The Used Key: Recent Episodes
Rae Kess
“Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears, while the used key is always bright.”
— Benjamin Franklin
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This is a show about creative people and their creative practices. It's your weekly reminder that you are not alone in figuring out how to do the creative work that matters to you.
This season, we’re talking about money—from how it shaped my guests’ childhoods to the most creative ways that they’ve made money to its current influence over their work and lives.
Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd prefer to be notified by email when an episode drops, opt-in to receive reminders from me here: https://www.raekess.com/subscribe.
The first episode drops April 8, 2021.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
Update: I’ll be launching the next iteration of this project in January 2022. See you in the New Year!
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Hello!
I've decided to take The Used Key in slightly a different direction.
So, without further ado, here's what you need to know about the next iteration of this project.
The first episode drops October 14, 2021.
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If you'd like the resources that I share to be delivered directly to your inbox, head over to my website and click subscribe.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“There’s not like an objective truth about money.”
— Rae Kess
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For the final episode of season one, I have a conversation with Erin Gold about my own relationship with money and about what I’ve learned from this season’s guests.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“I never want to be afraid to throw around numbers when it comes to creative work.”
— Sam Seurynck Griffith
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Sam Seurynck Griffith is a graphic designer who codes, working from Waawiyatanong, or so-called Detroit. She creates and manages websites, makes generative graphics, messes around on the internet and does traditional graphic design projects like books or posters. She’s been an adjunct instructor at CCS and Wayne State, a designer at Hobbes and is now freelancing under her own studio practice.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“If you're struggling to feed yourself or to pay rent or whatever, there’s not a lot of room for creative expression.”
— Bryce Charlie
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Bryce Charlie is a writer from Edmonton, Alberta currently living and working in Montréal, Quebec. His work is a desperate attempt to break free from digital isolation. Bryce's latest project Frxit Pxnch aims to connect and showcase artists in an analog fashion.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“Don’t bury your head in the sand when it comes to talking about money.”
— Toni Cunningham
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Toni Cunningham is a screenwriter, filmmaker, and grad student. She is a former Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellow and is active in the arts community within Detroit, Michigan. She has also acted as a script reader for high profile screenwriting competitions as well as production companies. Her short film Good Grief can be found on her website. She is currently polishing both a feature and pilot script.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“Do I want people to see the work or do I want to make money on the work?”
— Edie Roberts
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Edie Roberts is a queer non-binary artist living in so-called Detroit. They believe in collectivism and Courtney Love. Their books include Ain't Life Grand (pitymilk press, 2020), Everywhere You Go (bathmatics, 2019) and others. They hope to perform in a locale near you soon...invite them to do things.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“The gambling was not the cause of all my problems. It was a symptom of something else.”
— Chimmy Kalu
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Chimmy Kalu is a (digital) product designer who ships features and products that people can't stop talking about or recommending to others. She's super into design and teaches, speaks or writes about it in her spare time. She used to blog about personal finance, loves people, and lives in London with her girlfriend and two cats.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“So many of the creatives that I met in art school were trust fund kids and were really wealthy. But that’s not the case when I meet the working professionals.”
— Gillian Stewart
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Gillian Stewart is a prize-winning bookbinder, business owner, and Queen Elizabeth Craft Scholar. For the last four years she's been running her bookbinding studio from the East End of Glasgow, making bespoke books and boxes for artists, designers, and book lovers.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“A certain amount of faith is also important when it comes to money.”
— Linda McLachlan
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Linda McLachlan is a former business executive turned writer, podcaster, professional coach, and business consultant. Over the past 25 years, she’s built a rewarding career anchored in leadership, and has had the privilege of working with highly accomplished entrepreneurs, thought leaders and artists.
Her professional career began as an actor at the National Theatre School, and then moving into arts administration, she worked in the performing arts sector and for major international festivals for more than 15 years.
In 2018, life was at a crossroads and she decided it needed an overhaul. She left the business she’d help build to pursue her third career and embrace her creative roots. She studied improv and storytelling at The Second City and earned her professional coaching designation through the Adler Professional School. She also left her relationship, changed cities, kicked alcohol and lost 80lbs in the space of 9 months.
During the pandemic, she decided to create her podcast THE ARENA – Living a Courageous Life featuring a diverse set of ordinary people sharing their stories of daily acts of courage, hope and resilience. She hopes it will inspire her listeners to live consciously and courageously.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“Where is the money that’s supposed to fall from the sky right now?”
— Casey Rocheteau
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Casey Rocheteau is an author and visual/sound artist living in Detroit, Michigan. In 2014, Rocheteau created the Shrine of the Black Medusa Tarot. Their second poetry collection, The Dozen, was released on Sibling Rivalry Press in 2016. Winner of inaugural Write A House permanent residency in 2014, Rocheteau resides in a home they won with poems. They currently serve as the Communications Manager of the Detroit Justice Center.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“No amount of exposure can justify free labour.”
— Andrea Rodriguez
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Andrea Rodriguez is an award-winning creative based in Toronto, Canada. She turns inspiration, business objectives, and storytelling into powerful and clear experiences. As a multi-disciplinary designer and artist, Andrea specializes in muralism, lettering art, and digital design. Her work is creative, bold, and colourful.
Recently, Andrea started shifting her focus from design to public art and muralism. Her murals consist of plants, animals, and letters that honour nature. As a creative, Andrea feels that her purpose is to create awareness about the loss of flora and fauna in the rainforest through engaging and eye-catching messages that motivate people to act.
Additionally, Andrea aspires to brighten the day of anyone who walks by her art.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“I can’t stop and be sad about where I’m at because I won’t be able to put food on my table.”
— JC Coccoli
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JC Coccoli is an American writer, producer, and comedienne. Her award-winning comedy pushes boundaries as it entertains with material that’s engaging, heartfelt, and cry-your-eyes-out funny.
Her TV background includes writing, producing and performing for Chelsea Lately on E!, Amazon Prime, HBOmax, Headspace Meditation App, Comedy Central, Comedy Dynamics, FunnyorDie, HULU, Maker Studios/Disney, Lifetime, MTV, and VH1. She was a final contestant on NBC's Last Comic Standing and starred in the hit MTV sketch show, 'Hey Girl’. She can be seen in Morgan Spurlock's film "Mansome" and John Asher's film "Tooken" a spoof on the popular franchise 'Taken.' In 2016, JC was the Supervising Producer of the live talk show: ‘Fashionably Late’, hosted by celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe.
As of 2019, JC has performed on the high seas as a Headlining Comic-In-Residence aboard Carnival Cruise line.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“You shouldn’t be asking your creativity to pay your bills.”
— Vanessa Vakharia
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Vanessa is the founder and director of The Math Guru, a super cool boutique math and science tutoring studio in Toronto. She is also the host of Math Therapy, a podcast that works through guests’ math trauma.
Vanessa appears regularly on national television and news outlets as an expert in math education, and speaks globally at conferences about re-inventing media representations of women in STEM.
Side note but totally relevant: Vanessa is a founding member of Toronto indie-rock band Goodnight, Sunrise. Mindy Kaling is her idol and Vanessa believes that she should be yours too.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“I’ve always been uncomfortable with charging enough and charging more—but I’ve learned that I have to get uncomfortable and ask for more.”
— Ange Friesen
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Ange Friesen is a copywriter, brand strategist and total optimist.
With a style that’s equal parts thoughtful and playful, Ange’s work sets out to help people and brands (including herself) be their realest selves, everywhere.
Ange lives in London, and works with clients everywhere. She’s currently taking on projects through her brand copywriting studio, Beautiful Useful.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“You’re trying to get people to respect you as a creative but also know that you make money but also not enough money that you shouldn’t buy from me.”
— Liane Vaz
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Liane Vaz is a Toronto-based goldsmith, graduating from OCAD University in 2013. Liane’s aesthetics embrace symmetry and linear composition—employing details through the use of texture and surface alterations. She loves to explore naturally occurring patterns and precise geometry to create everyday jewels and future heirlooms for her clients.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“People who have the taste typically don't have the budget; people who have the budget typically don't have the taste.”
— Imani Mixon
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Imani Mixon was born and raised at the magnetic center of the world’s cultural compass—Detroit, Michigan. She is a long-form storyteller who is inspired by everyday griots who bear witness to their surroundings and report it back out. Equal parts urgent and essential, her multimedia work centers the experiences of Black women and independent artists.
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Share your thoughts and/or questions about this conversation here.
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The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.
“Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears, while the used key is always bright.”
— Benjamin Franklin
———
This is a show about creative people and their creative practices. It's your weekly reminder that you are not alone in figuring out how to do the creative work that matters to you.
This season, we’re talking about money—from how it shaped my guests’ childhoods to the most creative ways that they’ve made money to its current influence over their work and lives.
Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd prefer to be notified by email when an episode drops, opt-in to receive reminders from me here.
The first episode drops April 8, 2021.
———
The Used Key is hosted and produced by me, Rae Kess.