Catalyst is a Creative Industries podcast, from Chapman University. Each episode features Chapman students who have completed a Podcasting course through the Center for Creative and Cultural Industries at the university. Students who had no podcasting experience or technical ability in the genre before taking the course were able to contribute all the segments to Catalyst this season with the goal being that they will take this ‘hands-on’ experience and carry it over to the launching of their very own series. Each episode of Season 10 will feature one to two different interviews conducted by CCI students, exploring different aspects of the Creative and Cultural Industries.

We start the show this week with Melissa Wong who sat down with the founder, designer, and owner of Anna Learns Things, Anna Dong. The company, which is solely run by Dong, specializes in making handmade beaded jewelry, accessories, and textiles. Born out of a pandemic hobby that launched as an Instagram page, Anna has turned the company into her fashion-based career. Melissa discusses with Anna her original plans post college where she studied Neuroscience and Biochemistry, how those plans evolved and finally how she now navigates the fast-paced fashion industry as a small business owner.

To wrap the show this week, listen along Maddie Mullany interviews Rachel Ellenbogen. A New York based designer and embroiderer, Ellenbogen is a 2022 graduate of Parsons BFA Fashion Design who works in clothing design, textile embroidery and art pieces. She has worked on embroidery teams with designers such as Alexander McQueen and Versace and was sponsored by Swarovski on her Parsons School of Design graduate collection “Terms & Conditions” who provided her with crystals to embellish her collection pieces. During their conversation, Mullany and Ellenbogen talk about Rachel’s creative process and inspiration when it comes to fashion and design, as well as the concept of “wearable art” and how CCI relates to this idea of a collaboration of mediums, like visual arts, haute couture, and slow fashion.