On this week’s episode of Finding Friends, host Christina Lee and co-host Catie Wilkes sit down with the enigmatic, masked artist behind J-Blood Art — a tattooer who paints with his own blood.

J shares how his blood paintings started as curious experiments, why he keeps such clear boundaries around his personal life, and what it means to create art that might only be fully understood long after he’s gone. He talks about leaving his old career as a corrections officer, becoming a full-time tattoo artist, and building a private studio experience that focuses on safety, psychology, and true bedside manner.

We dive into his book Ramblings of a Madman, which pairs his paintings with raw journal entries, the science and experimentation behind preserving blood on canvas, and how people project fear, “satanic” labels, and their own beliefs onto his work. J also opens up about fatherhood, legacy, and the kind of love and loyalty he wants his daughter to recognize and expect.

In this episode you’ll hear:

• How J-Blood Art began painting with his own blood
• Why he wears a mask and separates the persona from the person
• The ethics, safety, and psychology behind his tattoo studio
• How scent, ritual, and a signature cocktail shape the client experience
• The story and structure of Ramblings of a Madman
• How BookTok discovered him (and what they sometimes get wrong)
• His definition of real friendship, understanding, and legacy

Content note: This episode includes discussion of blood, medical topics, and tattoos (no graphic descriptions).

Hosted by: Christina Lee & Catie Wilkes
Podcast: Finding Friends

Connect with J-Blood Art

🔗 TikTok: @jbloodart
🔗 Instagram: @jbloodart
🔗 Book: Ramblings of a Madman – linked in his bio

What happens when a hospitality lifer, a Golden Girls–themed mobile bar, and a fully manifested vision of “feminine, floral Kentucky” collide? You get The House of Marigold. 🌸✨

In this week’s episode of Finding Friends, Christina and Catie sit down with Adrienne Cole — founder and CEO of The House of Marigold Catering and Marigold Mobile Bar Company — to talk about how she built one of Louisville’s most beloved brunch destinations and a fast-growing catering and events brand.

Adrienne shares how a tiny corporate café downtown turned into a full hospitality company, how she and her chef-husband Chris teamed up to build the culinary side of the business, and how a scrappy Golden Girls mobile bar (Rose, Sophia, Dorothy…and Coco the ice cream tricycle!) helped her step into entrepreneurship with zero safety net and a whole lot of heart.

We also go deep into the why behind House of Marigold:
a bright, feminine, floral space that feels like your best friend’s beach house dropped into Louisville — a place where women feel seen, welcome, and celebrated in a city known worldwide for bourbon.

In this episode, we chat about:

• How Adrienne turned a small downtown café into a full catering company and, eventually, The House of Marigold
• The origin story of the Golden Girls mobile bars and Coco the ice cream trike
• Designing a restaurant that feels like “the other side of Kentucky” — pink, floral, prosecco-forward, and ultra-intentional
• Working with her husband Chris, culinary director of the business, to bring her “culinary dreams” to life
• Becoming the sole caterer for the Speed Art Museum and what “luxury events” really look like behind the scenes
• Leadership, staff culture, and why she prioritizes her team’s mental health and work–life balance over the bottom line
• Raising three teens while building a brand and what she’s seeing in the next generation
• Being a Black woman founder in Louisville, representation, and why she wants Marigold to be a household name — from restaurants and catering to home goods, boutiques, and maybe even a TV show
• The upcoming NuLu location (hello greenhouse bar and DJ booth!) and the dream of one day landing in Norton Commons

If you love brunch, beautiful spaces, big dreams, and honest talk about what it really takes to build something from the ground up, this episode will light you up.

✨ Connect with us:
Follow Finding Friends for more conversations with Kentucky creatives, entrepreneurs, and women building beautiful things in the Bluegrass.

Connect with the House of Marigold and Adrienne: https://www.thehouseofmarigold.com/

aubrey@estespr.com

In this episode of Finding Friends, we sit down with the absolutely iconic Katie Ann Combs – creator of the viral “Listen, Honey” persona and host of the Listen, Honey podcast.

Katie opens up about:
• Growing up in Eastern Kentucky and meeting her husband Dylan at a 13-week Pentecostal revival
• Getting married at 16 and how church culture shaped that decision
• The deep influence of her Southern granny, the grief of losing her, and having a nervous breakdown that led to closing her small business
• Her unexpected pregnancy after her granny’s passing and how becoming a mom to Lucy helped pull her out of the darkest season
• Postpartum anxiety, mom guilt, and the pressure of wanting to be a good role model for a daughter
• Starting TikTok with pregnancy and day-in-the-life vlogs, nearly quitting when views tanked, and then watching a weeks-old story-time video suddenly explode
• Leaning into story times, gossip, and “rants and rambles,” and how Listen, Honey became a safe, hilarious space for southern girls, mamas, and small-town hearts
• Her love for Kentucky creatives (Brandis, Crystal, Nicholas Jamerson, The Creekers, Joshua Sloan & more) and why she’s so passionate about lifting up local talent
• Boundaries with sharing her daughter online, anxiety in crowds, and learning to accept help

This two-hour conversation feels like sitting at the kitchen table with your funniest cousin – talking about faith, family, fried chicken, skyline chili, pageants, podcasts, and the wild ride of becoming “internet known” while still doing Kroger runs at 6 a.m.

Connect with Katie Ann:
TikTok: @lifeofkatieann
Instagram: @lifeofkatieann
Podcast: Listen, Honey (YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.)

Connect with us:
• TikTok: @findingfriendspodcast
• YouTube: @findingfriendspodcast

🎧 Listen to more episodes of Finding Friends on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube & everywhere you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening, honey. If this episode made you laugh, cry, or feel a little less alone, share it with a friend who loves a good front-porch-style chat. 🧡

Makeup artist and media founder Claudia Fiorello joins us to talk confidence, red-hair branding, viral Walgreens origins, and growing local businesses on social media. She also teases her Fiorello Beauty holiday lipstick line, and gives hard-won brow & skincare advice.

Guest: Claudia Fiorello — Founder, Fiorello Media; Professional Makeup Artist
Find Claudia: Facebook/Instagram/TikTok: Claudia Lorraine Fiorello
Nominate a guest: https://findingfriendspodcast.com/pages/nominate

Topics:
• Building a signature look (“Fireball” red)
• Derby hat dye drama (and surviving rain)
• From Walgreens beauty consultant to viral TikToks → client work
• Content that creates comments (and why debate helps growth)
• Fiorello Beauty holiday red lip kits (Black Friday)
• Lip liners that don’t feather, stain vs. lipstick, photo-proof reds
• Favorite wipes (purple Walgreens), microblading wins & fails
• Brow rec: Sage Beauty Aesthetics (Louisville/Middletown)
• First jobs & the “Finding Friends” origin story
• Rapid fire + dream collab with Alani

Credits
Hosts: Christina Lee & Catie Wilkes • Prod: Kentucky Podcast Studio

Season 2 is HERE and we’re breaking in our new Georgetown, Kentucky studio with the perfect guest: Kentucky’s first professional headshot specialist and award-winning portrait & boudoir photographer, Ben Marcum.

In classic Finding Friends style, this episode is equal parts unhinged, thoughtful, and wildly encouraging.

We talk about:
• How Ben went from teen theater sound designer to in-demand photographer
• The difference between creepy and compassionate when it comes to boudoir
• Why clients book: divorce, milestones, mastectomies, self-love, art
• Honoring privacy, consent, safety and storytelling in intimate portraiture
• His kilt “brand,” theater kid roots, punk rock and pro wrestling fandom
• Pet portraits, dog training, and Cedric the husky’s glow-up
• The infamous golden shower festival moment 👀
• Rapid fire: dream cabin, legendary mashed potatoes, one-spice-for-life (nutmeg!)

CONNECT WITH BEN:
Headshots: https://benmarcum.com/
Boudoir: https://boudoirbybenmarcum.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BenMarcumPhotography
Instagram (Headshots): https://www.instagram.com/benmarcumphoto
Instagram (Boudoir): https://www.instagram.com/boudoirbybenmarcum/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BenMarcumPhotography/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-marcum/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@benmarcum

ABOUT FINDING FRIENDS PODCAST:
Finding Friends is where Kentucky finds its people. Recorded in our studio in Georgetown, KY, we highlight the creatives, small business owners, pageant people, neighbors, and “how are you real?” humans who make the Bluegrass feel like home.

New episodes every Tuesday on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts.

Content: This episode includes adult humor and boudoir conversation. Marked Explicit.

Louisville stylist, fashion designer, and film/TV costume designer Andre Wilson joins Christina & Catie to unpack style psychology—why clothes aren’t the problem, how your closet patterns reveal your story, and practical ways to dress for confidence. We talk color choices, film-set continuity, Kentucky culture, pocket squares, and why most of us wear only 10–20% of our wardrobe.

Subscribe on Apple & Spotify, rate/review to help other Kentuckians find the show, and share this episode with a friend who’s rebuilding their wardrobe.

Want to sponsor? Email: findingfriendspodcast@gmail.com

Andre Wilson, Style Icon, fashion psychology, Louisville stylist, Kentucky podcast, costume designer, closet edit, wardrobe stylist, personal style, color theory, Derby hats, Woodford Reserve, Angels Envy, Old Fashioned, confidence, self talk, film continuity, Kentucky style, Christina Lee, Finding Friends Podcast

We taste Kentucky Hop Water’s two beverages with founder Michael Moeller and unpack Kentucky’s hemp roots, the NA beverage boom, and how 2025 KY laws affect THC drinks—plus the real story of scaling a beverage brand locally.

Guest Links

• Kentucky Hop Water: kentuckyhopwater.com (locator + DTC)
• Socials: @KentuckyHopWater | Personal: @michaeldmoeller

Host Links

• Email: findingfriendspodcast@gmail.com
  
  
• TikTok: @findingfriendspodcast | @directorchristinalee

Disclaimer: For 21+. Know your local laws. This is not legal/medical advice.

Christina and Catie chat with Jen Hartmann, founder of Pitch Please—the app that helps creators find the right decision-maker and pitch in seconds. Jen shares how a viral Louisville TikTok drew 400+ creators, the messy truth of launching an MVP, and tactics that turn pitches into paid partnerships—like open-rate analytics to nail your follow-ups. Plus what’s next: local brand discovery, an AI inbox assistant, and an enterprise version for talent managers.

Try Pitch Please (7-day free) on iOS and Google Play
Follow Pitch Please: Tiktok: @pitch.please.app Instagram: @pitchpleaseapp
Sponsor / Be a guest: findingfriendspodcast@gmail.com
Follow Finding Friends: Tiktok: @FindingFriendsPodcast @DirectorChristinaLee YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FindingFriendsPodcast