We asked some insanely talented artists, creatives and makers to tell us about when they know they were going to pursue a creative career.

Brian Bezalel

From a very young age, I had always been the family photographer. Whether it was trips we went on or events we attended, I was always there with my camera. Back then, I used film cameras and didn’t really know what I was doing; it was just fun to eventually see the printed photos. In 2011, during the winter break from university, I was fortunate enough to take a trip to New Zealand to meet a friend. Read more>>

Jamir Smith

I knew at a very young age as that I wanted to pursue a career in fashion and entertainment. I began cutting out images from Vogue, Word Up, Right on and Vibe Magazines, of celebrities and what they wore. I created my own magazine to look at as a kid, on what luxury looked like and how I aspired to create my own style image. Read more>>

Malu Toro

Everything started in an unexpected way. I remember that I’ve always had a bad posture and my mom used to tell me to stand up straight all the time, but being the tallest girl in my class was very hard for me. That’s how my mom made me attend a model camp to learn how to have a good posture because she had the same experience at my age. I was hesitant at first, I wasn’t sure I would like it, but anyway I decided to give it a try. Read more>>

Sheldon Thomas

Growing up I always had a love for music and theater. My mother is a wonderful singer and actress and my father is as well. They also both teach it professionally. I grew up around the arts my whole life. Initially I was going to pursue a career in medicine and in biology. I was getting ready to dive fully into the medical field after college. Read more>>

Drew Nathan

I was a pretty emotional kid growing up. I remember having a lot of these feelings that I didn’t have the vocabulary for yet or any way of expressing them. I was just a kid, you know? When I was 13 I decided I wanted to play drums and told my parents that I wanted a drum set for my birthday that year. April 5th rolls around and there’s nothing shaped like a drum set wrapped anywhere. Read more>>

Estelle Fox

At the age of 6, I told my mom god wanted me to sing. I’ve been an atheist since I knew the meaning of the word so if I didn’t distinctly remember myself curled up in bed mumbling those words then I probably would’ve refuted the story years ago. Still, I think I chose God because of the weight and power of my feelings toward music which I didn’t yet understand were my own. I’d already fallen in love with music performance at that age and my heart was set on it. I was lucky to have a supportive family to aid in my musical education. Read more>>

Robin Bramlett

I first knew I wanted to be in the music industry on a professional basis when I was around 12 or 13. I was already exposed to and/or playing instruments such as piano, bass guitar, and alto saxophone so during this era I began writing lyrics and composing music on the family piano. Read more>>

Monstéva (Éva)

I first discovered how I wanted to purse art as a profession, is when I realised that I could use my imagination to my advantage – creating stories from ideas I get from a spur of the moment and developing it with my art. I first started out drawing as young as I can remember. Making random doodles anywhere I can whether it’s walls or scrap pieces of paper, Read more>>

James Nissen

I’m from a family where everyone sings or plays an instrument, so I’ve made music for most of my life. Growing up, I always thought it would be great to be able to make money playing music, but never thought it was an option I was allowed to take seriously. Eventually after taking a few semesters of basic english and math at San Jacinto Jr College, and working my way up through fast food jobs, Read more>>

Aneessa Gray

Sine I was young , I loved entertaining . I love making people smile and laugh.in the beginning I battled with really taking it serious , due to the small chances of making it . However I could never stay away from music and eventually decided to just give it my all. Read more>>

Rissa Montanez

The funny thing about re-calling the beginnings of a journey, is how much of an urgency there is to tell it “properly”, to make it “acceptable” or “digestible” or “funny” for the reader. Instead, I’m going to go with the flow and bare my soul authentically, in the most real way I know how…all I ask is that you, reader, laugh with me along the way! We’ve all got a story, and they’re all worthy of telling. Here’s a peek into mine… Read more>>

Marsh Delcid

I’ve always wanted to design clothes and style them. As a child I used to play with Barbie’s and would spend so much time picking outfits/accessories. I wouldn’t even really play with them. I would just admire the outfit I chose and think about what type of life she would have. Read more>>

Ann Alonso

I’ve been drawing since as far back as I can remember. My dad used to have these artbooks that he’d leave out on his desk and I’d try to draw along with them because I just loved to doodle. This followed me into my elementary years and in the seventh grade, I was voted “Most Likely to be an Artist” by my peers. Wildly enough, I didn’t end up pursuing art. Read more>>

Zuri Dean

I knew that art was the thing I should lean into the most professionally early on. Art started to put in rooms in places I know I wouldn’t have seen without it. Things surrounding my craft become second nature and I know that there is no ceiling. The limitless nature of art makes me calm. Read more>>

Mani Da Brat

I think I realized I wanted to be a full-time creative when I was a kid. All of my earliest memories are centered around music in one way or another, and I never had to seek music out– it always managed to find me. In elementary school, I wanted to be the next Mariah Carey or Mary J. Blige. By the time I reached middle school, I had met Chrissy, was in PEAK Nicki Minaj obsession, and had decided I wanted to be the next Nicki. Read more>>

Nico Fernandez

My biggest show to date was at the Chicago House of Vans in Chicago. I was gifted a ton of free Vans merch which was amazing haha. I’ve grown up wearing Vans my entire life, but really what was so special about that day was not simply meeting Chance the Rappers stylist haha which was amazing, but what changed my life that day forever was the feeling I got on stage. Read more>>

Teresa Korber

Growing up in a house where both your parents are Artists, it was clear that going into some sort of creative field would be inevitable. As a child, I watched both my parents paint and would partake in my own drawing and painting. As I got older, I gravitated more toward the creative fields, such as theater and curating art shows for other artists. However, I always found myself going back to painting. Read more>>

Gerri L. Beatty

I’ve known since age four that I wanted to become a fashion designer. Growing up, my parents had all of my dresses custom made for special occasions. Experiencing the crafting and fitting process firsthand, I was immediately intrigued. One of my favorite hobbies became collecting fashion magazines. I spent countless hours pouring over silhouettes, fabrics and details. Read more>>

Gustavo Fernandez

25 years ago, I took the road less traveled and make the decision to do only the things that makes me happy. When you find your vocation in life, you must listen to it and dedicate one hundred percent of yourself to it. Read more>>

Allison Rohland

After working at a nonprofit organization with artists with intellectual disabilities and Autism, I knew I wanted to pursue my work creatively. It was not something that struck me strongly over the head one day, it was a calling that slowly revealed itself to me as I continued to work with these inspiring artists who were unabashedly themselves. I wanted to be as free in my creative practice as them. And helping them to create and sell their work, it lit the path for my own art career. Read more>>

Marguerite Anglin

I Started painting 10 yrs ago as a self taught artist. I had this overwhelming desire to paint this cloudy sky from my window one day. I didn’t have any art supplies in the house, and I hadn’t painted anything since I was a kid. Yet I wanted to paint the sky, for everyone to see the beauty I saw in those ordinary gray clouds with the sun peeking through. It felt like a dare from God – I heard him say in my spirit “Go for it, go buy some art supplies, and paint that sky, take them to church and paint in front of everybody tonight during service”. Read more>>

Jessica Von Feldt

Like most kids, I was fascinated with creating from an early age. Then when I was 12, I inherited my great-grandmother’s collection of art books and supplies. Those keepsakes of creativity inspired me to further my exploration of art. Read more>>

Thom Chamberlain

I took some classes at Villain Theater in Miami, FL and the reception I got from doing comedy convinced me to pursue it. I’ve come a long way since I started in 2022 and I can’t imagine myself stopping or going backwards. Read more>>

Christian Belle

I first knew I wanted persue an artistic path professionally, when I was in my freshman year of college. I really enjoyed experimenting different looks on myself but most makeup artist know that practicing makeup on yourself is much different from practicing on someone else, so once I was able perfect my own makeup, I quickly transitioned into practicing on my friends and family to better perfect my craft. Read more>>

Phoebe Moll

I am from a family of artists, so art and creativity has always been encouraged in everything I did from the time I was little. Despite my upbringing, I had some stronger you could say left brain tendencies throughout school that pushed me toward STEM fields. Going into college I was on the Pre-Med Neuroscience track with the intention of wanting to study prosthetic nerves. Read more>>

Jennifer Salta

I grew up with a learning disability that caused me to struggle socially and academically. I was aware of this from a very young age and around 10 I started to obsess about my future. I felt there was no place for me. This idea haunted me as a kid and I would often have trouble sleeping. Read more>>