This week on MattersNot, Chris and Buck welcome two special guests: Xena of Vend and Snap and Alek from Hilltree Roastery for a conversation that starts with vegetables, somehow detours through movie rankings and graffiti culture, and lands on something bigger—creating meaningful experiences through art, storytelling, and community.
Xena shares the story behind launching Vend and Snap, her creative business that blends photography, marketing, event hosting, and community building into one umbrella. From studying multimedia journalism at Marshall and covering crime for the local paper to building a business centered around authentic moments and visual storytelling, she talks about how creativity became both career and purpose.
The group dives into photography philosophy, capturing memories versus staging them, working with clients, creating marketing content for Hilltree, and why analog experiences still matter in a digital world. They also explore Xena’s growing community events—from paint nights and vinyl art to photography classes designed to get people off their phones and connecting again.
Of course, no MattersNot episode would be complete without side quests: movie hot takes (Napoleon Dynamite controversy included), favorite films, terrible cult classics, graffiti stories, thrifted thrones, and the strange beauty of chasing inspiration wherever it shows up.
A laid-back conversation about creativity, entrepreneurship, and finding ways to bring people together—one photo, cup of coffee, or weird movie opinion at a time.
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