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

Daniela, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Here’s the funny thing. I became a nurse because I didn’t want to be a starving artist. I always had a bit of interest in the medical field so I thought it was a really good career path to take. I have been an ICU nurse for 12 years now, but where have I ended up? Wanting to go back to my roots. I have been an artist since I was a little girl. And I find myself looking more and more to get out of the medical field and into all things creative. Is it helpful to have some stable footing in a career that pays the bills while I figure it out? Yes. Do I hope I can make a living off that which I really felt I was created to do? Absolutely.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I went to college to become a Nurse right out of high school and have been a nurse since 2011. I have been an artist since I was a little girl. In 2017 I started toying with the idea of displaying my art in shows. By 2019 I started selling my art in farmers markets in the form of magnets, cards, and art prints. It evolved into the brand Cox Creative 757. I quickly became enamored with the idea of making some cash from doing what I loved. And it wasn’t just about the money. It was the lighter side of life. To go from the ICU in the hospital taking care of people that were in such bad shape, to this lighthearted world where people were smiling and intrigued by your unique works and to a place where I could spread love and light in such a different way was such a therapeutic venture for me, Then in 2022 my husband got out of the Navy after serving for 11 years and started his own business called Cox Construction & Design, We had been renovating our own town home in Virginia Beach throughout the years of living in it , taking on side projects while he was in the Navy, and he also had worked in construction prior to being in the Navy, so he had quite the reputation already. I have always loved interior design as much as I love art and for me they always went hand in hand. I remember growing up painting, but also moving alot, and wanting to make every single room I moved into as frequently as every year a beautiful place to be. Between that and then designing the renovation of our home, I felt confident in my skills. I am my husband’s partner in business. I help him with space planning, overall style, and choosing finishes, colors, etc. for our clients. In 2023, I took an Immersion course on Surface Pattern Design because I thought, what could be any better than marrying my passion for art and design by gaining the skills to create wallpapers and fabrics for home decor??? I have since created several patterns that I have sold as pillows and wrapping paper for the Christmas season. And this is just the beginning. As you can assume, I have been very busy. So to sum this all up, I am now a nurse part-time due to all my other endeavors. I am an interior designer. My personal style is bold and colorful, but I am not here to impose my style on others, rather to assist people in exploring what is going to make them fall in love with their space, and honoring that. I do design consultations where I help people discover their style and help them come up with solutions to make their space something they love. I provide shopping recommendations for ways to solve some of their problems with decor, and I design gallery walls. I do art commissions and still sell my art in farmers markets. I design patterns people love for their home decor items. And should they need to actually renovate their space, I get my husband involved and we tag team a fabulous project together. My nursing job is not wasted. I believe nothing in this life is because I believe in a Creator that uses everything to write a beautiful story. And I was created to create beauty in the world.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

It is all about value. When you value something, you pay for it without too much hesitation. I think society needs to see the value in creativity. They see the value in so many things, in entertainment, sports, music, etc, but I don’t think they totally see the value that art brings. It is all around us. Beauty is all around us. That hotel you enjoy so much is because a designer thought about the space and made it flow and made it beautiful. The pattern you love on that bag or shirt is there because an artist designed it. And I think we as a society are so quick to want to cheapen things, that we have lost the art of valuing things for what they are. Artists work their butts off. And a worker is worthy of their wages. Let’s honor each other by seeing the value in the work people do and then actually be willing to pay a little bit of a higher price because it comes from a highly skilled artisan that took their time to make a one of a kind piece or share their creative insight with the world, and it’s not just some mass produced uninspired nonsense.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I am actually currently in my story of resilience. The issue with social media is we usually only see the victories and the people who “make it”. We see the result of years of hard work, but not the work in progress. Behind many of the success stories we see, what we don’t see is their 10 years of struggle and hard work and building they had to do to get to where they are today. So how am I resilient? I’m still doing the thing. I started putting myself out there as an artist little by little in 2017, and today I am much further along, but I am still not earning a full time living from my creative work. And that’s ok! I will continue to build! Better to build something sturdy that has grit and character and perseverance, than something quick and flimsy. Sometimes you need those years to discover who you really are and what you’re really about anyway.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.coxcreative757.com
• Instagram: @cox.design757 and @cox.creative757
• Facebook: Daniela Cox

Image Credits
Liza Wolfe Photography Daniela Cox Mandi Eubanks