Windowsill Chats

Margo is joined by Jill Labieniec, an illustrator, designer, and endlessly curious maker living on Vashon Island in the heart of the Pacific Northwest. Working primarily with watercolor, Jill's whimsical illustrations and patterns have found homes on everything from fabrics and home goods to books, stationery, and editorial projects. Alongside her illustration practice, she has a deep love for working with her hands—sewing dresses, making shoes, and shaping clay—guided by a belief that art should help people create spaces where they can rest, daydream, and grow.
In this episode Jill reflects on her winding creative path—from a homeschooled childhood centered on making, through art school and freelance work, to building a creative career that prioritizes curiosity, balance, and day-to-day happiness over rigid labels or prestige.
In this conversation, we discuss:
Jill's creative beginnings and how family life and early making shaped her career
Moving through art school, freelance work, and product-focused creative paths
What it really means to build a sustainable creative career over time
Letting go of fancy titles and external validation in favor of daily fulfillment
Balancing freelancing, creative freedom, and personal happiness
Jill's thoughtful, intuitive approach to social media and sharing work online
Working both digitally and analog—and the joy of seeing art come to life on physical objects, especially ceramics
Embracing curiosity, trusting the creative process, and tuning out the noise
Connect with Jill:
Website: https://www.jill-labieniec.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jill.labieniec/


Connect with Margo:
Website: www.windowsillchats.com
Instagram: @windowsillchats
www.patreon.com/inthewindowsill
https://www.yourtantaustudio.com/thefoundry

In this 300th episode of Windowsill Chats, Margo sits down for a special solo conversation—answering thoughtful listener questions that span creativity, confidence, career longevity, leadership, and the magic that keeps artists going.
With over two decades of experience in the creative industry, Margo reflects on how her relationship with art has evolved, what she's learned from running The Foundry, and the advice she returns to again and again when mentoring artists.
Margo shares:
How she makes space for her own creativity—and what her personal art practice looks like now
Ways to quiet imposter syndrome and trust decades of lived creative experience
The artistic work she'd most love to take to marketplace and why
Her favorite and most challenging parts of creative work and leadership
How the rise of AI has shifted client interest in traditionally created artwork
The advice she gives artists most often—and what truly matters day to day
Lessons from trade shows, licensing, and running The Foundry
What keeps her going, where she finds creative magic, and why it's never too late to begin
Mentioned in this episode:
Get 50% off your first month of The Foundry: https://www.yourtantaustudio.com/offers/XVKbuygV/checkout
www.homeawaystudio.co
Connect with Margo:
Website: www.windowsillchats.com
Instagram: @windowsillchats
www.patreon.com/inthewindowsill
https://www.yourtantaustudio.com/thefoundry

Judith Henry joins Margo for a deeply honest and life-affirming conversation about caregiving, creativity, and what can unfold when we stay open to possibility at every age. A writer, artist, and podcaster, Judith shares how caring for her parents in the final chapter of their lives became the unexpected catalyst for an expansive creative journey—one rooted in humor, grit, color, and connection.
At 61, Judith wrote The Dutiful Daughter's Guide to Caregiving, a practical and compassionate resource born from lived experience. In her late 60s, she picked up her mother's paintbrushes and fell in love with visual art. And at 71, she launched One Mouthy Dame, a podcast empowering women to embrace aging with honesty, gratitude, and good humor.

Margo and Judith discuss:
How caring for aging parents became a powerful (and unexpected) creative catalyst

The emotional realities of caregiving, including grief, guilt, humor, and deep connection

Writing The Dutiful Daughter's Guide to Caregiving as both memoir and practical support

Using humor as a survival tool during difficult seasons

Transitioning from writing into painting and mixed media later in life

Letting go of judgment and reclaiming creativity at any age

Launching a podcast in her 70s to speak honestly about aging, anxiety, and visibility

Falling in love with Kawandi-style quilting and how stitching, mending, and making can be deeply healing

Connect with Judith:
Book & Writing: https://www.JudithDHenry.com

Creative Work: https://www.JudithHenryCreative.com

Podcast: https://www.JudithHenryCreative.com/One-Mouthy-Dame


 
Connect with Margo:

Website: www.windowsillchats.com
Instagram: @windowsillchats
www.patreon.com/inthewindowsill
https://www.yourtantaustudio.com/thefoundry

Margo is joined by Daisy Fancourt—Professor of Psychobiology & Epidemiology at UCL and a globally recognized leader in understanding how creativity and social connection influence our health. From her early days designing arts programs inside hospitals to directing major WHO initiatives and publishing over 250 papers, Daisy has spent her career documenting the profound, measurable impact of creative engagement on stress, aging, recovery, cognition, and community wellbeing. In a world that often treats the arts as extra or a luxury, Daisy reframes them as essential—showing how even the simplest creative rituals can foster joy, resilience, health and a deeper sense of belonging in our everyday lives.
Margo and Daisy discuss:
How Daisy's early work in hospitals revealed the power of creativity as a health tool

What research shows about the arts reducing stress and supporting cognitive resilience

Why we're conditioned to see creativity as a luxury—and how to reframe it as necessity

The role of music, movement, and environment in emotional and physical healing

Innovative approaches like dance for Parkinson's and creative play for children with disabilities

How small, accessible creative habits can improve daily wellbeing

Why talent doesn't matter—process is what delivers the benefits

Mentioned in this episode:
https://sbbresearch.org/
Connect with Daisy:
https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/44526-daisy-fancourt
Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health


Connect with Margo:
Website: www.windowsillchats.com
Instagram: @windowsillchats
www.patreon.com/inthewindowsill
https://www.yourtantaustudio.com/thefoundry

In the first episode of 2026, Margo invites listeners to join her in a conversation about beginning the year with intention—rather than pressure. Inspired by a recent Substack article by writer Suleika Jaouad, Margo reflects on themes of release, gentleness, and honoring the creative process over rigid resolutions and why this approach is so important for creatives. She also shares real responses from the Windowsill Chats community about what they're letting go of this year, from comparison and self-doubt to perfectionism and "shoulds." Margo explores why finite, manageable containers—like daily sketching, journaling, or mindful walks—can create scaffolding for a sustainable and supportive creative life.

Mentioned in this episode:
The Isolation Journals (Suleika Jaouad's Substack): https://theisolationjournals.substack.com/
Against resolutions - Suleika Jaouad on ritual, repetition, and the fantasy of starting over: https://post.substack.com/cp/182964621

Connect with Margo:
Website: www.windowsillchats.com
Instagram: @windowsillchats
www.patreon.com/inthewindowsill
https://www.yourtantaustudio.com/thefoundry