This episode features designer, artist, and Piedmont Brand Company founder Brad Stoneking on building a creative life that doesn't run on chasing algorithms, copying trends, or pretending every designer has to be an influencer.

Brad gets into his work under the name Deadtooth, how personal art differs from professional design, why production work deserves more respect, and how years inside agencies set him up to run a small studio doing serious work for big brands.

It's funny, blunt, occasionally unhinged, and packed with hard-won advice for designers trying to build something real.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why visibility isn't the same as momentum (and why posting constantly doesn't build a career).
• Why print fundamentals and production skills still matter, especially when so many young designers learn software before craft.
• How Brad thinks about long-term clients and why the real work often starts after the logo, once you become the person they trust with everything else.

About Brad Stoneking

Brad is a designer, artist, and founder of Piedmont Brand Company, a small studio that helps brands move fast and make useful, well-built work. He also makes art as Deadtooth, where he gives himself room to go weirder, louder, and more personal than client work allows.

With nearly three decades in design Brad brings a mix of craft, experience, humor, and a healthy distrust of anything that turns creative work into performance instead of practice.

Visit Piedmont Brand

Follow Piedmont Brand on Instagram

Follow Deadtooth on Instagram

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Brad Woodard

Brad is an illustrator and designer behind Brave the Woods, a full-service studio working with clients like PBS Kids, Ford, Target, and USPS. His bold, playful style and heart-led storytelling shine through everything from brand campaigns to children’s books.

View Brave the Woods

Dustin Lee

Dustin is the founder of RetroSupply, a shop for retro-inspired brushes, textures, and digital tools used by tens of thousands of creatives from indie artists to major studios. He shares what it’s really like to run a creative business while keeping it small, weird, and intentional.

View RetroSupply

Credits

Audio/video editing: Clara Wright
Cover art: Brad Woodard
Intro animation: Seth Austin
Intro music: “Snakes and Fire” (Instrumental) by Pär Hagström