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 EP29 - Ghosting, Mixed Signals, and People Who Actually Show Up
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Episode 29 – Ghosting, Mixed Signals, and People Who Actually Show Up
In 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 get one more storm?” debate.
Then they get into something they’ve both been running into lately: ghosting, especially in business and creative circles. Jay breaks down why disappearing without a word is frustrating and unnecessary, while Steph explains why we often fixate on people who pull away. Ego, the need for closure, and the urge to win back someone’s attention all play a role.
From there, the conversation expands into mixed signals and energy, those moments when someone seems supportive one day and distant the next. They talk about how tension in communities can quietly grow, including the way identity and politics can shape how people categorize each other, and why maturity and mutual respect matter more than ever.
They close by flipping the lens toward the positive: the people who consistently show up, and how Steph is embracing a new, evolving community through her art workshops and creative work. The episode wraps with a Fashion Week themed rapid fire on dressing for the weather, where fashion is headed, and the fashion eras they’d love to bring back, including Jay’s hilarious robe and cloak fantasy.
Topics Covered:
- Ghosting in creative/business relationships
- Closure, ego, and “future FOMO”
- Mixed signals, reading energy, and social tension
- Identity/politics shaping community dynamics
- Choosing self-respect and focusing on real support
- Building new community through creativity (art workshops)
- Rapid fire: Fashion Week edition
If someone disappears, let them, and put your energy into the people who show up, support you, and make your world bigger.