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.
Julia Wosiak
The first time I made money being creative was during the pandemic, I was studying acting online from my bedroom. It was a very difficult time for everyone, and I remember feeling like I had given up on trying to do anything creative. A student from one of my classes emailed me asking if I could record a voice-over for an experimental short film. The only available room was a small windowless bathroom; I recorded all of it sitting on the toilet. As weird as it sounds, I was so proud of myself, as I have been acting since I was 7 years old. And after that experience, I definitely became more confident in my acting. Read more>>
Mckendree Key
When I was a teenager, I spent all my time painting on fabric. My first “real” job in the arts was making $12 / hour at a community center in the Bronx called The Point. I brought my love of silk painting to that organization, and made silk scarves with hundreds of kids. We taught them how to paint onto silk, how to market and sell their work and how to teach the trade to others. Read more>>
Evelyn Dufner
Despite doing art for a long time, and submitting my work to a national art show believing it was likely I would not be accepted, the early pains of believing in myself were through the challenges of being willing to put my work in the public realm. Art, specifically, is a vulnerable space to hold for yourself. So much of my feelings and perspective is demonstrated through the final labors of my craft. It is easy to be misunderstood, Read more>>
Dashius Clay
When I went to college I started taking music a little more serious in the sense that I was actually starting to consider maybe trying to release some full songs and start performing. Up to then I was just doing freestyles and lightly collaborating with other friends who were artists. I spent a year in Tallahassee and realized school wasn’t for me. I couldn’t concentrate in my classes and just felt like I was on the fast path to an unfulfilled life. I moved back to Miami and started doing every open mic I could find which led me to some music and performance competitions. Read more>>
Cess (Cesspooool)
I used to have a small business called Priscillaesque where I sold a lot of my first pieces of art. I’m super grateful for all the people and other creatives who supported my first business many years ago. I changed my name and started to do things that I resonated with more rather than what was selling. I lost a lot of “fans” and customers rebranding but it was for the best. I encourage all artists to dive into their own style. I used to be lumped into a category of “kawaii” and “stoner grrrl” and I just couldn’t take it anymore. Read more>>
Anica Crawley
Believe it or not, I earned my first dollar as a creative at the age of 11. From an early age I showed to be a creative thinker/person in general. One of my creative outlets, and my primary means of income to this day, has been hair styling. I would always do my own hair as a child and one day my friends mother asked me to do her 2 daughters hair and asked me how much I would charge! It was at that moment I realized that I had a talent that was recognized by not just my peers, but also my elders and it was the biggest boost of confidence. I actually still have one of the daughters as a client today. Read more>>
Rebekah Lanier
In college I had started drawing and painting again as just a hobby. I realized it was important for my happiness to maintain a creative practice. I was a part of a club that was fundraising, and I offered to paint a couple postcard-sized watercolors we could make prints of. I didn’t make any money off of them, but they turned out to be very popular. My art ended up being a large portion of the funds we raised. Read more>>
Oddly Casual
As a band, the first dollars Oddly Casual earned were not actually brought home. In early 2020, members of Oddly Casual lost a close friend: Justin “Norb” Kolbek. Along with being a close friend to us, he was a kind, mellow, and non-judgmental person, who’s highest passion was music and the arts, using it to connect with everyone around him. Read more>>
Karmen Brown
for modeling in itself. I was still in college at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) at the time. There’s an organization there for Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies (CARS) students called Threads. They host a couple of different fashion shows throughout the school year that showcase the designs and work of CARS students, along with other participants. One year, a designer in the show reached out to me to ask if I could help coach her models for the runway. Read more>>
Syncere
When I first came out on the music scene I was hungry to get myself out there. I wanted more exposure and I knew that the only way to make that happen is to put yourself in front of the people. I performed in my first show and from that point on my hunger raged even more. Because of my hard work ethic and drive I was present tickets to open up for a few local celeb Tampa rappers and I was able to make $150 profit off of those ticket sales and I also had those same people supporting me when the time came for it during the concert. Read more>>
DH Thorne
I remember when I released my first book in June of 2019, I did not expect a great deal of success or sales. I had not yet earned a single penny from my work and normally when someone writes a book and self-publishes it, there is very little reason to expect to turn a profit or make many sales. I remember telling my wife that I would be exuberant if I sold as many as 5 or 10 copies. At 17$ royalty that would be around 85-170$ in royalties). Read more>>
Sabyasachi Bera
After doing some portrait photoshoots with my friends, I did a photoshoot with a professional model for the first time on May 3rd, 2016. We discussed the concepts and decided to shoot at Stone arch bridge and Minnehaha falls in Minneapolis. After a 3-hour photoshoot, I earned 100$. Not much in terms of $ value, but it was a happy moment. I vividly remember that I was HELLA nervous before the photoshoot, but it went pretty well. I am sharing one image from this photoshoot taken at the stone arch bridge (only black and white photo). Read more>>