2019 started with a shock. Together, we’d planned to start a business–a photo studio in the arts district in Los Angeles–and had spent months excitedly scheming, planning, and decorating it in our heads. But the night before we were due to sign the lease, our third business partner pulled the plug. The timing was devastating; we absolutely couldn’t afford the studio between just the two of us. Our dreams were shattered.
Stardust had just ended her lease on her place in LA, so we holed up in Chad’s tiny Hollywood apartment to figure out what was next. It was time for some real talk. Chad was trapped in a dead-end corporate job, the exact situation he’d been working to avoid. Everything felt stagnant.
He felt stuck.
Stardust had moved out to LA from Ohio to pursue the loft opportunity while finishing off her PhD, but there was no way to afford the additional cost of LA rent on a graduate student income and all her stuff was still in Ohio. To make thing worse, our current living space was bought and rents raised. We were being pushed out.
We put our heads together and came up with a plan. Why not pursue our dreams out in Cleveland?
Getting Out
The next three months was spent raising money for the move. We hammered through several music videos and photoshoots in a matter of weeks; pitching treatments and designing mood boards for clients, directing, filming, shooting and editing, all while Chad held down a full time job and Stardust wrote on her dissertation.
Working together came naturally, and we knew that whatever came next, we wanted it to include as much collaboration with each other as possible. By the time we had completed the cross-country drive to Cleveland, our plan for a photo studio had morphed significantly into something even more exciting. We had a vision for a company that incorporated art (video, photography and painting), clothing, and executive coaching.
What was missing was how the three concepts worked together.
Finding Our Feet
We arrived in Cleveland in late April, exhausted but ready to start work. Pulling from Stardust’s experience as a budding professor and coach in a business school, and Chad’s years of experience as a self-employed artist, we started putting together the pieces needed for our new endeavor. We consulted with friends, colleagues and family, and developed our mission statement and company values.
By the time July rolled around, we knew exactly what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it. In phase 1, we would offer goods (merch) and services (visual arts and coaching) to aid in helping people live more financially sustainable lives outside of institutions. In phase 2, we would build a property to host workshops, retreats and installations to support our work.
FILTHLAMB was born.