The Maison Gaton Podcast

This week I want to introduce you to a woman you haven't met yet. And before I tell you about Madame J, I have to tell you about Elle.
Elle was my imaginary friend when I was eight. A 1920s movie star with a jet black bob, cupid bow lips, and apartments in Paris, Hollywood, and New York City. Whenever I opened the imaginary door to her apartment I never knew which city I'd land in. Sometimes I held up a bottle of Palmolive soap and accepted awards alongside her while I did the dishes. She was the fun place to go.
Madame J is not Elle. But there are qualities to her that remind me of Elle, as if these were real women who simply knew each other.
This week I talk about:
The childhood imaginary cast: Berg, Peter, Betty, and Elle
What this season of life made possible that my eight-year-old imagination couldn't
Why I wanted to write women I'd actually want to spend time with. She's not nice, but she's kind.
The short story serial tradition: Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Beatrix Potter
Bringing Madame J to life with illustrator Gemini.H
My 26 girl cousins, the matriarchy, and the women we surround ourselves with
Madame J arrives June 2nd on Substack. Five installments. Every Tuesday. Free to read.
Connect: Instagram @judithgaton | Substack for weekly essays
Gemini.H's work

This week we're continuing our A Collection of Lovely Things series with a theme of Blue: Hopes, Dreams & Aspirations, and this week's room is a little different.
The Blue room has comfy couches, table space, journals, notebooks, whiteboards. It's a space for dreaming. And more importantly, it's a space with a microphone in the center because this week we're talking about something rarely discussed among highly accomplished women.
Accomplishment Loneliness.
Not platitudes about goal setting. Not a vision board exercise. The real, lived experience of what it feels like to accomplish much and still feel completely alone in it.
In this episode, the three faces of Accomplishment Loneliness:
The Loneliness of Outpacing Your Circle
The Loneliness of the Summit
The Loneliness of Not Being Able to Celebrate Fully
Your missions this week:
Find the part of the good thing you're willing to share — and share it with someone
If you reach a summit and it's not what you expected, find the emotion you can name and share that instead
Communicate your expectations of celebration clearly and unequivocally — no hinting, no hoping
Ask yourself honestly: am I doing this for the love of the thing, or for the applause?
Accomplishment Loneliness is real. It's common. It's survivable. Say the quiet parts out loud.
If this episode resonated with you — share it with a woman in your life who needs to hear it. And if you're enjoying the show, leave us a review. It means the world.
Until next time. 
Read the full Blue collection — essay, playlist, poem, style inspiration, and book recommendations — at: maisongaton.substack.com
Connect: Instagram @judithgaton | Substack for weekly essays

This week we're continuing our A Collection of Lovely Things series with a theme of Green: Home & Environment, and it's all about turning the space you already have into the retreat you've been waiting for.
The episode opens with a reflection on a self-scheduled weekend retreat: a whiteboard in the dining room, a pillow nest on the couch, and the question that started it all: do you want your home to feel like a museum, a workshop, or both?
From there, we dig into three ways to reimagine your space as an incubator for creativity, ideas, and mojo. No travel required. Just a willingness to break a few self-imposed house rules.
In this episode:
The Museum Mindset
Your Home as a Workshop
Move Your Damn Chair
Chapters:
0:23 Introduction: The at-home retreat concept, inspired by friends and a Substack essay by Jamie Attenberg
2:55 The Museum Mindset: Think like a curator, rotate your collections, display what you love, and treat your home like a children's museum you can actually touch
6:26 Your Home as a Workshop: Break the house rules, use every room differently, reclaim the forbidden chair, and let your home become a living breathing mastermind space
9:57 Move Your Damn Chair: The simplest entry point, a literal new seat can unlock a figurative shift in perspective and spark the mojo you've been waiting for
Your missions this week:
Embrace the museum curator mindset: gather objects, find themes, display and rotate what you love
Break one house rule: use a space differently than you normally would
Move your damn chair: literally change where you sit and see what shifts
If this episode gave you permission to finally inhabit your home more fully, share it with a friend who needs the nudge. And if you're enjoying the show, leave us a review. It means the world.
Until next time. 
Connect: Instagram @judithgaton | Substack for weekly essays

This week we're continuing our A Collection of Lovely Things series with a theme of Yellow Friendship Gathering, and it's all about the little pieces of ourselves we give to one another.
 
The episode opens with a reflection on being truly known by a friend, the kind of friend who can read a book you wrote and spot little pieces of you scattered across every character.
 
From there, we dig into what it actually takes to maintain real friendships as a very busy woman. Not the Instagram version, the real kind. And that means getting honest about three things:
Time
Energy
Stage of Life
Your missions this week:
Ask yourself: What do I have time for in this season? What do I have energy for? What stage of life am I in?
Walk through your home and look for gifts, trinkets, and items tied to friendships and look for chances to connect.
Share your photo albums of gatherings and tag us on Instagram!
If this episode sparked a conversation you and a friend have been needing to have — please share it with them. And if you're enjoying the show, leave us a review. It means the world.
 
Until next time, friends.
 
Connect: Instagram @judithgaton | Substack for weekly essays