Conor, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story is a winding one with many different interests that led me to where I am today. I’ve always been someone who loves to do a lot at once. Rather than honing in on one specific goal, I try to work on several big ideas at the same time; I am most at peace when I have too many exciting things on my plate.
I grew up in a loving family with two older brothers who I still look up to (literally). Both of my brothers are over 6’3″. One of them works at Amazon and has his personal training certification and the other is a left-handed pitcher in the MLB. Guess how tall I am… 5’8″ (on a good day). This height disparity at one point caused me great insecurity, but now I believe that my height is part of what got me into all of my creative endeavors.
Until I was about 14, I wanted to follow in my brother’s footsteps and play professional baseball. I was a solid athlete and wasn’t sure what else I would do. That is until my best friend (and current writing partner) Matthew Fichandler asked me to join drama club. That’s when everything changed. Matthew had been my best friend since I was 5, and joining drama opened my eyes to improvisational comedy. Matthew, myself, and my other best friend Pedro Ramos (we were nicknamed The Thrice) fell in love with making people laugh. We wrote, directed, starred in, and produced five original plays throughout our high school careers. We also co-founded and directed a summer improvisation camp for kids for seven years. During my freshman year of high school, I realized what I wanted to do with my life: comedy writing.
After high school I went to Emerson College in Boston (sans Matthew and Pedro, sadly). Without my duo at my side, I found another passion of mine: freestyle dance. My college years were all about fostering this dancing side of myself. I created a dance Instagram and started posting videos. It was an outlet and a reason to create fun dance content. But classic tripod dance videos weren’t enough for me, so one day I came up with the concept for Community of Dancers, a professionally shot dance video that would spotlight a multitude of dancers dancing across Boston’s most scenic locations. It was a love letter to dance, Boston, and the power of community. We made the video, posted it, then a few months later received a call from the Boston Red Sox; they wanted to buy the video to play before every home game in 2016! I obviously said yes then took my crew out to a fancy steak dinner with the money they gave us (it was less than you may think…) Community of Dancers Boston led me to another project: Community of Dancers Philadelphia Phillies.
Despite the fun I had with dance, the goal was still to be a comedy writer, so Matthew and I moved to Los Angeles to pursue our dreams. After a little while we got our animated script into the hands of some producers who we knew through an industry contact. We got a showrunner and independent producer attached to our show and to this day are taking it out to buyers. While that may sound like we swiftly got an in, we worked (and are still working) on that show for over 4 years. It is so easy to make something sound like a quick process when briefly recapping it, but it was not. Patience is a virtue in this industry, truly.
As we waited to hear back from buyers, I went through a whirlwind of emotions. At first, I was super optimistic, then as a week went by, I was extremely impatient, then I became hopeless, then I became apathetic. It was only after feeling this rollercoaster of emotions did I realize that it was emotionally draining to have the keys to your dreams in the hands of someone else. I knew that I needed to have something to occupy my mind that was the opposite, something I was passionate about that I could control. That’s when Pink House Clothing was born (I told you this was a tale of lots of different endeavors)!
I have always loved clothing, looking clean, and feeling confident in my fit. Yet, I am a person who isn’t quite a full-fledged fashionista but still care enough about my outfits that I’m not UNfashionable either. I’m someone who likes to look good but always wants to maintain my personality, and in my opinion, it’s hard to find clothes that do both. My closet was filled with clean looks that were mostly blank garments or popular brands that may look good, but had hardly any character to them. And my drawer of rarely worn clothes was full of tees with huge graphics on them that were chock-full of personality but entirely unfashionable. That’s where Pink House Clothing comes in; Where Fun and Fashion Are Family.
I launched Pink House in October 2020 with the goal of providing clothes to the everyday person who wants to look good and wear fun boutique designs but doesn’t want to fully subscribe to the streetwear/fashion culture that so often carries stigmas (and major dollar signs) along with it. Pink House Clothing’s overall mission is to make people smile and feel confident in themselves through the power of subtle and artistic designs on all different types of apparel. The first collection we dropped in October 2020 is called The Potato Collection and features tater tots, a French fry heart, and a potato with a bikini tan line because we thought it was a perfectly fitting first drop! Everyone loves potatoes, right? There are many more collections to come (and they’re not all food based; I promise).
While my long-term goal will always be to be a successful TV writer, I knew it was paramount to not only be excited for my long-term dreams but be happy in the short-term as well. Pink House Clothing and dance are creative endeavors that I can control and keep me happy in the short-term while I continue to write with Matthew to achieve our long-term goals.
That is my biggest piece of advice for anyone who has big dreams: be happy right now so that it doesn’t matter how long it takes to reach your loftiest dreams.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road.
From a TV writing perspective, I ignorantly thought that I could sell a show within a year of moving to Los Angeles (as I’m sure many people think). I had a couple connections and a solid script, so why wouldn’t I be able to? Although I think an ambitious and overly optimistic mindset has its pros, it also has its cons. When you set your expectations high, there’s an incredibly long distance for them to fall. And while in the short term setting your expectations in the clouds is exciting and invigorating, it’s not a very helpful tool for long-term happiness because it’s almost guaranteed that whatever your dreams are, they will not go according to plan. That’s what I learned as I sat and waited to hear if our script sold: I need to let go of expectations. I will try my best, work as hard as I can, but the moment that script is out into the stratosphere of the industry, I need to relax and focus on other things. It took me feeling horribly hopeless to come to terms with that.
From a dance perspective, I’ve had dozens of projects never come to fruition. For every fun and cool project I’ve done, I’ve tried to do three dozen others. It taught me the value of perseverance and doing things myself. Community of Dancers Boston was me doing it myself which went according to my vision and plan. Community of Dancers Phillies was a much more arduous project to get underway because the Phillies held the keys. It only happened after I persisted through lulls in communication and debates over pricing. Whenever you can, do something yourself, it’ll be a much better process.
For Pink House Clothing, I had a relatively successful drop of The Potato Collection, but the struggle now is how to grow our audience, create a community who gets the brand, and identify our target market. There will be many triumphs and losses with Pink House Clothing, but the beauty is that it’s all within my control. Because it only launched in October 2020 there isn’t much to report; talk to me in a year and let’s see where I’m at!
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
1. Happy Money by Elizabeth Dunn and Dr. Michael Norton has been an eye opening book. It discusses the science behind spending habits and how when we spend money on experiences and other people, we actually become happier. While money can’t buy you happiness inherently, the way you spend your money actually can!
2. This Is Not A T-Shirt by Bobby Hundreds (a reputable streetwear designer) is a book that helps inspire my efforts with Pink House Clothing. It chronicles Bobby Hundreds streetwear brand The Hundreds and eloquently articulates the nuances of creating a clothing brand.
3. The Second Mountain by David Brooks is all about how we as people spend the first part of our lives climbing the first mountain which is a personal mountain: establishing our personal identity, achieving career success, being happy with the self within the confines of society. Then when we reach the top of our first mountain, we see a second mountain that is taller and looks even greater. The second mountain is all about the value of helping others. Brooks argues that the best way to achieve long-lasting joy is to dedicate your life to helping others. Happy Money and The Second Mountain have a lot in common.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.pinkhouseclothing.com
- Instagram: @dancebiddledance and @pinkhouseclothing
