Meet Fred Brandstrader

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Fred Brandstrader a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Fred, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.

My generosity comes from lived experiences of having both received and provided opportunity, resources, and love. I learned at a young age that money is a tool not a destination, which lead me to learn how not to attach to it while still understanding the significance of using it properly. Through that I’ve learned it is important to not only be generous with our money but also with our time, energy and love.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

At the core of what it is that I do is experience curation. This takes form through weekly community events that engage various art mediums in the same space while offering people the opportunity to connect and grow together. Through the brand, A.New Variety, we have successfully established our own avenue of social gatherings in the city of Chicago. What makes these experiences special is that all skill levels are welcome at all times, all materials are provided, and no one is put down for how they express themselves, all while we support a local businesses that provide the space, food, and drinks.

For the readers, I would love for anybody passing through Chicago to come to SoulFull Chicago, in the Pilsen neighborhood, on any Thursday from 7-10pm. You will be welcomed with open arms!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Three qualities that I believe to have been most impactful so far in my journey are: active listening, grace, and consistency.

Active listening is easily the number one characteristic that I have heard reflected back to me from people I engage with. Being able to truly listen to what other people have to say will help anybody stand out, largely because it is not practiced often given its selfless nature.

Grace is crucial not only in our relationships with others, but also when dealing with oneself. We often can be hard on ourselves as we learn through our experiences, making it imperative for one to be graceful with oneself. If we don’t allow ourselves grace, then we cannot expect it from others nor be one to give it.

Consistency has proven to be an integral component to success. Whether we’re talking about exercise, mentorship, or community engagement, being consistent is absolutely essential to the success of whatever endeavor it is that we choose to pursuit.

The advice I’d like to share for those early in their journey is to understand your relationship with intuition. Being able to identify that guiding voice/feeling and learning how to trust it to your fullest extent is guaranteed to bring you exactly where you’re meant to be. This requires you to take risks, check in consistently throughout your experiences, and believe in yourself.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am absolutely looking for folks to partner and collaborate with. The type of people I am looking to collaborate with need to be open minded towards unconventional approaches to creating, prioritize the well-being of themselves and those around them, and be confident in what it is that they bring to the table.

I want to work with people who understand that things are not meant to be right or wrong, and instead meant to just be. We learn best through doing the things we want to see happen, and I have seen first-hand that simply going for it and detaching from the expectation of how will turn out leads to the most fulfilling end result. Ultimately, I want to be around people who enjoy the process of bringing ideas to life all across the world.

If you are interested in collaborating please reach out via email: studionewvariety@gmail.com

Contact Info:

• Website: https://workforceswop.my.canva.site/anewvariety-videoportfolio
• Instagram: @murrahj_ & @a_newvariety
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-brandstrader

Image Credits

Additional photos #1: @ShotbyMecc
#2: James Turner
#3-5: A.New Variety