We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christopher DeGraw a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Christopher, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

For me it something I always wanted to pursue. I don’t remember the exact moment but the first creative path I wanted to take was as an architect. That is one I never actually pursued though. But as far back as I can remember I was always drawing, writing, creating a different world using my imagination. I could always see what wasn’t there and create a world around me that was different. But I knew there was never going to be another option for me, creativity had my heart from the very beginning. As I grew older my passion for creation came in the kitchen. Both my mom and dad knew there way around a kitchen so I learned from watching them. After a few years of really trying to figure out what I should do after high school, the kitchen is what lead me. I found a good culinary school in my area and applied and got in. So off I went. Cooking has always been a passion and something I enjoy doing still. But after a year of school it just wasn’t what I wanted to do for a living and potentially lose that passion for it. So I left culinary school and started working on my basic classes while I figured out what direction to take next. Ended up choosing music. My dad was a musician and I’ve loved music and always wanted to create it and work behind the scenes with other creatives. Luckily for me another school in my area had just created a state of the art music school focused on recording engineering and live music set up. I decided to focus on the recording engineering program. Meet a lot of amazing people and got do some really fun stuff in the local music scene. Graduated with a degree in Sound Engineering with focus on recording studio work. I loved being able to create and record music, and not just what other creatives where doing but I was creating my body of work. After about 10 years of that I moved across the country to California and basically had to start from the bottom and I was struggling to make ends meet. So I reached out to a friend of mine I went to music school with and he told me that I should look into graphic design. He told me that he remembers every time we had a break I would have my headphones on and drawing on whatever I had that a pencil would write on. So again, I looked into a local program and went back to school. While in school I was one of the top students in the program and was even offered a nice internship at my local PBS station as their graphic designer. About a month before graduating, PBS offered me the position full-time and started immediately after graduation. Now around this time was the big financial crash of 2008 and my profession was hit hard in my area. Graphic Design went from one of the fastest growing professions in my area both with job openings and pay to one that is considered more of a “luxury position.” Since working with PBS I’ve worked almost exclusively for small, local businesses. This is something I really enjoy doing but at the same time comes with sacrifices. Could I be making more in LA or San Francisco at a big design firm or large corporation? Absolutely, but there is something beautiful about small, locally owned businesses that the larger firms/corporations just don’t have. During all this I’ve also created a small freelance “side hustle” for myself. My freelance brand goes by the name Left Coast GFX. GFX is short hand for Graphics. I have several returning clients that I have had the privilege of working with 10+ years. I’ve got to do some really cool things with my freelance career. I’ve created custom posters for 2 large sports memorabilia companies out of St. Louis and Indianapolis. They used these posters as exclusive, one of a kind art work for signing events with athletes. I also took advantage of twitter during it’s early stages of being a social media giant. I would wake up every day and post 10 things to twitter letting the “world” know I was available for work. After time I didn’t have to do that anymore as I began receiving messages and emails from people who were sent my way. I was able to do some graphic work for other professional athletes on things from their own personal pages to charity websites/logos to promo materials for events their were hosting. I have a big box full of signed jerseys, balls, magazines, photos, etc. from all the athletes I ended up working with. All of this has now lead me to creating my recent venture of enamel pin design. I’ve collected pins since I was a kid and my mom would take me these large conferences for her work. The companies used to give away pins as their swag at these events. So it became a competition between my mom and me to see who could fill their lanyard with the most pins. Fast forward back to now and I found several other creatives making their own fantasy pins using the worlds of pop culture for their creations. After a few years of collecting those pins I was encouraged by my girlfriend to make my own. She couldn’t understand why I never did before and so after a few months of her encouragement I took the plunge. Saved up and purchased my first pins using my own designs. With that came the creation of my small business that makes enamel pins, stickers, book marks, and post cards and I named it What The Fett. I am now on my 16th pin design and we haven’t hit the year 1 mark yet. So I’d say for the small following I have on social media, at this point, that I’m doing pretty good. Like with any creative endeavor I’ve had doubts about it but with each design I gain more followers and continue to receive great feedback and such kind words from those who enjoy my artwork. There is no way I would want to do anything else but continue to give the world my creativity. And to top if all off…my daughter has an amazing talent for creativity and drawing. To watch her create is beautiful. She has a talent and skill set that is far beyond what I had at her age and can’t wait to see what she does with it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Well to start with my name is Christopher DeGraw. I have been a graphic designer for 15 years now. I’ve always been in love with art. Whether that is enjoying a museum and seeing paintings on the wall, listening to music, making food in the kitchen, or creating a logo for a friends business. I’ve always had a major connection with art. I’ve tried several avenues professionally but graphic design is where my heart is, at the moment. I got into the professional at a suggestion from a friend I went to music school with who also double majored in graphic design. I loved to draw so I looked into a couple of schools and settled on one in my local area. From there I have just continued to grow professionally and creatively.

One thing I specialize in is logo design. I know other designers who don’t like to work on logos but I love the challenge of it. I like to help a client create a brand, not just a logo. During the process my mind is thinking about how the colors will work together across all platforms for this business. I try to explain during the creation of their logo that they are going to want to use the colors in uniform from their website, social media, in house materials, flyers, business cards, etc. One thing I also do during the process of creating their logo is keep the client involved. I don’t want you to just tell me you need a logo and you like these colors and then never hear from you again until I have options to show you. I will send things in the very rough beginning asking for direction and specific questions about the business and how they are going to use the logo. I want to create something that the client is proud of and doesn’t hesitate to show off. It’s the face of the business and that love for what my client does, I try to get that into the logo for them.

You ask, what sets you apart from others? Other than what I have stated above, I have also been told that I am able to adapt and create using different styles for my clients. I think I’ve been able to do that because of how I would practice early in my career. In my early days of being a designer I loved making sports wallpapers for fun and for family members to use on their computers. Some times this was me just opening up photoshop and using tools I had never used before to see what I can create using different techniques for different tools. Another way I would practice would be to do a google search for sports wallpapers and find a few I really liked and re-create using different players/teams. My goal wasn’t make exactly like the ones I found but there would be details in it that I would try and figure out how that person did it. Lots of trial and error and fails and getting back up. But that is what it took to eventually get me to a place where I was creating custom posters for sports memorabilia companies. Those errors and trials of studying got me to a place that I could then be the one creating original pieces for collectors. Being a field of the arts comes with a lot of failure, a lot of doubt both from others and yourself, but in the end they pay off in a major way.

I have had a lot of great opportunities in my path of being a graphic designer but what I am most proud of is creating a whole small business and path for my art work in enamel pins. I started this small business at the age of 43. It has been a stressful time. Again, lots of self doubt…am I capable, do people want to see my art much less buy it, do I have what it takes to run a business. But I wouldn’t change it. It’s been an up and down ride but I am so glad I made that choice to go for it. I have had some great people who have had my back and answered all my questions and helped me get started. And to see the comments I’m getting from people about things I’ve created and how it brings them joy; there really is nothing like it. To know that something you created has brought a smile to another person is magical.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, knowing that I brought a little more beauty into the darkest reaches of our daily lives. And I say that knowing that not all days and not all lives are dark. But life has it’s darkness. Especially for someone, like me, who suffers from mental health issues. To know that even in the darkest of times for myself I can still create something that is beautiful and share it with the world means so much. Even some of the pieces I’ve created during my dark times are insanely beautiful. There is something in each one that shows that even when times seem the roughest there is beauty everywhere, in everything. Life, with all of its bright sunny days and dark dreary seasons, there is something to be inspired by.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

For me personally it has always been the ability to overcome. To pursue a career in an artistic path takes a person who is willing to say No. And not just “no, I’m not doing that” but “no, you will not keep me down, you will not take this from me.” I’ve told since high school, maybe before but high school was first time it really stuck with me, that I would never make it as an artist, that I should look into another profession, that maybe I should go to school to learn about business like all my other class mates. NO! I choose this path not because it was easy, not because I didn’t have to go to school, not because I didn’t want to do “real work;” I choose this path because my passion for life and making it a beautiful place even during the times when beauty is hard to see. I’ve been asked “did you do this because it’s easy?” Easy? There is nothing easy about being rejected. There is nothing easy about having to stay up til 4am because you have a deadline and another project needs to get started. There is nothing easy about sacrificing time with loved ones to finish a project. There is nothing easy about being told to “just give it up already.” It takes a crazy amount of self strength, discipline, and perseverance. I used to shutter when a potential client would say no once I told them the cost, now I know my exact worth and for some I’m “too expensive” or how I like to put it “I’m just not in your budget” and that is okay. Because I know there is a client that will see that and jump all over it.

So many people who are non-creatives I’ve come across really do think it’s just an “easy” profession. But as an artist we deal with rejection regularly. And we have smile and move on. But we also see the world in a way that non-creatives will never see and that in itself is a beautiful thing. Something so simple like the way the shadow from that building is laid out over the ground could inspire the next painting that hangs in the Broad Museum in LA. We see life as art, the clouds, the grass, the way a car is parked, the way the wind blows, even the sound of the world moving by can all have an impact on how a creative creates. And that is a love that no amount of “you should give up” will ever take away.

Contact Info:

• Website: whatthefett.myshopify.com
• Instagram: @bredblooded (personal) and @what.thefett for my enamel pins
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/christopherdegraw/