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.

Sydney Gruber

I create because it gives me time for a breath, and it connects me with society. ‘First dollars’ happen at every show. The first sale at a show still hits me differently, and while I create to suck the nectar out of life—that validation of connecting with someone through my practice is a joy. Dollar signs look like lifeblood. Having been very lucky to enjoy some commercial success, they also look like the freedom to monetize my passion and call it a living while keeping the creative process sacred. My first solo exhibition was called, “Life in Color,” and debuted in Memphis, Tennessee. I remember feeling relief that people even came to the gallery to see my art, and I buzzed around feeling overstimulated being the center of attention in this capacity. This was a new world, and all of my emotions were right under the surface.  Read more>>

Andrew Abamu

The first time I ever charged to tattoo was actually life changing. I was working a security job for $15/hr at the time. I was so spooked to tattoo someone that wasn’t one of my friends for free. I actually practiced the design several times prior to the appointment to calm my nerves. It was a very simple but cool design on my friend Kayla and the actual tattoo took about 20 minutes and I got $60 and thought that was so easy. I had been so used to doing strenuous work for money my whole life and not thinking of art as a way to make an actual living, but that tattoo sparked something in me. Read more>>

Steven Allison

I sold my first artwork when I was 19, a project I made for a 2d design class in art school. I remember it was made of markers, patterned paper, and faux wood paper. I was inspired by a Father John Misty Album cover from 2012, so it was very cartoonish and graphic but had many collage elements that I think gave an exciting look. It got into a student work competition in 2nd place and was purchased there. I remember thinking, “Wait, I can do this; I should do this.” until now, I have worked at a few minimum wage jobs, call centers, cleaning houses, and front desk work. I hated all of them; I was a terrible employee because I knew at every single job I was at, I was being exploited, and the work didn’t matter. When I made $300 for a work I made, nobody asked me to do it – I just did it, and somebody liked it enough to give me money for it; it was the first time I felt proud of how I made money. Read more>>

Alyson Greenfield

Years ago I won a contest on MySpace that was presented by Fox Network. The winner was guaranteed to get a song licensed to the network. I ended up getting 4 songs licensed and two songs placed in two different TV shows. I was then asked what my PRO (Performing Rights Organization) was, so the PRO could collect royalties for the TV placements. At that time, I was actually in graduate school for creative writing–I didn’t know much about the music industry, and I certainly did not know what a PRO was. Luckily I had recently gained a trusted friend in the music industry (shoutout to Allison Tartalia (Allison’s Invention), who was able to guide me in these matters. I quickly signed up with ASCAP as my PRO and was off to the races. I was moved that the people at Fox actually waited for me to sign up for the PRO so they could work with me and place my music. It was all very exciting, and also a little overwhelming to move at a fast pace to get everything done I needed to get done. I had never imagined my music in media before, but this showed me that my music could work in that way. I remember being mailed the first royalty check and smiling ear to ear! I also remember wanting to frame it, but alas, depositing it, and actually making the money from my music was also very important! Read more>>

Jariel Acevedo

In the fall of 2022 The First Dollar I earned from my voice was from an Author that goes by the name of Eon Tempest. Eon Approached through a comment from a Deathnote Fandub I did, the Character I voiced as Practice was Touta Matsuda. He says “ if you’re interested, i have a small project for you to work on once the Animator is done.” So Immediately I sent him a Dm asking who he was & what the project was about. Eon tells me that he’s an Author for an Amazon Kindle series called “Alldust:chronos!” He felt like my voice was a perfect fit for his main protagonist Quincy Alldust & explained his unique world. After we discussed the project he sent me a link to his series to read on what it’s all about. From my first read I was pulled in by the storytelling and the rise of who Quincy is. I knew in that moment Eon put all his faith into me being his voice to tell his story.  Read more>>

Johnborn

The first time I ever sold a piece of my artwork was when I was 12 years old, I was just a kid growing up on 14th & Vernon street in Harrisburg Pennsylvania. I was on the front porch Painting a cool spider web on a white t-shirt. My next door neighbor was a drug addict, although he mainly just worked and minded his business. Most people where I’m from referred to him as “the crack head”. He was a white man named Randy. He had just cashed his check and was walking home from the store. He said to me: “Hey what are you doing up there” & as he got closer he saw the design on the shirt. His first words after getting a good look was “I’ll pay you fifteen bucks for that shirt”. Prior to then I was just painting for fun and doing things for my friends for free, so to hear someone say they would give me money for something I loved sparked something in me. Read more>>