Earning that first dollar is incredibly special and a moment many never forget. We asked some very talented creatives from the community to tell us the story of the first dollar they earned from their creative works.

Ryleigh Grace

There was a time, back in 2021, when a friend of mine asked me to draw one of his original characters and said he would pay me for it. Read more>>

AUTM VALOR

When I was around 15, my best friends and I started an arts collective called Deep Seedz. Our goals were to make great music together and have a positive impact on our community. Read more>>

Joey Deruy

Art served as a means of communication for me during childhood traumas and came naturally. When I was 12, my parents enrolled me in art classes to balance my schooling with extracurricular activities. Read more>>

Min Ji Kim

I earned my first real dollar as a creative when I jumped into the artist alley scene in 2016. I went to a local event where I sold posters, shrinkydink charms, and buttons. I didn’t make a lot of money at that event. Read more>>

Scott Hewitt

First dollars I ever made from production actually came from winning a competition here in Saint Louis called Fresh Produce. Fresh Produce is an 8 man elimination tournament where producers come center stage and play the best material they have for the grand prize of $500. Read more>>

Brianna Wright

It’s April 2020, and I’ve just graduated from theatre school. I’ve invested a significant chunk of both the government’s money (soon to be mine) and my time into my theatre education. Read more>>

Flash Revell

When I was a child, maybe 11 my grandmother who was the Choir Director/Minister of music at Bureau 7th day Adventist church hired me to play a 5 day church crusade. Read more>>

M. Annenberg

Becoming an artist never felt like a decision. it was more of a need. The art studio was a place of peace, of challenge and of contentment. Read more>>

Matthew Lee

16 selling beats in high school off MySpace and from barbershop kids at school Read more>>

Virginia Jones

There’s a quote about being a professional comedian by Jerry Seinfeld: Just like sex work, the first time you do it for money, you’re a pro. Read more>> 

Sara Walker-Howe

In 2017 my story “True Nature” was accepted for inclusion in the anthology, Alice Unbound: Beyond Wonderland edited by Colleen Anderson, published by Exile Editions. Read more>>