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 EP23 - Reset, Reflection and Creative Freedom
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Episode 23 - Reset, Reflection and Creative Freedom
The 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 January 1st feels motivating for some people and completely overrated for others, then dig into the real reset of clearing physical and mental clutter so new ideas can take shape.
Steph shares what it looks like to wind down an old way of running a business in order to make room for what’s next, including experimenting with a new product focused direction that blends art and interior design. Jay reflects on how the simple act of organizing can kick the brain back into creative mode and why real adaptation requires space rather than pressure.
They also explore what the holiday season leaves behind, from meaningful moments to small dramas, and how those experiences quietly carry into the new year. The episode wraps with a rapid-fire round that is both funny and unexpectedly sincere.
Topics Covered:
- New Year resets: motivation vs “you can start anytime”
- Clearing clutter and why creatives need space to create
- The connection between cleaning, emotional processing, and mental calm
- Adapting to new plans and building systems for a fresh year
- Steph’s new creative direction: art as product + catalog thinking
- What carries forward from the holidays: gratitude, drama, lessons
- Rapid fire: new year feelings, holiday traditions, and takeaways
This episode stays with you as a reminder that clearing space isn’t just housekeeping, it’s how you make room for what’s next.