Hi! I’m Taylor Robinson. My husband, Connor Robinson, and I are local artists and small business owners living in West Ashley. Connor is a Charleston native who has spanned generations. Although I am a transplant, I have a special nexus with Charleston. I will be 30 on August 1st, and Connor will be 32 on August 18th.
“Tell us a little about yourself” is a surprisingly complex question, as I feel like I’ve lived multiple lifetimes in my short 30 years. We both have been in recovery and sober for over 3 years and are avid advocates for the de-stigmatization of mental health and substance use disorder recovery. Without making my career my entire identity, I’d first like to describe myself as a creative with an empathetic heart, striving to improve myself and the world in any way I can each new day. I love animals, art + design, cinema, photography, surfing, skateboarding, creative writing, nature, and cooking.
My husband and I have owned our small business, Visceral Home, for over two years. Over the past few years, we’ve honed in on a practice where we collaborate: Connor creates handcrafted frames and surfaces on which I paint, sculpt, and embroider abstract images. Our art is a kinship of two individual processes and personal meditative techniques that ultimately combine to achieve one thoughtfully balanced vision. As artists and creative directors, we decided to operate under a moniker, visceral home, to stay open to evolving concepts, adding furnishings to our collections, and a dream of a future non-profit to expand and lobby for developing more mental health resources in Charleston.
Here in Charleston, you can experience our artwork at our home studio by request, at the Grand Bohemian Hotel Gallery, on Spring St. at Claudia Leonard Interior’s shoppable showroom, or at the City Gallery for Spoleto from May 24th to June 7th. We are humbled to be represented locally, regionally, and internationally, and we invite you to explore our artwork on www.visceralhome.com and connect with us on social media @visceralhome.
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
My husband Connor is my favorite human in the world. We have 4 cat children: Gaia, Freya, Squidward, and Uncle. We cannot wait for the day we become parents to a child without fur, hopefully in the near-ish future.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
Being able to work alongside my best friend creatively and professionally still feels surreal. I never believed I could create art that resonated with others; it was always something I thought would always be a hobby. Relying on sales to pay our bills has pushed me to confront self-doubt and rebuild my core beliefs, as it’s easy to drift into feelings of “imposter syndrome.” Life is fleeting, and I never take this journey for granted. I still pinch myself every day. We find it incredibly important always to share that we’ve supplemented our income with side gigs and outside opportunities to reach this point. I used to believe owning a business was only for the wealthy or those with significant advantages. With a tremendous amount of self-awareness, willingness to fail repeatedly, dedication to push through rejection, and hard work to think outside of the box, I want to be a voice to advocate that ANYONE can turn their passion into a livelihood. That’s what I love most about what I do.
Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
Wild Olive and The Obstinate Daughter are my absolute favorite “fine dining” special occasion spot in Charleston. Lewis BBQ for a full BBQ experience, ahhh the best sides. Home team BBQ for their pulled pork nachos and sauces. I am a sauce queen.
Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
I first moved to Charleston from South Florida with my family during my senior year of high school in 2012; after graduating from Wando, I immediately moved to Rhode Island, thinking I would go to Johnson + Wales. I lived in RI and NYC on and off, working in restaurants, and I came back to Charleston in late 2016 and left once more in 2020 but always came back. I have worked many different jobs and fields in Charleston: leading the kitchen on Shem Creek at Taven and Table, in front and back of houses in restaurants all around the city, and working for a non-profit called Oxford House Inc. When I reflect on my time spent in Charleston, I am most proud of the impact I was grateful to make working for Oxford House, which allowed me to open eight Oxford House sober living homes in the Lowcountry. I moved to Asheville in January 2020 to work at a rehab center right before COVID completely shut everything down. I lived there for about a year, and when I moved back home two weeks later, I met Connor in February 2021. So, a collective of about 8-9ish years in Charleston, give or take? Hard to remember myself, so i’m sure I lost you somewhere along the way too.
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
I have had the honor of meeting SO many interesting people while working in food + bev, and in the mental health field. If I had to pick one, I think I have to base it on their passionate empathetic nature, she has a huge heart and a drive to help Charleston grow addiction recovery resources: Christine Rarrick, Pharmacist at MUSC.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
I’ve never left the country, and longing to have that experience. I have a long bucket list of places I want to visit, but right now if I had the chance, I lust for the inspiration and natural materials found in the Atacama Desert, Chile. I daydream of spending days collecting natural pigment, rocks, sand, and have the experience of foraging for pigment to paint with and using it to create art right there in the desert. Then I would have to take the flight from Chile down to see the penguin families, it doesn’t get better than that right? There are no words in the world to describe how much I love penguins.
Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
I love cinema so much. This is reeeeally hard. All-time favorites: Back to the future 1 + 2, Shutter Island, Jurassic Park 1 + 2. ~ Recent favorites ~ Movies: Smile, Talk to me, Hereditary. Shows: BEEF, Them, Mr. Robot, The OA, From, and Dark.
Q: What advice would you give to people?
Protecting your peace includes denying access to people who are not willing to respect your boundaries. You cannot change someone who does not want to change. It is NEVER too late to start over. It is NEVER too late to ask for help. You do not need to be in crisis to go to therapy. Self-Awareness will change your life.
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
Create a network for children to access help anonymously, skydive, hug a sloth, exhibit our artwork at MOMA in NYC, and have large land in California to foster/ rehab a bunch of exotic and domestic animals.
Q: What is your go to band when you cant decide what to listen to?
Jefferson Airplane, The Durutti Column, Modest Mouse, Florence + The Machine and Asaf Avidan.
Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
Bowens Island on Folly Beach. When I first moved to Charleston, it was my senior year of High School starting at a school like Wando was overwhelming. One of my first friends in Charleston brought me to Bowens Island on Folly Beach, and I vividly remember watching the most beautiful sunset, eating the freshest oysters, feeling grateful to be in Charleston.
Q: If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative; with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?
Michelle Obama, and I would take her to Tavern + Table on Shem Creek at sunset, sitting dock side. I have immense respect for Michelle and her family, I would love nothing more than the opportunity to ask her the hundreds of questions I have that I think only she can answer.
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
When I read this question, I immediately thought rainbow row. There is something magical about Rainbow Row and the battery at golden hour, glowing light hitting the canopy trees and flowers just right as my husband and I skateboard along the huge magnolias. It’s this serene, back in time feeling I haven’t felt somewhere else. I love being able to smile and wave at just about anyone, and they almost always smile right back. I’ve never experienced that anywhere else.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
In my wildest dreams, my husband and I are in the middle of our flourishing art career: working alongside other creatives, interior designers, and galleries who feel inspired by our artwork and mission. We hope by that time we would have our first child, and be in a place that enables us to keep growing/ expanding/ learning in our art career and build a platform large enough to make some REAL change in the mental health space.
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
I couldn’t drive a car without using both feet. That landed me down a ditch and hitting a tree 4 days after getting my learners permit. I still sometimes find myself doing it subconsciously. Interesting, or embarrassing? I don’t know the difference. One more, in my lifetime, I’ve moved (from one home to another) 26 times in my *almost* 30 years, I guess that’s interesting but also at this point I can pack everything I own with my eyes closed.
Q: What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?
Connor and I had the opportunity to exhibit our artwork in LA in October of last year. We both have dreamt of visiting California, and although we didn’t get to go up and down the coast the way we desire too, the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen/explored has to be Laguna Beach, CA. A close, close second is the Jamestown, RI lighthouse. I lived in Rhode Island from 2012-2016 and that spot was my safe space. Max Patch Loop in Pisgah National Forest outside of Asheville, NC: listen if you are reading this, plan a weekend you get in your car and take the 4/4 and a half hour trip to Max Patch trail and your mind will be blown that you were in the Lowcountry just a few hours prior. It’s MAGIC.
Q: Favorite month? favorite holiday? and best single day on the calendar?
The best day of my life was February 13th 2021, the day I met Connor and my life changed forever. I love seasons, more than holidays: My favorites are different for each state I’ve lived. NYC & RI: late October – Early November when the leaves change, and the air is crisp. South Florida: Hanukkah on the beach in December. Asheville, NC: January, frosty outside and only snowy on the top of a Mountain. Charleston: September on folly beach when tourists go back to school and Connor and I have the surf to ourselves, and we can throw a sweatshirt on and cuddle on the steps at the Washout.
Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?
NY Pizza, the sweet hugs of a cat, and Ice cream sandwiches.
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
My husband Connor, and the child we hope to have together in the future. Naturally, or adopted, or any child we would be blessed with to nurture in our lifetime: Every single day I wake up and thrive to be a better version of myself for my future children. I want to be the mother I always wanted; I want to raise empathetic, kind, loving, humble, self-aware humans. To do that, I vowed to myself from a very young age I will not mother a child until the relationship I have with myself, and my partner is healthy and grounded in transparent vulnerable honesty + communication.
Q: What is one or two of your favorite smells?
Palo Santo wood, and brownies in the oven.
Q: Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Cuddles with ones you love, kitties welcoming you at the door, and cozy blankets.
