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Sean Timberlake
Founder
Punk Domestics
September 04, 2012
Punk Domestics is pretty high in the running for best ever website name (following closely behind ours, obviously). And although we're very impressed by that, as well as the content on the site (jam has always been our jam), we're truly inspired by how much time and effort Sean invested in order to put himself in a position to launch his dream. Those of you slogging through a decade or more of experience, with the hopes that you'll one day be able to turn that sweat into lemonade, take heart.

How did you get your current good food job?

I began writing professionally in 1996, initially on technology. From there I transitioned into travel, which is another major passion of mine, but it became abundantly clear to me that most of my focus in travel writing was on food. I was fascinated with what food communicates about culture, what you can learn about people from what they eat and how they cook. And so I began writing about food by starting my blog, Hedonia, in 2006, eventually branching out into freelance work. Since then, I've written for the Cooking Channel's blog, Leite's Culinaria, Blackboard Eats, Foodzie, Williams-Sonoma, and more.

How did you get your current good food job?

I created it! When I left my last full-time job in 2010, I knew I wanted to do something on my own. By then I had developed a deep interest in food preservation and DIY projects; much of my focus on Hedonia had shifted that direction. I could see the trend was very much on the grow, with excellent content from folks like Marisa at Food in Jars, Cathy Barrow of Mrs Wheelbarrow's Kitchen and so many others, but there wasn't a central hub where the curious could come to peruse it. And so I decided to take matters into my own hands.

How did your previous work or life experience prepare you for a good food job?

By the time I set out to launch Punk Domestics I had 14 years experience in product management of editorial and media products, building sites and features from the ground up. I came into it with a clear vision of what I wanted the product to do, how I wanted people to interact with it, how I expected the community to coalesce. I reached out to a few friends ? a designer and a couple developers ? and used  a portion of my severance as seed money to get the site off the ground. Because I had been steeped in the food blog world for several years, I had plenty of connections, so I reached out to groups of them to announce my new project. They helped spread the word, and within days of launching the site, a vibrant organic community began to grow. Today, we have over 2,000 profiles and 3,000 contributions on the site, and about 11,000 fans on Facebook. The community continues to grow.

What was the greatest obstacle you had to overcome in pursuing your Good Food Job dream?

Bluntly, the site doesn't pay the mortgage; online ad revenues are far from stellar these days. I still do freelance writing and contract work on the side to make ends meet. Sometimes it feels like I spend a disproportionate amount of time maintaining something that doesn't return on investment, but the time I spend on Punk Domestics really is the highlight of my day. I learn something new every single day, and am always thrilled when people reach out to tell me that they were inspired into action after discovering content from the site. That was exactly what I wanted the site to do, and it gratifies me greatly  to know that I am helping people learn and expand.

What can you identify as the greatest opportunities in food right now?

Look for problems that don't have adequate solutions. We still have both a dire hunger and food waste problem in this country, and groups like FoodPool and Food Forward are doing great things to make the connection from abundance to need, but there's always more work to be done there. And food education seems to be on a continued growth trajectory. People are always interested in expanding their skills and knowledge, whether it be basics or more advanced material. This is a major reason why I started leading hands-on culinary tours in Italy, the second of which will be this upcoming January. A friend of mine and I have bandied about the idea of creating some kind of a kitchen tool library, or community kitchen where people who don't have the space for large appliances or tools (like canners) could use them on an as-needed basis.

If you could be compensated for your work with something other than money, what would it be?

I'd really love for someone to come build me a curing chamber so I can up my salumi game!

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