creative Archives - StoryHook

Zack & Azriel Post

By Asha Timperley

Zack and Azriel Post are the epitome of the term ‘millennial.’

Not in a trite or overused way, but millennial is a term that totally describes them, and they’re not afraid to own it.

Zack works at a local startup and is a freelance graphic designer – most all of his clients come from Instagram. Azriel has hopped from job to job after graduation pursuing her own creative endeavors and just landed a job in Texas – which she first heard about through a message from a complete stranger via Instagram.

“Sometimes to people, it seems like we’re really different or doing thing unlike the typical normal person would do. I don’t think we’re trying really hard to be hipsters or millennials or whatever you want to call it. We’re just doing what we want to do and I think a lot of people put us in the category of being a millennial or a hipster, which, ultimately, we’re just who we are and we like what we like,” Zack said.

Get the picture?

But like Zack said, this is the way he and Azriel have always been.

When Zack and Azriel met in college things just clicked. They recognized their differences, but also saw the world through a very similar lens.

They’ve spent the last 9-ish years in a state they never thought they’d call home, and now that they’re about to leave, they’re starting to feel a little sentimental about the place where they met, fell in love, got married and started a life together.

And while they couldn’t be more excited about their next great adventure, moving is still hard. The packing is one thing, but Zack and Azriel said it’s also made them think about what this means for their story.

“I don’t know, it sounds weird and cliche, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like you’re going anywhere but ultimately what you’re doing is figuring out where you belong and what you’re supposed to be doing,” Azriel said.

Zack and Azriel are just a young couple trying to figure things out – how to take risks, let creativity lead, follow their guts and understand what ‘success’ looks like for them.

They’re not trying to be ‘cool’ or ‘hip’ or whatever word you want to throw at it, they’re trying to be true to their story and all that comes with it.

“I think, like, our story is just defining success for ourselves,” Azriel said. “And then hopefully that can show people that it doesn’t always look the same for everyone, and its ok to do your own thing if that’s what it takes.”

October 23, 2018

Love3

Becky Boesen

By Asha Timperley

Becky Boesen was teased as a kid.

It wasn’t because she had braces or glasses – she was teased because of her vocabulary.

At the age of 7, Becky described jelly sandals as “superficial” and used all sorts of big words that her peers either didn’t understand or had never heard.

When Becky thinks back to this fact, it makes her laugh, even though at the time all she wanted to do was fit in. But that’s the beauty of her story, she said, and in many ways she’s still that goofy 7-year-old with a big vocabulary and even bigger dreams.

Becky grew up in a western Nebraska home where they watched the 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet on family movie night and argued about politics for the fun of it. Her parents were big on letting Becky draw her own conclusions and defend her opinions. This kind of environment made Becky’s creatively-geared mind explode with possibilities, but it also set her apart from the other kids.

When she wasn’t in school, she was either writing or working at the restaurant that her mom managed. As a 9-year-old, Becky said she learned a lot about human nature while she dipped onion rings and cleared tables.

She’d listen to couples fight, friends catch up and families wrangle their kids.

“That part of the country isn’t necessarily diverse, but the stories are,” she said. “It was like I was watching a movie or a play, and soon I started to think about the people I encountered as characters.”

In junior high and high school, Becky’s family moved from Nebraska to the Ozarks and then back to Nebraska. As her parents dug into their respective jobs, Becky was left with a lot of alone time. She found that writing became the way she tried to understand her new home, school and life.

She would write anything from poems and lyrics to fictional stories to help express herself. It was a way she could get out her teenage angst without having to edit or explain herself to others.

It was during high school that Becky realized her love of language, writing and stories were pointing her toward theatre. She had a teacher who noticed her talents and encouraged her to pursue acting in college, but the thought of making a hobby into a career seemed silly and a little scary.

Becky always figured she’d be a lawyer or politician, so the thought of something so different was overwhelming. Plus, she wasn’t sure how her parents would take the news. While they had never discouraged her creativity, majoring in theatre didn’t fit their idea of a viable career path.

As graduation got closer, the conversations about college grew more intense and involved a lot of door slamming and tears on Becky’s part. The conversation finally ended with her parents giving their blessing for her to pursue theatre and she decided to attend UNL.

During her first semester, Becky quickly found her “tribe.” She loved the fact that there were other word nerds and theatre geeks out there, and she suddenly didn’t feel so alone. The next four years of her life were full of learning and exploration. She got hooked on play writing and always seemed to be working on a new project or trying to figure out how to get her latest work produced.

But no sooner had she jumped in to her degree that her time at UNL came to an end. Becky quickly realized that post-college life didn’t feel as safe as she expected, and she began questioning her work. The pressure of making the ‘right’ decisions led her back to a small town in Nebraska where she stopped writing and eventually settled down and started a family.

She had a good life and was thankful for her family, but things felt off. Becky struggled with depression and after a few years she realized she needed to move back to Lincoln and pursue her passions.

Since returning to Lincoln, Becky’s story has been a roller coaster of jobs, emotions, relationships and goals. She’s experienced loss up close, she’s come to understand the value of family and to appreciate her community.

At the age of 35, Becky said she finally understood how to connect her purpose and passion in a way that was meaningful. She began to write and produce plays with themes related to poverty, family and loss. She began to see her writing as more than just her way to breathe, but as a way to say something, give back and create dialogue in the community.

These days, Becky vacillates between writing, producing and working out the logistics for her business, being the executive director for the Flatwater Shakespeare Company and cultivating relationships with other creatives. She works a lot of long hours and usually doesn’t sleep more than 5 hours a night – mostly because her brain is buzzing with new ideas.

And yet, this chaotic schedule doesn’t seem to bother Becky. It’s what makes her feel alive, what gives life to the rest of her world and what really saved her life. Theatre was her cure for loneliness, and it’s become a way that she can reach back into her community and understand her own story.

The theatre is her safe place. Not because it’s where she feels comfortable, but because it’s where she feels most vulnerable. It’s where she can express her truest self, the part of her self she had a hard time tapping into, but the person she knows she is made to be and the story she is meant to live out.

July 11, 2017

Love7

Alicia Reisinger

By Asha Timperley

There are at least three candles burning in Alicia Reisinger’s house at any given time. The smells vary from day to day, but today it smells like oranges, the holidays and fresh air all rolled into one.

It’s luxurious and inviting, homey and relaxing. And it’s exactly what you’d expect to experience when you walk into someone’s home who makes candles.

Alicia is the proud owner of Wax Buffalo Candle Company. A business she runs out of her kitchen with toddlers in tow, three assistants and a whole lot of yummy smells.

But to Alicia the smells are just part of her everyday life, they came out of necessity – she has babies and bulldogs – but they also came to life after a season of transition.

Alicia calls this season “the quiet season.”

She didn’t have a job and her days were spent caring for her baby and spending time with her feisty, 80-year-old grandmother, Ferne. This season was slow and simple, rich and meaningful. It was also hard and confusing because it was so different than what Alicia was used to.

The years prior to this season were anything but quiet. Alicia and her husband, Jonathan, were videographers who lived in Chicago – a city that perfectly matched their love of all things artistic and creative. Alicia describes it as the season when she and Jonathan became “them.” They lived in an apartment over a funky soap shop, worked hard, stayed up late and learned how to love each other.

But like all seasons, this one ended after Alicia found out her grandmother was battling her third bout of cancer. So, she and Jonathan packed their bags and moved to Nebraska to spend time with a woman who had shaped so much of Alicia’s life.

Making the transition to Nebraska was challenging, but it was also a new adventure for Alicia and Jonathan. They originally planned to stay for just a year, but as they grew their family and got more connected to the community it just made sense to stay.

When Alicia’s grandmother died in 2013 things felt quieter than they ever had. She’d lost her grandmother, but also one of her best friends, and she wasn’t sure what to do next.

As she grieved, Alicia started making candles, something she and her grandma would frequently do together and the first scent she poured was cinnamon – their favorite scent. She dug in deeper, researching the benefits of soy candles and buying the best oils to create clean and crisp smells.

Then Alicia started to think about how to associate smells with stories, starting with her grandma and then creating other scents that told the stories of different seasons in her own life.

She has a candle called Armitage Street, named after the street in Chicago where she and Jonathan lived after getting married.

As she developed her scents, Alicia slowly started giving away her candles as gifts to friends. Eventually, they asked her if she’d consider selling her candles in stores.

“No way!” she said. “I could never sell these! If no one buys them I’ll be embarrassed.”

Well, let’s just say, Alicia wasn’t embarrassed.

She made 12 candles to sell in a local shop in Lincoln and a few weeks later the shop called and asked for more – they’d run out. So, she poured 12 more.

Things went on like that for a while as Alicia slowly grew her company into what’s now a Midwest brand being sold in 35 stores across 11 states.

It’s astounding and overwhelming, Alicia said, because she never imagined that pouring candles in her kitchen would turn into a full-fledged business.

Some days, all of her countertops are filled with freshly poured candles and Alicia and her 5-year-old, Navy, and 3-year-old, Satchel, spend the day packing up boxes to be shipped to customers.

And while Wax Buffalo was started by Alicia, it’s really a family business.

Alicia said Jonathan really spoke into the brand and handles even the smallest details like packing up the car with candles before a big market trip.

“We’ve always been a team,” Alicia said. “We work better together… and a big part of who we are is being a part of the other person.”

The couple also still tackles video projects together, sometimes taking their kiddos with them to wherever their next adventure awaits.

But that’s really the core of Alicia’s story – learning to be ready for the next adventure, whether it’s a quiet season or a chaotic one.

That’s the thing about seasons, they change, and Alicia is getting ready for a whole new adventure. At the end of October, she’ll be having their third baby, just in time for the busy holiday season.

But she’s not too worried about it. There doesn’t seem to be much that slows Alicia down these days, and the baby, well, she said she’ll just strap him on and wear him around as she pours candles or sells them at the markets.

“Everything becomes this magical family adventure,” she said. “It’s better that way.”

August 24, 2016

Love3