Behind The Scenes With Picker Sister Tanya McQueen

A few weeks back I posted about one of my new favourite shows, Picker Sisters. That post led to an opportunity to interview Tanya McQueen (yay!).

Read on for a behind the scenes look into Tanya’s career as well as the inside scoop on how Picker Sisters came to fruition. 

Tanya describes her journey to this point as a “wild ride”. Living in a small town in Texas and being a single mom of two boys, Tanya had to work that much harder to make her dream of working in entertainment a reality.

She began by channeling her passion for design into house "flipping".  She, and her cousin, partnered up for this venture and within one year, they had bought, renovated, decorated and sold five houses.

During this time, Tanya continued to drive to Houston to audition for regional television roles.

Her persistence eventually paid off when she landed a spot on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Armed with hands-on experience, and one sweet gig, she was finally on the path to living her creative dreams.

Today, Tanya says, “I’m at a place in my life and career that I get to do what I love and what I think I’m good at. I hope my example to others is to live your dreams.” She, like me, firmly believes that “If you don’t wake up thinking about it or go to bed talking about it, you’re probably not living your passion. I realize that life sometimes gets in the way of reaching out and grabbing your dream job, but I encourage everyone to find a way to start down that path. There is no need to explain, excuse or justify what you do.” 

While Tanya & Tracy knew that the idea behind Picker Sisters would resonate with viewers, Tanya says, “The biggest challenge was convincing a network that people really would watch. We truly believed in the magic of upcycling. We believed in our ability to creatively find worth in discarded trash. So many wonderfully perfect materials are just lying around waiting to be repurposed. The hardest part is honing that part of your brain and eye to see some inherent value in another person’s trash heap.”

Of all the pieces they’ve created for the show, Tanya says that the “meat saw”, turned sink/vanity, is her favourite. If you haven’t seen the “meat saw” episode, you’re probably thinking “whaaaat…?” right about now, but trust me; it was an amazingly beautiful transformation. 

My favourite makeover, to date, has to be the yellow, arrow marquee piece, pictured below.

If you’ve seen the show, you know that the ladies spend a lot of their time road-tripping and collecting the “junk” that they’ll later transform into one-of-a-kind furnishings. What you won’t see, however, is the reality of being a mom on a road trip.

As Tanya explains, “Tracy and I have six kids between us. We were always in the car and trying to juggle our homes from the console and a cell phone. There was rarely a moment that we weren’t disciplining a kid, figuring out a carpool glitch or begging them to brush their teeth. At the same time we felt very Thelma and Louise. Wind in our hair, sipping on diet coke and eating beef jerky…(well, maybe our version wasn’t as sexy, but we felt like it was and that’s all that matters.)”

As for what’s next for this talented duo, Tanya says, “Tracy and I are currently taking a bit of a breather and are looking at other avenues to share our love of design. I think that wanting and needing to create is very fluid and that around each bend you are inspired by something else. It's sort of the good and bad of never being able to shut off your creative juices; you can’t predict your next passion project. What I can promise you is that we will never stop hitting the road and looking for exciting ways to spice up life.”

When I asked Tanya about the possibility of her ever designing a furniture line, the old fashion way, she said, “Never say never… I love the endless opportunities that life constantly throws out.”

As someone who is building a creative business, I appreciated Tanya’s last few words of advice for those facing challenges of their own. She says, “There will always be naysayers and there will always be hills to climb. Believe in yourself; not only will your gut and brawn be tested, but you’ll be pushed creatively, financially and personally. If you love something, it makes all these hurdles so much easier to jump. I once read, ‘If you have the energy to wish for something, you have the energy to do it.’ Just shut up and do it, sister!!!”

I'd love to send out a big thank you to Tanya for taking time out of her busy schedule to chat with us, here on Mod Nest, today! And hey, if you've missed any Picker Sisters episodes, you must immediately program the DVR and set aside some time to get lost in the reruns!

Comments

[Hugh @Catalog Printing]

Your crafts show a lot of dedication to your work. No one will think that you are always on the road trip.