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.
Pickles & Pasta with Steph and Jay
Pickles & Pasta EP19 - Dogs, Seasons, and the Art of Paying Attention
Episode 19 - Dogs, Seasons, and the Art of Paying Attention
In 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 considerate pet owner, before widening into a discussion on seasons, creativity, and where inspiration actually comes from. Steph talks about winter as creative hibernation, why New York remains her greatest muse, and how even a 239-million-dollar painting at Sotheby’s didn’t move her, while Jay reflects on how walking the city versus the suburbs shifts what you notice and ultimately create. They close with rapid-fire questions on fear versus respect, favorite seasonal transitions, and whether spending 24 hours with someone you can’t stand is worth it if it genuinely makes the world better.
Topics Covered:
- City dog culture and what “curb your dog” should mean
- Pet ownership as shared-space responsibility
- Thanksgiving’s complicated meaning and why gratitude still matters
- How seasonal shifts shape mood, energy, and creativity
- Winter hibernation vs. NYC as an inspiration engine
- Real artistic inspiration vs. what the market decides is valuable
- How walking the city vs. suburbs changes what you notice
- Rapid fire: respect vs. fear, favorite season shift, 24 hours with someone you can’t stand
If you’ve ever side-stepped a leash, wondered where your inspiration really comes from, or felt yourself changing with the seasons, this one will feel familiar. Tune in, walk with them through the city and the suburbs, and see what it sparks in your own life.