Pickles & Pasta with Steph and Jay
Welcome to Pickles & Pasta—a podcast about living creatively, loving boldly, and staying grounded in a world that often feels anything but.
Steph and Jay met (or as Jay says “reconnected”) just before the pandemic and have been building a life—and a creative partnership—ever since. Together, they live, work, and support each other’s ventures while navigating the messy, beautiful chaos of modern life.
No agendas. No sides. Just real conversations—sometimes deep, sometimes hilarious, always honest.
This is their space to talk about creativity, connection, relationships, and everything in between.
Pull up a chair. Let’s dig in.
About Steph
Stephanie Rado Taormina is the CEO and founder of Have Some Fun Today, a lifestyle brand inspired by her late father's mantra to live boldly and joyfully. With over 25 years of experience in branding, fashion, interiors, and entrepreneurship, she brings a sharp creative vision to everything she touches.
A graduate of Parsons School of Design, Stephanie has reignited her fine art career since 2021—creating emotionally driven abstract work and building a growing marketplace for contemporary art. While integrating her artistic voice into the evolution of HSFT, she also maintains an independent studio practice focused on exhibitions, fine art prints, and creative collaborations.
As co-host of the podcast Pickles & Pasta with Steph & Jay, she brings thoughtful, unscripted insight to conversations about creativity, culture, and navigating modern life.
About Jay
Jay Schweid is a native New Yorker, creative entrepreneur, and cultural shapeshifter with a career that’s anything but conventional. From launching JCS, a bespoke racket service trusted by tennis icons like McEnroe and Agassi, to co-founding The Spot—a legendary South Beach lounge with Mickey Rourke—Jay has always lived at the intersection of bold ideas and real-world impact.
He went on to create high-touch concierge and event services for celebrity and HNWI clients, and in 2012, launched ephelants, a media company focused on streamlining film and commercial production. Built to challenge industry inefficiencies, ephelants fuses creativity with technology to empower storytellers at every level.
Now, Jay is building Village—a visionary entertainment platform that will revolutionize how projects move from concept to distribution. By bringing together creators, fans, and investors,Village is designed to democratize the entire entertainment ecosystem and give everyone a seat at the table.
On Pickles & Pasta, Jay brings sharp insight, unapologetic creativity, and a relentless curiosity for what’s next.
Episodes
35 episodes
Pickles & Pasta EP35 - Mindset, Momentum & Mental Loops
Pickles & Pasta EP35 - Momentum, Pauses & Staying the CourseIn Episode 35 of Pickles and Pasta, Jay and Steph dig into the reality of momentum, how it starts, how it builds, and what happens when life suddenly interrupts i...
Pickles & Pasta EP34 - Mindset, Momentum & Mental Loops
Episode 34 - Mindset, Momentum & Mental LoopsIn Episode 34 of Pickles and Pasta, Jay and Steph begin by reflecting on the close of Steph’s solo show and what it feels like to wrap something meaningful with a sense of peace, pr...
Pickles & Pasta EP33 - Patience, Perspective & Playing the Long Game
Episode 33 - Patience, Perspective & Playing the Long GameIn Episode 33 of Pickles and Pasta, Jay and Steph ease in with playful back and forth about their intros, getting ready to go out, and the little rhythms that make up l...
Pickles & Pasta EP32 - Soft Launches, Calm Energy & Juggling the Buckets
Episode 32 - Soft Launches, Calm Energy & Juggling the BucketsIn Episode 32 of Pickles and Pasta, Jay and Steph open with a real life teamwork moment in classic New York weather that turns into a reflection on momentu...
Pickles & Pasta EP31 - Perceived Value, Pricing & Respecting Creative Work
Pickles & Pasta EP31 - Perceived Value, Pricing & Respecting Creative WorkIn Episode 31 of Pickles and Pasta, Jay and Steph kick things off with playful creative momentum, riffing on a “Cherish” t-shirt concept in...
Pickles & Pasta EP30 - Process, Partnership & Turning Sparks into Reality
Pickles & Pasta EP30 - Process, Partnership & Turning Sparks into Reality In Episode 30 of Pickles and Pasta, Jay and Steph talk about what it actually looks like to take an idea from concept to execution, and how two...
Pickles & Pasta EP29 - Ghosting, Mixed Signals, and People Who Actually Show Up
Episode 29 – Ghosting, Mixed Signals, and People Who Actually Show UpIn Episode 29 of Pickles and Pasta, Jay and Steph are back in New York with winter reflections, snow-day observations, and the oddly emotional “will we ...
Pickles & Pasta EP28 - Creative Energy, Client Work, and Finding Your Groove
Episode 28 – Creative Energy, Client Work, and Finding Your Groove In this week’s episode of Pickles and Pasta, Jay and Steph start with some classic winter banter, from Miami “cold” to the relief of longer da...
Pickles & Pasta EP27 - Expression, Identity, & Choosing Care
Episode 27 - Expression, Identity, & Choosing CareJanuary has felt unusually heavy, and Steph and Jay open up about what it’s like to live and create in a world that feels emotionally maxed out.They talk about how polit...
Pickles & Pasta EP26 - The Reset Episode: If You Needed This Today
EP26 - The Reset Episode: If You Needed This TodaySometimes you don’t need a new plan, you need a reset. In Episode 26, Steph and Jay bring together the most grounding moments from past episodes into one steady, calming listen. It...
Pickles & Pasta EP25 - Alone Time, Creative Work and When Money Enters the Room
Episode 25 - Alone Time, Creative Work and When Money Enters the RoomEpisode 25 opens with Steph and Jay checking in on the wonkiness of the world and the mental load of staying aware without getting consumed. They talk about how ...
Pickles & Pasta EP24 - Focus, Energy and The Journey
Episode 24 - Focus, Energy and The JourneyThis episode captures that strange early January shift after the holiday rush, when the world is technically “back,” but not really moving at full speed yet. Steph and Jay talk about what ...
Pickles & Pasta EP23 - Reset, Reflection and Creative Freedom
Episode 23 - Reset, Reflection and Creative FreedomThe first episode of 2026 opens with Steph and Jay turning a casual new year check in into a thoughtful conversation about how creatives actually reset. They talk about why Januar...
Pickles & Pasta EP22 - Closure, Hope and End of Year Clarity
Episode 22 - Closure, Hope and End of Year ClarityEpisode 22 is a reflective end of year conversation about perspective, growth, and entering a new chapter with intention. Steph and Jay move from light talk about winter in New Yor...
Pickles & Pasta EP21 - Holidays, Creativity, and Knowing When to Slow Down
Episode 21 - Holidays, Creativity, and Knowing When to Slow DownIn this episode of Pickles and Pasta with Steph and Jay, a simple catch-up turns into a thoughtful look at creativity during the holiday season and the push-pull betw...
Pickles & Pasta EP20 - Family, Perception, and Looking Past the Label
Episode 20 - Family, Perception, and Looking Past the LabelIn Episode 20 of Pickles and Pasta with Steph and Jay, the conversation kicks off with full moon energy and how heightened sensitivity can shape your mood, reacti...
Pickles & Pasta EP19 - Dogs, Seasons, and the Art of Paying Attention
Episode 19 - Dogs, Seasons, and the Art of Paying AttentionIn this episode of Pickles and Pasta with Steph and Jay, a simple bagel run spirals into a conversation about city dogs, shared sidewalks, and what it really means to be a...
Pickles & Pasta EP18 - Friendship, Change, and Coming Home to You
Episode 18 - Friendship, Change, and Coming Home to YouIn this episode of Pickles and Pasta with Steph and Jay, the duo opens up about what it means to shrink yourself to fit in across friendships, small towns, social media, and w...
Pickles & Pasta EP17 - Vulnerability, Belonging, and Critical Thinking
Episode 17 - Vulnerability, Belonging, and Critical Thinking Steph and Jay unpack why so many people get swept up by loud voices, politicians, influencers, even “smooth talkers” and how loneliness, vulnerability, and identity...
Pickles & Pasta EP16 - Growth, Living, and Building Community
Episode 16 - Growth, Living, and Building CommunityIn this week’s episode of Pickles & Pasta with Steph & Jay, the duo digs into what it really means to grow - personally, creatively, and professionally - when lif...
Pickles & Pasta EP15 - Gratitude, Breathing & Letting Go of Excess
Episode 15: Gratitude, Breathing & Letting Go of ExcessIn this episode of Pickles & Pasta with Steph & Jay, the duo explores how to stay grounded in uncertain times - balancing change with gratitude, breathwor...
Pickles & Pasta EP14 - Faith, Fear & the Next Generation
Episode 14 - Faith, Fear & the Next GenerationSteph & Jay unpack why the old “do this, get that” life formula no longer fits—college, careers, and timelines included. They explore how AI, remote work, and real-world skills...
Pickles & Pasta EP13 - Comfort, Growth & Reciprocity
Episode 13 — Comfort, Growth & ReciprocitySteph & Jay sift the fall-event frenzy to focus on what matters, arguing that “comfort is the enemy of growth” in work, health, and relationships. They weigh second-guessing as a s...
Pickles & Pasta EP12 - Culture, Creativity & Leaving Your Bubble
Episode 12: - Culture, Creativity & Leaving Your Bubble Steph and Jay unpack “cultural capital”—what we consume vs. what truly shapes us—spanning NYC art walks, immigrant-run cafés, small-town festivals, and family tradit...
Pickles & Pasta EP11 - Fear, Truth & Advice to Our Younger Selves
Episode 11: Fear, Truth & Advice to Our Younger Selves In this episode, Steph & Jay tackle three big themes: fear—how it protects us, when it holds us back, and how to move anyway (from Steph’s workshop launch to Jay’...