From New York to 'Now What?': Starting Over on Your Own Terms, with Adam J. Kurtz

0:06Katy:Hi, how are you doing? We're back for another episode and this week's guest is someone you've probably come across before, whether through his books, his unmistakable visual style, or his honest, often hilarious take on creative life. Adam Kurtz, also known as Adam J.K., is an artist, author and designer whose work has built a global following for its raw, relatable take on everything from anxiety and identity to growth and figuring things out as we go along. He spent over a decade building a career rooted in personal expression, publishing books, collaborating with brands and sharing work that feels truly human in an increasingly noisy world.

0:46Katy:But in recent years, things have shifted. After leaving New York during the pandemic, Adam found himself in Hawaii, starting a new chapter, rethinking what success looks like and even opening his own shop. Small kind gift, a space built around connection, curiosity and small meaningful moments. We talk about all of that, burnout, reinvention, moving somewhere you never expected and what happens when you step away from the version of yourself you've spent years building. And of course we get into his upcoming book, Now What? Which feels pretty timely given, well, everything. So if you've ever found yourself asking what's next or wondering if you're allowed to change direction, this one's for you.

1:32Katy:This episode is sponsored by Adobe Acrobat Studio. And if you still think of Acrobat as just a PDF tool, this might change your mind. Acrobat Studio is now a fully AI powered workspace. You can chat with your documents, pull insights from multiple files at once, collaborate with your team in shared PDF spaces, and even turn a doc straight into a branded design via Adobe Express, all in one place. Find out more at the link in the show notes.

2:02Katy:It's lovely to be chatting with you because I think we've been trying to get together and do this for a while. You actually were, I think when we first tried to do this, I think it was pre, just before the pandemic and you were back in New York in those days. And then of course, the pandemic happened and everything changed and a lot changed for you, I hear. Yeah, I think, you know, I really thought I was going to live and die in New York City. And that was so special. I was like, yes, I found my place. We're all insane here. And I'm just going to live out the rest of my days. But I married, my husband Mitchell is born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii.

2:40And during that time, he, you know, that first year of COVID was so difficult in New York. It really felt like being in the center of the storm. and after living through that he was ready to go home and take care of his his parents and you know I I made wedding vows I take it really seriously and so I it was not my dream to move to Hawaii I am from Toronto I like cold weather I'm very pale I don't belong in the sun I don't know how to swim I don't know how to drive I mean I am like now I'm like on an island there's no way I can get off but life has been really good in that time since and it was very difficult I think all of us right went through these sort of difficult reflective periods but five years later I am exactly where I'm supposed to be and that's such a cool feeling.

3:27Katy:Yeah it's interesting isn't it you don't know where you're going to be in five years time and you kind of you you're in search of something I think when you first start out you're trying to find yourself trying to sort of establish your identity and I think during that kind of era of us all moving to cities and I think everybody's always moved to cities for the work but I think there was definitely a boom in the last decade where a lot more of us went to the creative hubs it was easy for that to become part of our identity the most rather than anything else would you agree I think people have probably always identified strongly with the place that they live but yeah when you have these large hub cities or capital cities and countries around the world of course it feels more naturally like yeah this is who I am.

4:15I think a city like New York has such a strong identity. And it did, it did really feel like for me, like, oh, I'm, I'm going to be this New York artist type. And I think I believed it a little too much. I think I internalized it more than I had realized. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is when you're trying to be happy and content, satisfied, and grow in another place. So I had to sort of divest from that, that idea. And I think that this, at least, you know, for my timeline happened along the same time that I might have been embracing change anyway. You know, from the 20s to 30s transition, it all kind of lined up for me.

4:54And you shouldn't need a global pandemic to kill millions of people for you to sort of wake up and realize that you need to change. But I suppose if everyone is a changing around you, that does help.

5:06Katy:Yeah, it was a very tough time. It really was. It did kind of make you stop and think, what am I doing with my life? and how could I make it better? And does all of this kind of stuff really matter? Does it matter if I have on my bio that I'm a New York-based artist? Yeah, and it turns out it does matter in some ways. I feel like in some ways it does matter. I think that there was sort of a shift maybe and certainly there were opportunities that I had simply because of proximity. I believe that to be true, but I also think that I was kind of aging out of it anyway. And I also think that the way sort of influencer marketing and the way that marketers thought about plugging people into their campaigns changed too.

5:53So I think a lot was already changing. And I don't know, the timing was right.

5:58Katy:Yeah. But it was tough. It was tough being like, oh, well, this is a gig that I would have been great for. But I needed to be in the same city as the whatever the shoot was going to be. You know, like I used to get a lot of stupid work. Not stupid. I mean, I love advertising. And I love all of the client partners I've ever had and all the brands I've ever, you know, participated in marketing schemes with. But there was a lot of dumb shit happening and I loved it. You know, as a creative person, who wouldn't love to, you know, have your rate increase tenfold because you have 100 ,000 followers and you're going to post a photo of whatever.

6:34It was nice. Yeah, great times. Do you remember money? There used to be it and it would go around and you could have some.

6:45Katy:Yeah. But sometimes I felt like, you know, the New York thing helped for that because that's where work was coming up. And, you know, they could send a film crew to your apartment to put you in a something for something. Now I feel like I sound like a little sort of ungrateful asshole. I'm being glib. I was famous once. I'm intentionally. I think I'm trying to sort of like parody. you know now we can all look back and be like wow what was that but at the time it was really exciting I met really wonderful people I'm so glad also I think just to get back on track and and it and broadened it you know beyond New York if you're someone who has thought about moving to a place for any amount of time um if it's in your mind and you're thinking about it why not you know why not try it you don't want to reach your deathbed and and wish that you had done this one thing.

7:36And so, you know, even if it's, even if it's a long vacation, even if it's, I'm going to move to wherever for three months, I do think at a certain point, just try and, you know, you can fuck up your life a little bit and then you'll just get back on track. It's fine. Absolutely. I had wanted New York and I, I did it. I spent 10 years there and I met my husband and it was great. It was so great. I don't want this to be.

8:01Katy:yeah I do you know what I think you'd fit in really well in Britain because I love the sarcasm you know this is what we do we we deal with like very dry yeah yes great absolutely lovely I don't know if I've ever met a Jewish British person I think that would be so sarcastic I could certainly handle it but yes yeah you'd be right you'd fit in with my family fine you know we deal with I'd Love it. Yeah. We deal with kind of like difficult stuff with humor and sarcasm. That's how we work. That's how we function. Whether it's healthy or not, I don't know, but I enjoy it. I think healthy to at least deal with it.

8:36You know, if humor helps, that's wonderful. I think a lot of people don't deal with it at all in any capacity. And that's probably worse.

8:44Katy:Yeah. My family are all a bit loud and crazy, which is just the way it should be. so you're on hawaii this is epic this is a new chapter we're not going to make too big a deal of you the fact that you've left new york i think it's just nice to establish you know where you were before and how you built your career up and you made those contacts and what you know moving to somewhere like that it's going to change quite a few things and it's going to make you probably reflect quite a lot are you doing the same kind of work as you were doing before or things changed Moving to Hawaii changed my work, but also didn't.

9:21You know, I think my work is always really rooted in my life and my personality and, you know, who I am. And it's almost like dispatches from a person figuring it out in real time. And so after moving, the messages or the ethos of the work has stayed the same. But the actual content, the messages shifted. I'm also getting a little bit older and maybe I'm getting a little bit wiser. I've been alive longer. You know, I think it used to just be like leaking optimism and hope and desire to grow and change and be better. And now it's a little, you know, now my work comes from this place of like, oh, I did grow.

9:59Oh, I have grown now. I have, I am better now. And so it's really interesting for me to look at the work and see that. And I can see where the move happened for me. I will say that I'm someone who is always trying to identify and create meaning. and so I told myself when I left New York, okay, you are going to make this count. You're going to get a house and a dog and an antidepressant and you are going to change all the things that maybe need changing or address the things that need addressing and so I did that and it was very difficult I think at first and then, you know, the changes kicked in.

10:39Did you get a dog? I got a dog, Yeah. Dogs are wonderful. I was afraid of dogs for a lot of my early life. Same. Don't know why. I just think I didn't understand them. It's like, I don't understand you. You know, you don't communicate with words. And I'm very dumb. If it's not words, I don't always grasp it. You know, like I lack subtlety and nuance. But yeah, dogs are great. the unconditional love they force you to go for a walk they have these cute little smushy faces it's like it's so sweet and that's helped yeah so life life is happier life is simpler and the joy comes easier because i have a dog which is kind of like this or any pet is like this little joy factory walking around and then uh a little boost of medication and my brain is you know producing joy a little easier these days i'm having a little boost and so between that and just like looking at the ocean from my bathroom window it's like oh stop it's not bad it's not a bad life i'm so sorry you're doing all right i hate talking about it yeah people get so fucking mad when you talk about hawaii i get on a call for work you hop on a zoom call and everyone's like so where where are you calling in from and i don't even want to say people don't want to hear it i'm not

11:59Katy:trying to ruin your morning yeah but you know on on the other side you do have to pick up the dog's poo yeah and i'll do it i did it i did it twice today and i'll do it again sometimes i pick up stranger's poo oh god no sometimes if i'm just walking and it's like so you know it's in my block and i don't want the neighbor to think it was me and i'm like fuck it i'll just pick that you know that's my good deed for the day yeah and this is this is like a whole other thing but i'm also um in the process of trying to save the dog park it's it's my like little political good karma actions and i'll pick up the dog poop thing too so that's so i don't know we all have to participate in trying to make the world a slightly better place i go out and lit a pic sometimes what else can we even control anymore graphic design is over all we have is the park and our neighbors Adam, we're supposed to be inspiring people and giving them hope, not saying that.

13:00Katy:This is hope. There is hope. There is life. There is life after graphic design. You're welcome. Basically, move to Hawaii, get a dog. Everything's okay. No, just get a dog wherever you are. Or just like, just lean into, you know, one nice, simple thing. Maybe that's part of it, right? It's like, you want to be, you want to be cool so bad. Just stop that. If you still think cool is like a real sort of graspable, attainable goal, let it go. Get a dog, you know, have a cup of tea. But Adam, I'm going through post-back injury. I'm going through a bit of a personal reinvention. I walked around Shoreditch in London about a year ago and realized I was dressed really kind of old-fashioned and everything was too tight.

13:51Katy:And so I've been on a mission since to look like a Shoreditch hipster. It's working. I look like a dog. The trousers keep getting bigger. They're getting smaller again. I'm so sorry to report. We're seeing skinny jeans return. We're seeing low rise. What, even like rips in the knees? I've never been a rips in the knees person, but the trends are cycling so fast that don't throw out the skinny stuff yet. Just keep it. Just keep it under the bed. It's going to be back in five years. you know the the rise of ozempic and glp1s is bringing back a very toxic late 90s early 2000s like dangerously skinny thing is back oh it's gonna be it's gonna be great you're gonna hate yourself so much i can't wait for that well i'm taking inspiration from the japanese you know particularly men because i just love that style absolutely i'm kind of hoping that stays in style forever so then all the things i'm investing in even though my trials this could probably take off in a gusty wind you know will stay it's done the test of time and that's that's comfort here's the thing about white trousers they're just more comfortable and i look cool yeah no it's great you walk around like a fucking ghost it's wonderful no no i i love it i think we are yeah you and i i think are probably both in this chapter of like staple pieces you know we no longer we don't have to keep up with what 20 year olds are doing no oh my god thank god you know what's really cool this is i don't know if this is here or there but it's kind of cool to be at this moment of a career when you can afford to like buy a cool thing yes where it used to be i'd walk into the shop and i'd be like what is on the sale rack and now i'm like adam you don't have to buy a shitty thing you can decide what you'd actually like and then maybe maybe own it and it does change the way you think about your purchasing habits because it's like oh I could get this thing that is beautiful and maybe I'm gonna have it for 10 years or 20 years or the rest of my life I bought it's cool to think about making those things too you know for others god yeah and it's nice buying something independent I bought a men's over shirt the other day, got home thinking I had this men's over shirt in a sort of dark grey.

16:17Katy:And I had an amazing moment when I realised, Adam, it was reversible. It was two jackets in one. That's half price. You've saved 50%. It was so worth the price tag. Anyway, speaking of shops, this is one of the kind of new things that you've started. you've actually created a little business which is what selling what exactly is it tell me all about it small kind gift yes small kind gift is like a gift store bookstore souvenir shop nothing too serious so small kind gift is that the word kind is a hawaiian pigeon like a local slang and it essentially means or is comparable to like a thingamajig or whatchamacallit it's a placeholder word that could mean a little bit of anything.

17:08Unlike thingamajig or whatchamacallit, you know, these placeholders that are things, kind could also be any noun, a person, place, or thing. And so you could be talking about the kind and it's like, pass me a screwdriver. Or you could be talking about the kind and it's like some bitch in the same room who you're talking about without using their name and they don't even know you're talking shit about them. It's 100 % contextual. and so small kind gift signals to to people walking by and to people who are local to Hawaii that this is going to be a shop that just has like a little a little something and it's not serious it's not too serious and it's not too stressful right I think we all can relate to you know someone gives you an expensive gift and you're like oh this is lovely fuck I have to I've got to go buy them something you know and you get stuck in this gifting loop of you're trying to match their level of gift and gift giving culture and like hostess gift culture is pretty strong here in Hawaii.

18:05I think there's a lot of Japanese influence here too. Small kind gift is like a low pressure, low stakes. I got this thing and I thought of you and no big deal and you don't owe me anything in return. So this is all of the intentionality that we put into this gift shop. We really overthought the whole thing. is rooted in the exact same ethos of my own gift brand that I've been doing for over a decade now as Adam JK. And extending that more broadly to a shop where we get to sell books and art and nostalgic toys and candy and all the things that we love that feel special to us or emotional to us for one reason or another.

18:47And the secret guiding force that I have is that if it feels really sentimental to me and I have a strong emotional reaction, hopefully someone else will feel that too. And so there are many items that we sell because of a specific personal story that I have or my husband has or whatever. And you don't really need to know that, but I like to imagine that somewhere in the process, you can kind of feel it. And now I'm just waxing poetic about like the very concept of a gay person having a shop,

19:15Katy:which is actually a time old tradition. love love the thought that goes into a gift is always I think more precious than the value of a gift um absolutely we I think we all know this and then we forget you know you go to a gift shop and you're like well I gotta get something and you kind of panic and then you buy like a$50 candle you know which nobody wants unless it's a great candle you know what I mean like what does it smell like what is it made of what does the vessel look like I'm not really a candle guy I resisted even selling candles for the first year so I was like I don't fucking I don't want that but I have finally found this beautiful little brand that I love it's like a florist who got a divorce and now makes candles and they're in these colorful little jars and the scents are really excellent.

20:14And, you know, it's like one guy at home somewhere in Los Angeles and now we sell them. And they don't sell that well, but they're there. You know, our customer doesn't really want candles. Yeah, it's like, I don't really want to sell you a candle, but if you really want one, I have one.

20:31Katy:Yes. Let me know, I'll go get it from the back, you know. So that's the thing, you bring in things that have got also a story behind them. That's what people invest in now. This is what I just love and care about. I'll be honest, I did not open the shop for financial reasons. I feel like... It's a hobby. I don't want someone to listen to this podcast and be like, wow, he's opened a shop and now he can afford to live in Hawaii. No, I can't. That's not how this is happening. I have made several books and journals going back to the early 2010s. Yeah. and have had some commercial success and been very careful with money this entire time.

21:09Katy:Living in your skinny jeans. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I never wore skinny jeans. You can't see my legs. I've never been skinny in my whole life. So, oh, I, some slimmer cuts certainly, but no, I've always been a large adult man. What am I saying? Oh yeah. I opened a shop. I opened a shop for the joy of it. yes um it's only really possible because of the ongoing freelance work I do and and work in publishing and the shop um you know it would be more profitable to not open a shop but you're bored basically that's it you're bored I I needed to fill a void a certain void yeah there was really there was something missing this is something different from New York to Hawaii is the in New New York, in London, you know, in these big cities, you can people watch all day and every day you'll meet someone that you might never see again.

22:07And when you go to a smaller city or a town, you reduce that opportunity for chance.

22:14Katy:Yeah. For those surprise meetings. And as a shopkeeper, every day I, you know, I open the curtain and I flick on the sign and then I sit and I wait and the universe brings me a surprise every day. You know, here is a honeymooning couple from Japan. Here is someone who was raised on this block and did not notice that we've been open for a year and a half. It's like, it's wonderful. It's so fun. And so I opened a shop because I was missing that sense of chance, you know, and a few other reasons, you know, but it's all, it's all logistic. It's all emotional. Logically, financially, not a smart choice.

22:55I'm grateful. It has actually been going pretty well.

22:58Katy:Yeah. We just crossed the one year mark. Yay. And I have been very surprised. I think financially we're on a nice path, but it would still be, it would be better business to just do more freelance work and have no overhead, no employees. Yeah. But, I mean. But you can't. You can't have everything. That can't be the deciding factor in life. Life is too, I was going to say life's too short, but actually life is also too long to suffer. Yes. Life is both too short and too long, frankly. Exactly. When you've got all that ocean to stare at, I mean, just tiresome. When you moved from New York to Hawaii, just out of curiosity, for my own personal curiosity, did you, I don't really, I've never been to Hawaii.

23:42Katy:I don't know what it's like. I presume it's like got that small townish kind of vibe. were you freaked out when people were saying hello to you all the time and good morning or was New York quite friendly in that regard I think Hawaii is definitely more friendly I will say also that I'm I live in Honolulu in the city ah okay so not in the biggest city no it's it's the it's the biggest city in the most the most populous island of all the islands here and so there are places that are much more sort of country feeling. And there are people even even on this island, you know, within 30 minutes drive, who would refer sort of, it's almost derogatory the way they talk about townies, which is funny, because then to someone in New York, it's like, we're all nothing, no, nowhere, middle of the ocean barely exist.

24:31What are you even doing? Yeah, but people people generally are friendlier here. I have to say, I'm kind of a friendly person. I don't know if that's coming through on this podcast because I'm being very sort of sarcastic. It is. Don't worry.

24:43Katy:You're in good company. I understand. I'm getting the humor. Stated for the record, you know, Adam's the kind of guy who says good morning to you in the street. And I was like that in New York, too. You know, I was, there's my barber, there's the post office, and there's the coffee shop. And I'm like that here, too. I like how easy it comes here. I love the sort of small talk. In Hawaii, we call small talk talking story. I love to talk story. It's like, how's Hannah doing? Did she get her knee operation sorted? You know, how's Barbara? Is she still going out with Jim or is Jim now going out with Sarah?

25:18Katy:You know, that kind of thing. Well, that's gossip. That's sounding very British to me. That's just, you're all up in everyone's business. We're so rude. Yeah. It's because we have, we live in boring small towns now. You know, we need drama. Oh, but you guys walk a lot, right? That's like a thing. You know who I think of? I always, I've actually never been to the UK ever. I was finally, I feel like maybe there's a curse in my life. I was actually booked for a big conference in London. And then it was a whole thing where they didn't really want to pay me. And I was like, okay, well then I'm not going to, I don't want to, I don't want to talk badly about any international design and advertising organization.

26:03You don't get paid. That would be so bad. But anyway, it was so whack. and then I was like, okay, well, I'm not going to go. And then now it's almost like a little joke in my life that I've never been to London because I seem like such a guy who would.