A Creative Chat

I recently had the pleasure to chat with Jessica Roberts. A Toronto-based student at OCAD. Students reach out to me all of the time, wanting to discuss my creative process and being a designer. Below is a transcription of our conversation.

Jessica Roberts - Interview with Tiffany Pratt

I had an incredible opportunity to interview Tiffany Pratt, a versatile creative artist known for her bright and original approach to art and design. Tiffany has been a TV personality, interior designer, podcaster, and even a toy developer. Her distinct and colorful style has not only established her in the creative world, but also enabled her to open her own studio, Glitter Pie, in Toronto. Tiffany, who is now making an impact in the industry, has successfully spread her artistic vision through various ways. Her book, This Can Be Beautiful, as well as her podcast, Love Jam, serve as platforms for sharing her message and interacting with a larger audience.

Tiffany has collaborated with major brands art directing and directing commercials, in addition to personal projects. Her artwork has been exhibited in a number of art galleries in Ontario, demonstrating the widespread popularity of her creations. In all honesty, the choice to interview Tiffany Pratt resulted from the original unavailability of my scheduled interviewee. However, after being advised to look into Tiffany's work, I did so and became engaged in her podcast episodes. I found the opportunity to have a conversation with Tiffany Pratt both interesting and inspiring, as I was drawn in by her unique viewpoint on art and her extraordinary journey to a successful career through the use of art.

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A conversation with Tiffany Pratt, November 2nd, 2023:

Jessica: I don't know too much about you so I was just wondering if you could share a bit about your creative journey from your early experiences because you talked about being in New York and Connecticut to opening Glitter Pie in Toronto. How did those experiences kind of shape your approach to art and design?

Tiffany: If it’s okay with you, I think it's important to start earlier in my life, because I do believe this is an important thing to talk about. Without even having to give it a title or name, I always knew all my life that I kind of looked at things differently and what I mean by that is, I was always really excited to do things in school like when they brought out the painting palettes when I was in grade school. You know those temper cakes? When they would bring out the temper cakes or if there was a creative part to any project like a geography project, you got to do something with a map and I got to draw it, I was always excited to be doing something creative. In high school I enrolled in just the basic art class and I remember completing a still life project and one of the teachers saying to another art teacher “look out for this one, I think this one's gonna have something going on.” I think it's important at any stage in your life to understand what you love because what that turns into when you get older is either your career or the passion and the things that you do in your spare time that make you happy. I think that was my objective when I was younger, that I always wanted to find the thing that I knew made me happy so I felt like when I had a job, it didn't feel like a job. It felt like something I really enjoyed getting up every day to do. Does that make sense?

Jessica: Yes, I completely understand that, having a creative upbringing. When I was in high school I was introduced to art through one class that I had taken and it just sparked something in me.

Tiffany: So you, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Jessica: Yeah, I know. I know exactly.

Tiffany: I think that that's a very important thing to highlight in this interview. That it's not about who you become, it's who you've always been. As you get older, now I'm in my mid forties, the greatest thing I can do now in my midlife is to look at the earlier part of myself and not lose that version of myself. In your 20s and sometimes in your 30s, I feel like you're gathering information, like the jobs you do. In the early part of my 20s, I was convinced that my destiny was fashion. I've always loved fashion. To this day, I'm still obsessed with fashion and clothes and I think it just goes with the territory of design. When I was in New York, I worked at Saks Fifth Avenue as a personal shopper and I worked with different designers with trunk shows. I just really love dressing women, and I ended up dressing some men, but mostly women. It was exciting for me to use clothes and proportions and help people learn how to dress for their body type and figure out what their style was. I look back now and I realize what lit me up about the job was that I was excited about helping people find their style. That concept has also helped me very much in interior design. When I work on someone's home, I'm excited to help someone figure out who they are with their style. My entire journey in New York and Connecticut was all related to fashion, cosmetics and business management. I did a personal assisting job, but what I found during that decade of work was that I always ended up running other people's businesses. I was running a hair care company, personal shopping, running someone's art studio and I always found myself in a place of management at a young age. When I moved to Toronto, I opened up my own art studio called Glitter Pie, and that's when I struck out on my own. I was 28 years old and I started running my art studio. From 28 to now, I'm 43, I have had my own business and I've never looked back. Glitter Pie lasted for three years and when I closed the art studio, I started a product that was Glitter Pie Art Studio in a Box and it became a children's product on the market across Canada. The idea was that it was a product that would help children create freely with the contents in the box, and not just create what the box told them to do. Like here's a frame, paint the frame, the frame is done. It was a box filled with lots of interesting things and every box was different so I did that for almost three years. I was figuring out how to run, distribute and manufacture. That was a whole other part of my business that I never expected I would learn.

Because of my work with children, my love of creativity, my love of material, and my background in fashion and marketing, toy companies started to hire me to work behind the scenes to help them with their products. Even up until now, I've had a 15 year low key career in the toy industry because of my love of play, children, creating, and art. I don't know if that helps you answer your question, but I think that's a good start.

Jessica: I think that's great, getting to know the basics before we get into other topics. Thank you for that. You have definitely had a diverse career in various creative fields like fashion and beauty, the toy industry, and television so how have these different experiences influenced your artistic style and the projects you choose to work on today?

Tiffany: I recently just wrote something and I was reminding myself that everything that I've ever done is in the work I do today, in some sort of capacity. You don't consciously know, but I think when you take on a creative project, you're always informed. that creative project is somehow always informed by what you've done in the past. I truly believe every single thing I've ever done is in the details of what I currently do. I wouldn't say that there's anything that's inspired me from the past. I think the conversation that is important for me is to know that every day that you are out in the world, you're looking around, you're creating and you're doing any kind of job, no matter the job, you're somehow feeding your creative spirit. I don't think that I can personally find one thing where I think these jobs and this one specific thing is exactly what I put into this one thing. It’s multi-dimensional because from the time I spent with children, I actually learned a lot about materials, creativity and how to use different art things. All those details come into play when I make my own art or when I go to work with a client and they ask me questions. It's all from my past, and the past has really informed the future.

Jessica: In addition to the visual art that you make you've also authored a book and launched a podcast. I was wondering if you could tell me more about how these projects have allowed you to express your creativity in different ways and how they tie into your artistic vision.

Tiffany: I think that when we're creating something, whatever that something is, it's a way for us to feel seen and heard. I really wanted to write a book, This Can Be Beautiful is the book, where people feel like a book exists where you can create something without rules. That seems to be a really important message for me because everywhere I've ever turned from a creative perspective, I feel like there's always been instructions and rules. I wanted people to create something freely and have the permission to do it without being told what to do. It was sort of a continuation from my work with the children's art box product, which was to give the children an opportunity to create freely. I guess it's the same thing with the book, I want people to find that they could create freely. From the moment I was given a book deal to it being published and out in the world, it was two and a half years. It was a very long process that really got me into the heart of who I was as a creative person as I made sure that people felt like they didn't need to have a lot of money and specific materials in order to create beautiful things. I'm sure you can agree with this as a student, you don't always have all the money in the world to create things. I want to give people the knowledge and the opportunity to know that you don't need to have a lot of money in order to create the life that you want to have. So the podcast came from getting a lot of emails from people who had seen me on television and who had followed me on social media that had the desire to want to talk to me, get to know me more and ask me questions about business, how I came to my work, and how I currently work. It ended up being about 20 people who had individually emailed me over the course of the year. I offered a meetup at a local yoga studio, I called it a Love Jam, and the idea was to just come together, all of us who don't know each other, meet each other, everyone can ask me questions and we can just sit, chill and learn more about each other. When I did that, I found that there was a lot of beautiful, creative sharing that happened and that understanding people's stories really informs who we are as people. That's what inspired the Love Jam podcast. The podcast then became the thing that I did because of the session that I had shared with these people who wanted to talk and learn about life, love, and business. From me just opening up my heart and saying, ‘hey, let's meet up and talk,’ I got inspired to do a podcast. I did three seasons of Love Jam and I think that ended up being 26 or 28 episodes.

Jessica: I actually started listening to one of your episodes, it really got my attention. I think you were talking to your sister. I have an older sister and I just saw some similarities, it was funny.

Tiffany: Yeah, my little sister is jokes. She's very funny and I thought it was fun for people to have an understanding of her by having her on the podcast because I think you get a real sense of who someone is when you know their family. Jessica: I'm going to ask a question that just came into mind. You have a very, I would say, unique style of art. Very colorful, bright and unconventional things are used. So would you say that this sort of art style has had any negative views? Have you received any criticism because of how unique, colorful and bright your art is and if so, has it held you back from being free with your art?

Tiffany: The answer is no. The truth is would anyone have negative comments or have opinions? Of course they do. But has anyone shared them with me? No. It's because I am a firm believer of this very simple fact that when you are authentically yourself and you're doing something that's very true to who you are, regardless if someone likes it or not, no one can challenge you, make you feel little, or make you feel what you're doing is bad because they understand that you're expressing yourself. Just like somebody who maybe wants to create something a little bit different than my style, I would never criticize them and say it's too whimsical or it's too dark or it's too morose because as a creative person, I understand that that's how that person needs to create. I've always been a big supporter of the arts, I'm always out at Toronto Outdoor Art Fair and anywhere where there's art and creativity. I've always been out there as a champion for creative people to be supported and to be seen. I think because of that work that I've done in the community of creativity and art, people don't criticize me because they understand that I'm just like them. I'm a creative person who wants to create the things that I love and if people like it or not, it doesn't bother me either way. I'm just creating the thing that my spirit needs to create. I've always been met with a lot of love, acceptance, and support in that arena.

Jessica: That's amazing how you've gotten that sort of support.

Tiffany: I think it's important to say that a lot of creative people are fearful of coming out and having their voice be heard or having their visual message be looked at because they're fearful of criticism. It's important for you to note that the most important thing that you can do is be yourself and offer your whole self to your work. When you do that, it's not about being accepted, it's about actually showing that if you do it, someone else can do it too, and it gives them permission. It becomes a beautiful symbiotic relationship, if that makes any sense.

Jessica: Yes, that does make sense. I guess I'll just ask one more question, if that's okay. I'm going to be sharing these answers with my class. For me and everyone, for aspiring artists like ourselves, how can learning about your journey and experiences kind of help guide us in our own creative paths? What kind of advice would you give for emerging artists looking to make their mark in the art world?

Tiffany: Never ever compromise on being who you are and creating the thing that you want to make because someone else doesn't think it's cool, someone could judge it, or someone could think it's not good enough. Don't compromise the thing that you love or the thing that you're making. Do I look at my art and think I'm the greatest creator of all time? Hell no! I'm creating something because it comes out of me and I need to express it. This is how it looks and I'm resolved knowing that this thing that I've done is what needed to come forward. It's not about it being good, it's about something that needs to come through you. I think it's important to tell your artist friends that art isn't about something being beautiful and good and perfect. Art is something that moves through you and you are a channel for it. Who you are as an artist will always change and grow. But if you stay true to yourself and you stay dedicated to your craft, things will happen. You know that expression, ‘if you can't beat them, join them?’ Well, that's sort of what my career is a testament of. When I first came to Canada, I was out in the design scene and I was doing the things that I was doing with my colored hair. Unicorns are cool and now colored hair is a thing, but I'm telling you a decade ago, people didn't know what to think of me. Here we are over a decade and a half later and people realize this isn't a show. This isn't an act that I'm putting on. This is who I am, and it's because they can't beat me, so you might as well join me, because I'm just going to keep going. I'm just going to keep creating, doing this thing that I do, and being this person that I am because that's why I'm here on the planet. I think it's important to tell anyone that's in your class that it's really not about it being perfect, it's about it being an expression of who you are.

Jessica: Exactly, as long as you are being your authentic self, you just can’t go wrong.

TIffany: That's right.

Jessica: Well, thank you for answering all of these questions and for letting me speak to you. It's just amazing.

Tiffany: Well, you're amazing and you're so thoughtful and kind to even think of talking to me. I just want to say thank you for that because it always warms my heart when people want to speak to me. I'm a certain generation, but you're a totally different generation of human out there creating and your creations are going to mean something very big in our world. I'm grateful to have made any sort of impression or impact on you to be able to have this conversation. You and I are not different. We're the same. We're just two people out in the world that want to make beautiful things.

Jessica: Yeah, I agree with that.

Tiffany: That's it. That's all we do and if we can always keep each other supported, strong and know that somebody thinks the way we think, has our back or has done it to some degree, then we can do it too.

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After reflecting on my encounter with Tiffany Pratt, one significant lesson stands out: the value of authenticity and commitment to one's creative journey. Her advice to embrace one's entire self in their artistic efforts is a reminder that the honesty we bring to our work is more than just acceptance; it becomes an inspiration and permission for others to do the same. Her perspective on the symbiotic relationship between creators and their audiences is particularly insightful. The belief that being honest to oneself not only encourages personal progress but also serves as a guide for others, creating a lovely cycle of encouragement and understanding. Her personal experience, which was defined by an outpouring of love, acceptance, and support, is proof of the great impact that authenticity can have in the artistic world. Tiffany's opposition to allowing external judgments to influence artistic expression is a tremendous motivation. She underlines that art is not about achieving perfection as it serves as an outlet for something that must be expressed. These points were important for me to highlight since I have always struggled with perfecting my creations and had a tendency to focus more on how others perceive them rather than on my own self-reflection. Her words have caused a shift in my creative thinking, allowing me to accept honesty, emphasize self-expression, and recognize the underlying beauty in the evolving nature of both my artistic identity and others.

You can see some of Jessica’s artwork here.