It’s our party and we’ll…end it when we want to. That’s right, we’re bringing Season 1 of Brandsplaining® to a close in order to explore other show concepts for the upcoming NEW season. Hear what we’ve got in store and why it’s the most athletic thing we’ve done yet. A very special thanks to all of our incredible guests from this season—we had so much fun ‘splaining branding with you all. Season 2 drops soon, so stay tuned.

There’s not a more appropriate way to end 2020 than with an episode all about staying in. We chatted with Tyler Calder, the Director of Content for Girls’ Night In—a community and weekly newsletter exploring the ways we unwind, take care, and make friends into adulthood. Girls’ Night In also just launched The Lounge: a new membership platform for connecting IRL and online, and Whiled: goods designed for downtime. (And P.S. Whiled’s tagline is so good it makes us howl like wolves: “Press pause and play.) We’ve admired the entire brand suite because of their fun, candid messaging and their use of levity to open dialogue and foster community. We had a riot talking with Tyler (who herself is the queen of cozy) about the Girls’ Night In ethos and brand strategy and got into a lot of fun topics, like:

• Using candor and clarity to draw in the right audience 
• Having a distinct brand personality in order to foster strong partnerships and collabs
• Resisting the urge to put out clickbait or frivolous content even if it feels the most marketable
• Not being afraid of having a counter-cultural message, because it can often help you carve a niche and find your people
• How a thoughtful, integral brand approach will pay off in the long haul in terms of consumer loyalty 

And we ended talking about snack necklaces (on Instagram @wearyoursnacks, by the way). You can check out everything GNI is up to @girlsnightinclub, @whiled.co, or @jointhelounge on Instagram or at www.girlsnightin.co.

Ready for some un*match*ed entrepreneurial insights that will help you light your industry on fire and blow away the competition? Perfect, because this week’s episode is wick-ed good. We spoke with Ida-Sofia Koivuniemi, the founder of Evil Queen—a candle company committed to bringing light and attitude into homes around the world. Basically, they’re making candles fun again. 

Regularly selling out online and featured on Buzzfeed, Cosmo, and PopSugar, you‘re not gonna find ‘fresh linen’ or ‘pumpkin harvest’ in Evil Queen’s collections. Instead? Amazing scents with names like “Champagne Showers,” “Stolen Hoodie,” and “Wash Your Fucking Hands.” These candles are funny, memorable gifts for any occasion or the perfect home good to bring a smile to your face during a shitty week. Trust us, Evil Queen candles are the one candle you’d never regift. 

We talked with Ida-Sofia about a lot of really interesting things about creativity, entrepreneurism, and branding including:

• Using bold branding to create niches in what seem to be saturated marketplaces 
• How to use make the mundane memorable
• How to stay in your lane creatively even if copycat brands start to pop up
• The power of humor to elicit relatability and inclusiveness
• Inviting others to be in on the joke 
• Risk-taking and the benefit of being willing to say things that others won’t
• How surprise and delight lead to memorability and new customer acquisition
• Ways to resist branding mimicking and instead trusting your unique POV
• Burning down industry norms and writing your own rules

It’s a great chat and a great time (and we play a rousing game of Mascot Who? as well). For more from Evil Queen, you can head to shopevilqueen.com or on Instagram @evilqueen.