Deciding to pursue an artistic or creative career path isn’t for the faint of heart. Challenges will abound, but so many of the artists we speak with couldn’t be happier with their choice. So, we asked them about how they made the decision in the first place.

Marc Harvey | Beauty Expert & Product Developer

Growing up I was always very artistic. I went to performing arts schools for painting and music. I also spent my last two years of high school in the culinary arts program. So , it was inevitable that I was going to be an artist or creator. Read more>>

Sandrine Farges | Co-Owner

Being specialist in Mid Century Modern lighting requires at the same time artistic and historic skills: eye education, production techniques and materials knowledge, history of arts, of cultures, all these combined to your taste, your inspiration and vision. These elements are entertaining my life and make my little heart happy! And I realize now, that creativity is limitless. Read more>>

Ken Gaines | Singer-Songwriter, Producer & Teacher

I pursued this career as a professional singer/songwriter because it brought me the most joy and it was a craft I began to understand at a very early age. That’s not to say my early songs were any good. They weren’t. But, by the age of 15 I was performing professionally, mostly singing other people’s songs…all the while writing my own and inserting them into my performances. I spent the next couple of decades that way until I finally had a completely original night of my own songs that were of quality. And, while my songs and my performance skills are even better, I still study and learn the songs of those I admire. We stand on the shoulders of giants. That’s the best way to see above the crowd. Over 50 years later…it still brings me the most joy of anything I’ve ever done. Read more>>

Erica Cheung | Curator, Archivist & Writer

Growing up, my relationship with the arts was always a little non-committal. While I dabbled in photography, creative writing, and the like, I initially thought that I was destined to pursue a career path in a field colloquially deemed as more lucrative and stable in the long run—i.e. medicine, law, finance, etc (which is not to say that artistry and creativity do not exist in those realms—I think they just manifest themselves differently). Eventually, however, I realized that I genuinely love making things, and that doing so has helped me be vulnerable and connect with others in ways that I find difficult otherwise (as a painfully shy person, small talk and public speaking are not my fortes). As someone who both creates and is drawn to helping others create, my choice to pursue an artistic/creative career is born out of a desire to make art accessible. Read more>>

Anna Boyter | Filmmaker & Founder

It really started kicking in full force as a child when I obsessively wrote scripts for the school plays. When I saw all of the hard the work come to life in 7th grade (Shoutout to my theater teacher Mrs. Clark, the first person to give something I worked on a chance to be showcased) with the actors and staging, with the lights, music and the emotional reactions scenes would cause in an audience, I was hooked. I needed that rush of changing the way people feel. When a viewer of the work you create is inspired in some way or they laugh, if your work makes them cry, or move them into action – that was everything. To see nothing take form into something – and that something makes people feel something – was a kind of magic that makes a creative person feel completely whole, explosive even, and when it’s over, you’re emptier than when you began – so it’s on to the next project, On to chasing that next high. Read more>>

Eddie Gonzalez | Producer, Writer & Actor

The art of writing is something that has been a true passion, and became a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My paternal grandfather was always writing; he had a lot of handwritten stories in tablets– so, the creative talent was a part of me because of him and became encouraged to express myself in that form from a very young age. To me, writing is the art of creating worlds under my spell. I enjoy starting from scratch every time I begin new material, world building and character development fully immerses me in the worlds that I am creating. Compelling and well-structured stories have kept me captivated, it empowers my growth as a writer, and thrives me to push that extra limit with my own work to give to others. Every time I get to share these worlds to others, may it be through theater, web-series, film, novel, it fills me with complete joy. Read more>>