Mica: [00:00:00] Welcome to the 64th episode of the Savory Shot, a podcast about the art and soul of working in food photography. I'm your host with the most Mica McCook. I'm a food photographer based in Austin, Texas. Where the margaritas are strong and make you bold enough to belt out, A Total Eclipse of the Heart at karaoke.
Before we dive into today's banging episode, I just wanna say thank you to all the listeners. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for coming back episode after episode. Y'all continue to stand on business and support this little podcast of ours.
So thank you for the support. Thank you for the love, for the comments, the feedback. Thank you. Y'all are awesome and if this is your first time tuning in, welcome to the Hot Mess Express. You are in good company here. [00:01:00] Here at the Savory Shot, we do not judge harshly. We listen to and offer moral support.
So welcome. Grab a seat, buckle up. But I wanna talk about today's guest. I'm joined by the phenomenal Kira Corbin prop Stylist interiors expert and founder of the new homewares brand Standard Affair.
Kira has a knack for turning everyday objects into little moments of magic. She styled shoots for top magazines, helped interior designers put finishing touches on their spaces, and now she's bringing her minimalist meets modern vintage sensibility straight to your dinner table. In today's episode, we are digging into what it really means to evolve as a creative.
We're talking about the invisible art of prop styling, why [00:02:00] rest is essential fuel. and how Kira went from magazine intern to launching her own brand after 13 years in the business. She closed a beloved retail space and finally asked for help to figure out what's next. We talk about finding purpose after success, redefining productivity, and again, how rest can be the most radical, creative act of all. So if you've ever felt stuck in the dream you once prayed for, or if your creative fire's been dimming, this one, this episode.
But before we get into all of that. Grab your coffee, grab some wine. Don't grab the margarita just yet. Okay? Let's take care of business first, and let's start the show.
[00:03:00]
Mica: Kira, I just wanna start this off by saying thank you so much for being a guest on the Savory Shot. We've been going back and forth, but I'm so excited that you're here. So, thank you for being on the show.
Kira: Thank you so much for having me.
Mica: I'm looking forward to it.
Oh, absolutely because when I was doing my research on Evan Sung, he listed you as one of his favorite prop stylists, and I'm like, okay, so who is this? And it made sense to [00:04:00] like bring you on the show because so many people said wonderful things about you.
This solid people that I need to know. And I can already tell, like before we started recording, like we just had a wonderful conversation about everything and I'm like, oh, I get it. I get it, I get it. So yeah, I'm so excited that you're here. I wanna start this off by tailing into that based on, you know what I just said about what people have said about you, what it's like to work with you. What does it feel like to be seen and celebrated by the people that you've worked with?
Kira: I don't know if I can say anything other than wonderful. Like, that feels really great. It feels really uplifting and affirming and like really flattering.
And I think this industry is like our network and our relationships are really the foundation of our opportunities you get jobs because you [00:05:00] worked with somebody and they referred you.
So to hear that, to hear people are referring me or talking about me, I think is the best compliment I could receive. It feels wonderful. Makes me very happy.
And I do, I love Evan. I think he's wonderful. And we haven't worked together much in recent years, because I've moved out here.
But we really kind of started our careers at a similar time and did some of our biggest first projects, together, like a couple big cookbooks and things like that. And that relationship is just like he is, I don't know, like I'm never not gonna be his friend, I love him forever.
growing up with somebody we've worked together for years and in many different, not ways per se. it's always food, right? He's a food photographer, but we're friends and colleagues at this point.
Mica: I went to South by Southwest this past year, and a panel that I went to discussed social health and how it's going to be treated as importantly as mental health and as your [00:06:00] physical health. the presenter talked about how your work besties are vital for your social health and how it's difficult for freelancers when they leave the nine to five, they struggle because they don't have that work life that you had. And that by nature we're real social beings. In school, in college, and then eventually in work life.
And your, your work besties really become your real life friends. So finding that community outside as a freelancer, it feels like those friendships are even deeper because you have to be really intentional when you're building work relationships. 'Cause. It really is a matter of who you know, not just what you know.
And I feel so much closer to fellow freelancers, because I have to be intentional about reaching out to them until it organically builds into something.
And he's
Kira: so smart and thoughtful and he is really just a wonderful [00:07:00] person.
But I think the thing about freelancers too, it is hard because we don't go to an office and see the same people every day. I think that in some way, that also might help us feel more connected to each other. It's like when you have a friend from your childhood that you don't, maybe you now live in different places, but you still feel connected to them.
Like always kind of come back to them. Whereas like maybe if you work in an office with somebody for two years, you hang out with 'em all the time, but then you leave and you get a new job and since you don't see them every day, you don't, Keep in touch, there's something there with freelancers where I think we all know we're not gonna be seeing each other all the time, but our connections.
And even when you get a little further, you could always call on that person or you could always reach out to them and it's not weird or too distant.
Mica: It's like what you said, you can go periods of time without speaking or talking to each other and then when you do meet up, it's like the conversation just continued on. Social media has created these little micro connections that you can continue [00:08:00] in between seeing your friend.
Kira: I haven't seen you, but I know exactly what you've been doing.
Yeah,
Mica: I know what you've been up to. Oh yeah.
Kira: Like the social media thing is so layered and multidimensional, and certainly there are pros and cons, but in this particular case, in this particular conversation, I just saw Evan in February and we sat down and had a meal together and caught up. when I actually saw him in person in February, we both looked at each other and could not remember like the last time it happened in person.
So I think that's actually like a good thing in a way. Like of course I'd love to see him in person more often, but I think the fact that we genuinely and authentically are able to sort of keep in touch with each other and engage with each other is that's kind of magical.
Mica: Yeah.
And as you get older, I mean, your friendships just get deeper. We're in the process of setting up an interview, but she coaches people how to make friends. Like she teaches 30 [00:09:00] plus year olds how to make friends.
I'm doing this with all of my friends and this is wonderful. I feel fulfilled. So how can I do that in my work life? Because again, it's not what you know, it's who you know. So how can I build friendships with my colleagues here in the city that isn't just consisting of, Hey, let's meet up for coffee. But I also realize that we're busy and we don't have time for that. And so that's what I love about this coach. About teaching people in your thirties and forties like how to build friends. What do you feel has helped you the most in building those relationships when you were first starting out?
Kira: I feel like it all happened very naturally.
What you're talking about now is like this almost like second phase of life and having to be very conscious about how you engage with people or investing in that more And I [00:10:00] feel that because I moved to a new city and while I didn't lose my network, you know, I still know those people. Like I now live in a different city.
I don't feel like I had to fully start over. But there is like an element of that. 'Cause you need to go to a new place and meet new people.
But earlier in my career, to answer your question, I think you meet a lot of people being on set. And for me anyway, like I would just jive with certain people or not. And those are the people that we would sort of naturally be attracted to each other. There's just was like a natural chemistry or friendships would form and we would kind of keep searching for each other or referring each other.
Of course I assisted, so I met a lot of people doing that.
And then I met, started to get my own jobs and, but being freelance in particular, you're not with the same group every day. You might be with a different photographer and a different client and a different food stylist and they might have different assistants. So you're constantly meeting new people and I think in some [00:11:00] ways that can expand your network more quickly and you sort of find your people, you know?
The people you just kind of naturally click with. Another thing that, for me, really jumpstarted all of that was when I first moved to New York, I interned for magazines. That was always my dream was to make the pretty pictures for magazines.
And I went to school for graphic design because I don't know if they lay out the photos. Like, I had no idea. I grew up in New Hampshire. these industries don't exist there. Like I did not know how they worked. But getting into a magazine showed me how it worked, showed me the different types of editors and their roles.
I interned for a while and I'm in New York and I have no money and that's difficult, but amazing. I'm also learning a ton and meeting people. And one of the stylists that I worked with a lot at Glamour Magazine when I was interning there, ended up getting a job at Gil Group and brought me with her, like she got me a job there.
So I assisted at Gil Group. it was back in 2009 when the economy crashed and they're selling [00:12:00] product 90% off. And that was like, we started really small, we had just a few people on the styling team.
There weren't any full-time photographers but that place, grew so much in the couple years that I was there and so many different freelancers would come in. our on staff team grew as well. that felt like this very central place where there were tons of people and we were all young and creative and doing shoots all day long and it just was a really wonderful time.
So I really should recognize that and share that. I think just going out and being freelance right away, it takes a little bit longer to add up all the people that you start meeting. But there was a big group there, there was a small group to start and it kind of expanded and to this day I'm still in touch with a lot of those people.
so then I left Gil and went freelance and started assisting. And I think New York is also a really social place and a really connective place. people are happy to refer you or connect [00:13:00] you.
I have a friend that does that thing. Oh, you guys should meet. Culturally, there's a lot of social movement there. So I don't know that I like did anything intentionally.
Well it's finding your people.
Yeah. Do you also just wanna sit on the sofa and sweatpants?
Mica: You find people who like to do things that you do. But you brought up a really good point about how you assisted for someone and that person went over to Gilt and they brought you over. It reminds me of all you need is that one person to connect you to the rest, that one in.
When I first went to school at Angelo State, I struggled like hell to meet people. And I was really just afraid to talk to people. Until I met my best friend, Knikki, the person that introduced me to everybody.
She already had a connection to the whole theater department because of her cousin Ty, who was a former alumni. And he introduced her to everybody. you'll find one person who will be your in [00:14:00] and they'll take you under their wing and they'll introduce you to everybody and they'll bring you in. If anybody reaches out to me, I try to be that in for them.
It's like what you said about how everybody's a super connector. They're like, I don't do this, but I know someone who does. I wanna take it to 2014, you did an interview. You described prop styling as an invisible art. You said that when a photo is styled, nobody notices the props, but they feel the image In the time, since you said that, do you feel like that's still true today? Have you seen more awareness around the role of a prop stylist?
Kira: Yes and no. And here's when. Yes. And when, no. Like I'll start with a no first 'cause I think that's easier. I think like in large scale, like in the larger culture, I think no, you know, it's not something that people really realize exists. I'll give you an example. I had an annual this morning. I went to my doctor's office and the [00:15:00] nurses just trying to chat me up while she draws blood because you know, it's trying to distract me.
And she's like, what do you do for work? And I was trying to tell her and she just was like, what? You know, like I think people, they kind of understand that a photographer needs to take the photo, but they just kind of think the stuff was already there, you know, like it looks so good.
Like of course that place just existed. And honestly, I think some of my family probably still doesn't understand exactly what I do. My dad does now. But I think it took years for my dad to really find, I think he thought I was a food stylist for a while and I dunno why, maybe it seems silly to people like you pick out forks and plates and place them.
Like they go to my kitchen, just grab whatever you want. Like they don't just, it just like doesn't really compute.
But I do think that in like the social media community, like in the influencer and these newer like creatively driven kind of. TikTok or Instagram kind of communities. I think there [00:16:00] really is an awareness now of what a stylist is, where there wasn't before. And I don't know exactly what happened.
I bet that it's because the wardrobe stylist started to become, you know, more known as like an icon themselves. There's always been taste makers that society sort of looks to for inspiration and guidance. The people have traditionally looked to like magazine editors or designers, and I just think that stylist is starting to enter that same like classification, just people didn't know they existed before.
And truly they haven't existed forever. The stylist is like in the grand scheme of history like I feel like stylists maybe even started with like Hollywood or something. Again, like I'm not an expert on the history, but I do see it. There is more recognition and like aspiration and sort of admiration and respect towards like the stylists role.
Even clients, like [00:17:00] interior designers who maybe 10 or 15 years ago would just have hired a photographer to shoot their projects, now really understand what the value of bringing in a stylist is and how that service, you know, that to like improve their photos could really pay them a big return on that investment.
So I do think that there is like some more recognition, you know, and more understanding of the role.
Mica: Oh yeah. It's like you said earlier, that there's definitely an awareness but people still don't quite understand what it is. When food styling became viral and people were just fascinated with all the tricks, with all the things that they did to make food look the way that they did. And they were like, whoa, what? What do you mean a food stylist does all that? And so there was this obsession to understand what they did and they were curious.
But now that that's kind of like, oh yeah, we know motor oil whatever. Like it's lost its [00:18:00] appeal. And now there's a new like, oh, this is a stylist. What do you mean they pick props? What stands out to them? Like there's a new curiosity of oh wow, I had no idea that this role existed.
And now I'm just obsessed with finding out how they do their jobs.
Kira: Maybe that's the thing about social media is that it was able to put on display something that. I grew up in New Hampshire, so I didn't know that these jobs existed because nobody in New Hampshire does this job.
There's no major where, you're gonna study this and then come out with this job where you can do anything like this. That path was not apparent. And I think that social media has just like made the information, it's broadcasting the information. And so now it is kind of like the behind the scenes and the, oh, is this how this works?
Or, oh, this is really cool. You can do that for a job. I would love to do it. Like, that sounds so fun. Maybe it helped put it out there, like maybe that was part of [00:19:00] it.
Mica: Yeah. I mean, I didn't even know at the time. When I was graduating high school, I didn't even know that theater arts was even an option for a major until I asked my teacher, how did you become a theater arts teacher?
But it's like they learned about it because someone else they knew just happened to do it, and that's how they found themselves in it. Now it feels like it's just showing everybody that you don't have to do a corporate nine to five if that's not what's in your soul. Or you might do it and you might realize, Hey, I hate freelancing and I would rather do something in-house.
Some people do not like
Kira: freelancing. There are totally different personality types and some are really well suited to routine and some are not as much. There's no right or wrong. Like it's just kind of works for you or it doesn't.
Mica: One of my friends, we went to school together, we freelanced for a bit together, and a few years in she's like, I'm going back to working nine to five. She's like, I don't like [00:20:00] freelancing. I love photography and I would like to continue it as a personal form of expression, but as far as it being a source of income, I'm totally not down for that.
And I'm like, much respect. It takes a huge part of knowing yourself to know that this isn't for you. I've done both. right outside of school, I did the nine to five and I hated every second of it. It was just so annoying.
Kira: Guilt Group is the only full-time job I've ever had, and I've been freelance ever since.
And now I'm starting my own company, which is mine, so I can do whatever I want. I'm never going back. I cannot go back. everybody's a little different, but I'm just gonna say this. I'm gonna put this out there. I don't mean any disparagement to anybody, but I think one of the big things that people say is that they feel more secure in a full-time job.
And I don't think that's true. We may disagree, but I think [00:21:00] that's a false sense of security. Companies will commonly just lay people off one day to the next. I think that that security is not as secure as people think it is.
Mica: For me, it wasn't even a matter of security.
It was a matter of freedom.
Kira: I do think sometimes there is this like interpretation that freelancers don't work, like freelance, quote unquote just means like you don't work or something.
that's so not true. Like if you're not working, like you said, then like you won't get work. So you might be on set, right? Like you get booked for a job, you're on set. Somebody's paying you for that time. Wonderful. Tomorrow you're not on set. What do you do?
You gotta keep working. Like you work on getting work. That's what you do. but I completely agree with you. I really love owning my own time. I really love having control over my own time because sometimes I am like just so in the groove and feeling it that I work till 11 o'clock at night and sometimes I wanna take a [00:22:00] three hour lunch on a Wednesday 'cause I feel like it.
And that's great. I feel like for me it all balances out. I don't feel like I need a hard boundary of like Monday through Friday, nine to five. I feel like sometimes I work the weekend, sometimes I take days off during the week I'm able to kind of move it around and control my schedule in a way that serves me best.
Mica: I do appreciate what my old day job taught me. I worked at a physical therapy clinic and it is so structured. I feel like working there has taught me to be, better at freelancing. To like discipline myself into doing things. The first official day of my freelancing career, I sat on the couch and I watched Netflix and in the back of my mind I was like, I have things I should be doing right now.
But I binged watched an entire season of a show. I didn't even get outta my jammies. I just sat there and I was like, okay, this, yeah. If I'm gonna be freelancing, this is not gonna fly. Like I [00:23:00] need some structure.
Kira: That's not what freelancing can look like every day. I completely agree that you need to be able to supply structure for yourself in order to get anywhere or be productive.
But that's like the beautiful trade off is that.
That structure can look different for everybody.
And it can be flexible. I think is like my point, right? My schedule these days does look a lot more structured because now I have kids and it's not just me.
And if I'm on a roll, I can't really work till 11 anymore. I have to like stop at four thirty, pick up my kids, make them dinner, get them in bed, And then I can go back to work potentially. But it's like after two or three hours you've kind of broken that role you were on.
So it's not the same. This is maybe why people who, you know, during the pandemic, people got to start working from home and they had more like flexible work schedules. I feel like the reason why that was really popular is that people got to experience life the way we experience it as freelancers, basically.
Where it's like you get up and you're [00:24:00] gonna work every day, You could, maybe the bank is only open during these hours. So you go, you're gonna run out and do the bank thing because you gotta do it now. But then you'll come home and you'll put in a little extra half an hour at the end of the day or something.
Just the flexibility is nice.
It's really important for creatives to rest. Between all of my client work and my shoots and launching this new brand, like I feel like there are not enough hours in the week anymore to get it all done or to do it all. But what I really miss is maybe more of that flexibility I've been talking about. I am a hard worker and I love doing my work too, so it's not hard for me to do my work. There are days where it feels like work, but it doesn't typically feel that way. Like, I really enjoy doing it. Have you ever heard like how it's like it's really important to just not do anything sometimes? To like have no to-do list, to just let yourself be bored, to just let yourself be free. Take an afternoon and like, I don't know, what are you gonna do? Whatever the fuck you want. I dunno. Because those are always productive moments.
I never, like, I [00:25:00] pretty much never sit around on the sofa, like watching tv. Like, I'll do that if I'm like really tired because I have been like marathon shooting for the past, you know, like. Weeks, right. And I'm just so used up energy-wise that like I need to let my body like rest and let my brain rest.
Like, fine, maybe I'll just like do a day and fine. But that's not what I mean. I mean more like, it's like I'm in the studio and instead of giving myself a to-do list to sit down on my computer to do. I just look around and I just start doing things that feel right and maybe it's styling the shelves and then maybe I decide I'm gonna go to. Maybe I should go to a couple vintage shops because that's right.
Like I, I've been wanting to look for something like this. And that is just you kind of getting to like naturally work through some things or naturally be expressive and creative. And I think that time can be really like meditational. So it's part of just processing and absorbing new ideas and coming up with new ideas.
And it's no pressure and there's no brief and there's no specific thing you have to do. I feel like making time to do that's really important. [00:26:00] that little bit of not doing anything is really healthy for us because we're always gonna start tinkering with something or like get into something.
But it's just really natural and like there's no pressure about it.
Mica: Oh man, you are speaking gospel. You hit it on the nail when you talked about how important it is for creatives to rest because as freelancing it really is important to take a moment to rest. As something I struggled with in the beginning is that I felt like I constantly had to be working.
I fell into that whole girl boss, those who wanna work for it all the time, every time. And I burned out really fast. And I felt like this tremendous guilt that I couldn't do all the things in one day. In the last two, three years, yeah, definitely. The last three years I've undid a lot of that thinking and so it's like, okay, eight hours in the day [00:27:00] I didn't work.
But what did I do for two solid hours? I got some real solid things done that pushed me forward as a freelancer. I got my workout, I did this, like this is some real solid work, so I'm good. Like I feel good to go. Okay, I'm all right. But it took a long time to like undo that and really rest.
And now maybe you can
Kira: play.
Just give yourself space to kind of see what happens. See what comes of it.
Mica: Yeah, if I'm just stuck in front of my computer or test shoot or constantly hustling for the next job.
By the time I do get the photo job, it's like I'm so burned out that I don't even feel inspired to do something. It's like, fuck, now I gotta shoot. And the whole point of getting up every day, it's not like that. And it's just changed. What do I feel is productive? What is gonna get me forward and taking the time to really rest.
That makes me feel [00:28:00] ready to like hit the ground and like get some shit done. And so like where am I gonna find the inspiration frustrated behind my computer.
Kira: Like you have to fill the tank. There's a lot of input that comes in that I don't. For me, like I'm not even conscious of, but I know it's really important for me to like go out and to go see shops and go see beautiful spaces and to just like walk down the street and see people looking cute, getting dressed and like reading magazines.
And those are all things that might seem leisurely. But I think those are all things where my eyes and my brain are just starting to like collect ideas and data. We have to like fill the tank of ideas for our creativity to be able to come out and then we pour it into our work and it depletes itself and then we have to like fill it back up.
Mica: I love that. I love that description of it. That is perfect. Fill your tank when it depletes itself. Fill it back [00:29:00] up. The whole girl boss era. I felt for creatives at least, I don't know about other industries, but for creatives it just, it's so toxic to go with that mindset of burn the midnight oil.
Unless you got some oil to burn, then absolutely go for it. But if you're tired, take some time.
Kira: No, I need to sleep. I need to sleep like eight to nine hours a night. Yeah.
Like I really, I'm like so useless if I don't sleep.
Mica: 2022, 2023, I had some health issues and it really forced me to take a break and focus on getting better.
I had extremely low iron levels and I was talking with the oncologist and I was telling her all the things that I did. And I told her about what it was like on set and everything I was going through and she was like, so you did all of that? With low iron.
I'm amazed that you did all of that with your iron levels as low as they were. She's like, so I'm gonna tell you right here, right now, stop that. [00:30:00] Anything that raises your heart rate, like you cannot be on your feet for long periods of time until we get your iron levels back to what they need to be.
And that was terrifying for me. 'Cause I'm like, I need to work. I am super lucky that my husband helped keep the home afloat. But I also feel like it saved my creativity because I was getting burnt out and I was losing that joy, that spark, that love for creating.
And it really just became about the work, about getting work, keeping work. It lost its appeal for me. And now that my health is way better, and I'm doing so much better, it's changed a lot of things for me because I do rest. And anytime I feel guilty about resting, I just remind myself, girl, remember when you weren't?
Look what happened. Look what happened when you weren't taking care of yourself. So it's like this is now part of the job. Part of the job is taking care of [00:31:00] myself because if I'm not at my best physical, mental, social health, then I can't do the work that people are hiring me to do.
Speaking of good days, bad days, you did an interview with the New Maturity and you mentioned that you love Tuesdays. I'm one of the weirdos who actually loves Mondays. Like I even have a coffee mug that says Monday and it describes like it's a noun.
I remember. Exactly. Yeah. I feel like that makes sense, right? Yeah. I love Mondays And you said that you love Tuesdays and it makes sense because it's like Monday everyone's like, Ugh, but Tuesday it feels like the friendlier Monday. So what does a good Tuesday look like?
Kira: Yes, that's totally what it is.
Mica: It's the new Monday.
What does a good Tuesday look and feel like in your world these days?
Kira: Tuesday it is. It's like the friendlier Monday. [00:32:00] Well, I just feel like you dive in Monday and you're like, oh crap, I have to like, I have a bunch of like to-dos to get through or catching up to get through, or I have to get my mindset resituated.
And by Tuesday I feel like that stuff scored away, you know? But the week is still like fresh and ahead of you and just, it feels like, I dunno, like the world's still your oyster, you know? Tuesday, my schedule is a little bit more regimented now just because of having a family. And so I really only have between like eight and four thirty to I work every day. And so a good day starts with my kids cooperating and me being able to get them to school on time.
If I can drop them off at seven thirty, then like I'm at the studio by eight, which is just like, that starts it off the best way. And really, there are so many different things that I do different types of jobs, right? And prepping for shoots is fun and being on set is fun. But I will say that right now the best Tuesday I can have is one where I get [00:33:00] to be in my studio and work on my new brand.
'Cause it very much, it's my brand. this is my vision. And so much of being a commercial artist is. Being a filter for somebody else and manifesting, their vision or their needs or communicating for them. And I really have so much freedom when I'm doing my own thing to be me, to be the most me and to think about what that means.
And that feels wonderful. I love being in the studio and in my head, but also it's also nice to like get out, right? And like have a coffee or a lunch date or like go see somebody and have a little bit of social time. Those interactions and conversations are always refreshing, especially if I've been spending a lot of time in my own head. It's nice to bounce ideas off of somebody and get new input and kind of have like a fresh exchange.
So I dunno, like an ideal Tuesday would definitely be like getting to the studio early and getting in some good [00:34:00] creative time and then like having a nice lunch date somewhere with a friend or you know, a colleague or something.
Mica: Shoot. That sounds like a perfect Tuesday. I love that. Well, that's what I mean.
Kira: It's like it's not, I feel like I'm not like, and then we party and then we drink champagne. It's like, we just like wanna do my work that I wanna do. The thing is, like our work, I don't know if you agree or not, but for me, like my work really is very tied to who I'm as a creative. So other jobs, maybe it makes more sense to really like paint a fine line between who I am and what my self worth is.
Not in relation to my work because that is a different thing and that is not the one whole thing that defines me. But for me, I think in a lot of ways they're very intertwined in a way that I can't really separate them. I don't know how a creative would separate themselves from their work.
So like, I like to work because it's me and it's, it's me developing me. It's me investing in me. It's me meditating or thinking, or [00:35:00] it's me taking in the world around me. And then sort of reproducing it through my viewpoint. That's the continual thing in this work. Being a creative, like taking it all in, and I think that's sort of universally true for creatives. 'Cause if you think about an artist or a painter or something, they're also receiving the world around them and then expressing it through the painting.
And so we were just doing that with a different medium.
Mica: You hit something really, really awesome about investing in yourself, and what that looks like. What does investing in yourself look like? And it's not just education. It's spending time around things that bring you joy.
That's a form of self investment. And that's so important as creatives to continuously do. That's why we continue to evolve as artists because we're continuing to invest in our creativity. You know what happens when you stop?
Kira: You have to kind of keep chasing magic. You have to kind of keep chasing the things that feel [00:36:00] exciting and special.
And I think you have to keep learning and like curiosity and interest is important. A lot of why I'm starting this new brand is because I'm really proud of the career that I've built as a prop stylist and I'm really proud of myself for building that career, for being a girl who grew up in New Hampshire who had no idea this even existed, but loved magazines, to like doing that, to making pictures for magazines.
Like I made my dreams come true. And that is like wonderful, this bonkers, you know? But then I have been doing it for a long time and it feels like, you know, you like get to the top of the mountain and you're like, oh, I'm at the top of this mountain. Oh my God, I did it. And then like, the view is insane.
It's amazing and it's beautiful and you're there and you're just, but then like if you're there for a while, you start to be like, Well okay. Like, I did this and like, look at that mountain over there. Like maybe should I go check that one out? I really like my job, but I've been doing it so long that it, it's like easy now.[00:37:00]
It's like too easy in a way where it's like not as stimulating maybe as it once was. And so we need to keep growing. I think if you stagnate as a creative, you lose your spark.
You kind of lose the drive. If you're staying in the same place, then what is the creativity?
Mica: Oh yeah. You mentioned something earlier about needing to feel challenged. I find that when I am going through the motions and it's very mechanical for me, then I know I'm not creating. I'm doing this because it works.
I'm doing it because I know it's great for on set. But as a creative, I need to be struggling in the studio. I need to be challenged.
Kira: That's how you kind of build a toolkit. And then you can bring it to your shoots and employ it, right? You're like, yeah, ooh, I did this thing, I did this thing. And then you do that for a while and you're kinda like, okay, cool. I've done that a lot. So now [00:38:00] my lighting for every single client is starting to look the same. Like, I can't be doing that anymore. Like I gotta switch it up.
Mica: Yeah, you gotta shake it up. One of the reasons why I fell in love with theater is the fact that I got to play a different character every show. And it was a new story and it was a new challenge of emotions to explore and get in touch with. When I got into playwriting, that was an even bigger challenge 'cause it's like, how do I take these emotions that I've spent years portraying?
How do I put it in a way that when an actor reads my lines that they're saying it out loud the same way I hear it in my head? And so it's the same thing when I'm doing photo shoots. It's like, how do I create these photos that when someone looks at it, that they feel exactly what I felt when I was putting this together? And when I'm not thinking about that and it's more of just, well, I'm gonna put this at F-stop 10 and change this light over whatever.
I'd [00:39:00] get through these periods where I know this about myself and there are times where I'm like, I just need to get some test shoots out so that I can write a fucking newsletter to let people know what I'm up to.
Yeah. And I just don't have the mental capacity to go and challenge myself, and I don't wanna get out all of my equipment and I don't wanna do all the things that I have to do.
As a Virgo, I'm challenging myself to not plan the hell out of my test shoots. Just say, this is what I wanna do, and these are a few of the props that I'm gonna get.
And then I'm just gonna go in there and I'm gonna do stuff. I am having to learn that not every test shoot is gonna turn into this magnificent work of art, and I just have to be okay with it.
Sometimes you're gonna come out with shit and that's fine, but take what you learn from this and then apply it to the next test shoot and just go with that and get creative. But I do get lazy sometimes. I'm like, I just need to get some test shoots out.
Kira: The more you force [00:40:00] yourself, the more you make it like I have to do this thing that I don't wanna do.
Like the worse it is gonna turn out, because you're, you're fighting with yourself about it. Like I totally know that feeling. It's like you have to trick yourself into it just being like, oh, I just stumbled into doing this thing today and I get to do whatever I want. When you're forcing it, it's a fight.
And when you just like let it flow, it feels therapeutic. Like it feels good.
Mica: Oh, I get so excited when those moments happen. When that creative juice happens and you're like, yes. I mean, this is why I'm so like, excited that my health is like so much better 'cause now I don't have to worry about that part.
I can just go, hell yeah, let's do this. I am starting to get out of that funk, but it really is, like tricking my mind like a five-year-old.
Does the photographer wanna do a test? But I've been obsessed with Hot Cheetos for the last few [00:41:00] months, and folks who follow me on Instagram know what I'm talking about.
Y'all are probably sick and tired of me and my Hot Cheeto, but I will say that Maria, shout out to Maria. This is her fault. But she sent me a picture of Hot Cheeto flavored mac and cheese, and I was like, what that exists?
And so we made one box, Aaron and I did, and he's looking at him and he goes, okay, what do you think? And I'm like, I feel it. My brain is saying this is wrong. This should not make sense. I was like, but it's actually kind of good.
Maria's like, well you have to do a test shoot now with Hot Cheetos because you've been talking about them for the past few months. Like you've been obsessed with it. You're having dreams about them. And so I'm like, I guess I just need to do this now.
Kira: I love that though, with a test. Like, get weird. Like who cares? It's for you. And like, yes, it's great if you can [00:42:00] put it and your portfolio and it could attract a certain kind of client.
Like that's always great. But I think also just being loose and just letting yourself run wild is really valuable too.
Mica: So I actually wanna move the conversation 'cause you mentioned earlier about your brand and I'm like, Ooh, yes, I wanna hear more about that. Let's talk about that.
Let's jump into that, your newest venture Standard Affair. What you touched a little bit into about what inspired the shift from sourcing props to designing homewares. But was there like a definitive moment where you just knew, I'm ready to do this, I'm ready to create my own line? If so, what was that moment?
Kira: It was like, not maybe the most definitive moment. There kind of was a moment, but it took work to get there. Like a light bulb didn't just go off. And I have been prop styling for a long time. Over I [00:43:00] don't know, probably like 13 years or something by now. And for the past, I've been working on this brand for the last two years, and it's about to launch next month in May.
So it's been a long time in development.
Mica: That's so exciting.
Kira: Yes, I'm really excited. Thank you. But there were a few years, like after moving to Portland, I was ready for the next challenge, but I love what I do. So I don't want a career change. Like that's not what I'm trying to do.
I'm not trying to get out of this like I love this. It's just that I need to like evolve. I need kind of a next step. I need to keep going. And I don't know what that looks like. And I wrestled with that feeling for a few years. During that time, I had a kid and the pandemic started and I'm very like, go make it happen kind of person.
Of course I have ideas, right? So like I love doing big room sets for shoots and you have no idea how many times I've been on a [00:44:00] shoot where we go into a location and this was a living room, but we take out all the furniture and I've got a truckload of stuff out there and we bring it all in and now it's a bedroom.
And you know, clients and the creative directors, they're always, very often people come in 'cause clients are like kind of like in another room doing their thing, working on their computers until you have the shot ready to show them. So they'll come in and be like, wow, the reaction is always really satisfying for me.
To like see that moment of surprise and delight and joy in the client's eye when they're like, wow, you've completely transformed this. It's beautiful. We love this. And you have no idea how many times I've heard like, could you do this for me for my house? One of the things I was like, maybe I should like look into like interior design or something maybe that could be an interesting way to evolve.
Being a prop stylist is essentially making a career out of being a professional hoarder. I collect and I have all these objects and the objects are my tools that I use for all my work. [00:45:00] This is not a unique. I think these are common things for prop stylists to think about.
We have this certain skillset, so like how can we apply that skillset? So interior design is like a potential and then like. I love all these objects and I basically shop for a living and I'm exposed to all these wonderful things. So like, of course I could have a wonderful shop and I could put all these things in a shop and people could come and buy these things and then, and enrich their lives with them.
And that's another place where making that beautiful photo is a moment of magic. But then we tear it down at the end of the day. I have so many props that are so wonderful and that I love so much, and they're all just sitting on shelves in the back of my studio here. They're not getting like real love.
Like nobody's really using them. I opened a shop for a couple years, so I had these ideas buzzing around like, could I do this or could I do that? Or what is it? And I was looking for a new studio space. Now that I'm in Portland, I am collecting all my own props and having to be my own resource because there aren't prop houses here.
And [00:46:00] that collection was growing and so I needed more space. And the space I ended up finding was a storefront space. I just thought, you know what, the universe is giving me this door. I'm gonna walk through. Like, I'm gonna open it. Let's see what happens. And I worked on the shop for like a year before opening it, just kind of getting all the branding and product selection and building out the space.
And my opening date was gonna be, I think it was like March, Friday the 13th or something in 2020. It was like the weekend we went into lockdown. So I think I'm opening this retail space that's gonna be beautiful and it's gonna bring people in and, you know, like retail spaces, whether they're restaurants or cafes or stores, like, those become community spaces and no, instead, like we're all just gonna stay home for an eternity on and off, basically.
So there was like an interesting year to start a store. It didn't fail immediately, but it definitely wasn't making a lot of money or really take off. I don't wanna get too much into the shop, but basically I kind of was like, [00:47:00] maybe I'll do this thing. I didn't think that much about it.
I just thought it would be fun to play shop and I knew that I could make a beautiful space and it was really creatively satisfying and socially satisfying. I've met so many people through the shop, whether they were makers and artists that I sold in the store, or people that came in, designers or just people who were attracted to that kind of thing.
Like I've made so many friends through that, which was really rewarding. But there were other parts of it that just weren't. I had this shop for about three years before I closed it actually.
I worked with a coach because I felt like I got to a point where I was obviously sort of trapped in my own thought patterns and couldn't really get out of them. And I wanted help and I didn't wanna keep doing random things, like throwing darts at the wall and like seeing if, I wanted to like really find the solution.
I didn't wanna just keep trying. Also, like my 40th [00:48:00] birthday was on the horizon and you know, like I was just like, I wanna know for sure what's next and like get to that part of it instead of just kind of like being on this hamster wheel more and like feeling a little lost. It was through working with the coach that I was able to work through a lot of the confusion and murky, cloudy thoughts in my head and really get to a place where I knew what the answer was.
I knew that it wasn't interior design and I knew why, and I was really able to look at the shop close and personally, but also kind of more from a broad view and figure out like why that wasn't the thing. And I worked with Laura Sims who started Your Career Homecoming, and I would recommend her to anybody listening to your podcast because it changed my life.
What was great about working with Laura is that she created kind of like a curriculum where you go through almost like a two month course.
Mica: Oh, wow.
Kira: You like harvest all this data about [00:49:00] yourself, right? Who are you, who have you always been? What do you care about? What makes you happy? Do you like working with other people? Are you an introvert? Are you an extrovert? How much money do you need to make? Do you wanna live in a city?
You kind of like look at your whole life and your whole desires from this really like 360 point of view. Then you collect all the data on yourself and then you're able to use that to look at the career options in front of you and figure out what's really gonna check the boxes or not.
I feel like before that I was just sort of intuitively taking chances and trying things and this gave me tools to make an actual thought through decision. So doing that, like there was a point, it probably was like halfway through the program where I, I just was like, okay.
This is the thing. Like this is the thing that's gonna check all my boxes. This is the thing I really wanna do. It makes sense and it like, it's so synergistic with styling. I don't have to stop styling. I think they kind of mutually reinforce each other.
Like all of the interior's work I do is being in people's [00:50:00] homes and making them look beautiful photography. But it's also, it's like, what are those things that we're putting on shelves, right? And I'm thinking about the things I design and how people use them in their lives, and it just all feels like it works really well.
So I'm very much growing and evolving the skillset, which is thrilling and fun and satisfying. It took work to get there, but then I got there and it just felt so certain and so clear. And that was a wonderful feeling. It almost feels like it was a relief. Right?
And that's when I realized I had to close my shop.
Because like, I loved my shop, but I also am one person with like a young family. And I am still styling, you know, doing all my commercial work and interiors work. And I only have so many hours in the day, so something had to give.
But I see so much potential for this new thing. It felt really, it felt like the right decision for sure.
Mica: I saw the Instagram page and I'm like, damn. [00:51:00]
Kira: Thank you.
Mica: I'm so excited that this opens next month, because I'm like looking at some things, like I, okay, got some things I need to order around this house, but.
You describe everything, like it's almost like, Oh, finally the answer is here and how we get there, what steps to take to get there. We can figure that out down the road. But now I know a decision has been made and it feels good and it's a big relief to know that this is gonna be the next thing that I'm gonna do.
Kira: I did, I really felt like just kind of cloudy for a while. Like it just felt like there were all these thoughts in my head, all these doubts, they just kept circulating. Like the best way I can describe. It's like I just felt like there was this big foggy cloud in my head and I kind of just couldn't see things clearly or see through it.
And I would talk to my friends and people are really supportive, but just wasn't like resolving itself. I finally had a moment where I was [00:52:00] like, if you break a bone, you go to the doctor. I don't have to do it all myself. And maybe I've tried, but maybe I just don't, I'm missing some tool that I need to be able to figure this out and it's okay to go get help or to hire an expert in the thing so that you can get through that thing more quickly.
Mica: Oh yeah. I mean, you can't DIY everything yourself.
Kira: Totally. If you've got a leak in the roof, maybe you can fix that, but I can't, and the hours it would take me to watch YouTube videos or try to figure out how to. You know, like I'm just gonna like pay the guy.
I'm just gonna hire the guy to come fix the leak in my roof. And that's gonna be so worth it. It's gonna get done quickly.
Mica: And they're probably gonna do a thousand times better job so that there's not another leak.
Kira: Exactly.
I felt like that, you know, I was like, I need to just find somebody to get me outta my hamster wheel and get me moving again.
It was a huge relief.
Mica: That's what I love about coaches. They really do take you out of your comfort zone and [00:53:00] get you to see things that you never looked at things before in a much different light.
When you were making the decision of like, okay, I'm gonna start Standard Affair, but if I start Standard Affair, I'm gonna have to close down the shop. I know that wasn't an easy decision.
Kira: It was actually very easy.
So one of the things I loved doing in the shop is, so these shelves behind me were, this was a shop.
So these were this like a large part of the display. And I would come in before the shop was open and I would like rearrange things. We'd get new product or things would sell and like that just for me is like meditation. Like to just put on some music and just like start moving things and kind of styling it all.
And I had been talking to somebody a few months before that who was a writer and she was saying how oftentimes when she was an editor, she would have to tell her writers like, you have to kill your darling. You have this one sentence, you wrote [00:54:00] this one sentence.
That's totally perfect. It's so poetic, it's so fucking perfect. But now you can't get the rest of your article or essay or paper or whatever it is to like fit that kind of. You gotta get that out so that you can make everything else fit. And you know, that like, obviously that stuck with me, that concept.
And I'm in the shop that day before it opened, and I'm just doing my thing. Styling, letting my thoughts like move around. And that was my light bulb. That was my moment where like I just stop and was like, I have to kill my darling. Like I cannot have the shop. That is the only answer, and it wasn't, it's like it was sad and I do miss the shop. There are certain things in particular that I miss more but I think that it, it wasn't that sad because I knew what the next step was and I knew what the greater vision was and I knew why. And I believe so much more in that thing [00:55:00] and how it's going to make me happier. It's felt like such a worthwhile trade off. It was like, okay, yeah, I'm sad to see this go, but also I'm so excited about that next thing that like yes.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. That's really how it felt.
Mica: That makes so much sense.
Kira: Also, some people, I dunno, some of these conversations, I can't a hundred percent remember. Closing a shop after just a few years 'cause shops take a while to really get off the ground and it was like starting to get some traction. But I think it could be like seen as kind of a failure from the outside and that could be embarrassing.
Like, oh no, I tried to do this thing and it didn't work, but like I did this thing and it didn't work for me and it's my choice and I'm choosing and I'm choosing to go after something different that I think is gonna be much better for me. So it, to me it didn't feel like a failure at all. You know? It felt empowering. Like I felt very in control of all of that.[00:56:00]
Mica: Yeah. And you took everything that you learned from that experience and you applied it to that. Something I say to folks who ask me, how did you get into food photography?
And I'm like, this is gonna be a long story 'cause I found myself in so many different dippets before I found myself in food photography. So it wasn't like a straight shot. I started Austin Food Guide just as a landing page to put photos that I'm practicing with.
And then that naturally evolved to restaurants hiring me. When I graduated from school in 2020, most of the restaurants that I worked with were already following me on Austin Food Guide's Instagram page , so it made sense to like connect those. But then pandemic hits, all my restaurant shoots got canceled and that pushed me into commercial work and that branding didn't work in the commercial world. 'Cause they're like, who is this? Is this a food magazine? But I was hanging on to that Austin Food Guide like Super Gorilla Glue. I [00:57:00] did not wanna let it go. I had the domain. I was like, it's so good though.
I did a mentorship with Apostrophe Reps and they're the ones who ultimately convinced me to let go of Austin Food Guide. And they're like, look, you're a commercial food photographer. You are the face of your brand. You gotta let it go because it's gonna lead to better work. But once it was done, it was done. It gave me something new to get excited about.
As Standard Affairs is about to come out, what are some expectations or hopes that you have for this new venture?
Kira: I just hope people will like it. It's me. It's really me. The brand is really me on the page. It's a place where I get to really be myself and really dig into my style and my vision and my ideas for what good objects are and what contributes. To what can like better our lifestyles, what [00:58:00] can feel good at home, like how heavy a mug should be, or how your hand should fit into the handle on that mug.
You know, those types of things. Like I am putting all of myself into this and I hope to be able to grow it. The first collection is a dinnerware set. It's of course, because like I love food and I love entertaining and I've obviously done so much food photography and love ceramics is probably the biggest.
Those are the most props that I own are like ceramics, right? So like, I love ceramics, but I love it all. Like, you know, I love a vase and I love glassware and I love candle holders and I love bedding and I'm starting with ceramics because it feels so core and central to me and my interests. But I do have a lot of ambition for this company to keep growing it and to be able to expand into all sorts of other categories.
I don't wanna stop here. I wanna really like [00:59:00] everything that I used to sell in my shop, which was pretty, just like kind of all different things for the home. Like that's really what I want to create now in my own product. And it takes time to do that to. I've invested a lot in this first collection, so of course I need to sell so that I can make some money so that I can invest in the next collection and start to build it.
I'm doing this all by myself, like I don't have an investor or anything. It's very bootstrapped. My hopes are really like that it'll work, that people will respond to it because there's of course a very real side, like any business where somebody needs to want to buy your service or product, and I really enjoy doing this. I really pour all of myself into it.
My products are not, they're not just like white labeled. I didn't just go to a factory and say like, cool, that's cute. Can you put my name on it? I designed my pieces and it took a long time working with the factory to get them all right, to get the thickness right, to get the glaze right. I redrew [01:00:00] my shapes so many times because I wanted this curve to just be a millimeter more that way. Like things that I think that people may not consciously perceive, but I think will be perceived in the use of something like subconsciously perceived. So, yeah, I hope it resonates with people and I hope I can continue doing this 'cause this is a really exciting new path for me and I wanna see how far I can take it.
I wanna keep going. I wanna be able to explore all those other categories and it just feels like we've been talking about kind of like how your career evolves, right? And I feel like I'm at this place, about to launch this new brand and it feels very much like it's been like a marathon until this point, and I've worked so hard to get to this point and I'm reaching sort of like the culmination of a career thus far, right? It's like I grew up and I [01:01:00] went to college and I interned and I assisted and I got my jobs and I built and I built and I built and like feels like this culmination, but this is not an end, it's another beginning.
I'm just at the beginning of this and it feels like that fresh notebook feel like so much could happen. Like where will this take me? I just hope I can make it work and like stay on the ride and really get to dig in.
Mica: Oh my gosh, I'm so excited for you.
Kira: Thank you.
Mica: I am curious. What was the inspo behind the name?
Kira: Oh man, that's. I sat down with a friend one day who has worked at in marketing agencies and she helped me. First of all, it's very hard to name something these days because you need to get the URL and you have to get the Instagram handle and like.
Mica: Check the copyright.
Kira: Yeah. A lot of stuff is taken.
I'd be like, oh, I like this. Nope, not that [01:02:00] one. It's already taken. It's hard. You go through a lot to get there and I don't think it has like, it's not, there's no emotional history or sort of like meaning in it that is the face value of it is really what it is.
Like Standard Affair. And to me that sort of means like it's a proposal for a new standard, right? So this should be like an everyday thing. But that little bit of a fare to me gives it like a flair, like sort of like this is standard, but everything should be a little special. But it's still like there's sort of a balance in it.
Mica: I love that.
Kira: Thank you.
Mica: I love that. I am so super duper excited for you. I wanna close out this interview with two things. I wanna do a quick little fire back, like this or that.
Kira: Let's do it.
Mica: Great. It's gonna be real quick, and then I'll have one last question for you.
Kira: Okay.
Mica: Which do you prefer most? Vintage or modern?
Kira: Vintage, [01:03:00]
Mica: yes.
Kira: Modern vintage.
Mica: I mean, it's starting to become a thing now.
Modern vintage.
There's a new name.
Kira: I mean, I love both, yeah.
There's a new name.
Mica: Yes. Okay. Neutral tones are bold colors.
Kira: I'm gonna say neutral, but, I'm not a person who's like, everything must be beige. Like I love beige, but really, I, I just don't like bold tones very much. I'm not allergic to color. I just like really desaturated colors, like they can be really light or really dark, but I like, like a dusty color.
Mica: Ooh. I recently fell in love with dusty pink or like dusty rose and like
Ooh.
Kira: Yeah. Like that kind of mauve-y like antique mauve. It's a wonderful color.
I generally appreciate more understated things, like I really appreciate like subtlety, so I think leaning more towards neutral tones makes sense for me.
Mica: Okay. [01:04:00] Linen or cotton?
Kira: Linen. Yep. Linen.
Mica: Okay. This one might be hard. Antique store or garage sale?
Kira: Antique store. Not hard. You can find a gem at a garage sale, but for me it's like an antique store has way more stuff in it. There's already been a first curated pass.
So like you spend a half an hour in each place. I'm gonna get so much more at that antique store than I'm gonna get at that garage sale. If you run the stats right?
Mica: It just seems like garage sales are just like, here's a bunch of crappy shit for you to take with you.
Kira: Yeah. Like here's a bunch of plastic junk I'm trying to get rid of. I mean there are some good ones, but it just feels like that to me too. Where I'm like, I don't really wanna poke through your trash. I want to go find some good old things that are really interesting.
Mica: I just love antique shops.
Okay. East coast mornings or West Coast sunsets.
Kira: An east coast morning is kind of cold, but also like I grew up on the East coast.
Mica: Okay. Minimalism or clutter.
Kira: Okay. So [01:05:00] like, I wanna say minimalism because I think in theory I'm all about that, but in practice I totally am for clutter.
Like before I had kids, my home was more decorated and there were like precious things everywhere. And I would make all these vignettes and then I would take photos and.
Mica: Oh no, you got a baby proof that.
Kira: Yeah. So like, they're all gone now. Now it's just like toys and kids books everywhere. And I'm just like, but I like, I scrammed it all to the studio.
'Cause I was like, you're gonna break my beautiful ceramic vases that are irreplaceable, you know? But back then I'd make all these pretty vignettes and I'd post them on my Instagram and my hashtag was beauty clutter.
Mica: Beauty clutter.
Kira: Like in theory, like I love minimalism and I think it's beautiful and I really respond to that in photos.
Also, like I said, like a more understated approach to a lot of things really appeals to me. But when it comes to small objects, in practice, I end up just adding them on. Like kinda like [01:06:00] more is more in that way. I might be more of a minimalist 'cause in my house too. It's like everything goes in the same place.
Like in the cabinets too. All of the glasses have their place. The kids' cups go here, the taller cup goes here, the small cup goes here. It's not all just like mixed in. Some people are like, wow, you're really rigid about, like, this always goes here and that always goes there.
But I'm like, I thought about it once and now I never need to think about it again. That's how I think. It's like I Tetris'd this shelf once. Like, okay, it fits best if the plates go here and the bowls go here and now if I just keep doing that, it works and I don't wanna look for something. I don't wanna be like, where's that mug?
Is it behind this other thing? Like, I'm like, no, it just goes back in the same place.
Mica: You are thinking just like a cancer. Because it's literally the same argument that I've had with Aaron. Aaron's like, you wouldn't have to look for your keys if you put 'em in the same spot every time. Well, exactly. If I shut you
stay I, I, yeah.
Kira: It seems like that should be the Virgo trait [01:07:00] though, to be like everything back in the same place, but somehow it's not. 'Cause I had to really train my husband on that too. And like he loves to Tetris the dishwasher like a different way. Each time I think he's kinda like, Ooh, fun. Like, how am I gonna do it this time?
And I'm like, no, the big plates go here. The small plates go here. Like I just, whatever I have, like I'm trying to dedicate my brain space to other stuff.
Mica: I mean, I told Aaron, I was like, look, it looks like a mess to you, but I know where I put everything and yeah, I might be everywhere, but I know where I put it.
One thing my mom used to do when I was a kid and it drove me nuts. My mom would just come in and just clean everything and drive me nuts. 'Cause I couldn't find anything. And then she would get mad that I kept asking her, well where's this?
Oh, where's that? And so Aaron does the same thing. He'll clean his stuff, but he leaves my stuff where it is because he would rather have the peace of mind of not having to answer. I put it here, I put it over there.
Like he tried to train me, bless his heart. Like he's like, I'm gonna put her keys there and she'll start putting them there too. And I go, [01:08:00] Nope, just throw 'em on the counter. And that's where I remember having them every time and he's like, but you have a key chain holder. Why don't you just put it on the key chain holder?
Like it made sense to him. Okay, last one. New prop or tried and true favorite.
Kira: It depends. I'm just gonna say new prop. There's always like a, something exciting about a new, something that you're, that you're like, oh, I can't wait to try this out.
Mica: Okay, last question. Where can the listeners find you, follow you and uh, keep up with Standard Affair.
Kira: You can find me and Standard Affair in our respective places. My website is Kira corbin.com and my Instagram handle is the same at Kira Corbin. So straightforward there, and just as straightforward for Standard Affair at standardaffair.com or at Standard Affair.
Mica: Thank you so much for being on the show.
Kira: Thank you so much.
Mica: I loved everything about this conversation and we're besties now, like you stuck with [01:09:00] me. Thank you again for being on the show.
Mica: .