Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessie Zylstra. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jessie, appreciate you joining us today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

The kindest thing anyone has ever done for me is believe in me. Having the support of someone I respect gives me the determination to accomplish whatever I set my mind to. There are some people that have believed in me with no questions asked, and helped my career take off during a time in my life when everything seemed to be falling apart,

Getting into the music industry and podcast world has opened up some amazing opportunities for me as an artist.
Being Cohost and Editor of A Nameless Production and Cofounder of Dirty Sisters Organization, I am able to meet many inspiring people.
Anthony Soares, of Gentle Giant Digital, was one of the first people to offer me support in my goals, even making it possible for me to reach some. Without his help, I would not be creating digital art as I am today, nor would Dirty Sisters Organization be helping people across the country. Anthony was the first person to allow me to use my creative talents for a purpose, and encouraged me to focus that purpose on myself and my own goals.
Jeff Pliskin, of Raised Fist Propaganda has been another supportive person in my career, always giving 100% support whenever I ask. He has been a guest on my podcast, created pins with me, used my artwork multiple times for his successful brand, and has offered Melissa and I endless advice in merch production and product quality. In an industry where knowledge must be bought, Jeff shares openly to allow all of us to become our most successful selves.
Melissa Pofek has given me the most support of the last few years, trusting me and believing in me enough to start a podcast, a production company, a non-profit, and to remain close friends through it all. She allows me to be myself unapologetically, while helping build situations that showcase both our unique talents best, so we can balance the weight of all the projects and work we have together.

Jessie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have my Bachelor’s in Fine Art, and I’m really proud to say that I actually use my degree in my work. I paint, draw, crochet, carve, do body paintings, photography, editing, installation art, we produce merchandise and I draw logos… I am fully involved in the art world, and I love it. My involvement in the music scene began when I volunteered to run the Feelin Good With Duddy podcast fanpage. A group of Dirty Heads fans formed a small online community, and everything I have now blossomed from that little group. I am forever grateful to Anthony, Duddy, Jake, and Luke for the life that grew from their podcast and the other listeners. Our Bunker page was life changing and came at the exact time I needed it.
Since then, Melissa Pofek and I have started our own podcast, business, non-profit, and have helped hundreds of people in so many ways.
I am a Cofounder of Dirty Sisters Organization, cohost, editor, and artistic director for A Nameless Production, and I do logos and graphic art for musicians and small businesses. I also do all the artwork for Dirty Sisters and Nameless.
I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder, that makes working, and existing, a challenge sometimes, but I always find a way to overcome and get the job done. I have three kids, and they are my reason to wake up and work hard every day. I want them to see they have every option available in this life, as long as they are willing to work for it. Some days I work extra hard, some days I rest and can’t work at all, and I’m glad I can shoe them that both are okay and that a healthy body is the first step to a healthy career. Due to the physical limitations, I often take breaks from specific art forms, maybe crocheting for a few weeks, then switching back to drawing or editing, so my joints and muscles can rest. Dirty Sisters and Nameless, with graphic design mixed in, have given me the flexibility and artistic freedom to adapt to my changing daily needs and still maintain that level of success and dedication that makes me feel useful and available to be the best mom and artist I can be.
Melissa and I run Dirty Sisters and A Nameless Production, with a small group helping us out, working endlessly to add some good into the world. We encourage, promote, support, and help in all ways we can.
Dirty Sisters is for the community, helping fans and friends alike. Nameless is for the industry, supporting bands, merchandise, promotion, and more. While the two intertwine, Nameless is really where I am able to show my full range of creativity. Body painting is one of my favorite forms of self expression, and we use our podcast to showcase skills in installation and body art. Recreating iconic or hilarious movie scenes is one of my favorite parts of our podcast, and I appreciate having an outlet to share my art, health struggles, music news, and more.
I make my living and pay my bills with graphic design and merchandise sale and production, but I fill my cup and feed my soul with helping bands and fans reach their fullest potential.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I met Melissa Pofek, and Anthony Soares, through the podcast Feelin Good With Duddy. I ran the Facebook fanpage known as the FGWD Bunker for listeners to get together and chat. As FGWD started to fizzle, Melissa and I teamed up and started our own podcast to continue the shenanigans we had grown accustomed to. Melissa had recently gone through rehab to quit drinking, and I had just quit drinking due to an allergy, so we found it easy to get along and work together. Dirty Sisters was Melissa’s Facebook page, for female fans of Dirty Heads. So I was in her page, and she was in mine, and our paths crossed often online, until finally we decided to get together in person.
With the help and support of Anthony, who did photos, videos, live streams, and more for Dirty Heads and FGWD, we created Dirty Sisters Organization. We are a small group, but we help as much as we can, and have a wonderful group of people behind us.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

We do manufacture our own products, specifically through A Nameless Production. Nameless is our way of earning money through merch and music production. We use our skills, logos, and machines, then press and ship everything ourselves. Melissa does most of the merch production, since all the machines are at her house. We do have a studio, but the power and heat are inconsistent. which affects print quality. Initially we had our merch set up through print on demand, via online sites like Printify. We were not making enough to keep it going, so with a donation from Melissa’s husband, we were able to get the heat press to start pressing out own items. It was a huge learning curve. We started out working at our studio in Riverside, but found the building couldn’t support the machines how we needed. So, we moved them to Melissa’s and she has been able to get a system down to have the best images.
Jeff Pliskin, Raised Fist, has helped us out a ton in this specifically. He was also shifting into printing merch items himself, and while I we were all researching, and trying out different techniques, he would send me messages with what worked, what didn’t what websites had the best deals. Honestly it was such a wonderful help, and saved us a lot of money and time from having to go through our own trial and error with each step! Not a lot of people will share what they know freely. Knowledge is power, and money, and people tend to hold it tight. Jeff helping us out got us set up to be our own merch production, and we were even able to expand into small items for bands and businesses. We press our logos or others onto shirts, mugs, puzzles, air fresheners, all kinds of stuff.
One item we love doing is the mini band flags. Bands and musicians that have been on our podcast have the opportunity to send us their logo, and we will sell mini flags, sending them their profits with each sale, no effort required on their end! The flags are fun to have, since they travel well, can be signed, and support all our favorites.
The pins we sell, I don’t personally manufacture, but I do the artwork and designs, and all the communication with the pin companies, or collaborations, so those still feel like something we make, even if we aren’t pressing metal. Every pin I have created for Dirty Sisters has been used for donations for our programs like Filthy Bros for men’s mental health awareness, or feeding families who lost their homes in fires or hurricanes. The goal behind each pin is helping and spreading the love.

Contact Info:

• Website: Anamelessproduction.com
• Instagram: anamelessproduction
• Facebook: A Nameless Production
• Youtube: Youtube.com/Namelessrules
• Other: Dirtysisters.org IG- Dirtysisterog FB- Dirty Sisters Organization

Image Credits
Two Dumb Babies