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 EP27 - Expression, Identity, & Choosing Care
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Episode 27 - Expression, Identity, & Choosing Care
January 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 politics has bled into business, art, and personal platforms, creating pressure to speak, stay silent, or choose sides. Steph shares why she’s long avoided political messaging through Have Some Fun Today, and why that boundary is becoming harder to hold. Jay reflects on tone-deaf branding, public backlash, and how quickly discourse turns reactive.
The conversation widens into the role of creatives during unstable times, how artists absorb the emotional climate and translate it into work, often without trying to persuade or polarize. They explore authenticity, compassion, curiosity, and the idea that standing for humanity doesn’t require taking a side.
They close with a lighthearted rapid-fire snow-day segment covering winter comforts, food, and cozy watch picks.
Topics Covered:
- Why January felt emotionally heavy
- Politics and business pressure to choose sides
- Neutrality vs speaking up in a “tone-deaf” era
- Social media backlash over mild statements
- Trigger culture and heightened reactions
- The role and weight of creatives today
- Spiritual grounding amid noise and confusion
- Supporting artists without preaching
- Rapid Fire: winter ice cream, snow-day comfort food, cozy watch picks
Wherever you land on the issues, this episode is a reminder: we all deserve to be heard, and it costs nothing to listen.