This week is an epic recap of our trip to design-centric Austin and Brandi’s experience at Rancho Victore for his Creative Retreat.

1:33   THIS EPISODE HAS PURE GOLD!

1:40   You’re about to get the 411 on everything James Victore. You’re in for a real treat – and a really long podcast. 😀

1:47   Excuse our sluggishness. We’re exhausted, but we are so very committed to you that we made this podcast happen regardless of exhaustion!

3:20   Apparently Austin isn’t “real” Texas? Can a real Texan verify this information, please?

4:08   Brandi has a question for Michelle! Can Michelle tell whether or not Austin values good design?

4:30   Michelle’s answer: A hearty “Yes!” Between architecture, landscaping, the hundreds of murals, and any design poster— all was done with lots and lots of love and care.

6:41   Brandi is a thief. She “stole” an event poster from a taco shop. You heard it here, folks!

8:40   Torchy’s Tacos. Have you been there? Yummmm (WARNING: they’re hot)

9:00   Seventh Flag Coffee shop. YOU GUYS. GO HERE.

9:04   Brandi can’t say the word “Flag”. Well, she can… But can’t. It’s endearing.

10:26 Brandi was/is obsessed with Seventh Flag’s branding. Check it out.

11:00 One of Brandi’s songs: Freedom Fry’s cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit. <3

17:35 Michelle discovers that Georgetown, Texas has the most beautiful town square in all of Texas. No, really. It looks like Disneyland, except it’s real life!!!

18:43 Jason Bacher – another super talented designer that helped head up the James Victore retreat. He’s fun and great to work with and has a cool business model that vibes perfectly with James and his ideas.

19:24 Night one as the Rancho Victore: ice breaker night. Random fun fact about Brandi: She knows a bit of Elvish. (This isn’t surprising.)

22:00 A Saucier = A Sauce Chef.

22:35 Brandi FINALLY watched What We Do in the Shadows. (Watch this movie if you haven’t. You won’t regret it.)

23:17 Brandi’s second song is from a band called Relient K, Air for Free.

28:45 Prepare for Brandi to impart some wisdom from the James Victore Creative Retreat she attended.

29:21 “Acreages” is definitely a word.

30:03 James Victore is all about creative courage, finding your voice, and knowing how to say what you want to say well.

31:05 This weekend was definitely a crazy weekend for Brandi. She did a lot of design soul-searching to try to figure out her voice. Victore got each of the people at this retreat out of their comfort zones and stretched them (metaphorically speaking.)

33:10 “In the particular lies the universal.”

35:27  The project for this retreat was to figure out what the purpose is in the work they do. Why do they do it? Their end result needed to be a statement about themselves.

41:16 Brandi came to the conclusion that she wants everything she does to be done well. (Excellence.)

42:28 Surprise, surprise! She ends up with a brilliant analogy about the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland and how Alice is always chasing the white rabbit, but really he doesn’t even matter. It’s the journey that matters.

46:45 EXCELLENCE. She is about the pursuit of excellence. Excellence in the process, excellence in the pursuit, excellence in the product.

47:59 Check out Brandi’s current state of the project she started at this retreat!

48:40 She learned how to expedite her process through all of this. She didn’t cut corners. She just learned to commit.

49:54 She’s learned that sometimes she needs to just do it! (like Nike.)

53:51 Mind blowing realization of the weekend: It’s ok to trace! If you’re not confident in your illustration skills, TRACE!

Michelle crashed the retreat for a few minutes and got a glimpse of the craziness.

1:01:05 Find us on all forms of social media via @BrandiSea on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and you can email us any questions you want Brandi to answer at brandi@brandisea.com.

Thanks to Vesperteen for letting us use his genius (“Shatter in The Night”) in every episode of Design Speaks!