The world needs artists and creatives. Unfortunately, being needed doesn’t often easily translate into financial stability. The struggle is real for so many incredibly talented artists and creatives and so we think it’s important to hear from creatives who have made it work – there is so much to learn from the folks we’ve featured below.

Guy D’alema

I started my career in photography by creating model portfolios and fashion-related editorial work. Working with many Atlanta modeling agencies, I was exposed to a variety of faces and talents to capture their very essence and to help them advance their careers. It was a tremendous learning experience, in that the vast majority of my work was captured on locatons, with some studio-driven sessions. Read more>>

Eva And Jonny

We are very fortunate to be able to earn a full time living as stylists. With Eva having 7 years of experience doing dreadlocks and braid-ins and Jonny having 5 years experience of dreadlocks as well. Not only do we carry that knowledge, but we both also have over a decade of retail service, management, and have been in multiple areas of artistic industries that are implemented in all that we do. Read more>>

Tara Rodrigues

I was a PA to a Headteacher, at the same school my children attended and in some ways I was living a comfortable life. I was fine, maintaining the status quo! But I had a low level niggle inside me, knowing that I wanted more and could have it. I was on a good salary at a comfortable job so I was absolutely fine suppressing the yearning for more! In 2016, my dad passed away and it forced me to re-evaluate my life and that introspection opened the door to a new chapter. Read more>>

Kenneth Stoute

Working as a recording artist has lots of ups and downs and many hills to climb. In 2010 I started recording and built a small studio trying to learn the craft and spent the next 7 years recording music and releasing it on SoundCloud. In 2017 I partnered with a friend and moved to South Carolina where we opened a studio and dropped my first real release under M2P Records who I’m signed to. At that time, we felt we had enough experience to really take a shot in music. I then made my first EP which released in 2019 and hit the I Tunes album chart. Covid then unfortunately slow everything down but my management team saw a great opportunity. We set a few small tours in 2020/2021 which led us to getting distribution via Real Hulk Records /Sony Orchard and releasing a full length album “FAY FAU”. Read more>>

Ean Miller

Yes, I have made a full-time living from my creative work. However, the path to get there was not the one I had expected.

I started my first paid creative work as a student photographer at Peru State College in southeast Nebraska. It’s a small school in a rural area (Peru, NE), but on campus and locally, the campus is close-knit.

Upon starting school after moving from California, I began taking photos of the campus and posting them to social media. The college was not active on social media at the time, but eventually, they noticed. The marketing director at the time found me out on campus shooting one day, and offered me a job on the basis that I “Keep taking photos, and make myself useful across campus”. Read more>>