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

Dina Capitani

I started hand drawing my doggie doodle art paired with a caption on t-shirts and wearing them. Every now and then people would comment and say I love your t-shirt and where did you get it? I told them I made them! Before long I was taking orders. I got my first order of 10 t-shirts from someone in a support group I was attending. It was exhilarating and then I knew I had something! So my mother, who had a knack for desktop publishing and bookkeeping, helped me make my first invoice. t-shirt tags, business card and flyer and we were in business! Read more>>

Meaghan Cafferty

The first time I got paid for design work was in college. My roommate, Annie Seighman, and I were both in the same major at Penn State — graphic design. We had a class project where we were broken into groups and challenged to design a brand identity for a local non-profit, The Jared Box Project. Each group presented their work to the founder of the organization, Cindy Kolarik. Annie and I were shocked when Cindy picked our direction. Read more>>

Savanah Norman

My brothers best friends little sister hired me to do her makeup for family pictures and she paid me $30. I remember feeling so proud and honored that she trusted me enough! That was back in 2018. I will always remember how nervous I felt doing it and I love to look back at the pictures to see how far my work has come! We still stay in touch and I did her makeup a few months ago! Read more>>

CHANELLE COLLINS

My First YouTube check was $38 and I was more excited about that check then any other check that I have ever received! Every since I was a child, I have been creating art through very different mediums, whether it be painting, sewing my mothers shoulder pads together to make a purse or sketching/drawing. Read more>>

catherine sinkule

My very first big sale happened at a pop up that I was doing at a local business. I had a variety of pieces of me that night, but my favorite piece was an antique 7 stone diamond flower ring, It was beautifully made, with gorgeous diamonds and a rich history. Nearing the end of the show, the woman who was the owner of the business came over with her daughter and fell in love with this ring and wanted to buy it. Although I obviously wanted the sell, it was breaking my heart that I was going to have to part ways with this piece. While gift wrapping up the ring, Read more>>

Alex Leigh

Well, there’s two experiences I consider to be my first dollar I guess! The first time was when I was in elementary school. My grandmother loved to sew and one day she showed me a really easy way to make bookmark tassels. I got the idea to get some friends in on it and start selling them to people in the class and I probably sold maybe 3 of them haha. However that moment was forever burned into my memory as my first official sale of something I had made and I was so proud of myself. Read more>>

ZELLYG .

Oh Man ! The first time I ever made any money as an artist was when I was in middle school me and my friends were at the lunch table doing some of everything. I was drawing some cartoons & other objects around me , some of the girls and my other friends gathered around me to see what I was creating. Everybody was hyping me up as I was drawing and a couple people said that they wanted the picture I made, but it was too many people that wanted it …. So I auctioned it off haha for only “ $1 “ Read more>>

ADANNA OMENI

The first time I made a dollar for my creativity was really out of body experience. I didn’t think I could make money as a creative and I had hyped myself up about the whole process. What is even more nuts is I have over 15 years in sales experience and for some reason all the knowledge went out the door. My first honest transactions was on what seemed like the hotest day in June and everything seemed to be going wrong. I couldn’t get my easy up tent to go up and all I could do was sweat . Read more>>

Josh Jones

First dollar made was during my time when I was a graphic designer, I do a little less of that now but my first dollar from photography was I think was from one of my Dj’s, Disc Jockey George. It was just $50 but him and I had been working together for a few month by then, it was the last party just before winter hit then the pandemic. Read more>>

Naomi Silver

I started painting as a dare to myself after having interviewed artists here in St. Louis. My first attempt was a total mess, but I kept going. I sold the first painting I posted on Facebook to a friend who’d just lost his job. I remember how touched I was that someone was willing to pay for one of my paintings, no less someone who was unemployed. Read more>>

Shanese Ray

It isn’t the first dollar I made but the one moment that stood out in my art career was the first dollar I made at a large event. It was a Raw Artist Showcase. There’s art of all kinds, a fashion show, live music and much more. They had us come to participate in a walk-through of the event space. I brought my mom along. This was new territory for me. They were kind to us and answered all of our questions with care. Read more>>