We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dee Brown a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Dee, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
The most meaningful project I have ever worked on is CATFEST, a Domestic Violence Awareness benefit. 8 years ago the city of Toledo lost an amazing woman. It lost one of the music and art communities largest supporters, Cat Lambert. Cat was my friend, she was actually friends with everyone who knew her. She was a beautiful soul who made you smile from the inside, when you are around her. 8 years ago, Cat left my house to head home, and no one ever spoke to her again. When she arrived home, her husband killed her. He took a hammer from the garage, and life was never the same again. With the help of a lot of friends and even some strangers, we have thrown a benefit in her honor, for 8 years running. Each year we feature close to a dozen musicians, local artists, vendors, and 100% of the proceeds go to support a local DV shelter. It makes me more proud than I could ever express, that the city has supported CATFEST for so long. And that so many in the 419 are helping us to continue Cat’s mission of making the 419 a better place.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a jack of all trades and a master of some. With an art degree from the University of Toledo, I set out to find a way to make a more cohesive environment for the art and music communities in the 419. Right after college I opened a non profit art gallery that hosted monthly art shows and weekly open mic nights, among other things. This was the beginning of it all. Being as inclusive as possible, we gave a lot of new musicians and artists their start. Moving forward to today, I remain s practicing artist as well as an event organizer extraordinaire. Since 2013 I have hosted and organized around 200 events of a large variety of styles and causes. That job has now become official as the Director of Mission Advancement at a local music nonprofit called BeInstrumental Foundation. By night I am an acrylic painter, and by day I organize events and community connections for BeInstrumental. I love helping people and organizing artistic events, it’s a win all the way around.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Being an artist and creative event organizer, is as full of rewards as it is full of stress. I choose to concentrate on the rewards. When talking monetary rewards, I don’t pay as much attention as to them. The type of rewards that mean the most to me, are the smiles that say we helped someone. That look of awww when a person is entranced with a piece of art that I made, is the best feeling ever. But nothing will ever matter so much, as knowing that even one little thing that I did, made someone’s day a bit better.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Honesty and hard work are the best ways to build a solid reputation. The next most important thing, is to be inclusive and treat everyone fairly. I have a reputation for going above and beyond whatever is called for, to make sure things run smoother for everyone involved. If we make contingency plans for our contingency plans, we learn to expect and accept everything. 
Contact Info:
- Instagram: deebrown419
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deebrownonfb?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/dee-brown-5027b88a