Best Foot Forward with Vicky & Ann: Recent Episodes
Vicky Vuong & Ann Duskus
In the thriving and demanding world of sneaker customizing, AAPI female sneaker artists Ann Duskus and Vicky Vuong share perspectives of past, present, and future while they find their footing in building their empire.
In this conversation, Vicky and Ann discuss the concept of accessibility in art and business. They highlight the work of artists CJ Hendry and Viv Zoo, who have created different tiers of products to cater to a wider range of consumers. They also discuss the challenges of finding the right balance between creating high-end products and more affordable options. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the importance of staying true to oneself and finding ways to make art and business more accessible to a larger audience.
Vicky's White Rabbit Air Force Ones went viral! Then it got complicated. Vicky shares her experience of having her post taken down and the frustrating process of appealing and getting it reinstated. She discusses the lack of communication and support from Meta, the challenges of navigating copyright issues, and the importance of persistence in dealing with these issues. The conversation highlights the need for creators to diversify their content and not rely solely on one platform.
In this episode, Vicky and Ann catch up and discuss their transition to new studio spaces. They reflect on their shared studio experience and the reasons behind their decision to move into separate spaces. They talk about the challenges and opportunities they encountered while searching for new spaces and the importance of finding a space that aligns with their business goals. They also share their plans and projects for the future. The conversation ends with a discussion about a potential collaboration episode and expressing gratitude to their listeners.
Do you have a hard time asking for help? Whether it's foolish pride or the feeling of guilt, it's almost easier to talk ourselves out of asking for help than asking for it. Almost. It's important to recognize the cost of not asking for help when you need it most and be open-minded to the idea that accepting help is how you reciprocate love.
Are you bored of the sneaker customizing market as an audience or are we bored of it as customizers? While we think the current market is lackluster when it comes to inspirations, we strongly believe there's no better time to put yourself out there because of it. Chime in as we discuss how a lack of innovation creates opportunities.
Going viral is not intentional, it’s a happy accident. The surreality of creating something that hits with mainstream media and what it does to our psychology. In this episode, we discuss how we preserve our sanity by not giving away our own freedom to choose creatively as artists.
Does overthinking unleash or stifle your creativity? When our deep desire to be thoughtful with everything we do stop us in our tracks, having the awareness to snap out of it is crucial to our productivity. Let’s have a chat about how we harness the power of overthinking.
Is confidence inherent or it's something that comes with life experience? How confronting our weaknesses and turning them into strengths has propelled us forward and, with the help of our community, amplified our confidence as creators.
Recognizing the significance of a well-rounded support system from family and friends and how it impacts the drive in our pursuit for greatness as an artist in our industry.
To create sneaker art for a living, we rely on an array of tools to elevate our projects. Get a glimpse into what we use on the daily and check out how our tools differ from one another.
We often don't realize in the moment how someone could single handedly change the course of our career trajectory. Here we reflect on the key conversations we hold close to our hearts and how they set us on the path we are on today.
What are we sacrificing in the pursuit of happiness? The answer just might be as simple as changing the narrative of what "happy" means to you. For us, it means trading a steady 6 figure income for a shot at being our own boss and being content with that; despite the temptations of the wonderful things that money can buy. Let's dig into the complexity of "happy".
Is clout the necessary evil to achieving success in our industry? Here are the lessons we learned from our collective experience and how we mitigate resentment by prioritizing our real self worth over the value a project can "potentially" bring. Always bet on yourself.
Kicking off the New Year reflecting on what we learned from social media in 2022 and what we'll take with us well into 2023. In this episode, we discuss the content strategy shared by the one and only Karen X Cheng and how we can all adopt the same strategy to avoid losing our self identity as a content creator. But first, laugh with us as we play a game of "Do You Really Know Me???". Happy New Year!
What does it REALLY take to embody the essence of a content creator? Besides a great subject matter, the ability to think two steps ahead of the game by approaching content creation holistically with proper planning and execution is an art that we are constantly refining through the process of doing. Join us as we begin this episode by analyzing the difference between an influencer and a content creator.
It's easy to immerse yourself in work until the stress you've internalized from the daily grind blows up in your face. Here's to acknowledging the feelings of loneliness, uncertainty, and self doubt as a solo creator.
We definitely get our fair share of not-so-pleasant comments on social media when it comes to our artistic POV. How we confront it and turn them into fuel is work in itself, but we are HERE.FOR.IT. Let's go.
Making the space to celebrate the little wins on the daily is vital to our drive to keep going - in business and in life. In this episode, we reflect and celebrate our little wins that are not so little and how you can do the same to acknowledge that you are doing much better than you think.
Is networking synonymous with hidden agendas? How by prioritizing building an authentic relationship first can organically lead to opportunities down the road.
We said no to our dream job and sponsorship?! The discovery of coming to terms with passing on incredible opportunities and its direct correlation to self-worth. How, once you get past the noise, all lead to personal empowerment.
A glimpse into our daily life as studio mates. Listen in as we chop it up about EVERYTHING. Anxiety, Bata Shoe Museum, MSCHF Wavy Baby, fit strategy for content creation, and rice??!! Ha. Please enjoy.
A continuation to the last episode, here we discuss the importance of video content creation with a holistic approach and how it's possible to make it work with what you have.
Totally went off on a tangent about social media but we did reel it in and shared the vastly different ways we create content for our business. From a camera phone to a cinematography camera and all the hardware and software in between, we make it work!
Getting a dedicated studio space is cool but the commitment was not without its challenges. In this episode, we walk down memory lane and decipher the moment in time when we felt ready to take the plunge.
The reality of goal setting and its effect on our psyche when we begin to justify our commitment or lack thereof to our short and long term goals.
Multitalented creative designer, Vaughan Lewis Carman joins the conversation to examine how culture, upbringing, and trauma led to the deciding moment when each of us began to believe in ourselves and our ability to achieve anything.
We are right where we're supposed to be. A reflection of how our past business endeavors lead us here.
Have the way you perceive yourself hindered your authenticity on social media? How breaking through our insecurities elevated our online personality.
Who you were doesn't have to be who you are today. At least that's what we learned from depression and low self-esteem. Let's get personal.
Two AAPI artist, two vastly different upbringing. In this episode, we reflect on how an abundance of privilege has shaped the path we are on today.
When someone "borrow" your designs, do you have what it takes to release more original ideas at the end of the day? How we operate with a shepherd's mentality.
Wrapping up the season by addressing the questions our listeners sent in regarding our custom sneaker pricing topic. Thank you, all!
Confronting a topic artists would prefer to dodge publicly. In our attempt to lead by transparency, we openly share the break down of our current pricing structure.
Acknowledging that our activity or lack there of on social media does not define our success as an artist. Plus, our efforts in recalibrating our social presence.
Join us as we share the evolution of how we source inspiration for our creative work today and beyond.
Deciphering whether a client is a good match for our skill set and the value of saying no. Plus unedited blooper with Siri mid podcast.
Dissecting the difference between creative burnout and creative block. Having the discipline to hold ourselves accountable without killing ourselves is a conscious practice.
Are you notorious for trying new things? Same here. How we cope with undesirable outcomes and shutting down our egos.
Where you are in life does not define who you are. How we defied our background and embraced the uncertainties of getting after it.
Our trip to Sneakercon wasn't what we expected but it did spark a spicy conversation when we caught someone calling custom sneakers fake.
If Instagram was an online dating app, we both swiped right. How we went from connecting on IG to sharing a studio space in less than 6 months.
Kind of an episode about nothing but mostly about how this podcast came about. Welcome to The BFF Podcast and embracing the spirit of 'keep starting' with us.