I Have a Cool Job featuring: Joshua and Sarah Rhodes

This week I have a treat for you! To start 2013 off right we have a two-fer in the IHACJ feature- husband and wife creative powerhouses Josh and Sarah Rhodes. I have known these two for a little over a year now and Phoenix is SO lucky to have them! I am constantly inspired at the incredible artwork Josh (and Sarah too!) whips up ( Maybe you recognize his artwork from our amazing PSC logo!? Also, I have the honeycomb shelves, be jealous.) and I KNOW you have seen Sarah the wizard photographer who has taken some of the most prestigious of blogger's wedding photos... enjoy this peak into their cool jobs!

1.) Tell us about you and your cool job. My name is josh, and I am married to Sarah. We hang out at our house all day and make stuff. I paint, illustrate, build furniture and help Sarah with photo stuff sometimes (but mostly just bug her when Im feeling restless). 2.) How did you happen upon your cool job and long have you been doing it? It's been a gradual progression into self employment. I have always loved to create. I quit my real job a few months back, and just continued to make things. 3.) What did you want to be when you "grew up" when you were a child? I wanted to be a builder.

4.) What is the best piece of industry- specific advice you have been given in your field? Nobody ever gives me advise. I need some! 5.) Where do you see yourself and your job evolving into in the next 5 years? I'm not really a goal oriented person. I am, in the day to day goings ons, like if I have a project due. but I barely know what I'm doing next week. 6.) Why is Phoenix such a great place for you to have your cool job? I love the budding art community and that small businesses are embraced and supported.

7.) What is one clothing item and one tool you can't live/work without? glasses and miter saw 8.) What is the best part of your day and most challenging part of your day? The best part of my day is being able to work on projects at my house and meet my wife for lunch in the kitchen. the most challenging is not going to stir crazy from being in my house all day long.

9.) We know your job isn't all glamour, all the time- what is one thing you wish people knew about your cool job? you can't leave your work and work, our work is at our home, its always there waiting. 10.) What is one piece of advice you can give for someone who would like to one day have a job as cool as yours and get involved in your industry? Don't be duped into thinking that the american dream is to have a house and two cars and a xbox. doing what you love to do is feasible, just don't go into it expecting to make a load of cash right away, or ever.

1.) Tell us about you and your cool job. I'm a photographer by trade, and I dabble in about 49 other things to keep it fun. Mostly I shoot weddings, although I started out as a commercial photographer and I'd love to go back to my roots eventually! The best part about this whole thing is that I get to work at home with my husband all the time - we have separate offices / studios, but it's nice to meet in the middle and make lunch and coffee together. :) You can find Josh's work at subtletakeover.com! 2.) How did you happen upon your cool job and long have you been doing it? I chose photography school on an indecisive whim while in Bible college and it was my favorite thing ever! I graduated in 2008; you could say I've been shooting since then, but I've been truly full-time since early 2010. 3.) What did you want to be when you "grew up" when you were a child? My two highest aspirations as a kid were to either be a tornado chaser, or Amy Grant's background singer. Like, not even a famous singer, I just wanna sing for Amy Grant! 4.) What is the best piece of industry- specific advice you have been given in your field? I had a professor in photography school say "You're only as good as the last thing you shot" and that has stuck with me more than anything. I always remind myself that. 5.) Where do you see yourself and your job evolving into in the next 5 years? Who knows! I still have a lot of dreams other than photography, and I'd like to see my photography business grow somehow, but growth is really hard to think about. It's pretty complex and there's no instructions on how to make my business grow or anything, it's all trial and error. Either way I know in 5 years, Josh and I will be doing the same thing - sustaining ourselves with our own work, and I think that's pretty rad. 6.) Why is Phoenix such a great place for you to have your cool job? Phoenix's creative community is like a baby that's growing really quickly into a cool kid! It's exciting to be here when more and more people are pumped to support local businesses, artists, and creatives! It's really awesome to see what is coming out of Phoenix too, and that gives it more significance other than just a place people lived before they moved to LA / Seattle / Portland. We've really found a home in this community and the people here just welcomed us with no questions asked! (We just moved here a year ago.) 7.) What is one clothing item and one tool you can't live/work without? Clothing - uh, jeans. I love jeans so much. Tool - my 50mm 1.4 :) this lens is so good to me. 8.) What is the best part of your day and most challenging part of your day? Best part of my day is drinking coffee in the morning when it's quiet and I start thinking about the day ahead. Most challenging part would probably be… getting up from drinking coffee and getting a move on. Ha! It's really hard to work at home when you struggle with self-starting! 9.) We know your job isn't all glamour, all the time- what is one thing you wish people knew about your cool job? I think Josh said something really similar, but just that the challenge is that we are always at work when you work from home. I'm answering emails right now at 8:30pm. I probably started around 8:30 this morning! It's difficult to draw boundaries when emails are constantly coming in all hours, and if I just want to relax and watch a movie, about 10 minutes in, I begin to feel guilty because I have photos to edit. People think being a photographer is a great job, and that working for yourself must be so relaxing! It has its moments, but it's a lot of stress, too, and there are very few moments of personal rest without work occupying my thoughts. I fantasize about an 8-5 job sometimes. ;) 10.) What is one piece of advice you can give for someone who would like to one day have a job as cool as yours and get involved in your industry? I'm terrible at advice! I think I did everything backwards. I will say the best thing I ever did for our photo business was just up and quit my job after being fed up. It wasn't very wise, but it was a huge motivator in working hard to book weddings and find new clients to help pay our bills! I'm horrible at balancing two things (side job + starting up a business) so it was the push I needed. :)