator Advertising and Design, develops his work for brands -- including TAXA -- around the idea of welcoming consumers into the outdoors. In this episode, using the title phrase created by Cultivator, Garrett and Scott compare notes on their formative years in the outdoors, sailing, and how technology changes the way we interact with the outdoors for better and worse.
From working in a meat market to traveling as a musician in a band, Robert Perry’s journey has been full of waves. Through it all, the one constant was his love for and fascination with drawing boats. Join Garrett Finney in learning how Robert makes his designs ready for the open seas.
“(The outdoors) is not all about literal pleasure and sunsets, it’s about an encompassing experience… it’s also waking up in the morning and getting bitten by an insect.”
Garrett quizzes Matt Bucy – film maker, cinematographer, and computer programmer – about experiencing the outdoors via piloting a small plane and the surprising way VR contributes to his ongoing education and artistic creativity. So what is the definition of deep wilderness? Does it involve horse trough baths and Mardi Gras hikes? Listen in to find out.
“If you ask children, ‘What is nature?’ They will say, ‘Oh, it’s this leaf on the ground, it’s the grass on my sidewalk, it’s the butterfly that landed on this fencepost.’ And I think the children are all really onto something and we need to learn a little bit from them. We can find these moments of beauty everywhere around us, it’s just that most of us have forgotten to look for them.”
On this episode, Florence Williams – journalist, podcaster, and author of The Nature Fix – confirms what Garrett and all outdoors people have always believed: that being outside makes you healthier and happier. Tune in to learn what your brain looks like on nature.
“Even at the beginning of Topo, we wanted things that were outdoor driven, that were durable, that were stylish, that were really aesthetically pleasing, but were really super functional.”
Perhaps it’s not surprising that Jedd Rose, one of the founders of Topo Designs, is more of a map person, but he has a few surprising stories about his first time on a sewing machine and how he got into designing the bag that would ultimately lead to his current path. He and Garrett compare notes on how they both seek to solve problems with their products.
“Without the suffering, we don’t truly know how to appreciate the joy, and I think camping distills that down really fast.”
Morgan Weber, avid outdoorsman and co-founder of the Agricole Hospitality Group, shares how his experience growing up on his family’s land and learning the gravity of hunting has influenced the way he approaches his restaurants. On this episode, he and Garrett raise a glass and compare notes about navigating the wilderness, both outdoors and the city, without getting too tied down by paths and plans.
“I Love capital C ‘Common’ – I want to find the universal Common thing.”
In the inaugural episode of Out is In Podcast, Garrett sits down with Grammy nominated songwriter Laura Veltz and partner Wesley Blaylock to discuss cooking on the road, raising kids to love the great outdoors, and the finer points of skinny dipping.
"Life always makes more sense looking backwards, but it's in looking forward, plotting and planning the future, that I find excitement."
Garrett Finney -- former Senior Architect at the Habitability Design Center at NASA/Johnson Space Center and current founder, CEO, and chief designer of TAXA outdoors -- is bringing the outdoors to the audio-world.
Over the course of this season, Finney will talk with great explorers of all fields about how and why they need the outdoors, use the outdoors, are inspired by the outdoors, and take care of the outdoors.
Subscribe now for a fresh dose of the great outdoors every week!