Sara Gulamali is bright and brilliant, not only as a person but also as an award-winning young artist. For years, she’s created her own works, has hosted creative events through the Tate Exchange Programme and is now part of supporting artists as associate director at Howard495 Gallery, a global art advisory firm and gallery serving new and dedicated collectors in both the private and commercial spaces.

As a British-Pakistani, she is proud of her Muslim heritage and in 2017 with two close friends, founded Muslim Sisterhood, a collective and creative agency working across campaign production, research, consultancy, and community-focused initiatives with clients such as Nike, Crocs, Disney, the NHS, and more. Their aim is to spotlight, unite and uplift Muslim women across the world, and they’ve been featured in British Vogue, DAZED and Marie Claire Arabia.

Born and raised in London, she came from a close-knit family and had a wonderful bond with her late grandmother, who taught Sara the basis of the Muslim faith. She was also very close with her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2011-2012 and passed two months later. Creativity was intrinsic to Sara as a young person, and she was always practicing art in various methods. After high school, she attended @KingstonUniversity for a Foundation degree, followed by Central Saint Martins for a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Sara also co-curated the first student show at the Lethaby Gallery, within the university. In 2019, she relocated to Vancouver from London to be with her now-husband and eventually connected with Krista Howard, founder of HOWARD495.

In this conversation, we go deep into the circumstances of life that forced her to grow up quickly; what faith looks like to Sara; the role art plays in her life; how art university experiences & friendships taught her to question the nature of things; the genesis story of Muslim Sisterhood; navigating the culture shock moving from London to Vancouver; how she chooses to navigate spaces as a Muslim woman; and much more.

[TIMESTAMPS]

6:34 - Growing up

9:21 - Life circumstances, grief & growing up quickly

11:16 - What faith looks like to her

14:11 - The role art plays in her life

19:08 - Her time at art universities and what it taught her

22:18 - How Muslim Sisterhood came to be

30:55- Navigating her life transition to Canada

43:26 - How to build an art collection

45:06 - Vancouver and its art scene

51:00 - A reflection on her ancestors

53:13 - Final question

54:55 - Where to find her

[TODAY'S SPONSORS]

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Adam Lewis is precisely the kind of person you want in your life: a supportive friend, conscious being, creator/entrepreneur & community builder. He’s driven and fired up, while also being open and vulnerable—an admirable balance. He was founder of flash chilled coffee brand Miura, before launching hot & cold therapy circuit The Portal Project.

Now, as head of partnerships for Othership, Adam has a big hand in growing the popular Toronto-based social bathhouse—focused on wellness through sauna, ice bath & breathwork experiences—and helping cultivate its dedicated community.

Born in Toronto, he spent his childhood growing up just outside of the city. He comes from two lineages: Jewish on his father’s side, Japanese on his mother’s. His father grew up in South Africa, during the intensity of the apartheid. His mother’s grandparents immigrated to Canada from Japan to plant roots abroad. A wild & free kid, Adam found solace in nature (still does). As a teen, he was captain of the track & field team, representing Canada at high level competitions. Entrepreneurship was his main focus at Dalhousie University, and Miura was his first solo business. As Miura wound down, Adam went through a life shake-up and found healing in cold plunging in lakes & building a portable sauna with his own hands. This became the Portal Project, and served as a bridge to connecting with Othership, where he is today.

In this conversation, we go in many heartful directions: his family lineages & the cultural impact of his Jewish & Japanese roots; how being a top athlete encouraged him to push his body & mind limits; the transition unwinding Miura into discovering hot & cold therapy; understanding masculine & feminine energies within; what he’s learned being on the Othership team; being loving witnesses to each other’s life journey; and more.

[TIMESTAMPS]

5:36 - Growing up

7:21 - His parents as people

8:47 - Reflecting on his Jewish and Japanese lineages

22:42 - What being a competitive athlete taught him

28:55 - Pivoting from his business to the Portal Project

31:48 - How he found hot & cold therapy

37:24 - The Portal Project

40:17 - Balancing masculine and feminine energies

46:53 - How he found his way to Othership

59:12 - Profound revelations that have come up for him recently

01:05:22 - Honouring his lineage moving forward

01:06:53 - How he wants to honour himself

01:07:47 - Final question

[TODAY'S SPONSORS]

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Before Company: https://beforecompany.com/discount/CRAFT10 - get 10% off your entire order; one-time use per customer; no expiry date

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There’s a built-in optimism and passion to Sung Lee that’s contagious—and he is well-loved by many because of it. He was employee number one at Herschel Supply, first as a graphic designer and, over the course of a decade, became the brand’s creative director. Now, Sung leads creative at premium, contemporary dinnerware brand Fable.

He was born in Korea and spent his childhood there. An architect, his father was the definition of a stoic, emotionally closed Asian father. His mother, an art teacher, continuously nurtured his creative side, encouraging him to draw, paint, and go to art school. Their upper middle class life ended when the IMF economic crisis hit Korea and, one day, Sung was suddenly told they had to live with an aunt. It turned out his father had borrowed money to keep his business afloat, and the Korean equivalent of the yakuza had come around to settle and his father wanted to keep the family safe.

Eventually, the family moved to Canada, with Sung applying to an ESL school—he struggled until his mother enrolled him in a Korean art school, where he made some friends. This brought him to Emily Carr, where he learned to present his work in English phonetically. On a trip back to Korea, his father expressed he was sick—his parents returned to Canada, leaving 23-year-old Sung to sell their house in Korea. As he drove home from the airport, his mother told him his father had cancer and, two weeks later, Sung’s father passed. To move through grief, Sung took on a physical warehouse job. After a few months, his creative spirit came back. He started by launching a fashion show and landed a job at a small design agency that had an office beside Vans, where Lyndon Cormack worked prior to launching Herschel Supply with his brother Jamie. It was an instant meeting of like design minds, leading to a deep bond with the Cormacks and launching his long career as a creative director.

In this conversation, we examine the effects on not sharing emotions with his family members; how Sung found skateboarding as a teen and its influence on him; his chapter at art school; navigating his father’s passing, surviving in Canada and processing his grief; the story of how he landed the job as employee number one at Herschel Supply, where he spent a decade; the roles of a graphic designer versus creative director at a company; his current interest in AI and its impact on design; Korea’s cultural dominance; the love for “han” or sorrow amongst Koreans; and much more.

[TIMESTAMPS]

6:41 - Growing up and family history

16:36 - His transition to Canada

25:16 - Reflection on processing his father’s death

39:48 - Skills he learned from being a graphic designer to being a creative director

41:56 - His creative process

45:32 - What's fascinating him right now

47:20 - His transition from Herschel to Fable

53:10 - What a good feeling feels like for him

54:16 - One thing that can change someone’s perspective

56:20 - Missing Korea

57:32 - How he met his wife

01:06:41 - Korean cultural dominance

01:14:53 - Expressing his emotions now

01:15:36 - Looking back at his life's journey

01:20:01 - What he would say to his dad right now

01:21:08 - The kind of life he hopes for his daughter

01:23:32 - What 'han' means to Koreans

01:26:27 - Final question

01:28:29 - Where to find him

[TODAY'S SPONSORS]

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Before Company: https://beforecompany.com/discount/CRAFT10 - get 10% off your entire order; one-time use per customer; no expiry date

otō healing: https://www.instagram.com/otohealing/ - email otohealing at gmail.com to get 10% off your initial sound therapy session