Do you remember the moment you realized what you wanted to do professionally? Was it magic? Was it scary? We wanted to hear from some of the most talented artists and creatives in the community and so we asked them to tell us the story of the moment when they knew they were going to pursue a creative career path.

Matthew Haddix

When I was living in Herriman, Utah. I went to a vendor market around my area and was a little nervous selling some of my products. This was the beginning of my leathercraft journey as well as my cosmetic journey and I was hoping that it was good enough to sell to paying customers. Read More>>

Maleny Mikels

I started on music very early on, first on keyboards and then switch to guitar, which is my main instrument. Read More>>

Toria Richings

Looking back, there wasn’t one defining moment but a series of events that ultimately led me to pursue music professionally. Music had always been the dream. Even while building a career in civil engineering, running a successful business in the UK with my husband and raising a family, I was constantly writing songs. Read More>>

Hannah Benson

In 2012 “beauty blogging” was becoming a very popular thing and I had always been told I had a great talent with makeup. I decided to start beauty blogging on Instagram and it’s been a journey ever since! Through the pros and cons of social media, to the growth of social media and the algorithms that seem to help or plague us. Read More>>

Andrea Kemp

Since I was very young I would draw and always carry around a sketch book. I was quite introverted as a kid so my happy place was sitting in a quiet place and drawing. My mother always encouraged me to draw and eventually to paint as well. Read More>>

Dennis J. West

I entered the publishing and production industries by accident, drawing on my background as a personal talent manager.My journey began when I signed a multi-talented artist who wrote books, stageplays, and songs. Upon signing our contract, she revealed that she needed immediate help publishing a newly written book and producing one of her stageplays.At the time, I had absolutely no experience in book publishing. Read More>>

Ysela Williams Phillips

The Spark: Not Dead Yet I have been immersed in creativity for as long as I can remember. Growing up in the church, the stage was my second home—I did everything from pantomimes and singing in the choir to ushering, leading services, and speaking comfortably in front of large crowds. Read More>>

Carla J Fisher

For me, it wasn’t one single job or one tidy little lesson that made me want to pursue art. It was the whole picture coming together over a lifetime. I originally began my formal college education studying journalism at the University of Missouri. Read More>>

Madison Montgomery

Honestly, I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t creating something. I’ve been performing since I was three years old. As a child, every space became a stage. Fireplaces became proscenium arches, retaining walls became aprons, and family gatherings became opportunities to put on a show. I started performing in school productions in second grade and never looked back. Read More>>

Brodrick Cyler

Growing up, my mornings started with gospel music flowing through the house. Faith was at the center of everything we did, and church wasn’t just somewhere we went, it was part of who we were. Every Sunday, I was surrounded by powerful voices, live musicians, and an energy that could reach your soul before a single word was spoken. That’s where my love for music first took hold. Read More>>

Briana Kennedy

I often say that my creative journey began at three years old when I first stepped onto a dance stage, but the moment I truly knew this was the path I wanted to pursue happened when I was six. Read More>>

Nimo Gandhi

I had uprooted and moved from Indiana to New Jersey to pursue a career in Technology Sales at age 26. One year into my sales job at the start-up technology firm, I was invited by the VP of Sales to sit with him after work. I thought it was a check-in meeting. It was not. It was an exit interview. I was being fired. Read More>>

David negron

Music has always been a big part of my life, but the moment I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally was when I started DJing and saw firsthand how music could bring people together. What began as a passion for discovering and mixing different genres—Latin music, hip-hop, house, and more—quickly turned into something bigger. Read More>>

LaRonda Gardner Middlemiss

When I became a mom, my husband and I introduced books very early on to our son. There were many options, even books for the tiniest hands providing sensory input through touching, sound and sight. My son loved books! I think this is in no small part from us performing picture books for him, making story time as fun and engaging as possible. Through this experience, I’ve become fascinated with children’s literature, especially picture books. While I do enjoy reading middle grade and YA, picture books are my favorite.   Read More>>

James Salvati

My direction as an illustrator and designer was shaped by a defining moment just before I graduated from ArtCenter College of Design. On the Friday before graduation, I called the the best design studio in Los Angeles, even maybe the world: Dyer/Kahn. Read More>>

Brian Bruski

I’ve always been into building things with my hands. I think when I was four or five years old, I was asking my parents to buy model kits like the U.S.S. Enterprise from Star Trek, model rockets, things like that. By about age eight, I didn’t need supervision, I knew the basics of my tools, assembling kits and putting things together myself. Read More>>