Welcome to another installment of Brandish, a Pyragraphic portrait series featuring artists of all energies along with the unsung tools that they brandish—those tools without which the artists would not be able to do their specific batches of creativity.

While we post a new photo every week on our social media channels, this is a compilation post to share more widely the encyclopedic and idiosyncratic tools that the artists chose.

Shannon Curtis, Songwriter

“I used to have a super expensive condenser mic. Then I switched back to the Shure SM58 mic. You don’t have to worry about it; there’s dents and lipstick marks all over. It has a flat, clean sound, so for performances it’s great, but I use it for songwriting, too. This microphone is part of my life almost everyday.” —Shannon Curtis | Songwriter

Jamie Hill, Music Producer

“In the past, we had more of a static live sound setup—an analog mixer and a reverb pedal. We’d set it up and we’d just let it be. With this digital mixer, I can add little inflection points in Shannon’s songs, albeit very subtly. It’s the place I can add color to our live show.” —Jamie Hill | Music Producer

Teresa Romero, Fashion Designer

“I do all my designing on dress forms so I can visually see it before it comes to life. And all my dresses get named. They’re like my people. You work with and spend so much time with them that it’s like giving birth to this thing that then goes off into the world.” —Teresa Romero | Fashion Designer

Emily Hill, Freelance Writer

“I’m car-free. So as a freelance writer, I bike around everywhere, often to meet clients. And I want to look fancy. Sometimes biking and looking fancy is hard. But my secret is bike shorts. Under any skirt, dress, etc., bike shorts enable me to get around while still looking professional.” —Emily Hill | Freelance Writer

Kyle Ruggles, Musician

“My ears are constantly on. I hear sounds and frequencies no one else seems to hear. It’s almost a superpower in that sometimes it’s to my detriment. But it’s because of my ears that I find the idiosyncrasies and the secrets of any song, score, or jingle I play or listen to. They’re my dictionary.” —Kyle Ruggles | Musician

All photos by Clarke Condé.