How'd She Do That?

Jennifer Hunt’s Dogwood Hill is representative of all the ways her products can be enjoyed: a church for weddings and baptisms, a tearoom for social gatherings, a pond for summer celebrations, a town square where shops and entrepreneurs can be found, and homes where parties are planned, rooms are decorated, and holiday cards are addressed. Each detail has been thoughtfully considered with our community in mind. Dogwood Hill's story began in late 2014 when Jennifer Hunt—a busy mother of two who moonlights as an accountant and an art dealer—waited a touch too long to order her holiday cards. Like many busy women before her, Jennifer found that booking an artist to create the hand-crafted cards she wanted was not a possibility. She took to the web, but her efforts were futile. No one was delivering online customizable calligraphy and art-driven holiday stationery. That is when the idea sprung for a website where discerning customers could go for cards that were thoughtfully and gorgeously created featuring art by real artists. No need for pricey design fees, lengthy production times or settling for the mass-produced. With its collective of thirty artists (and growing!) and its team of in-house graphic designers who bring the art to life through thoughtful product design, Dogwood Hill is able to supply products within ten days that are as unique as the intended recipients. With each artist's distinctive style, you’ll find an item to suit your taste.  Artwork is created by hand, the paper is luxurious and, to ensure your photo-based cards feel truly your own, we’ve made it easy to upload photos and personalize messages. No detail is overlooked. They believe stationery should reflect the sender’s personality and delight the recipient and that is what we strive to deliver through Dogwood Hill: Design-driven cards that inspire.

Julie Bennett and her husband, Chris, are passionate about how to combat our loneliness epidemic, build deep connection, and fight for (not with!) the ones you love, no matter what challenges you face. In a time when so many suffer from isolation and it feels like developing authentic relationships and true belonging is harder than ever, Chris and Julie Bennett invite you into their story to discover why we were meant for togetherness and why it's worth facing any amount of hardship to keep our faith, families, and communities at the center of who we are. When Chris and Julie and their four kids moved from Norman, Oklahoma, to Los Angeles (which just happened to be one of the most disconnected cities in the United States), they knew they were setting out on a great adventure. They’d be leaving behind the church they had pastored, the comfort of their established community, and the familiarity of their daily routines, but the new city promised to bring some much-needed change. What they didn't expect was how this adventure—complicated by a cancer diagnosis, a relapse, and a pandemic—would challenge their notions of what it means to care for each other well, both as a biological family and as part of a broader community. Rebelliously hopeful, the couple will take you on their harrowing journey as they show how family—whether biological, adopted, or chosen—is the greatest risk you'll ever take, the best reward you'll ever gain, and an essential part of what makes us human.

Today’s guest is New York City based artist Clare Spooner. Clare’s a painter working in watercolor and oil and she also accepts commissions for custom paintings. Clare lives and works in NYC and travels often, usually to her home state of Virginia or to Europe. And when all else fails, she takes a visit to the Met for a little escape! Art history shapes much of her art, and she’s always aiming to continue her education. Emily and Clare discuss her inspiration for her art, upbringing, and all that’s to come in today’s episode of HSDT! Brought to you by shophsdt.com.

Jordan Soderholm is co-founder and chief growth officer of Ranger Station, an American heritage fragrance brand founded in 2015 with husband Steve Soderholm, and founder of Nashville Candle + Supply, a private label and custom candle manufacturing company established in 2021.  A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Jordan came to Nashville in 2009 to study marketing and fashion merchandising at Belmont University. During her sophomore year of studies, Jordan began a full-time position at ABLE, which was then a start-up fashion brand and social enterprise supporting women in Africa through the creation of leather handbags and accessories. She stayed with the company through graduation and for a decade, minus a two-year hiatus as an independent wardrobe stylist, working her way from intern to fashion director and helping to establish the global brand it is today. Along the way, Jordan was watching Steve dabble in candle making while home between gigs as a touring professional drummer. Her keen business sense and entrepreneurial spirit helped recognize the business potential in the hobby and she worked after hours to help Steve get the brand off the ground in 2015. In 2021, she left ABLE to work with Ranger Station full time and to take the brand to the next level. It was then that she also founded Nashville Candle + Supply, a boutique private label and custom candle manufacturing company with clients worldwide.  Today, Ranger Station is growing rapidly but thoughtfully. Ranger Station products are available for purchase from retail partners across the United States, Canada and the UK, as well as their flagship store in Nashville’s 12South neighborhood opened in July 2023. Ranger Station also unveiled its first artist collaboration in the summer of 2023 with Noah Kahan, the folk singer/songwriter from New England, to bring to life his third LP, “Stick Season” – a candle that sold out in a record 24 hours with over 1,000 people on the waitlist. Collaborations with ERNEST, The Band Camino, Lauren Akins and Thomas Rhett and NEEDTOBREATHE followed, with others in the works. The brand has been featured in Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Architectural Digest, Cowboys & Indians, Byrdie, WWD, Who What Wear, The Strategist, PEOPLE, Southern Living, Billboard and countless other publications.   Aside from Ranger Station, Jordan chases around her two young children with Steve, and enjoys gardening, reading and styling through her Substack “You didn’t ask.” and other endeavors.

Likely our favorite Emily's Edit yet! Sharing more about the team here at HSDT, shop updates, and what's on the horizon. Our DMs are always open as is our new Social Club Channel on IG! Connect with us @howdshedothatpodcast on Instagram and don't forget to join our newsletter linked in our highlights on social. We will talk to you soon! FOLLOW EMILY ON INSTAGRAM ⁠HERE⁠. FOLLOW HSDT ON INSTAGRAM ⁠HERE⁠. JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER (EMIL'YS EDIT) ⁠HERE⁠. SIGN UP FOR OUR SHOP EMAILS ⁠HERE.⁠

Today's guests and new shophsdt.com brand, Jen and Mel, are the sisters behind LeMel. They've always loved to play with each other’s style and they love, love, love helping clients find a first (or latest!) piece to add to your jewelry stack. Anything that’s available in their shop is something they love, would wear themselves, and probably test-wore for so long that they didn’t want to give it back anyway. Stylish, collectable jewelry for everyday wear – that’s what they always come back to. It’s what they had in mind when they started LeMel in 2015, and it’s what still drives them today.From their part-time jobs at a hometown jeweler to their extremely humble beginnings on Etsy – they couldn’t have dreamed of what LeMel could and would become. Thanks for coming along with us. (And for looking so great while you do it!) We know you'll enjoy this episode brought to us by Dallas Market Center! FOLLOW EMILY ON INSTAGRAM ⁠HERE⁠. FOLLOW HSDT ON INSTAGRAM ⁠HERE⁠. JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER (EMIL'YS EDIT) ⁠HERE⁠. SIGN UP FOR OUR SHOP EMAILS ⁠HERE.⁠

Today's guest is Angela Vranich, the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Little Spoon, the leading DTC brand and first end-to-end platform for kid’s nutrition. Today, Angela and her team are responsible for feeding millions of babies and kids each month, which is no small task. But just 6 years ago, Angela and her partner Ben didn’t have any customers - just an idea: to completely reinvent the baby food category, and make it something that parents could feel good about feeding their littles.For me, you, and many of our listeners, the heavily preserved, shelf-stable baby food options we grew up eating were likely canned and jarred before we were even born! Launched in 2018, Little Spoon set out to change that by creating a clean, nutritious and convenient product that would nourish kids and make parents' lives easier - and revolutionize a category that shockingly hadn't changed in almost 100 years. Today, the brand has scaled dramatically to offer food options for kiddos 6-months old to 10-years old, and has created an online community, Is This Normal? with modern advice and support for today’s generation of parents, which reaches nearly 2 million subscribers.Angela is the brain behind the brand and all of the foods you see Little Spoon offer today, working to create options that will appease parents and picky eaters from their first bites through their big kid years. We know you'll love hearing her story brought to you by previous guests, Meli's Monster Cookies! FOLLOW EMILY ON INSTAGRAM ⁠HERE⁠. FOLLOW HSDT ON INSTAGRAM ⁠HERE⁠. JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER (EMIL'YS EDIT) ⁠HERE⁠. SIGN UP FOR OUR SHOP EMAILS ⁠HERE.⁠

To celebrate our 200th episode and 4 years of How’d She Do That, we are showcasing our very own Emily Landers. Emily Landers is a host, author, and entrepreneur. The native Texan, who graduated from Baylor University with a BA in Communication, Class of 2013, moved to New York City upon graduating and began her career interning at Footlocker, Inc. She then held various roles in Public Relations and Marketing before moving back to Texas to help launch a social media marketing company as their CEO. Emily moved to Southern California in 2015 after marrying her husband, Luke, who attended Pepperdine Law School. After having multiple “How’d She Do That?” conversations while mentoring college students going into post-grad, it dawned on Emily that many of these conversations would be encouraging for many women to hear. Emily started HSDT in 2020. Her weekly episodes inspire thousands around the world and she continues to speak, write, and share intentional conversations in hopes of inspiring other women to do the same in their own lives. FOLLOW EMILY ON INSTAGRAM ⁠HERE⁠. FOLLOW HSDT ON INSTAGRAM ⁠HERE⁠. JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER (EMIL'YS EDIT) ⁠HERE⁠. SIGN UP FOR OUR SHOP EMAILS ⁠HERE.⁠

Designed by Claudia Garrard and handmade by the 38 trusted seamstresses who comprise our sewing room, Lenora's offerings bear an unmistakable, unparalleled mark of quality. The story of Lenora is a special one. It all started with Dina Yang, a pioneering Vietnamese designer whose expertise and superior craftsmanship set the industry standard. Eventually, Claudia took the reins, excited to build and grow the brand to reach an even wider swath of women. Today, she continues to elevate Lenora through new offerings, expanded collections, and ever-strengthening relationships with the legions of women searching for a certain level of care and attention to detail that has become increasingly rare in the nightwear market. For first-time and longtime clients alike, the spark of recognition when they find what they’ve been longing for in Lenora is instant, and an enduring connection is born. After all, we outfit the moments when women are most essentially themselves—the times when they unwind, recharge, sleep, become mothers, nurture family, find refuge, cultivate calm, seek solace, dream dreams… Lenora is a tribute to personal well-being through quality, comfort, and a bit of permissive indulgence. Stitch by stitch, yard by precious yard, Lenora shapes the wardrobe for life’s most unguarded and intimate moments. That requires trust. And care. And a commitment to service and excellence in an industry that often prizes profit above people. We never confuse the two. From Lenora’s sewing room to our clients’ closets, our mission is to lift up and support all of the women in our orbit. FOLLOW EMILY ON INSTAGRAM ⁠HERE⁠. FOLLOW HSDT ON INSTAGRAM ⁠HERE⁠. JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER (EMIL'YS EDIT) ⁠HERE⁠. SIGN UP FOR OUR SHOP EMAILS ⁠HERE.⁠

Today, I am sharing more insight into our conversations from last week and this weekend, that we had on social media. I loved hearing anonymously from so many of you about your businesses, sales, and growth online. It continues to be a fascinating topic and one I am looking forward to continuing to discuss. As always, if something stands out to you or you want to chat more, my DMs are always open! FOLLOW EMILY ON INSTAGRAM ⁠HERE⁠. FOLLOW HSDT ON INSTAGRAM ⁠HERE⁠. JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER (EMIL'YS EDIT) ⁠HERE⁠. SIGN UP FOR OUR SHOP EMAILS ⁠HERE.⁠