The Art of Feeling at Home: Chris Bible on Creativity, Identity, and Designing a Life of Your Own
Home is more than the place we return to at the end of the day. It holds our memories, reflects our personalities, and often reveals parts of ourselves that we are still learning to understand. The colors we choose, the objects we collect, and the spaces we create can speak to our histories, our aspirations, and even our emotional well-being. For artist and interior designer Chris Bible, founder of Mint and Fig Design, creating a home is as much about understanding the person who occupies it as it is about the design itself.
In the second episode of Season 3 of The Mental Plug, host Quinn Barbour sits down with Bible to explore the relationship between creativity, identity, and the environments we inhabit. Her appreciation for design began in junior high school when she was given the freedom to make her bedroom her own. Growing up in a household with five children and a single mother, interior decorating was not necessarily a priority. Yet having a space she could shape according to her own imagination introduced her to something that would eventually become central to her creative life.
Before establishing Mint and Fig Design, Bible spent a decade operating a beauty bar in Los Angeles. After experiencing burnout, she began reconsidering what she wanted from her professional and personal life. Interior design offered a new direction, while painting became a more intimate form of expression. What began as a practice for her mental well-being eventually developed into another dimension of her artistic career. Unlike interior design, which requires balancing client expectations and practical considerations, painting gives Bible the freedom to create without external demands.
Her design philosophy has also been shaped by experiences beyond Los Angeles. Travels through Morocco, San Miguel de Allende, and Costa Rica introduced her to different relationships between architecture, craftsmanship, color, and nature. From terracotta walls and handmade tiles to lush greenery and traditional materials, these experiences encouraged an approach that values individuality over passing trends. Rather than designing around what is popular, Bible believes our homes should reflect the things that genuinely bring us comfort, inspiration, and joy.
Throughout the conversation, Bible and Barbour also examine the pressure creatives face to constantly produce, evolve, and define themselves within a single discipline. For Bible, working across painting and interior design has required releasing expectations about what an artist should be. Her experiences speak to a larger conversation about allowing ourselves to change direction, pursue new interests, and recognize that creativity does not always follow a predictable path. Perhaps the most meaningful part of the conversation comes from Bible's reflections on perfection. Whether building a creative career, designing a home, or imagining a different future, she encourages listeners to consider what they truly want rather than what they believe they are supposed to achieve. “What brings you joy if money wasn’t a factor?” she asks, reminding us that progress begins with the willingness to take a first step.
In many ways, the conversation returns to the idea that a fulfilling life, much like a meaningful home, is something we create over time. It is shaped by our experiences, the things we choose to hold onto, and the freedom we give ourselves to become someone new.
Hosted by Quinn Barbour, Episode 2 of The Mental Plug, The Art of Feeling at Home: Creating Space for Yourself, is now streaming on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Season 3 of The Mental Plug is supported by MAAD Artist, the nonprofit organization founded by ColorBloc Magazine.
Follow @mentalplugpodcast on Instagram for more conversations on art, creativity, and mental well-being.
Stay Connected with Chris Bible
Comments