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.

Margot Rada

When I was in my last year of college in San Francisco, I had completed most of the sculpture courses at sfai, but was still looking for some further education. Since there weren’t any foam carving classes, I found Props2C in Bayview, who was willing to hire an eager 21 year old part-time. It was my first experience working in a small but professional studio and I knew nothing about foam but I wanted to work. Read more>>

Rexx Redd

Earning your first dollar while doing what you love is a priceless feeling! It took me years to create a formula that would get me paid from my music, and once I did I immediately started to think of ways to scale that dollar into 10 or even 100. I figured out that as long as I can get people to listen to my music on certain platforms I can turn that into a pretty decent income without having a boss or having to answer to anyone. However getting people to hear you is its own monster by itself. Read more>>

Alia Pyatt

I earned my first dollar as a creative shortly after Black Panther came out. I was one of the few Dora Milaje cosplayers and I was hired to stand guard as a Black Panther themed science summer camp for kids. My payment for the day fully covered the cost of making my cosplay plus some extra and I was amazed that I could make money just by being a crafty nerd! My goal from that point was to make enough to cover cosplay since it was an expensive hobby. That goal soon developed to being able to create full time! Read more>>

Darian White

Our first dollar earned as a creative actually ties into how we decided on our business name. Our friend Austin wanted to support our new business venture and asked us to make a purple toned bracelet for his mother as a birthday gift. When we were packing the order to be shipped we wrote a note letting her know who it was from and why she was receiving it. I (Darian) signed the letter, “handmade with love … Read more>>

Taylor Morrison

I got my start shoving my phone in the faces of the poor patrons of the West End Trading Company between 2016 and 2019. I had a piece I was particularly proud of, and I brought it to a bingo night to give out as a prize. This bingo night was ran by Gallery on First artist and dear friend April Hawkins. She invited me to come back and set up a table to sell what I’d been working on. This lead to me imploring into more events in the Downtown Sanford area such as Food Truck Fiesta and Sanford Block Party, which are ran by Ladies 327. Read more>>

Nikki Simmons

The story of my first paid art gig goes all the way back to middle school. I grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore, and every year, the State’s Attorney Office held a county-wide anti-drug poster contest. The winning designs were displayed on posters and calendars in every public school. As a young artist, the idea of winning such a competition seemed like the ultimate stamp of approval. Read more>>

Elle Christina

As an author, my first “real” payment was during the fall of 2016 as part of an independent book store located in Florida. Even though my first book has been out since 2012, I didn’t make any money with my books until I made some significant changes and started to learn to do the business. Which I’m still learning. Read more>>

Lese Corrigan

I believe the first money I earned as an artist was from bracelets and rings made of telephone wire. The colorful coating on the wires made for the perfect 1960s style teenager “jewels.” Don’t think I have made any type of wearable art since except dyed scarves in my forties. Read more>>

Niya Elan

The first real money I saw as a creative was unexpected. I was approached via DM by a representative for a relatively unknown song creation service and they told me I should apply to be a part of their artist team. At first, this was something extremely unfamiliar to me and, to be honest, I wasn’t too hopeful that I would make any money at all or see any results. Read more>>

Brett Koch

The first piece of art I ever sold was in high school. I was taking college-level art classes at the time and had just finished a chalk pastel piece that grabbed the attention of my friend’s parents and they offered me $100 for it. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I had no idea that anyone could be so interested in my work, much less offer to pay what seemed like so much for it at the time. I was beyond grateful and honored. Read more>>

Dionna Sharay Smith

My first dollar earned as a creative was for photography. I remember buying my first camera, a Canon T2i, not knowing how to work it, but in my head, this tool would make me rich. It’s funny to think about now because I was ecstatic. After purchasing the camera, YouTube became my best friend. Read more>>

Quincy Dandridge

The first dollar on from my creative skills we’re from district kid about 6 years ago when I made my first song and produce my first song Read more>>

Marnie Olson

It was 1989, almost 1990 and I was driving home after my shift at Sound Warehouse, which was like a Tower Records for people old enough to know what a record store is. I heard an ad on the radio for an audition at the Melodrama Playhouse and Saloon and I excitedly memorized the phone number they cited to call for more information by repeating it over and over to myself on my drive home. Sure, there was the Yellow Pages (for people old enough to remember life before Google), Read more>>

Lale Gerger

I had been doing my art as a hobby, it was a way for me to deal with the pains of life. Caring for my mother, dealing with the grief of losing her, problems in my work life; painting was an outlet… We were re-doing our floors in our home when one day, one of the laborers saw one of my paintings & exclaimed that his son was into art and that he would absolutely love this painting called Galaxy. Read more>>