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.
Danny Bernardy
I’ve been performing since I was a child but rather than talk about the 80$ a week I made at the Lawrence Welk Dinner Theater as a ten year old in The Music Man– it might be more interesting to discuss my first dollar earned on a UNION contract. I had moved to NYC the day after graduating from Carnegie Mellon Drama and threw myself into auditions after signing with a large agency. I was ready to make it big the NEXT DAY! I couldn’t find my chill. I didn’t realize that relationships needed to be forged, cultivated and nourished….That the industry wasn’t on the same timeline as my personal ambitions. Read more>>
Kristen Matthews
First dollar I earned as a creative is a great question. This was 2001. I was 18 (I’m definitely feeling my age here lol.) I was hired by a local band in my hometown to take a photo of their upcoming album they were recording. I was so young and still learning who I was as creative, much less a photographer. My knee jerk reaction to them was, “Are your sure?” The confidence behind my photos wasn’t there yet, but this band really wanted to give me chance. They didn’t want a portrait style group photo of the band. They wanted something quirky and random. The photo and what ended up being the cover to their album was of a gecko. I was paid 25.00. It’s a moment that you can look back and cringe on the product you produced, and how you handled your first “client”. Definitely learned a lot from that though. Read more>>
Madeleine Herisson-Leplae
I was at a summer college program in high school around 2011. My mom had signed me up to test whether going to college for art might be something I would be interested in. It was such a fun experience, and I knew that going to school for art was what I wanted by the end but being in that environment with other amazing young artists, most of whom were way more technically skilled than me, was intimidating. I didn’t leave it feeling like I was as good as I thought when I was dropped off on day one. My best friend’s dad saw some of the drawings I had done in a figure drawing class and bought a drawing of a foot from me. He was an avid art lover and collector; he owned paintings by artists who are now some of my biggest inspirations. Having my work acknowledged by someone who knew art and wasn’t obligated to support me made me feel like I was making the right decision in pursuing a career in art. Read more>>
Zev Burrows
I began writing production library music in 2016, about a year after I had graduated from Berklee College of Music with a degree in film scoring and drama. The first library I ever wrote for was Velvet Green Music, a brand new library at the time for which I ended up writing about 100 tracks. The most important thing I learned about this trade is that library music is a long-term commitment, meaning revenue and placements will not be instantaneous. In fact, it’s rare if you get one or both of those things instantaneously from any track! Some tracks may be placed two weeks after you finish them, others will sit for 5 or 7 years before they’re licensed. But the first time any track of mine got used anywhere was about a year after I started writing library music: Read more>>
Judy Coyle
On 10/29/12, my home, job and car were flooded by Super Storm Sandy. I needed to make money to be able to support myself. I knew that the only salvageable item in my home was my jars and jars of sea glass. I decided to try and create art from my glass. I made a few simple pictures. I started giving them away to friends and colleagues. They were well received. Within a month or so, I was asked to create a piece for a friend. She was my first paying customer. A friend who owned a bar/restaurant that I frequented knew that I was trying to start a business from my art. He ordered 10 pictures from me to help me get ahead. After that, folks were asking me to create all kinds of art for different occasions. Twelve years later i am still loving creating art. Read more>>
Seth Bilkis
It was the March 11th 2023, first morning I set up in Savannah Georgia’s Forsyth Park to sell my artwork. I was making by artist debut and was excited and nervous. I knew I had worked incredibly hard to create beautiful pieces of art but the question of will anyone care or want one was still prevalent. My goal for the day was 1-5 sales which I felt was a manageable expectation. I had just started setting up when a couple approached me, asked about the artwork and started to browse. They fell in love with a piece and purchased it before I was even “ready” to begin my day. I was overjoyed, snapped a selfie, and had an incredible day selling 24 prints! That morning my confidence in myself and my artwork was affirmed and set me on a path of success. Read more>>