S5E8 - Jencey Keeton
This week’s guest is Jencey Keeton, Founder at Sweet Tooth Hotel. Sweet Tooth Hotel is an immersive art gallery in Dallas, Texas. It is a platform for local artists and also special installations with outside artists. On the day of recording, Jencey announced the they were opening a new location in downtown which was very exciting! Find a link below if you’re in Dallas and get to the Sweet Tooth Hotel!
What makes Sweet Tooth Hotel “immersive”? Guests can touch everything in the gallery. The art is accessible to everyone and local artists are celebrated there, even before they are big on the coasts.
Jencey’s mom was an art teacher so she learned to appreciate and create art from her childhood. She is often involved in making the art at Sweet Tooth Hotel from cutting fabric and sewing to painting.
Before Sweet Tooth Hotel, Jencey was a working musician and then a digital marketer. Her marketing career took her to Fossil and then into commercial real estate. It happens that in learning about real estate and conscious capitalism, she saw an opportunity to rent a space in a construction office to create the first iteration of Sweet Tooth Hotel with her husband Cole. They drained their savings account and took a chance!
Sweet Tooth Hotel was a massive hit and they are expanding! The most recent exhibition was called Intangible which was an all-female exhibit of fiber art. What is fiber art? Think fabrics like crochet, pom poms and more! Also, Jencey offers some great advice to artists looking to get their work displayed.
We talked about what Jencey is doing outside of Sweet Tooth Hotel too delving into balance, health and music. She was in a touring folk pop band for 3 years. Then, her and her husband Cole formed French 75 and composed, recorded and performed together in collaboration with DJ Left/Right. Jencey is ready for her next music pursuit.
You’ll have to listen to learn more about all of this!
Note from Rabiah (Host):
It is SO cool to see people you know grow and do amazing things. Jencey and I worked together tangentially at Fossil and what struck with me about her was that she was one of the few people that was really kind who wasn’t in my direct department but she was also clearly talented and creative. I always enjoyed our interactions and have been following her path on LinkedIn for a while. It was really a pleasure to finally get to talk. I can’t wait to visit Sweet Tooth Hotel sometime! Check out the link below exclusively for More Than Work listeners.
Coworkers reunion. Rabiah and Jencey meet from their London and Dallas homes and catch up on Jencey’s ventures!
Find Jencey
Mentioned on the episode
Transcript
[00:04:13]
Rabiah (Host): This is More Than Work, the podcast reminding you that your self-worth is made up of more than your job title. Each week, I'll talk to a guest about how they discovered that for themselves. You'll hear about what they did, what they're doing and who they are. I'm your host, Rabiah. I work in IT, perform standup comedy, write, volunteer and of course podcast. Thank you for listening.
Hey everyone, so my guest this week is someone I worked with about seven years ago when I was working at Fossil. I was working on the Fossil dot com (fossil.com) website and she was in marketing at Fossil and we didn't really work together directly very much, but she was just someone that was cool to talk to when I worked there and I respected what she was doing, what her team was doing and not everyone there was cool, to be honest. It [00:05:13] had a good quote unquote culture, but not really a good practice of that culture.
So it was nice to connect with her and just stop by her desk and chat and ask questions and she would always answer them and really just was a kind person. And so that's why she's on the podcast now because she's someone that I always kept kind of an eye on, on LinkedIn to see what she was up to.
And she's done some cool stuff since I left there, she's founded an art gallery and we're going to get into all that. So I can't wait for you to hear just what this person's done, Jencey Keeton, because it's just awesome. And it's so great to get, to see what people you know evolve into doing, and then, um, I'm privileged to have this podcast so I can discuss it with them here and share their story with others.
And if you're in Dallas, that's where her gallery is. If you're ever there, then you can go check it out. And she even gave us an affiliate link for the podcast, one of my first. So that's awesome too.
Sometimes like to try to share a takeaway at the top of the podcast when I [00:06:13] stay focused and stay on message. And in this case, I think the thing that resonated with me a lot from our conversation was just, we talked a little bit about doing things you enjoy just for the enjoyment of them. Not because you're the best at them or not because you're going to then share on social media so everyone knows you did some. Or that you're going to try to sell, for example, if you're doing art or something like that, but just doing something because you like doing it. And that's something actually that I have struggled with probably in the last few months, just with comedy, because I started doing comedy because I really wanted to do do it and to try it. I mean, it wasn't to try to get a certain level of fame or anything like that.
It was just, I need to go try this. And I had fun. And then at some point, because of comparing myself to others and because of again, like maybe social media and it showing all the good stuff about everything and everyone's good experiences and all their victories, [00:07:13] I stopped enjoying it. I mean, I go and I do it a few nights a week and it's takes a lot of time and it takes money.
So I'm not making money at it, certainly. Um, but I wasn't enjoying it. And so one thing I told myself this year is that every gig. I do, I need to enjoy it. I need to have. And if nothing else happens, that's what I did, is have fun. And it's been working. I mean, it's been a big practice. It's almost like a mindfulness practice I have to do now but that's what I'm doing because it's so hard.
If you compare yourself to other people who have been doing it for, you know, six months versus me three years, and they're doing quote unquote better than, yeah, it's not going to be fun for me anymore because I'm going to be worried about what they're doing. But if I just worry about what I'm doing and set my objectives and my goals to do it and to have fun doing it, it's a lot better.
And so I found that at the gym too. Um, you know, I'm not in the same shape as other people, but if I'm competing against myself and trying to get better for myself [00:08:13] and better than the person I was last time I went, then it's easier cause I, I know who I'm competing against. I know what they've been up to.
I also know the truth. I don't think we know the truth about what everyone's going through just based on their social media accounts. And in fact, I know that's true. Last year, I did a show in the Fringe festivals here and it was really hard and I posted something vulnerable one day and I just said, Hey, this was a lot harder emotionally than I thought it would be.
Come check out the show. It's going to be the last time I do it. And it was the last time I did it. I am going to do another show, an iteration of that one, but not the exact same one. And a person who I was working with wrote to me and said, Hey, I don't think you should have put that "it was emotionally difficult. That's not going to sell tickets." Well, first of all, it did sell tickets, but second of all, someone else was trying to regulate how I felt and regulate what I should post about that and that really bothered me because I think telling someone else that [00:09:13] they should be censored and expressing their feelings on something really isn't helpful because the truth was, it was hard.
And the truth is a few people did reach out after that and say that they knew because it was hard for them too. And I think it's just important to share those things, but also going back to what I was saying, it's also important just to do things because you like doing them and because you want to. And so if you want to paint, you're not a very good painter.
It doesn't matter. Did you enjoy painting? Great. Uh, if I want to go cycling around the park, am I the fastest cyclist? No. People pass me all the time, but did I enjoy this cycling? Absolutely. And that's, what's important. So yeah, that's what I want you to take from it. And maybe, maybe this week you'll do something you enjoy write a poem, write a horrible haiku.
I think horrible haikus should be a hashtag, shouldn't it? Cause it sounds like. Anyway, I will let you get to listening to the episode and I hope you enjoy it. And I am recording this at 5:00 AM. So if I sound a bit tired or [00:10:13] sound like it's the first thing I'm saying all day, it is. So that's why, uh, thanks again for listening and, you know, share this like subscribe, review, everything.
I would love that. And again, I always say it, but I'd love to hear from you and I appreciate your time this week. Let's go.
Rabiah (Host): Hey everyone. So this week, my guest is Jencey Keeton. She's Founder at Sweet Tooth Hotel, and, we actually worked together a long time ago when I lived in Dallas and worked at Fossil together so I'm really excited to be talking to her about what she's been up to. So thanks for being on, Jencey.
Jencey Keeton: Yeah, thanks for having me on. I'm happy to see you again, even though it's virtually
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So where are you? Where are you at right now?
Jencey Keeton: Right now I'm in Dallas, Texas. I'm in my house and we're getting ready for a big freeze.
Rabiah (Host): Oh, yeah, I heard about that. That's so it shouldn't be like the one last year that was really awful though. Right?
Jencey Keeton: No. Yeah. This is only going to be like a quarter of an inch of drizzle so all the roads will shut down for [00:11:13] sure.
Rabiah (Host): um, I remember driving in Dallas during like a storm and realizing I'm not a good ice driver and I don't think anyone is so
Jencey Keeton: No, no one's prepared. we like it. It will just be shut in our homes and do lots of creative things, or just watch a bunch of TV and eat more food..
Rabiah (Host): And see, um, I remember one time seeing just watching the news during one of those storms and this car just kept trying to go up a ramp and sliding back down, and the news reporters were just basically laughing. And I was like, this is really good.
Jencey Keeton: Basically Dallas. No one knows how to drive in any kind of weather. I'm surprised the cars aren't actually exploding on the highway when they touched the ice. So.
Rabiah (Host): Amazing. Amazing. So, first of all, let's just talk about what you're doing now. You're a founder at Sweet Tooth Hotel. What, what, what are you really the founder of?
Jencey Keeton: Yeah, so Sweet Tooth Hotel, people always ask because it's obviously got the word "hotel" in the name and we're [00:12:13] actually an immersive art gallery and I've been, uh, running Sweet Tooth Hotel, this crazy circus, for four years now. So it's, it's been a crazy journey because when you really think about it, running an art gallery in general, and then also, I went from digital marketing to in-person you know, everything and, made it through the pandemic. Um, that's still happening. So yes Sweet Tooth Hotel is basically a platform for local artists and that's really how we started it is we had a lot of friends in Dallas. I say we, so my husband Cole, and I founded this together. And we have a music background and a lot of my friends are artists and I was hearing them talk about how they couldn't get gallery shows because seeing in Texas, really what happens is if you are popular east coast, west coast, and you've had a lot of success there, then it's like, okay, Dallas is [00:13:13] going to claim you.
And they're like, oh no, but they're really from Dallas. And we've always loved them, even though it's not been the case. So a lot of our friends couldn't, um, find gallery shows locally and there wasn't an immersive art gallery in Dallas. Of course, there's a lot of great museums and contemporary galleries that are definitely bringing, you know, immersive work.
So we were really the first ones to work with local artists and present something that was a little bit more accessible to everybody. Um, because in our gallery, you can touch everything. While at the time when we opened and you could touch everything.
Rabiah (Host): And is that a requirement to basically, or do people have pieces that you maybe don't touch or you don't interact with the same way.
Jencey Keeton: Yeah. Originally, I think we were considering how many people were going to be touching something. And so originally everything was made to last a very short amount of time. Our first pop-up was only [00:14:13] going to be 30 days. And we figured out, okay, everything is falling apart. And so every single day we were going in and like painting things and gluing things.
Because if you think about it, if you have, let's say a thousand people coming through and everybody's touching one spot over and over and over and over, even if it's metal, it's still going to have some wear over time. And what we also discovered is our guests really like to I guess do things that you tell them not to do.
So even though we say like, don't climb on this, don't sit on this. Uh, on Instagram we get tagged in all the photos. So we see everything that happens behind the scenes because you're tagging us or your location tagging us, or you're hashtagging us and we find it all. So then, um, it becomes this very funny part of figuring out how to make art that is basically going to be. Climbed on licked on not licked on, but touched.[00:15:13]
It's all really high touch and we still try to stay true to the art forms so it's not like we're making industrial things like cars that are meant to have that wear and tear. So we definitely work with all of the artists now to figure out like, okay, there's going to be so many people coming through, how are they going to interact with your piece?
And just long-term, you know, how, how are we also going to maintain it.
Rabiah (Host): Well, that's, I don't know, that's kind of interesting because I know I've actually, you know, in museums, I mean, you definitely they're always ropes or something that stopped you from getting too close or there's someone who's telling you. And I do think that's funny that people just tag you and almost like, oh, look, I, I did this and probably innocently some of them.
Did you hear about that Banksy land? I can't remember exactly what it was called now, but we're basically. It was a place you could go that was a Banksy kind of thing and the idea is that you don't stand in line, so people would stand in lines, they think they should, but you could really cut in line and it wasn't a big deal.
And they had kind
Jencey Keeton: [00:16:13] Oh, wow.
Rabiah (Host): yeah. Like place where people, if they weren't, following the rules, it was actually acceptable that people are so naturally like used to following rules and that
my friends were telling me about that. Yeah.
Jencey Keeton: Is it, was it the one that was the actual Banksy verified? Cause I know there was another one that popped up that was like Banksy, but they had pieces from him or her , that, um were, I guess someone had purchased them and they were showing them.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, so the place was called dismal land and you could basically just, I guess, break rules and it was okay. And I don't know. I think that would, for someone like me, I'm very much a rule follower. I don't know. I guess if the rules were to break them, I could do it. But if I didn't know that going in there no way,
Jencey Keeton: You'd be looking at everybody. Like, they're not supposed to be doing that.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. Basically.
Jencey Keeton: That's gotta be an operational nightmare too.
Rabiah (Host): Can you imagine? Yeah. They can do what they want. And it's like, well, what am I here for? You know, I guess it's maybe an easy job, but, [00:17:13] so do you display any of your own art in the gallery or in the immersive place or no?
Jencey Keeton: That's a great question. Because when we started, we were working with a group called built by bender and so Cole and I were concepting and bringing, you know, overall concepts to them. And then we curate artists as well. But over the past four years, it's been the Sweet Tooth Hotel team. So it's me. Um,
Nora Rodriguez, who has housed with Knoll and he's a fashion designer.
And so a lot of the work that you see in there, we'll take some of the rooms ourselves. And so there's Sweet Tooth Hotel rooms. While I don't always go under my own name and say like, Oh, I'm an artist I made this, a lot of the things in there we're painting and making and sewing. And, um, like we have one installation called "Happy Place" and we found out that there was a stuffed animal shortage happening.
Rabiah (Host): Oh.
Jencey Keeton: Who knew? And so we [00:18:13] decided, oh, we're going to make our own stuffed animals. And so we made these smiley faces and we made 300 hand cut, sewn them together and then, um, actually printed on them, all the smiley faces by hand with paint.
And so that's something that we are making a lot of the work that's going in there.
Um, I've started doing a lot of painting, like our current location. There's icing drips that are coming down. And so it was funny because I was like, okay, I guess I'm just going to paint these icing drips. And it's like 30 feet across. So it's probably like just a little bit, you know, but, Um,
my mother is an art teacher and so I grew up learning these skills.
But then went into music. So play piano and of course was in additional marketing. And so they just haven't been skills that I've had to use in a while. And so it was funny because even just using the brush to make like the circles for the drips, I was like, oh Yeah. I can make a circle. You know, it's just [00:19:13] rediscovering, um, how to do a lot of these things.
And it has made me think about what, what my work would look like outside of Sweet Tooth Hotel and hoping at some point, I'll get time to pause and stop and actually work on some of that and just make things to make them and not make things to necessarily show people or have them for business or something like that.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, but actually just for either you or for some other purpose.
Jencey Keeton: Yeah. Just for fun. I think it's really hard for people now to make things just for fun because now it's like, "What's my personal brand?" And "How am I going to make money off this?" Or, you know, "It's going to turn into a big business" or something like that. And we lose that, just making things to make them sometimes, which is still important.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, there is that idea that it, even with the podcast, I mean, I'm not making money from it. And a few people have said, well, how are you going to monetize it? I mean, of course I would love to just get money for [00:20:13] doing something I love doing, but it's also the point of me making it wasn't that. And I think that's hard for people to understand because it's like, even with everything, people put stuff on Etsy or they put stuff on Facebook marketplace or wherever they put it, you know?
And then it's like the whole idea to that. Are you good at something? Just because you're doing it doesn't mean you're good at it. Maybe you just enjoy it. And it's from like being a kid, right? We're taught. To be good at something is important rather than just to enjoy doing things maybe.
Jencey Keeton: Yeah, there's still a sense of like, um, Doing what you're interested in. And I mean, I think when you're a kid, you are pushed into all these other like things that maybe you're not great at art, and you're better at math or you're not good at math and you're better at art. And so I've been thinking about that a lot lately about just being able to slow down and also not having to share.
I mean, definitely with social, it's just sharing all your work and putting the news out [00:21:13] there and making sure not only are sharing it, but it's like the best content, you know? And so I like also seeing the shift with people, sharing that it's not necessarily this polished, beautiful thing anymore that they're sharing kind of reality. Um, cause I do think, you know, going through 2020 there's fatigue from everybody of just, okay, your life's not perfect, you know, And so I, I feel like I've, I've been sharing less on my account since we started Sweet Tooth, because it's really been about sharing everything that the artists are doing, because a lot of these artists, they are creating simply to create and have shows and, you know, monetizing, it is like secondary to everything that they're doing.
And it's how hard is it to be an artist and or to be any type of creative and to be making something. But also [00:22:13] you're the accountant and you're the marketing manager and you kind of have to do everything. And I think people talk a lot about that, uh, you don't get taught that when you're going to school, you know, to be a creative or to be an artist.
Rabiah (Host): You don't get taught any of that, for sure. So going and clearly you love that you're doing this now. I mean, this is something you're passionate about. How long were you thinking about doing this? I mean, when I met you, you were doing digital marketing, which now I'm doing, which is funny because that was definitely not my role.
And I know that's a hard job. I can say, just having done it for a few months now. It's really difficult. How did you kind of, I guess, go from doing digital marketing to this business, which is partly that I'm sure, but a lot different and kind of, how long were you thinking about doing it?
Jencey Keeton: The crazy thing about Fossil is that there wasn't really an events team. And so. I was working on digital [00:23:13] marketing and because, uh, my team was also managing influencer relationships,
we started activating with all of the media partners.
And so Refinery 29, um, their pop-up 29 rooms, who in my opinion was the first kind of mass like mainstream, art pop-up. And I'm trying to remember. that word. You know, that word where, marketers are using it now, or it's like digital merges with a physical, Oh, it's called phygital.
Rabiah (Host): Oh, my gosh.
Jencey Keeton: It's called "phygital".
Rabiah (Host): Great.
Jencey Keeton: So now there's term. But I think that we were kind of those pioneers of that because all of a sudden you've got this social team and because we're covering social or we're going and doing all of the events too, the events are all experiential. So 29 Rooms, Fossil had a room and you probably remember it was "Calling all Curious", was the [00:24:13] campaign.
And there were these keyholes in the room. So you went in and you opened all the doors. But when I went up there, um, for some reason they thought that the fossil brand was like grandma Brianne or something for some reason, so there was a baby's breath everywhere.
And it was like in, you know, baby's breath has that smell like flower smell.
Rabiah (Host): I actually worked in floral. I worked at proflowers dot com for like almost 10 years. And I, that was one thing I hated was that stuff and it wasn't used all the time, but I hated it when it was, so yes, I know that smell.
Jencey Keeton: Yeah, it was so popular. And, and I feel like it's not anymore and it, but we got in and it was dried. It wasn't even like fresh. So we started running all over the city trying to buy new stuff to put in the room because the team, their grinder in 2019, they had a lot going on. And so they were like, we can't just like. Re redesigned your room right [00:25:13] now. Um, so that was really the first one. And then, uh, from there, I just really saw like that, that merge from the brand side of, oh, how cool, like these brains are activating. And so my marketing brain had always approached it from that end. And when I left fossil, I somehow got into commercial real estate and was marketing, doing all the marketing and commercial real estate.
And my CEO, um, the pro the company's called Trademark Property. And he had a model of development called "conscious place". And he basically developed it after attending the Conscious Capitalism conference and worked with the CEO of Whole Foods at the time. And the model was basically that when you build a new place, you talk to everybody who lives in the community and you figure out what do they need. So do they need a green space? Do the Girl Scouts need somewhere to sell cookies, like a pavilion. And then you take all of that and then you develop it as a resource within the shopping [00:26:13] center or the mixed use development. And so, Victory Park is a neighborhood in Dallas that like it has the big arena.
So all the big games happen like the Mavericks play there, all the big concerts happen. And that was one of the properties we were working on. So there was a space down at the end that was a construction office. And I went in and it was, it was going to be available. And I don't even know why I had started to get this idea of like, I should do one of these art pop-ups, but I think because I had just come from experiential and then I was in real estate.
And then all of a sudden I had access to all of this knowledge about what spaces were available and like how leases were structured. I found this space and, approached my CEO and was like, Hey, I really want to do this art pop-up. And he loves public art. He loves art. So he was like, oh, you gotta do it.
Like, it's going to be so cool. So, the funny part is that a lot of people were like, oh, so you did that funded by the real estate company. And it's like, no, [00:27:13] somehow he just like, let me do this like side hustle thing. And I signed a lease and Cole and I, drained our savings account. we were like, please like, please like 200 people show up,
like people show up we can just like make our money back. And, the construction office had a window. So when you walked in, it was like a wall and then it had a window cut out, kind of like an old school motel. That by the hour, know, with those
Yeah.
And so I was like, Oh, cool.
This looks like a hotel. And there were already walls up because they had offices in there.
And so I was like, what if this is like a hotel? And then you check in, but then as you go into the rooms, it's all art instead of like the hotel rooms. And, I don't know. I just, I love like abandoned buildings and, you know, that nostalgia of like the roadside motel and the hotels. And so we, we went with that.
And originally when [00:28:13] we opened, we had Kendra Scott as a partner we had, uh, Yeah,
leather ology. And so when we announced it was like this massive explosion and tickets sold out in literally four days.
And so we were like, uh-oh and it was only supposed to be open for 30 days and we ended up extending it and then extending it and then eventually had to close it because everything was not meant to last that long.
Um, it still was art. And so it's still like a lot of it is very delicate. Like we have things that you know, we have like neons in there and people were like touching the neons and breaking the glass.
Um, yeah, I was like, why? Why, would you touch that? Um, but, uh, but we did learn a lot from that one and we ended up there was an empty space next to us. And because that one was so popular, we were able to [00:29:13] take the space next to us and expand. And then,
I was like, well, we might as well add a bar. So we went ahead and applied for a liquor license and added a bar to that location too. And, uh, yeah,
it was, it was really fun. I learned a lot of things that I've never want to do again.
Rabiah (Host): Hmm...yeah.
Jencey Keeton: But, you know, that location, we rotated four exhibits. And the last exhibit we had there was called Intangible and it was an all-female fiber art installation. I had never really looked into all of the amazing facets of fiber art.
But, you know, every, every single, Uh, fiber art technique was in there from like crochet to pom poms, to knitting, to, you know, just anything you can think of latch hooking. And we partnered with an organization called Craft Yarn Council and they, their main goal is to, promote yarn and [00:30:13] fiber art and, um, like art is really beneficial for your mental health.
Um, that was something during the pandemic. A lot of people picked up crocheting, um, and art in general is really great for your mental. And so they helped curate the artist. And that was our first installation that we brought national artists in. And we brought one of the biggest yarn bombers in the US. Her name is London Kaye.
And she came in and did two big installations. Um, she's known for doing a lot of crochet. It's almost like a crochet illustration. And yarn bombing is a form of graffiti. It's a form of street art because essentially the artists are still going out into the street and they're placing it without permission, like on fences. And in New York, she was attaching these like yarn puddles coming out of water pipes on the street.
And so that was, that was really cool, to, to work with these national artist and a Crafte Yarn Council, their partners donated more than [00:31:13] 2 million linear feet of yarn.
Rabiah (Host): Wow.
Jencey Keeton: So just, it was, I think it's something like 8,000 football fields of yarn, like back and forth.
Rabiah (Host): God that's incredible.
Jencey Keeton: um, So, yeah, that was our last installation and we're actually just announcing that we're moving into a bigger space in the middle of downtown Dallas.
Rabiah (Host): Amazing. Well, congratulations on that. That's really
Jencey Keeton: Thank you.
Rabiah (Host): So, and I guess long story short, then you, you moved out of your job and. Corporate
Jencey Keeton: Oh yeah, I guess I skipped that part.
Rabiah (Host): no, no, that's fine. No, but that's
Jencey Keeton: part.
Rabiah (Host): no, but that's, that's great. I mean, I like, I, I don't know. This is, ah, this is so cool. Cause I didn't know this story.
So sometimes I'll I'll know the guests really well. And so I'll know what they're going to say, but I had no idea. So this was really cool. Um, so yeah. So for you though, can I, is it safe to say that you were not unhappy in what you were doing in the first place [00:32:13] or were you unhappy when you made this transition?
Jencey Keeton: Yeah, that was a hard part. I really, I still love the company and I love my job and I love my team. And so it wasn't really like I ever wanted to leave or wanting to do something else. It was just that this opportunity came up
and it was either. Okay. Let's just say, oh, this was a great success. And that's the end of it.
Or okay, let's take a risk and really see where this is going to go. And I've always been a risk taker. So, um, it was hard to tell my, my boss, you know, that I was leaving and, and I didn't really want to go. And I know he didn't really want me to leave either. Uh, but we both knew that this was really an industry that was starting to grow and it's, it's still very early and it hasn't quite developed as much as it would have if in persons like events and things, wouldn't have [00:33:13] all shut down. And so I think that you'll probably see, and I don't think it's going to be 2023. I think it's going to be 2024 where bigger brands and people with massive budgets are going to start to pick up again and invest in experiential.
You have companies like Museum of Ice Cream and Color Factory that and Meow Wolf. I mean, they're, they're the biggest. They already had a lot of funding. And so people who already have this massive investment, it's like, you can't stop the machine. You're still expanding and opening all of your other locations and you're doing it safely, you know?
As much as you can, uh, which one?
Rabiah (Host): The what's the one that had that, the bigger organization that you're saying?
Jencey Keeton: Meow Wolf.
Have you heard of that
Rabiah (Host): yeah. Yeah. I think so. Actually, now that I've heard the name. Yeah. Okay.
Jencey Keeton: So they started out in Santa Fe
and they were like this weird little artists collective.
Yeah.
Rabiah (Host): heard about that then. Yes, exactly Santa Fe, but, okay. Cool.
Jencey Keeton: Yeah. So now they have, um, they opened this huge thing in [00:34:13] Vegas called Omega Mart and it's like a weird grocery store and you can buy everything on the shelves. And so there's like weird things on the shelves. Uh, but then like if you open, then you go through like the slushie machine or whatever. It's like different places.
You can go back into the art and then there's, um, a story of a girl who's missing. And so you can go through like her things and her room. And there were people who live that were so there's, there's always these crazy backstories with Meow Wolf that you could probably spend like all day in there, if you really wanted to like trying to figure it out. And then, Museum of Ice Cream, you know, I would call them the pioneers of industry. They, they really were the first, like truly like Instagram pop up. And so sweet tooth hotel falls really in the middle of a Meow Wolf and a Museum of Ice Cream, because everything we present as art, we're not an Instagram museum or like a selfie museum or anything [00:35:13] like that.
We present immersive art. And so you're going to go see art. Yeah. You can take photos and you can interact with it, but it's not a bunch of like photo backdrops or something.
Rabiah (Host): Right. Yeah. Oh, that's cool. So I guess if, maybe how do, how did the artists, um, come to you? I mean, you, I know you just said about the fabric art is that. Yeah, that fiber art . So like that was probably, I guess, an idea that you worked on with that organization, but do artists reach out to you or do, do you just find them or how has that process?
Jencey Keeton: Yeah, so with, uh, with our fiber art installation, Craft Yarn Council reached out and this, this was always a funny story to me because Sarah who works there, she sent an email and she was like, Hey, you know, would you guys want to do like a fiber art installation? We could give you like a quilt or something, you know, something small. And I was like, no, we're going to do the whole install, fiber art. And so [00:36:13] that was one that I'm, you know, I'm so thankful that she reached out. There's a lot of artists and I hope anybody who's listening to this. If you are an artist, um, there's a lot of artists who reach out, but the artists who. Are really successful with being able to work with us and really with any buddy in general, they put a concept together before they reach out.
And so we always try to find artists that either have concepts that they've been wanting to do, but they haven't had the resources or the space to do it. Or also, um, we'll follow artists for a while. And so even though an artist is, is amazing and they're doing their own shows, it doesn't always mean that they're ready for a full scale installation because that's a lot of work.
So finding artists, uh, it really has been a combination of we've seen artists or artists reach out to us or organizations reach out to us and I'm always going to different art fairs and [00:37:13] shows. Um, and of course, Instagram is always a great way. A lot of the artists we work with, they have friends that are artists too.
So then they'll have group shows and we'll, this is a group show. But we really look for artists that have a very distinct aesthetic. So they are making original work because there are a lot of contemporary artists and you might see them making more like pop art and doing celebrity portraits and things like that.
But all of our artists are, you know, th they have a mission and a statement, you know, behind their work and what they're doing. And it's, it's been awesome because sometimes when the artists come in to do their installs, everybody starts collaborating. And so all of a sudden, like someone's in someone else's room or we're in another room helping put together, um, made my mom is an artist that is in our current installation called rewind and she made 300.
Snails out of clay and painted them all like 300 and they're tiny. [00:38:13] And then she needed to put all the flowers inside of these snail shells. So there's flowers that stick out over the top of it and kind of cover this sort of like hidden. So I thought with her for a couple hours and just was like gluing flowers and snails for like hours and hours and hours. Um, but it's really fun. I mean, I think. Anybody who's working a corporate job, you have this sense of like, I'm never finished and with art at some point, even though if you think it's not finished, you have to finish. And so there's something about creating and then, and then being like, okay, it's done. I'm not picking it up.
It's not continuing it's on a never ending email or something like that. Um, that's just been really awesome to participate in. And our goal is a lot of the artists we work with that, um, Some of them are already fully, um, you know, they don't have a side job like their full-time artists. This is what they're doing.
And some of them are really taking that step into becoming a [00:39:13] full-time artist. And they're trying to leave, you know, their corporate job or their day job or whatever that might be. And so this is a really good way for them to do that because not only do they get paid to create the installation, they also have this mass amount of visibility from everybody.
This.
Rabiah (Host): Hmm. Oh, that's so cool. Yeah, this is, this is great. And so I guess one thing though, like any job, I mean, even though this is something you, you know, founded with your husband and that you know, something you want went to be doing it's for you guys and for the artists, there's still like that whole idea of things becoming overwhelming or burnout or whatever
and so how have you kind of worked on, or what are you doing outside of work maybe that is helping you with balance or even if you're not totally balanced, like what are you try to do? Cause I know sometimes for me, depending on the week, if you asked me about balance, I'm going to have like a really not a good answer for you, you know?
Jencey Keeton: The hardest part is patience for me. [00:40:13] That's one of my biggest challenges and it's something that I've been trying to work on how to not rush in and how to not take everything as an. Like failure. If one little thing happens or like there's a bump in the road. And a lot of that comes with experience because in industries that you may not be as familiar with, sometimes you run into things and to you, it seems like a really big deal.
But then talking with, you know, other people who are helping mentor, they're like, don't worry about it. Like, you'll be fine. That's nothing, you know, cause they've been through it and it's like, Yeah.
it's, it's sucks, but you're going to make it through it. You know, if my increase your timeline or it might cost a little bit more, but you know, these are just things that happen lately.
Um, so this is my 40th birthday year,
Rabiah (Host): Oh, yeah. Well, I know I did that two years ago and yeah, I know it there's something with 40 though. And I think anyone listening to, and if you are 40 [00:41:13] or over, you know, this already, but if you're not, I thought it was like no big deal. Right? I'm like, ah, No, no, like right before on the Dawn of it, it was like, I hated everything.
I didn't want to party. I didn't want to. And my sister had the same thing happen to her and she's like, oh, you were right. So how are you doing with it?
Jencey Keeton: Yeah.
it's, it's this thing where you're like, I'm going to turn 40 and then you're like, what, how am I 40? Like you're in your thirties, you're still in that kind of phase where you're like, I'm 30, but everyone thinks I'm 20 when you're 40. You're just like, I am actually 40.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah.
Jencey Keeton: I'm like, I don't even want to pretend that I'm in my twenties because I see people in their twenties and I'm like, what are you doing?
Rabiah (Host): Yeah.
Jencey Keeton: So I think I'm doing okay. But I think, I, I think I have to pass into that phase of like, okay. Yeah.
I'm not shopping in the juniors department anymore. That's not where I am, [00:42:13] but like you're not shopping in like the misses department.
Rabiah (Host): No.
Jencey Keeton: I think there's still, I think society still has a little bit of a weird gap for women who are like 40 to 60 maybe.
Um, cause it used to be like, oh, you're 30, you're done. And then it was like, Oh 30 is the new 20. And then I think people are trying to say like 40 is the new 30. And it's like, that is not what's happening. So Cole and I have been following a lot of David Sinclair's talks and David Sinclair is one of the, medical leads at Harvard. And he's been doing a lot of research on aging
Rabiah (Host): yeah.
Jencey Keeton: and it's like, aging, do we have to age? And there's chronologically aging, but then there's also biologically aging.
And so internally, um, you have a. I'm not gonna be able to say it. Right. But internally he had an analogy where it's like, okay, imagine yourselves are like a CD. And when you have a CD and it's really scratched up, you can't play [00:43:13] it. But sometimes you can get some kind of like CD Polish and you can Polish the CD and you can get all the scratches out of it.
And then you can play it again and you can read the data. So your cells essentially started breaking down and you have all of these scratches. And so they're not able to communicate data. And part of that data is also just like in repairing yourself and repairing your body. So , he recommends.
And, um, and, and I'm not giving any medical advice at all right now, I say that upfront. But essentially it's, uh, just things you can start taking that really start to help you supposedly, you know, biologically, uh, not age. And so we've been taking that and we've been taking, um, athletic greens.
So like, you know, you take all your vitamins and.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. Yeah. They're on a lot of my favorite podcasts to advertise for them. Maybe I should tell them, Hey, we've mentioned it now. Can we?
Jencey Keeton: Yeah. you should. Yeah. you should definitely Athletic Greens. They, [00:44:13] um, you know, you could get everything first thing in the morning. And a lot of my friends, they laugh because at the end of the day, or in the morning, you have your pill case.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. Yeah.
Jencey Keeton: 40 or like clack clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, like all your pills.
Um, but with this, like you can kind of get everything at one time. And so we we've been trying to do those things. And I've had a lot of friends that when they hit 40, they quit drinking. And that was one thing I was, I don't know if I can quit drinking, like ever, but, you know, then that, it's kind of a thing where it's like, I dunno, maybe you reached an age or you're in your new investment is in your health and in your body because you have that luxury when you were younger just kind of like throw everything away for a little while. Um, So I think that's my journey. I'm resisting it, uh, very, very much, but
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, no, I get it. It's the, yeah, the whole 40 thing. And when people like, people will tell me, oh, you don't look forty, look young, you look younger, you look like in your mid thirties. And it's like, well, that's not young. Is it? [00:45:13] You know what I mean? First of all, you're lying. I know what I look like. But second of all, it's like, you haven't really taken much time off of it.
You know? That's like, if someone's 65, oh, you don't like that. You look 60. Well that's. Like who cares? You know,
Jencey Keeton: And you're like, why does it not? I don't know, And then it's funny because it's like, so
what are you saying? It's 40 old like, oh, I don't look old. Like,
Rabiah (Host): I know.
I know.
Jencey Keeton: Like eating anything with age are always like, okay. But my grandma was one of those people that just, you know, up through her nineties, she acted like a 12 year old, you know, she was always happy and always had so much joy.
And so. You know, mentally, it's just as important to be in a good headspace. Cause a lot, you know, you see a lot of people, like you start to get really negative as they get older. And so I think just staying positive and me learning patience.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. Yeah, well, [00:46:13] so are you doing anything, you mentioned that you were in music and I think you do have a project right now. So you can talk, talk a little bit about your music and your career with music?
Jencey Keeton: Yeah. So my old band, I toured for, uh, three years full time and we were a band for seven years and we did some pretty big US tours. I think my favorites tour was with a band called Metric. And they're Canadian band. But they had some New York members and they had been a band forever and they released an album called Fantasies.
And it was a hit because it was on the radio and they were like, we never got on the radio. So they were calling, sold out all across the us and into Canada. And we were on their tour for a little while. And then when I got married, I was not in that band anymore. That band was with my ex and we started the band and then we broke up while we were in the band we broke up. And then we got signed.
So then we had to stay in the band.
Rabiah (Host): man.[00:47:13]
Jencey Keeton: It was like a whole thing. So, um, so I started writing music at home and. I really am. My old name was kind of folk pop. And so I really wanted to work on something that was a little bit more electronic and Cole was a drummer. And so that really helps because he was able to help craft all the beats and I play piano and sing.
And so I was writing a lot of the songs on piano and then adding all the instruments digitally, so strings and, um, every, anything symphonic, you know, now you can replicate digitally. Unfortunately, it sounds the same most time, um, for better or for worse. And so we re we started working on that and it, it became really fun and like a passion project for us.
And we named that band French 75 and we have a producer that we met. He's a DJ. And he goes by Left/Right as his DJ name. I don't know if that's cool to say my DJ name or whatever, but that's his DJ name. Left/right. And [00:48:13] then he has another project called You Us We Them that's really more geared towards, uh, composing, like for commercials and short films and scores and things like that.
And so, because he is of the background where he was classically trained and knows music composition, but then also he knows like what's going to drop, like be hot in a club, he was great to work with with us really being songwriters. But at the end of the day, wanting like this kind of bigger electronic sound.
So we, we started down that path and we were playing a lot of shows, releasing music. And then when Sweet Tooth Hotel started, it was like that took over everything. And that was kind of the creative outlet. But now we're, we're looking at getting back into music. Part of what French 75 was really doing- it was that creative outlet where we would make music videos to go with the songs. And a lot of those music videos, then we would make like the sequel to that video. And so we've been releasing all these different pieces and [00:49:13] parts. And so that was really a creative outlet where for me, it was like, even if we're not playing shows, we're making music videos and we're being creative.
And, with music, I talked with a lot of musicians about the. Sometimes it's hard to write if you are happy because a lot of this kind of commentary and angst is coming from, I mean, it's like age old, you know, heartbreak or loss. And so I think pop songs can come from really happy places, but for some people, like it is hard to create if you don't have like conflict or angst in your life. So I've been trying to get back into it, but I think it's one of those things where it's like, what do I have to say? What do I want to say? Um, but, but Yeah.
we have music up on, like Spotify and we have stuff on YouTube. So people can go listen to it.
We also have a [00:50:13] full remix album. So we released the regular album and then our friend Dylan, he goes by mouth mold, and then he released a remix at the same time. So it's cool to have both versions of the songs because when we were playing live, we would play the regular version and then we would go into the remixes and, and also it helped because it made her set longer.
So we could actually play for like an hour and stuff, like 30 minutes. But the, I, I really love all that music and music is cool cause you can, you can tie it to some part of your life and really know like, what was I doing then? Um, it just instantly puts you back in that place. Um, so a lot of good memories..
Rabiah (Host): nice. That's awesome. So it's good that you're able to keep the music going, but also do this, the art now. So, I know that you've set up a affiliate link for this podcast. So I'll be posting and talking about Sweet Tooth [00:51:13] Hotel but can you talk a little bit more about the big news you had today about your downtown location?
Jencey Keeton: this is really the craziest thing ever. And we're so excited about it. We have a space in the middle of downtown it's on Elm Street. So for anyone who's familiar with Dallas, I mean, it's right in the heart of downtown. It's down the street from the Majestic Theater which is a historic beautiful venue. And we just announced our cocktail lounge partner to it's Calirosa Tequila, and Calirosa is founded by Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo um, and they are the entire launch sponsor.
So they have a tequila that's pink because it's aged in red wine barrels. Um, and so it turns the tequila pink and it's really cool. They have an añejo um, so yeah, we'll, we'll be opening, sometime in 2022. We'll have nine art gallery spaces, a gift shop. Our gift shop, we always rotate out local brands and artists.
And so that's [00:52:13] always available to have pop-ups. So there's still a component to the pop-up. Um, but the biggest thing is we have a 10 year lease so talking about age, I was like, I'll be 50 our lease is over.
Um, but we really are invested in, you know, the art community and the creative community, and we're invested in downtown. They've been awesome to work with. So yeah.
that's big news that just happened today.
Rabiah (Host): That's, that's really great. That's exciting. And that means that I will eventually be able to come there to and visit. So that's
Jencey Keeton: good.
Yes. If you come back to Dollison sometime in the next 10 years,
Rabiah (Host): yeah, I'll be.
Jencey Keeton: we'll be. there.
Rabiah (Host): Good. Well, that's good. So does that mean people should wait 10 years to do something, but yeah. Oh, that's awesome.
Cool. All right. Well, do you have any advice or mantra that you like to share with others?
Jencey Keeton: I think the biggest advice that was given to me and that I followed throughout my career is to [00:53:13] really do the work that you want to be doing. And I heard people all the time say I quit my job and I did this and it's very easy for them to sit there. Successful and, and give that advice. However, if there is something that you love to do and you want to take that risk, then just do it now, because if that's the work that you're putting out there, then that's the work that people are going to engage you for and hire you for.
And so I say just don't wait, because life is really short.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, I agree. And, and that's one thing that this podcast is meant to do is to encourage people, to try the thing, do the thing, whatever it is, however they can, you know, so yeah, that's awesome.
Rabiah (Host): so I have a set of questions called the fund five, and they're just five questions I ask everybody. The first one, what's the oldest t-shirt you have and still wear?
Jencey Keeton: My dad has all these concert t-shirts and [00:54:13] so I have one and it's one of those baseball tees with like the dark arms and the white. And it's a Doobie Brothers concert t-shirt. I don't even know what the Doobie Brothers sing, but I wear it.
Rabiah (Host): It's Michael McDonald. Yeah, look, you'll have.
Jencey Keeton: I should really know that.
Rabiah (Host): Oh, awesome. Well, that's cool. That's good. Um, all right. And if every day was really Groundhog's Day, like it kind of felt, especially when, during the lockdown part of the pandemic, what song would you have your alarm set to play every morning?
Jencey Keeton: I've always really loved the movie, The Royal Tennenbaums. And a song Stephanie Says, and I believe it's by The Velvet Underground, but it has a line and it says she's not afraid to die. Her friends All call her Alaska. And like, I just love that line. I love that song. And it's just a really like mellow chill, sweet songs.
Um, so I think it was be that one side note. It actually is Groundhog's Day today.
Rabiah (Host): It is you're right. [00:55:13] February 2nd when we're recording this and this will come out probably in March, but Groundhog's Day, so shout out to, uh, bill Murray, really I guess, right? Why not? Why not always, always get a mention bill Murray. Uh, alright. Uh, coffee or tea or neither.
Jencey Keeton: Both coffee in the morning and then, uh, matcha latte in the afternoon.
Rabiah (Host): nice. And do you take your coffee in any certain way?
Jencey Keeton: I always make it in a French press and then oat milk for the coffee. We have a for author, so, and then cinnamon on top, um, cinnamon is my sugar replacement.
Rabiah (Host): That's good. Yeah, that's great. Cool. All right. And can you think of something that just makes you laugh every time you think of it or has made you laugh? Sorry. Did you cry at recently? Kind of that you can talk about on a podcast.
Jencey Keeton: So, this is it's funny to me because you have to know my dad. So my dad was from Thailand and we took him to go visit his family. And he's like [00:56:13] pretty stern dad. And I always think about.
this comment because we stayed in a hotel room and we bought all these weird, like Korean face masks and apparently, I don't know what's happens in Thailand, but apparently my dad engaged in some recreational drugs and came back to the motel and then we put these face masks on him and he, we have video of him like walking around the hotel and he's like very dark and this like white face mask.
he's just like making fun of everybody. So, um, I'll have to send you the video because he was just like cracking himself up and it's like, me and my husband and my brother just like watching him, like going crazy with the face mask on.
But
Rabiah (Host): Great. That's good.
That sounds fun. Alright. Awesome. And then the last question who inspires you right now?
Jencey Keeton: You know, um, my. I was like, I guess this is not cliche, but maybe cliche, but not cliche. But, my husband [00:57:13] Cole and I work a lot together on all kinds of projects. And so he just started a new career in it's something that, um, an industry he hasn't been in. And they just had a like an ad or a billboard go up on the NASDAQ tower in the middle of New York.
And so he's working on this new brand it's called Lacework. And so it's been really inspiring to watch him on his journey. It's a little bit, um, of a split from mine. He's really, you know, going into some big industries and things like that. But I think just having a partner in general, whether it's, you know, a family member or a husband or a friend or whatever, it's important to find somebody who inspires you that you can work with on a day to day. So that for me, like he's always been an inspiration and kind of lifting me up when I don't have patience.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. Oh, that's nice. I like that. It's not actually, I don't think it's a cliche. I mean, people yeah will feel weird. I think when they say someone in their life, they admire, but I think it's kind of nice to be able to surround ourselves [00:58:13] with people we do admire, you know?
Jencey Keeton: Yeah. And people that can, you know, be mentors and be inspiration. Um, I think a lot of people started to really look at like who their friends are and who they're hanging out with when they stopped to slow down, um, 2020/2021. And I know I've had a lot of friends be like, oh, I cut them out just
Rabiah (Host): yeah,
Jencey Keeton: and form better relationships and healthier relationships. So I think that's important.
Rabiah (Host): yeah, definitely. All right, cool. So if people want to find you, where should they go.
Jencey Keeton: They can go to sweet tooth hotel dot com (sweettoothhotel.com) and luckily having unique name like that. All of our social handles are at sweet tooth hotel (@sweettoothhotel). And, , personally, I also have a really a unique name. So you can go to at Jencey J E N C E Y, and find me on social channels too.
Rabiah (Host): Cool. Awesome. Well, Jesse, this has been great. It's really nice to see you talk to you and just hear about what you've been up [00:59:13] to. This is awesome. So congratulations to you on the Downtown dallas location
Jencey Keeton: I'm so happy to see you too. And I love that you're in London, I'm imagining like you're really cosmopolitan and walking around and like doing cool things. Maybe not. I dunno.
Rabiah (Host): sometimes, sometimes I am.
Yeah.
All right. Thanks.
Thanks for listening. You can learn more about the guest and what was talked about in the show notes. Joe Maffia created the music you're listening to. You can find him on Spotify at Joe M A F F I A. Rob Metke does all the design for which I am so grateful. You can find him online by searching Rob M E T K E.
Please leave a review if you like the show and get in touch. If you have feedback or guest ideas, the pod is on all the social channels at at more than work pod (@morethanworkpod) or at Rabiah Comedy (@rabiahcomedy) on TikTok. And the website is more than work pod dot com (morethanworkpod.com). While being kind to others, don't forget to be kind to yourself.
