Adam Torres and Anastasia Tamir discuss Shtick LABS
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Show Notes:
How does Shtick LABS uniquely support and foster growth among digital creators in LA? In this episode, Adam Torres interviews Anastasia Tamir, Founder of Shtick Design & Shtick LABS. Explore Shtick LABS and how it is supporting digital creators
About Anastasia Tamir
Anastasia is an original & skilful multi-disciplinary 3D Digital Creator and an Architect with 5+ years of experience in various productions. She is well-versed in creating unique, interactive 3D environments; Metaverses for NFTs, art & collectables; filming, directing & editing cinematic videos; rendering architectural visualizations and spatial design.
About ShtickDesign
Shtick is a visual communication agency, with a strong focus on graphic design and conceptual relevance. They specialize in bringing your wildest visions to life, crafting stunning environments that tell a story. Their team combines architectural expertise with a flair for the dramatic.
Full Unedited Transcript
Hey, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of Mission Matters. My name is Adam Torres, and if you’d like to apply to be a guest in the show, just head on over to missionmatters. com and click on be our guest to apply. All right. So today’s guest is Anastasia Tamir, and she’s founder of Stick Design and Stick Labs.
And Anastasia, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me, Adam. I’m very excited to be part of this wonderful podcast. All right. Well, we’re, we’re happy to have you here and excited to get into stick labs and really how you’re helping and fostering and empowering digital creators in LA. So I guess just to, just to get us started here.
Founder of stick labs, like, like how’d you come up with the idea? That’s a great question. So it all started roughly a year and a half ago when I just arrived to Los Angeles from the Middle East. And I was really craving to be part of the community and being a 3D artist working closely with Unreal Engine and other incredible softwares.
I feel that Community is key to self development and professional development as well. And it came to my surprise that there was no community that is currently existing in Los Angeles. So my go to is if it doesn’t exist, just build it yourself. Wow. Have you always been a community builder or a connector of sorts?
I’m curious. No, I do love people. I do think that I, I do believe in kindness of people. I do believe in sharing knowledge. I do believe in collaboration. I’ve never built a community in LA. I’ve been always kind of an event builder. I’ve always been around people. People most of my life, and I do love connecting.
So I think it kind of came naturally to me to create this wonderful community and Los Angeles. And it came to my surprise that it worked and wow. Very excited to be part of it. Yeah, I feel like and I think and the reason I asked that question too is because you know right now community is such a buzzword in many circles right everybody wants to build a community you want to build a community against we sell pencils let’s build a community to get around pencils maybe that’s okay if you sell pencils out there don’t be don’t send me hate mail or anything else oh it’s okay I’m sure you can do it and there’s a successful community.
Community out there around pencils. I don’t know. But my point being is that it’s hard. My point being is that it’s hard. It’s not always easy to get traction, to get buy in, and to like, like, what do you think are some of the things and this is kind of paying it forward to some of the other either would be community builders or community builders out there right now that are listening.
What do you think are some of the keys or ingredients that help make what you’re doing successful? Because I’m looking at your Instagram, by the way, and I see all the events you’ve had and the other things you’re doing, and I’m like, wow, this is amazing. Thank you. I think the main thing is to ask yourself is there a necessity for it?
Do people actually need it? And Oh, that’s a good question. Yeah, that’s a little reflection there. Go ahead. Please. That’s interesting. Yeah, I just believe, Adam, you did touch on a very important point that people do tend to use community as a buzzword. But I think sometimes the point is being missed, where there is a difference between creating a good strategic brand with a lot of followers and an actual active community of people who voluntarily come on board.
To learn to share or just to celebrate whatever it is that you want to celebrate together and consistency is key. So if there is a necessity and whatever it is that you’re trying to build your consistent in that, then that will probably work. And just believe in that if you need it, then others will probably need it as well.
Yeah, that’s it’s interesting because when people tell me you know, Oh, Adam, you know, you have a community, you did this, you did that and how, and, and like, what, what would you do it or should I do it? I’m like, no, don’t do it. It’s hard. If you can figure out it’s hard and it takes a lot of energy, both mental and physical, and if you can go sell that pencil without like from behind a computer and just get paid, do that.
Because building a community is not for the faint of heart. Because when you’re building a community, by definition, There’s people involved, right? There’s many people involved and you have other layers of responsibility that don’t necessarily even contribute to your revenue or otherwise. They may just be the, you know, when you’re in a community and part of a community and otherwise both figuratively and literally you’re part of that community, right?
Like you don’t get to just be this head, so to speak of the community that does what goes, there’s people involved, right? Yeah, I think in a way you kind of have to love people and I don’t even think that it has to do with anything being an extrovert or introvert. I’m kind of extroverted introvert. If that makes sense.
I do need to decompress after each social event, but I, I just really love people. I love hanging around with new creators. Getting to know and to hear different stories because life is so incredibly short. So any piece of information that you share out there, I feel like it’s a piece of treasure that you get to hold on to your heart and, you know, do with it, whatever.
You’d like you can either toss it or, you know, cherish it and appreciate the person sharing with you their experience and learning from it. But yeah, definitely. It’s kind of a 24, seven Yeah, you have to be there all the time. Yeah, and in all fairness, I’ll give the other side. Okay, I did give the negative side, but I’m not going to be negative on this one because I definitely don’t want our mission matters community.
Now the mission matters community. I’m going to start getting these emails. Adam, we heard you talking about us. What do you mean? You don’t know. It’s a secret. It’s not like that. The other side of it is, is there’s a tremendous amount of joy that even money can’t bring when you see when you see a community come together and when you see other members of your community winning, and especially if it just so happens that you may be a And I’ll just use the, because I know you throw a lot of events.
I’ll just use the example of an event. We throw an event, two people meet each other, they start doing business. And then, you know, you hear about this six months later, like, Oh my gosh, that’s amazing. And where did you meet? Oh, at one of your events. And it’s like, that’s the thing about community. It doesn’t, do you get a piece of it?
Do you not? Is it, that’s not the point. The point is. To be, if you’re being a, you know, a leader in the sense of bringing people together and doing these things, like there’s some intangible rewards there that even that don’t show up on your, you know, your tax return. Right. So I think that that’s a, that’s a, I’ll give the other side of it.
So everybody’s not thinking I’m, I do enjoy the community. And I’m not just saying that for those that want to send me an email. Okay. Okay. Jumping around here a bit, Anastasia. So let’s get further into really Into your vision with stick labs and the stick labs and specifically how you’re fostering growth among digital creators like, like, how’s that coming about?
Well, that, that is great. And again, I’m very surprised each time we throw an event and to be frank, we’re relatively new. So stick design has been since 2019, we are a 3d digital creative agency. And we create immersive interactive environments for all kinds of productions from world building for cinematography, creating environments for AAA video games, metaverses, and we’re kind of sitting on a very wide plethora.
But feel like there was something that has been always missing. Kind of that being a very introverted position where every creator is kind of in its own creative little cave. And it’s really hard to get digital creators out of their comfort zone. But it. Is a necessity because otherwise, how would you learn?
How would you actually understand what your client needs? How would you know what’s out there? So usually what all creators will do, they will go to any big festivals out there, for instance the GDC or Southpac Southwest, right? But there’s only so much that you can grab from it. And I feel like and especially in LA.
Right. Which is so ironic. There’s so many creative, talented and skilled people out here. We’re all kind of scattered and there is no genuine connection between one another. And we all want to collaborate. And in general, human beings are very special. social animal, so it doesn’t matter if you’re in front of the computer for 14 hours a day, you do need to get out and talk to other creators or even share your frustration with the software or just the opposite.
Like you mentioned, there are a lot of good and a lot of positive sides to it that you get to share projects together, or you get to share your successes and this is exactly why I built stick labs. My goal was to bring all the creators together. together in one place to meet up once a month to learn from the workshops that are provided by the speakers that we select carefully discuss different topics and most importantly, to create those genuine connections and emphasis on genuine, because it’s so important in a world where everything is digital, there is still a sense of isolation.
So we want to bring all of us. back together. And I do believe that we are stronger in numbers. And I do believe that creativity blossoms when you get to actually share between somebody else and not just leave it as a sketch in your drawer. Yeah, it’s been, it’s been going great. We started in February.
We had so far just a few events and we’ve been tripling our numbers. So for me, it’s a great indicator that what we’re doing is right. And it is an accessory for the LA community of artists. And it’s just great. You know, people, we have kind of quite a large radius of experience now. People come from San Diego, from Orange County.
So it is kind of like the place to be at. It is has become. Home base for digital creators of away and hopefully we’ll be expanding to other areas. But definitely Los Angeles is our primal space and, and, and, and it’s great. I mean, I’m just very joyful to be part of it and to see how people come together and how, how they share their experiences and their stories.
A lot of friendships. It’s also so wonderful because. The older you get, I feel it’s a little bit harder to make friends and acquaintances. So it’s really heartwarming whenever you get a text message. Oh, we met like this wonderful group of creatures and not meet out. And I’m like, that’s exactly why I’ve made it.
That’s, that’s exactly the purpose of it, you know? So then later on, get to hang out at the end of the day with your buddies. Yeah, that’s great. It’s a great, it’s a great concept and it’s a great idea and I can see why it’s so successful. And was there like a moment? That sparked this, or was it a buildup?
Like, how did you, when did you, was there a moment when you said, okay, this isn’t just going to be a hobby, but I’m going to put in some actual work and effort to make sure this thing has legs and that this thing succeeds. Like, like, how’d that happen? Cause I, and the reason I asked this question, by the way, so many entrepreneurs, like we have ideas, like I got probably had time and 10 ideas at breakfast today, but I’m not doing those.
I don’t have time. Like, like, how did you, how did you think, how did you, was there a moment that where you’re like, I have to do this? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. That’s a that’s a great note and I totally understand that we’re all Creators and we are inventors and we want to do so many things at once So it’s really hard to keep track.
But for that it was a conversation that I started with myself about a year ago, and I was just very genuinely I felt very lonely and it made no sense to me. But luckily I was at the right place at the right time. We’re currently based at. Control Collective in Pasadena. And I’ve been talking to some people around here and I’ve been wondering about the networking evenings that are hosted time to time.
And I kind of, you know, got me thinking, like, what if we do a networking night, but for the 3D artists community? What if we do that? Specified for unreal engine artists or like game developers, you know There’s so many different streams in the entertainment industry that are being currently gatekeeped by the veterans or by the bigger corporations simply because there’s a not enough time and nobody actually has the emotional capacity to carry this load and me being Super energetic.
Maybe a little bit too much. Maybe and okay with the punishment of it all go ahead Yeah, i’m just i’m just you know, I came into terms with that. Let’s use my superpower. I have adhd. Let’s do it Let’s get that drink lots of caffeine. I love people. I cannot be just going back home every night and you know, making weird noises in my apartment and just, like, driving past my family members and my cat.
Let’s do that to other people, but with a purpose. So. Hmm. That’s amazing. That was kind of it. And, it all started as I said, it all started just like with a quick thought and then I just said, you know what? Yeah, let’s, let’s do it. Let’s close the date. Let’s see how many people sign up. So February 17th, this is our official preview event date.
I kind of structured the event that we’re going to have for a 20 minute workshops and we’re going to discuss different topics and we’re going to have some food and drinks and we’re going to have some networking time and chilling out time. And we’re going to document it and we’ll see just how many people show up.
So we just. Kind of quickly created an event at an event, right. And I thought they’re going to be maybe five, maximum 15 people. And then there were like 45, 50 people that showed up and I was like, Oh, okay. That’s interesting. So I guess. I guess it’s something that does, and it was validation for the idea that so that other people were feeling what you feel.
So that’s amazing. Like speaking of is the community necessary, right? Like if you would have done that and there would have been one person that showed up or two, maybe you wouldn’t have put as much time into it as you’re doing now. Maybe I’m not saying that’s true, but I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but maybe.
Yeah, it would have been probably a different approach. I’ll be probably And it would have been a coffee meetup. It would have been a, let’s go hang on, have some coffee. I’m not saying you wouldn’t have built community, but you would have been doing what you’re doing now. I see the pictures on Instagram and I’m like, wow, that’s amazing.
It is really fun. I I’m so grateful for all the people that are coming from so far away and are I think a lot of people are just, you know, just dedicating their time. There’s Saturdays. To come hang out and, you know, just, just be there and support and, and, and again,
Just for me, it’s not like you said, Adam, it’s not about the profit. It’s about make it valuable for others. And those valuable connections are what’s going to hold this thing for many, many, many years and what makes it so valuable. So for me, it was, you know, that first preview event, I was I was kind of.
excited, but then I thought, okay, well now we have the main event, which is the next week. What are the chances that a week after one event, we’re going to have the same number of people? And I was very worried and, you know, the nerves started curling up and sleepless nights. And I’m like, okay, now we need to reach out to more.
And actually, Our growth was so organic. It was word of mouth and the official event, we were at 60 plus people. And our latest event in March, we were at 150 people. So we’re kind of like tripling our numbers and they’re more and more and we’re getting there. Just selling out so quickly that you know, we’re just trying to keep up with everything, but I feel like it’s the best trouble to have, those are the best that we can have at this point.
That’s amazing. Well, Anastasia, first off, I just want to say congrats and I’m excited about the growth and about the traction, not easy to get a community or any traction like you’re getting going in LA especially in this market, because everything’s so, Just driving wise and otherwise so fragmented there.
It’s a little bit tricky of a city to do that things in. But that being said if somebody’s listening to this or watching this and they wanna connect and they wanna learn more how do they do that? Oh, wonderful. So the best way to stay up to date as of today is to follow us. On social media.
Our most active channel is LinkedIn. They can follow stick design or they can follow my personal account. Anastasia Tamir. Feel free to DM me. I always answer. And also we’re very active on Instagram and tick tock, which is stick dot design. And at the beginning of April, we’re going to have some very cool announcements.
So please stay tuned. Because we have a lot of cool giveaways and other incredible, wonderful collaborations that you really don’t want to miss. And yeah, we’re also for anyone who’s attending if you’re interested in joining us, please let us know. We do need more people on our team, but overall, yeah, that’s the best way to reach out.
And for everybody listening, we’ll put some of those links in the show notes, so you can just click on the links and head right on over and Speaking of the audience, if this is your first time with mission matters or engaging in an episode, we’re all about bringing on business owners, entrepreneurs, and executives, and having them share their mission, the reason behind their mission, you know, why do they do what they do?
And if that’s an asset type of content, that sounds interesting to you. We welcome you to hit that subscribe button because we have new entrepreneurs, new founders. New experts coming on each and every single day, and we don’t want you to miss a thing. And if you’ve been listening for a long time and haven’t left that review get that review in for us.
We definitely appreciate that on Apple. Just click on the writer review button and don’t worry, it won’t bite you. It’s all okay. And Anastasia, thank you again so much for your time. It’s been so much fun having you on and learning about your story. So thank you. Thank you so much Adam for having me and it’s definitely been such a treat and yeah, and we’re all here to to bloom and blossom.
