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Episode 11: Sister Love feat. Molly Van Nostrand
Most of my few podcasts start with a pretty standard bio so you can get to know my guest. This one is different. This is my sister. While she’s owned a frame shop and a printing store and worked for many large and small companies, her relevant bio here is kicking my ass growing up! Yes, the big sister… smarter, taller, prettier, funnier… until these silly er’s meant nothing. For most of our life, she’s been the supportive, banter-loving side kick I could not imagine living without. Molly is also the amazing mother of my ass-kicking nieces Jenny and Hannah (although Hannah has yet to listen to one of the podcasts because it’s my voice…hmmmm). I wanted to do a family recording to give you some insight into our impacts as family members… and have some fun while doing it with Negronis in hand. As a bonus, my lovely niece Jenny was able to pop in to add her perspective on family dynamics and how she navigates decisions that support her values. Cheers!

She shares how her values for supporting local were formed early in her life and how these principles have guided her through each chapter of her career. Leslie provides insight into her priority for sourcing quality ingredients, candidly talks about strategies that were key in progressing business as scale increased, and highlights other projects that are keeping her busy and inspired. These ventures include the creation of @projectbarnstorm conserves (low-sugar jam), ongoing work with the @wsu_bread_lab Community Loaf challenge, cooking classes she is planning to start on Vashon Island, and the lessons she is continually learning from growing her own wheat (currently in the 4th year of trials). Leslie also contributes some positive callouts to nonprofits doing wonderfully inspired work in the city as it relates to food. From @marysplacewa supplying food to underserved communities while also helping curb food waste, to the the mission of @cityfruitseattle to support sustainable and equitable access to fruit, there are many opportunities to help make a positive impact.

More about Leslie…
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Before starting Macrina Bakery & Café, Leslie was the head baker at Grand Central Bakery where she first introduced artisan European breads to Seattle. A native of Portland, Oregon, Leslie is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy and started her career as an apprentice at Ernie’s Restaurant in San Francisco. She later moved to Boston, where she worked in the pastry kitchen of the Bostonian Hotel and eventually helped open Biba Restaurant with Lydia Shire and Susan Regis. It was while living in Los Angeles in the late 1980’s that Leslie caught what she calls “bread fever,” immersing herself in recipe testing and experimentation. Now, all of Seattle knows of Macrina’s irresistible artisan breads. Whether your tastes run to rustic potato; pear and cracked pepper; or crisp, crackly baguettes, you can find your favorite at grocery stores and gourmet shops throughout the region – along with more than 100 restaurants in the Puget Sound area. Leslie’s recipes reach well beyond Seattle, from her appearances on Julia Child’s “Baking with Julia” television series (and inclusion in the companion cookbook) to a 1999 outstanding contributor award and a 2004 nomination for “Outstanding Pastry Chef” from the James Beard Foundation. Her media appearances are legion and include features in Fine Cooking, Sunset, and Pacific magazines, The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, Bon Appetit Magazine, and the LA Times – not to mention endless coverage and accolades in The Seattle Times, Seattle Weekly, and Seattle Magazine. Leslie is an active member in the Bread Bakers Guild of America and Les Dames d’Escoffier.About Leslie…
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Before starting Macrina Bakery & Café, Leslie was the head baker at Grand Central Bakery where she first introduced artisan European breads to Seattle. A native of Portland, Oregon, Leslie is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy and started her career as an apprentice at Ernie’s Restaurant in San Francisco. She later moved to Boston, where she worked in the pastry kitchen of the Bostonian Hotel and eventually helped open Biba Restaurant with Lydia Shire and Susan Regis. It was while living in Los Angeles in the late 1980’s that Leslie caught what she calls “bread fever,” immersing herself in recipe testing and experimentation. Now, all of Seattle knows of Macrina’s irresistible artisan breads. Whether your tastes run to rustic potato; pear and cracked pepper; or crisp, crackly baguettes, you can find your favorite at grocery stores and gourmet shops throughout the region – along with more than 100 restaurants in the Puget Sound area. Leslie’s recipes reach well beyond Seattle, from her appearances on Julia Child’s “Baking with Julia” television series (and inclusion in the companion cookbook) to a 1999 outstanding contributor award and a 2004 nomination for “Outstanding Pastry Chef” from the James Beard Foundation. Her media appearances are legion and include features in Fine Cooking, Sunset, and Pacific magazines, The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, Bon Appetit Magazine, and the LA Times – not to mention endless coverage and accolades in The Seattle Times, Seattle Weekly, and Seattle Magazine. Leslie is an active member in the Bread Bakers Guild of America and Les Dames d’Escoffier.

Ruth begins the conversation with Lauren, who candidly shares about how the current landscape seems to put more pressure on artists to increase their output of new material. She also covers the struggles that many artists seem to be having these days with streaming services, stating that the increase in music access now available to the consumer doesn’t equate to a fair artist pay structure.

During the second and more in-depth part of the episode, Dave joins for a deeper dive into the concept of mindful consuming and focuses attention on dispelling what he sees as a myth that streaming services are bad for artists. He claims that the problems artists have are more with their record labels and that musicians today have so many more ways to connect directly with their fans, which can lead to more creative ways for financial opportunities and support. Dave says, “For the time being, the music business is back to being roughly as big as it was pre-Napster in 1999,” casting hope on the potentially prosperous future for musicians in the ever-changing world of how one consumes art.

About Lauren…

Lauren McShane is a freelance cellist in Seattle and performs regularly with Portland Cello Project, Seattle Rock Orchestra, and Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra. Lauren has worked with Father John Misty, Macklemore, Yakima Symphony, and others. In addition to performing, Lauren is passionate about teaching cello students of all backgrounds and has a full private cello studio, alongside Holy Names Academy, and is faculty at Icicle Creek Summer Symphony.

About Dave…

Dave Dederer is best known as a founding member of The Presidents of the United States of America. The Presidents were nominated for two Grammys, had a number one Alternative Rock single and multiple Hot 100 hits, and have sold or streamed 6M+ albums worldwide. Dave has been active as a Music 2.0 thought leader since the dawn of the digital music era, recorded an early e-album in 2000 with The Presidents, was a panelist at many digital music events in the 2000s, and has been full-time in digital media since 2006 working at Melodeo, H-P, and then Amazon from 2012 to 2022. At Amazon, he started on the Amazon Music team and then shifted focus to doing deals and managing partnerships with Apple Music, Spotify, Clear Channel, Pandora, Sirius XM, et al. for distribution on Alexa-enabled devices. In his day jobs in digital music, Dave has built and led teams doing content licensing, music programming and editorial, and business development while also still managing the publishing interests for The Presidents. Among the many other chapters in his CV, Dave has been a high school teacher, coach and outdoor educator, a public affairs agency account executive, and a tugboat deckhand.